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VOLUME:115 No.115, MAY 8TH, 2018

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Marco’s killer escapes noose No death penalty as Goodman faces 55-year sentence

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

testimony from consultant psychiatrist Dr John Dillet, determined she could not conclusively KOFHE Goodman, 42, say Goodman is incapawas sentenced to 55 years ble of being in prison yesreformed. terday for the Precedent 2011 killing from the Privy of 11-year-old Council dicMarco Archer tates a person after a judge should be rejected the sentenced to Crown’s death only if a request for a judge is satisdeath sentence. fied the case Seven years both represents MARCO ARCHER will be deducted the “worst of from that senthe worst” and tence to account for time he that the convict cannot be has spent in custody. reformed.

Supreme Court Justice SEE PAGE THREE Carolita Bethel, citing

OPPOSITION Leader Philip Davis yesterday gave the Minnis administration a “U” mark in his assessment of the government’s performance during its first year at the helm.

Mr Davis criticised the

THE investor aiming to kickstart Grand Bahama’s “technology hub” yesterday pledged to fully “Bahamainise” “sooner rather than later”, having been inundated with 100 job applications per day.

Greg Wood, GIBC Digital’s chief executive, told Tribune Business it was the “right company” to fulfill and “accelerate” the Government’s vision, given that its training focus will help develop a skilled, technology-savvy Bahamian workforce that will attract like-minded companies to The Bahamas.

Describing GIBC Digital as “a natural fit” for the Minnis administration’s plans, Mr Wood said the company’s projected $50m annual economic impact by 2020 was a “conservative” estimate given the spin-offs its presence will generate.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

character of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ cabinet, telling reporters on the sidelines of a CARICOM forum that the group’s arrogance has prevented them from seeking proper guidance to correct missteps.

He said Dr Minnis’ appeal on Sunday to his SEE PAGE SIX

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

KHIARA: THE FIGHT GOES ON

BRAVE’S ‘U’ FOR FNM FIRST YEAR

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

100 RESUMÉS A DAY FOR NEW GB TECH FIRM

CONVICTED child killer Kofhe Goodman is pictured after being sentenced yesterday before Supreme Court Justice Carolita Bethel.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

A FORMER Bahamian beauty queen’s copyright violation lawsuit has survived, after a US federal court was “unpersuaded” by the Ministry of Tourism’s effort to dismiss it.

Khiara Sherman, the former Miss Bahamas Universe, and her record company won a partial victory before the southern Texas court after it ruled that the complaint alleging unauthorised use of her song, Fly Away With Me, should be determined at trial.

However, Judge Nancy Atlas found that the second strand of Ms Sherman’s lawsuit should be dismissed because of insufficient facts.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

AARON ‘APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN BEATEN’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A WITNESS testified yesterday he could only see handcuff injuries and tissue around Aaron Rolle’s wrists before he died in a cell at the Southern Police Station in February 2013.

Antonio Fowler, a mechanic, at one point appeared emotional as he was instructed to look at a photograph of a deceased

AARON ROLLE Rolle as he testified.

Mr Fowler took the stand to testify about the

events of that day when he and Rolle were taken into police custody and detained at the station.

He told the court, upon the questioning of Crown prosecutor Kendra Kelly, that Constables 2126 Akiel Smith and 2648 Carl Smith served him with a search warrant and informed him at his home on February 8, 2013 he was being arrested on the suspicion of stealing and receiving.

SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

FELICITY INGRAHAM: STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON AND AROUND THE WORLD

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Tuesday, May 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Celebrate Bahamas

By FARRAH JOHNSON IN preparation for the nation’s upcoming 45th independence anniversary, Mark Humes, MP for Fort Charlotte and chairman of the Independence Anniversary Planning Committee, yesterday launched a national independence essay competition and recording artist search.

Mr Humes revealed the country will commemorate the anniversary under the theme: “Celebrate Bahamas, we’ve come this far by faith.”

“As we all know our independence celebrations occupies a special place of prominence on the national calendar of events, and is celebrated across the islands of the Bahamas, as well as in countries, nation states, and in areas (and) places around the globe where Bahamian embassies are located,” he said.

Mr Humes, along with a team of programme planners, event organisers and policy advisors, announced a variety of events planned to make this year’s celebrations, “exciting

and highly successful.”

The chairman revealed the million dollar independence celebration will “kick-off” with a national essay competition facilitated by the Ministry of Education, in partnership with the National Independence Secretariat.

Vanria Jack, senior education officer at the Ministry of Education, said students should reflect on major developments in the country post-independence, focusing on this year’s theme.

Encouraging as many students as possible to take advantage of the opportunity, she said the essay competition will be open to primary, junior, and senior high students, in both government and independent schools.

Ms Jack explained that primary school students are expected to write between 250300 words, while junior high students are expected to write between 400-450 words. She said senior high students can also submit essays between 600-800 words.

Completed essays should be

typed, saved using the PDF format, and emailed to nationalevents@bahamas.gov.bs.

The deadline for submission is Thursday, May 31, at 5 pm, and the winners will be announced on Friday, July 6, during the National Flag Day celebrations scheduled for Rawson Square.

Details concerning this competition and the entry forms will be available on the Ministry of Education’s website: www.ministryofeducationbahamas.com.

Rowena Poitier-Sutherland, director of culture at the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture, also announced the first National Recording Artists Search.

“The National Recording Artists Search is really the brain child of our chairman, who’s very passionate about seeing the youth in our nation develop in their artistry. So we’re very pleased to support an initiative such as this,” she said.

Ms Poitier-Sutherland explained that the competition is for Bahamian citizens between the ages of 14-30; however, she

said professional recording artists, or those “locked into any agreements,” are ineligible to participate.

Ms Poitier-Sutherland also said the selection process will be done in phases, and that application forms are available at the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture, and on celebrateyouthbahamas.org. She explained that applications must be submitted on or before May 28, and said they can be sent to nationalevents@bahamas.gov.bs, or back to the ministry.

There will be a live audition held at the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture on June 2 from 11am to 3pm. Here, she said, the judges’ choices will be announced and the persons selected will get the opportunity to advance to the final category.

“On June 15, the semi-finalists will be announced publicly, following that there will be a performance opportunity for the semi-finalists on July 6 at National Pride Day, at a ceremony to be held at Rawson Square at 10am. There, there

will be a people’s choice winner amongst the semi-finalists and the people’s choice winner and the judges’ choice will vie for the grand prize.”

Ms Poitier-Sutherland also said the main performance will be held on July 9 at Clifford Park between the judges’ choice and the people’s choice, and a winner will be announced.

Other activities planned for the celebration include the national command performance, a beat retreat, a National Pride Day, a fun run walk, an independence parade and tattoo presentation, and the People’s Love and Unity Junkanoo Rush-Out. Mr Humes is optimistic about the upcoming events, and is confident that he and his team will make this year’s celebration the best one yet.

“As you can see we have a tremendous amount of exciting events for the Bahamian public this independence season, and we have a tremendous team to help execute and carry out these functions,” he said.

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THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 8, 2018, PAGE 3

Marco’s killer escapes noose from page one This is the second time Goodman has been convicted and sentenced for killing Marco Archer. His previous conviction and death sentence were overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2016 due to pretrial publicity, the behaviour of Goodman’s former lawyer and a jury irregularity.

Goodman said yesterday he will appeal the latest conviction.

Garvin Gaskins, director of public prosecutions and the Crown’s representative in the case, said prosecutors “wanted more” but will await the judge’s written ruling before deciding if the Office of the Attorney General will appeal the sentencing.

The Crown argued that Goodman is a serial predator.

In 1993, he was convicted of unnatural carnal knowledge against Norris Adderley, a ten-year-old boy found dead. The boy was discovered with his pants pulled down to his knees, legs open, mouth open and was bloody with bruises about his face and body.

Goodman was initially charged with murder in that case but that charge was dropped. He confessed to the sexual charge, saying someone else killed the boy.

He served three years in prison after his admission.

In 1996, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempted murder and causing bodily harm to another 10-year-old boy.

Archer was killed between September 23 and September 28, 2011. His body was found covered in bushes behind an apartment complex on Yorkshire Drive.

It was determined he died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head. His death unnerved the nation and was cited as a reason to strengthen laws and mechanisms for the protection of children.

Goodman was originally convicted of murdering Archer on August 2, 2013 during a trial that featured such behaviour from his then lawyer Geoffrey Farquharson that he was found guilty of contempt of court. In the latest trial, he was represented by Wayne Munroe.

In his recent psychiatric report, Dr Dillet said Goodman meets the criteria for several disorders, including lifetime alcohol misuse disorder, lifetime marijuana misuse disorder and anti-social behaviour.

When asked if Goodman could be reformed, Dr Dillet told the court he’s duty bound to believe humans can be rehabilitated, even though he admitted the Bahamas currently lacks the expertise and resources to increase the chances that reform could occur.

“Notwithstanding the heinous crime committed on the young boy and the manner he was found, I cannot say it is a case that satisfies the criteria for a sentencing of death,” Justice Bethel said.

“Should The Bahamas have available that treatment as envisioned by Dr Dillet I do hope there is always a possibility every human being will be capable of reform,” she added.

CONVICTED child killer Khofe Goodman after being sentenced yesterday before Supreme Court Justice Carolita Bethel.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

JUDGE BERATES CROWN FOR ‘UNTIDY’ WORK IN DORSETT CASE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A CASE management hearing in the bribery trial of former Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett was adjourned to May 23 yesterday, but not before Justice Carolita Bethel called the Crown’s latest actions “extremely untidy”.

She was referring to the

process by which the prosecution wants to drop four counts of extortion and one count of misconduct in public office.

“I’m not happy with things that are untidy,” she said, noting that when the prosecution wants to drop charges it typically submits a nolle prosequi application.

Dorsett faces allegations he used his ministerial position to solicit $120,000 in bribes

SUSPECTED SUICIDE OF US MAN IN LONG ISLAND

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

Rowan. Police said the incident was being treated as suicide.

Chief Superintendent AN American man alleg- Solomon Cash told The edly committed suicide Tribune: “He’s an American in Long Island over the national, residing in The weekend.

Bahamas.”

Shortly after 7am on CSP Cash could not say Sunday, police were how long the victim had called to a home in the been living here only that Whymms settlement of the it had been a “number of island where they discov- years”. ered a man “hanging from Long Island MP Adrian a rope tied in the ceiling”. Gibson mentioned the Local medical personnel incident in a post on his were called to the scene; Facebook page, referring to however the man could the man as a “second homenot be revived and was owner” in the community. pronounced dead at the An autopsy will be perscene. formed to determine the The Tribune understands exact cause of death while 8th May 2018inquiries continue. the victim’s nameTuesday, is James police

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from Johnathan Ash between March 1 and May 9, 2017.

The allegations concern a purported exchange of funds connected to work done by a heavy equipment operator to move debris from the New Providence Landfill following a major fire at the

site in March 2017.

Last year, Dorsett’s attorney, Wayne Munroe argued that though the prosecution suggests the alleged acts happened between March 1 and May 9, or a total of 70 days, specific details concerning date, time, or location were

not provided.

In April, The Tribune reported the Crown decided to drop the extortion charges and one count of misconduct in public office against Dorsett.

At the time, Alex Morley, an attorney in Mr Munroe’s

law firm, told The Tribune the Crown intends to devote a “singular and simplified focus” on the four bribery charges against him, outlined in counts five through eight in the indictment. Terry Archer is the Crown prosecutor.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, May 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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The changing face of diplomacy AMONG the many perplexing aspects of the bizarre spectacle that is the Donald Trump administration in Washington, the curious rebirth of the concept of diplomacy is one of the strangest.

For Trump, it has long been apparent that one of his life’s most vexing situations is the lack of respect he (correctly) feels from America’s educated elites.

Every day, he seems to go to greater lengths to show his disregard and disdain for those who, by virtue of education, accomplishment, wealth, social prominence or fortuitous birth, set the standards by which he and others in public life pursuits are judged.

Trump cannily figured out during the past several years that by indulging in his natural truculence and resentment, he would connect in a profound and recently unprecedented manner with millions of disaffected American voters who have a much more valid sense of grievance than the luckily-born Trump will ever be able to claim.

There are few American public institutions that represent the nation’s elite more than the State Department and its Foreign Service. That service practices diplomacy, the art and science of managing one nation’s relations with other nations and international organizations.

Part of diplomacy in recent decades has involved the acceptance and promotion of free trade and other facets of international engagement that have been dubbed globalisation.

It is not surprising that a politician like Trump, campaigning against globalisation and some of its leading advocates such as the Clintons and Barack Obama, should view the State Department as a subject of scorn. His cavalier treatment of his first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, was matched by his failure to visit the department’s headquarters in Washington even once in his first 15 months in office.

Now that a more congenial and compliant Secretary of State in Mike Pompeo has arrived, Trump has finally visited the State Department. But despite the presence of the hawkish Pompeo at State and John Bolton at the National Security Council in the White House, diplomacy is making a cautious comeback.

Trump, of all people, is leading the way. He started the process by

stunningly accepting an invitation to meet from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. This set in motion a whole series of advance meetings. The North Korean met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing to shore up his most steadfast source of foreign support, then sat down in the DMZ with South Korean counterpart Moon Jae In. Kim also conferred with then-CIA director Pompeo to work on preparations for a meeting that may occur within a month, perhaps with the Korean demilitarised zone as the setting. Trump has met with the Japanese prime minister, French president Emanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel.

This all feels suspiciously like traditional multilateral diplomacy, all initiated by the self-proclaimed untraditional iconoclast, Trump himself.

Not coincidentally, some serious observers in the US are sensing something potentially bigger at work.

Respected Washington columnist David Ignatius is even suggesting that Macron of France is a quiet, manipulative opportunist in the fashion of the Austrian foreign minister Count Metternich, who cleverly set the stage for a century of pan-European peace at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15.

Writing in the Washington Post, Ignatius said “Macron is most of all, an opportunist who sees a way, at a moment when Britain is down and Germany is mute, to put France at the centre of European diplomacy for the first time in many decades.” One related thesis holds that Macron is just the quiet counterpoint to the bombastic Trump as the two pursue theatrical diplomatic triumphs.

Korea is certainly one potential stage.

Another is Syria. In that riven nation situated in the cockpit of the volatile Middle East, many interests are at play and several important nations have existential interests. Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia are all vitally engaged. Russia and the United States certainly have surrogates in the lengthy Syrian civil war. At a slightly greater distance but carefully watching are the major powers of Europe, particularly Great Britain, France and Germany. Can China be disinterested?

It would certainly qualify as a surprise if Trump somehow stimulated a revival of traditional multinational diplomacy.

But it suddenly seems possible.

Montagu Ramp issues EDITOR, The Tribune.

Fishermen: Dredging is hurting our business. Tribune May 3rd, 2018.

Methinks this dredging has been going on for several months now, as well as driving pilings and all other attendant processes of rebuilding a dock in The Bahamas.

It seems that something recently caught the eye of the former Member for Fox Hill, who is now, I believe, opposition leader in the Senate, and not wanting to lose an opportunity, no matter how late in the day it is.

It seems that he was seen around the Montagu Ramp recently, but not buying any fish, just seeing if he could create what party leader Brave Davis would call some “Political Mischief”.

So, someone complained to all and sundry and finally got the Port Department to come and shut the operation down, notwithstanding that they had signed off on the project several months

ago and knew exactly and precisely what was to be done.

But the fishermen can’t sell fish or conch because of the sediment in the water.

By the looks of the massive numbers of ice coolers arriving and departing daily for years now, I don’t think that they are keeping any fish in the sea and never have done.

In fact, my recollection is that before the Montagu Ramp project was approved, there were to be proper fish tables for cleaning fish, with built in drains to catch the fish blood and guts.

The blood and guts so captured, as well as the opened conch shells were to be stored in proper garbage bins and taken away daily.

There was a lot of talk about health and cleanliness, and that buckets of sea water would NOT be used anymore, to wash the fish but instead, fresh water was to be used.

To enhance the health approach toilettes were

installed so that the people handling the food, could wash their hands as every other person in the food supply business is required to do.

Perhaps the happy soul taking the picture for today’s paper, would go back and look at the condition of the garbage dumpsters and their surroundings, and the reclaimed land that has been occasioned by the unplanned dumping of conch shells over the sea wall. Perhaps take a picture or two of the unsanitary conditions of the fish cleaning tables and the lack of ice in the ice chests to keep the fish in an sanitary condition and fit for human consumption in the heat of the sun.

It is amazing how people can see the speck of dust in their neighbours eye but cannot see the two by four in their own eye.

MONKEEDOO Nassau, May 3, 2018.

Majority Rule in The Bahamas EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHEN Hitler came to power he used a secret weapon called Goebbels.

Goebbels was Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda who believed that if a lie were repeated often enough people would start believing it. And it did wonders for him. He destroyed Germany and killed six-million Jews.

The PLP had its own Goebbels. The lie of Majority Rule has been repeated often and now is believed.

But, thank God, the young people of this country are now using the two phrases that keep Democracy alive, “why” and “how come”.

The PLP’s Goebbels would have us believe that Majority Rule was racially based and only achieved on Jan 10, 1967. That was a lie.

If Majority Rule should be based on race, how come Barack Obama became the President of the United States? After all, white people are the Majority in the United States. So race based Majority Rule does not work. Furthermore, it is discriminatory.

If Majority Rule were based on gender, then women should be the Majority to Rule because

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net women are the majority gender in The Bahamas. So that theory does not work.

It would also be discriminatory. And any form of discrimination is wrong.

So let us try religion.

The majority of people in The Bahamas are Baptist.

If religion is used as a criterion, the Majority to rule should be Baptists. This does not work either. It is also discriminatory.

So following the Bahamian Goebbels’ logic, we must conclude that we should be ruled by Black, Bahamian, Baptist Women.

Following this theory, that would be our conclusion.

Foolish, discriminatory and just plain dumb.

So let’s try something else. Let’s try “Bahamian”.

It’s not discriminatory and it is universal. Now that fits!

Bahamian.

So when did the Bahamian vote become “universal”? The answer is simple. It became universally Bahamian in November of 1962 when women were allowed to vote. It was the first time

the MAJORITY OF BAHAMIANS ruled in The Bahamas.

In November of 1962, the Majority of Bahamians voted and overwhelmingly the Majority of them voted for the UBP! So, if the truth be told, the first Majority Rule government in The Bahamas was the UBP. On January 10th, 1967, the same “universal Bahamian” voter voted for the PLP, making them the SECOND Majority Rule Government in The Bahamas.

Is that hard to understand? Why do people have to lie? Thank God the young Bahamian people are asking questions. Keep it up. You may discover a few more lies that have been repeated often and are now being taken to be “truths”.

But there is hope. Today we have two fresh leaders, one PLP Philip “Brave” Davis and the other FNM Dr. Hubert Minnis. It is my sincere hope that this new day will bring less propaganda and more sunshine for the Bahamian people.

We’ll see. Both men are capable.

PIERRE DUPUCH Nassau, May 7, 2018.

Bite that tongue EDITOR, The Tribune.

not like any of his ministers being seen more than IN political life many him…watch out! times a Minister has to Ministers will be well bite his tongue rather than advised think before you saying what he/she would speak…remember that really wish - the Minister hand gesture of Perry Lloyd moment ‘I am happy Christie, no different? to…’ was one of those Next week we come to and for him and his future the anniversary of the last political career it will haunt election - many will wonder him. what can we really honNot to be out done the estly put to the credit of the ever on our nightly TV Minnis government in the News, Minister Duane past 12 months?

Sands now comes out and Leaving Baha Mar alone puts his proverbial foot in clearly was the biggest by his mouth. Doc hope you far the sole decision which know Prime Ministers do really has saved the FNM’s

butt as with Baha Mar closed there would have been a horrific level of hurt and want and insecurity countrywide.

Credit to Minister Dion Foulkes, Labour for his registering in the park.

Honestly it is hard — very hard to come up with anything else.

Grading? Like our education…no more than a D. The future? Anxious worried alike hundreds.

W THOMPSON Nassau, May 5, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 8, 2018, PAGE 5

Aaron Rolle ‘appeared to have been beaten’ from page one

Attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, is representing both officers, who are on trial for manslaughter. They have denied the charge. Supreme Court Judge Vera Watkins is presiding.

The trial into the beating death of Rolle was adjourned earlier yesterday morning because the Crown’s three witnesses were not present.

Ms Kelly stated that one of these witnesses was not at the trial because of a delayed flight due to inclement weather from Cat Island. She asked the judge for additional time to facilitate the witness’ trip to Nassau to attend the trial.

The others, Ms Kelly said at the time, could not be located. She said authorities were in search of both men.

However, when the trial continued at 2.30pm, the witness who was said to be travelling to Nassau, was still not present.

It continued with the testimony of Mr Fowler before a two-man, seven-woman jury.

Mr Fowler said on the day in question the officers searched his home and took items.

He was taken to a police station by police car with Aaron Rolle and another officer, he said.

Ms Kelly asked the witness whether he could identify the officers if he saw them again and instructed him to point them out in the court and to mention of what they were wearing.

He said: “One is wearing a darkish bluish plaid and the other is wearing a beige plaid, beige and orange or whatever that is plaid.”

“Point to them,” Ms Kelly instructed.

Judge Watkins asked whether the persons he was pointing to were in the prisoner’s dock. He responded: “Yes ma’am.”

Ms Kelly again asked whether two of the three officers present on the day in question were in court.

“When I first got in the vehicle and saw Aaron I was a lil’ upset that he brought the police,” Mr Fowler said. “…And we started arguing.”

Once at the police station, Mr Fowler said he was placed in the first cell near a door and Rolle was placed “one or two cells down”.

He said shortly after, the two constables who were

POLICE Officers Akiel Smith (second left) and Carl Smith (far right) are pictured with attorney Wayne Munroe, left. seated in the prisoner’s dock removed Rolle and took him upstairs.

However, Judge Watkins intervened and asked Mr Fowler if he could see where Rolle was being taken. He said he could not.

He said he did not see Rolle again for some time.

Mr Fowler said: “He appeared to have been beaten. You could see he wasn’t the same person. He wasn’t the same way that he first left when he came back.”

He was then asked to describe for the court what he meant. He explained Rolle had a “limp” and that his clothes appeared disheveled.

Mr Fowler said one of the officers in the court room stopped at the cell where he was detained and said, “You next.”

Again, Judge Watkins interjected and insisted the witness stopped generalising the alleged actions of the officers. He then replied: “The short stubby one,” referring to Carl Smith.

He said a few minutes later they took him upstairs and questioned him about

the items that were confiscated from his house earlier that day.

Mr Fowler said when he was returned to the cell it was well into the evening and maybe around 8pm or 9pm. He associated his girlfriend getting off work and walking home around the same time he was being taken away from his yard in the police’s car. He said it was roughly around 5.30pm when he was picked up.

The witness said he saw Rolle leaving and returning to his cell about three or four times while at the station.

At some point “late” into the night the witness said a man who was also detained inside Rolle’s cell was heard shouting, “Call the police, call the police. This fella in here dead.” Shortly after, he said, officers entered and said Rolle was dead.

When he cross-examined the witness, Mr Munroe asked whether he had earlier implied that the person who he knew well brought the police to his house to let them know he had been involved in something criminal.

“You would say that was

DAMES: WE’LL TACKLE ABUSES BY POLICE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames said yesterday the police force is committed to tackling the incidence of alleged abuses by boosting training as well as increasing transparency of police investigations into complaints.

His comment came after several videos were circulated on social media showing police officers slapping, hitting or engaging in conflict with members of the public.

Mr Dames maintained the government’s commitment to bringing back into force a civilian committee to independently review complaint investigations.

“It’s always concerning to us anytime we see our law enforcement officers on social media involved in conflicts with members of the public,” Mr Dames said, “that’s always a point, a cause for concern. I’ve been discussing this issue with the commissioner and his executive team and steps are being taken internally to work on that - from a

training perspective as well as from an investigative perspective.

Last week, another viral video of a police officer’s physical attack on a person has prompted criticism across social media.

In a one minute clip posted online, a police officer strikes a man in the face at least twice. The video is blurry but the man did not appear to be resisting arrest.

The video has since been shared hundreds of times on Facebook, and was posted less than a week after another video of a police officer slapping a man on a beach. The beach incident prompted Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson to open an investigation into the matter.

In that 14-second clip, an officer steadily walked toward a man and slapped him across the face, causing the man to stumble more than once.

Commissioner Ferguson said the matter is being investigated by Deputy Commissioner Emrick Seymour.

Yesterday, Mr Dames said: “As you are well

aware that there is a complaints and discipline unit, and a part of our focus as a government we would like to make the working of the unit more transparent so the public can see that the police despite the fact that they are called upon to investigate their own, that they’re very transparent in the process.

“Additionally the committee of civilians that was formed under the previous legislation allowed for a group to look at police investigations to provide an independent eye. It was disbanded a few years ago and we intend to bring that back very shortly so that it will allow for a greater degree of transparency and independence as police carry out their investigations.”

Mr Dames added: “We are truly concerned when we see these incidences and we don’t want them to happen. I think it cast a negative shadow over law enforcement and that is something that we’re trying to move away from. We’re trying to forge a new direction with the community and it’s situations, incidents, like these that really takes us back.”

not so,” Mr Munroe said.

Mr Fowler said, “No.” “And is it the case that you started rowing with Aaron in the car and the driver of the vehicle, Sergeant Bain, had to tell you ‘not in this car?’”

Mr Munroe also questioned him about the location of the area where he had been interrogated by a sergeant.

He also asked the witness whether he had a conversation with the sergeant and if this took place on the evening in question.

He asked whether it was the same sergeant who drove the car and arrested him. Mr Munroe also asked if either Akiel or Carl were the officers who interviewed him.

He said no, but both constables were in the room during the interview.

Judge Watkins noted that there was a lot of generalisation and during her summary of testimony she would not know who is who.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

As he continued crossexamination, Mr Munroe questioned Mr Fowler’s account of the time he claimed Rolle was interviewed by police at the station.

Mr Fowler conceded he did not have a watch to keep track of the time.

“So which part do you want to say you were wrong about?” Mr Munroe asked.

“The 5.30 or the hour?”

Mr Fowler said he did not understand the question.

“If I suggest to you that the only person who take people in and out of the cells are cell block officers you would say that’s not true because these officers, detectives in plain clothes, took you out of the cell block,” Mr Munroe said.

Mr Fowler disagreed saying only uniformed officers took him from the cell.

He said they arrested him from home in their police uniforms. He said he was positive about this.

Mr Munroe then turned his line of questioning to

what Mr Fowler observed as Rolle returned to his cell.

He asked if he could see anything outside of Rolle’s forearms and his head.

“Did you see any injuries to his head or two arms?”

Mr Munroe questioned.

“I saw injuries to his wrist,” Mr Fowler responded.

However Judge Watkins asked if Mr Munroe wanted answers to his questions.

She said the witness was saying what he wanted to say, adding she would have difficulty as there were questions with no answers.

Mr Munroe again asked whether Mr Fowler had seen injuries to Rolle’s forearms or head.

Mr Fowler said he saw handcuff injuries to Rolle’s wrist. He said the handcuffs tore into his wrists.

Asked if he saw blood, he said he saw tissue where the cuffs were.

He was again asked whether he saw blood, to which he responded that he did not.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, May 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Brave’s ‘U’ for FNM first year from page one parliamentary caucus for unity and humility as they marked the anniversary of their first year in government, spoke volumes to the internal workings of the FNM. “F for failure is being kind, I give them a U,” Mr Davis, Progressive Liberal Party leader, said.

“I think they came in not appreciating what governance is all about and from what I observe and what I think they suffer from is the inability to reach out to those who may be able to help and guide them. They thought being elected was some waving of a wand that

gives them omnipotence, omnipresent, all knowing position, and that is the way they have been conducting themselves.

“I think reality is setting in but unfortunately I think their own character, what they are as persons, is prohibiting them from being able to adjust themselves to what they see the reality is today.”

In remarks at Living Waters Kingdom Ministries on Sunday, Dr Minnis warned party members not to attack each other or criticise the government’s efforts publicly because it would prop up the opposition’s campaign.

The prime minister maintained the PLP had violated

the public’s trust during its last term, and insisted the party had changed leadership but not its lust for power. Dr Minnis said many of the same faces from the last administration remained on the frontlines.

Yesterday, PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell said there was objective evidence of division in Dr Minnis’ camp.

He pointed to the appointment of independent Senator Ranard Henfield as government whip in the Upper House, and his stance against recent government legislation. Mr Mitchel also referred to the criticism levelled at Dr Minnis from junior Cabinet Minister Elsworth Johnson

over the vacancy to the substantive chief justice post - a public position for which Mr Johnson has apologised.

“The objective evidence is there,” Mr Mitchell said, “the whip is supposed to be at one with the Cabinet, the whip can’t separate itself from the Cabinet, yet he (Mr Henfield) gets up in the Senate and attacks a piece of legislation being put forth by the government.

“How are we supposed to believe the government’s position now, when the government is divided on this position? Similarly we have a minister of the government giving advice to the prime minister on the appointment of a chief justice.

“A minister of the government doesn’t talk to the prime minister in public, presumably you can say this in private, so it’s clear.

The signs are there that there are cracks in their morale, and cracks in their programme.”

Mr Mitchell continued: “So we’re going to do our best to tell the country that no lie lasts forever. They came on a programme of deceits. It’s now being exposed slowly and slowly, I say again we’re coming to get you.”

Mr Mitchell also suggested Dr Minnis take his own advice as the FNM Cabinet boasted at least five senior statesmen who have returned to frontline

politics. He listed Attorney General Carl Bethel, Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes, and Minister of Public Service Brensil Rolle and others.

“Let’s just take the comment that nothing has changed,” Mr Mitchell said, “and the same old people are there. Take your own advice…don’t give me this stuff that nothing has changed. The fact is the party uses the talents which are available to it. There is new leadership and we coming to get them.

“So brace for it,” Mr Mitchell continued, “you can stand on the beach of history but you can’t hold back the tide. So I tell them we coming for them.”

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Darren Henfield at the COFCOR event yesterday.

Photo: Kemuel Stubbs

HEFIELD SEEKS GREATER INTEGRATION AT CARICOM EVENT

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

Funeral Service Kay Meredith Thompson, 82

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Darren Henfield yesterday flagged a robust agenda strengthening regional integration as Caribbean foreign ministers and other stakeholders began a two-day forum in the capital.

Mr Henfield said the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), a CARICOM body, will work to dissect outcomes of the recent Summit of Americas in

Peru, and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings in England.

He also forecast talks on the region’s shared struggle of being “named and shamed” as uncooperative tax jurisdictions by the European Union and OECD, with member countries of both entities participating in the forum.

He added that troubling issues associated with derisking and correspondent banking were also on the agenda.

“We meet at a time when the urgency of our call to solidarity as a Caribbean

Community, some near 45 years ago, could not be more critical,” Mr Henfield said.

“Our... objectives, ‘to encourage economic integration and cooperation; to even-handedly share therefrom; and to coordinate foreign policy’ in the interest of the collective, are as urgent today as they were at Chaguaramas in 1973.

“Even though, we will not always agree, it is incumbent upon us as foreign ministers and ambassadors – who invariably set the tone and tenor of the foreign policies of

of West Bay Street, Nassau, The Bahamas died at Doctors Hospital, Collins Avenue, Nassau, on Saturday, 3rd May, 2018.

She was predeceased by her parents Kiral Meredith Thompson, Sr., and Adeline Thompson; brother Kiral Meredith Thompson, Jr., and her sister, Marlene Zenicazelaya.

She is survived by her brother-in-law, Daniel Zenicazelaya; nephews, Inigo (Jamillah) Zenicazelaya, Kiral Meredith III (Sarah) Thompson and Darren Thompson; niece, Lisa (Jeff) Law; great nephews, Santxol and Andoni Zenicazelaya, Patrick Earl, Dylan, John and Zane Thompson; great nieces, Carly Earl and Adeline Law, Mara Thompson and Lorelei Swanson-Thompson and Taylor Thompson, numerous cousins including Dorothea, Donald, David and Raymond Thompson and family, Agatha Sawyer and family, Madeline Cranfill and family, Francine Fomon and family, Jimmy and Ray Thompson and family, Douglas Thompson and family (Minnesota, USA), Scott, Janis and William Saunders, Jr. and family, numerous relatives in California, USA including Jennifer Steele, numerous family and friends including Jeannie Kuhn-Thompson, Mirren, Mikel and Andoni Iturrizaga and family (Bilbao, Spain), Jean Ann Holm, Frieda Hall, Jill Pike and family, Commodore Tellis and Terry Bethel and family and many other relatives and friends.

She will never be forgotten by her loving pets Tequila, Diva, Freedom and Sunshine.

The family would also like to thank Father Anselm Russell, Sister Cecelia, The Legion of Mary, Doctors Hospital Staff, Dr. C. Bonimy, Dr. M. Darville, Dr. P. Ramphal, Dr. K. Moss, Dr. R Francis, Dr. J. Moss, Dr. J. Iferenta and Dr. D. Sands.

A funeral service for Kay Meredith Thompson, will be held at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Shirley Street, Nassau, on Friday, 11th May, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.

Father Anselm Russell will officiate and interment will follow in the Western Cemetery, Nassau Street, Nassau.

Instead of flowers the family request that donations be sent to the Bahamas Humane Society, P.O. Box N. 242, Nassau in memory of Kay Meredith Thompson.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

Funeral Service For Mavis Louise Springer, 88 a resident of #22 Constitution Drive, will be held at Bethel Baptist Church, Meeting Street, on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Officiating will be Rev. Timothy Stewart, assisted by other Ministers of the Gospel. Interment follows in the Church’s Cemetery.

Left to cherish her memories are her husband: Samuel Springer; son: Anthony Ferguson; step children: Anna Cox, Jillian, Robin; grandchildren: Deborah Ferguson, Lavaughn (Trevor) Fernander, Vernon Rahming, Kevin (Carla) Rahming, Jamaal (Gelize) Ferguson, Rafael Ferguson, Byron (Dayvonne) Ferguson, Anthony Knowles, Min. Deidre Lightbourne, Betty Gray, Shirley Henderson, Glenda Crawford, Mavis Sands, Tony Glinton, Philip Johnson, Edmond Rahming; great grandchildren: Robert (Nicola) Bethell III, Trevaughn Fernander, Deonte Rahming, Kellin, Kellian and Asia Rahming, Sierra, Jamaal, Malacai, Neveah Ferguson, Aliash Butler, Errick Morley; great great grandchildren: Dion Robin, Jaden and Shannon Bethell; nieces: Marie Stubbs, Bernadette Richardson, Julie Carey, Ann Rosendahl, Jeanette Richardson, Rochelle Thompson; nephews: Michael, Jerome and Charles Richardson; grand nieces: Stephanie & Shikeya Stubbs, Tamika Strachan, Livette Wilmott, LaShana Graham (Joshua) Andrea & Tara Carey, Felisha Rosendahl, Bridgnetta, Angeliqua, Arianne & RaChea Richardson, Adara Cunningham; grand nephews: Philip, Devard, Devardo, & Ivan Stubbs, Marvin Richardson, Johann & Bjorn Rosendahl; cousins: Allardyce Scott-Fitzgerald, Cedric Scott, Sybline Dean, Monica McGregor, Jackie Lightbourne, Nora, Jerry & George Lightbourne, Patrick, Naomi, Mildred Richardson, Wendy, Gary, Ruthmae, Marva Gaitor, Mario, Calvin, Sheldon, Monique, Tiffany, Ena, Nicola, Shawn, Anne, Marie, Francis, Naomi & Alexis Basden; and a host of other relatives and friends: Cleomie Dean, Eugene and Peggy Culmer, Sylvester and Angela George, H.O. and Christine Nash, Martha Ferguson, Linda Rahming, Antoinette Russell, Eric and Joy Tottell, Eleanor Musgrove, Lettice Gaitor, Carolyn (hair dresser), Tyrone & Jackie Sawyer, Albert Rahming, Elma Williams & family, Claudette White & family, Rev. & Mrs. Timothy Stewart, Senior Saints, Bethel Baptist Church family, Constitution Drive Family.

Friends may pay their last respects at Demeritte’s Funeral Home, Market Street from 11-5:00 p.m. on Tuesday & on Wednesday at the church from 10:00 a.m. until service time.

our respective nations and our region – to remain cognisant of our unspoken commitment to be our brothers’ keepers.”

Member states will also strategise negotiations for a successor to the Cotonou Agreement – between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union – set to expire in 2020.

Mr Henfield also noted the fast approaching hurricane season and the number of member states still in recovery mode in opening remarks at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday.

“With just 24 days before we enter the next hurricane season,” he said, “which experts suggest will be more active than the last one, and with Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and others in the Region, all yet in recovery mode – any such dialogue must include the peculiar vulnerabilities of SIDS relative to sustainability, resilience, and access to development financing at concessionary rates, and which consider vulnerability over GDP and GNP.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 8, 2018, PAGE 7

Potter’s Cay vendors want meeting with minister Wells

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

POTTER’S Cay Fish, Fruit, and Vegetable Vendors Association President Orminique Bowe is calling for Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister Renward Wells to meet with the group regarding the redevelopment of Potter’s Cay Dock.

Ms Bowe has been president of the association since 2015. That year, she met with the previous minister, V Alfred Gray, and saw the plans to “revamp” the dock, including building 50 uniform stalls for vendors to use.

However, three years later, the stalls have not been put in place.

Ms Bowe says the association has only met with Mr Wells once regarding the redevelopment. This was in July 2017. On January 12, she sent him a letter.

“I have not heard from him as yet,” Ms Bowe told The Tribune yesterday.

“They’re taking down all of the stalls and they have a plan in place from the previous government that they’re going to revamp Potter’s Cay,” she said.

“We keep on hearing it’s (going to) happen but we don’t know when.”

Ms Bowe confirmed that the vendors do want the redevelopment. However, the delays are causing them to be frustrated. Some of them have taken to building more permanent structures themselves.

Ms Bowe said according to the original plan, the new development is supposed to include 47 stalls.

“We’re also (going to) have or supposed to have a fruit and vegetable pavilion and a fish and conch pavilion. All of that is planned already. I’ve sat with the plan.”

She said the whole project was estimated to take

POTTER’s Cay during redevelopment work, as pictured in 2016. six to eight months, with not certain how that is the buildings being divided (going to) work out,” she said. among five contractors.

“Just a few weeks ago, he She added that she hopes the revamp will be included had something in the press in the government’s budget stating that he (has) an for the upcoming fiscal option of having a publicyear, adding that it is “long private partnership thing with this development. And overdue”.

Ms Bowe also expressed he said that we will hear concern about new devel- more about it in the budget.

“But as far as sitting opments concerning the with the association and project.

“I really wanted to talk the members, we have not about the redevelopment sat with him since July of because I’m hearing public- last year concerning the private partnership from development.”

In an article published Minister Wells, and we’re

MURDER VICTIMS IDENTIFIED POLICE have released the identities of the country’s latest murder victims.

The woman who was stabbed during an argument with a man at

Malcolm Road on Friday has been identified as Theagrea Hanna, 24, of Cowman Lane. Hanna was stabbed after 6pm and died in hospital a short time later.

The man who was stabbed during a fight at Potter’s Cay Dock Friday night is Prince Johnson, 29, of Cox Street. The investigations continue.

SIX MIGRANTS HELD IN BIMINI

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

POLICE in Bimini apprehended six undocumented immigrants at a local hotel on Monday.

Asst Supt Terecita Pinder said shortly before 10am, a team of police and immigration officers, acting on information, went to the Admiral Hotel in Bailey Town where they arrested five Indian men and one

man from Brazil.

ASP Pinder said the immigrants had reportedly entered the country illegally and were taken into custody. She said investigations are continuing into the matter.

in The Nassau Guardian on April 6, Mr Wells said a public-private partnership is an option for financing the project.

The other route would be for the government to allocate $9-10m for the project.

When asked by The Tribune yesterday about the status of the redevelopment of Potter’s Cay, Mr Wells reiterated that the matter will be discussed during the budget debate in the House of Assembly in June.

When asked about his communication with the

association, Mr Wells said: “I met with them last year, spoke with them about what needs to take place.

“We’re seeking to bring everybody current who owns the licences over there. The place, from my perspective, needs some serious renovations, period.

“And we’re going to see to it that we do right by the Bahamian people in regard to Potter’s Cay. So, it will take place.”

Meanwhile, the association held an election yesterday. According to

Ms Bowe, the association’s goals for the future also include putting in place a pension or death burial plan for members for up to $10,000 and building an office within the next two years.

Developing a Potter’s Cay Dock Class-C regatta and hosting an annual food and rum fest are in the works as well. A book is also being put together on how the area has shaped the economy thus far. It is expected to be published in December.

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PAGE 8, Tuesday, May 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Straight outta Compton - and around the world Face to Face

By FELICITY INGRAHAM

Y

OU could have been abandoned as a young child, left to fend for yourself in one of the toughest ghettos in America with crime statistics stacked against you, and you could still rise above them to become an international professional basketball player, making money playing a game you love. That’s the testimony of Mahershal Simonet, a passionate and driven man who is making a difference on and off the basketball court. He is a skilful point guard and shooting guard who has played in some 15 countries around the world; now he is in The Bahamas discovering his roots and sowing positive seeds into the lives of children here.

Growing up in Compton and South Central Los Angeles wasn’t easy. It is his mindset that led him to rise above his situation and make the best of his life. He knows if he can do it, then young men in New Providence with life stacked against them, and Family Island youth with little opportunities, can do it too.

He was just four years old when his mother abandoned him on the streets of the ghetto in Los Angeles. His father and paternal grandparents rescued him and took him under their care until he was 18.

When asked what life was like growing up in these parts of Los Angeles, he replied: “It’s very dangerous and very different. You have to be really strong-minded

to overcome the stupidness, the drugs, the scammers, because they all come from a poverty environment. You wake up, have breakfast, and you go out there and make sure that you safe, make sure you’re dodging bullets.

You have to make sure you wear the right colours. If you wear certain colours on certain streets, something may happen. It could be a case of mistaken identity. You could have been in a car wreck on the wrong side of town, and you are not supposed to be there, and something may happen. It could be something very stupid but you have to deal with it.”

His grandparents, Ervin and Anna Simonet, became the anchors that kept him from drifting down the wrong path. The Simonets were “givers” and “they raised at least five families” in their house over the course of his upbringing, giving him a chance to grow up with cousins and other extended family members.

It was difficult for him not having a mother, and the circumstances under which he came to his grandparents’ care, but he is thankful for having the gift of a grandmother who poured her love into him. They were great role models.

Ervin Simonet, now 94, served with distinction for Los Angeles City Hall for decades and is a World War Two veteran. Mother Anna had her own design shop on the East Side of Los Angeles, where she created unique, sought-after lampshades. The Simonets were

PICTURED clockwise from above, Mahershal Simonet, his gramdmother Anna Simonet at a young age, and grandfather Ervin Simonet, now 94, whom Mahershal speaks to almost daily. married for 60 years before Mother Anna passed away.

“Anna was my mother for years,” he said, “I have those grandmother teachings – appreciating the small things and making my own way in life and giving this gift on to the next person.”

Mahershal attended St Eugene Parish School and was exposed to a Catholic education, an investment his grandparents made in him, with tuition at $500 per month. He remembers attending mass every Wednesday, praying often, wearing uniforms, and having a “very structured programme” that he benefitted from tremendously.

St Eugene has just one building, yet four basketball courts and is known for producing great athletes. During his tenure, the school won consecutive championship

MAHERSHAL Simonet during his time as a player in Asia.

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and Mahershal won consecutive MVP titles.

After St Eugene, he attended the number one high school in the state at the time, Westchester High, and then went on to graduate from Washington Preparatory High School.

After graduating, coach Tim Swartzendruber offered him a scholarship to Heston College where he broke records and made a name for himself in his freshman year. Later on, he came under the wing of another coach – Patrick Nee, the son of legendary University of Nebraska coach Danny Nee – and graduated from Highland Community College with an Associate’s degree in Science. Pursuing further education, Mahershal travelled to Texas and enrolled in Jarvis Christian College. Here, he played his best under coach William Sparrow and helped the team to win the national championships for the first time ever in the history of a predominantly black school in the state of Texas. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching so he could “teach anyone in the world the life lessons” he learned.

“I was very talented at a young age,” he said.

“I dominated and I worked hard. I wanted the best opportunities for myself and I wanted to make my grandparents proud.”

With professional basketball aspirations, Mahershal was working out at different National Basketball Association (NBA) camps like the Lakers, the Celtics and the Clippers, but there was a “lockout”. “I was trying to find my way. There was an NBA lockout and I had to wait. I was waiting for a year for all of this to happen. My friend Ralph Mata who is also an agent took me and a few other players to the Dominican Republic. He gave me an opportunity and I did well with it, and that’s how it all started.”

Mahershal, now 32, would play in some 15 countries and learn several languages such as French, Spanish, Chinese and Swahili, gaining international exposure and friends along the way.

“I took myself overseas,” he said.

“I was my own agent. I didn’t depend on anyone.

I saved the money I made and invested it in myself and approached the owners of the teams. I played from small – a hundred dollars a game to a thousand to three grand a game.”

His pursuits would land him in cities all across the world with tons of experiences to share. He recalls on one occasion, he was in Thailand and on his way to get a visa. Officials saw his passport, and it had a tear in it, so they detained him.

For four days, he had no food or wifi service. Only water, and his regular call line allowed him to alert loved ones to his dilemma.

He was “doing push ups

‘All I wanted to see was a basketball court.

I didn’t want to see anything else. I just had to play. I started to play and I didn’t miss a shot. There was a guy standing up in the corner of the court watching me and he came over and said he wanted to take me to a practice to meet some people. From that opportunity, I was offered $5,000 per month for three months. It was just a random basketball court… it’s only God.’ and praying every day”. He had cash on him, and cleverly paid a janitor $175 to get him a passport. Once free, he headed straight to the first basketball court he could find.

“All I wanted to see was a basketball court. I didn’t want to see anything else. I just had to play. I started to play and I didn’t miss a shot. There was a guy standing up in the corner of the court watching me and he came over and said he wanted to take me to a practice to meet some people. From that opportunity, I was offered $5,000 per month for three months. It was just a random basketball court… it’s only God.” Mahershal still returned to the US to play, but “it got political” and one day he made a decision. He took a one-way trip to China “with hotel paid and a basketball in hand and didn’t think twice about it”.

That turned out to be the best decision, as he worked in the league in China for three years, working with the likes of Gary Payton and Nate Robinson and made a name for himself.

That three-year stint ended in January, when he came to The Bahamas.

“I had enough of the pollution and I wanted to see blue skies and I came straight to The Bahamas,” he said.

“I am not leaving until my next contract and in the meantime, I just want to bless the children.”

He has hosted several successful basketball clinics, starting in New Providence and he is now making the rounds in Eleuthera. He was impressed by the raw talent in the country but advises that athletes with professional goals should network more and make closer connections with Americans.

His first clinic was at Akhepran International School in Fox Hill through a partnership between himself, school President Dr Jacinta Higgs, Member of Parliament Shonel Ferguson and friend Ivoine Ingraham. He went on to host clinic at government schools including Anatol Rogers High School where one bright star, Corey Sands, received a scholarship to North Carolina Max Prep Academy. Another up and coming athlete, Aaron, an Atlantis worker, is about to receive a scholarship, and Mahershal recently sent five students to McPherson University in Kansas for a clinic.

In Eleuthera, Basketball Association Vice President Dena Johnson invited him to invest in the children there, and he hasn’t left since and has already hosted several clinics with local and US coaches participating. MPs Rickey Mackey (North Eleuthera) and Hank Johnson (South Eleuthera MP) have been “tremendously supportive” and Aliv has come on board as a sponsor for these events. Actually, the entire island has been supportive, including William “Doug” Douglass, Bob and Kathy Coleman, Pineapple Air, La Bougainvillea Resort, French Levy Resort, Shauna’s Restaurant, PS Waste Management, Potlatch Club and Ronnie’s Sports Bar and Grill.

Through ancestry.com, Mahershal discovered his ancestors hailed from The Bahamas and the “I” may have once been a “y” like it is here, spelled Symonette.

He has lots to discover but is doing his research and also visited the Department of Archives.

It was while vacationing here in The Bahamas at the Atlantis Resort that he got news his mother died. He had seen his mother only once since he was four. His cousin Jeff Holland, a successful football player with the University of Auburn on his way to the NFL, took him to see his mother. She was in an alley washing clothes.

“I just said to her, I forgive you,” he said.

“I forgive you for leaving me on the streets at four. Let’s forget about the past. Let’s make this day awesome and let’s move on. She gave me a big hug.

I stayed with her for three weeks, I filled her refrigerator up with food and then I headed back to Europe to play.”

“My story is not just about basketball. It’s about making sure that young kids understand that even if you think you have nothing, you can take the smallest thing, the smallest opportunity and make it something big. Make it gold. Stay strong and every minute, every hour, use that tool, that opportunity to make that door open for you. Show the world that you were meant to be here.”

His name, given to him by his mother, reminds him of his purpose. His full name, Maher-shalal-hashbaz is found in the Bible, Isiah 8:1 and is a source of his inspiration, as it means “to go and not to wait”.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 8, 2018, PAGE 9

No demonstration held by doctors after Sands alert

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net AFTER saying on Sunday officials expected junior doctors to demonstrate Monday, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said yesterday “there was no disruption” of healthcare services in the country.

“The Bahamas Doctors Union requested a delay in the meeting with the Ministry of Health and the

Department of Labour,” Dr Sands said regarding a planned meeting between him and the BDU that was scheduled for 2pm yesterday.

“The meeting was rescheduled to (this) afternoon.”

However, representatives from the Bahamas Nurses Union and the Bahamas Doctors Union held a press conference yesterday to air their grievances. Since more than 200

workers engaged in a “sick out” last week, representatives of the BNU say they have still not met with Dr Sands.

The BNU also said they still have not received outstanding money owed to them. The nurses have applied for a strike vote, setting the stage for possible industrial action over the disputes.

Meanwhile, senior house officers or junior doctors are objecting to

requirements that they either be chosen for a residency programme within one of the Public Hospital Authority’s medical departments or enrol in a mandatory foundation programme that will gear them toward private practice.

In the latter case, senior house officers two years out from internship will have three years to complete the programme and pass an exam or be pushed

out of the public healthcare system.

On Sunday, Dr Sands said the changes had been planned for some time.

“Over a decade or more we’ve been gradually increasing the standards,” he said.

“It used to be someone would get a private practice licence just after completing an internship but that doesn’t serve the public well. You cannot say ‘I’m a doctor’ but camp out in

a place where you’re neither fish nor fowl. Nobody envisioned young physicians being essentially permanently in a position where they cannot practice independently.

Without qualifying to take the (Special Purpose Examination) and passing the exam, the Medical Council won’t give licences to practice independently. And there will be no more staying as a mid-level doctor in a public hospital for 20 years.”

Pompeo seeks to bring back the swagger

by Our Washington Correspondent

AMERICAN Secretaries of State have normally visited their headquarters building on C Street in Washington shortly after they receive the oath of office. Mike Pompeo was determined to be different.

Officially administered the oath of his new office

by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito last week, Mr Pompeo immediately jetted away for a quick stop at a NATO meeting in Brussels and then visited staunch US allies Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia before returning to the American capital.

On Tuesday, he made his first visit to his new office in Foggy Bottom.

On a dazzling spring day that seemed to finally herald the end of winter in the American northeast, Mr Pompeo found the State Department’s main diplomatic entry hall thronged with thousands of his new subordinates.

Packed three and four deep along a balcony above the landing where Mr Pompeo made a few remarks, State Department employees joined hundreds more colleagues arranged behind velvet ropes on the main floor to offer a raucous, enthusiastic and almost tumultuous greeting to a man who means to help President Trump undo what Barack Obama achieved in diplomacy and will likely lend his voice to a recently

unprecedented bellicosity and nativism in US foreign policy.

The first 15 months of the Trump administration have been especially tough on the State Department.

Mr Trump’s first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, eventually offered a reasonable voice on foreign policy in an executive branch that has often seemed unfocused and operating with myopic vision on the international stage. But Mr Tillerson never meshed with Mr Trump and was unceremoniously dumped via Twitter earlier this year.

Within the State Department, Mr Tillerson led a draconian effort to slash the agency budget, forced or impelled numerous respected senior career officials to retire and left vacant the department’s most senior positions for unusually long periods. Commentators often described Mr Tillerson as hollowing out State’s senior ranks. Morale was reportedly very low.

Despite the unsettling nature of many of Mr Pompeo’s public foreign policy utterances as a three-term and Tea Party congressman from Kansas, he had settled in last year as director of the CIA with surprisingly little controversy. His subordinates at the spy agency reportedly regarded him as offering them reassuring support and sagacious leadership.

The State Department’s

warm welcome for Mr Pompeo’s leadership thus came as no surprise. After Mr Tillerson’s determined opposition to the department’s organisational well being, Mr Pompeo arrives as a breath of fresh air.

On paper, Mr Pompeo seems impressive. He graduated first in his class at West Point. After a peacetime tour of duty in a tank unit in the army in Germany, Mr Pompeo went on to Harvard Law School where he was selected for the law review. In introducing the new secretary, Acting Secretary John Sullivan flattered him as a “cross between George Patton and Oliver Wendell Holmes”. Flanked by his smiling wife and son, Mr Pompeo just grinned.

Thronged by well wishers on his entry into the building and departure after a few nondescript remarks, Mr Pompeo revelled in a scene reminiscent of televised presidential entries and exits from State of the Union addresses to annual joint sessions of the US Congress. He clasped hands along the rope lines, posed for selfies with staff members and appeared thoroughly at ease.

Mr Trump’s disdain for Mr Tillerson and the traditional diplomatic service of the State Department was exemplified by the fact that when the president visited the department’s ornate treaty rooms for a symbolic swearing in for Mr Pompeo on Wednesday, it was his

SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray at the State Department yesterday.

Photo: Alex Brandon/AP first visit to the department Kim Jong-un, but many on Russia for its acts of observers expect the presi- aggression. And we will as president.

The president’s scripted dent and Pompeo will have soon move our embassy in remarks were very brief, but other surprises in store Israel to Jerusalem years he managed to inject some for the world community. ahead of schedule.” characteristic snarkiness Mr Pompeo is regarded Mr Pompeo noted the and sarcasm. Greeted by in Washington as perhaps recent visits to the White applause from his vice presi- the cabinet member most House of French President dent and numerous other in tune with Mr Trump, Emmanuel Macron and appointed dignitaries, Mr and unlikely to push back German Chancellor Angela the president’s Merkel, “but there’s one Trump noted “that’s more against spirit than I’ve heard from impulses in foreign rela- more thing. We have an the State Department in a tions as Mr Tillerson had unprecedented opportulong time – many years. We done. nity to change the course In responding to Mr of history on the Korean are grateful for everything you do for our country. And Trump, Mr Pompeo ticked Peninsula. One thing is ceryou’ll be doing things that off “outstanding examples tain: We will not repeat the you don’t even know about. of progress we have made mistakes of the past. A bad And we have a couple going so far: We’ve put hurt on deal is not an option. now, Mike, that people the ISIS caliphate in Iraq “I want the State Departdon’t know about that are and Syria. We’ve done so by ment to get its swagger great diplomatic work. We back,” Mr Pompeo said. very encouraging.”

The president was are confronting all types of After their long exile in the likely referring to more Iranian hostility, and are bureaucratic wilderness of manoeuvering in advance deciding on the next steps the Trump administration, of a planned meeting next for the flawed JCPOA the department’s rank and month between Mr Trump (Iran nuclear deal). We’ve file are likely to offer heartand North Korean leader imposed real consequences felt support to the new boss.

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PAGE 10, Tuesday, May 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

$4.5m hall to accommodate 80 students in Grand Bahama

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE opening of the $4.5m Hawksbill Hall at the University of The Bahamas’ northern campus marks the transition of the Grand Bahama institution from

a commuter campus to a residential one, providing accommodations for over 80 student residents.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said the newly-built dormitory facility signals a red-letter day for Grand Bahama, and for the development and expansion of the northern

campus.

Mr Turnquest congratulated UB on the momentous step and suggested it would help the Minnis administration to fulfil its election promise of free tertiary education.

“One of those (promises) was to offer free tuition to

THE NEW $4.5m Hawksbill Hall in Grand Bahama at the University of The Bahamas’ northern campus.

Photo: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff every student throughout Dr Ian Strachan, vice presi- acres. It is not only importhis country, but more par- dent of UB North. tant for the development ticularly the Family Islands The multi-purpose facil- of GB but the development students so they are not ity includes 14 dormitories, of our people because limited by their circum- a cafeteria, laundry area, the development of this stances or where they come student lounge, gym, and campus will give us the from. This facility will help computer laboratory. The opportunity to expand our us to fulfil that promise,” he facility also provides wi-fi offerings and diverse econsaid. access. omy and skills in multiple Additionally, Mr TurnIt was built with contain- ways,” he said. quest stated that the ers that were refurbished Mr Turnquest said that government recently using “modular-tech- the East End area is poised approved a private-public nology”. ALMACO, an for growth. “As we develop partnership that will see a international construction this campus and it expands significant number of dor- company, specialises in its offering, we look formitories constructed at the the modular system used ward to the growth that will Nassau campus. for refurbishing cabins on happen as a result,” he said.

“Together, we expect cruise ships, significantly While giving her remarks, that we will be able to reducing construction Ms St George said the conoffer tertiary education to time, with minimum impact struction and opening of the all deservto the dormitory facility is another ing students ‘By 2015, it was environment. milestone for the UB North regardless of Mr Turn- campus. their income, clear these dorms quest said Hawksbill Hall is named background, were a must. So that the $4.5m in recognition of the Hawksand ability the late Sir Jack investment is bill Creek Agreement, which to pay,” he part of a larger established a free trade zone and I joined (the) said. investment as an economic stimulus for “And so, COB chairman and goal for the Grand Bahama. this is a very announced that campus, and “By 2015, it was clear timely investthanked Ms St these dorms were a ment and the government George for the must,” she said. “So the one that is and the GBPA GBPA’s help. late Sir Jack and I joined critical to GBPA (the) COB chairman and would commit achieving the gifted 50 acres announced that the governoverall vision the funding to of land for the ment and the GBPA would we have for make it happen.’ construction of commit the funding to the institunorthern make it happen.”

Sarah St George the tion and the campus. The Ms St George noted that Grand Bahama group prom- the new dormitory would country,” Mr Turnquest Port Authority ised that if provide accommodations said. government for 86 students in a safe and Attenddeveloped the healthy living environment. ing the official opening 50 acres, the other 150 acres She said the facility would ceremony were Sarah St would become available to allow UB students from West George, vice chairman of UB. End and East End to elimithe Grand Bahama Port “We hope it will be able nate their long commute by Authority, which contrib- to fulfil that commitment living in the dorms. “This uted $3m or two-thirds of to people of GB and The facility is not just for GB, the funding towards the Bahamas as we hope to be but for all the islands of the project; and Dr Rodney able to lean on the GBPA northern Bahamas, and even Smith, UB president, and for that additional 150 Nassau,” she added.

READERS ON DOCTORS’ THREAT AFTER Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said health officials are bracing for a potential nationwide demonstration involving frustrated junior doctors, readers gave their reaction on tribune242.com.

Well_mudda_take_sic agreed with the minister: “Sands is absolutely right.

If you cannot pass basic professional knowledge examinations as part of demonstrating your proficiency and entitlement to be certified as a medical doctor with a license to practice then you should not be allowed to practice medicine or refer to yourself as a medical doctor.

Too many of our people are dying possibly as a result of our government and the Bahamas Medical Association permitting unqualified individuals to hold themselves out as MDs. These individuals should not be employed as MDs within our public healthcare system nor should they be licensed as private practitioners. The situation Sands is confronted with should have been dealt with by Minnis when he was Minister of Health (MOH) under the last Ingraham administration. Minnis’s failure to address these matters when he was MOH suggests that he might have been more adept at waiting on tables than practising medicine as a UWI trained doctor.”

Sheeprunner12 said: “There is nothing wrong with re-certification programmes to get promoted . . . straight across ALL government Departments . . . clerks, teachers, nurses, policemen, accountants, doctors, lawyers, etc, and do away with automatic ACR 3 ratings for annual increments.

It makes

civil servants LAZY and COMPLACENT.” UserOne also backed the minister: “I applaud Dr Sands for taking an unpopular stand for the good of the people and the country. This is what we need in government.”

The Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association’s president, Prescott Smith, has fired back at opponents of the industry’s regulations, suggesting they were pushing a “doom and gloom” narrative to pressure the Government to back down.

That prompted this response from Bcitizen: “This is noise about nothing. NO ONE is against a license or paying for it. The biggest contention in all of this is the ease of acquiring the license. Why would I want to spend days chasing down the administrator and waste my fishing time trying to pay the license? Or let’s just say I came to visit the Bahamas for beaches and sun and I realise while I am here that I would like to go fly fishing my last two days at random. Guess what – that cannot happen because there is no time to get the license. So who loses money but the guides? There can be no spur of the moment decision to go fly fishing and hire a guide last minute under this legislation. It is absolutely ridiculous that this simple aspect of it cannot be fixed.”

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

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 8, 2018, PAGE 11

DISNEY INTEREST IN BAHAMAS INVESTMENT CONFIRMED

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

DISNEY Cruise Lines does have an interest in furthering its investments in The Bahamas, according to the company’s spokeswoman, Kim Prunty, who yesterday responded to speculation and concern over the sale and development of Lighthouse Point, Eleuthera.

In a statement to The Tribune yesterday, Mrs Prunty confirmed the cruise line’s interest in The Bahamas, but did not name any specific site or property shortlisted for acquisition and development.

Disney Cruise Lines has recently been at the centre of speculation, with several sources on Eleuthera naming the company as the group behind the potential acquisition and development of the Lighthouse Point site.

The 700-acre property is being advertised for sale by Bahamas Realty, and is listed on the Bahamas Real Estate

LIGHTHOUSE POINT Association’s website.

The area is being marketed as an “ideal setting for a grand vision, with exceptional beachfront acreage, colourful coral reefs and a breathtaking landscape”.

The realtor has also dubbed it as “the perfect locale for a vacation home, hotel and marina development”.

In her statement yesterday, Mrs Prunty said while the cruise line didn’t have “anything to share about a specific location”

at this time, any project pursued by the company in the future would involve a “partnership with the community” and build on its commitment to “sustainability, protecting the environment, creating jobs and economic opportunity, and celebrating the culture and stories of the area”.

Her comments seem to directly address the current push back by residents in Eleuthera and the One Eleuthera digital campaign - Save Lighthouse Point.

The campaign has launched a website detailing the history and importance of the area, while imploring Bahamians to sign a petition to stop the sale and development of the property.

“Lighthouse Point is one of the most popular beach and recreation areas in the entire Bahamas,” the petition on change. org states. “The biodiversity of the ecosystem and the hugely important cultural and historic resources are irreplaceable and should be preserved for the enjoyment and education of the entire community and not just for a select few.”

The Tribune understands Lighthouse Point, despite its history and importance to the island of Eleuthera, sits on a privately owned property that is now listed for sale.

In March, Holly Peel, a long-time resident of Eleuthera who contacted The Tribune with concerns over how the property was being handled, called on the government to get involved and help the group pushing to keep the property.

Recently, sources have claimed Central and South Eleuthera MP Hank Johnson has used at least one party branded function to “extensively sell” residents on the pros of a potential Disney-led Lighthouse Point development.

When contacted for comment on the allegation, Mr Johnson said he could not speak directly to the claim, but did say “rumblings” were in the air about the issue.

“Yes, at this time, there is nothing I can say to you on this matter,” he said last week. “There is nothing that I can say.

There are rumblings in the air, but I have nothing to say further to that.”

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THE TRIBUNE

NEW LAVA VENTS OPEN UP IN HAWAIIAN NEIGHBOURHOOD

IN this Saturday photo, a fissure erupts in Leilani Estates in Pahoa, Hawaii.

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TWO new cracks in the ground emitting lava and gas have opened up in a Hawaii community where 35 structures have burned down.

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people for ignoring commands to stop at a roadblock outside the community.

Acting Hawaii County Mayor Wil Okabe says it’s difficult to tell from aerial surveys how many are homes and how many are other uninhabited structures.

NEW YORK AG RESIGNS AMID ABUSE CLAIMS NEW YORK Associated Press

NEW York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who had taken on high-profile roles as an advocate for women’s issues and an antagonist to the policies of President Donald Trump, announced last night that he would be resigning from office hours after four women he was romantically involved with or had romantic interactions with accused him of physical violence in

accounts published by The New Yorker.

Schneiderman, who was running for re-election, said he contested the women’s accounts, but “while these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time”.

He said he would resign at the close of business today.

Two women had spoken to The New Yorker on the record, saying Schneiderman repeatedly hit them

during the course of their relationships with him in recent years, and never with their consent. Neither woman filed any police complaints, but both said they sought out medical attention and confided in people close to them about the abuse.

A third woman who also was involved with him told her story to the other two women, but said she was too frightened to come forward.

A fourth woman said Schneiderman slapped her when she rebuffed him during an intimate encounter.

ZIMMERMAN CHARGED WITH STALKING TRAYVON INVESTIGATOR SANFORD, Florida Associated Press

Reservations Required

fissures in Leilani Estates.

Residents of the evacuated subdivision are being allowed to check on their properties from 7am to 6pm every day until further notice. Officials say residents must be prepared to leave on short notice.

Police arrested two

AUTHORITIES say George Zimmerman threatened a private investigator working for a documentary filmmaker.

Court records show Zimmerman was issued a summons for a May 30 arraignment on a charge of misdemeanor stalking.

A sheriff’s report says the investigator contacted Zimmerman in September on behalf of Michael Gasparro, who is making a documentary on black teenager Trayvon Martin. The series is being produced by rapper Jay-Z. Court records show the private investigator received 55 phone calls, 67 text messages, 36

voicemails and 27 emails from Zimmerman in December.

The records don’t list an attorney for Zimmerman.

Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic. The former neighborhood watch volunteer fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin in 2012 in the central Florida city of Sanford. He was acquitted of all charges.