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VOLUME:115 No.116, MAY 9TH, 2018

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

ALICIA WALLACE: STAND UP FOR WOMEN WITHOUT INHIBITION

He’ll never change, he deserved to die

Marco’s family speak out over killer’s sentence

Goodman would receive the death penalty but ultimately accept his 55-year prison term as sufficient to THE FAMILY of slain keep the child predator off Marco Archer yesterthe streets. day strongly She said the rejected the family would assertion there fully support was any posan appeal of sibility for his the sentence killer’s reform, by the Office insisting the of the Attor11-year-old’s ney General. brutal death “We don’t had lifted the agree with MARCO’s mother, Trypheveil on an what was said irrefutable pat- mia Meadows, pictured in reference outside court previously. tern of child to him,” Ms predation.

Humes told Marco’s older sister, The Tribune.

Tancia Humes, said they SEE PAGE THREE hoped and prayed Kofhe

A FOREIGN expert who will be contracted

by Bahamas Power and Light to gauge its electrical service system for potential instabilities will arrive in the country next month, according to BPL chairwoman Darnell Osborne.

She said the timeline for

THE government has approved more than 100 applications for citizenship since the Citizenship Committee was formed in February and is on pace, if the rate is sustained, to naturalise nearly 400 people by year-end, according to Immigration Minister Brent Symonette.

Mr Symonette told The Tribune the Citizenship Committee had processed a total of 120 applications as of last week, since its first meeting about three months ago.

SEE PAGE 11

BTC PROFITS SLUMP BY $38 MILLION

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

KOFHE Goodman pictured at a previous court hearing.

ROLLE WAS ‘SUBDUED’ TRYING TO ESCAPE HOME INSURANCE

AUTO INSURANCE

LIFE INSURANCE

MARINE INSURANCE

HOTEL union executives yesterday served notice they plan to challenge a Supreme Court injunction that has - temporarily at least - blocked leadership elections set for this month.

The injunction, granted on May 4, 2018, by acting chief justice Stephen Isaacs, barred the nomination of candidates for various union executive posts that was scheduled to take place yesterday.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

EXPAT EXPERT TO STUDY BPL SYSTEM

this analysis and its cost will be contingent on where the investigation takes the specialist.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mrs Osborne said the move was shifted to an immediate focus following Sunday’s massive system failure, which BPL said was caused by “inclement weather”.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

120 OBTAIN CITIZENSHIP IN 3 MONTHS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

HOTEL UNION ELECTION HIT

BY LAWSUIT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer who was a supervisor at the Southern Police Station in 2013 testified Aaron Rolle did not complain of being abused during his interrogation despite having to be “subdued” by officers after an alleged attempt to jump out of a window.

The testimony came as a trial continued yesterday

AARON ROLLE into the manslaughter charges against Constables Akiel Smith and Carl Smith.

The revelation was made during Wayne Munroe,

QC’s cross examination of the Crown’s witness, Sergeant 596 Kingsley Bain, who is now attached to the New Bight Police Station in Cat Island. Mr Munroe is representing the accused constables.

At the time of the incident involving Rolle, both constables were plain clothes officers attached to the Inquiries Section with Sgt Bain as their supervisor.

Covering The Bahamas for over 40 years.

NEW PROVIDENCE | GRAND BAHAMA | ABACO | ELEUTHERA | EXUMA

INSURANCE MANAGEMENT

(BAHAMAS) LIMITED. INSURANCE BROKERS & AGENTS

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Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SEVEN

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) 2017 profits plunged by around 75 per cent amid its owner’s continuing two-year wait for the Government to approve its takeover.

Corporate filings by Cable & Wireless Communications, BTC’s parent, show that Aliv’s entry into the Bahamian mobile market sent BTC’s profits tumbling by at least $30m.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

INSIGHT

THE FIRST YEAR

12 MONTHS UNDER MINNIS YOUR VERDICT

PAGES FOUR, FIVE, SIX

PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 9, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Delivery unit seeking to help govt meet promises

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

AND THE WINNER IS...

100 JAMZ Secret Sound winner Rodgenae Rolle (right) is presented with her prize by Ciara Curry.

By FARRAH JOHNSON A YOUNG woman has won the 100 JAMZ secret sound prize.

For weeks, Bahamians all over the country called into the radio station to try their luck at winning the jackpot until Rodgenae Rolle secured the coveted cash reward.

The jackpot was raised to a whopping $5,000, following hundreds of failed attempts to uncover the sound.

Ms Rolle said she was “ecstatic” when she found out that she had finally solved the mystery.

“I was almost ready to give up and all, but I said no, (I’ll try) one more time so it was a good feeling,” she said.

Ms Rolle said she plans to pay her child’s school fees with the cash prize.

She explained her child is enrolled in a private school, so she wants to “get that out (of) the way”.

Ms Rolle also revealed she has another “little one on the way,” so her big win came in perfect timing.

The jackpot was provided courtesy of 100 JAMZ and The Beauty Shack.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis officially launched his Delivery Unit yesterday, a body that is meant to keep the government on track in the delivery of key promises to the electorate.

Known as the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, or PMDU, the initiative was foreshadowed in November 2017 by Press Secretary Anthony Newbold.

At the time, Mr Newbold said the unit would be “responsible for tracking projects and initiatives set out and agreed by the prime minister and establishing timelines for the completion of such projects”.

It was originally supposed to be established by January 2018.

In his remarks yesterday, Dr Minnis said “deliberate and strategic steps” must be taken to ascertain the needs of Bahamian citizens and the “trends of key indicators” affecting their lives.

In addition to analysing these needs, a “management mechanism” must be created that will underscore “accountability, transparency, and results delivery” throughout the nation.

The six key priorities the PMDU will initially focus on are the Over-the-Hill Rejuvenation Project, land reform, energy reform and infrastructure, ease of doing business, education, and safety and security.

The goals of the Overthe-Hill Rejuvenation Project include community development, crime reduction, and the creation of clean environments.

Other targets include reducing child abuse, school violence, youth alcoholism, and illegal gun possession.

Land reform will focus on providing affordable

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/ Tribune Staff ready-to-build housing land for citizens and executing a national land audit, which will pave the way for a land registry in The Bahamas.

The government will also encourage land ownership in the Family Islands and promote the timely processing of land applications.

The latter will be enabled through the provision of digital recordings of surveys and land mapping government services.

The government’s energy reform goals include “creating a renewable energy economy,” with a focus on solar energy. Meanwhile, infrastructure efforts will focus on executing a road maintenance management system and traffic management system, to provide citizens with high quality road and traffic services.

Ease of doing business will focus on improving The Bahamas’ global ranking on the World Bank’s Doing Business Index. Increasing the speed and efficiency of government service providers that impact business operations will also be part of the process. The speed and ease with which business licence applications are

processed will be increased as well. Taxation processes will also be streamlined.

The education plank will address student outcomes and “fostering a digital revolution”.

One such target will be to increase the percentage of three and four-year-olds accessing preschool education from 30 per cent to 75 per cent by 2022.

By that same year, the government hopes to increase the percentage of 12th graders in public schools that meet academic criteria for graduation from 51 per cent to 61 per cent.

A third education target is to upgrade 100 per cent of public schools with fibre optic internet connections.

This is intended to provide greater access to quality education.

Safety and security initiatives will focus on crime reduction and “ensuring that the public feels safe”.

The government also hopes to “reduce the recidivism rate of offenders”, establish youth community centres staffed with “qualified personnel” and strengthen the justice system.

These key priorities will be driven by data collection and analysis. As a partner in the initiative, the InterAmerican Development Bank has made available the Public Financial Management - Performance Monitoring Reform Loan Facility.

Through this loan, provisions have been made to “develop a state of the art Information and communications technology system to underpin the work of the PMDU”, officials said.

Representatives from the Canadian government were also present at the launch. Canadian International Development Minister Marie-Claude

Bibeau spoke on Canada’s approach to results and delivery.

She suggested the government ensure the public understands the government’s goals, emphasise the importance of transparency, and make sure that results are at the “heart” of the initiative.

Dr Minnis viewed Canada’s participation as an “act of friendship and cooperation”.

IDB representative Florencia Attademo-Hirt congratulated The Bahamas on “the first Delivery Unit being set up in the Caribbean”.

She also referred to the success countries such as Peru and Brazil have experienced through the establishment of their own units.

When asked how the public will have access to tracking and monitoring the Delivery Unit’s progress, PMDU Chief Operating Officer Viana Gardiner said this will be made available through a website that will be developed in the next few months. However, she declined to give a specific timeline.

She added that members of the Delivery Unit are being recruited from both the public and private sectors.

The team will have eleven members.

According to Dr Minnis, the Delivery Unit will differ from other agencies in the sense that it will “have the mandate and the authority of the prime minister to seek information from any ministry and analyse that data and to ensure that we’re keeping on schedule for that timeline.”

When asked if the turnaround or results in the key priorities will be seen in this tenure of the FNM, Ms Gardiner replied: “Certainly.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 9, 2018, PAGE 3

He’ll never change, he deserved to die from page one “It was a term they mentioned, they feel as though he could be rehabilitated, we totally don’t agree with that.

“No,” she continued, “I don’t think so. If that was the case it should have happened from he was 14 years old, the man is now in his 40s and he has been doing this to kids around the age of my brother.

“He has been in and out of jail, he has been convicted . . .How could someone (like that) be rehabilitated. . . I can’t see that (being) possible and all that should have been considered by the judge, and it should have been considered by the doctor who spoke.

“I read it in the paper where he (a doctor) said that he (Goodman) could be reformed, but this is not somebody who has done this once.

“This is now in the public’s eye and we are aware of what he has been doing over the years because my brother is dead, because he killed him, other than that it wouldn’t have been known.

“So I totally disagree with that and we believe that he should have gotten the death penalty but we also are satisfied with the 55 years, because that means he will not be seen on these streets, walking these streets anymore.

“We thank God for that,” she added.

Supreme Court Justice

MARCO Archer’s mother, Tryphemia Meadows, speaking to the media after a previous court date and, right, Marco Archer, who was killed at the age of 11.

Carolita Bethel sentenced Goodman to 55 years in prison on Monday for the 2011 killing, rejecting the Crown’s request for a death sentence. Seven years he spent in custody

CONVICTED child killer Kofhe Goodman pictured after being sentenced on Monday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

will be deducted from the sentence.

The Crown argued that Goodman is a serial predator.

Justice Bethel cited testimony from consultant psychiatrist Dr John Dillet, and determined she could not conclusively say Goodman is incapable of being reformed.

Goodman has said he will appeal the latest conviction.

In 1993, he was convicted of unnatural carnal knowledge against Norris Adderley, a 10-year-old boy found dead.

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

He served three years in prison after his admission.

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

This is the second time Goodman has been convicted and sentenced for killing Marco Archer.

His previous conviction and death sentence were overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2016 due to pre-trial publicity, the behaviour of Goodman’s

BONAIRE ACTIVISTS CALL FOR END TO DUTCH COLONIAL RULE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A SMALL delegation of activists from the Dutch special municipality Bonaire who are seeking to raise awareness of alleged undemocratic colonial rule of the island attended the 21st Session of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations on Monday.

James Finies, president of We Want Bonaire Back told The Tribune his organisation hopes to garner the support of CARICOM as they make their bid for re-enlisting on the list of non-self-governing countries and territories of the United Nations.

“The central point,” Mr Finies said, “is that at this moment in the Caribbean where all the Caribbean is striving toward Caribbean integration with our islands, Bonaire is a sovereign Caribbean nation. It was a Dutch colony and we were

reversed to non-autonomy in 2010.

“We lost our autonomy and were reversed under Dutch direct rule and that is unacceptable in a civilised world that we live in. We have a major problem because we don’t have any representation on any level. No representation in the Caribbean, no representation in the United Nations, no representation even in Holland because it’s an undemocratic situation.

“We have no voice in any forum to stop any legislation, make any changes, we don’t have any representation in the European Union even though we are considered Europe now.

“We are a small island, a small nation, we are a nation like other Caribbean nations. We are a nation because we have our own culture, our own identity, our own history, and these things we should preserve are under threat.”

Bonaire has special Dutch municipal status alongside the island of St Eustatius, both of which were designated at the dissolution of The Netherlands Antilles in 2010.

The pair’s struggle for decolonisation has intensified this year after local authority in St Eustatius was dissolved in February following a damning state report accusing its administration of lawlessness.

On Monday, Mr Finies criticised the report as false due to insufficient investigation.

“They (the Dutch government) came with 40 police on an island where we normally have six or seven police,” Mr Finies said.

“They brought 40 police and a navy ship in the harbour to take them out of office by force, and they appoint a person nondemocratic to run the island now.”

former lawyer and a jury irregularity.

Marco’s sister said the drawn out legal case took a toll on the family.

“The sentencing should have happened months ago, unfortunately I guess that’s our court system,” Ms Humes said. “We planned and hoped and prayed for the death penalty. I guess we’re satisfied with the 55 years.

“If the AG’s Office decides that they want to appeal the sentencing,” she added, “we’re with them 100 per cent.”

Marco’s death gripped the nation, and sparked amendments to the Sexual Offences Act and the Child Protection Act, which were supposed to create a sexual offenders register, and a MARCO Alert for missing children, respectively.

The sexual offenders register would place all persons who are convicted of sexual offences on the proposed list.

The Child Protection Amendment Act 2014 came into operation on August 26, 2015. The government implemented the MARCO Alert system in July 2016; however, a sexual offender’s register has not been introduced to date.

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PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 9, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Unemployment up as public service jobs go

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrollw@tribunemedia.net TREVOR Bodie was happy working in the United States when, a week after the 2017 general election, he was fired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Finding a job and taking care of his young family have since been herculean tasks.

He told The Tribune: “Finding a place to stay has been difficult. Being able to feed my family (which includes two school aged children) has been difficult; everywhere I go looking for a job nobody is hiring, it has left me in the position as a young man where either I’m going to go the right way or stray – it’s been so so stressful.”

Trevor Bodie is not his real name, which has been withheld at his request.

When it comes to jobs, the Minnis administration’s willingness to fire public sector employees was a distinguishing characteristic compared with its predecessor in its first year in office.

Reducing the size of the public service was its reaction to the excesses of the Christie administration.

At least 2,500 jobs – or six percent of jobs in the public service – have been lost since the FNM came to power, the Department of Statistics said in January, revealing an uptick in the unemployment rate from 9.9 percent to 10.1 percent.

The job cuts enabled the government to save about $75m, according to Attorney General Carl Bethel.

Yet for every two jobs made redundant in the public sector, one was created in the private sector through the administration’s Labour on the Blocks Initiative. Supporters say the initiative exemplifies government’s proper role as a facilitator of employment opportunities rather than a source of them.

Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said in March that 1,000 jobs have been filled through the programme.

The initiative coincided with an improving economy.

“The Bahamian economy has turned the corner but significant challenges remain,” the International Monetary Fund concluded in March. “Near-term prospects are improving on the back of the muchawaited opening of the mega tourist resort Baha Mar and a strong US economy.”

In late April, the Department of Statistics also revealed the Bahamas’ real gross domestic product

INSIGHT THE FIRST YEAR THE ‘Labour On The Blocks’ initiative at Sarah Ingraham Park. grew by 1.4 percent in 2017. to address the country’s Some ordinary Baha- brain drain problem, howmians, however, say the ever, is one initiative Mr quality of jobs obtained Dean praises.

“I like what they did through the labour initiaestablishing a database so tive is unworthy of hype.

Kyle Dean, a 27- year- Bahamians living abroad old resident of Killarney, can enter their skills and said until the effects of the qualifications in case they improving economy trick- want to return here,” he said.

“They les down, the could find cost of living ‘Being able to a job lined for people up for them obtaining get- feed my family or could be ting the jobs (which includes sought out by will remain two school aged an employer. distressingly We have a children) has high. serious brain been difficult; “What drain problem salary are everywhere I go in this counthose people try and that’s looking for a job getting jobs a good way to nobody is hiring, through that start addressprogramme it has left me in ing it.” making?”

In the the position as a he recently last year, told this young man where the Minnis newspaper. either I’m going to administration “Minimum prioritised go the right way wage because responding to those compa- or stray – it’s been the demands nies still can’t so so stressful.’ of interafford to give national them higher organisations, raising salaries? When you have fears among some that the the cost of living rising as country is moving too fast it seems to be doing every in response to external year, $210 a week can’t pressure. sustain a person. You have Despite a brief EU blackrent $700 and kids in your listing, the administration household to provide for, so took a robust approach to that Labour on the Blocks meeting the demands of the initiative just gives the Organisation for Economic illusion that things are get- Cooperation and Develting better when in reality opment (OECD) and its Base Erosion Profit Shifting people are still suffering.”

The government’s effort Initiative.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff By announcing a waiver for business licence fees for qualified businesses and its plans to exempt some Over-the-Hill communities from some taxes, the populist sensibilities of the administration were also highlighted.

In the next year, the administration is expected to pass a Fiscal Responsibility Act which could impose stringent controls on the government’s fiscal operations; similarly, a Public Procurement Bill is expected to transform procurement processes in the Bahamas, introducing levels of transparency and accountability that could curb corruption and boost investor confidence.

In Grand Bahama, the administration hopes to see fruit from its efforts positioning the island as a technology hub. It is anticipated the Grand Lucayan Resort will reopen, although a timeline for its reopening has remained elusive.

Heading into its second year, the Minnis administration hopes more than anything for people like Mr Bodie to be better off, not just for abstract figures indicating economic improvements.

“Who is benefiting from the improvements they are talking about right now?”

Mr Bodie asked. “People like me, we are not.”

MINISTER of Labour Dion Foulkes at a job fair.

‘NEUTRAL TO POOR’ RATING FOR GOVT ON HEALTHCARE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Minnis administration’s performance after a year in power has been “neutral to poor,” according to one local physician, who said nothing has changed in the country’s healthcare system since it assumed office last year.

Dr Sy Pierre, president of the Medical Association of the Bahamas, said while local physicians are not entirely “disenchanted” with the government’s performance to date, they aren’t seeing “any rapid changes for the better at this time.”

More importantly though, Dr Pierre said local physicians are wary of the government taking a full year to “articulate” exactly what steps it plans to take to reform the healthcare system for the better.

And concerning Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands, who left the healthcare system to enter the halls of Parliament on the Free National Movement’s ticket, Dr Pierre said: “He is a reflection of the government. Even if he wanted to

do something, it’s the Cabinet. It’s not an individual decision.”

In May of last year, the FNM, led by Dr Hubert Minnis, won 35 out of 39 seats in the House of Assembly while the Progressive Liberal Party won four, only one of which was in New Providence.

The election wiped out a number of senior PLP members and also saw former Prime Minister Perry Christie lose his long held Centreville seat.

According to the FNM’s website, the party pledged that upon assuming office, it would prioritise upgrading the present healthcare infrastructure (physical, human and administrative); ensuring easy and affordable access by all Bahamians to primary, secondary and advanced healthcare including critical care; providing patients with the right to choose; develop a system that is “viable and sustainable”; and embracing a national healthy lifestyle programme to entrench a preventative and wellness strategy to effectively deal with the “scourge of the many related lifestyle illnesses.”

SY PIERRE

The Minnis administration further pledged, among other things, to implement a “functional” National Health Insurance plan, with a robust catastrophic healthcare component; and to improve the working conditions and employment of consultant staff physicians in the country.

In recent weeks, healthcare workers have voiced frustration about overdue pay and benefits as well planned changes to their career paths. More than 200 nurses engaged in a “sick out” last week and their union has applied for a strike vote. Junior doctors are also upset with the Minnis administration because they say they will be forced into a mandatory programme that will determine if they will remain employed as physicians.

For his part, Dr Pierre said one year in, and nothing has changed from what it was under the former Christie administration.

“It hasn’t gotten any better, it hasn’t gotten any worse, I don’t know if it’s going to take a longer time, or exactly what they need to do, but we’re not seeing

any rapid changes for the better at this time,” Dr Pierre told The Tribune.

“So in terms of an opinion from the physicians, the physicians seem to, if I was to say, (rate the government as) neutral to not performing that well.”

He added: “If you have a plan before you go in, it doesn’t take you a year to articulate it and say ‘okay, we’re going to do ‘a,b,c and d.’ It could’ve had nothing to do with healthcare, you know? Healthcare might’ve been too big. They could have said ‘okay we’re going to deal with education, crime and illegal immigration.’ “‘These are the things we’re going to do, we’ve got a lot of problems but you can only deal with so many things in five years.’

“So that’s the issue with many of the physicians, feeling, I wouldn’t say disenchanted, but kind of neutral. If you were to give a grade, neutral to poor, in terms of the performance thus far.

“Maybe they should ask for recommendations. Will they do it? I don’t know.

It’s never too late to ask for help.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 9, 2018, PAGE 5

INSIGHT THE FIRST YEAR

The ongoing battle against nation’s crime

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

response to the families of murder victims saying she was promised follow up calls and counselling from AS Maxine Roberts was police after each ordeal, but making funeral arrange- this never happened. ments for her murdered “Well I can truly say I 14-year-old daughter Jef- didn’t want to do nothfonya Rolle, she did not ing,” Ms Roberts said of imagine exactly one month her ordeal in an emotional and a day later she would interview at Families Of All be doing the exact same Murdered Victims’ office in thing for her Nassau Village. son Tekoyo ‘Honestly, for “I didn’t want “Minky” to see anyone, me there is no McKinney.

I didn’t want Seven years justice. The to eat, bathe after being police force… or do nothing. struck by that no. I don’t I just wanted double tragedy, to stay to a tearful Ms know. It sucks, myself, but with Roberts told sorry to say. encouragement The Tribune from family “They don’t she still grieves members and for her young care. When Khandi Gibson daughter and my 14-year-old (FOAM’s son who would founder) and have been daughter was also with me almost 33 years murdered they going to church old by now. told me ‘we are and reading On April my Bible I am 14, 2011, two going to give more focused gunmen shot you a call. We on forgiving the McKinney as he are going to murders too. stood in front “If it was not of a residence let you know for God I don’t on Cordeaux what is what’ think I would Avenue and and so forth, have been here Minnie Street, now because police said. nothing never there were At the time, happened… times when I some area resi- no phone calls, was contemdents claimed plating suicide a high-pow- no nothing.’ or I could have ered weapon been dead was used to kill McKin- maybe heart attack and so I ney. However, police said tend to always put God first the men were armed with and I know with me putting handguns. him first definitely I would A month earlier on March get through it.”

14, 2011, Jeffonya Rolle was Asked about the justice killed in the early hours of system, she said: “Honestly, the morning as she and her for me there is no justice. father pulled up to a family The police force…no. I residence in Garden Hills. don’t know. It sucks, sorry The R M Bailey Senior to say.

High School student, who “They don’t care. When aspired to be a lawyer, my 14-year-old daughter was not the target of the was murdered they told me shooting. ‘we are going to give you a The bullet that fatally call. We are going to let you ended her life was intended know what is what’ and so for her older brother – forth, nothing never hapMinky, Ms Miller said. pened…no phone calls, no Still grappling with these nothing. circumstances, the 54 year “As a matter of fact, they old said her grief has been told me they were going to much more painful and set me up with someone for lingers because no one has counselling and that never ever been charged for either happened so, no, it sucks.” of the murders although it She is not the only one is believed both perpetra- who feels that way. tors have since died.

Ms Gibson who has Although she says she’s had her very own brush working on forgiving them with tragedy has similar even in death, Ms Rob- sentiments. erts to this day sees this When asked her view country’s justice system of the Minnis administraas woefully failing. She tion’s crime fighting actions also pointed to the state’s after a year in office, the

community activist said the police seemingly have one mandate and, according to her, it is wrong.

“Under the previous administration, it was more gang violence or people turning against people,” Ms Gibson said. “Under this administration, it looks like they have one mandate and you could see from the numerous police shootings so far.

“I don’t think it’s right because at the end of the day, and I am not bad mouthing the police, but fair is fair and right is right.

Whenever a police shooting (happens), once a police says the person has a gun or he charged at them with a weapon or what is perceived to be a weapon, that’s where it starts and that’s where it ends. You can’t even question that.

“If criminals on criminals kill each other, it is always the police saying to please contact them with the information, but when a police kills somebody that same mandate doesn’t happen.

They don’t question that or say if someone was on the scene they should come forward with the information.

That matter automatically goes to the coroner,” Ms Gibson said.

“I have families today who’ll say ‘Khandi, my loved one was killed and the police officer who killed my loved one he is still on the job’. But whenever someone else’s name is called and it’s a criminal on criminal or civilians we go all out and hate them but we don’t hate the police.”

Some have expressed concerns about police shootings in recent months as well as the pace of the Coroner’s Court, where these fatal incidents are investigated.

Police-involved shootings have increased over the past year.

Since November 2017, 11 people have been fatally shot by the police.

National Security Minister Marvin Dames has tried to temper concern over police killings, insisting

police are responding in kind to what they encounter on the streets.

According to Mr Dames, in February well over 80 per cent of serious crimes committed in The Bahamas are done so with the use of firearms.

At the time, he said: “That is what you are faced with. And so, if an officer encounters someone on the streets, and he or she feels threatened, I can’t make that decision for them.

They have to make that for themselves.

“I don’t think that you would expect for me to stand here and accuse every officer of a shooting. This is the world that we are living in today. The only thing that we want to ensure, is that when a life is taken or someone is shot, that there is justifiable reason for it.”

Mr Dames said the record would show that police have been forthcoming with information in these cases.

But whatever the police are doing, murders are on the decline by 45.2 per cent.

The minister has also promised that those who commit crime will be brought to justice.

KHANDI GIBSON, of Families Of All Murdered Victims.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, May 9, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

INSIGHT THE FIRST YEAR

Economy at the heart of Grand Bahama concerns

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE reopening of the Grand Lucayan Resort, the state of the International Bazaar, attracting new investors, and the high cost of living are major issues that are of concern to residents on Grand Bahama.

After one year in office, there have been mixed views about the Free National Movement administration’s performance on the island.

Angela Rolle, a widow and now single mother, says things are worse than before on Grand Bahama, but Lorenzo McKenzie believes that the island is experiencing some progress.

Mrs Rolle stressed that

persons are still strug- government thinking they gling to survive, adding the would be the answer, only Grand Lucayan hotel prop- to find out it is worse.” erty needs to be reopened.

Although some on the “The Grand Lucayan island do not see prostrip generates tourists for gress, Minister of State the entire marketplace, and for Grand Bahama Kwasi it is the lifeThompline of Port ‘I think Grand son said Lucaya; Port the Minnis Lucaya needs Bahama is not administo be back up headed in a positive tration has and running direction and is launched – it feels like a process a nightmare,” in dire need of to revamp she said. the island’s help from the “I think government.’ economy.

Grand UnemBahama is ployment not headed in a positive on the island fell from 12.4 direction and is in dire per cent to 12.1 per cent, need of help from the gov- according to the latest figernment. For too long the ures from the Department (previous) government had of Statistics. forsaken Grand Bahama.

“The Office of the Prime The Grand Bahama people Minister continues to find placed their trust in the new ways to create employment

Funeral Service For

Viola Elizabeth Rolle, 87

a resident of Tyler Street will be held on Thursday, May 10th, 2018 at 10:00am at Wesley Methodist Church, Baillour Hill Road and Chapel Street. Officiating will be Rev. Lester T. Ferguson, assisted by other ministers of the gospel. Internment will follow in the Wesley Methodist Church Cemetery, West Street.

She is survived by her Daughters: Juliann “Goldie” Rolle & Cynthia Taylor; Sisters: Enid Saunders, Dianna Ward & Deanne Ashe; Brother: Kenneth Ward; Grandchildren: Donzel, Donald & Donjulie Aranha. Valdez, Theotis & Cynthera Taylor; Great Grand Children: Donald Jr., Donnelle, Donisha, Donnica, Donnette, Donnoven & Ashanti Aranha, Dominique Bain; Great, Great Grand Children: Latia Miller, Danaye & Deajae Aranha, Ja’Mari & Jar’Mari Butler; Brother-in-Law: Gettar Rolle; Sisters-in-Law: Ann Lee Rolle & Cetellar Rolle, Trudy Ward, Ruth & Jane Rolle; Son-in-law: Theophilus Taylor; Nieces: Jill Saunders & family, Deborah Barry & family, Nathalie Saunders & family, Davina Comarcho & family, Barbara Cartwright, Denise Poitier, Kendy Ward, Mavis Williamson, Audrymae Bain, Carol Cunningham, Genora Nelson, Ednamae Symonette, Peaches Kemp, Nicole Pratt, Arigetta, Lena, Rebekah, Lydia & Rolle, Shirley Ferguson, Elizabeth Miller, Ankisha Hart & Latisha Ashe; Nephews: Prophet Bishop Lawrence Rolle, wife Minister Macarla Rolle. Jonathan Rolle, Guion & Deborah Rolle-Nixon, Seth, Maya, Guion Jr., Esther, Samuel & Sherraine Rolle, Jacob & Johnathan Rolle, Gabe Munroe Calvin, Herod, Oswald, Hartley & Vendal Rolle, Wade & Trevor Kemp, Alfred Rolle, Robert, Alex and Chris Don Ashe; Relatives including: Nathalie Griffin, Doroles, Louse & Gloria Williams, Cynthia Railey-Sergent, Josephine, Anthony, Tyrone Moss, Fanny and Rochelle Major, Bernice Collins & family, Baron Cartwright, Patsy Ward, Boyd Road Family, Cummings & family, Danny Knowles & family, Byran Jones & family, Merlin Senior (care taker), Rozina Taylor & family, Sis. Elizabeth Mackey, Samuel, Sherriane Jacob, Guion & Deborah Rolle-Nixon, Seth, Maya & Guion Jr. Nixon, Ester Rolle & Gabe Munroe; Friends: Tamicka Miller, Corintha Smith, Shamekia Bowe, Julian Bain, Brian Cash, Beverly Smith & family, E. Cummings & family, Cartwright & family, Errol Johnson & Family, Sherry Outten & family, Barbara & family, McQuay & Family, Anthony “Barbs” Rolle, Latasha Carey, Sherlyn Lightbourne, Anya Gibson, Joy Drake, Cherrie Williams, Monique Seymour, Janice Hepburn, Renae Saunders, Matthew Gordan, Straw Vendors Family, Dr. Indria Grimes, Staff Female Medical Ward II Princess Margaret Hospital, Staff Fleming Street Clinic, Department of Public Health Hospitals Authority, Sandilands Rehabilitation Center Family, Tyrone Saunders, Willice Mitchell,Muck-A-Mucks Staff, McKenzie Pierre, Turner Family, Smith Family, Barbara Lockhart, Gary Regis, Jarad Boltin, Lucille Toote & Family, Justina Knowles, President of Methodist Churches Rev. Carla Culmer, Wesley Methodist Church Family and Bahamas Christian Fellowship Centre Family. Red Cross, St. Michaels & Seventh Day Adventist.

Friends may pay their last respects at Vaughn O. Jones Memorial Center, Mt. Royal Avenue and Talbot Street on Wednesday from 12:00noon to 6:00pm and at the church on Thursday from 8:45am until service time.

opportunities,” Mr Thompson said in a statement emailed to this newspaper.

“This office continued its partnership with the Grand Bahama Shipyard and its job training initiatives; continued the partnership with MSC Cruise lines resulting in 17 Grand Bahamians selected for the first phase of the MSC Cruise lines employment programme with another group presently being interviewed.

(The office) conducted a successful and much needed summer job programme resulting in over 500 young people hired during the government’s summer programme.”

Still, Mrs Rolle thinks Grand Bahama lacks real investors who can help to boost the island’s economy.

“We are tired of them offering us fake promises and a mirage of new investors that turned out to be frauds,” said Mrs Rolle.

“I am a single mom coping by the will of God and every time you turn around VAT is pulling people down, and the cost of living is high. I have friends who have it really bad, with five and six kids.”

Mrs Rolle believes the reopening of the International Bazaar would help to improve the economic situation in Freeport.

“They also need to reopen the road there, and beautify the place (the bazaar) and get it up and opened, and running,” she said.

Mrs Rolle said the FNM government should also look at lowering taxes at the ports of entry to attract more airlines to Grand Bahama.

“We need more tourists on the island, and it is too much for airline tickets to come here versus going to Nassau or to another country,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr McKenzie, a vendor at Port Lucaya Marketplace, believes that there has been some progress in Grand Bahama since the FNM came to office.

FROM top, the Grand Lucayan Resort, the International Bazaar and Kwasi Thompson alongside Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

“There is progress, slow progress in Grand Bahama,” he told The Tribune. “We heard that the (Grand Lucayan) hotel deal is just about done; everything takes times, and GB is progressing forward.”

Mr McKenzie said more cruise ships are sailing to Grand Bahama as a result of the recent introduction of the new Grand Classica vessel, in addition to the Grand Celebration, operated by Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.

“Ships are coming in everyday and they are bringing people to the island,” he said.

However, Mr McKenzie said that the island needs investors, particularly for new hotel development in Freeport.

“We have not had a new hotel built in Grand Bahama for the last 40 or 30 years, and that’s the problem. If you go to the Turks and Caicos every day they are building hotels there,” he said.

“We need investors; we need to build hotels, and the government has to do its part. Tourism is our number one industry, and

we need to start developing and building more hotels,” he said.

Mr McKenzie believes that the former Royal Oasis property needs to be demolished and a new hotel built to stimulate economic activity and create new employment.

“The (nearby) International Bazaar is an eyesore and needs to be cleaned up.

I have guests who always come and say ‘man, we miss the Bazaar,’ and it is sad to drive from the harbour and pass an area that looks like the ghetto – it is terrible,” he said.

He said that many families were affected when the hotel and bazaar closed in Freeport.

“I know families who are still struggling and trying to keep on the light. But, no one should wish for the government to fail because if the government fails, then we fail too. The government is not perfect and is not always going to do it all in one year,” he said.

Mr McKenzie was also concerned about the additional high fees charged by banks in Freeport, despite the poor customer service.

THE TRIBUNE

Expat expert to study BPL system

Wednesday, May 9, 2018, PAGE 7

from page one BPL’s CEO Whitney Heastie told The Nassau Guardian on Monday the company was unable to find a local specialist, and therefore, considered it best to contract a foreign specialist.

He also described the planned assessment as a detailed overview of BPL’s system to find the “most vulnerable” segments based on several case-by-case tests.

Further clarifying the move yesterday, Mrs Osborne said: “This was in the making prior to Sunday’s incident but since another outage has occurred we have focused attention on bringing the person on the ground as soon as possible.”

She added: “The person is scheduled to be on the ground beginning of June. The system evaluation is in direct relation to the outage and the time and cost is contingent on where their investigation takes them to get to the root cause.”

When asked about any budget or time restraints, she said: “We need to get to the root cause of the problem in order to fix it. We need a permanent fix once and for all. This has been years in the making and patching along the way but we need to get root cause analysis.”

BPL has been plagued with legacy failures in its generation system.

That in addition to major issues with its transmission and distortion system.

In a separate interview with The Tribune this week, Mr Heastie said plans were also being finalised to “systematically improve” both areas.

Of generation,

IRAM Lewis at a press conference in Grand Bahama on Monday.

Photo: Lisa Davis/BIS

$100,000 PLEDGE TO AID YOUNG MEN’S GROUP

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BPL chairwoman Darnell Osborne.

Mr Heastie said BPL has, in recent years, ensured that all the islands it provides services to were operating with sufficient generation.

He said Bimini was the latest island to be brought “up to par” with its shortfall in this area.

Mr Heastie said the only drawback that could exist, would come in instances where poor weather adversely affect plants - similarly to what occurred on Sunday.

“An analysis of our system shows we have sufficient generation on all four of the islands we operate in, but if a problem happens, it will be in spots where generation is affected by

weather,” he said.

“Pray to God we don’t have any lightning,” he added. “When you get the rain with all that lightning, that’s when you have the problem. Our substations will produce the power, but the transmission could be shutdown. Obviously lightning strikes, if they hit lines, it cripples the system.

“That’s our worry.”

Typically, as the country moves into the summer months, weather patterns alternate between severe heat and heavy rains.

In both instances, BPL has, throughout the years, shown an inability to maintain electrical service throughout.

In January, Works Minister Desmond Bannister suggested BPL was on pace to deliver its best summer on record.

Mr Bannister made the claims during his response to concerns raised by Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis, who had requested the government show any newly implemented strategies being used by the utility provider.

The Carmichael MP seemingly viewed the request as a swipe at appointments of Mr Heastie and COO Christina Alston, and moved to defend the efforts and expertise of both appointments.

ROLLE WAS ‘SUBDUED’ TRYING TO ESCAPE from page one

Earlier during the prosecution’s examination, Sgt Bain testified that after giving certain instructions to both constables, Rolle agreed to show police several places from which he not only stole items, but the locations where the goods were stolen.

Several hours later, Sgt Bain said he went to the inquires area where he observed a desk and chairs toppled to the side. Rolle was also handcuffed, he said.

“Sometime before I decided to leave for the day I think it would have been before 7pm I went into the inquiries area where I saw both Smiths near to Aaron Rolle who was seated and a desk which was over turned and also I think about two chairs were overturned,” he said.

“I inquired as to what would have caused this to happen, what’s happened here?

“The answer from Carl was that Aaron tried to escape by attempting to jump through the window.

He had to subdue him assisted by officer Akiel Smith. At this point I saw he was handcuffed.

“Carl and Akiel, they point a window out to me that Aaron attempted to launch through and when I walked over to the window I closed that window down.

Also, the two nearby adjacent windows I closed that down also,” Sgt Bain said.

“I spoke to Aaron Rolle and he replied to me that ‘y’all put me in the same cell with the fella who I told y’all I sold the stuff to.’ For the remainder of that evening, I went to the records section downstairs. The Smiths were still upstairs with Aaron Rolle.

Shortly afterwards I think about 7.30 (pm), 7.40 (pm) the Smith who worked the morning shift (Akiel) he was excused to leave and that would have been about it until Saturday morning. I was home I received a call that something happened at the station.”

Asked of Rolle’s demeanour when he took him from the inquiry area, Sgt Bain said: “Other than his appearance when I first saw him he was sturdy, he walked on his own…”

During his examination of the witness, Mr Munroe asked if it was protocol for a suspect to be unrestrained during inquiry.

Sgt Bain agreed. He also agreed that cuffs would be used in incidents where suspects attempted escape, adding the windows had been opened because the air-conditioning on this floor of the station was not working.

“Did Aaron Rolle make any complaints to you about being beaten before he would have confessed to these officers and agreed to

take you on inquiries?” Mr Munroe asked.

“No sir,” Sgt Bain replied.

Mr Munroe continued: “Did you see anything that would have indicated that Aaron Rolle was beaten to get him to confess and take you to recover stolen items?”

The witness replied: “No sir.”

“I would suggest to you that when you spoke to Aaron Rolle in the room with the overturned items he said to you ‘I ain’ going to jail, you all put me in the same cell where the fella is who I sell the stuff to,’” Mr Munroe asked.

Sgt Bain said Rolle’s words were along those lines. He said the deceased was also angry over this particular aspect of his arrest.

Mr Munroe then asked if Rolle complained that either officer abused him when he went into the same room. Sgt Bain said he did not.

He said Rolle passed his office door as officers were taking him back to the cell and at the time he did not notice anything untoward about him.

Sgt Bain was the Crown’s final witness. The prosecution had intended to call another witness – Reserve Corporal 771 Greenslade, however the Crown dispensed with calling him.

The trial continues Thursday at 10am.

STATE-RECOGNISED FUNERAL FOR FORMER SENATOR A STATE-RECOGNISED funeral will be held for Clara Rose HallKing, former senator, on Friday at 11am at St Agnes Anglican Church

on Baillou Hill Road.

Her burial will follow at St Agnes Cemetery, Nassau Street.

Her body will lie-in-state in the foyer of the Senate

from 9am on Thursday until the body departs for the church on Friday.

Viewing for the general public will be from 1pm to 7pm on Thursday.

IRAM Lewis, MP for Central Grand Bahama, is committing some $100,000 for the relaunch and refurbishing of the Young Men’s Training Association, a community recreation and training centre in the Hunters settlement which sustained significant storm damage.

The centre – which had fallen in a state of disrepair following Hurricane Matthew - has undergone renovations, and the grounds restored and improved. There is a playground, a garden, basketball court, and playing field. Bush has been cleared down providing an open view and a walking path to the ocean.

Mr Lewis announced an official relaunch of the YMTA facility will be held Saturday with a ‘fun day’ for residents in Central Grand Bahama.

At 4pm, there will be an official renaming of the facility which will be called the Wheatley Grant Empowerment Centre after one of the founding members of the YMTA, which was started some 50 years ago.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest is expected to attend.

The playing field will be named after the late Bernard “Tampa” Russell, who was also a founding member of the group and served as president for many years.

Mr Lewis said the basketball court would be named in honour of Fletcher Lewis Jr, a native of Hunters who was able to advance to the finals in the men’s long jump at the 1976 Olympics.

“I know that there are many persons out there deserving honours and I am told that as the organisation continues to celebrate its

50th anniversary later this year, those founding and current members will be praised for their efforts,” he said.

At 5pm on Saturday, there will be senior citizens dinner, followed by a “Golden Oldies Night” until midnight. Persons are asked to come dressed in 1970s attire.

Mr Lewis noted that he first became attracted to the facility a year ago after being elected to office because of its prime location and the possibilities to help grow the community through sports, education and other avenues.

However, he said the facility was in poor condition, and the members lacked the funding to restore it. He teamed up with the organisation, reaching out to Simon Lewis, to renovate and expand the YMTA. Mr Lewis said they would introduce backyard farming on Saturday with the launch of the garden on the grounds of the facility.

He also said they are creating the first smart park in Grand Bahama with the installation of an OmniFlow device, consisting of several components, including a hybrid LED light powered by the sun and wind. There is also a built-in router for Wi-Fi signals. Mr Lewis said it could also be upgraded to include CCTV. The centre will have a 110-inch projector screen, with a smart projector and sound system, and they are looking at creating a computer centre, and afterschool studies programme, and introducing several new sporting ventures.

The MP for Central Grand Bahama also started a project at Lover’s Beach some time ago and has launched a clean-up programme throughout his constituency.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 9, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Three steps to put Minnis and Co back on track TOMORROW The Bahamas will mark the first anniversary of an election like no other – the former governing party tossed out like two-day-old stew fish and the FNM swept in with an unprecedented vote of confidence, winning 35 of 39 seats.

Disgust with corruption, overspending, extravagant travel expenditure, out of control crime, high unemployment and behind closed doors sweetheart deals that left the country bereft of morals and money and drove the Progressive Liberal Party out of power, some predicting it would never recover.

On the eve of the 2017 national election the nation’s hopes were high, perhaps even unrealistically so, believing a change of faces imposed in the same framework of highly centralized power would make an instantaneous and dramatic difference.

As is often the case with great expectations, measuring up is difficult and the greater the expectations, the harder the measuring up becomes. That is especially the case if expectations exceed what is realistically possible. We see the syndrome played out in politics just as it is on the big screen. The star-studded heavily hyped Hollywood movie release often leaves the viewer with high expectations disappointed, whereas the quiet well-scripted and cast sleeper takes viewers by surprise and leaves them with a sense of satisfaction.

When high expectations go unmet, disappointment runs deep. Perhaps the hope and hype account for some of what we are experiencing with our disappointment in the performance of the government and, in particular, with the style of leadership or lack thereof of the Prime Minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis.

We do not dislike the Prime Minister.

We just expected more when it comes to leadership and we want to address those concerns in a way we believe will be helpful. The honeymoon may be over, as the recent poll by Public Domain suggests, but there is still time to rekindle the flames if the Prime Minister and his closest advisors open their eyes and ears and listen to what the public is saying.

If they continue to closet themselves in a tight circle and pretend nothing is wrong, we fear the lack of confidence in leadership at the top will have an incalculable impact on those in Cabinet and on the very ability of the FNM to move its agenda forward in a steadfast and productive way.

There are three key areas of concern, each of which can and must be addressed.

First, the immediate wave of anticorruption activities, including charges against prominent people who were allegedly benefitting from deals that cost the government hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars, must be pursued. The public felt duped, made fools of and voted overwhelmingly in favour of a change of government because it wanted justice as well as change.

The old boys’ network cannot continue to protect parliamentary pals in a post-Christie era. Along with punishing the sins of the immediate past, the government must be seen to be moving forward with freedom of information and anti-corruption legislation. We are pleased a consultant from Jamaica will be here to conduct FOIA workshops this week but we wonder why civil society is invited only to the final day and not for the first two days? Is it paying lip service to promises or were the promises of public engagement for real? Leadership, Mr Minnis, is needed now. You can make the call.

Secondly, the people of The Bahamas want to see a government that strives for a balanced budget and operates more efficiently, effectively and less costly.

The Bahamian people are sick and tired

of being treated as if they don’t matter and their time is unimportant when dealing with government departments.

From unseemly delays for application handling at Immigration to a lack of a timely postal service, from the outrageously antiquated systems of the passport office to the hoops you have to dance through to get the most mundane chore done, The Bahamas sells itself as first class but continues to show its own citizens third world service.

The government is the largest employer in the country and the only major employer that provides no serious skills and customer service training.

We should not be surprised if the result is a surly civil service more dedicated to a pay cheque and pension than performance.

Thirdly, the prime minister must stop ignoring the public. Letters go unanswered with individuals, associations and businesses all complaining to this newspaper, trying to understand why the Office of the Prime Minister is so inaccessible. Hardly a day goes by that we do not receive a complaint from someone who asks if we can get through to anyone close to the PM because they cannot. They tell us they do not even receive the courtesy of a receipt acknowledging their calls, hand-delivered letters or e-mails.

We have heard numerous reports about behaviour that borders on rudeness when the PM is at a public function and ignores people lined up to speak with him. He finishes a speech and flanked by colleagues or security makes a beeline for the door, avoiding human contact with the very public that put him into office.

There have been several improvements since the FNM came into power.

Violent crime appears to be down, morale within the RBPF and RBDF appears to be up. There is movement on some significant pieces of legislation.

The Minister of Health has done a yeoman’s job tackling the nation’s problem of obesity and poor health and unlike the prime minister, he has gone on radio and made appearances explaining what he is doing and why.

To the best of our knowledge, the prime minister has not made a single radio talk show appearance though it is one of the most popular mediums of communication in this culture.

If the prime minister is fearful of people, which he seems to be, he can communicate electronically but his office must understand when phone calls and letters go unanswered the answers will come in the next election.

10 Downing Street and the White House acknowledge correspondence. Surely a country of this size can.

When the prime minister does not even answer the concerns of the Bahamas National Trust - which his government funds - this non-answer sends a clear message of its own. “We are just like them (PLP). You can worry about impact of a crude oil refinery all you want but we are going ahead with what we want to do. Your opinion doesn’t matter.”

The Bahamas must address very critical issues including energy and food security, climate change and education.

But this is a country that depends on strong leadership. And right now, this is a country that is not experiencing it.

We want to have our faith restored in the man who despite leadership capability concerns of those in his own party prior to the election, we believe will still be able to take the high moral ground and unite a divisive population.

Three simple steps, Mr. Prime Minister.

Three simple steps. Ethics. Operations.

Accessibility. There is still time to rekindle the flame though the window of the honeymoon is surely closing.

Time to open your eyes EDITOR, The Tribune.

IS it just me or have others out there ever wondered about like how liberals, the world over, especially the demon craps, otherwise known as democrats, have this

new condition called Trump Derangement Syndrome?

Every time that I stop to a traffic light, and when the light turns green, immediately, someone with Traffic Derangement Syndrome begins to blow their horn

for you, as if you were holding up traffic for the last ten minutes. Some people’s eyes are wide shut.

EYES WIDE OPEN Nassau, May 8, 2018.

Gibson the millionaire EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE news of the Free National Movement (FNM) administration’s agreement to fund $10,000 towards former Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson’s medical bills is not sitting well with many rank-and-file FNM supporters, some of whom have demonstrated unconditional loyalty to the governing party for years.

Whatever the nature of Mr Gibson’s ailment is, the writer wishes him a speedy recovery. He has served the country as a Cabinet minister in the two Christie administrations. I hope the readership will not misconstrue FNMs disapproval of the Minnis administration’s kind gesture towards the former Golden Gates MP as disgruntled FNMs being callous. Their disapproval must be given some perspective.

In April of 2017, Gibson declared his net worth to be a hefty $1.4m. His total assets were valued at $1.8m, with an income listed at $315,000. Gibson declared that he had $12,656 in his savings and pension accounts, $11,026 in his current account and $217,753 in his securities.

His security income was pegged at $146,400 and his real estate income was listed at $51,600. Based on Gibson’s financial declaration which was submitted to the Parliamentary Registration Department, he is

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net a millionaire. Gibson not having private health insurance coverage isn’t unique.

Most Bahamians don’t have this luxury because they simply cannot afford it.

That is why when you drive throughout New Providence during the weekends you would encounter cookouts on the various beaches with Bahamians trying to raise funds for the medical bills of loved ones. That is why many Bahamians of ailing loved ones resort to holding cake raffles.

Unlike Mr Gibson, these people aren’t millionaires.

At least Gibson, based on his financial declaration, is in the financial position to buy medical insurance.

That Gibson is uninsured tells me he had no interest in purchasing medical insurance. He certainly has the means of getting one.

Many Bahamians don’t have that option. And that is why so many rank-andfile FNMs are up in arms.

This at a time when the Bahamas Nurses Union and Bahamas Union of Teachers are agitating for more money. I can appreciate the fact that the “cupboards were bare” when the FNM took office last May. Many of the demands of the foregoing unions may have to be put on hold, due to the lack of

funding in the already overburdened Treasury. The National Debt now stands at $8 billion. Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest is having to make chicken salad out of chicken dung.

The FNM administration is pinching pennies as it steers the economy in a most challenging environment. No one begrudges Turnquest.

This economy will only go as far as he takes it.

The FNM has already taken austerity measures by terminating hundreds of Bahamians from the overstaffed civil service, amid talks of more terminations to come. At times it looks like it is only the small man who feels the brunt of these austerity exercises while wealthy politicians continue to receive government largesse.

I am just a messenger conveying to the Minnis government what I am hearing on the grounds, so don’t shoot the messenger.

FNMs wish Gibson well.

But they believe it sends the wrong message that the Minnis administration is paying $10,000 towards the medical bills of a wealthy politician. I don’t know how the FNM can defend this but I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt that it is making a prudent decision with taxpayers’ money.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, May 8, 2018

Who is Foulkes kidding?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I READ with horror, the comments attributed to the Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes, in regards to the clear violation of The Pointe and their Heads of Agreement on the employees on that construction site. For those of us that have been around long enough, we know Dion Foulkes these comments are of no surprise to us.

What is a surprise is, since those comments, there has been silence from our Prime Minister. Our Prime Minister who took a bold stance

against the Chinese in his campaign to become leader of this country. Now, Hubert Minnis is quiet. Dr. Minnis, this is your time to show what real leadership looks like. If the Right Honourable Hubert Ingraham were in office, Dion Foulkes’ resignation letter would’ve been on his desk by 5pm on Friday, 4th, May 2018. He would not have allowed a Minister to boldly tell the people of The Bahamas that he is derelict in his duties and allow him to remain in his cabinet.

Dr Minnis, your support in this country is languishing. Stand up and show

The Bahamian people that you are a different type of leader. Show them that it really is, “the people’s time”.

Otherwise, we must conclude that there is very little difference between you and Perry Gladstone Christie, and that weak leadership is here once again. We voted out a weak Prime Minister and we thought we were voting in someone with strength. We wait for you to prove us wrong Dr Minnis.

A DISAPPOINTED BAHAMIAN Nassau, May 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 9, 2018, PAGE 9

How Google aims to make your gadgets smarter with AI MOUNTAIN VIEW, California Associated Press

GOOGLE put the spotlight on its artificial intelligence smarts at its annual developers conference yesterday, announcing new consumer features imbued with machine learning.

Many of the updates have a practical bent, designed to ease tasks such as composing emails, making lists, navigating city streets and lessening the digital distractions that have increasingly addled people’s lives as a result of previous tech industry innovations.

One of the biggest crowd-pleasers for the thousands of software developers who gathered at the outdoor conference was an augmented reality feature on Google Maps that helps people get walking directions. Users will be able to follow arrows — or possibly a cartoon-like creature — that appear on a camera view showing the actual street in front of them.

Some new features for Android phones also aim to improve people’s digital well-being, including a new “shush” mode that automatically turns on the “Do Not Disturb” function if someone flips their phone face down on a table.

And “Wind Down Mode” will fade the screen to greyscale at a designated bedtime to help users disconnect before bed.

The company’s digital concierge, known only as the Google Assistant, is getting new voices — including one based on that of musician John Legend — later this year. It will also encourage kids to be polite by thanking them when they say please, similar to a feature Amazon is bringing to its Alexa voice assistant.

The assistant may also soon be talking with ordinary people at businesses for tasks such as

GOOGLE CEO Sundar Pichai speaks under a video showing singer John Legend at the Google I/O conference. restaurant reservations, although the feature is still in development.

“Hi, I’m calling to book a hair appointment for a client,” said a realistic-sounding automated voice in a demo from the conference stage. The AI assistant deployed pauses and “ums” and “mmmhmms” to sound more human in conversation with real people.

The company said it will roll out the technology, called Google Duplex, as an experiment in coming weeks. “We really want to work hard to get this right,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who kicked off the conference, known as Google I/O. Other changes are more immediate. Gmail is getting an

autocomplete feature that uses machine learning to offer suggestions for finishing half-completed sentences. For example, “I haven’t seen you” might be autocompleted to “I haven’t seen you in a while and I hope you’re doing well.”

Users can accept the completion by hitting the tab key.

The Google Photos app aims to get smarter about suggesting who you might want to share photos with. Whenever it recognises a photo of one of your Google contacts, it can suggest sharing the photo with that person. It will also convert photos to PDFs and automatically add colour to blackand-white photos or make part of a colour photo black and white. The

changes are coming in the next two months.

The search giant aims to make its assistant and other services so useful that people can’t live without them — or the search results that drive its advertising business.

But it also wants to play up the social benefits of AI and how it’s being used to improve health care, preserve the environment and make scientific discoveries.

Pichai didn’t emphasise the privacy and data security concerns that have put companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google in the crosshairs of regulators. But he did say the company “can’t just be wide eyed about the innovations technology creates”.

big-ticket space missions for well over a decade, providing relatively cheap and fast access to orbit for students and other out-of-themainstream experimenters. Until now, the hundreds of CubeSats have been confined to Earth orbit.

That is changing with NASA’s Mars Cube One project, or MarCO. The European Space Agency, meanwhile, has its CubeSat sights on the moon. A recent competition yielded two winning proposals: a CubeSat to explore the moon’s far side from lunar orbit, and another to probe a permanently shadowed crater near the moon’s south pole, also from lunar orbit. NASA is also looking to send CubeSats to the moon, as well as an asteroid.

MOVIE CONNECTION It turns out that these twin cubes are equipped with the same type of cold gas propulsion system used in fire extinguishers to spray foam.

In the movie WALL-E, the title character uses a fire extinguisher to propel through space. Team members couldn’t resist the connection, thus the names WALL-E and

EVE, after WALL-E’s love interest, for the two mini-spacecraft.

Engineers want to test this compact propulsion system for guiding the 30-pound (13.6-kilogram) cubes to Mars.

GETTING TO MARS WALL-E and EVE will trail a few thousand miles behind InSight en route to Mars. The two mini-spacecraft will also be a few thousand miles apart from one another. That’s to prevent any collisions or even close calls. While that may seem far apart, it’s actually fairly close by space standards, according to Brian Clement, an engineer on the project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. While InSight will be stopping at Mars on Nov. 26, WALL-E and EVE will zoom past the planet from about 2,200 miles out. Don’t expect any Thunderbird pilot-theatrics as the cubes fly by, like a tilting of the solar wings in salute. “That would make a great movie, but that’s definitely not the way we’re going to do it,” Clement said.

EXTRA EARS Besides testing the cubes’ maneuvering system, NASA wants to see if WALL-E and EVE can transmit data to Earth from InSight during its descent to Mars. If the experiment succeeds, it should take just several minutes for flight controllers to hear from the cubes. No worries if they’re silent. NASA will rely on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter already circling the planet as the main communication link with InSight during descent and touchdown. It will take a lot longer, though, to get confirmation. The beauty of a CubeSat relay system is that it could provide descent information at planets and other cosmic stop-offs lacking established communications.

POST MARS Once past Mars, WALL-E and EVE will remain in an elliptical orbit around the sun, together for years to come. But they won’t work for long. Once they run out of fuel, they won’t be able to point their solar wings toward the sun for recharging.

WALL-E AND EVE ON THEIR WAY TO MARS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Associated Press

NASA’s next Mars explorer is going to have company all the way to the red planet: a couple of puny yet groundbreaking sidekicks.

Named after the characters in the 2008 animated movie, the small satellites WALL-E and EVE hitched a ride on the Atlas V rocket that launched early Saturday from California with the Mars InSight lander.

Similar in size to a briefcase or large cereal box, the satellites popped out from the rocket’s upper stage after liftoff and are hightailing it to Mars, right behind InSight.

This is the first time little cubeshaped satellites, CubeSats as they’re known, have set sail for deep space. The journey will span 6 1/2 months and 300 million miles (485 million kilometers).

A brief look at the $18.5m experiment tagging along with InSight: MINI SATS Miniature satellites, or CubeSats, have been piggybacking on

• NASA and Uber have signed an agreement to explore putting flying taxis in the skies over US cities.

NASA said Tuesday that it will begin simulations for so-called “urban air mobility” vehicles that also include delivery drones.

The announcement comes as the Uber Elevate summit in Los Angeles brings together tech and transportation leaders to discuss the future of urban aviation.

NASA says the goal is to create a rideshare network that will allow residents to hail a small aircraft the same way Uber users can now use an app to call a car.

The space agency says simulations are planned at its research facility at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

• TECH moguls Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday they will team up to help develop new technologies for kids with trouble learning — an effort that will include dabbling into child brain science.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative intend to explore a number of potential pilot projects.

They’ll focus on maths, writing and brain functions — key areas of classroom learning that they note are crucial for academic success.

The effort is now seeking information and ideas from across sectors, from education and academia to business, technology and medicine. Future investments based on that information are expected, but no dollar amount has been set.

The idea that disadvantaged children struggle to learn because of poor executive brain function involving memory, thinking flexibility, and behavioral issues related to autism and other attention disorders has long been lamented by social workers and health advocates.

The joint project by Gates and Zuckerberg details possible ways to mitigate those shortcomings.

Among the ideas is using games and technology simulations to support teachers and family, and tracking progress in certain vulnerable student populations such as kids with disabilities or those who are learning English as a second language. Leaders of the effort say technology is not a primary focus, but they recognise the role it can play.

The new endeavour marks the latest effort by deeppocketed philanthropists who have tried with little success and much controversy to change entire school systems.

In some ways, it advances the reform agendas of the philanthropists, including helping low-performing students catch up to their potentially more prosperous peers and using classroom technology for digital or personalised learning.

Gates, the world’s top philanthropist, recently announced more support for students with disabilities, issues involving American poverty and Alzheimer’s disease research.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, May 9, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Women without apology, without inhibition - the whole world should celebrate her

By Alicia Wallace

W

E are not short on opinions about Bahamas Carnival. From the announcement four years ago, it was a point of division. Between the Junkanoo vs Carnival debate and the desperate appeals from the church, the event has always been controversial and polarising.

We are divided on Carnival and its place in The Bahamas, just as we are at odds on many other issues.

Some of them intersect with Carnival, and the event shines a light on them.

These issues do not exist all on their own. We birth and nurture them, watching as they become looming creatures that grow out of our control. Issues like misogyny, fatphobia, and moral

superiority latch themselves on to Carnival, ready for the spotlight.

Social media is still abuzz, loaded with pictures, videos and reviews of the weekend’s festivities. Carnival participants had a great time and people of all ages took their positions to observe and enjoy the road march.

This became a cause for concern, even for those who do not care for the event and did not attend. When Carnival comes up, we cannot find enough reasons to be angry or “concerned”.

Our primary concern should be for the safety of all participants, especially women who are targeted, attacked and then blamed for the assault. The way to address this concern is not by limiting the participation of women, but ensuring police

presence, implementing a safety and behaviour policy for participants and spectators and giving men the responsibility of controlling themselves.

WOMEN IN PUBLIC SPACE

Being a woman in any space is a challenge. There is always someone or some system to tell women we do not belong, to limit our participation, or to make our experience as uncomfortable as possible. It happens at work, in schools, in churches, on the street, in the gym, in bars and anywhere else you can imagine.

Why would the road march be any different?

Being in the street with hundreds of other people feels safer. No woman is

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

alone. Everyone knows what to expect during the parade. Every year, however, we are almost surprised by the comments from spectators and those viewing photos and videos on social media.

There were legs. Midriffs.

Cleavage.

Collarbones.

Slim women.

“Solid” women.

Bigger-bodied women. Many people have been obsessed with the latter for days. Yes, there were rolls. Yes, there were stretch marks. There were sags and dimples too. Some of them were more beautiful than the feathers, stones and expertly made up faces.

Isn’t it interesting to see what the body can do? It is too bad so many people chose to focus on body sizes and parts, seeing them as flawed. Seeing people as undeserving.

“Why she do herself like that?”

“Who tell her she look good in that?”

“Some people don’t have no shame.”

There are far too many people, of all sizes, who have heard enough terrible comments about themselves and other people to make them want to disappear. They do not want to be seen because they do not want to hear comments from hateful people.

When women show up in public space without apology, without inhibition and without a coverup, the whole world — the world that makes it hard — should celebrate her.

Instead, people work diligently to limit options for other people, and make the world a smaller place based on their own levels of comfort. People are fragile, jealous, and failing to deal with their suppressed sexualities. No wonder they are so bothered about the people who either do not have these issues or are able put them aside for a weekend or a day as they enjoy Carnival. It must be a sad life for those who watch other people live, then complain about it or laugh at them in attempts to ease their own pain.

with men of no character. It may be too much to ask for people to separate sex from sexuality and understand that dancing — including wining — is not about sex, and the connection we make between the two is of our own making. Instead, let’s focus on what Carnival brings and the choices we have.

Carnival creates a moving-party environment for the people who choose to participate. It is not concerned about the people who are not

HOLIER THAN THOU

A number of people went to great lengths to rebuke parents who took their children to watch the road march. In one post, someone described Carnival as a rated-R event and said parents who take their children to the event contribute to the “high rise in young kids having sex” and the “high teenage pregnancy rate”. This logic is not only faulty, but lazy. The poster and anyone else with this thinking should contact Bahamas Sexual Health and Rights Association for two reasons — the organisation has data and statistics

The holy and the sanctified somehow manage to turn their gaze to drunken debauchery for long enough to issue one-way tickets to hell, but not long enough to admit themselves. Every year before Carnival, we hear from religious leaders about their fears. This year, Pastor Cedric Moss opined about “brazen vulgarity”, “disregard for public decency laws” and “virtually naked women” dancing and having “virtual sex”

involved.

Maybe we could look at it like a religion. It is an option — one of many. We all decide whether or not we think it is good, right and beneficial to us.

When a large number of people choose it, the rest of us become outsiders. We must then join the crowd, ignore it, or find ways to navigate around it.

Sometimes Carnival — or religion — impedes our ability to move and act freely, even though we did not choose it. This is just the way it is and, since we know it exists, we have ample opportunity to plan our lives in ways that give us the freedom and protection we want. Is it fair? Who knows? Either way, there is a big enough market to keep Carnival going, so if we do not like what is happening on the road, we can stay off it. Just like (hopefully) no one is making us go to church every week, no one is making us watch “debauchery” every May.

PARENTING CLASSES

to disprove this statement and needs volunteers to help deliver the Baby Can Wait programme. If anyone is truly concerned about teenage pregnancy — which is still an issue — and early sexual debut, they can assist organisations like BaSHRA in awareness-raising and education efforts.

People found it easy to condemn parents who took their children to the road march. It is just as easy to condemn those who left their children at home so they could have a good time as adults, and to condemn those who are afraid to let their children see adults dancing because they are in denial about the nature of sexuality and woefully unprepared for any conversations that may be sparked.

Parents make difficult decisions every day.

They have to know themselves, their children and what works best for their families. It is irresponsible and ignorant to make a sweeping statement about parents based on personal opinion and capabilities. Some parents have better (or different) skills than others, and they operate accordingly.

Sexuality is everywhere.

It is in curled hair, red lipstick, a three-second gaze, a lick of ice cream, a squat at the gym. Children will encounter sexuality and they will grow into their own. Healthy development depends on parents’ behaviour and how they engage children in response to experiences. One of our biggest problems is the consistent framing of sexuality as negative, bad, or dangerous. Another is the inclination to see sex in everything. Sometimes a dance is just a dance, and a dress is just a dress. Dancing is not sex. Dancing does not automatically lead to sex. Where Carnival is concerned, the choices are clear. If you do not want your children to see it, ask about it, talk about it, or mimic it, do not take them. If you do not what to see it either, stay home with them.

Carnival is a beast. It is a source of confusion. Insulting. Foreign. Bad medicine.

Failure. Abomination. Not Bahamian. Carnival is fun.

Empowering.

Business.

Freeing. Opportunity.

Whatever you think of Bahamas Carnival, it is here and it’s not going away.

THE TRIBUNE

Lloyd admits poor use of words over sackings

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd said on Monday that he used a “very poor choice of words” when previously telling the press he was “happy to report” dozens of contract workers had been disciplined and terminated for non-performance.

His tone had been criticised by Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell.

During an appearance on KISS FM’s “Ed Fields Live” show Monday, Mr Lloyd said he deeply regrets his statement.

“It was not my intention to say ‘I am happy to report that persons were being disciplined’ and so forth and I regret having said that it in that fashion,” he said.

Mr Lloyd said the process leading to the firings involved expensive efforts to save the people’s jobs.

“When I came to office, one of the very first things that met me was this issue of contract workers. Their contracts were coming to an end on June 30. Our teams huddled together. I requested a human audit. I said ‘Mrs Knowles, deputy permanent

secretary, let’s organise a training programme. Everybody in the ministry on contract, we’re gonna train them and those who pass the training let’s try to retain them.’ Training is extremely expensive. We were already facing a bare cupboard.

“Anyhow, we have the training session. About 300 to 410 show up; about 200 didn’t show up. The contracts then end so it’s no obligation for us to keep you but no, the economy is bad, it’s tough out there and I understood that and we’re sympathetic. I say ‘Mrs Knowles, call those people and say look here man, you were supposed to show up to the training, what happened?’ (There were) all kinds of excuses. In the process we found out some have jobs at this place, some got jobs at the next place. They are employed by the government of The Bahamas, but they may show up or may not show up and they go to their what you might call other jobs.

We just made some decisions and began the process of disciplining. Nobody wants to put anyone out on the streets.”

Mr Lloyd said Bahamians have commended him for his actions.

“Many many persons all over this island where I’ve gone, church, restaurants, whatever the case is, tell me don’t mind the noise in the market, this is what we want. You are doing the right thing. We’re tired. But it isn’t about that. We are a sovereign nation, man. We must come to the table with our best.”

The radio appearance of Mr Lloyd, a former media personality, began with extensive media criticism.

“What has happened over the last 30 years and more is the advent of the talk show, television platforms where it’s now opinions (as opposed to real journalism),” he said.

“It has blurred the line of what is opinion, entertainment and what is true journalism. It’s been disappointing and I’ve said so to my media colleagues.

“It is deeply regrettable our talk show hosts are hopelessly uninformed,” he said at one point. “You listen to them on the radio and they obviously don’t read, they don’t read sufficiently, they do no research, they don’t mind the many avenues of data fields that are out there and you listen to them as facilitators and hosts permit just nonsense

120 OBTAIN CITIZENSHIP IN 3 MONTHS from page one

The committee meets every two weeks to review applications of people who have clearly a constitutional right – ie they were born in the Bahamas and applied between the ages of 18 and 19 – to be registered as citizens.

Mr Symonette said: “The commission (met last Thursday), they’re discussing 20 nationals, and we’ve done a total of 120 since the commissioner has started. They meet every two weeks. I’m swearing in 35 people on (Thursday), I do that every two weeks.

These are numbers that we don’t see. But yet I still have a backlog.

“Let’s say I take 30,” he continued. “I swear in 30 persons a week, every two weeks, that’s 50 a month (on average), that’s 600 nationals a year.

“See unfortunately we haven’t sensitised the public on the flip side. And the majority of these (applicants) are the people y’all been jumping up about.

“Ninety percent (of applicants sworn in are) born here, lived here all their lives and everything else.

I would guess that 30 of the 35 I swore in last week were Haitian nationals,” he added.

There were 3,331 citizenship approvals between 2012 and April 2017, with Mr Symonette telling

Parliament last year the rate appeared to increase toward the end of the Christie administration’s last term.

One thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine people were approved for citizenship between 2012 to 2015; 789 people were approved in the year 2016 and 573 received citizenship between January and April.

Mr Symonette provided an updated track of the government’s efforts during an interview with The Tribune on progress made in the sector as the FNM administration marks the anniversary of its first year.

He underscored a critical need for an immigration debate void of emotional pandering over the citizenship backlogs, and pragmatic review of the sustainability of current immigration laws.

“What happens is the minute I swear you in,” he said, “you then apply, the children born before you are naturalised.

“So every time I swear one person in, I then create three or four children who want to be registered because their mom registered. So you can do the math.”

Mr Symonette said he found the status quo, which affords people born here a direct path to citizenship but disadvantages Bahamians born abroad, personally offensive.

“We’ve had two referendums with regard to married women,” he said.

“I find that offensive.

“Other people might not, but a Bahamian woman married to a non-Bahamian man has a child abroad and that child is not Bahamian.

“A lot of women go to the States to have children because of medical reasons, or if you’re in Abaco because of proximity reasons – I find it offensive.

“If you were born in Miami because you lived in Abaco, and your child was born in Ft Lauderdale, second generation born outside of The Bahamas is not Bahamian, so we have it in our Constitution at the moment.

“So how can we then deny a Bahamian that right and then say ‘oh no you can’t deny the other fella that right.’ Uh-uh that’s offensive.

“The only difference (between second generation Bahamians and naturalised citizens) is you were born outside the country.

“But we ask the question could we restrict,” he added, “and that’s what our Immigration Act will look at.”

Draft amendments to the Immigration Act are now under review by the Law Commission and stakeholders were slated to meet on Monday, according to Mr Symonette, who forecast a total revamp of the act over the next several months.

and outright lies.”

Mr Lloyd criticised the media’s coverage of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ failure to appoint a substantive chief justice, arguing the press has not established that Dr Minnis’ actions so far contravene the Constitution.

He also suggested the press has not given due coverage to the country’s declining murder rate. However, the declining murder figures have been covered regularly by this newspaper and other news outlets.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018, PAGE 11

MINISTER of Education Jeff Lloyd.