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VOLUME:116 No.93, MAY 8TH, 2019

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

ALICIA WALLACE: DON’T BE BLIND TO CHURCH POWER

Mother who lost two sons to guns, warns

Too much killing.

It has got to stop

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE pervasiveness of illegal firearms and the “kill or be killed culture” perpetuated by them are leading to the destruction of innercity communities, a mother preparing to bury a second son in four months has said.

Rosalie Bain, the mother of the country’s most recent homicide victim, insists more needs to be done to “once and for all address the problem with guns”.

On January 1, Ms Bain’s 19-year-old son Terrance Rolle Jr was shot and killed as he was leaving the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade. Rolle Jr’s murder

marked the country’s first for 2019. Last Friday night, his older brother Barron “Jam Dawg” Roberts, 30, ate a final meal at home before leaving to spend a few hours with some friends.

He was fatally shot in his head just hours later on Hospital Lane, becoming the country’s 23rd murder for 2019, according to this newspaper’s records.

Yesterday, police said a 42-year-old man was in custody in connection with the incident.

According to their mother, both of her sons were “gunned down by the streets”.

“The only thing I find SEE PAGE THREE

THE Bahamas must not allow “vested interests and nationalism” to deter it from breaking out of decade-long “stagnation” via broadbased economic reform, a trade expert urged yesterday.

Ramesh Chaitoo, coauthor of the Oxford Economics report on full World Trade Organisation membership’s likely impact on The Bahamas, said this nation faces significant internal pressures to

maintain its economic status quo. Yet he said there was abundant evidence to show The Bahamas is not generating sufficient GDP growth and new jobs through a narrow economic model that has largely remained unchanged for 60 years.

Traditionally reliant on tourism and financial services as its key drivers, Mr Chaitoo said The Bahamas cannot expect to maintain its current business models given the insatiable appetite of developed countries for tax dollars.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

SORRY TALE OF TAYLOR INDUSTIES’ ROUTE TO FAILURE

SEE PAGE TEN

BAHA MAR ROBBERY: 3 DETAINED

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THREE men are in custody in connection with the recent smash and grab robbery at John Bull’s Baha Mar store.

Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash confirmed the arrests yesterday, telling The Tribune investigators are “making key steps toward closing” the matter.

He also confirmed that police are still seeking to identify a fourth “person of interest” in the case.

According to police, two men entered the store located near the resort’s western entrance around SEE PAGE TWO

WTO REPORT’S AUTHOR: ‘BAHAMAS CAN’T HIDE’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

RICHARD COULSON

PULPIT FOR PREACHING NOT POLITICS

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

ROSALIE BAIN, the mother of the country’s most recent homicide victim, holding photographs of her sons yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

OPPOSITION leader Philip Davis yesterday levied a litany of critiques against Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, including describing his recent speech in a church as “inappropriate” and dubbing Dr Minnis’ claims that the PLP “politicised the police force” as “ludicrous”.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

WEB BOSSES TOLD: PAY WHAT YOU OWE TECHNOLOGY

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

FINANCE Minister K Peter Turnquest yesterday urged web shop operators to pay their taxes out of an obligation to the government regardless of beliefs or legal arguments they intend to mount.

As a result of some operators failing to pay the taxes, Mr Turnquest said the government is about $5m down from its projections. “There

MINISTER PETER TURNQUEST has been some delay in collections,” Mr Turnquest said yesterday in response

to questions from the media outside Cabinet. We continue to work with the gaming industry to have them accept [and] agree that the negotiated position arrived at is fair to all concerned and that they ought to now meet their commitment.

“There are two of the gaming houses – one that is completely compliant the other is partially compliant and there are some that are not compliant.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FIVE

DRAMATIC COSMIC CATCH FOR SPACEX SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Baha Mar robbery: three detained, one still at large from page one

3pm on Sunday, smashed several showcases and stole an assortment of watches and jewellery before fleeing the property on foot.

Initial reports suggested the men were unarmed, or at the very least not brandishing weapons.

There were no injuries reported by police.

When The Tribune visited the scene roughly two hours after the ordeal unfolded, security personnel declined comment and said any updates on the matter would come either from police or the resort’s public relations team.

Subsequently, Robert Sands, the resort’s senior vice president, in a brief statement on Sunday confirmed the incident, saying the matter was now a police investigation and that no further comment would come from the resort.

In the wake of the “brazen” ordeal, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar suggested Baha Mar “rethink” its security plan.

“A situation created a

BAHA MAR where there was a smash and grab robbery at the John Bull store on Sunday.

crime of opportunity today, and two robbers took advantage of this lapse and perpetrated a brazen act. As it stands, the hotel will now have to rethink its security plan, as police look to bring this matter to a close,” Mr D’Aguilar said, when made aware of the incident.

“It breaks my heart that in pursuit of a short-term gain, these men directly jeopardised the economic impact this hotel has had on the lives of so many Bahamians.

I Implore the community to work to identify these men and turn them over to the authorities.”

Neither police nor the resort have placed a value on the items stolen from the store.

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR

JURY HEAR EVIDENCE THAT MAN HAD SHOT AT POLICE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THERE is evidence that a 20-year-old man fired a gun the night police officers said he shot at them, causing them to return fire

and kill him in the Mason’s Addition area four years ago, a jury heard yesterday.

Charles Bain, an expert firearms examiner employed with the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), read a report to jurors indicating that

residue from a discharged firearm was found on D’Angelo Bodie Wallace’s hands.

That revelation came before Constable 2823 Jamaal Rolle testified how Wallace, dressed all in black, fired a single shot at

his and his partner’s direction from just feet away while running away from them in the early morning hours of May 16, 2015.

P/C Rolle further said his partner, Assistant Superintendent Alexander Pierre, was so close to Wallace

that because of how his partner threw his hands up and because of the look on his face, he thought he had been shot.

And because of Wallace’s actions, and being in fear for both his and ASP Pierre’s life, P/C Rolle said he ended firing two shots at Wallace, ultimately leading to the 20-year-old’s death.

And, the officer said if he had the opportunity he would not have done anything differently given the circumstances.

That revelation came after Mr Bain said the four police officers involved in the incident in 2015 were severely “disadvantaged” by trying to bring order to a shootout involving a highpowered weapon by using their service pistols.

Mr Bain said while police issued firearms shoot at about 1,500 feet per second, one of the guns used during the incident, a Romarm 7.62 self-loading rifle, which is commonly referred to as an imitation AK-47 assault rifle, shoots at 2,800 feet per second.

The only difference between the AK-47 and the rifle used that night, Mr Bain said, is that the AK-47 has the ability to switch between automatic and semi-automatic mode, while the weapon used that night is only semi-automatic.

However, he said both can inflict the same amount of damage.

“If you live in a clap board house, this will go in and out,” he said of the gun’s bullets. “Depends on the thickness. Sheetrock, durock, it’s a waste of time.”

P/C Rolle further said that very same gun sounded like “violent thunder and lightning” as its bullets were being fired in rapid succession on the morning in question.

He said in the early morning hours of May 16, 2015, he and ASP Pierre were on duty at the junction of East Street and Wulff Road when they received certain information from police control room about shots being fired in the Mason’s Addition area.

P/C Rolle said when he and ASP Pierre arrived at the location in question

sometime around 3:30am, he observed a group of males, some donned in black shorts, shirts and/or hoodies, while one of them wore a white t-shirt and a blue jeans. The latter was armed with the high-powered weapon.

P/C Rolle said upon their arrival, the males fled the area, prompting him and ASP Pierre to give chase.

He said the male with the rifle ran east into a nearby yard, while the rest headed west towards East Street behind a house and some bushes.

After managing to apprehend and arrest a suspect, he said he heard a barrage of gunshots coming from the direction of East Street to the west. He said the gunshots were quick in succession and very loud.

Then, P/C Rolle said while the suspect they had apprehended was still at his side, one of the males dressed in black from earlier, who was armed with a weapon, ran from a house and to the east away from East Street.

P/C Rolle said he ordered the male to drop the gun, and expected him to do so. However, he said the male refused, turned and fire a single shot in their direction. P/C Rolle said ASP Pierre, who was closest to the shooter, threw his hands up and given the look on his partner’s face, led him to believe he had been hit.

However, P/C Rolle said he was able to harken to his training days and fired two shots in the shooter’s direction. He also said ASP Pierre also had the opportunity to discharge his weapon after the first shot was fired. Nonetheless, P/C Rolle said the shooter continued running in an easterly direction.

P/C Rolle said a short time later, other officers arrived on the scene. He said they went in the direction the shooter ran, and ultimately found him lifeless with a .40 Glock Smith & Wesson auto-loading pistol lying near his body.

The matter continues today before Her Majesty’s Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, PAGE 3

TWO MEN KILLED IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD THEY HAD CALLED HOME THEIR ENTIRE LIVES ROSALIE BAIN issued an emotional plea to residents living in inner-city communities like hers.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Guns are destroying us. We need to bring back a love for each other. We need understanding from page one myself questioning is where in the world all these guns coming from? Guns are destroying us and no one, I mean no one, can tell us where or why these guns coming here. You have guns ripping our people apart and the powers, [people in control] aren’t saying anything about the guns.

“This my second son gone like this and I need to know now, where are these guns coming from? They have to be coming from somewhere.

“Go look at these killings… these are guns coming from somewhere unknown, blowing up the lives of people. We have to put our foot down,” she said.

Ms Bain issued a plea to residents living in inner-city communities like the one encompassing her Parker Street home - Bain and Grants Town - to do more to uplift the members of their neighbourhoods.

If the scenes of both her sons’ murders were mapped by constituency, both would have fallen under the boundaries of Bain and Grants Town.

Effectively, the two men were killed in the neighbourhood they had called home their entire lives.

“I am hoping that the children see what this is doing to them and their families. It needs to stop.

It’s too much,” the distraught mother said. “Too much killings, too much violence and it seems to be stuck in the hood. I grew up [in this same community]. It was nothing like this.”

On the issue of violence in the inner-city, she added: “Now every day it’s something else. We are getting our families destroyed and bringing about hurt after hurt. It needs to stop.

“It’s getting worse. Every day somebody is getting hurt. You might not hear of it, but every day someone in our neighbourhood is getting hurt. We need to bring

AK-47 FOUND ON STREET

POLICE seized an AK-47 automatic rifle from the streets of New Providence on Tuesday.

Shortly before 3am, South Western Division officers assisted by other officers acting on information, searched a bushy area on Sierra Leone Drive, Flamingo Gardens and recovered the rifle with 36 rounds of ammunition.

No arrest was made in connection to this incident.

back a love for each other.

It has to stop. This community is too small. We need each other.

“This goes beyond the church and the schools… it is up to us and what we work to make better.

We need love. We need understanding.

“If all of us grow up together, how can I do harm to you? We can disagree, but if I have real love for you, I can’t hurt you. This one killing that one and that one killing this one, why? It has to be a reason.

We need love, man. We need understanding.”

Recalling her sons’ deaths, Ms Bain said she turned to prayer for her basic survival, telling The Tribune her grief comes and goes moment to moment.

In the lead up to Mother’s Day this Sunday, she said her eldest son had already started preparing to make the day special for her,

given the earlier loss of her younger son.

“Just a couple of days ago he was sitting down with me making Mother’s Day plans to go to church and do something after that; now all of that has been wiped away, come to an end, come to a full stop,” she said.

“Me and Barron have also been close. But after the death of [TJ] we grew closer because he saw what that did to me. My boys were like my friends. They looked out for me in a way that made be happy to be their mother. Them two together, they were close and they were the ones that made it happen for our family.

“They had their little moments, but they were close.”

She continued: “I’m trying to cope. While I have other kids, on a day like that you want them all there. It was already going

to be tough without [TJ], but now Barron… I have to just take it one day at a time.

“Until I lay him to rest, I have to go just one day at a time.”

Neither of the two brothers left behind children.

Ms Bain said her memories of them will live on in the good they did for her and her remaining kids.

As of yesterday, Ms Bain said she was still struggling to financially recover from the cost incurred from the

burial of her younger son.

She said her family will now “weather a storm” to make another funeral possible.

“We are a set of people that know how to come together now and weather this storm. It will be rough, but we will have to find a way to get this done,” Ms Bain said, sitting at her dining room table.

“God has never forsaken me, and in this circumstance, I know he will see me and my family through.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

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C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Why it’s vital to protect coral reefs THE news is grim: According to a report compiled by hundreds of scientists from 50 countries, Earth is losing species faster than at any other time in human history. Thanks to climate change, coastal development and the impacts of activities such as logging, farming and fishing, roughly 1 million plants and animals are facing extinction.

The UN report calls for rapid action at every level, from local to global, to conserve nature and use it sustainably. And here’s some potential good news: Many ecosystems now at risk can provide valuable services if they are protected.

I know from my research on coastal habitats that the biggest obstacle to investing in natural infrastructure, such as wetlands and reefs, often is that experts have not figured out how to value the protection that these habitats provide in economic terms. But a new report that I co-authored, published by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Coastal Hazards Program, solves that problem for one of our planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems: coral reefs.

This report shows that coral reefs in US waters, from Florida and the Caribbean to Hawaii and Guam, provide our country with more than $1.8 billion dollars in flood protection benefits every year. They reduce direct flood damages to public and private property worth more than $800 million annually, and help avert other costs to lives and livelihoods worth an additional $1 billion.

Rigorously valuing reef benefits in this way is the first step toward mobilizing resources to protect them.

Reefs act just like submerged breakwaters. They “break” waves and drain away their energy offshore, before it floods coastal properties and communities. This is an enormously valuable function. In 2017, tropical storms alone did over $265 billion in damage across the nation.

The flood protection benefits that reefs provide across the US are similar to those in more than 60 other nations.

As I estimated with colleagues in a separate study, the global cost of storm damage to the world’s coastlines would double without reefs.

Our estimate of the value of flood protection from reefs applies state-ofthe-art tools that engineers and insurers use to assess flood risks and benefits.

Using a model and more than 60 years of hourly wave data for all US states and territories with reefs – a total area of over 1,900 miles – we developed flood risk maps projecting the extent and depth of flooding that would occur

across many storms, both regular and catastrophic, with reefs present and then without them. We calculated these values in grid cells that measured just 100 square meters, or about 1,000 square feet – the footprint of a small house.

With this level of detail, we now can identify not just total benefits provided by reefs, but who receives them. For example, Florida receives more than $675 million in annual flood protection from reefs, and Puerto Rico gets $183 million in protection yearly. In Honolulu alone, we found that reefs provide more than $435 million in protection from a catastrophic 1-in-50-year storm – an event large enough that it would be expected to occur only once in a 50-year period.

It is well known that coral reefs are under heavy stress from climate change, which is warming oceans, causing coral bleaching. Pollution and overfishing are also doing serious damage. As the UN report on biodiversity loss notes, Earth has lost approximately half of its live coral reef cover since the 1870s. And that trend leaves 100-300 million people in coastal areas at increased risk due to loss of coastal habitat protection.

So how can our valuation study inform coral reef protection?

First, it buttresses the case for using disaster recovery funding to help natural coastal defenses recover. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, only about 1% of recovery funding went toward rebuilding natural resilience, despite subsequent research showing that marshes in the Northeast can reduce flood damages by some 16% annually.

More than $100 billion has been appropriated to recover from hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma; it would make economic sense to spend some of these funds on rebuilding reefs.

Second, the insurance industry has an important role to play in offering incentives and supporting investments in nature-based defenses for risk reduction. Insurers are starting to consider habitats in industry risk models and to create opportunities to insure nature.

Third, federal agencies have incentives to invest in reefs as protection for critical infrastructure. Reefs defend military bases located along tropical coastlines, as well as shore-hugging roads that are the lifeblood of many economies from Hawaii to Florida and Puerto Rico.

By Michael Beck University of California, Santa Cruz. This article was first published on The Conversation.

Breach goes unnoticed EDITOR, The Tribune THERE was a breach of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Assembly on Wednesday (May 1) that apparently went unnoticed by members. I draw attention to it because it should not be regarded as regular or as a precedent.

It happened while the House was dealing with Reports of Committees.

Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), presented a majority report from that committee dealing primarily with a controversial ruling made by former Speaker Dr. Kendal Major when the PLP was the majority.

The ruling by Speaker Dr. Major is to the effect that only documents before the House can be enquired into by the PAC. But now that they are in opposition the PLP clearly want to get around that ruling and examine documents that have not yet been presented to the House. That

was the case Mr. Davis was trying to make in his majority report.

After reading his report, Mr. Davis attempted to comment on a minority report that had not yet been presented to the House.

Speaker Halson Moultrie rightly stopped him from speaking at that point and called on the FNM’s Michael Foulkes to present the minority report signed by himself and Adrian Gibson.

In the minority report, Mr. Foulkes made what appeared to be an airtight case to the effect that the PAC with a PLP majority was still bound by the ruling of Speaker Dr. Major as the PAC with an FNM majority was, and that the ruling did indeed restrict the PAC to examining only documents before the House. He also pointed out that there were 21 audited reports before the House but that the majority had shown no interest in examining these.

It was at this point that the Speaker made a mistake. Because the next item

in the Order of Business was Adoption of Reports, the Speaker decided to invite a motion there and then for adoption of reports so that Mr. Davis could move for the adoption of his report and debate the matter.

It was wrong to call for or to allow a motion for the adoption of a report presented at a sitting of the House at the same sitting.

The Speaker should have waited for notice of adoption of the report at the next meeting.

In the event, Mr. Davis missed his cue to speak on the motion. The majority report was rejected and the House voted to adopt the minority report.

Because he had promised him an opportunity to speak, Speaker Moultrie nevertheless still called on Mr. Davis to speak after the motion was disposed of, which is irregular, but Mr. Davis again declined.

DIOGENES Nassau May 6, 2019

At best, it’s all well-intentioned incompetence EDITOR, The Tribune

TWO years into Dr Minnis’ administration, its most ardent apologists increasingly find themselves shielding it with the excuse of well-intentioned incompetence.

But to be fair, mere incompetence (however strenuously applied) cannot explain the near perfect record of opaque, unaccountable and impenetrable governance we have witnessed since May, 2017.

Take, for instance, the Oban scandal. The most generous narrative proposes a Prime Minister so fully out of his league that he was fooled into accepting one-sided terms by savvy foreigners, then coaxed into a buffoonish press conference where he and his whole cabinet sat grinning in the presence of a televised mockery. While that narrative is essentially correct, it is still too kind.

The whole saga in reality began with an act of secrecy, followed by what appeared to be straightout dishonesty and, finally, contempt for any notion of accountability. The first act in the tragi-comedy was the Prime Minister’s

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net attempt to secretly remove responsibility for the BEST commission and Environmental Impact Assessments from his Minister for the Environment to his own office. When found out, he labelled it “fake news” and outright denied it on camera. Then a persistent reporter pointed out that the move was actually evidenced in a government gazette publication, which entailed almost verbatim the “fake news” he had just denied. Rather than explaining, he bristled at the reporter.

Intelligent observers will view all that came later (straight down to the cringe-worthy press conference and missing file) in the light of those events.

Somebody clearly knew that the normal processes of scrutiny would need to be departed with for such a deal to make it through to the PM’s well-orchestrated publicity stunt. They just didn’t wager on it all falling apart so clumsily.

Incompetent? Clearly. Well

intentioned? Clearly not.

Sadly, the same holds for the many other acts of this administration that could conceivably be described as mere ill-judgment.

Take the recent hyped announcement of divesting government buildings to “the Bahamian public”.

While Minnis himself may genuinely have been snookered into seeing this as some radical, bright new idea, it is far more likely yet another trick from the FNM’s playbook of providing state welfare to its wealthy backers at the expense of the public.

Given the pitiful national savings rate and skewed availability of investment capital, it is not hard to guess the names that will end up owning these public assets, deriving income in perpetuity from the taxes of an involuntarily investing public.

Incompetence, even where it is manifest and undeniable, is not sufficient to explain, much less to excuse, the shady and damaging record of the Minnis administration to date.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau May 6, 2019

Hard to spot the enemy EDITOR, The Tribune IT SEEMS that for many social commentators a cruel twist of the saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” requires that we abandon our Venezuelan neighbours to the wills of a military dictatorship determined to rape that country and all its resources.

Mr. Maduro in this scenario is the enemy AFTER a study warned The Bahamas’ one:one US dollar peg may face growing pressure from an annual $100m external reserves “shortfall” sparked by widening WTO-induced trade deficits, readers posted their responses on tribune242.com.

Bcitizen said: “Many of the Bahamas’ economic woes can be solved without the WTO and joining the WTO without fixing the problems currently hindering our economic growth, many of which are mentioned above will be a disaster.”

of Mr. Trump; Mr. Trump, a crude narcissistic racist, is the enemy of majority black countries (e.g. the Caricom states); hence, Maduro must be the friend of Caricom.

God help us and God help Venezuela.

CB Nassau May 6, 2019

DDK had this to say: “WTO is not for The Bahamas, certainly not at this time, but it seems our leaders are not astute enough to understand all the inherent ramifications of the proposed ‘accession’ and back away. As a nation we are too corrupt, too disorganised and too incompetent.”

Economist posted this

comment: “This study gives us a road map to our success.

We must follow the advice and benefit from it. If we don’t join we will slip further back and unemployment will increase. It is clear that we are at a turning point in our country’s future.”

Well_mudda_take_sic said: “This Oxford Economics report is just another report written by a hired foreign think tank to support the pre-determined position of the commissioner of the report, namely the BCCEC. The report is nothing but a bunch of poppy cock! ”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, PAGE 5

WEB BOSSES TOLD: PAY WHAT YOU OWE from page one

“We encourage all of them regardless of what you think, regardless of any legal challenge that may be out there that you intend to mount, that you have an obligation to the state to pay your taxes.

“My part and my job is to collect the government taxes that is due and I certainly would encourage them to.”

He did not name the web shops.

Their failure, he said, has had some implications, but finance officials remain hopeful they’ll meet the deficit target.

“Any reduction or failure to collect taxes that are due that have been budgeted is going to cause some affect. We’ve seen that.

“There is no denying that there is going to be short fall in budgeted revenue from gaming, but again the good news is we’ve been able to manage our expenditure side. So we’re still hopefully

expectant that we will meet our deficit target.”

Late last month, Attorney General Carl Bethel warned web shop industry’s tax hold-outs they are on “very shaky ground” in failing to comply with the settlement agreed with the government.

He told Tribune Business that the Minnis administration had strong legal arguments against the position being taken by Wayne Munroe QC and his three web shop clients - Island Game, Paradise Game and Asure Win.

Two of these operators are understood to have only paid taxes due for July 2018, while the other and Craig Flowers’ FML Group of Companies have yet to pay anything at all for the 20182019 fiscal year.

Mr Bethel has also accused Mr Munroe of “playing games”, with the attorney general’s efforts to reach his QC counterpart before and during the Easter weekend proving fruitless as the latter was off-island.

Disclosing that “nothing as

yet” has been resolved between the government and industry hold-outs, Mr Bethel told this newspaper previously: “I called Mr Munroe. He said he was off the island and saw the missed calls, but never called back. I’ll give him a call.”

Tribune Business has further confirmed that Mr Munroe and his clients are opposing the retroactive payment of taxes for the 2018-2019 fiscal year’s first half under the old rate structure.

Job figures expected to show better news, predicts Turnquest

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AHEAD of the Department of Statistics’ Labour Force Survey, Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest said he expects unemployment figures to show some improvement.

He predicted yesterday that Gross Domestic Product growth along with the start of numerous investments in the country among other things would have a bearing on job numbers.

In January, labour officials said the unemployment

rate increased from 10 percent to 10.7 percent as of November 2018.

Unemployment in New Providence climbed from 10.1 percent to 11 percent, despite statistics showing 2,300 jobs were added to the labour force since the previous survey. “I am hopeful that the job statistics will start to show some improvement,” Mr Turnquest told reporters outside Cabinet yesterday.

“Our expectation is that should be the case given that there is GDP growth this year given that we have had a number

of investments that have started to actually come out of the ground this year and again optimistic about other projects that are in the pipeline that we should start to see some activity this year.”

Asked how long it would be before Bahamians begin to feel the effects of this growth, Mr Turnquest said: “There is always a lag between the announcement of an investment and when people start to feel it and then you have the construction sector that will begin to feel it before the ordinary retailer or the

GOMEZ FIRMS AWARDED DAMAGES

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net FORMER Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez yesterday said he felt vindicated after his companies were awarded damages in the legal dispute that sparked his 2015 resignation from Cabinet.

At the time, Mr Gomez cited the need to take care of a legal issue involving financial issues

connected with a commercial loan from the Bank of the Bahamas.

“My trust had an action,” he said yesterday, “the settlement of it involved the trust obtaining 50 per cent of the shareholding in each of the companies that were plaintiffs.

“We attempted to have the matter resolved through discussion and those discussions faltered just after I left Cabinet, but it was obvious before I left that it would have to go to litigation.

Deputy Registrar Stephana Saunders awarded the plaintiffs: Kaydee Limited, Mercantile Land Resources Limited, Seaport Construction Company Limited, Meridian Research Corporation Limited, Dominion Swan Industries, and David Edward Jennette Sr a sum of 6,049,194.63 with an interest rate of 6.75 percent from October 5, 2017 - the date of filing of their statement of claim.

ATLANTIS DEALERS HIT BY ‘$150K THEFT’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Bahamas Police Force is investigating allegations that nearly $150,000 was stolen from casino dealers at Atlantis.

The dealers have formed a committee or association that manages their tips, sharing

the money equally among themselves, The Tribune understands.

Last week the group filed a complaint with police alleging that about $148,000 was stolen. The Financial Crimes Unit of the RBPF is in the preliminary stages of investigating the allegation.

A source stressed the matter has nothing to do directly with Atlantis –– the money is the property of the dealers.

ordinary worker will feel it.

So we have gone through two years of planting seeds.

We are beginning to see the green shoots as a result of that and I suspect that this year we’ll start to see some real growth.”

It was announced in a press statement yesterday that the Department of Statistics will conduct its annual survey throughout the month to determine how many people are employed, seeking employment and educational levels, age, occupation as well as size and location of the labour force in The Bahamas.

Officials will visit selected households in New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Inagua and the Berry Islands.

The Labour Force Survey is now fully automated, using the computed assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) tablets with built in flows and edits.

This replaces the previous paper questionnaires and also eliminates the need for data capture processes afterwards.

Official enumerators from the Department of Statistics will be wearing highly visible vests and

identification badges.

They will also have letters explaining the survey along with a summary sheet that will have data from the May 2018 survey.

In accordance with the Statistics Act, all selected households are required to respond accurately. They will provide valuable information about those who are employed, those who are unemployed and those looking for work.

If householders have questions, they are asked to contact the Department of Statistics at 604-4000 or 604-4015.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION leader Philip “Brave” Davis is calling for the Minnis administration to “revamp the entire road traffic regime” — particularly reiterating calls for the government to add an amendment to the Road Traffic Act to increase penalties for those who kill in the course of dangerous driving.

Mr Davis also criticised the government’s position on the Commercial Enterprise Act, amendments to the Immigration Act, and the Investment Incentive Act, noting these “roll back all of the gains and proTHE TRIBUNE tections this country has secured for Bahamians” from page one over the last half a century.

Meanwhile, male He added thesethe bills victim was taken to Princess illustrate the FreeHospital National Margaret where was listed in critical conMovement’she dition in“ideological the Intensive Care Unit.

The vehicle mindset” toin“pursue a involved comthe crash did not remain fleeing the area plete open stationary, border policy” travelling eastbound toward in the Bahamas’ small, vulEast Street.

CSP Stubbs said a“no resinerable economy, with dent of the area who witnessed incident gave consideration” forthethe ecochase, communicating the nomic and social vehicle’s welfare movements of to back at Police ConBahamians.officers trol Room. driver of that fleeing Mr DavisThe made these vehicle - a woman reportremarks yesterday during edly between 25 and 30 of age - subsequently his monthlyyears press briefing crashed in the area of Bougainvillea Boulevard, South at the Progressive Liberal Beach before getting away Party’s headquarters. on foot.

CSP Stubbs, who spoke Noting the Bill toat Amend to reporters the scene of that second crash, the Road Traffic Act is added: cur“As you can see here, this rently before the Senate, was the vehicle that was being driven. We know that Mr Davis underscored the at about 8am, or thereafter, based on the information amendments “effectively that we received from the criminalise”vehicle using a incell (involved the hit-and-run), we were able phone while driving to contact a relative and of the driver, andaI can say that driving without driver’s police took into custody a female driver of this licence.

“The bill,vehicle.” however, does CSP Stubbs said the woman,the despiteserious reporting not address injuries of her own, is now police in with the their charge of assisting ‘killing course of investigations. dangerous When asked by drivreporters whatsaid. factors may have ing’,” Mr Davis contributed to the initial crash, CSP said it He added theStubbsparty appeared that the driver stands withwasits spokesperdistracted.

To that end, he appealed to members son on transport, Glenys of the public who may find themselves in a similar situHanna Martin, “in calling ation, pleading with them for the government to conto remain stationary at the scene, instead of fleeing. tinue the work ofseen the last “We have in the last year, and moreinso in this PLP government this year, we would have seen area and revamp entire what we the call hit-and-run accidents have increased; where a person would get involved in an accident and fail to remain stationary. It is an accident,” he said.

CSP Stubbs continued: “Yes, it is an accident as a result of a driver’s error. It

THE TRIBUNE

Time to get tough with drivers who kill, insists PLP A7MAIN Tuesday, February 26, 2019, PAGE 7

Hit-and-run driver held after fatal dawn crash

A RECENT Tribune story regarding a traffic fatality.

road traffic legislative regime.”

“We again publicly challenge the government to bring an amendment to the Road Traffic Bill to either the lower or upper House to deal with fatalities in road traffic accidents,” Mr Davis continued.

“I think this morning you saw where someone was

claiming motorists who traverse the area in the early morning and late at night, often do so at high rates of speed.

One resident, who lives a short distance from where the two victims were struck, said the lack of a speed bump for up to 150 yards often “gives (drivers) the idea that they can go as fast as they want.”

“We really need a speed bump somewhere in that section. It gets really bad sometimes and people operate as if they are on a highway. That will never end well,” the concerned resident told The Tribune.

Monday’s traffic fatality was the second since last Friday.

A man in Eleuthera died last week when he lost control of his grey 2007 Nissan Note and collided with a tree on Queen’s Highway, Rock Sound, in the area of the airport.

just fined $10,000 or therea- killing a motorcyclist with bouts for the loss of lives. his truck last month while The families of victims who another driver received the CRAIG STUBBS, Chief Superfine for causing the lost their lives in the cause intendent of thesame Road Traffic talks to of a pedestrian in death of dangerous driving Department, have above, the media about what hapdamaged car. crash. suffered long enough pened. andLeft: theanother Photos: Terrel W Carey Road Traffic need closure for their loved Sr/Tribune Staff The ones through the adminis- Amendment Act 2019 was incident have not been tration of justice.” identified. passed in one sitting of Police saidParliament according to on March 26 On Monday, a manthewas preliminary information after tabled last Sepfined $10,000 in a Magisgathered, they believebeing the residents of the tember. trate’s Court for hittingvictims andare South Beach community At the time, Mrs and often walked the route as a part of their exercise regimen.

Residents of Sealink Drive are now calling for the erection of additional speed bumps along the street,

Hanna Martin criticised the government for failing to enact legislation drafted by the former Christie administration, adding the Minnis administration chose to use certain part of it.

“Even if this government did not accept aspects of the policies driving the bill, certainly the bill must have provided a solid foundation for reform; after all this time should we have not seen some appropriate version brought forward,” Mrs Hanna Martin said in Parliament.

“The draft bill addressed this vexing issue specifically provided for prison sentences of up to 10 years and disqualification of driver’s licence to replace the current minimal penalties in place for causing death,” she added.

During his remarks yesterday, Mr Davis also said while the lines that differentiate the PLP from the FNM have been “blurred”, there are three bills which “draw very clear and very distinct philosophical, legislative, and policy lines” between the two parties.

These bills are the Commercial Enterprise Act, amendments to the Immigration Act, and the

Investment Incentive Act. “We publicly decry the FNMs who are blindly supporting these proposed amendments to the Immigration Act that supports this smokescreen of a bill called the Commercial Enterprises Bill,” Mr Davis said.

He added as many FNMs are professionals who benefited from the PLP’s “Bahamianisation” policies and a rigid immigration regime, it is “disgraceful” that the government “proposes to pass a bill to allow professionals to walk into this country without a work permit for two weeks on the premise that they are attending a meeting.”

He also said: “The PLP is diametrically opposed to these bills as harmful and injurious to the economic mobility and empowerment of Bahamians. It threatens their ability to own and manage the Bahamian economy.

“They will reduce economic opportunities for Bahamians, a right that Bahamians have been calling for and is their expectation. We, therefore, publicly call on the FNM senators to kill this bill in the Senate.”

CIVIC GROUP SAYS TOWN MEETINGS ARE ‘TEN YEARS TOO LATE’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

can be driver’s error (or) it can be any other mitigating factors as it relates to the accident.

“But we appeal to motorists, please stop. It is an

A LOCAL civic group believes that URCA’s need to finally hold town meetings this week in Grand Bahama has come 10 years too late, claiming that power rates on the island are at their lowest since 2009.

Troy Garvey, founder of Determined for Absolute Change, is

accident. Allow the police to come to the scene and do the investigation and determine who is at fault for that accident. In some cases, you may not be at fault. But

it is paramount that you remain on scene. Remain stationary and allow the investigators to come in and do the investigations.”

The victims of yesterday’s

questioning why the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority is now finally coming to Grand Bahama when calls for their intervention in Grand Bahama were ignored for so many years. He asked: “Where were you [URCA] in in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 when things were high with power rate when they [Grand Bahama Power Company] were cutting power off on Friday and people can’t turn

it on until Monday? Where were you when rates were high and we were demanding the power company to bring on hedging? URCA you never showed up, and now you coming to GB, for what? Why now?”

URCA is set to hold three meetings on Grand Bahama as part of its ongoing public consultation process. The regulator, which oversees the electronic communications and energy

sectors, held a town hall meetings yesterday in Eight Mile Rock with one in Freeport today and another in East End tomorrow.

Mr Garvey claims that power rates on Grand Bahama are fine now and is skeptical about the town meetings that are being held by URCA. He stressed that URCA needs to first take care of the issues in New Providence with the

blackouts caused by Bahamas Power and Light. “We already have a system that is running in place with the power company, and our power company has less than 10 percent of the people being cut off or outages.

In Nassau, they have 30 percent of consumers who have blackouts, so take care of home base first. “Don’t come and mess up nothing for us in GB that you can’t fix,” he warned.

POLICE are keen to talk to Atilus Wilmy, pictured above, in connection with a sexual assault which occurred in the Eastern District of New Providence in April. Anyone with any information should call the police on 502 9991 or 502 9992.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, PAGE 7

Davis: Pulpits for preaching not politics from page one

OPPOSITION leader Philip Davis yesterday levied a litany of critiques against Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

When asked if the party is considering a vote of no confidence in the prime minister, Mr Davis replied: “All options are on our table.”

Along with Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell, Mr Davis reiterated he was not consulted on the appointment of Paul Rolle to acting deputy commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

On this matter, Mr Mitchell specifically called out National Security Minister Marvin Dames, who he described as a “smart ass” for “attacking” the PLP leader by insinuating that Mr Davis demanded consultation on the appointment of the acting deputy commissioner.

To this, Mr Mitchell underscored it was the commissioner of police who said Acting Deputy Commissioner Rolle was appointed after consultation with Mr Davis.

Mr Davis and Mr Mitchell made these comments yesterday during the PLP’s monthly press briefing at the party’s headquarters.

“I wish to say that amongst the more jokey but serious issues raised this morning was the Minister of National Security Marvin Dames, who should no longer be in office but must resign, trying to be a smart ass or more politely a smart Alec by attacking the Leader of the Opposition about the appointment of the acting deputy commissioner of police,” Mr Mitchell said.

“Mr Smarty Pants Minister Dames was quoted as

saying that he is amazed that people who are lawyers need to be told that the Leader of the Opposition does not have to be consulted in order for there to be an acting appointment.

“While we do not concede that, here is the point we make Mr Smarty Pants Minister. It wasn’t the Leader of the Opposition who said he needed to be consulted. It was your own commissioner of police who signed a letter and published it for all to see that the acting appointment was made in accordance with Article 119 of the Constitution and in it were the words ‘after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.’

“So it was your announcement that said the consultation took place. The only thing the Leader of the Opposition said was ‘no one consulted me on this matter’. That is the God’s honest and verifiable truth.”

When asked if he would have supported the appointment if he was consulted, Mr Davis said he would have requested Dr Minnis explain his plans for the police force.

“On the heels of them having decimated the senior ranks of the force, I would not be able to intelligently respond to a request for the appointment (of) anyone unless I know what the plans are for...the police force,” Mr Davis replied.

“We don’t know, I don’t know what is intended. Until I’m able to do that, I know Paul Rolle well. But it’s not about Paul Rolle, right. It’s about the government’s vision and policy and plans for the police force.”

Both Mr Mitchell and Mr

Davis also criticised Dr Minnis for the speech he made on Sunday in the Cousin McPhee Church.

Mr Mitchell said the party was “totally offended” that the reverend, Ranford Patterson, allowed Dr Minnis “to come into his sanctuary, overtake the podium and use the church to spew out total propaganda and lies about the PLP.” He added in “certain churches”, Dr Minnis “would have been stopped dead in his track for violating the terms of reference of appearance in church.”

“I am appealing to the Christian Council to rein in this kind of outrageous use of the church pulpits,” Mr Mitchell added.

Regarding this matter, Mr Davis said: “It’s inappropriate.

The church is the church.”

Mr Davis also responded to Dr Minnis’ recent allegation that the PLP politicised the police force during previous administrations Mr Davis said this accusation is false, unfounded “and so ludicrous that his claim cannot stand to the rigours of any scrutiny.”

He added the last time a PLP administration appointed a police commissioner was in 1987, who retired in 2001.

“The facts are that the current structure, manpower and conduct of the [RBPF] have all been done under commissioners of police appointed by FNM governments,” Mr Davis said.

“More demonstrably, the FNM government has not only politicised the police force [but has] taken over that institution without regard for the constitution or the Police Act.”

PARTY AGREES JULY DATES FOR ITS NEXT CONVENTION

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

THE Progressive Liberal Party’s convention has been scheduled for the third week in July, PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis confirmed yesterday.

The convention, scheduled for July 25-26, will be held at the Melia resort. Mr Davis noted all positions will be available for contest.

The dates for the party’s convention have been pushed back for months.

Last November it was reported that the convention would be held this month. However, Mr Davis later reported there were difficulties surrounding the anticipated May dates.

Yesterday when asked he could give an update on the party’s convention, Mr Davis told reporters: “Yes, I think it’s the 22nd of July… it’s the third week in July; 25th-26th of July will be the convention.”

Regarding whether anyone will be challenging him for the position of leader, Mr Davis said: “I will not know that until (my) post is declared vacant.”

To this, someone interjected: “But they will be crushed.”

The PLP’s convention was previously scheduled for November 14, 15 and 16 of 2018. Last October, it was announced the event would be pushed back to this month. Although the party did not give an official reason for the delay, The Tribune reported at the time the event was postponed because of financial issues typical for opposition parties.

In March, Mr Davis said the anticipated May dates may have been lost “because the hotel is indicating they may have not found the three consecutive days for the convention.”

At the time, Mr Davis was asked about paying for the upcoming convention.

To this he replied, “Fundraising for the Progressive Liberal Party has always been a challenge but I think we will meet those challenges whenever we fix a date for the convention.”

The PLP’s constitution mandates it has a convention every year. So far, no one has publicly declared an intention to challenge Mr Davis for leadership of the party. The Cat Island,

Rum Cay & San Salvador MP said: “I don’t discourage ambition at all and there will be the opportunity to challenge (me).”

On Tuesday, Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer told The Tribune the governing party will forgo a national convention again this year despite its constitutional mandate to hold one every two years.

Full Military Funeral Service CORPORAL SHERON MURPHY, 31 of Frank Edgecombe Drive and formerly of Fox Town, Abaco, will be held on Thursday, May 9th, 2019 at Church of God of Prophecy Tabernacle East Street at 10:00a.m. Officiating will be Bishop Kendal Simmons, assisted by other ministers of the gospel. Interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Garden, J. F. Kennedy Drive.

Left to cherish his memories are wife: Robyn Murphy; Daughter: Saraii Murphy; Mother: Sherilee Rolle; Father: Simeon Murphy; Stepfather: Andrew Rolle; Brothers: Blake Murphy, Simeon Murphy Jr.; Sisters: Margaret Missick, Simone Murphy-Palacious (Tamario Palacious), Shanae Roberts (Micah Roberts Jr.), Andria Rolle, Shanique Sargeant (Mars Sargeant), Monique Rolle, Bianca Rolle; Grandparent: Doris Thompson; Mother in Law: Ruthmae Wilkinson; Father in Law: Clyde Wilkinson; Brothers in Law: Sisters in Law: Hernipha Hamilton, Cpl. 3349 Cheyenne Wilkinson, Clydina Wilkinson, Ann-Shineah Maynard, Tawia Wilkinson, and Vandisha Johnson; Aunts: Silvia Pinder (Obead Pinder ) Emma Foulkes (Hon. Dion Foulkes), Yvonne Russell, Grovernor Russell), Doris Russell (Audley Russell), Kizzy Thompson, Chantell Thompson, Elcie Mackey, Beverly McCoy, Vanda Forbes, Delores & Beulah Murphy; Uncles: Leroy Thompson (Lorraine Thompson) Leon Thompson (Delli Thompson), Joey Thompson, Floyd Thompson Jr., Calsey Thompson (Shanika Thompson), Maxwell Thompson, Ricky Thompson, Jason Thompson, Craig Thompson, Artist Thompson (Kibre Thompson), David Murphy; Nieces: Samiyah Palacious, Trinity Whylly, Valencia & Lavern; Nephews, Cousins: Kayleisha Burrows, Anvar, Geovanni, Devonna, Grovernor, Ashvonn, Dorisser, Joshua, Alexander, AudeaRussell, Liberty Clarke, Myles Burrows, Dorin, Craig, Shakeliah, Shelithia, Leroy, Delano, Jason, Craig, Kenny, Christopher, Iyantie, Florinda, Hanz-Kino, Tiavanna, Rochelle, Trevelle, Alaina, Alice Thompson, LeeAndraWright, Tasha, Roshann, Kaylah, Cherish Pinder, OmaraPinder-Bingham, Agatha Mackey, Alexandria Beneby, Malcolm, Dion Foulkes, Samuel, Deandra, Anthony Mackey, Nicola Sears, Almarie Taylor, Carlene, Andrea, Cleopatra, Breon, Alicia, Ashley, Alexis, Omario, Evette, Kaylisa, Bethann, Pandora Murphy. Denise Thompson, Angelica Charlton, Keron Forbes, Judith Mcintosh, Sandrine Cumberbatch; Godparent: Martha Minnis Knowles; Other Relatives and Family, Salt Life family including Murphy’s Watersports and Junkanoo Beach Team, St. Chad’s Church Family, Doris Johnson Class of 2005, Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, Fox Town Community Including the Parkers, Thompsons, Wells, Community of Mayaguana, Darwin & Deandra Sumner and the Knowles Family, Torrino, Deon, Theron, Spy, Annita McKnight, Wilkinson Family, North Family.

Viewing will be on Wednesday at Evergreen Mortuary Collins Avenue & 5th Terrace from 10:00a.m.-6:00p.m. and again at the Church form 8:30 until service time.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

THE president of the Bahamas Christian Council made reckless remarks meant to turn people against Carnival.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

LAST week, on the heels of Bishop Simeon Hall’s call for the church to take a strong position against sexual violence and his distinction between rape and sex, the president of the Bahamas Christian Council contradicted it with reckless remarks meant to turn people against Carnival.

The event has been controversial since its introduction and the Bahamas Christian Council has played no small role in making it about women’s bodies, its perception that men have no control over themselves, and sexual violence occurring as a result.

It has been corrected numerous times between 2015 and now. I have addressed its victimblaming, conflation of rape and sex and the irresponsible nature of comments which suggest the onus is on women to protect themselves from sexual predators in columns, press releases, and interviews.

The Christian Council has been challenged by advocates, gender specialists and other religious leaders, but it persists with its misogyny, using fear rather than reasonable, sound arguments to support its anti-Carnival position. Many Bahamians,

Don’t be blind to the power these men hold The

Alicia Wallace

column

especially young people, are alienated by the positions taken by the Bahamas Christian Council and its failure to acknowledge its wrongs. We have to wonder what it expects to gain through its efforts to control the public.

Are right-thinking religious leaders engaging the Council? Are they engaging in healthy debates on issues of national concern?

How does it come to its decisions? Who does it represent?

Over the past week, I have seen people dismiss the Council as irrelevant, ineffective and inconsequential. Unfortunately, these assessments are inaccurate. While some of us, as individuals, see it as ridiculous and useless, there are people who align themselves with the Council and its views. There are people who, because of their deference to religious leaders, actively support them or, at the very least, refrain from

opposing or even questioning them. It is not wise to discount the influence of this group.

Political parties look to the Council and a number of religious leaders for direction. This is not because they value religious counsel itself, but because they recognize the power these people hold. There may be no group of people with a more dedicated, consistent audience that voluntarily avails itself to receive instruction.

The church is a large constituency and its leadership is taken seriously by political actors. How did the wording of the fourth constitutional amendment bill — to add “sex” to the prohibited ground of discrimination — that went to referendum in 2016 get changed? Why did an issue of non-discrimination on the basis of gender

get framed as a same-sex marriage issue when provisions explicitly allow laws pertaining to marriage to discriminate? Why doesn’t the “marital rape bill” — on the back burner for months — use the word “rape” to describe the rape of a spouse?

The Bahamas Christian Council is frequently incorrect, patriarchal and misogynistic. Many of us disagree with its statements.

This does not mean it is not a body of influence. It has the ear of politicians who want another term. It convinces congregations of its definitions of morality. It feeds, through its public statements, public sentiments about women, women’s bodies, men’s lack of self control and sexual violence. It cannot be underestimated. It needs to be challenged.

Can the Bahamas

Christian Council care about women’s safety without supporting, or even engaging, women’s organizations? Without addressing men?

Without talking about sexual violence in the church? Without providing safe places for women and children to stay? Without providing assistance to women experiencing poverty? Without recognising women as human beings with agency?

We can complain about the Council and its selective responses to national issues, but that isn’t enough.

Call out the ridiculous, and pressure it — and religious leaders — to take action to make The Bahamas a safer place for women and girls, especially if you are a member of a church. Take your tithes to a church that put them to good use every day. If they want to lobby, let’s set the agenda.

Our minds, like our bodies, need care Full Military Funeral Service For Retired Deputy Superintendent of Police

Leonard Alexander LaRoda, 75

a resident of #13 Melrose Avenue, South Beach Estates, will be held on Thursday, May 9th, 2019, 10:00 a.m. at Evangelistic Temple, Fourth Terrace and Collins Avenue. Officiating will be Pastor Vaughn Cash, assisted by other Ministers of the Gospel. Cremation will follow.

Leonard was predeceased by his sisters: Sybil LaRoda- Francis and Mildred LaRoda- Grant.

He is survived by six sons: Stephen (Glenda) LaRoda, Andrew (Rosilia) LaRoda, Leonard Neeley LaRoda, Ricardo (Inez) Neeley LaRoda, Evander LaRoda and Lance LaRoda; Daughters: Jasmine (Marlon) Leary, Leonoire (Joseph) Oldham; Stepdaughter: Kimberly Cartwright; Grandchildren: Alim LaRoda, Nazime LaRoda, Tonika LaRoda, Shannon LaRoda, Gabriella LaRoda, Lendelle Neeley, Shaquielle LaRoda, Symillian Neeley LaRoda, Willamette Neeley, Ricardia Neeley, Ricardo Neeley, Dario Neeley, Demario Neeley, Darius Neeley, Shavano Neeley, Jase Leary, Jolyn Oldham and Jodi Oldham; Great Grandchildren: Alexander, London and Giannis Sands, Brooklyn Neeley; Brothers: Sidney “Doc” LaRoda, Charles H. LaRoda Jr., Jim LaRoda, Retired Supt. Tommy LaRoda and Michael LaRoda; Sisters-in-Law: Christine Bethel LaRoda, Ingrid Hepburn LaRoda, Shirley Merriman LaRoda; Sister: Carolyn LaRoda Whyms; Brother-in-Law: District Elder Roosevelt Whyms; Nephews: Anthony “21” Francis and Alexander (Shandale) Grant and Tevin Whyms; Nieces: Michelle (Lester) Gibson, Shontelle LaRoda, Karensa Grant McKinney, Misty Whyms, Ashley Whyms, Lia Larissa LaRoda Brown, Kaylee LaRoda, Ariel LaRoda, Chiquita (Denver) Thompson, Aldeka LaRoda, Shamara (Johnny) Pluviose and Mikerea LaRoda; Grand Nephews and Nieces including: David Grant, Delano Francis, Quincy Jr., Kassidy McKinney, Dorian LaRoda Wallace, Trey Brown Wallace, Tevin Jr., Tevaughn, Alexia Grant, Shanario Grant, Evanya Adderly and J’Anna Pluviose; Grand Aunt: Dimples LaRoda; Numerous Relatives and Friends Including: Edward and Clinton LaRoda, Gracie Thomas, Doris Cash, Patsy, Brenda, Mildred Poppel, Genevie McIntosh, Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham, Arnette Stuart, Howard LaRoda, Gregory LaRoda, Judy Johnson, Wellington Johnson, Granville and Evelyn Williams and Family, Alma Mills, Franklin Hunt, Brenda Ferguson and Family, Sonia LaRoda, Clarence Russell, Geronimo Sweeting, Senior Serving and Retired members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Relatives and friends may pay their respects at the Paul Farquharson Conference Centre, Royal Bahamas Police Force Headquarters, on Wednesday from 12:00 noon. to 5:00 p.m., and at the church on Thursday, from 9:00 a.m., until service time.

MAY is Mental Health Awareness Month and it has been great to see people talking openly about their own mental health over the past week.

This month is not only about acknowledging and talking openly about diagnoses or struggles, but about healthy practices.

Mental health, like physical health depends on us to be good to ourselves. Sunshine, meditation, eating well and exercise all help to boost mental health. They are not, however, replacements for medication.

While we do not want to be on medication of any kind, sometimes it is the best way to manage a health issue. There is still stigma around mental health challenges and medication, so most people are not talking openly about their needs.

That does not mean they are not under the care of

a professional or trying to stay on a care regimen.

This month is a good time to break bad habits and start new ones. Stop using words like “crazy” that perpetuate the stigma. Check in on your friends. Ask how they are feeling, listen to the answer and offer to help in tangible ways. This could be accompanying them on evening walks, filling prescriptions, finding a mental health professional, taking a meditation class together, or letting them off the hook when plans need to change.

Remember this month isn’t just about other people. Give yourself some attention too. Do more of the things that make you feel better. Does your day go better if you wake up a bit earlier so you can have a slower start to the day?

Make adjustments so it’s easier for you to do that.

Are you always anxious

at a certain point in the month because you have so many lines to stand on to pay bills? Call those companies and find out if you can avoid the hassle and pay online. These are little things, but they can have big impact.

Take a few minutes to do a quick assessment. What would you be better of with or without? Who can help keep you accountable when you make new commitments? How can you make your life easier? Start making the changes you need now and see how you feel in June.

If you think you need the support of a professional, start looking. Your doctor can make a referral, or you can call the Bahamas Crisis Centre for direction.

Our minds, like our bodies, need care. We don’t have to wait until we’re sick to pay attention.

THE TRIBUNE

MOUNTAIN VIEW Associated Press GOOGLE announced updates for its artificially intelligent voice assistant and new privacy tools to give people more control over how they’re being tracked on the go or in their own home.

CEO Sundar Pichai kicked off the company’s annual developer conference yesterday, noting that the company wants to do more to stay ahead of “constantly evolving user expectations” on privacy.

In an appeal to concerns about constant location tracking, the company will begin enabling users of its digital maps to cloak their identities to prevent their locations from being recorded.

The company is offering its new “Incognito” privacy control amid face intensifying scrutiny over how much user information technology companies collect and sell for advertising. Facebook dedicated much of its own conference last week to connecting people though more private channels rather than broadly on the social network.

Incognito mode has long been offered on various browsers, including Google’s Chrome, although signing in to a Google or other account generally negates it, at least partially.

Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers already have various privacy tools built in to block sites from tracking people’s online activity so they can sell ads based on their perceived interests and locations.

The latest version of Google’s Android operating system will also alert users when apps may be exploiting access to phone location data. A privacy control will remind users whenever an

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, PAGE 9

Google promises better privacy tools, smarter AI assistant

GOOGLE CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the keynote address of the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, Calif, yesterday. Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP app that’s not currently in use accesses their location, and will allow users to turn that off.

Android Q, as the new operating system is currently known, will also let users restrict app access to location more generally

— for instance, by limiting it to times the app is in use.

Stephanie Cutherbertson, a senior director for Android, called location data “some of your most personal information” during her presentation on the subject.

Location data is a sore

subject for Google. In 2018, an Associated Press investigation found that Google continued storing phone location data even when users turned off a “location history” setting in Android.

The company also said it would make it more clear

to users what data is being collected by its Nest line of internet-connected home devices. And it showed off recently announced autodelete features, which let people set a time limit for how long their location history will be saved before it is deleted.

Pichai also reiterated his intention to come up with more features to help make people’s lives easier.

The pledge made yesterday before a crowd of about 7,000 computer programmers at the conference known as I/O is part of Pichai’s efforts to diversify Google beyond its roots as a search engine.

Google’s search engine remains the main way that the company makes billions of dollars annually by selling digital ads that are targeted at the interests that people reveal through their search requests.

Google’s voice assistant will get a series of updates this year, including one that lets it book rental cars and movie tickets.

Google says its assistant will be able to book cars and tickets using online forms on Android phones later this year. The technology behind this, called Duplex, was released to much fanfare last year when Google demonstrated it making a call to book a restaurant reservation.

The Google Assistant will also get shrunk down so that it can work directly on a phone, eliminating the need to communicate with Google’s cloud servers to understand some commands. The phone-only capability will be available on new Pixel phones later this year.

The AI is also learning to offer more personal suggestions to users by learning common contact names and addresses.

SPACEX SHIPMENT REACHES SPACE STATION AFTER WEEKEND LAUNCH CAPE CANAVERAL Associated Press A SPACEX shipment arrived at the International Space Station on Monday with a “cosmic catch” by a pair of Canadians.

The Dragon capsule delivered 5,500 pounds of equipment and experiments.

Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques used the station’s big robot arm — also made in Canada

— to capture the Dragon approximately 250 miles above the North Atlantic Ocean. An external cable that normally comes off during launch dangled from the capsule, but it did not interfere with the grappling.

“Welcome on board, Dragon,” Saint-Jacques radioed. He congratulated ground teams for their help, in both English and French.

Saint-Jacques later told Canadian schoolchildren it was “a big moment of pride” to grab the Dragon

IN this image taken from NASA Television, a SpaceX shipment prepares to arrive at the International Space Station following a weekend launch on Monday. The Dragon capsule reached the orbiting complex on Monday, delivering 5,500 pounds of equipment and experiments. using the station’s 58-foot robot arm — Canada’s main contribution to the space station.

He became the first Canadian to use it to grab a visiting spacecraft — “a cosmic catch”, in the words of the Canadian Space Agency.

“To be at the controls myself, after all these years of training, it was a very, very special moment

— and, fortunately, it all went well,” Saint-Jacques told the schoolchildren later in the day.

It’s the second station visit for this recycled Dragon, which was launched by SpaceX on Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It also flew in 2017.

This is SpaceX’s 17th delivery to the space station; the first was in 2012.

Northrop Grumman is NASA’s other shipper; its Cygnus cargo ship arrived just two weeks ago.

The Dragon will remain about a month, being filled with science samples for return to Earth. It’s the only cargo ship capable of coming back intact.

Besides one Canadian, the space station is home to three Americans and two Russians.

• A UTILITY company and a solar energy company in Montana have reached an agreement to launch a solar project large enough to power 4,900 homes.

The Billings Gazette reports that NorthWestern Energy has reached an agreement with Meadowlark Solar for a 150-acre solar farm expected to come online in 2021.

The 20-megawatt, $18m project west of the Billings Airport would be built as a Community Renewable Energy Project, a utility requirement under state law to encourage renewable energy use.

South Dakota-based NorthWestern says in a statement that the agreement hinges on approval from the Montana Public Service Commission.

The privately funded solar project would be the largest in Montana.

The cost of electricity generated by Meadowlark Solar will not be revealed for several weeks.

• A JAPANESE aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick successfully launched a small rocket into space Saturday, making it the first commercially developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.

Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket exceeded 100 kilometres in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was launched from the company’s test site in the town of Taiki on Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido and flew about ten minutes.

“We proved that our rocket developed with a lot of commercially available parts is capable of reaching the space,” Interstellar Technologies CEO Takahiro Inagawa told a news conference from Hokkaido.

The rocket, about ten metres long and 50 centimetres in diameter, weighs about one tonne. It is capable of carrying payloads as heavy as 20 kilogrammes but currently lacks an ability to send them into orbit.

The company, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, who was a former Livedoor Co President, aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to carry satellites into space. Horie expressed high expectations for his new business.

“I’m hoping that many manufacturers and satellite makers will come here to join us,” he said.

The launch is part of a growing international trend in space business, where Japan has fallen behind global competition, led by US startups such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Saturday’s success came after two failures in 2017 and 2018.

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PAGE 10, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

TAYLOR INDUSTRIES R.I.P. AGED 74

PHOTO: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

I GUESS I bought my first light-bulb over 30 years ago in the friendly store facing Shirley Street’s busy traffic flow. Convenient, with easy parking and never crowded, it continued to meet my occasional electrical needs, a local retail icon I never thought about— and which never changed.

Which of course is why the shutters went down at Taylor Industries and a liquidator was called in early this year. The directors Bryan and Graham Taylor, whom I have never met, failed to move with the times, meeting competition neither from internet sales by giant Amazon nor from more aggressive local companies who expanded, modernized and opened new product lines. Meanwhile, income from contracting services also dropped, allegedly because of nationwide decline in new construction.

The closure has had minor financial impact.

The professionally detailed interim liquidator’s report by accountant Andrew Davies discloses that only

37 Bahamian creditors were left with just $80,713 unpaid bills.

But the human cost is much higher. About 40 employees are abruptly out of work, from a senior manager making $1,350 per week to the lowest clerk at $300 weekly, for a total of $682,000 accrued severance pay, less than 30 percent of which is likely to be paid against the scarce liquid assets like inventory and accounts receivable, and still unknown liquidator’s and legal expenses.

The small saving grace is the Taylor family, who own about 70 percent of the equity, have personally paid the $29,600 pension fund contribution due to NIB.

The fundamental hole in the financial position of Taylor Industries Limited, is the absence of real estate from the balance sheet.

The two parcels used in the business, the Shirley Street store and the Dunmore Street warehouse, are separately owned by the Taylors and thus of no value to claimants against the company. Eventually the family may well be able to sell the valuable site opposite Doctors Hospital for over $1 million—which will not help employees hoping to realise their severance pay.

Unfortunately, this financial structure is common among Bahamian private companies.

It serves to shelter

owners against the risks of an actively operating company, while the working staff has no stake in the property values; this slanted arrangement is only revealed when a liquidator issues a full financial report with insolvency imminent.

The answer is not legislation banning this structure, but full disclosure. At present, only the few companies who have gone public and listed on BISX publicly disclose the details of their financial condition. What is urgently needed is an effective Credit Bureau, not simply for individual borrowers, but for companies large and small. We all assume (probably correctly) that

Kelly’s Home Centre, A.I.D. and SuperValue Stores are strong enough to weather any crisis or downturn, but how do we really know?

Until about ten years ago, John S George was considered a rock-sold bellwether; then in two years it vanished. The liquidator’s report now reveals that Taylor’s net worth declined by $1.4 million over the last four years, while its revenues fell by 36 percent, with a bloated work-force the owners found too expensive to lay off. The company had no reason to remain alive during this period: a consumer could buy bulbs and plugs virtually anywhere; Nassau Glass has a much

AN OBAN ALTERNATIVE AFTER an abortive birth 15 months ago, and nothing but management upheavals and cancelled meetings ever since, with no sign of a true owner, it’s hard to believe any real leaders will threaten our environment. Instead of marketing oil, they might offer Oban Single-Malt Scotch, whose Manager’s Dram sells for $1,300 a bottle.

larger range of lamps and Geoffrey Jones specializes in well-serviced appliances like fridges and dishwashers.

For even these well-run, specialized operations, on-line competition from Amazon and Home Depot can only get stronger. The future of small family-owned businesses seems inevitably to point to a range of mergers to consolidate revenues and shrink expenses - unfortunately too late to save any part of Taylor Industries’ work force.

There was no chicanery in the collapse of Taylor Industries, simply the owners’ lack of foresight.

Government should take bold steps to hasten the inauguration of the much discussed Credit Bureau. Its full disclosure will enable employees and their trade union leaders, to better understand what assets lie behind their severance rights, and discourage them from accepting jobs with companies whose owners hold the real property in a separate vehicle for their private benefit.

Cooper lost the bet MP CHESTER Cooper is parlaying his successful financial career into becoming the PLP’s bumptious shadow Minister of Finance.

He loses no opportunity to castigate Prime Minister Minnis for his government’s decision to buy the Grand Lucayan Resort, the key to keeping Freeport viable as a tourist centre. Mr. Cooper fails to recognise that real governance often provides no “good” solutions available, only several “less bad” ones.

Of course, it would have been wonderful if the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison-Whampoa had reopened and revived the hotel complex, using insurance proceeds to restore the effects of hurricane damage and long vacancy.

But H-W had lost interest in Bahamian realty and chose to walk away, abandoning any loyalty to their once-upon-a time dream of promoting the area, and threatening the neighbouring Marina Village with economic collapse.

As directed by a gutsy decision of the PM and Cabinet, last August Hotel Corporation chairman Michael Scott used a special subsidiary to negotiate a buy-out price of $65 million from H-W. Although a 50 percent share was taken as a purchase-money mortgage, the cost was still a major outlay for our cashstrapped Treasury, with no clear prospect for speedy resale.

But what was the alternative? It was unthinkable

MP Chester Cooper to let Grand Lucayan sink into permanent decay.

The investment risk is proving its worth. Many buyers expressed interest in Grand Lucayan and in March a letter of intent was signed to sell to the consortium of Caribbean Cruise Lines and the Mexican ITM group of hotels cruise ports.

The sales price is just $65 million, so government will suffer a net loss on the transaction after it has paid employee severance claims of over $7 million and operating costs of roughly $1 million monthly until the expected closing date at end of September. However, this loss is far outweighed by the $195 million the buyers are committing to renovate the hotel and surroundings, plus linked

improvements to Freeport Harbour across the island – an over-all renaissance of Freeport and Grand Bahamas as tourist magnets.

Despite Mr Cooper’s dire fulminations, the initial $65 million bet is paying off, and I am unaware that he ever offered a rescue formula of his own. Furthermore, the game need not stop there. With a more profitable outlook, Government can now put the squeeze on Devco, the long-time partnership between H-W and the family owners of Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA). Devco’s expensive management of the GB Airport has often been challenged, with the argument it could be better run as a new venture similar to Nassau’s Lyndon Pindling International. Devco has also been sitting for years on about 70,000 acres between the sea and airport, without finding any use for this prime property as an international wholesale centre. Government is quite capable of acquiring and turning it over to a more imaginative developer of commercial real estate.

When we add Carnival Cruise Lines planned new cruise port in eastern Grand Bahama, we see many reasons to scrap that relic of colonialism, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement signed in 1955, and reorganise the whole island under new governance, with or without basic administrative tasks reserved for the GBPA.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, PAGE 11

Vendors unhappy with hotels renting water sports equipment

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net SCORES of disgruntled watercraft operators flocked to Goodman’s Bay yesterday to protest against hotels renting vessels to their guests.

They are also angry about the “poor” conditions of the Goodman’s Bay ramp and are calling for the immediate dismissal of the Port Authority’s chairman.

Pedro Sinclair Bannister, vice president of the Cable Beach Water Sports Association, said watercraft operators from Paradise Island and the Sandals resort came together in solidarity at Goodman’s Bay. Mr Bannister said: “We had a protest concerning the Baha Mar

hotel renting motor watercrafts to their guests... they are not supposed to be renting motorised equipment to the guests.

“It’s not fair… if one hotel opens up the door for the hotels to use jet skis and rent any motor watercrafts that will hurt the small business man who [work] out here. We want them to know this is an industry for the Bahamian people. Water sports is not for foreign investors to be investing their money and trying to get involved in our business.”

“When you have a new activity and you want it to be in the hotel, you’re supposed to put it in the newspaper for at least two to three weeks in case someone wants to object; they have the right to object to that. I don’t think they were vetted, they were not put in

the newspaper for people to see.

They did this in a slick way.”

The vice president said the chairman of the Port Authority is also a security chief at Baha Mar and the association views that as a conflict of interest.

He said: “If we have a problem with the jet ski operators and they have to go the board to [be] disciplined, it’s not fair to have a man working for the hotel discipline the people that work for themselves.

“We are [being] victimised.

[This] never happened before and I don’t know how he got this position. We are asking for his immediate removal.”

Mr Bannister also is calling for Works Minister Desmond Bannister to repair the Goodman’s Bay ramp.

He said: “This ramp is in a bad

GOODMAN’S BAY, with Baha Mar in the background.

state, this is 2019 we shouldn’t have people lifting jet skis in and out of water. When you go to the States, they have proper ramps and I don’t see why we can’t have that in this same area.”

Additionally, he wants the Port Authority to keep its word on renewing the licences of jet ski operators from a hotel on the Cable Beach strip.

He explained: “We have people that had a jet ski licence that were working at the Nassau Beach Hotel. Now the hotel was knocked down and Port Authority told us when the hotel opened back up, we will be placed back at our place of business.

“I don’t see what the hang up is for us going back there. We were supposed to be the first person to go back there. Not a new company coming in and getting new

numbers to operate…that’s a big problem. This doesn’t leave a good taste in our mouth and if the chairman or the minister don’t hear me, Supreme Court will hear me.”

He added: “I’m a Bahamian; I didn’t fly here and there are a lot of foreigners on the beaches now. I don’t discriminate against nobody, but you have Haitians renting jet skis now, Jamaicans renting jets skis, next we going to have Chinese and Cubans.

This is The Bahamas, I can’t go to these places and rent jet skis; this place is too slack. Bahamas water sports are for Bahamians.”

The Tribune made numerous attempts to contact the Port Authority for a comment, but efforts were unsuccessful up to press time.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

ONE DEAD, EIGHT HURT IN SCHOOL SHOOTING, TWO IN CUSTODY COLORADO Associated Press

TWO students opened fire yesterday inside a charter school in an affluent suburb of Denver not far from Columbine High School , killing a teenager, wounding eight and spreading minutes of terror before they were taken into custody with no injuries, authorities said.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the pair walked into the STEM School Highlands Ranch and began shooting students in two classrooms. Within minutes, deputies at a nearby

sheriff’s department substation entered the school and arrested the two suspects after a struggle.

“As officers were arriving at the school, they could still hear gunshots,” Douglas County Undersheriff Holly NicholsonKluth said. Authorities did not release the name of the student who died, but said it was an 18-year-old man.

“I have to believe that the quick response of the officers that got inside that school helped save lives,” Spurlock said. He did not identify the suspects, but said they were not previously known to authorities. Authorities planned

to search their homes and a vehicle at the school, he said.

The shooting took place a week after a gunman killed two students and wounded four at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. It also comes nearly three weeks after neighboring Littleton marked the grim 20th anniversary of the Columbine school massacre that killed 13 people. The two schools are separated by about 11 kms in adjacent communities south of Denver.

“Tragically, this community and those surrounding it know all too well these hateful and horrible

POLICE gather at the centre.

acts of violence,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting and was in touch with state and local officials, Deere said.

Student Christian Paulson told television station KMGH that he was in study hall when he saw kids running and shouting, “School shooter!”

“And I’m like, what? Is this real or fake? And then I just went after them,” Christian Paulson said. “And apparently, this is all real. And I tried to run with my life, but I’m out of breath.”

TRUMP ‘LOST MORE THAN $1 BILLION FROM 1985 TO 1994’

CASH STILL KING IN SAN FRANCISCO SAN Francisco officials voted yesterday to require brick-and-mortar retailers to take cash as payment, joining Philadelphia and New Jersey in banning a growing paperless practice that critics say discriminates against low-income people who may not have access to credit cards.

Supervisor Vallie Brown, who introduced the legislation, said it “will go far in ensuring all San Franciscans have equitable access to the city’s economy.”

Brown said she thought it unfair that someone couldn’t buy a sandwich just because they had cash. She said young people, victims of ID theft, immigrants and homeless people are among those who don’t have bank accounts or credit cards.

WASHINGTON Associated Press

SIGNS like this will soon be banned in San Francisco.

Pompeo makes secret Iraq trip amid Iran tensions BAGHDAD Associated Press US SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo made a lightning visit yesterday to Baghdad aimed at showing support for the Iraqi government as the United States has been picking up intelligence that Iran is threatening American interests in the Middle East.

The top American diplomat’s unannounced trip to the Iraqi capital began and ended after nightfall under heavy security following the abrupt cancellation of a visit to Germany.

Journalists accompanying Pompeo were not told of his new destination until his plane left for Baghdad and were not allowed to report on his whereabouts until after his plane had taken off for London.

The secretary told reporters on the flight that his meetings with Iraq’s president and prime minister were intended to demonstrate US support for “a sovereign,

SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo in Baghdad yesterday. independent” Iraq, free from the influence of neighboring Iran.

Pompeo also said he wanted to underscore Iraq’s need to protect Americans in their country.

“We wanted to let them know about the increased threat stream that we had seen and give them a little bit more background on that

so they could ensure that they were doing all they could to provide protection for our team,” he said.

“They understood, too, it’s important for their country.”

Pompeo’s visit came as the Trump administration intensified its pressure campaign against Iran.

The US said this week that it was rushing an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East to deter or respond to any Iranian attack.

US officials have said there were indications Iran was planning to retaliate for the Trump administration’s stepped-up sanctions on the country, although the threat information remains vague.

Pompeo would not be specific about the more recent threat information involving Iran except that they involved “imminent” plans for attacks. “We’re taking every action to deter them,” he said. “Other than that, I just can’t say any more.”

Before landing in Baghdad he said that that he would make clear in his meetings that any attack by Iran or its proxies on American

forces in Iraq would affect the Iraqi government too.

The “campaign to continue to prevent ISIS terror inside of Iraq itself is something that’s very central ... to the Iraqi government,” Pompeo said.

In Washington, an American official said the decision to deploy the carrier group and a group of Air Force bombers to the Middle East was based in part on intelligence indications that Iran had moved short-range ballistic missiles by boat in waters off its shores.

Iran, meanwhile, was expected to announced Wednesday that it would partially withdraw from the nuclear deal it struck with world powers in 2015.

As tensions rise between Washington and Tehran, Baghdad in some ways is caught in the middle.

Iraq has a close relationship with the US. which is leading the international coalition in the war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. More than 5,000 U.S. troops are stationed on Iraqi soil.

THE New York Times reported yesterday that Donald Trump’s businesses lost more than $1 billion from 1985 to 1994, based on tax information the newspaper acquired.

The Times said it has acquired printouts from the future president’s official IRS tax transcripts, including figures from his federal tax form.

The newspaper said Trump reported business losses of $46.1 million in 1985, and a total of $1.17 billion in losses for the 10-year period.

After comparing Trump’s information with that of other “high-income earners,” the Times concluded that Trump “appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer.”

Because of his business losses, the newspaper reported, Trump did not pay income taxes for eight of the 10 years.

The House Ways and Means Committee has asked the IRS to provide Trump’s personal and business returns for 2013 through 2018. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday refused to do so, saying the panel’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”

Mnuchin’s move, which had been expected, is likely to set a legal battle into motion. The chief options available to Democrats are to subpoena the IRS for the returns or to file a lawsuit.

Trump is the first president since Watergate to decline to make his tax returns public.