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FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2021

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$65m airport expansion: New BPC chief: ‘It’s our right to Legal threat ‘no setback’ extend licence’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE government’s top aviation official yesterday said he foresees “no setback” to the $65m North Eleuthera airport expansion despite legal action that is seeking to evict its agencies from that location.

Algernon Cargill, pictured, director of aviation, told Tribune Business the government was proceeding with its compulsory land acquisition and other plans for the airport’s growth despite the April 21, 2021, claim launched by representatives of 3,000 “common” land owners.

• Aviation chief: North Eleuthera plans moving • As commoners launch eviction challenge • Seeking millions over airport, Water Corp

The commoners, making good on their threat to pursue Supreme Court redress, are seeking to repossess the land upon which the airport, Water

& Sewerage Corporation water fields (now a reverse osmosis plant” and North Eleuthera Garbage Dump now sit on the basis that the government has violated their constitutional and property rights in taking these assets without paying a single cent for it.

The writ and statement of claim, filed on behalf of the Harbour Island Commonage Committee as representative of the commoners, is also seeking an injunction to bar the government and its agencies

from accessing the land while claiming multi-million dollar damages over both the airport and Water & Sewerage facilities.

However, Mr Cargill asserted that the action will not threaten or delay the long-awaited airport expansion that is designed to enhance North Eleuthera’s prime aviation gateway and boost access to the island prior to tourism’s full rebound from the COVID19 pandemic.

SEE PAGE 4

Bahamas ‘playing in a ‘very dangerous space’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas is “still playing in a very dangerous space” despite the government’s optimism it will hit its $1.327bn deficit target for 2020-2021, governance reformers warned yesterday.

Matt Aubry, pictured, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business that this nation must “focus on straight line swimming if we’re to make it to shore” after it was revealed on Wednesday that the government’s direct debt now exceeds $9.5bn after increasing by $1.3bn in just nine months.

Calling on the government, private sector and wider society to pull

• ‘All systems must be hitting’ to make fiscal goals • Governance reformer: ‘We need to reach shore’ • Economist’s concern on debt far outpacing GDP

together and help drag The Bahamas from its COVID and Dorian-inflicted woe, he added that the country needed “all systems to be hitting” for the Ministry of Finance to hit what is a record all-time high deficit projection.

Besides the government using all tax dollars

Internet banking users jump 31%

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE number of Bahamian internet banking users increased by almost 31 percent to breach the 100,000 mark in 2020 as COVID-19 increasingly drove persons to digital transactions.

The Central Bank, in its just-released 2020 annual report, said the increasing use of mobile and internet banking had driven it to regularly monitor the level of payment fraud “as part of a heightened focus on consumer protection”.

“Commercial banks continued to deliver various Internet-banking services to customers,” the regulator added. “The number of Internet banking users rose by 30.9 percent to 103,379 accounts. Given the rise in technology to execute various payments transactions, instances of fraud have the potential to emerge....”

The Central Bank said its 2020 payments survey had uncovered some 3,317 fraudulent transactions, worth a collective $5.2m, involving credit and debit cards as well as cheques. While debit cards accounted for the majority, or more than two-thirds, of cases, cheques formed the bulk of the value involved.

“Disaggregated by type, cases involving debit cards accounted for 68.6 percent of

the total at 2,276, with an associated value of $0.9m (17.9 percent of the total value),” the Central Bank said. “Credit card fraud represented 29.8 percent of the total cases for a corresponding value of $1m (19.9 percent of the total value).

“As the usage continue to diminish, the cheque fraud cases represented a marginal 1.6 percent of all reported instances, but the associated value was almost two-thirds of the corresponding total ($3.2m). The survey revealed that 95.9 percent of fraudulent cases were reported in New Providence, where the majority of bank customers also reside.”

Amid the high unemployment, income cuts and COVID-19 lockdowns, the Central Bank said Bahamian credit card holders repaid a net $100m during 2020. “On net, credit card balances were repaid in 2020. New credit, an indicator of gross spending, rose by 7.3 percent to $1.6bn but total repayments increased by 10.8 percent to $1.7bn.

“The number of cards issued or renewed by commercial banks declined further by 2.7 percent to 90,093, following a 3.4 percent reduction the previous year, while the corresponding balances owed fell by 10.1 percent to $245.4m.”

SEE PAGE 4

“effectively and efficiently”, and collecting every cent due to it, Mr Aubry said this needed to be combined with rapid “ease of doing business” improvements and providing the private sector with the necessary freedom to grow the economy, if The Bahamas is to escape the devastation inflicted by the pandemic.

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, told this newspaper earlier this week that he was “very, very confident” that the government will hit its full-year fiscal targets even though the deficit for the nine months to end-March

was more than triple, or 249.5 percent higher, than prior year comparatives at $878m.

Several sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said containing the government’s borrowing deficits to a record $1bn-plus figure was not necessarily something to be proud. Mr Aubry, while acknowledging the government’s confidence, warned that COVID-19’s unpredictability means there remain plenty of factors that can knock the public finances off-course before the June 30 year-end.

SEE PAGE 5

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) incoming chief executive yesterday said it was “our right to extend” the company’s four oil exploration licences beyond their end-June 2021 expiration.

Eytan Uliel, in a podcast responding to investors’ queries, asserted that the oil explorer’s renewal bid was “not so much an application because we have the right to” extend the licences for another three-year period.

Confirming that BPC, which is soon to be renamed as Challenger Energy Group, has submitted the necessary documentation to the government to start the renewal process, Mr Uliel said: “We were required to submit the application to extend the licence.

“It’s not so much an application, because we have the right to... It’s our right to extend it, we have submitted all the paperwork required.

It was required three months before June 30. That’s now been submitted to and there’s a process we go through in terms of renewal, but that’s all in train.”

It was unclear whether Mr Uliel, who is stepping up from his previous post as BPC’s commercial director to replace Simon Potter as chief executive, meant that BPC has an automatic right to apply for a licence covering a third exploration period after the company fulfilled its commitment to safely drill its Perseverance One exploratory well.

However, his comments will likely trigger alarm among environmental activists and other opponents of

oil exploration in Bahamian waters, who may interpret them as meaning that BPC will automatically gain a licence renewal/extension having met its previous obligations.

They will also put further pressure on the Minnis administration, given that the Prime Minister and his minister of the environment, Romauld Ferreira, have both stated their personal opposition to offshore oil drilling, to deliver on their public pledges.

Mr Uliel, meanwhile, confirmed that BPC will be looking to a joint venture, or farm-in, partner to take on the bulk of the costs and technical work associated with drilling a second exploratory well in Bahamian territorial waters should its licence renewal be successful.

He declined to provide details on the farm-in search apart from saying that BPC has “been in contact with a wide range” of potential partners, and that a “data room” has been set up to allow such companies to conduct due diligence on the information gleaned from the company’s efforts in The Bahamas to-date.

“The results of Perseverance One, while not resulting in a commercial discovery at that location, do point to a deeper Jurassic play and I think it needs to be tested in a subsequent exploratory well,” Mr Uliel said. “This will inevitable be a more expensive well than Perseverance One.....”

As a result, he added that BPC would want any joint venture partner to take the lead and do the bulk of the

SEE PAGE 6

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, May 7, 2021, PAGE 3

DON’T LET SAND DOLLAR COMPETE OVER RATES

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER International Monetary Fund (IMF) expert yesterday warned The Bahamas against allowing its Sand Dollar digital currency to compete with the commercial banks on interest rates.

John Kiff, addressing the RF Holdings Bahamas Economic Outlook webinar, also said the proliferation of cryptocurrencies can create “integrity problems” over which digital currency to trust.

He added that Central Bank-backed digital currencies (CBDC), such as the Sand Dollar, should counter this through the “design of multiple tiers of digital currencies, so there is not just one”. He explained: “So you have one tier that’s relatively anonymous, but has severe limits on how big a transaction one can do, how much they can hold.

“And then, as you move up the scale, and what we call KYC or Know Your Customer, the amount of information the user has to provide, and the amount of surveillance that they might

have to accept, that only increases as you go to larger amounts.

“You get to the extreme where merchants would have the ability to handle large amounts of money, but also accept lots of surveillance on what they’re doing.” This is how the Central Bank has already structured the Sand Dollar.

However, Mr Kiff warned against following other central banks that have begun to “remunerate” or “pay interest on these digital currencies. This could lead to the “downside” of central banks raising interest rates

to the point where the digital currency becomes too attractive and it begins to compete with commercial banks.

He explained: “The downside to that is that you make that interest rate too attractive. You compete now with the commercial banks and you have a problem, which they call disintermediation, where you make the interest rate so attractive that everybody wants to hold central bank digital currency.

“Of course, the banks do need these deposits, so they could lend out money

and keep the, you know, keep the economy rolling, but they have a problem they’ve been through then.”

Mr Kiff also said the development of central bank digital currencies is coinciding with the increased willingness of consumers worldwide to use digital payment options because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added: “Certainly the pandemic around the world has been a catalyst for the thought process around central bank digital currencies. Firstly, because there’s now this aversion to paper

money and the transmission of the virus through paper money, and also people really don’t want to come into contact with one another because now they’ll hold out the little terminal and ask to please just put your card in there.”

Mr Kiff advocated that less developed countries than the US, where there are countless options for digital payments, can benefit more from digital currencies “because they can fill that gap and supply people with some form of currency that can be used without threat and that is safer to use”.

BAHAMAS TOLD: FOCUS ON ‘TRANSFORMATIONAL TRAVEL’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A STRATEGIC advisor to Airbnb yesterday reiterated that tourists are looking for “transformational travel” experiences that have the potential to generate life-altering memories.

Chip Conley, who is also a hotelier and author, detailed what he described as “five qualities” that are defining which industries and companies are going to face future disruption when he addressed the RF Holdings’ Bahamas Economic Outlook webinar.

He said the first involved “the company or organisation [that] has grown complacent due to its past successes, and they haven’t evolved their product offering very much.

“Number two is they’ve lost touch with their company’s core customers,” Mr Conley added. “I think the hotel industry is really

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susceptible to this one.” He painted a scenario where hotels, in particular, fail to capture customer tastes and preferences via questionnaires and other forms of feedback.

“Understanding the psychology of the customer is really important, and what’s their unrecognised need that they haven’t even talked about,” Mr Conley said. “The third quality that is common amongst industries or companies that are going to be disrupted is that they imagine a whole new set of customers with different needs entering the market.

“The global hotel

companies didn’t; did not prepare for the middle class family from Peru or Poland, who was traveling for the first time and their parents had never travelled outside the country.”

Airbnb is targeting these new “digital nomads”, said Mr Conley, because they are the new traveller and have different tastes and desires. He said they want more space but have less money.

“The fourth quality that’s common around companies or industries that are being disrupted is that they don’t take the new competitors seriously.

Potentially because they

feel comparatively safe due to their historical regulatory environment,” he added.

The fifth quality for businesses that are being disrupted is that they have to realise they are in the “belong anywhere business”, which means that - especially for companies in the hotel sector - they fail to capitalise on the nature of their business model.

This, Mr Conley said, is because managers use descriptive information about the business that is aspirational to themselves, failing to take a holistic approach to what the business actually is and where it

is situated in order to give it a fuller meaning.

Mr Conley said there are several ways Airbnb is disrupting the travel and tourism industry. He added that the vacation rental platform is doing this through education by providing training on tourism and hospitality to persons around the world.

It is also disrupting the retirement business by providing opportunities for persons to offer their homes in an established industry, alongside training on a new way of doing business.

Mr Conley said: “I think education and retirement communities are

complacent and ready to be disrupted. But I also think that one of the biggest trends in travel today, and this is pretty important for you as we go, is transformational travel.

Transformational travel is where that person wants their travel experience to be something that actually transforms their life.

“So they’re not just focused on comfort and entertainment, and having a drink with a little paper umbrella in it, or some sort of colourful drink. They’re looking to actually go and be transformed from the experience of travelling.”

PAGE 4, Friday, May 7, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

$65m airport expansion: Legal threat ‘no setback’ FROM PAGE ONE

“We don’t envision any setbacks,” he told this newspaper. “Our policy is that we don’t comment on any litigation matters but I can tell you the government is moving ahead with its plans.”

Confirming that work to facilitate the government’s planned compulsory acquisition of land for the airport expansion is “in the final stages”, Mr Cargill added: “I’m not going to give any details because the matter will soon be before the courts, but I believe most people know the government has eminent power to acquire land under the Acquisition of Land Act for the good of the

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Bahamian people.

“It’s a matter the court will have to review and make a determination on. It’s a matter already referred to the Attorney General’s Office. They have the writ and will respond.”

The writ and statement of claim, which have been obtained by Tribune Business, allege that the commoners were granted their rights to a 6,000 acresite by a crown grant dating back to July 1, 1842.

However, in alleged breach of the Commonage Act, the committee is alleging that “some time in 1959” the government “unlawfully constructed the North Eleuthera terminal building and runway on 150 acres of commonage land pursuant to a purported licence”.

This licence, though, was described as in breach of both the crown grant and the Commonage Act, rendering it “ultra vires, null and void”. However, the government subsequently took a further 100 acres of commonage land to extend the airport’s runway after obtaining a second licence that was also alleged to be illegal.

The documents, filed

by Richette Percentie, of

KLA Chambers, on the committee’s behalf alleged that the Harbour Island Commonage Committee turned down the government’s overtures about further expanding the airport in 2014.

They accuse the government of also “unlawfully allowing persons and companies that are noncommoners to enter the airport and operate businesses at a profit, and without any proper compensation or compensation at all to the commoners” - a reference to all the concession operators and services providers that operate from the facility.

And, prior to that, the Water & Sewerage Corporation and Ministry of Public Works were both alleged to have “unlawfully entered” on commonage lands to construct a reverse osmosis plant to supply North Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, as well as the area’s garbage dump, without “paying any compensation for their purported acquisition and use of the tracts of land”.

The committee alleged that it was forced to initiate legal action after the government failed to respond to its February 17, 2021, letter urging that the commoners be compensated for the loss of their land and that agreement be reached within seven days,.

They are claiming

$1.125m and $2.025m, respectively, for the loss of the airport and Water & Sewerage land, and $135,000 in relation to the garbage dump. Damages and “mesne profits” are also being sought, together with orders directing the government to provide for an accounting of all monies collected from the airport and reverse osmosis plant operation.

The figures seem muchchanged from those quoted in Ms Percentie’s February 17, 2021, letter in which she sought $25.889m in compensation on behalf of her clients for the past use of their property by the government and its agencies.

This was broken down into $9.3m and $3.5m for the 150-acre and 100-acre tracts that comprise the North Eleuthera Airport, the latter of which was taken in 1986. The wellfields and dump site were priced at $12.339m and $750,000, respectively, while Ms Percentie said her clients will also seek “damages for the permanent scarring and abuse of the land” by those two facilities.

The 450-acre and 30-acre sites taken for the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s wellfields/reverse osmosis plant and the district dump, respectively, were taken in the mid-1990s. Ms Percentie argued that in the circumstances the government is “a willful trespasser” on her clients’ land and they will seek its eviction via the courts unless their demands are “speedily” resolved.

Reiterating that the committee and the commoners were “eager” to see the airport’s expansion “come to fruition” but aghast at

how this is being done, she added: “None of those agencies are registered commoners, which is in clear breach of the Commonage Act. “Additionally, the government has unlawfully allowed persons and companies that are noncommoners to enter the airport to operate businesses at a profit. These are violations of the Commonage Act.” Ms Percentie said the Act’s section ten prohibited non-commoners, such as the government, from holding an interest in commonage land, while section 15 stipulates that any noncommoner using such land is a “willful trespasser” and can be “ejected” from such property.

Tribune Business previously revealed that talks over the airport expansion between the Harbour Island Commonage Committee and the government initially focused on establishing a partnership arrangement between the two sides. The then-plan was to develop and gazzette “rules” that would enable the commoners to licence the airport land to the government.

However, the Minnis administration then reversed course in April/ May 2020, when it revealed it will now acquire the 658 acres for the airport - the 250-acre existing site, plus an extra 408 acres - via the Acquisition of Land Act rather than the original partnership proposal.

Mr Cargill said the government changed course because it felt owning the land would provide the airport with a more secure future rather than leasing it from the commonage.

General Dentist

Internet banking users jump 31% FROM PAGE ONE

As for debit cards, the regulator added: “During 2020, the number of such transactions reduced by 17.1 percent to 12.4m, while the associated value was lower by 7.7 percent at $1.8bn.... The value of transactions through ATMs declined by 2.9 percent to $2bn, and the corresponding volume fell by 28 percent to eight billion.”

Elsewhere, the Central Bank said nearly 27m onecent coins were handed in during the 2020 fourth quarter ahead of the yearend deadline to cease its use as legal tender in payment transactions.

“During October to December 2020, an estimated 26.6m coins were collected, the majority from the redemption by weight exercise (22.1m) and the remainder through deposits at commercial banks (4.5m),” the regulator added.

As for the Sand Dollar, the Central Bank digital currency, some $130,000 worth were in circulation by 2020 year-end. “During the year, the bank issued limited amounts of Sand Dollars to the authorised financial institutions (AFIs) and closed the year with a total value of $130,000 in circulation,” it added.

“With pilot activities constrained by the pandemic, resources were concentrated on further testing and development of the technology platform. Issuance is expected to expand in 2021, as AFIs complete the integration of their mobile wallet platforms with the Sand Dollar platform....

“The bank deepened its collaboration and preparation for the government to use the Sand Dollar as its method for collections and disbursement of payments, especially in Family Island cash districts, where commercial banking services were absent or on a decline.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, May 7, 2021, PAGE 5

Bahamas ‘playing in a ‘very dangerous space’ FROM PAGE ONE “Based on their assessment, the indications are they feel comfortable they can achieve it, but to me it requires all systems to be hitting,” he told Tribune Business. “To achieve those numbers there’s got to be a focus on ensuring all the government’s dollars are being used as effectively and efficiently as possible, and also ensuring every source of revenue is being accessed.

“As the economy gains traction, there are still some great uncertainties. The status of the pandemic in the US, the measures taken to control it here and abroad, and the effects on the economy. Even though we are moving in the right direction, there is no guarantee.

Things can happen.”

The ORG executive director pointed out that The Bahamas will enter another hurricane season in less than a month’s time, potentially exposing it to further Dorian-type storms and climate-related risks that could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in unplanned costs and public spending.

“We’re still playing in a very dangerous space,” he added. “The incredible amount of money spent on social assistance is a quite astonishing expenditure, and requires support from all sectors. The government needs to focus on efficiency and driving in all revenue sources, and the private sector needs to be free to develop the economy and take more people off the unemployment line.

“Improving the ‘ease of doing business’ should be a significant target, and we put that forward as the Economic Recovery Committee. That was a priority for the committee because we know the heavy lifting is going to be on the private sector and it needs

every opportunity.

“If we have a shut down again, or take further measures, we will have further reverses that will add another level of pressure that will be difficult to manage.” Much thus rests on the tourism industry and wider economy’s continued slow but steady opening up, and more workers being recalled to work, in combination with COVID-19 infection rates both here and in the US being brought under control.

Mr Aubry said the 30 percent year-over-year decline in government revenues for the nine months to endMarch, which represented a $527.4m drop to $1.23bn, was “quite significant” and “quite unprecedented” for the Minnis administration’s income and ability to service its ongoing obligations.

“We’re in quite deep water, and to make it to shore we have to focus on straight-line swimming,” he added, noting that the upcoming general election “adds another layer of uncertainty” to The Bahamas’ post-COVID recovery.

“We all understand the necessity of the increased debt,” Mr Aubry said, “the circumstances of keeping the economy going, to support our unemployed workers and to make sure social assistance programmes are in place.

“It’s also on top of decades of debt. When you look at evaluating our competitiveness, that level of debt has to be taken into consideration as it relates to potential opportunities for the future.”

Meanwhile Rupert Pinder, a Bahamian economist who lectures at the University of The Bahamas (UoB), told Tribune Business his primary concern is that The Bahamas’ national debt continues to grow at a much faster rate than the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) or

economic output.

The Ministry of Finance’s report earlier this week revealed that the Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio had jumped by almost 17 percentage points in nine months, leaping from 66 percent to 82.8 percent on the back of a $1.312bn debt increase - a rise that Mr Pinder argued is simply unsustainable because the economy lacks the means to support it.

With the Bahamian economy failing to hit an annual GDP growth rate of two percent since the 2008-2009 recession, Mr Pinder added: “To me there is some concern about the rise in debt, but it’s the relative value as well as the absolute.

“More important, I think, is the rise in debt relative to GDP in an environment where we have had relatively anemic growth dates.

A lot of the projected growth for 2021 and 2022 will only take us back to prepandemic levels in terms of the adjustment to GDP. “The concern is the rise in debt relative to GDP because over the last ten years we have had relatively anemic growth rates. The challenge is not so much in debt, but the level of debt as a percentage of overall GDP.” To bring The Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio down, the latter must be growing at a faster rate than the former to ensure the economy can bear the weight of increased debt servicing costs. The reverse is currently true, and Mr Pinder acknowledged the government “doesn’t have much flexibility” to alter course in the shortterm as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.

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PAGE 6, Friday, May 7, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

New BPC chief: ‘It’s our right to extend licence’ FROM PAGE ONE “preparation for that well and to pick up the costs of that well”.

And the incoming BPC chief revealed that the oil

explorer will provide its “technical report” on Perseverance One’s findings within the next two months.

“We’re currently doing all the final work,” Mr Uliel said.

“We’re then obliged to provide a technical report to the Government of The Bahamas first. Once we do that, we intend to publish the highlights of that report and I estimate that will be

about six to eight weeks from now.”

Mr Uliel’s comments came as the environmental activists behind the Judicial Review challenge to BPC’s permits

and approvals yesterday released a letter sent to UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, and Commonwealth secretary-general, Baroness Scotland, seeking their help to halt oil exploration in The Bahamas.

The Our Islands, Our Future Coalition urged: “We respectfully write to request your urgent assistance in protecting the sensitive and irreplaceable waters of The Bahamas, and to help us prevent a dangerous, ill-conceived offshore oil drilling project that would fuel global climate chaos for decades.....

“As you know, The Bahamas is an island nation which faces some of the most immediate and severe impacts of sea level rise, ocean acidification, coral bleaching and intensifying super storms fuelled by the climate crisis.

“The active oil drilling project in The Bahamas today puts our entire nation, and indeed our entire economy, at risk.

The Bahamian economy is inextricably tied to the sea.

More than 50 percent of our country’s GDP comes from tourism and fishing. Our national treasure is, in fact, the allure of our pristine waters and the potential for sustainable ecotourism as we rebuild from the dual impacts of Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19.”

Whether Mr Johnson and Baroness Scotland would intervene in The Bahamas’ sovereign affairs as requested is uncertain, and BPC’s project is unlikely to “fuel global climate change” by itself.

Nevertheless, the coalition said: “We seek The Commonwealth’s counsel and hope it will exert any influence it has to assist The Bahamas in transitioning to a clean-energy future. We hope that the Secretariat and all member countries

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will stand in solidarity with the thousands of Bahamians and global citizens to impress upon our national government that sound climate policy is incompatible with unleashing a new crude oil reserve of up to 1.4bn barrels on the global climate.

“The Bahamas is not prepared to respond to an oil spill disaster. The Bahamas is not an oil-producing nation and our government is neither equipped to regulate this industry nor respond to a disaster.

We do not have the equipment or expertise to mount a response.

“We would be completely dependent on the goodwill of our neighbours and the responsiveness of the oil company that seeks to risk our economic, cultural and food security on a moneymaking scheme for foreign investors.”

The letter, signed

by Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, executive director of the Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF), and Rashema Ingraham, of Waterkeepers Bahamas, added: “Urgent action is needed as the oil drilling leases are up for renewal at the end of June 2021.

“As with many fossil fuel exploration efforts in the history of the Commonwealth, the deals struck many years ago between the Bahamas Petroleum Company (registered in the Isle of Man) and the Government of The Bahamas, severely lack in transparency and accountability to the citizens of The Bahamas.

“As such, we request that The Commonwealth invoke its successful record of promoting good governance and transparency among member nations in assisting the Government of The Bahamas to align their public statements opposing oil drilling (our prime minister has repeatedly stated that he is totally against oil drilling) with action against oil drilling. We simply cannot allow an investor-driven company to run rough-shod over the best interests of the Bahamian people.”

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that MANOCHKA PAUL, of Treasure Cay, P.O.Box General Delivery 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 30th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The

Financial Controller A Bahamian owned company is seeking a

Financial Controller

Applicants should possess the following qualifications: Knowledge and Education: • An accounting Degree • A minimum of ten years industry experience as a financial controller in managerial capacity.

Skills: • Excellent interpersonal skills • Excellent managerial skills • Strong computer skills • Strong analytical skills • Strong oral and written skills • Able to work in a very dynamic environment Job responsibilities include the following: • Supervising the complete accounting cycle • Preparing monthly financial statements • Co-ordinating all other areas of the business to ensure optimal efficiency • Dealing with all government reporting requirements Interested persons should apply no later than May 13, 2021.

Apply to: DA #119234 c/o The Tribune P.O. Box N-3207 Nassau, The Bahamas

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, May 7, 2021, PAGE 7

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ORENT OREE FRANCIS, of Pinewood Gardens, 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 30th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JOHNSON JEAN of Palm Breeze Drive, Nassau, 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 7th day of May, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

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1.00 10.00 0.90

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

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

LAST CLOSE 5.05 32.12 1.50 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.30 2.95 5.90 9.75 2.32 6.80 11.08 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.19 15.50

CLOSE 5.05 32.12 1.50 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.30 2.95 5.90 9.75 2.38 6.80 11.25 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.19 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS780222 BSBGRS760240 BSBGRS870288

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.00 100.50 100.66

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.97 100.66

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

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

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.17 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME

2,000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

VOLUME

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

P/E 21.1 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -8.1 30.7 16.0 13.1 13.5 23.3 14.6 17.4 12.4 17.2 19.7 8.7 24.6

YIELD 3.37% 3.92% 1.33% 1.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.07% 3.73% 7.38% 18.24% 0.88% 2.92% 2.67% 3.86% 3.01% 2.44% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

MATURITY

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

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

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

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.42 4.43 2.16 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.83 1.78 1.24 8.49 10.26 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.81 10.00 10.43 14.89

LEGAL NOTICE

RH SERVICES INC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) RH SERVICES INC is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 5th day of May, 2021 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

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

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

NAV 2.42 4.43 2.16 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.75 1.75 1.03 8.49 10.03 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.05 N/A 10.43 14.89

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.11% 4.62% -0.08% 0.88% 0.64% 2.75% 0.14% 5.02% 3.25% 31.13% 0.72% 0.80% -2.20% -1.87% -0.37% 0.01% -2.48% -11.52% 1.76% 1.76% -1.97% -1.97% 4.91% 4.91% 5.28% 15.75% 0.05% 3.96% -0.35% -6.34% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%

NAV Date

31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 26-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021

MARKET TERMS

(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Mr. Mark Richford of 13 Charleston Lane, Old Fort Bay, P.O. Box SP-63131, Nassau, Bahamas.

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

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

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

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

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

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

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

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

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

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

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

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

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

N/M - Not Meaningful

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

H & J CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

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

VACANCY Major Law Firm is seeking a detail oriented, hands-on individual to fill the position of Legal Secretary. The successful candidate must be an exceptionally motivated, hardworking and dynamic individual having at least 6 years legal experience within Commercial and Transactional practice areas.

Required qualifications, skills, knowledge: • Bachelor’s degree, Associate’s degree or paralegal/secretarial certification; • The ability to use initiative, multitask, work accurately under pressure and possess exceptional organizational and communication skills; • Computer literacy, including advanced proficiency in the use of Microsoft applications.

Compensation: • Commensurate with qualifications and experience • Excellent benefits Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

Reply in confidence to: vacancy50@gmail.com

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, May 7, 2021, PAGE 9

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ASHMARIE ZAHLEEKAH SMITH of Bethel Avenue, Stapledon Gardens, Nassau, 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 7th day of May, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that LATHOR THOMPSON, of Venice Bay, 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 30th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that WATSON RAMOS LOUIS, of Kitchner Avenue, Freeport, Grand Bahama is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 30th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 60° F/16° C

TAMPA

TONIGHT

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

A couple of thunder‑ storms late

A couple of showers in the morning

A stray t‑storm; breezy at times

Breezy in the morn‑ ing; mostly sunny

Some sun with a t‑storm in spots

High: 85°

Low: 73°

High: 84° Low: 74°

High: 86° Low: 76°

High: 87° Low: 75°

High: 86° Low: 74°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

95° F

79° F

91°-74° F

93°-77° F

95°-80° F

96°-79° F

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 63° F/17° C

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

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

7‑14 knots

S

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 70° F/21° C

7‑14 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 74° F/23° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

| Go to AccuWeather.com

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 72° F/22° C

MIAMI

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 74° F/23° C

7‑14 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 88° F/31° C Low .................................................... 72° F/22° C Normal high ....................................... 83° F/28° C Normal low ........................................ 70° F/21° C Last year’s high ................................. 91° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 76° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 3.25” Normal year to date ..................................... 6.58”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 73° F/23° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

N

KEY WEST

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

tiDes For nassau High

E

W

4‑8 knots

S

4‑8 knots

Low

Ht.(ft.)

5:42 a.m.

6:14 p.m.

2.5 2.6

12:02 p.m. 0.1 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Saturday

6:27 a.m.

6:56 p.m.

2.5 2.7

12:29 a.m. 0.3 12:42 p.m. 0.0

Sunday

7:08 a.m.

7:34 p.m.

2.4 2.8

1:14 a.m.

1:19 p.m.

Monday

7:47 a.m.

8:10 p.m.

2.4 2.8

1:55 a.m. 0.1 1:54 p.m. ‑0.1

Tuesday

8:24 a.m.

8:46 p.m.

2.3 2.8

2:34 a.m. 0.0 2:28 p.m. ‑0.1

Wednesday 9:01 a.m.

9:22 p.m.

2.3 2.8

3:12 a.m.

3:02 p.m.

0.0 0.0

Thursday

2.2 2.8

3:50 a.m.

3:37 p.m.

0.0 0.0

9:37 a.m.

9:59 p.m.

0.2 0.0

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:30 a.m.

7:43 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

4:20 a.m.

4:25 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

May 11

May 19

May 26

Jun. 2

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

N

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 75° F/24° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map L

Ht.(ft.)

Today

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

N

S

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

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

CAT ISLAND

E

W

uV inDex toDay

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

6‑12 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 84° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

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

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 83° F/28° C Low: 77° F/25° C

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

GREAT INAGUA

H

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

6‑12 knots

6‑12 knots

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

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

WINDS SW at 7‑14 Knots NNE at 6‑12 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots NW at 4‑8 Knots S at 6‑12 Knots ENE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots SW at 6‑12 Knots NE at 7‑14 Knots WNW at 7‑14 Knots NE at 7‑14 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ENE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots NE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots SW at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots

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

VISIBILITY 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 4 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 80° F 78° F 83° F 84° F 82° F 82° F 81° F 81° F 82° F 83° F 82° F 82° F 83° F 84° F 81° F 82° F 81° F 82° F 80° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 81° F