05032024 EDITION

The Tribune

MUNROE: NO AGENDA AGAINST PRISON CHIEF

Murphy’s leave was so prison could be investigated, he said

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter Pbailey@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe denied pursuing a personal agenda when he sent former prison commissioner Charles Murphy on administrative leave shortly after the 2021 general election. Although Mr Munroe’s law firm represented Doan

Sands nominates

Cleare and Bernadette Thompson-Murray when they were sent on vacation leave under the Minnis administration — a move some believe facilitated Mr Murphy’s rise to the top — Mr Munroe distanced himself from the legal representation Mr Cleare and Mrs Thompson-Murray received.

Mr Murphy is suing the

UNCERTAIN ON WHETHER BPL RATES TO CHANGE THIS TERM

By KEILE CAMPBELL

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

ENERGY and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis could not definitely say whether Bahamas Power and Light tariff rates could be adjusted this term. On Wednesday, she said tariff rates are inequitable, with the “least able to pay paying more than large businesses”.

While discussing the Electricity Bill during that debate in the House of Assembly, she said existing BPL rates will be maintained for the next three years while a tariff review is ongoing. However, she also said if

MINNIS NOMINATES TODAY, WILL CHALLENGE PINTARD

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is expected to nominate himself to become leader of the Free National Movement today, setting up a highly anticipated race with the incumbent, Michael Pintard, at the party’s convention next month.

Nominations for offices in the FNM close today. Dr Minnis’ move to challenge Mr Pintard follows many months of infighting in the party that fueled perceptions of disunity.

Dr Minnis and Mr Pintard did not have a close relationship during the Minnis administration, where Mr Pintard was said to be isolated. It is understood that the relationship between the two has since JUDGE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

A FORMER Cabinet minister’s decade-long ordeal over the Stellar Energy letter of intent (LOI) controversy was yesterday halted by the Supreme Court’s verdict that he has no case to answer. Justice Neil Brathwaite found that the waste-toenergy provider’s bid to appeal an earlier verdict, which dismissed its $727.364m damages claim against Renward Wells and two alleged government “agents”, had “no prospect of success” and it would be “prejudicial” to the ex-minister to let it proceed.

FNM WOMEN’S REQUEST FOR INJUNCTION

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A SURPEME Court judge dismissed an application for an injunction to stop yesterday’s Free National Movement Women’s Association election for party officials. Supreme Court Justice Denise Lewis-Johnson found deficiencies and inconsistencies with the claimants’ application and arguments.

FORMER PM Hubert Minnis. Photo: Dante Carrer

CURRENT FNM party chariman Dr Duane Sands hands in his nomination to again vie to be chairman. He will be challenged by Elsworth Johnson at the upcoming June one-day convention. Photo: Leandra Rolle

PM: Climate change will doom Bahamians to be climate refugees or ‘a watery grave’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip Davis said climate change would doom Bahamians to be climate refugees “or to a watery grave” if not addressed.

He sounded the familiar alarms about climate change at the Global Citizen Now 2024 Summit in New York.

He and the president of the Republic of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, shared their views on how their countries face different threats from climate change. The Bahamas is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, while the latter is at risk of increased aridity.

“I have been advocating for these last several years since I became prime minister to wake up the global North as to its

responsibility to what we are experiencing,”

Prime Minister Davis said, attributing 40 per cent of the country’s national debt to recovery and restoration after catastrophic events.

Mr Davis noted that Hurricane Dorian caused an economic loss of $3.4 billion in The Bahamas, more than the country’s annual revenue.

“As ocean state, more than 85 per cent of our landmass is less than three meters above sea level,” he said, adding that warming waters have caused the loss of marine life and threatened coral reefs and mangroves.

“We are doing some things; I am not despairing,” he said.

Calling for collaboration among countries, Mr Davis said Africa is the wealthiest continent in the world.

“Everything that the world needs is in Africa. What I have come to recognise is what I call an extracting continent,” he said. “The extractors of the global North have been extracting with no added value to Africa, and we have to find a way to assist them and them to assist us, and we have been working together.”

Mr Davis noted The Bahamas and Botswana have signed a memorandum of understanding on food security and digitisation.

“From the MOU, two of our agricultural schools have entered into an arrangement where we will have an exchange for technological research in food security and agricultural matters,” he said.

He further noted the countries have entered into arrangements in the financial services industry.

PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis sounded the familiar alarms about climate change at the Global Citizen Now 2024 Summit in New York.

Photos: BIS

Minnis nominates today, will challenge Pintard

worsened.

FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands nominated himself to defend his post yesterday. Former Yamacraw MP and Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson will challenge him.

Dr Sands said he believes the FNM would win the next election regardless of who wins the leadership race on June 1.

“The Free National Movement had a rather

contentious convention in 2016,” he said. “I know. I was a part of that convention and I ran for office in that convention.

“Bear in mind that it was said then that the factions in the Free National Movement were separated so far that there was no possible chance that we could pull it together and win and less than a year later, the Free National Movement trumps the Progressive Liberal Party at the polls winning 35 to four and so

we did it before, we will do it again.”

Nonetheless, the chairman said he still expects Dr Minnis to lose.

“I have no doubt about that,” he said. “Over the last two and a half years, I believe that we have restored a phenomenal amount of confidence in this premier political organisation.

“There are individuals who would rather focus on their own personal agendas, personal ambitions

and goals and I say that we ought to be focused on democracy and the good of the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

Dr Sands said he believed he had the support of Mr Pintard in the chairman race.

“My record is clear,” he added. “People have seen my performance, particularly over the last two years, and you know, the requirement is not perfection, and I have

certainly not been a perfect chairman.

“People have raised their concerns where they thought I could do a better job. I’ve tried my best to do the best that I could do.” Dr Sands said he would still support the party if he loses.

“I got a job, you know. I am gainfully employed,” he said. “If it is not the will of the delegates of the Free National Movement for me to continue to serve, I could go back tomorrow

and continue my job as a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon.”

“I will continue to be an FNM. I have lost elections in the FNM before and I’ve won elections in the FNM before. I ain’t ga dead. I promise you, but I will continue to be an FNM.”

When the FNM last held its convention in 2022, Dr Sands received 183 votes, Mr Johnson received 169, and former Golden Gates MP Michael Foulkes got 83.

Court denies FNM women’s request for injunction

from page one

The claimants, Antoinette Nesbitt, Pamela Miller and Astra ArmbristerRolle, wanted a declaration that Meritorious Council

Member (MCM) Brenda Archer was not a financial member of the Women’s

Association and was not in good standing to nominate Laverne Bowe as a presidential candidate.

They sought a declaration that Ms Bowe’s candidacy was null and void.

They also sought a declaration that several other members were ineligible

to vote in the election, including Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis.

The claimants said the women were either not up to date with dues or did not attend the required number of meetings.

They said irregularities were exposed on

nomination day on April 4 when the roll call of the list of registered voters had a “significant amount of members who were not in good standing pursuant to the said Constitution and the said Guidelines.”

Insiders said the fight over the Women’s Association

election was the latest proxy battle between FNM leader Michael Pintard and former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. Ms Bowe was reportedly Mr Pintard’s favoured candidate.

Attorney Christina Galanos represented the claimants.

On Tuesday, some members of the Women’s Association expressed discontent with the election process for their association, claiming there was foul play and favouritism from the party’s leadership towards one candidate.

Bowleg attends E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival

FNM LEADER MICHAEL PINTARD

FORMER PRIME MINISTER DR HUBERT MINNIS

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg took time out to encourage and interact with students, organisers and his staff members, at the E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival New Providence Adjudications, held at Holy Trinity Hall yesterday. Mr Bowleg took in a number of performances, and offered words of praise to students after they left the stage. The New Providence adjudications conclude today with a focus on vocals, Junkanoo drums and percussion, and stage bands. The adjudications are free to the public to watch, and parents and family members have come out to show their support throughout that Festival’s run.

Photos: Eric Rose/BIS

Uncertain on whether BPL rates to change this term

BPL seeks to adjust its rates before the end of the three years, it must make its case to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA).

During yesterday’s Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) press briefing, she said the government “cannot do everything all at once” as it seeks solutions to BPL’s problems.

“This industry is so fickle, and its changes so fast-paced, we have to be careful in how we address each possible solution, and so everything will be a phased approach so we get it right and the Bahamian people do not suffer at the end of the day,” she said.

“It wouldn’t be that we try to take on all at once because that would cost a lot of frustrations because it has to do with switching out systems, bringing on fuel and this, that, whatever, and so to avoid bringing any sorts of frustrations to the larger Bahamian public, it will all have to be phased out.”

Members of the opposition declined to support the passage of the Electricity Bill and Natural Gas Bill, citing a lack of consultation, among other concerns.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said the opposition is “in no position” to criticise the government due to what she perceives as their failure to progress legislation for the energy sector or address its issues during their tenure.

“We have issues upon issues that we’re trying to address across the entire Bahamas that had they started addressing it, I may have met a headway or may have had a little breathing room because they were advancing the energy transition in our country. We are now having to do it. It is indeed a crisis,” Mrs Coleby-Davis said.

“We’re dealing with age-old generation systems, old transformers that if the line on those popped today or tomorrow and we’re not able to get them back up and running, we can have areas of our country that is out of electricity for whatever period until we get it back on-stream.”

“We’re in a crisis. We have to fix BPL, and I’m not here to play political games. The opposition had an opportunity when they served. I don’t think they did enough and so now that we’re faced with having to fix this crisis, I have to get the work done.”

Coleby-Davis proud to ‘bring some sort of relief’ to bus drivers

By KEILE CAMPBELL kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

ENERGY and Transportation Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis is proud to “bring some sort of relief” to bus drivers by overseeing the first bus fare increase in 14 years, adding she wants “a little bit more” of an increase for drivers and won’t stop advocating on their behalf. Her comment during an Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) press briefing yesterday came after some bus drivers

complained about the 25 cents increase, calling it insufficient.

Ms Coleby-Davis maintained that there has to be a balance and consideration for Bahamians who use buses.

“It’s well over the increase for the taxi, but I think because people didn’t break it down with percentages they didn’t realize they got a little bit more, because if you do 10 per cent of $1.25, then you can see what that increase would’ve been had I done a 10 per cent increase for

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NAPO ALEXANDER DUVERNEY of Peardale, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of May, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

that ALEC BURTON FARLEY of P.O Box N 3620 Blenheim Close, Stapledon, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of May 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

them,” she said.

“They got 25 cents and you have to remember that a balance must be kept. The sector of our country that we service, gotta think about those persons as well if they are able to afford the cost of maybe one bus back and forth, or two buses, it increases the cost now for some of them.”

She said the government considered that the cost of living has gone up, adding that if the government continues working to bring the cost of living down, the

significance of the bus fare increase will be felt even more.

She is the latest transport minister seeking to optimise the public transportation system, saying she wants a system that is more flexible and “makes people a little bit more comfortable”.

She said the government has been consulting the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) this past week about improving the country’s public bus system.

“It was originally an

IDB programme and so we’re now back with them and they’ve assisted to do some interviews, some assessments, I think riding some of the buses and viewing where some of our bus stops are and so we’re looking at ways to bring a modern system and make sure that it’s feasible for all and it’s a work in progress,” she said.

A unified bus system has been much discussed and suggested across multiple administrations, with studies dating back to 1992.

The last Christie

administration partnered in 2016 with the IDB, which funded a project for $500,000 called the New Providence Road Improvement Programme (NPRIP).

The project continued under the Minnis administration. In 2019, former Minister of Transport Renward Wells said a $600,000 “study” of the bus system would be conducted to determine whether a unified bus system was feasible and the value of a bus franchise.

Three public schools have now been connected to a grid-tied solar system

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THREE public schools in New Providence have been connected to a gridtied solar system. The Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Generation project was completed at TG Glover Professional Development and Research School, CV Bethel Senior High

School, and Doris Johnson Senior High School. The InterAmerican Development Bank partnered with the government to complete the project.

The grid-tied solar system is designed to produce energy that is sent back to the grid, impacting school electricity costs.

Energy and Transport Minister JoBeth ColebyDavis said: “It is not by accident that we are

installing solar microgrids at schools, because schools represent our tomorrow.

Schools represent our future.”

“It is younger generations who will experience the worst effects of climate change if nothing is done, or too little is accomplished too late.”

Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin noted the significance of yesterday’s event in the

context of climate change’s impact.

“This here today is an input in our curriculum because this is teaching young people about green energy, it’s teaching them about sustainability, it’s teaching them about climate change and it’s teaching them about industry because this is a new and developing industry in our country,” she said.

ENERGY AND TRANSPORT MINISTER JOBETH COLEBY-DAVIS

Munroe: No agenda against prison chief

government.

Mr Munroe claimed Mr Murphy was sent on administrative leave so the prison could be investigated.

Romona Farquharson Seymour, Mr Murphy’s attorney, questioned Mr Munroe on the circumstances behind Mr Murphy being put on administrative leave on September 30, 2021.

Mr Munroe said after his meeting with Mr Murphy on September 27, 2021, he told his permanent secretary, Cheryl Darvile, that he wanted to launch an investigation into the BDCS. He said she told him that in order to investigate the prison, Mr Murphy could not be on the premises.

He said his desire for an investigation came after Mr Murphy told him in a meeting that the reason the prison was operating without an assistant or deputy commissioner was negligence on the part of former National Security Minister Marvin Dames.

Mr Munroe claimed that Mr Murphy told him that Mr Dames had been urged multiple times to appoint new people for the roles, but refused. He said Mr Murphy blamed Mr Dames for the vacant roles since 2017.

Mr Munroe disagreed with Mrs FarquharsonSeymour that he instructed the permanent secretary to write Mr Murphy’s leave letter.

Although Mr Munroe disagreed that the permanent secretary lacked the authority to put Mr Murphy on leave without direction of the minister, he agreed that the letter gave no reasons why Mr Murphy was put on leave.

Although Mr Munroe claimed it was incorrect that Mr Murphy was never given reasons why he was put on leave on or after September 30, 2021, he said he did not see any written communication from his ministry why Mr Murphy was put on leave.

Mr Munroe added that he did not go into the meeting with Mr Murphy with any preconceived idea that he was unfit for the position.

He added that he did not know Mr Murphy or Mr Cleare upon becoming minister.

When it was suggested that his clients got what they wanted when Mr Murphy was put on leave, Mr Munroe said Mr Cleare never sought to be commissioner, but conceded that Mr Cleare and Mr Murphy both submitted to be commissioner, but Mr Murphy was chosen.

He acknowledged that Mr Cleare became acting commissioner after Mr Murphy was placed on leave. Regarding the

meeting between him and Mr Murphy, Mr Munroe denied telling Mr Murphy he was operating BDCS illegally without an assistant or deputy commissioner. He said he advised Mr Murphy that he was operating the prison in breach of the Correctional Services Act with those two positions vacant. Mr Munroe disagreed that Mr Murphy did not have the power to appoint or keep a deputy or assistant commissioner. He said Mr Murphy had the power to object to a person being moved and had to sign off on appointments.

Mr Munroe told the attorney that her client could have had access to two deputy commissioners in 2021.

Mr Munroe denied telling Mr Murphy that the government did not intend to work with him in the September 27 meeting.

However, he agreed that he told Mr Murphy he did not intend to work with him, claiming Mr Murphy exposed him to personal liability.

He explained that Mr Murphy put him at risk due to the lack of deputy commissioners, his handling of the prison COVID-19 situation and the case of Prescott Smith. Mr Munroe told Mrs Farquharson that he is currently being sued by Mr Smith who claims that he allegedly contracted COVID-19 while illegally detained at prison in 2021.

Mrs Farquharson

MORE THAN 100 HAVE TRANSITIONED TO NEW ANKLE MONITORS, PLANS FOR NASSAU NEXT

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said more than 100 people being electronically monitored in Family Islands have switched their bracelets to Migrafill Electronic Security, a number expected to significantly increase when police begin the process in New Providence.

“There are well over 100 people, maybe more than 200 people switched over,” he said. “I expect to have a report by the end of this week because the next plan is to move into New Providence. They started with the Family Islands first.”

In March, the government confirmed that it

cancelled the monitoring contract with Metro Security Solutions and selected Migrafill Electronic Security, the previous service provider.

Commissioner Clayton Fernander told reporters last month that the handover process, which began in the southern islands, was going “very smoothly” and that Metro Security Solutions will continue monitoring people until the transition is complete. As for how the process works, Mr Munroe said police call people on bail to meet at a certain location. He said those who refuse to comply will be arrested. “If they aren’t able to be reached, then, of course, the police will go and get them in those instances as well,” he added. Mr Munroe said he has

already seen improvements in Migrafill’s ankle monitoring system compared to the previous provider. He said the devices are “robust” and more difficult to remove.

“I’ve already received a video of some fella pressing his monitor and talking and calling the centre, which demonstrates the functionality of this device over the previous one,” the minister said.

“And so any issue with experiences with failure to charge, with perhaps the girlfriend kicking them out of the house, all of that he can communicate directly with the monitoring centre and so clearly, that video demonstrated to me not only that it’s on, but it’s working as it previously was and how the police wished for it to work.”

disagreed, claiming that Mr Munroe’s motivation for putting Mr Murphy on leave was that Mr Cleare and Mrs Murray-Thompson used to be his clients.

Mr Munroe did not accept this suggestion but admitted that his law firm represented the pair.

Mr Munroe agreed that

his firm represented Mr Cleare and Mrs MurrayThompson in a March 10, 2020, lawsuit against Mr Murphy’s appointment as commissioner. Mr Munroe said he had not represented the pair in this case before Justice Leron Klein and that Donovan Gibson was their

attorney. He added that the two came to him for advice, disagreed with his advice, and sought counsel with Mr Gibson.

Mr Munroe claimed he never represented the two during their trial.

When Mrs Farquharson suggested Mr Gibson prompted the court to adjourn the trial until after the 2021 election, he said he could not speak to what Mr Gibson said during trial.

When it was suggested that the lawsuit sought to remove Mr Murphy as commissioner, he said the lawsuit had no intention of overturning Mr Murphy’s appointment.

Mrs Farquharson said there was no documentation or proof that an inmate died of COVID-19 under Mr Murphy. Mr Munroe said the virus was never listed on the list of inmate deaths.

This led the attorney to suggest that Mr Munroe was overstating the COVID-19 situation as part of his agenda against Mr Murphy.

In response, Mr Munroe claimed that Mr Murphy did not use rapid antigen testing at the prison and that he had two to four men in a cell during the pandemic despite the serious threat of COVID-19.

Mr Munroe claimed he was alarmed during their meeting with Mr Murphy’s failure to give him a COVID-19 report.

On the subject of prison staff sent home during Mr Murphy’s tenure, Mrs Farquharson noted Mr Munroe’s affidavit said over $487,000 in back pay was owed to staff let go under Mr Murphy.

Mr Munroe agreed but said that payments had nothing to do with Mr Murphy as he was more focused on fixing issues than records.

He denied telling Mr Murphy during the September 27 meeting to seek an alternative position to work or think of transitioning out.

Mr Munroe said he wanted to honour Mr Murphy’s 40 years of service but had difficulties with his attitude and the negative exposure he brought him.

He claimed Mr Murphy was nonchalant about COVID-19 and disciplining prisoners and staff.

The Tribune Limited

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

“Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

PICTURE OF THE DAY

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Publisher/Editor 1919-1972

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RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.

Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Will FNM leadership clash bring party clarity?

ALL eyes today will be on the nominations for the FNM as the party heads towards its convention.

There are nominations across the board, but, of course, the main attention will be at the top end – with former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis anticipated to be taking on current party leader Michael Pintard. Already, there is a race in the post of chairman, with Elsworth Johnson looking to defeat incumbent Dr Duane Sands.

There has been some speculation about whether or not Dr Sands has the support of Mr Pintard – who was at pains to note that he was confident that both Mr Pintard and his deputy, Shanendon Cartwright, would be returned to their posts. He did not mention Dr Sands at the time.

Still, it is notable that Mr Pintard and Mr Cartwright are very much a ticket –Dr Minnis, at the time of writing, does not have a running mate standing in opposition to Mr Cartwright.

There is, of course, the prospect that someone else will nominate today, but as it stands Mr Cartwright can anticipate being returned unopposed. Were Dr Minnis to win, he would have his predecessor’s right-hand man as his own.

What do we read into all this? At present, Mr Pintard stands as part of a team, Dr Minnis stands alone. How far that team goes, we will see when we hear how vocal Mr Pintard is in support of his chairman, or not.

As of yet, neither of the leadership candidates have outlined a position as to what makes one different from the other in terms of policies.

The biggest thing that either can put on the table in terms of the party

is to convince members that they are the one who will lead the FNM to an election victory – but how does each candidate aim to define themselves in contrast to the other.

In a fashion, that has been part of the problem for the FNM so far. The PLP has had one view, while Pintard and Minnis have been staking out positions that do not just mark them as separate from the PLP, but from each other.

That is not something that can continue if the party expects to have a chance at running the next government.

Aside from that clash at the very top of the party, it will be interesting to watch the debate between the candidates for chairman – while the leaders are focused on the path to the next election, it is the chairman who will run the show behind the scenes to take the party on that path. How each sees the way to get the party to the finishing line will be telling. Lastly, it is interesting to note the absence of women as candidates in the top roles. Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis recently responded to a US report on inequality for women in The Bahamas by saying: “Y’all ruling us, man.” Women are in the minority in Parliament, they are absent from the top roles in both parties, and the criticisms levelled by the US in the report remain true. If women were indeed ruling in this nation, such inequalities would have been long resolved. That is not happening – and the absence of women in the senior candidate roles in the FNM suggest that is not changing any time soon. For now, let the leadership candidates make their case. We shall be listening.

Free press essential to accountability

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS we observe World Press Freedom Day, it is crucial to underscore the indispensable role of a free media in nurturing transparency, accountability, and good governance. At the Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG), we are steadfast in our belief that an independent media is essential not only for fostering a culture of openness, but also for empowering citizens to hold their government accountable.

A pivotal element underpinning a free and democratic society is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This legislation is not just a legal framework; it is a fundamental tool that enables journalists and the public alike to access government-held information, thereby participating effectively in national decision-making processes. Its full implementation is essential for an active, independent press that pushes for transparency and good governance.

However, the journey toward fully actualising FOIA in The Bahamas has been fraught with challenges. Despite its passage in 2017, critical sections of the law remain dormant, leaving citizens without the full exercise of their right to information. ORG remains committed to advocating for the complete enactment of FOIA, emphasising its crucial role in maintaining a robust democracy and ensuring government accountability.

Prime Minister Philip Davis has recognised the necessity to honur the long-standing commitment to fully enact FOIA. His acknowledgment is a commendable step forward. However, it is essential to understand that the implementation of FOIA and addressing immediate national challenges are not mutually exclusive. In fact, a fully operational FOIA can yield significant social and economic benefits, such as enhancing decision-making, streamlining government expenditure, and bolstering public

trust. Furthermore, FOIA serves as a critical tool for fostering a culture of transparency and accountability within government institutions. It empowers citizens and the media to hold elected officials accountable and ensures that governmental decisions undergo rigorous public scrutiny.

On this World Press Freedom Day, let us salute the relentless efforts of journalists, media professionals, and advocates who tirelessly work to defend these rights and hold power to account. Let us also renew our commitment to advocating for the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. By doing so, we not only support the press in its role as a watchdog of democracy but also reinforce the pillars of transparency, accountability, and good governance that are crucial for our nation’s progress.

THE ORGANIZATION FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNANCE May 2, 2024

EDITOR, The Tribune.

DOCTOR Minnis will be returned as de facto and de jure leader of the FNM at the next convention. It does not matter if it is a one day or a multiple days event. Mr Pintard tried his level best to gain traction with the Bahamian masses over the past two and a half years, but that effort was doomed to failure from the very beginning. Obviously, I am not an FNM and most of my other habits are benign or good. The New Day PLP, led by the indomitable Hon Philip Brave Davis (PLPCat Island) will serve out the full balance of this term in office and will, God willing, go on to win another consecutive term. Brave is the undisputed leader of the PLP and he and his administration are performing admirably, despite the proverbial noise in the market.

A functioning democracy demands a stable and focused administration that should/may be contrasted with an equally focused and determined opposition. Pintard has vividly demonstrated, time and time again, that he lacks the gravitas and, for sure, the ability to think on his feet. He does not, in my opinion, excite what should be his natural base and constituency. Under his so-called leadership, he has actually ‘lost’ his first by-election over in West End and Bimini by a percentage which spoke

volumes for him and the rump FNM.

One of the biggest challenges under the Pintard-led FNM is that there are too many Chiefs and so few loyal and dedicated Indians. Will the Real Leader of the FNM please stand and deliver? It does not really matter, however, whether or not it is Brave; Pintard or Minnis. Brave will vanquish them all at the next scheduled polls. The ideal team for the leadership of this once iconic party is a combination of Dr Minnis as leader and the Hon Shanendon Cartwright (FNM-St Barnabas) as Deputy. The latter has a bright future in the nation, politically speaking, and his time to ascend to the top of the greasy FNM pole, is not yet. Just around the corner, but not yet.

Some have opined that the Hon Branville McCartney, former MP for Bamboo Town or the Hon Desmond Bannister, former FNM MP for Carmichael and a nominal Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas could run as Minnis’s Deputy and by extension become Deputy Prime Minister, if and whenever Minnis ever emerges again as a viable contender for the post of Prime Minister. Keep in mind, as I would have

stated earlier, Brave has a solid lock on that position and it would take a literal act of God to eliminate this possibility. Minnis is still fairly ‘youthful’ and he appears to be in good physical and mental shape. Having served the nation as Prime Minister and before that in cabinet, Minnis is a seasoned politician and he has a cadre of loyal supporters within the belly and bosom of the rump FNM. Fast forward seven years from now, will Minnis still be able to cut the mustard? If he is not, the Hon Shanendon Cartwright would be in a strategic position to vault to primacy within the rump FNM and possibly challenge Brave sometime in 2031, provided The Lord continues to tarry. With the almost inevitable return to the FNM’s leadership by Dr Minnis, he will always have to look over his political shoulders for cut throats and the usual assortment of bogus supporters. He will also be saddled by the overt possibility that he may, eventually, walk the legal plank the way that former politicians like the Hon D Shayne Gibson, et al, did. In any event, like it or lump it, Doctor Minnis’s return as leader of the rump FNM, is inevitable. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau May 2, 2024.

It appears obvious - at

KENTUCKY Derby entrant Grand Mo The First gets a bath after a workout at Churchill Downs yesterday in Louisville, Kentucky. The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for tomorrow.

Photo: Charlie Riedel

BNT holds successful pig roast event to raise funds for Seahorse National Park

IN April, The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) celebrated its most successful Cuban Pig Roast in recent years. In total, the sold-out affair generated $162,000 towards the development of Seahorse National Park (SNP) at Sweetings Pond and Hatchet Bay Caves in Eleuthera.

The event, held at The Maillis Farm in Adelaide, invited partners, supporters, and friends of conservation together for a night of drinks, Cuban-Caribbean cuisine, and music and entertainment - all in support of this year’s selected cause, Seahorse National Park.

As the latest addition to the National Park System of The

Bahamas, Seahorse National Park boasts what is believed to be the densest population of seahorses in the world. These special marine animals are just one of many unique and incredible features within this fragile ecosystem that will now be safeguarded and managed by the BNT.

“Our vision for Seahorse National Park is to create a legacy for The Bahamas - a world-class, sustainable national park that supports community, scientific, and educational initiatives while safeguarding our natural treasures,” said BNT executive director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle.

“We have proven that community is an essential component of effective conservation. With continued community support, I have no doubt we will achieve great things for our Bahamaland, and for the bright future of Seahorse National Park.”

Pig Roast is the BNT’s annual flagship fundraiser, and each year it supports a different priority conservation project or initiative. Pig Roast 2023 raised more than $150,000 towards the development of a Welcome Centre at Moriah Harbour Cay National Park in Exuma; and Pig Roast 2022 raised $100,000 for flamingo conservation at the Inagua National Park. This year,

the $162,000 raised at Pig Roast 2024 contributes to a $500,000 one-year fundraising goal for the initial development of Seahorse National Park.

During the event, the BNT honoured past president Pericles Maillis for his commitment to the organisation and his role in making Seahorse National Park a reality by guiding the drafting of its lease agreement. Throughout the night, attendees won exciting raffle prizes, such as luxury Graycliff chocolate, a gift certificate to Fox Hill Nursery, and a super raffle prize of an Eleuthera Park Experience vacation package for two, inclusive of a two-night stay at The

Cove Eleuthera. The evening ended with a beach bonfire and dancing under the stars. Pig Roast 2024 was sponsored by RBC Capital Markets; Callenders Realty; Summit Developers; Albany; Sandyport Development Company; Baha Mar Foundation; Marlin Capital Partners; RF Group; Simplified Lending; The Cove Eleuthera; The Paint Place; Ernst & Young; West Bay Advisors; Bristol Wines & Spirits; Sands Beer and Jimmy’s Wines & Spirits; The Security Commission of The Bahamas; Caribbean Wines & Spirits; Caribbean Bottling Company; Expressions Entertainment; and Bahamas Waste.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 25-YEAR-OLD man was remanded in custody yesterday after he was accused of robbing a woman during a home invasion last week.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO people were sent to prison yesterday after they were accused of being found with two high-powered weapons last month.

A HOMELESS man was charged in the Marsh Harbour Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in connection with a massive bush fire in Marsh Harbour.

Paul Ferguson, Jr., 25, appeared before Assistant

Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Bradley Moss with burglary and robbery. Moss is accused of breaking into the residence of Rosemene Pierre and robbing her of $240 around 2am on April 27. The accused was told his

case would move to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). He will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the higher court grants him bail. Moss’ VBI is set for service on July 2.

Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Kyle Jones, 27, and Sanchez Moss, 18, with possession of firearms with intent to supply. The pair were allegedly found with a black MP 15 Smith and Wesson rifle and a black and brown AK-47 rifle on April 18 in New Providence. After the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge, they were told they would be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until their bail hearing on May 7. Ryszard Humes represented them.

Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans on charges of causing a fire and damage. The incidents allegedly occurred on April 26 in the Don McKay Boulevard area. He was not required to

enter a plea to the charges. He was remanded and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre in New Providence. The matters were adjourned to June 12, 2024.

SEAHORSE NATIONAL PARK, HATCHET BAY, ELEUTHERA

The ‘Briland dilemma’

How to plan for tomorrow and retain the authenticity of yesterday

BEING home to the world’s most beautiful pink sand beach comes with a cost. It’s a price a lot of ‘Brilanders don’t want to pay, though feelings are mixed. Do we open the floodgates, they ask among themselves, to more of the rich and famous or do we try to hold on to what we have and what made ‘Briland what it was.

The dilemma facing ‘Briland – local adaptation for Harbour Island – did not start suddenly with recent developments like the marina and plans for ultra-luxurious residences at The ‘Briland Club, though protests seem to have quieted down now that there is new ownership.

The ‘Briland dilemma started at about 10:30am on a Fall morning in 1999 when a brightlypainted ferry called Bo Hengy pulled alongside the government dock and disgorged more than 100 eager passengers. As they disembarked, they viewed a postcard-perfect scene in front of them, a small conch shack and a hand-painted sign WELCOME

TO HARBOUR ISLAND by Harvey Roberts, a low-to-theground billboard that remains today exactly as it was back then. At the corner, the island’s new guests could look left or right and see a narrow street lined with sherbet-coloured cottages of light lime, pastel pink or butter yellow with sharp white trim. With two chairs on a small front porch overlooking the bay across the street, they resembled dollhouses, charming and quaint. It was hard not to fall in love with ‘Briland at first glance. Back then, those cottages sold, when they occasionally changed hands, for something that did not break the bank. Today, a buyer would have to bring the bank with them. Picking up even the smallest cottage for under $1m would be considered a steal. With the Bo Hengy whisking guests en masse from Nassau

By Diane Phillips

directly to Harbour Island, the publicity exploded. Royalty was alerted with the arrival of Indira Hicks and the renovation of the landmark The Landing. There were tony new places to stay or dine – Pink Sands, Rock House – and the vast lawns of staples like Runaway Hill, Dunmore and Romora Bay or Coral Sands on the beach – all ideal for weddings. That year and the imminent Bicentennial that followed when everyone wanted a safe haven from the dreaded havoc is when the 300 years of history that Dr Paul Albury and Ann and Jim Lawlor wrote about, and others tried to cling to, was left behind.

That was when a new Harbour Island began to take shape, the year of publicity about the famous pink sand beaches and friendly people found only on a small island in The Bahamas, and now accessible to the masses who could stay as long as they liked so long as their wallets allowed in this three-mile long by one-mile wide piece of heaven.

But even after the Bo Hengy called on Harbour Island and word spread about the island’s pink sand beaches, even after airlift increased and hotel rooms that had been empty began to fill, the island remained a bastion of charm and hospitality. The economy for the working class improved. Unfortunately, prices increased for anything they would want to buy, but most avoided

buying staples on the island, traveling instead by ferry to the mainland of Eleuthera, a quick ten-minute ride.

The main form of transportation was golf cart. Folks coming from the opposite direction waved as they went past, strangers hailing strangers, locals hailing each other and visitors. There was a feeling of togetherness.

People still move about by golf cart but they no longer hail each other so much. There are more cars on the roads barely wide enough for a car and a golf cart to pass. Service is still excellent in restaurants and resorts, but the same kind of natural friendly welcome to visitors is not as prevalent, one of the saddest side effects of growth. It is still very much alive in places like Ma Ruby’s where Juanita Percentie maintains the family tradition, proud that it is the only hotel and restaurant that has never been sold or been out of the Percentie family. She is a bundle of old Harbour Island ‘happy place’ vivaciousness and charm, exuding the warmth and enthusiasm for the place she calls home that have landed her in publications from the Wall Street Journal to Travel and Leisure. She sees the oversized trucks that now scream along narrow streets. She knows that not everyone hails strangers anymore. But she is not worried. “As long as the people are authentic, Harbour Island will be authentic. It’s all about the people.” She says, greeting everyone who stops in at the landmark restaurant and small resort as if they were family returning for a reunion. She is the model of Harbour Island authenticity, a national honours awardee, a proud Valley Girls Junkanoo and someone who believes Harbour Island will always be the ‘Briland she adores. If hers is an optimist’s opinion, there may be more to it than trust, hope and prayer. Says another hotelier, “No matter how many hotels change hands or what the new owners’ plans are, or how many new restaurants open, the reality is that the island is not changing size. It will always only be three miles long and a mile wide.” It’s what you do, ‘Brilanders, to those three miles that will allow you to hold on to the beauty, share it with those appreciate it and retain – or regain – the charm of an island unlike any other, one of the many that make the Islands of The Bahamas the unique, heartwarming places they are.

Percentie’s of Ma Ruby’s authenticity and personality keeping it real in Harbour Island.

JUANITA

SUNSET at Romora Bay in Harbour Island

Gangs in Haiti launch new attacks, days after new prime minister announced

PORT-AU-PRINCE

Associated Press

GANGS in Haiti laid siege to several neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince, burning homes and exchanging gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled the violence early Thursday in one of the biggest attacks since Haiti’s new prime minister was announced.

The attacks began late Wednesday in neighbourhoods including Solino and Delmas 18, 20 and 24 located southwest of the main international airport, which has remained closed for nearly two months amid relentless gang violence.

“The gangs started burning everything in sight,” said a man called Néne, who declined to give his last name out of fear. “I was hiding in a corner all night.”

He walked with a friend as they carried a dusty red suitcase between them that was stuffed with clothes — the only thing they could save. The clothes belonged to Néne’s children, whom he had rushed out of Delmas 18 around dawn during a pause in the fighting.

The neighbourhoods that once bustled with traffic and pedestrians were like ghost towns shortly after sunrise, with a heavy silence blanketing the area except for the occasional bleating

from a lone goat. An armoured police truck patrolled the streets, rolling past charred vehicles and cinderblock walls where someone had scrawled “Viv Babecue,” a reference in Haitian Creole to one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders.

People whose homes were spared in the attack in Delmas 18 and other nearby communities clutched fans, stoves, mattresses and plastic bags filled with clothes as they fled by foot, motorcycle or on colourful

small buses known as taptaps. Others were walking empty-handed, having lost everything.

“There were gunshots left and right,” said Paul Pierre, 47, who was walking with his partner in search of shelter after their house was burned down. They couldn’t save any of their belongings.

He said the overnight fighting separated children from their parents and husbands from their wives as people fled in terror: “Everyone is just trying to save

themselves.”

Martineda, a woman who declined to give her last name out of fear, said she was left homeless after armed gunmen torched her home. She fled with her 4-year-old, whom she said tried to run away when the gunfire erupted late Wednesday.

“I told him, ‘Don’t be scared. This is life in Haiti,’” she said as she balanced a heavy load of goods on her head including butter that she hoped to sell to make some money and find a new

home.

When asked to recount what happened overnight, she said: “Gunfire, gunfire, gunfire everywhere! No one slept. Everyone was running.

The attack occurred in an area controlled by Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who is leader of a powerful gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies.

He and other gang leaders have been blamed for coordinated attacks that began on Feb. 29 across the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

The attacks eventually forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign and led to the creation of a transitional presidential council whose majority unexpectedly announced a new prime minister on Tuesday: Fritz Bélizaire, a former sports minister. The move is threatening to fracture the nine-member council, which was sworn in last week. As new leaders take charge of the country amid squabbling, Haitians are demanding that they prioritise their safety as gangs remain more powerful and

better armed than Haiti’s National Police. More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured from January to March of this year, a more than 50% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the UN Meanwhile, more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in just one month as gangs that control an estimated 80% of the capital have increasingly been targeting previously peaceful neighbourhoods.

Ernest Aubrey recalled how he moved to Delmas 18 a decade ago. Now, he’s leaving home for the first time.

“It’s too much. We can’t resist anymore,” he said of the gangs. “They are taking everything we own.”

As he walked with a heavy bag, he spotted an acquaintance leaving in a car and ran toward them to see if he could get a ride.

One of the few people who opted to stay in Delmas 18 was Vanessa Vieux. While she sent her elderly mother to the countryside early Wednesday after the attack, she decided it was best if she didn’t relinquish her home to gangs. Plus, she has faith in Haiti’s National Police.

“I live next to a police officer,” she said. “That’s why I’m not scared.”

At least 2,000 people arrested in pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses

LOS ANGELES

Associated Press

POLICE have arrested more than 2,000 people during proPalestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, according to an Associated Press tally Thursday.

Demonstrations — and arrests — have occurred in almost every corner of the nation. But in the last 24 hours, they’ve drawn the most attention at the University of California, Los Angeles, where chaotic scenes played out early Thursday when officers in riot gear surged against a crowd of demonstrators.

Hundreds of protesters at UCLA defied orders to leave, some forming human chains as police fired flash-bangs to break up the crowds.

At least 200 people were arrested, said Sgt. Alejandro Rubio of the California Highway Patrol, citing data from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Rubio said they were being booked at the county jails complex near downtown Los Angeles.

UCLA police will determine what charges to bring.

Later Thursday morning, workers removed barricades and dismantled the protesters’ fortified encampment. Bulldozers scooped up bags of trash and tents. Some buildings were covered in graffiti.

Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century.

The demonstrations began at Columbia University on April 17, with students calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in statement Thursday that the encampment had become “a focal point for serious violence as well as a huge disruption.” He said days of clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators endangered people on campus, students were unable to get to class, buildings had to be closed and classes were cancelled.

About 300 protesters voluntarily left after warnings, while more than 200 resisted orders to disperse and were arrested, Block said.

“The past week has been among the most painful periods our UCLA community has ever experienced,” he said. “It has fractured

our sense of togetherness and frayed our bonds of trust, and will surely leave a scar on the campus.”

California Highway Patrol officers poured into the UCLA campus by the hundreds early Thursday. Wearing face shields and protective vests, they held their batons out to separate themselves from demonstrators, who wore helmets and gas masks and chanted: “You want peace. We want justice.”

For hours, officers warned over loud speakers that there would be arrests if the crowd did not disperse. Protesters and police shoved and scuffled. Police helicopters hovered and the sound of flash-bangs pierced the air. Police pulled off protesters’ helmets and goggles as they made arrests.

Police methodically tore apart the encampment’s barricade of plywood, pallets, metal fences and dumpsters, then pulled down dozens of canopies and tents. The number of protesters diminished through the morning, some leaving voluntarily with their hands up and others detained by police.

The law enforcement presence and continued warnings contrasted with the scene Tuesday night, when counter-demonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. Fighting between the two sides continued for hours before police stepped in. No one was arrested, but at least 15 protesters were injured. Authorities’ tepid response drew criticism from political leaders, Muslim students and advocacy groups.

By Wednesday afternoon, a small city sprang up inside the reenforced encampment, with hundreds of people and tents on the quad. Demonstrators rebuilt the makeshift barriers around their tents while state and campus police watched.

Some protesters said Muslim prayers as the sun set, while others chanted “we’re not leaving” or passed out goggles and surgical masks. They wore helmets and headscarves, and discussed the best ways to handle pepper spray or tear gas.

The crowd grew as the night wore on and as more officers poured onto campus.

Ariel Dardashti, a graduating UCLA senior studying global studies and sociology, said no student should feel unsafe on campus.

“It should not get to the point where students are being arrested,” Dardashti said on campus Thursday.

Dardashti said he can relate to the trauma suffered by Palestinians.

“When my dad was fleeing

Iran, he prayed that his children wouldn’t have to face anti-Semitism,” Dardashti said. “We’re afraid of having to flee again in the same way our parents did.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced the delayed law enforcement response on Tuesday and Block promised to investigate. The head of the University of California system, Michael Drake, ordered an “independent review of the university’s planning, its actions and the response by law enforcement.”

“The community needs to feel the police are protecting them, not enabling others to harm them,” Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said during a news conference Wednesday.

Iranian state television carried live images of the police action at UCLA, as did Qatar’s pan-Arab Al Jazeera satellite network. Live images of Los Angeles also played across Israeli television networks.

Israel has branded the protests antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, protest organizers — some of whom are Jewish — call it a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and protest the war.

President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the students’ right to peaceful protest but decried the disorder of recent days.

California Republican leaders

blasted university administrations for failing to protect Jewish students and allowing protests to escalate into “lawlessness and violence.” They called for the firing of leaders at UCLA and Cal Poly Humboldt and pushed for a proposal that would cut pay for university administrators.

“We’ve got a whole lot of people in these universities drawing six figure salaries and they stood by and did nothing,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told reporters. “There does need to be accountability.”

Meanwhile, protest encampments at schools across the US, were cleared by police — resulting in more arrests — or closed up voluntarily. In New York, those included the City College of New York, Fordham University, Stony Brook University and the University of Buffalo. Others nationwide included the University of New Hampshire in Durham, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and Tulane University in New Orleans.

A college professor from Illinois said he suffered multiple broken ribs and a broken hand during a pro-Palestine protest on Saturday at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Bystander video shows the arrest of Steve Tamari, a history professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He seems to be moving in to take video or photos of protesters being detained when multiple officers roughly take him down.

In a post on the social platform X, Sandra Tamari said her husband needed surgery on his hand and has nine broken ribs. Tamari said in a statement Thursday that it was “a small price to pay for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.” Campus police referred questions to the university’s communications department, which did not respond to a request for comment.

Elsewhere, University of Minnesota officials reached agreement with protesters not to disrupt commencements. Similar agreements have been made at Northwestern University in suburban Chicago and Brown University in Rhode Island.

Meanwhile, a professors group at Columbia University condemned school leadership on Thursday for asking police to remove protesters in what the group called a “horrific police attack on our students.” Officers burst into a building Tuesday, breaking up a demonstration that had paralysed the school. US college campuses have become a flashpoint, with school leaders facing intense scrutiny over their handling of allegations of antisemitism and the right to free speech. The presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania resigned following questions at a congressional hearing about whether calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy.

RESIDENTS walk past a burnt car blocking the street as they evacuate the Delmas 22 neighborhood to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 2, 2024.

Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP

POLICE advance on pro-Palestinian demonstrators in an encampment on the UCLA campus yesterday in Los Angeles.

Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP

SPORTS

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2024

Joshua Higgins misses final cut for Olympics

By BRENT STUBBS

Sports Editor

Joshua Higgins, who hails from a generation of national sailing icons, gave a gallant effort in his bid to qualify in the ILCA 7 Class for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Higgins, 20, who sailed in the single-handed dinghyknown as one of the most popular boats in the world - just completed a series of events in his attempt to become the first Bahamian in his fleet to qualify for the Olympics. Unfortunately, the Harbour Island native missed the final cut and will have to start all over again to represent the Bahamas in the 2028 games in Los Angeles, California.

“I gave it my first shot at the 2024 Olympic campaign and I wasn’t successful at it, so now I’m just going to refocus and get ready for the next campaign for 2028.”

Higgins was referring to a journey that got started in 2021 while he was based in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, where he was training with the Viana Sailing Performance Club.

His first attempt at qualifying was at the World Sailing Championships in the Netherlands in August, 2013, where he was 123rd out of 138 boats competing.

He also qualified for the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in November, 2023 where he was 17th out of a field of 22 competitors.

In January, 2024, he competed at the World Championships in Australia, placing 131 out of 152 competitors.

And his last chance qualifier came in France last month where he failed in his last berth to clinch a berth in Paris where he was 35th out of a field of 52 competitors.

“I was paving my way pretty much, not just for me, but for the other sailors behind me, who want to give this Olympic route a shot,” said Higgins of the boat that is roughly four

metres and is designed for just one competitor.

Despite falling short, Higgins said when he returned home he was able to reflect on his performance and was quite pleased with what he was able to accomplish.

“I have a lot to be thankful for,” he stated. “I started this journey pretty late, compared to everybody, but the progress that I made in the past three years, I think I performed very well.

“This Olympic dream is not just something that you say you are going to do, you have to actually do it.

“And it’s not always easy because there are a lot of things that you have to go through behind the scenes when you embark on an Olympic campaign.”

Being away from home for months at a time and the stress that one has to endure is something that Higgins noted played a big role in whether one is successful or not.

“To make this happen, you have to have the funding to go to these high level events and to pay for the coaching that you need to perform and to have a shot at qualifying for the games,” he pointed out.

“For the past three years, I got a lot of support from my home club in Briland (the Harbour Island Sailing Club, headed by his father Melvin and Rosemary Clarke, who deals with logistics), where we get a lot of donations from the winter residents. I got some support from the

Bahamas Government, of which I am grateful for.”

Fortunately for Higgins, he also has his own boat that is docked in Portugal so he doesn’t have to concern himself with paying for a chartered boat everytime he goes to train and compete. “For the next campaign for the 2028 Olympics, it’s going to take a lot to keep me over there and to get the training that I need to have a shot at qualifying for the games,” he projected. Over the next two months, Higgins will be home regrouping and

THE SPORTS CALENDAR

By TENAJH SWEETING

THE Bahamian crowd got the opportunity to witness the great performances of the Special Olympics Bahamas athletes at the 50th CARIFTA Games in 2023, but now the world can view their talents during the BTC World Athletics Relays pre-game show “Showdown in Paradise”.

The World Relays pregame show is set to feature athletes from Special Olympics Bahamas, the various high schools, Kids Athletics and competitors from the 51st CARIFTA Games on May 4 and 5 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Gilbert Williams, director of Special Olympics Bahamas, was overjoyed to have athletes from New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco receive the opportunity to put their athletic abilities on display on the global stage.

SEE PAGE 14

MIAMI (AP) — Jesús Sánchez hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 yesterday and swept their three-game series.

The Marlins got two of their three victories in the series in 10 innings. They earned a 7-6 win in the opener on Tuesday.

Sánchez’s two-out opposite-field line drive to left off reliever Jalen Beeks scored automatic runner Luis Arraez from second.

SEE PAGE 12

May, 2024

IN the realm of sports, the term “G.O.A.T.” (Greatest of All Time) is reserved for those athletes who have achieved unparalleled success and dominance in their respective fields. From Michael Jordan to Serena Williams, these individuals possess a unique mindset characterised by relentless competitiveness and an unwavering desire for greatness. But are these traits truly beneficial, or do they border on the edge of psychosis? Let’s delve into the psyche of the G.O.A.T. and explore their impact on young athletes.

The Drive for Excellence At the heart of the G.O.A.T.’s mentality lies an insatiable drive for excellence. These athletes

possess an unparalleled work ethic and an unyielding determination to be the best.

Whether it’s spending countless hours perfecting their craft or pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits, G.O.A.T.s refuse to settle for mediocrity. This relentless pursuit of greatness fuels their success and sets them apart from their competitors.

The Dark Side of Competitiveness However, this extreme competitiveness can also have a darker side. G.O.A.T.s are known for their ruthless pursuit of victory, often at the expense of their own wellbeing and the well-being of others. From heated rivalries and trash-talking

to questionable sportsmanship and aggressive behaviour, the quest for greatness can sometimes

AQUATHON 3RD BEAUTIFUL

BAHAMAS AQUATHON

THE Sea Waves Triathlon Club is all set to hold their 3rd Beautiful Bahamas Aquathon on Saturday, May 11 at 9am at the Windsor School at Albany. The event is being sanctioned by the Bahamas Triathlon Association.

The event is open to all ages - 8-andunder, 9-10, 11-12, 13-15 and 16-19 - and will serve as a qualifier for the 2024 CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships. Event registration will be held in person at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex today and on Tuesday between the hours of 4:30 and 7pm.

Persons can also contact Shirley Mireault at smireault@msn.com or 242359-0480 to psyu online. The registration fee is $20 per person.

tact Red-Line Athletics’ coach Tito Moss at 425-4262 for further details.

TRACK

is

to hold its 3rd Annual RedLine Youth Track Classic on Saturday, May 25 at the original Thomas A.

YOUNG Bahamian sailor Joshua Higgins in action.

JOSHUA Higgins with his parents Melvin Jr and Margaret Higgins.

CHISHOLM JR AND MARLINS

SLIP PAST THE ROCKIES 5-4

The hit capped a whirlwind of emotions for Sánchez during the homestand. Miami manager Skip Schumaker removed Sánchez in the third inning for lack of effort while fielding a ball in Monday’s loss against Washington.

“This always shows you how life is, how baseball is,” Sánchez said. “There are ups and downs and you just have to move forward. Skip has always given me a vote of confidence and I am always trying to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Justin Lawrence (1-2) struck out Bryan De La Cruz before Beeks retired Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a fly out to centre and walked Josh Bell. Sánchez had gone hitless in two at-bats against left-handed reliever Ty Blach but ended the game by connecting against lefthanded throwing Beeks.

“For him to walk it off — I know it was a tough night for him the other night — credit to him,” Schumaker

said. “He’s moved on. I think he’s grown from it already. I told him I still love him. I’m super happy for him.”

Arraez had two hits and Bell homered, while Miami starter Edward Cabrera and five relievers struck out 16. Burch Smith (1-0) pitched the 10th.

The Rockies lost their fifth straight and are the first team since 1900 to have trailed at one point in each of their first 31 games. They dropped to an NL-worst 7-24 and manager Bud Black met with the club after game. Black didn’t elaborate what was discussed.

“Morale is fine, you see it in there,” Black said. “Guys are playing their (butts) off. We’re just not getting the clutch hit or making the big pitch. They’re frustrated after the tough losses, but man, this group has a lot of heart.”

Cabrera was lifted with no outs in the fifth after his fourth walk loaded the bases. Cabrera, who said

he’s been feeling cold symptoms in recent days, gave up four runs and three hits.

“I just tried to stay in the zone and get outs,” Cabrera said in Spanish. “Obviously, I have to work more on my control.”

Nick Fortes’ RBI single in the fourth gave the Marlins a 4-3 lead before the Rockies tied it in the fifth, when Jake Cave scored from third on a double play groundout by Ezequiel Tovar.

Colorado erased a tworun deficit with former Marlin Jacob Stallings’ three-run homer in the second.

Stallings drove a changeup from Cabrera over the wall in left for his first homer of the season. Stallings played the past two years in Miami before signing with Colorado. Miami tied it at 3-all on

Sailor Joshua Higgins misses final cut for Paris Olympics

refocusing on his plans for the next Olympic campaign. He also intends to do some coaching and go into the schools and provide some tips for future Olympic hopefuls in the sport of sailing. “I want to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who is willing to learn,” he pointed out.

Under the tutelage of his grandfather Jacob Higgins, Joshua Higgins got started in the sport.

He was encouraged to continue from the advice and training he got from his father Melvin and his uncle Dwayne Higgins. He also has a younger sister, Melisha higgins, who is making her presence felt in the sport as well.

As he looks forward to the 2018 Olympics, Higgins said he will strategically chart his way forward with his training routine and competition schedule with a budget so that he won’t have to worry about anything when he returns to Portugal.

“It’s going to cost about $500 a month for accommodations, but that doesn’t include food and flights to travel to the regattas to compete,” he said. “My class is probably the cheapest class to compete in, so just imagine what it costs the other classes.

“These sailors get a lot of funding from their federation to train and compete. When I was at the last chance meet, China had a whole trailer for their sailors. They had a whole support staff with them as well. They invest in their programme to give their sailors the best chance to qualify for the Olympics. While he will be working on trying to get some more assistance from the Bahamas when he embarks on his next Olympic campaign, Higgins said he just wants to encourage more Bahamians to get involved at this level.

for the open category. Interested persons can contact Red-Line Athletics’ coach Tito Moss at 425-4262 for further details. BASKETBALL

Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The event will cater to all of the track and field events for the age group athletes ranging from 8-and under-20. There will also be one or two events

BAHAMAS JR BOYS TRYOUT THE Bahamas Basketball Federation is set to hold an open trials for its under-17 boys’ national basketball team on Saturday at the DW Davis Gymnasium from 9 to 10:30am. Players must not be older than 16 years for the entire year of 2024 and they must pre-register at bbfbasketball.com/registration/ They also must dress in white shirts and black shorts when attending the session. For more information, interested players can contact coach Jay Philippe at

lead to unsavory tactics and negative outcomes. Moreover, the pressure to maintain their status as the G.O.A.T. can take a toll on their mental health, leading to anxiety, depression, and other psychological issues.

Finding Balance:

Lessons for Young Athletes

For young athletes aspiring to greatness, the mentality of the G.O.A.T. offers both inspiration and cautionary tales. On one hand, emulating the work ethic and determination of G.O.A.T.s can propel them to new heights of achievement. By setting ambitious goals, embracing challenges, and persevering in the face of adversity, young athletes can unlock their full potential and achieve extraordinary success.

On the other hand, it’s essential for young athletes to recognise the importance of balance and perspective. While competitiveness is a valuable trait, it must be tempered with sportsmanship, integrity, and respect for oneself and others. Additionally, young athletes must prioritise their well-being and mental health, understanding that success is not solely defined by athletic accomplishments.

Conclusion: The Power of Mindset In conclusion, the mentality of the G.O.A.T. is a double-edged sword, capable of driving extraordinary success while also posing risks to mental health and wellbeing. As young athletes navigate their own paths to greatness, it’s crucial for them to strike a balance between competitiveness and compassion, ambition and humility. By cultivating a positive mindset grounded in self-awareness and resilience, young athletes can achieve greatness while maintaining their mental and emotional health. Ultimately, it’s not just about becoming the G.O.A.T., but about becoming the best version of oneself, both on and off the field.

• Dr. Kent Bazard is a Bahamian sports medicine physician, sports performance coach, sports nutrition specialist, and founder of Empire Sports Medicine and Performance. Our mission is to empower athletes to reach new heights while safeguarding their health and wellbeing. We understand the unique demands of sports activities, and we are dedicated to helping athletes prevent injuries, overcome challenges, optimise nutrition and performance. Contact Empire Sports Medicine at: 242-364-2001 Kent@ empirefitness.fit FROM PAGE 11

“If sailing is your passion, there is a way to go after it,” Higgins said. “It doesn’t always have to be basketball or track and field or baseball or football you have to embark on to travel the world. Sailing is an option.” Higgins, a 2020 Harbour Island All-Age School, was on a break trying to find out what the future holds for him when his former coach Keir Clarke

242-727-5130 or BBF secretary Latoya A Silver at 242-428-8128 or email: secretary.bbf@outlook.com TRACK HURDLES

CLINIC WORLD indoor 60m

hurdles record holder Devynne Charlton is scheduled to host a free hurdles clinic for female 100m hurdlers immediately following the completion of the World Athletics’ sixth World Relays. Charlton, who will be representing the Bahamas on the women’s 4x100m relay team at the World Relays this weekend at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, is slated conduct the clinic in New Providence and Grand Bahama.

from the United Kingdom advised him to take his talents to Europe so that he can pursue his Olympic dream. He also got some initial help from Martin Marinique, a coach from Argentina.

“This is very stressful and I will need a lot of support going into the other campaign,” Higgins noted. “I want to bring awareness to this if they want to pursue the journey that I’m

The first segment of the clinic is all set to take place on Monday, May 6 from 4-7pm at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. Then on Tuesday, May 7, she will stage the second segment at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex at the same time. Gifts will be presented to the first 50 competitors to register from 4-4:30 pm at both stadiums or contact her father and coach David Charlton at 357-7829..

BASKETBALL

NEX-GEN THE third annual Nex-Gen Elite Training Basketball Camp, hosted by JR Basketball Academy, is all set for June 24 to July 13 from 9am to noon at the Telios Indoor Gymnasium on Carmichael Road.

embarking on. I want them to know how serious and mentally challenging this could be. It’s not a walk in the park. My parents play a big part. I wouldn’t do it without them.”

At his last chance meet, he got a big surprise when his parents, Melvin Sr and Margaret Higgins, showed up to support him. He also has an older brother, Melvin Jr, who also supports him in his journey.

The camp, powered by Frazier’s Roofing, will provide training for game situations, shooting, passibng, ball handling, defense and footwork for boys and girls between the ages of 8-19 years. Registration is now open. Interested persons can contact Cadot at 535-9354, email jrcbasketballacademy.com or go online to www.jrcbasketballacademy. com FAST TRACK INVITATIONAL FAST Track Athletics announced that its third annual Spring Invitational will take place over the weekend of May 10 and May 11 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex. The entry fee will be $10 for adults and $5 for children.

For more information, persons are asked to contact 242-727-6826 or fasttrackmanagamentoo@

Bell’s solo blast in the third. Chisholm’s RBI single and Sánchez’s sacrifice fly against Rockies starter Peter Lambert put the

Marlins ahead 2-0 in the first. Lambert allowed four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out three.

MIAMI Marlins shortstop Vidal Bruj·n (17) and centre fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., celebrate at the end of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in Miami. The Marlins defeated the Rockies 4-1.

(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

YOUNG Bahamian sailor Joshua Higgins in action.

‘Buddy’ scores

20 points in 21 minutes, 76ers are eliminated from playoffs

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

— Josh Hart raised his arms and extended three fingers on each hand on his go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 24.4 seconds left that was finally enough to send the New York Knicks past the Philadelphia 76ers 118-115 in Game 6 last night and into the second round of the playoffs. Jalen Brunson had 41 points and 12 assists to lead the Knicks, who are set for an Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with Indiana. The Pacers beat Milwaukee in six games and advanced to the second round for the first time in 10 years.

KNICKS ADVANCE TO EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Game 1 is Monday in New York. The Knicks are through to the second round in consecutive years for the first time since the postseasons from 1992-2000.

In a series defined by tight games, Hart hit the clutch shot that again had “Let’s go Knicks!” chants echoing throughout Philly’s home court. Joel Embiid scored a bucket but fouled out on the next possession. Donte DiVincenzo sealed New York’s win with two free throws.

Naturally, it was the former Villanova Wildcats trio of Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson that saved the Knicks from a first-half collapse that was nearly enough to force a Game 7. DiVincenzo scored 23 points and Hart had 16. Embiid finished with 39 points and 13 rebounds.

Buddy Hield contributed 20 points in 21 minutes. After dropping 45 points in Game 5, Tyrese Maxey was a non-factor in the first half and finished with 17.

Pacers celebrate 1st playoff series win in a decade, beating Bucks in Game 6

lead to 104-84 with 8:07 to From that point, it was a festive atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Pacers players being serenaded off the court to a standing ovation.

BAHAMAS JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM TRYOUTS ON SATURDAY

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

A MAJORITY of the newly selected Bahamas national team coaches have begun their hunt, through team tryouts, for national basketball team members across the various age groups.

Most recently, Sunland Baptist Academy head coach Jay Phillipe, who also serves as the national coach of the under-17 junior men’s national team, hosted two tryouts for the team in

Freeport, Grand Bahama earlier in April and on May 1. He will now observe the junior boys basketball talent pool in New Providence this Saturday at the DW Davis Gymnasium from 9am to 10:30am. Meanwhile, Tabernacle Baptist Academy head coach Kevin Clarke, who is also the national coach of the under-15 junior men’s team, will commence tryouts from 10:30am to 12:00pm at the same venue. Coach Phillipe spoke about the talent level seen

at the tryouts hosted in the second city.

“We had a really good turnout for the junior national team practice. This is our second practice in a matter of a few weeks here on Grand Bahama. The first week we had about 25 players but this time we had about 15 players that came.

“We did a lot of skill development. We wanted to run transition offence and defence.

“We were able to see the guys in the full court as far as playing. I think we have a good group of guys here on

To Publish your

Grand Bahama that I think are gonna give themselves a chance to at least make a roster spot on this year’s junior national team,” he said. Due to heightened interest from parents, coaches and players, it was decided to bring the junior boys basketball tryouts to New Providence so athletes can vie for a chance at one of the 12 roster spots.

“Players from Abaco, Grand Bahama, New Providence and even players in the US that are in high school can make this team.

It is gonna be very competitive over the next few weeks leading up to August when we have to make that selection to provide the best 12 players in the country to represent The Bahamas at the junior national level,” he said. The U17 junior boys’ national basketball team tryouts are open to players under the age of 17-years-old. It is required that persons are 16-years-old for the entirety of 2024 or younger. For the under-15 junior boys’ team tryouts, players

must be 15-years-old for the entirety of 2024 or younger. For players interested in the national opportunity, you can pre-register for tryouts via www.bbfbasketball. com/registration/. Players are asked to dress in a white shirt and black shorts. If additional information is required, persons can reach out to coach Phillipe at 242-727-5130 or Ms Latoya Silver at 242-428-8120. An email option is also available at secretary.bbf@ outlook.com

with

INDIANA Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) dunks the ball over Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) during the second half in Game 6 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series yesterday. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

PHILADELPHIA 76ers’ Buddy Hield reacts during the first half of Game 6 in an NBA basketball firstround playoff series against the New York Knicks last night in Philadelphia. (AP Photos/Matt Slocum)

NEW York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson reacts during the second half of Game 6 in an NBA basketball firstround playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers last night in Philadelphia.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS BAHAMAS

ATHLETES GET READY, SET FOR BTC WORLD RELAYS 24’

FROM PAGE 11

“It is a special moment for Special Olympics Bahamas because even though it is our athletes that will be running, we will be essentially representing the quality and level of abilities of Special Olympics athletes from all around the world.

“We hope to be able to use this opportunity to continue to raise awareness, particularly at home but also worldwide, of the abilities of athletes with intellectual disabilities.

“We focus and feature not their disabilities but their abilities and we hope that worldwide more and more people will come to understand that persons with intellectual disabilities do have a valuable contribution to make,” Williams said.

The Special Olympics athletes will compete in the “Differently Able” segment of the pre-game show in the 100m finals.

The Bahamas will be represented by versatile athlete Deron “King” Forbes, Abaco native Cassidy Paul, Grand Bahama native Keino Curry along with Michael Miller and Tavaris “TC” Cooper who are both from New Providence.

Williams is expecting great performances from the athletes.

“This is a great opportunity and we are extremely excited about it. Our athletes are working extremely hard. We hope to have five or six athletes participate in this event.

“We have a couple of familiar faces that will be running. Most notably, “King” Deron Forbes who has participated in several World Games.

He is an all-around athlete with swimming, basketball and soccer but track and field is his all time favourite. We are looking for him to lead the charge,” he said.

With the Olympic qualifying event set to attract 893 athletes from 54 countries, the event is expected to draw a large crowd, not only at the newly revamped Thomas

A Robinson National Stadium but via various media outlets.

The Special Olympics director is hoping that the performances of the Special Olympics athletes will leave a lasting impression not only in the minds of the home crowd but those from around the world.

“The organisers seem to be going all out as they usually do. We are looking forward to a fantastic event and are looking forward to everything being at and above our expectations. Hopefully, not only the Bahamian crowd but the fans from all around the world will be pleased

with the level of entertainment and performances of the Bahamas’ Special Olympics athletes,” he said.

The BTC World Relays will begin with “Showdown in Paradise” at 4pm.

The main event kicks off right after at 7:05pm this Saturday and Sunday.

BTC gives wedding gift to World Relays mascots Bingo and Lala

IN addition to being the title sponsor of the World Athletic Relays Bahamas 24, BTC wanted to do something more. The company made a donation to The Bahamas Humane Society to assist with the overall aim of helping the organisation to bring about a greater awareness to the better treatment of animals, especially non-pedigree dogs, affectionately referred to in The Bahamas as “potcakes”.

The mascot for the BTC World Athletic Relays Bahamas 24 is Bingo, a “potcake” dog that made his rounds throughout New Providence to promote the upcoming Relays May 4-5. His presence,

DONATION TO ASSIST BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

however, held a deeper meaning, which was to ignite a love for animals and highlight the importance of treating all dogs well, regardless of their pedigree.

In an effort to raise funds to continue its promotion of the better treatment of animals, the Humane Society recently hosted a wedding for Bingo and his girlfriend, Lala, asking that monetary wedding gifts for the newlyweds be sent to the Society. BTC’s wedding gift donation was made on

May 1 during a BTChosted cocktail reception for athletes at the Queen’s Staircase.

Said Indira Collie, BTC’s executive senior manager for communications: “Bingo is now very popular, having made his rounds to various schools and businesses before the Relays are held this weekend. But it’s important for persons to know that his presence is not only for entertainment, but to bring about an awareness of the awesome task of The Bahamas Humane Society and their

mission to protect, raise, and take care animals. Like humans, there is a cost to take care of animals and we support the efforts of the Society to keep animals safe and protected.”

Percy Grant, general manager at the Humane Society, said: “We are grateful to BTC for their gift as we are inundated with animals. These donations are used to basically run the operation and to buy food and medication, so we are thankful for gifts from corporate Bahamas.

At The Bahamas Humane

Society, most of our dogs were turned in by the public. We do not pick up stray dogs off the streets. We rescue dogs with various medical issues, rehabilitate them and put them up for adoption.

And with just under 400 multi-genetic “potcake” dogs to take care of, BTC’s gift is greatly appreciated.”

If you haven’t met Bingo yet, you still have a chance to meet him up close and personal at the Relays May 4-5.

Tickets can be purchased at www.worldrelaysbahamas24.org

ON Saturday and Sunday, athletes from over 50 countries will converge in The Bahamas for the BTC World Athletics Relays Bahamas 2024.

C&W Communications, the parent company of BTC, is proud to be associated with this major event, which will see athletes from The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago competing for a place in the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

Inge Smidts, CEO of C&W Communications, who also serves as chair of the BTC Board of Directors, will be in the stands to witness the highly anticipated relays. Smidts said this was an event that she simply could not miss.

“We are proud to support our Caribbean athletes, and we wish them well as they vie for a spot in the Olympic games.

“The relays will be held in one of our markets, The Bahamas, and we are honoured to be the title sponsor of the event. The world relays represent the spirit of relentless courage and the willingness to succeed of the Caribbean people and of our business. Through partnerships like this we demonstrate our unwavering commitment to connect communities and change lives.”

In addition to its sponsorship of the event, Smidts says it was important that athletes, officials, and fans stayed connected during the games.

“As a business we are focused on ensuring that our customers have access to faster, stronger, and more reliable connectivity, and we worked with our partners to make certain that athletes and guests remain connected.

“We have offered e-sim cards, and we also worked with the major hotels to set up care centres to ensure that we address any connectivity concerns on the spot. Additionally, I am pleased to announce that BTC will provide free Wi-Fi at the stadium giving patrons and athletes the opportunity to share every riveting moment.”

BTC has hosted a special event just for the Caribbean athletes, at the newly renovated Queen’s Staircase in Nassau, a recently renovated historic landmark visited by thousands of tourists each day. This event gave athletes the opportunity to unwind, mingle, and to learn more about each other right before the competition.

This is the fourth time that BTC and its parent company C&W Communications have title sponsored the world relays. The BTC World Athletic Relays will be held at the Thomas A. Robinson Track & Field Stadium May 4-5, under the theme, “Chase the Sun, from Paradise to Paris.”

Relays Schedule

READY FOR THE SHOWDOWN: The Special Olympics Bahamas athletes from Abaco, Grand Bahama and New Providence are all ready for the BTC World Relays pre-game show “Showdown in Paradise” scheduled for May 4-5.

NO ‘ONE-MONTH TAX BREAK’ ON 2019 VAT SWITCH OVER

that it could thus be “retroactively” applied and capture CTK Holdings’ deal.

“The brief facts are that on July 5, 2019, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, the legal advisor for the respondents [CTK Holdings], submitted to the Department of Inland Revenue a conveyance dated February 7, 2019, between Information Specialist Ltd and CTK Holdings Ltd to be stamped exempt from Stamp Duty,” justice Brathwaite recalled.

“The consideration of the conveyance was in the amount of $390,000. Upon submission of the conveyance for stamping, the respondents received a

receipt dated July 5, 2019, from the Department of Inland Revenue.” The tax authorities subsequently contacted CTK Holdings, whose owners were not identified, over “a discrepancy with the conveyance”. This was because the back page showed a purchase price of $390m as opposed to the $390,000 stipulated inside. The Department of Inland Revenue urged it to rectify the situation, and indicated taxes due would be determined once the corrected conveyance was received. The conveyance was duly resubmitted on September 10, 2019, with CTK Holdings arguing that such a “typographical error” did not warrant

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it being returned “without first being stamped exempt as the back page was no required by law for the conveyance to be stamped”.

It added that the purchase price was “irrelevant as the conveyance was exempt from Stamp Duty” since real estate transfers were no longer covered by that Act as of July 5, 2019, while “the VAT Amendment Act was not in force on the date the conveyance was first submitted, which would be the proper date of assessment.

“It was further expressed that there was excessive delay by the comptroller to bring this administrative oversight to the attention of the respondent, which they assert was unreasonable and potentially prejudicial,” justice Brathwaite noted.

The Department of Inland Revenue duly assessed the 10 percent VAT due at $39,000, prompting CTK Holdings to file an objection on December 20, 2019. This, and the argument that the transaction was “exempt” from tax because the VAT Act was not yet in effect while the provisions in the former Stamp Act had been repealed, were dismissed by the VAT comptroller in a March 19, 2020, decision.

The VAT comptroller duly appealed this verdict to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Stamp Amendment Act 2019 and VAT Amendment Act 2019 “were two creations of Parliament to transition the taxes on the supply of realty from Stamp Duty to attract VAT”.

“The appellants assert that this transition was intended to be seamless and not to create a loophole or tax break for Bahamians for a one-month period,” justice Brathwaite said of the VAT comptroller’s arguments.

“The appellant claims that the VAT Amendment Act came into force on July 1, 2019, and that VAT was chargeable on every supply of real property made to any person since that time. It is further contended that although the Act was not published in the Gazette until August 2, 2019, the clear provisions of the Act - together with interpretive legislative framework and the intention of Parliament, specifically provide for the VAT Amendment Act to retrospectively take effect from July 1, 2019.

its position that the VAT Amendment Act 2019 was only enacted on August 2, 2019, because this was when it received assent from the governor-general and was published in the Government’s gazzette. And the Stamp Amendment Act provided that conveyances were exempt from Stamp Duty as at July 1, 2019. As a result, its conveyance was submitted on July 5, 2019, under the provisions of the Stamp Act and any retroactive application of the VAT reforms did not apply. Justice Brathwaite said he thus had to determine when the VAT Amendment Act came into force, and whether CTK Holdings’ conveyance is subject to its provisions.

Holdings’ complaints that it should have been stamped prior to the VAT Amendment Act coming into effect or returned for correction quicker, justice Brathwaite agreed that the Department of Inland Revenue should not have stamped it because of the incorrect figure on the back.

“It is not for the tax authorities to determine that the backing was not correct, and that the figures in the recitals were correct, as opposed to the other way around, and it would not be correct in my view to conclude that the backing sheet could be ignored because it was not necessary,” justice Brathwaite ruled.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, (As Amended) NOTICE is hereby given that GAVIOTA ASSETS LIMITED is in dissolution and that the date of commencement of the dissolution is the 01st day of May, A. D. 2024.

ENERVO ADMINISTRATION LIMITED LIQUIDATOR

Montague Sterling Centre, East Bay Street P.O. Box N-3924 Nassau, The Bahamas

CTK Holdings duly appealed and, in a May 25, 2021, decision, the Tax Appeal Commission agreed that the transaction was “not subject to VAT” because “when the conveyance was submitted on July 5, 2019, the VAT Amendment Act was not completely enacted and the conveyance is not subject to VAT”.

“The appellant advanced the argument that retrospective legislation is common with tax legislation so that they take effect at the beginning of the new fiscal year.” The VAT comptroller said the new VAT Act both provided for real estate transfer taxes to be switched from the Stamp Act and for it to come into effect retroactively from July 1, 2019.

CTK Holdings, which was represented by Kevin Moree of McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, stuck to

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, ROSIE DORESTIN of Bluff, Eleuthera, The Bahamas, Mother of AMBER AZARIH JADA DORESTIN A minor intend to change my child’s name to AMBER AZARIH JADA COLLINS. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

Based on the Budget presentation in Parliament by then-deputy prime minister, K Peter Turnquest, the judge found: “It is clear that the purpose of the legislation was simply to transition from a Stamp Tax regime on real estate transactions to applying VAT instead. What is also clear from the comments of Mr Turnquest during the Budget debate is that the intention was to ensure a seamless transition.

“That did not happen, as the amendments to the Stamp Act and the VAT Act were not published at the same time, but what may have been a bureaucratic mishap does not change the intention of Parliament.” As a result, justice Brathwaite said it was “clear to my mind” that Parliament intended the VAT Act to take effect from July 1, 2019. “So that, while the legislation was not in force when the conveyance in this case was initially submitted on July 5, 2019, once the legislation was properly enacted by being published in the official gazette, which I accept is necessary for the amendment to become law, it operated retroactively,” he added. As for when the conveyance was actually submitted, and CTK

“The fact is that that sheet was included in the document and therefore formed a part of the document and could not be ignored. It would therefore not be correct to consider the initial date of July 5, 2019, as the date of submission as the document was not in a proper state to be stamped on that date.”

As for the time taken by the Department of Inland Revenue to reject the initial conveyance after it was presented on July 5, 2019, the judge found that while the “less than one month” delay was “regrettable, it was not necessarily inordinate”. And the blame could not be totally placed on the tax authorities given that there was a mistake that needed correcting.

As a result, justice Brathwaite found that CTK Holdings’ conveyance was properly submitted on September 10, 2019, after the VAT Amendment Act took effect. “Such an interpretation might seem harsh and unfair but, in the circumstances of this case, in my view no unfairness has occurred,” he added. This is because CTK Holdings would pay the same $39,000, and 10 percent rate, whether it was VAT or Stamp Duty.

N O T I C E

CRYSTAL ENERGY LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) CRYSTAL ENERGY LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 29th April, 2024 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, of Vistra Corporate Services Centre, Wickhams Cay II, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Dated this 3rd day of May, A. D. 2024 Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator

GBPA $357m demand report’s non-disclosure is ‘a nonsense’

report is like anything else. They can show what they were told to show. Disclosure, to me, is absolutely essential, but whether or not we get to see it......”

PwC was hired by the Government to analyse, and calculate, just how much the GBPA owes the Public Treasury for public spending in Freeport that exceeds the tax revenues generated by the city. The GBPA denies that anything is owed, alleging that Freeport contributes around $200m annually in tax revenues, but the Government is claiming it owes $357m for the period 2018-2022.

While that period’s selection was likely dictated by the Limitation Act, which restricts how far back the Government can go in bringing its claim, it also includes the years 2019-2021 when the Public Treasury’s revenue income from Freeport was significantly down, and public spending much higher than normal, due to the combined shocks

of Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19. Mr Antoni, meanwhile, said the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was signed almost 70 years ago when there were far fewer taxes than exist today while the range of government functions and services has also expanded significantly since then in line with Freeport’s population. As a result, he implied that the agreement clause the Government is relying on to underpin its $357m claim is no longer fit for purpose.

“I think full transparency absolutely essential,” Mr Antoni said of the need for greater transparency. “We have to remember the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was really created some way back. Government can’t just be adding any administrative expenses to that bill, and one thing as well, there are a lot of additional revenue sources for government with VAT and Stamp and everything else.’

“So the amount of revenue from Freeport has increased significantly despite is going through

some traumatic times with Dorian and COVID. We’d like to see all the documentation to substantiate this $357m, which seems to be a figure they’ve plucked out of the air.

“I think everybody is absolutely wanting to look at and see that [PwC] report. We’ll see. We probably won’t get anything for several months. I don’t think the Port is going to settle, and I don’t think the Government is going to settle, so we’ll see how good the attorneys are. It’s interesting that the Government are bringing in some highflying KC from the UK and not using anyone local.”

Harry Matovu KC, the UK-based barrister from Brick Court Chambers, will head the Government team in its arbitration battle. He was described by the Legal 500 publication in 2021 as “a legal force of hurricane strength, analytical skills combined with creativity and advocacy, topped by the smoothest and most highly lethal approach to cross-examination that I have ever experienced”.

An arbitration and public international law specialist, he was nominated as Silk (KC) of the Year for international arbitration in the Legal 500 Awards in 2020 and 2022, as well as arbitrator of the year in the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023. As previously revealed by Tribune Business, the Government has also hired UK law firm, Simons Muirhead Burton, to act as Mr Matovu’s instructing and supporting solicitors.

The Government is seeking reimbursement under section one, sub-clause five, of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, which stipulates that it can demand payment from the GBPA for providing “certain activities and services” if the costs involved exceed certain tax revenue streams generated in the city.

The original 1955 clause required the GBPA to provide rent-free office and living accommodation to government employees involved in the “the maintenance of law and order, the administration of justice,

the general administration of Government, the collection of Customs Duties and other revenue and the administration of the Customs Department the administration of the Immigration Department, Post Offices” and other functions to be mutually agreed. The GBPA was also required to “reimburse the Government annually” within 30 days of detailed accounts being presented by the latter, but only if “Customs Duties and emergency taxes received by the Government in respect of goods entered or taken out of bond at the Port Area are less than the amount” spent by the Government.

Multiple sources have questioned why the Government has waited until now - some 60 years or six decades - to try and enforce a Hawksbill Creek Agreement clause dating from the 1950s and 1960s. They argued that it smacked of the Davis administration using this as leverage to force the Haywards and St George families, the GBPA owners, to sell and exit after

More banks is union’s ‘number one priority’

welcome it because I know it’s needed.

“Our Bahamian workforce is younger but more stable, and the union could help with that definitely.”

Asked how important expanding the BFSU’s membership to other banks is, Ms Mortimer replied:

“It’s definitely a priority for us. It’s our number one priority. I guess it’s going to be time. That’s what we want to do definitely.

“Job security is our main focus, and getting in there will help to stabilise it because turnover in these banks is very high, especially among the rank and file. When somebody leaves, they often don’t bring in someone right away you can overwork yourself.... The union has its benefits and privileges. We just have to get in there, engage them and get to know them. That’s what it’s all about.”

Besides being able to engage employers with a unified voice, Ms Mortimer cited improved pay, benefits and working conditions as being among the advantages union membership can bring. “It’s your benefits and job security. That’s the top order for our workers, and what their rights

are,” she added. “You get to speak with one voice so you don’t get picked off. It’s all in it.”

The BFSU president spoke as CIBC Caribbean confirmed the closure of its relatively small Bay Street branch at month’s end.

Its managing director, Dr Jacqui Bend, said: “We regret this development. However, our bank recognises that our clients’ needs are changing, and we remain committed to meeting these evolving needs.

“We are even more focused within the climate of evolving technology advancements on creating product options that focus on security, convenience and ease of doing business.” She pledged that there will be no job losses as a result of this closure as employees will be redeployed to other branches.

“Additionally, the closure of the Bay Street branch represents a continuation of the work previously started to repurpose our branch network to serve our clients more efficiently across the region,” Dr Bend said. She added that the decision to end operations at Bay Street was made knowing that clients will continue to be serviced by CIBC Caribbean’s other Bahamian branches. The bank has

written to its Bay Street clients informing them of the closure and detailed their future banking options.

“We understand that the closure of Bay Street may be inconvenient to our some of our clients, but we hope that this will be tempered by the knowledge

that they have many more avenues available to conduct their banking that are also convenient, safe and practical, using our mobile or online banking platforms or our other branch locations,” Dr Bend said.

Ms Mortimer confirmed that no terminations will

result, and that impacted employees will be redeployed. “I think it’s only eight to ten,” she added of the number impacted. “The good thing for me is job security. As long as none of my members are losing their jobs I’m OK.

they declined to accept the Government’s purchase offer. And the Hawksbill Creek Agreement clause at the centre of the dispute may not be all it seems. It was last amended in 1960, when Freeport was five years-old, the city’s development very much in its infancy, and the only revenues earned by the Public Treasury at the time from the Port area were Customs duties. While it indeed stipulates that the Government should not spend any more in the Port area than it earns in revenues, and that any excess costs over and above the latter should be reimbursed by the GBPA, that clause has not been amended to account for either the Freeport of today or multiple taxes that have been added since then. Thus VAT, departure taxes and a host of other revenue streams have to be factored into the calculation of whether the Government is spending more than it is earning in Freeport.

“It’s a very small suite. They were leasing the building, so it’s more or less whether or not you are getting lease value from the building. It may not even have been there ten years. Most of the customers would have been persons from the cruise ships. Bay Street doesn’t have any parking, so it’s mostly walkins, and a lot of persons go to Shirley Street.”

‘Everything on the table’ for $500m BPL liabilities

is why we have to do these exercises so we can give BPL more room in their finances to be able to fund and pay on their debt.

“The Government is not in the business of putting the Bahamian people and any assets related to them in a worse position. And so, as we are leading these discussions to find possible solutions, everything is on the table. The reason I advise the Bahamian public that BPL has a $500m debt is because I am now in a position as the minister with responsibility to find a solution of how we’re paying down that debt.

“So everything is on the table as we are coming to solutions and possible ways in which we can right-size BPL. Right-sizing BPL is also putting them in a position to bring down their

debt and make sure that they’re able to facilitate continuous and on-time payments to the pension fund.” The BPL employee pension fund is presently suffering from a $100m deficit where liabilities exceed plan assets.

Meanwhile, Mrs ColebyDavis said BPL is currently scouting a location at Clifton Pier for a new plant that will house the seven Wartsila engines currently based at Station A. She explained that all seven cannot run at the same time as the vibrations will do further damage to the dilapidated building. Once the new location is completed, they will be transported there in pairs.

“There are seven generators presently in an old, dilapidated building,”

Mrs Coleby-Davis said.

“It causes spalling, which means portions of the

ceiling fall if all of the generators are on at once

“The priority right now is to find a location at Clifton to build a better location to house all seven up there. And we may have to move them two at a time. Why two at a time is because we can only have five generators on presently in order to avoid much faster pace damage to the building.

“And so we know for sure that we can remove two, because it would not disrupt the supply of power generation with having two offline because, presently, we can’t run on seven anyway. So we are looking for a location and then we will talk to the planning process of creating that house for those generators and move them two at a time”

Mrs Coleby-Davis maintained that the costs to convert the seven Wartsila engines to run on liquefied

natural gas (LNG) fuel will range from $30m to $60m, as Prime Minister Philip Davis KC stated in Parliament on Wednesday.

Amid challenges to these figures, she blamed global supply chain woes for increasing the conversion costs and said the figure also includes labour expenses as extra workers will be required to break down and convert the engines.

The minister said: “The changes we would have seen in the cost of conversion are related to the supply chain in the global market. Second of all, you cannot just limit your understanding to what it may cost you to buy the equipment or the tools to convert. You have to break those engines down one by one and actually convert them.

“So, it’s a lot of work, and the cost that we got

was about the $30m that the Prime Minister quoted out. We’re not certain what the overall cost would be, because we have to actually put it out there to get the job done.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis also argued that the Wartsila engines were not tri-fuel, as the previous Minnis administration asserted, stating that “having the capability to be tri-fuel and being tri-fuel are two different things”. She said the cost burden to convert those engines to burn LNG will now be born by the Bahamian public, meaning BPL customers such as businesses and households.

The minister said: “When they purchased, or when they promoted, the generators, they promoted them as tri-fuel. So I find it very funny that you’re now speaking at the cost of conversion. When you brought

‘High time’: Wells cleared over $727m LOI

was merely the LOI’s signatory, Mr Michelsen further highlighted his longstanding split with Stellar Energy’s principal, Dr Fabrizio Zanaboni, who is understood to have left The Bahamas some time ago.

“I’m happy that Renward Wells has finally been cleared, as he should have been from day one,” Mr Michelsen told this newspaper. “He’s a real good engineer, and he did nothing wrong. He simply signed the LOI.

“I’m happy that Zanaboni did not get what he wanted, and that Renward Wells got his name cleared. It’s high time. I’m really happy this is cleaned up for Renward Wells, especially with the health issues he has recently had. He could use a little help.”

Ms Misiewicz, in the verdict that led to yesterday’s appeal ruling, found that Stellar Energy and its affiliates were “from any angle unable to sustain an action” against Mr Wells and two of his co-defendants, Algernon Allen and Frank Forbes, “on the basis of the LOI”.

She determined that the LOI “was not binding in law” and represented “a discussion document” rather than a completed contract. The deputy registrar also branded Stellar’s claims against Mr Allen, himself a former Cabinet minister, and Mr Forbes, a businessman and accountant who ran Sigma Holdings, as “bad” given that they were not parties to the now-notorious LOI.

Mr Wells, though, was the only one of the trio to challenge Stellar’s bid to be granted extra time to appeal Ms Misiewicz’s verdict. He and his attorney

Gregory Moss, another former MP, argued that the waste-to-energy firm was “guilty of inordinate and inexcusable delay” as they took more than seven months from the date of the ruling to file the appeal. No explanation was provided and Mr Wells, who went on to hold Cabinet posts as minister of agriculture and marine resources, minister of transport and minister of health, asserted that through these delays Stellar was seeking to “frustrate” him “in the finality and certainty of the dismissal of the action”. He also alleged the claim was “scandalous, frivolous and vexatious and/or an abuse of the court process”.

Stellar, whose attorney was Osman Johnson, incorrectly first sought to appeal Ms Misiewicz’s decision to the Court of Appeal. They withdrew this on October 15, 2019, but have yet to pay the $20,000 costs ordered by the Court of Appeal. Four days later, on October 19, 2019, they filed the action that came before Justice Brathwaite.

“They say that the summons was used by the plaintiffs [Stellar] as a tactic to pressure the first defendant to exert pressure on the Bahamian government to settle the unfounded claims of the plaintiffs,” the judge said of the arguments by Mr Wells and his attorney.

“[And it was] to revive unfounded assertions against the first defendant which were dismissed in the substantive action, to use the summons as a means of disparaging the personal and political reputation of the first defendant, and to frustrate the finality of the dismissal of the action.”

Mr Wells also argued that Stellar was now “statute-barred” under the

Limitation Act, and could not bring its claim, while section 49 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Act gave him “immunity” from its legal pursuit because he was then acting as a public official when the LOI was signed. The waste-to-energy provider, though, countered that Mr Wells was engaging in a “collateral attack” on its “right to relief” and denied it had gone past the time period set out in the Limitation Act for filing its case. Stellar also argued that he had “actual and/or ostensible authority” from the Government to sign the LOI and could not deny “liability for his acts or omissions”.

Justice Brathwaite, as a starter, noted that Stellar was non-compliant with the then-Supreme Court rules requiring an appeal of the registrar’s decision to be brought before one of its judges as it went to the Court of Appeal. And, while it conceded that there had been “a lack of action” in moving the case forward, the company blamed this on Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 impacting its Grand Bahama-based attorney.

An unimpressed justice Brathwaite pointed out, though, that Stellar’s case had been left “dormant” for a five-month period between when the incorrect Court of Appeal notice was filed on March 19, 2019, and Hurricane Dorian which struck in early September that year. It was only one month later that Stellar and its attorneys, realising their error, switched to the Supreme Court. And, even with the benefit of virtual hearings initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stellar took an “excessive” 16

months before seeking to advance its claim. Justice Brathwaite also backed Ms Misiewicz’s finding that the LOI signed by Mr Wells was “a discussion document, subject to contract, and was not binding in law” - especially since it was due to automatically expire one year later on July 3, 2015.

“I have had a chance to review the LOI. The language used in the LOI is indicative that the LOI was an intention to enter into a contract in the future,” the judge ruled. He based this on language such as “intends to sell”, “intends to bear” and “is to submit”.

“It is evident that the project developer’s application for approval as a foreign investor in The Bahamas was contingent on the signing of the LOI,” justice Brathwaite said. “I agree with the findings of the deputy registrar, and find that there is no basis to conclude that the LOI was a contract or has any contractual effect. Instead, I find that it was an agreement between the parties to contract in the future with.”

Given that he was unable to “find that fraud has occurred”, and no claims of negligence or bad faith were made against Mr Wells, the judge upheld the finding that the former minister should have the immunity provided in law.

“I find that the plaintiffs have no prospect of success if time was extended to appeal, as their cause of action... does not disclose a reasonable cause of action against the first defendant [Mr Wells],” justice Brathwaite ruled. “I also consider that should the plaintiffs’ application be granted, this would be prejudicial to the first defendant.

“As the first defendant submitted, this matter was

lawsuit

initiated almost ten years ago with significant delays on behalf of the plaintiff to appeal with little to no prospects of success. Allowing the appeal would extend the lifespan of the matter further against the first defendant in his personal capacity.”

Mr Wells became embroiled in controversy in mid-July 2014 when the Stellar LOI was leaked to the media and he was accused of signing it on the Government’s behalf without the proper authorisation.

He eventually departed his parliamentary secretary post at the Ministry of Works some 80-90 days later, but Tribune Business later obtained evidence suggesting that - as indicated by Mr Wells’ close colleague, former MP Dr Andre Rollins - the whole affair was a “manufactured political controversy”.

This newspaper obtained a May 26, 2014, letter written by Michael Halkitis, then-minister of state for finance, to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Bahamas country representative stating that “the Government has issued an initial LOI” to Stellar Energy.

That letter was dated some five to six weeks

it to The Bahamas, you were suggesting that it was already tri-fuel. Having the capability to be tri-fuel and being tri-fuel are two different things. So they weren’t tri-fuel.

“And so, in any event, the cost burden is now on the Bahamian people because the plan is to transition and move to cleaner and affordable energy, which is LNG, which those seven engines that are now our responsibility cannot burn unless we convert them.

“So it’s still a cost. This government will not put an extra burden on to the Bahamian people. So whatever we are able to find them in terms of to do the outright conversion, the costs would be what we would bring to the people. But what we are getting in our assessment is as the Prime Minister said.”

before Mr Wells signed the LOI, suggesting key members of the Christie Cabinet knew of its existence in advance and of the Government’s intentions - at least at that point - to sign it. There is nothing, though, to suggest Mr Halkitis did anything wrong.

Stellar, in its original statement of claim, laid out multiple allegations. It described Messrs Allen and Forbes as government “agents” who promised then-prime minister Perry Christie would arrange a $40m guarantee for the project, and bragged: “We hold the key to the kingdom.”

The waste-to-energy group’s allegations placed Mr Christie and now-prime minister, Philip Davis KC, at the centre of events leading up to the LOI’s disclosure and subsequent political firestorm although there is nothing to suggest either man was guilty of any wrongdoing.

Arguing that the LOI’s leaking showed “clear intent at the Government level to sabotage” the $600m project, Stellar claimed Mr Allen, the former Urban Renewal co-chair, and Mr Forbes were “two of the private individuals who claimed to be representatives of the Bahamas government and/ or agents acting for and on behalf of the Bahamas government”.

‘High time’: Wells cleared over $727m LOI lawsuit

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

A FORMER Cabinet min-

ister’s decade-long ordeal over the Stellar Energy letter of intent (LOI) controversy was yesterday halted by the Supreme Court’s verdict that he has no case to answer.

Justice Neil Brathwaite found that the waste-to-energy provider’s bid to appeal an earlier verdict, which dismissed its $727.364m damages claim against Renward Wells and two alleged government “agents”, had “no prospect of success” and it would be “prejudicial” to the ex-minister to let it proceed.

The judge added that he was also prepared to rule that it was “an abuse of the court’s process” for Stellar and its principals to file an appeal against the earlier March 8, 2019, verdict by Supreme Court deputy registrar, Carol Misiewicz, which rejected

• Judge ends ex-minister’s ten-year ordeal

• Stellar appeal has ‘no prospect of success’

• ‘Pressure tactic’ to force Gov’t into settling

their claim but then “take no steps” to have the action promptly heard. The Supreme Court’s verdict likely ends legal proceedings over a murky affair that forced Mr Wells’ 2014 departure from his post as Ministry of Works parliamentary secretary under the former Christie administration. In the decade since, the Bahamian people received no clear answers for the controversy sparked by

the ex-Bamboo Town MP’s signing of an LOI to facilitate Stellar’s proposed $600-$650m waste-to-energy plant at the New Providence landfill. Neither himself nor any of the principals in the Christie administration, some of whom are in Cabinet today, have ever explained the events that occurred.

Mr Wells could not be contacted for comment before press time last night despite multiple attempts to reach him. However, Jean Paul

Michelsen, Stellar Energy’s Bahamas-based former chief operating officer, yesterday told Tribune Business it was “high time” that the former MP and minister’s name be cleared.

Asserting that Mr Wells “should have been cleared from day one”, as he had “done nothing wrong” and was merely the LOI’s

GBPA $357m demand report’s non-disclosure is ‘a nonsense’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

A FREEPORT attor-

ney says the Government’s opposition to disclosing the report showing how the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) owes it $357m is “a nonsense” amid calls for greater transparency.

Kirk Antoni, the Cafferata & Company partner, told

Tribune Business that the sum cited by the Davis administration “seems to have been plucked out of the air” as he called for the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report showing how this was calculated to be released publicly. Wayne Munroe KC, minister of national security, told the House of Assembly recently that it would be “folly” to disclose PwC’s work given that arbitration

proceedings against the GBPA are imminent, but Mr Antoni argued that there is a “major” public interest factor given that the dispute centres on the Bahamian public’s tax dollars and the amount that is spent in Freeport.

The attorney, who has been among those leading efforts to organise Freeport’s 3,000 business licensees in a bid to safeguard their rights amid the Government’s battle with

the GBPA, told this newspaper: “I think the transparency factor is a major one even though the Government is downplaying it.

“I believe Wayne Munroe said it would be a ‘folly’ to disclose what they spend [in Freeport] but how can they justify to the licensees what their expenditures are without disclosing them? To me, it’s just a nonsense. The PwC

‘Everything on the table’ for $500m BPL liabilities

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday pledged that “everything is on the table” when it comes to options for tackling Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) $500m legacy debt and other liabilities.

Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and energy, said the Davis administration’s proposed reforms are seeking to give the state-owned energy provider “more room” to pay pay down this longstanding burden.

No ‘one-month tax break’ on 2019 VAT switch over

• Judge overturns Tax Appeal Commission verdict

• Buyer said ‘exempt’ on Stamp repeal, VAT delay

• But must now ay $39,000 due on transaction

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Supreme Court yesterday ruled that $39,000 in VAT must be paid on a real estate deal after upholding the Government’s stance that it did not grant a one-month “tax break or loophole” after the 2019 Budget.

Justice Neil Brathwaite overturned a prior Tax Appeal Commission decision which found the 10 percent levy was not due on the $390,000 purchase price because the VAT Amendment Act 2019 “was not completely enacted” when the conveyance was presented to the authorities.

Prior to that year’s 2019-2020 Budget, the transfer tax on real estate transactions was contained in the Stamp Act. However, the former Minnis administration switched it to the VAT Act, under which it has remained ever since.

But, while the relevant Stamp Act provision was repealed in time for the July 1, 2019, start of the then-new fiscal year, the VAT Act was only placed in the Government’s gazette and enforced from August 2, 2019.

As a result, the purchaser in the $390,000 deal, CTK Holdings, and its attorneys, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, argued that the transaction was exempt from any tax - and the 10 percent levy - because the conveyance was presented to the authorities on July 5, 2019. They claimed the timing difference created a one-month window in which the real estate transfer tax was not legally enforceable as the relevant Stamp Act provisions had been repealed while those in the VAT Amendment Act on took effect from early August that year.

While this argument impressed the Tax Appeal Commission, it did not have the same effect on justice Brathwaite. In overturning the appeal body’s verdict, he found that Parliament clearly intended the VAT Amendment Act to take effect from July 1, 2019, meaning

“All of the exercise that we’re doing now is a part of right-sizing BPL,” she said. “Any partnership or any relationship that we engage in would also take into consideration the option to be able to facilitate payments to the legacy debt on a timely basis. And that

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

staff, its president said yesterday. Theresa Mortimer, speaking as that BISX-listed bank confirmed no jobs will be lost through the May 31, 2024, closure of its Bay Street branch, told Tribune Business that the BFSU needs to attract members from other commercial banks to “get this union really up and kicking”.

PAGE A18

“A lady called me today and said ‘For God’s sake, try coming to RBC. We need so much help’. I said: ‘You need to come and join the union’,” she recalled. “I don’t know why Bahamians are so afraid of the union. The union is your friend, not the enemy. “I want Bank of The Bahamas and Commonwealth Bank workers. We need to get the Bahamian workers in there. The union is waiting patiently for them to come and join us. Let’s get this union really up and kicking. I welcome it. It’s going to be good. As a country we would gladly

RENWARD WELLS