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WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2021

$4.86 BTC revenues off 9% despite mobile revival By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) suffered a near-nine percent year-over-year revenue decline for the 2021 first quarter despite driving a 2,400 post-paid mobile subscriber rise. The communications carrier’s ultimate parent, Liberty Latin America (LiLAC), in a conference call with analysts to discuss its results for the three months to end-March revealed that BTC’s top-line had fallen by $4.3m compared to the same period in 2020, declining from $49.3m to $45m. This was despite BTC “bundling” its products into packages of multiple services in a bid to drive subscriber uptake, while also building on the continued roll-out of its fibre-to-the-home technology. “Fibre-to-thehome network upgrades are driving broadband [Internet] adds and bundle upgrades,” LiLAC said in its investor presentation. Expanding only slightly on the multinational communications giant’s strategy for BTC, and prospects in The Bahamas, Balan Nair, LiLAC’s chief executive, signalled that it was hoping revenues will rebound with the tourism economy’s continued re-opening during the final months of 2021. “Moving to The Bahamas, tourism is starting to return as the major hotels now open, and a more meaningful rebound is anticipated in the final half of this year,” Mr Nair said. “We’ve invested in our fixed network, the fibre upgrades, and launched converged propositions to drive broadband adds and post-paid mobile gains.” There were some signs that the latter strategy may already be starting to pay-off, as BTC recorded a 2,400-strong growth in post-paid mobile customers during the 2021 first quarter, which represented a 7.9 percent gain compared to the 2020 year-end. Post-paid subscribers, regarded as more lucrative customers, rose from 30,300 at end2020 to 32,700. However, this was not enough to offset the 3,400 reduction in pre-paid mobile subscribers over the same period. Their numbers dropped from 150,800 at year-end 2020 to 147,400 at March 31, 2021, leaving BTC with a net overall loss of 1,000 subscribers during this period. Andre Foster, BTC’s newly-appointed chief executive, earlier this year admitted to Tribune Business that the carrier faces “a real day-by-day fight” to reclaim mobile market share lost to Aliv. However, he said the carrier is “pretty confident” that the erosion of its mobile subscriber base has “bottomed out”, adding that BTC believes new products that it plans to launch in the 2021 second half will “help us reclaim some of our mobile subscriber base”. Aliv, though, previously said its total mobile customer base had increased to 186,000 at year-end 2020 which, if accurate, means it has seized majority market share from BTC. However, BTC elsewhere managed to add a net 1,300 subscribers to its Flow TV and broadband Internet offerings during the 2021 first quarter. Some 600 new TV customers, and 1,400 broadband Internet subscribers, were added during

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‘Pull out all the stops’ to secure stronger summer By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

HE Bahamas must “pull out all the stops” to prevent travel visa woes undermining tourism’s recovery, a top hotelier urged yesterday, especially as summer “could be stronger” than typical winter peaks. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business this nation needs to urgently “correct any bottlenecks” that may unnecessarily deter travellers from visiting the destination as the vaccination roll-outs in its key source markets continue to stoke pent-up demand. Speaking after Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, revealed to this newspaper that The Bahamas’ health travel visa website is being

overwhelmed by a surge in fully vaccinated persons booking vacations several months in advance, Mr Sands acknowledged that in one sense “it’s a good problem to have” as it signals demand for the country’s largest industry is

swiftly returning. Yet he warned that health travel visa difficulties could “negate” the “week over week growth” all tourism industry sectors are currently enjoying, especially since present numbers indicate The Bahamas is on

THE Bahamas Mortgage Corporation’s (BMC) chairman yesterday said the suspension of four “management level” executives is “definitely not linked” to a separate probe into fraudulent cheques. Patrick Ward, who declined to go into details on either matter given that investigations are ongoing, told Tribune Business the state-owned lender was “not treating them as related issues” with the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) leading the probe into forged cheques issued in its name. Refusing to name the four persons who have been suspended, aside from saying that several names circulated on social media are “not accurate”, Mr Ward confirmed that those affected are part of the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation’s management team.

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• Four ‘management level’ executives affected • But chairman says separate from fraud probe • Police have ‘very good leads’ over cheques

PATRICK WARD “I can’t go into too much detail,” he said, also declining to reveal the reasons for the suspensions. “It could be that they are reinstated, and I wouldn’t want to jeopardise that. But I can tell you it’s definitely not related to the cheques. “I can tell you that at this point we’re not treating

them as related issues. That’s as much as I can say. I might be able to say more in about a week’s time.” Mr Ward, who is also Bahamas First’s president and chief executive, confirmed that the police are leading the investigation into the appearance of fraudulent cheques, issued in the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation’s name and drawn on a Bank of The Bahamas’ account, which have already resulted in two prosecutions being brought before the Bahamian courts. Disclosing that the police have “some very good leads” on who might be involved in the scam, he added that he was confident the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation “has a good handle” on the fraudulent cheques situation after

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

improving its internal financial controls and processes in recent years. Mr Ward, though, acknowledged that the state-owned lender remains “very concerned” about its potential exposure to the loss of thousands of dollars, adding that the matter exposed the need to be “a lot more vigilant” when it came to issuing and accounting for cheque payments. Confirming that the fraudulent cheques investigation was ongoing, Mr Ward told this newspaper: “That’s in the hands of the police at the moment, and they have some very good leads as to who’s involved. To the extent required

pace for a summer season that is potentially “stronger or as strong” as the typical peak winter season experienced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re very well aware and appreciative of the increase in demand for The Bahamas by vaccinated visitors and the challenges that accompany this,” Mr Sands said. “It’s a good problem on one end to have, but we have to anticipate demand will continue to increase and we have to work together, efficiently and effectively, to manage the system to deal with the continued uptick in business growth. “There are a number of things contributing to it. A number of vaccinated

Mortgage Corp suspensions ‘not tied’ to forged cheques By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

‘Disconcerted’ by Water Corporation supply takeover A SOUTH Eleuthera business owner yesterday described the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s planned takeover of the area’s water production as “disconcerting” and not representing “a step forward”. Christopher Cates, owner of the Lumber Shed, voiced fears that the cash-strapped, state-owned utility will be stretched too thin and unable to provide a consistent potable water supply when it takes over the area’s reverse osmosis plant - as well as those in Inagua and San Salvador - from private operator, Aqua Design Bahamas. “I don’t consider this a step forward. I think is a lateral step to the right or to the left. Hopefully it is not a step backwards,” Mr Cates said. He praised Aqua Design and its commitment to delivering potable water to south Eleuthera on a consistent basis despite its recent impasse with the government over allegedly being owed $3.8m in unpaid bills. Mr Cates added: “Aqua Design has really done a super job in providing us with water, so it’s a bit disconcerting. We are challenged in so many areas. Why we would want to take over a service that has been managed by a vendor relatively well and, in many instances, very well? “They have done a great job in supplying us with water. Water is a necessity; it’s not an option. This is going to put us in a serious bind. If the Water & Sewerage Corporation cannot meet the requirements of the public then that’s going to be a problem. “We know that there are challenges as it is, and how their resources are stretched to the nth degree. I would call it as a businessman in South Eleuthera very disconcerting.” Mr Cates spoke out after Desmond Bannister, deputy prime minister who, as minister of works, has responsibility for the Water & Sewerage Corporation, confirmed that it will take over water production in those three communities from Aqua Design by year-end. Speaking to media ahead of the weekly Cabinet

• Tourism chief urges: ‘Correct any bottlenecks’ • Visa demand overload ‘good problem to have’ • Says summer ‘as strong’ as past winter peaks

ROBERT SANDS

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Fidelity ‘well on way’ to beat $15m profit target By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BISX-listed bank’s top executive says it is “well on its way” to exceeding its $15m full-year profit target for 2021 if first quarter “trends hold” over the remaining seven-and-a-half months. Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business the $4.798m net income achieved for the three months to end-March placed the commercial lender on track to achieve a full-year bottom line in excess of $19m. With first quarter profits some 20.9 percent ahead of the prior year’s $3.97m comparative, which was achieved during a period in which only the last twothree weeks were impacted by COVID-19, Mr Bowe said the year-over-year reduction in loan loss provisioning signalled “stability” was starting to return to the broader Bahamian economy. Loan loss provision for the period to end-March fell by 35.5

• Eyes $19m bottom line as Q1 profits up over 20% • ‘Stability’ returning as loss provisions decreasing • Focuses on $5m ‘claw back’ of 2020 provisions

GOWON BOWE percent year-over-year to $2.779m, which the Fidelity chief said was an indication that no more borrowers were falling into delinquency where they are 90 days past due on their loans. “For the actual first quarter we returned a net profit of $4.8m which, if you extrapolate out as an indication of full year profit, that carries us closer to $19m,” Mr Bowe told this newspaper. “We see that as a positive indicator.

“I think I said to you that $15m [net profit] at a minimum was what we were targeting this year, and we are well on our way towards that. For the most part, we got one-third of our target profit in the first quarter results, so if the trend holds it doesn’t look like we’ve set an unrealistic target.” Acknowledging that Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) interest income top-line, and net interest income, will continue to be impacted by the inability of some borrowers to repay their loans until the tourism industry further re-opens and they are recalled to work, Mr Bowe nevertheless said the gap with prior years was closing as “non-performing loans come back to paying status”. “The trick will be how we manage loan loss provisioning and get people, as they go back to work, to paying status once again,” he added, “so we can recover

some of the excess provisions that we had to take in 2020. We don’t want to see any further persons going into non-performing status, and that is very much contingent on the country staying open and no major changes in the public sector. “Loan loss provisions recovered back to prepandemic levels in the first quarter, which is a good indicator because it shows no more people are going into non-performing. It shows stability; everything else stayed consistent with 12 months ago. We took the major blows in the second and third quarter of last year.” Mr Bowe reaffirmed that Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) remains committed to its target of recovering $10m, or two-thirds, of the $15m increase in 2020’s loan loss provisions as itself and other commercial banks readied their balance sheets for the fall-out from

the pandemic’s economic devastation. “In terms of the $15m increase, our target is to recover $10m or two-thirds of that,” he said. “That’s not all going to be done in one year. This year we’re going to be watching what happens in the tourism sector in the second half. We know we have lost the winter season. “From that perspective we don’t have high hopes that things will recover in the first six months of 2021. If we catch the second cycle wave in the fall, and that becomes buoyant, we are targeting one-third [$5m] of that coming back into good standing by the end of the year.” Mr Bowe said Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) planned to adopt a cautious approach to returning capital to shareholders during the 2021 first half, adding that the institution aimed to return to its pre-pandemic ratios of paying out 70 percent of net income to investors. “What we need to do is we are going to be

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PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

CABINET GOES DIGITAL FOR EFFICIENCY BOOST EFFICIENCY and transparency at the heart of government will be boosted by the launch of the Caribbean’s “first end-to-end e-Cabinet solution”, a minister asserted yesterday. Senator Kwasi Thompson, speaking at the system’s launch, said the Bahamas Electronic Cabinet Management Information System (BECMIS) will improve business and operating practices at the Cabinet Office, which typically directs and coordinates the government’s work across all ministries and agencies. Describing the move as another element in the government’s digital transformation bid, Mr Thompson said: “The Cabinet meeting procedures were reviewed, analysed

SENATOR KWASI THOMPSON and re-designed to reflect modern practices and standards for the benefit of all government agencies and the country in general.”

He added that the e-Cabinet system will automate, and digitise, all memorandums, conclusions National Economic Council (NEC)

and immigration papers, and other documents that typically come before the Prime Minister and his ministers during Cabinet meetings. Mr Thompson said this will “save time and increase efficiency” in Cabinet approval processes; eliminate the use of paper; and “enable tracking and increase transparency”. He added: “The system tracks Cabinet memoranda, and provides live updates about access to the system and who and when information was received and distributed. “BECMIS or e-Cabinet is an innovative system that has streamlined the managerial operations of the Cabinet Office and simplified internal procedures required for approval

decisions..... Permanent secretaries will submit online, ministers will sign online and memoranda will be disseminated digitally, making the delivery of bundles of paper unnecessary. “Ministers will be able to comment on the memoranda prior to the meetings, advancing their queries, opinions or support, whether or not they are in country, saving time during the actual meeting. Issues may be addressed and memoranda amended prior to the meeting and submission to the prime minister.” Mr Thompson pledged that “stringent security measures” were on place to protect Cabinet’s data, while authorised system users - including the prime minister, Cabinet

ministers, the Cabinet secretary and civil service permanent secretaries - will be able to access it remotely using Apple and Android devices. “At the conclusion of meetings, conclusions and extracts will be disseminated more quickly as there will be a component to assist the note takers,” Mr Thompson added. “Ministers will only require i-pads, cellular phones or laptops for their attendance and participation in Cabinet meetings. “All users will be given priority levels for security reasons, and all uses will be time-stamped. The Cabinet Office, therefore, will have more time to monitor the implementation of Cabinet decisions.”

East GB boost from streetlights roll-out THE Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) has teamed with a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) to provide solar streetlights for residents in Dorian-ravaged east Grand Bahama. The Authority and Ministry for Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction partnered with Food for the Poor to ensure area residents have street lighting while Grand Bahama Power Company continues to work towards full restoration of electricity supply to those communities. Because the damage from the category five hurricane was so extensive in east Grand Bahama, GB Power focused on restoring energy supplied to other communities first before turning its attention to that areas. In the meantime, the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction, responsible for the DRA, joined forces

with Food for the Poor and the Ministry of Grand Bahama, to help provide much-needed street lighting within the East Grand Bahama communities. Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, minister of state for disaster preparedness, management and reconstruction, together with Senator Kwasi Thompson and Harcourt Brown, permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister for Grand Bahama, toured the island’s east on Saturday, May 8, to view work on the solar streetlight project. Mrs Parker-Edgecombe said: “This is really the result of partnerships, not only on a local level, but on an international level - the Ministry of Grand Bahama, the DRA and the company responsible for what’s going on here in the east communities, as well as those NGOs that came in and assisted us in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. “Food for the Poor has been instrumental in

donating these solar lights, and we are thankful for them coming in and assisting us in repairing and rebuilding our communities. We look forward to these lights benefiting these communities in a significant way. “Moving forward, this is what we are going to be bringing to the table to ensure that our communities are safer. We are very appreciative of all of the hands that went into making this project a success.” The project, which will cost more than $200,000, has seen solar streetlights installed throughout east Grand Bahama including Sweeting’s Cay, McClean’s Town, Pelican Point, High Rock, Free Town and Water Cay. Mr Thompson said: “This really is a model of what can be achieved in most or many of our Family Islands. So we want to congratulate the DRA and the minister responsible for making this project a reality. This

SENATOR KWASI THOMPSON, centre, minister of state for finance and for Grand Bahama, along with Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, minister of state for disaster preparedness, management and reconstruction, and Harcourt Brown, permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, second from right, inspect progress on the east Grand Bahama solar lights project. They were joined by Derek King, electrical engineer with Grand Bahama Procurement Construction Company, right, and Mr Hutchison, project manager, left. Photo: Andrew Miller/BIS is just one of a number of renewable energy projects that’s going to come to East Grand Bahama.” One of those major projects, added Mr Thompson, will be an energy micro

grid designed to make east Grand Bahama more resilient in the face of future storms. “We’re building it back, but we’re building it back better,” he said. The solar lights are an

all-in-one assembly, consisting of the light pole, the solar panel, battery and light fixture. The solar panel collects power from the sun during the day, and at nightfall the streetlights come on automatically.

Mortgage Corp suspensions ‘not tied’ to forged cheques FROM PAGE ONE we’re co-operating with the police on that. “We’re very concerned. It’s a pattern we’ve seen take place with other government and non-government entities. It means we have to be a lot more vigilant around control processes, and around the issuance and reconciliation of those cheques. As a result of that, we were able to navigate some attempts to negotiate those fraudulent cheques appearing in the recent past.” Mr Ward said “the fact it’s become public makes it easier” to combat because staff at banks and other financial institutions, as well as the public, will be alerted to the issue and are now set to apply greater scrutiny to cheques bearing the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation’s name. “We don’t know what else is out there, and if persons attempt to do it in the future, with the news getting out that’s a disincentive for persons to try and do it,” he added. “We don’t know how many instances are out there that have not been brought to light, but at this point we’re fairly happy we have a good handle on the situation. “We are obviously going

Fidelity ‘well on way’ to beat $15m profit target

FROM PAGE ONE

careful and watchful for the first six months,” he explained. “We don’t need to increase capital, but we’re not going to be in the business of decreasing it.... “This year we will return to the ratio of 70 percent of profits paid out in dividends. Last year we paid out 100 percent of percent of profit as dividends.”

to be concerned when we have instances where this sort of event occurs, but I’m confident that we have better controls in place than we did several years ago. You cannot reduce this to zero, but we have better controls in place now.” Asked why the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation had not sought to eliminate the use of cheques given the increasing switch to online and digital banking, Mr Ward replied: “We are trying to move more to electronic transfers, but there are still people in circumstances where negotiating cheques is the best option and, in some cases, the only option.” The Central Bank’s recently-released 2020 annual report highlighted that cheques accounted for almost two-thirds of the total value of payments fraud detected in The Bahamas last year. “Disaggregated by type, cases involving debit cards accounted for 68.6 percent of the total at 2,276, with an associated value of $0.9m (17.9 percent of the total value),” the Central Bank said. “Credit card fraud represented 29.8 percent of the total cases for a corresponding value of $1m (19.9 percent of the total value). “As the usage continue to diminish, the cheque

fraud cases represented a marginal 1.6 percent of all reported instances, but the associated value was almost two-thirds of the corresponding total ($3.2m). The survey revealed that 95.9 percent of fraudulent cases were reported in New Providence, where the majority of bank customers also reside.” For 2020, the use of cheques contracted by 35.9 percent to 1.4m following a 9.8 percent decline the previous year. The collective value of check payments fell by 36.3 percent to $4.6bn, contrasting with the prior year’s uptick of 0.2 percent to $7.2bn. Two cases involving fraudulent Bahamas Mortgage Corporation cheques were brought before the courts last week. Tyrone Wilson, 35, was fined $7,000 and placed on 18 months’ probation after he confessed to being in possession of one forged cheque in the amount of $73,500 bearing the name, Affordable Trucking. However, Anwar Stubbs, 29, denied charges that he was in possession of a second $80,000 fraudulent cheque made payable to himself, and that he tried to cash it at Bank of The Bahamas’ Carmichael Road branch.

Provided all goes to plan, Mr Bowe said Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) will apply to the Central Bank to declare an ordinary dividend by early June with hopes of getting approval to pay it by that month’s end. He disclosed that the BISX-listed institution had also reduced its cash holdings by some $12m since year-end 2020, dropping them to $175m, by investing in short-term government bond issuances. “We were able to deploy that and show some confidence in the government,” Mr Bowe said. “A one-year note is an attractive tenor and risk profile. Most of the decrease in cash has gone to support the government in recent bond issues, but

we have kept them to one year so we have flexibility to cash out if persons start to invest and draw down on deposits.” Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) had “held our own” and “stayed the course” in 2020, he added, after the bank unveiled a sharp 77.9 percent year-over-year profitability drop, from $33.548m to $7.414m, due to the pandemic’s devastating impact on the ability of businesses and households to service their debt. The 2020 bottom line was also boosted by the $9mplus one-off gain from the sale of the bank’s 50 percent stake in Royal Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust, its now-renamed former affiliate.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 12, 2021, PAGE 3

Verifiable vaccination cards key to COVID testing ease By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net VACCINATION cards will have to be in an easily verifiable format before fully inoculated Bahamians can travel without a negative COVID-19 PCT test, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. Dionsio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, indicated to reporters before the full weekly Cabinet meeting that testing requirements for fully-vaccinated Bahamians travelling inter-island may be removed. This, he suggested, would only happen once the “yellow card” that shows an individual’s name and number of jabs is presented in a secure format that can be easily vetted. He said: “You’re going have to get it in a format where we can review the whole thing, as opposed to just the first page. We need to see when each dose was administered, and obviously the type of vaccine that was administered, so that we can approve it as as being something

that we accept. Mr D’Aguilar reiterated that he is “concerned” with the level of hesitancy many Bahamians have shown when it comes to taking the COVID19 vaccine, again arguing that “the benefits outweigh the risks”. Turning to the entry processes for fully vaccinated visitors, 90 percent of whom from the US, Mr D’Aguilar said The Bahamas’ acceptance of the Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, and the need for travellers to present the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination card, had made those procedure “straightforward”. He added: “We have seen an absolute explosion in the number of people that are applying. As you can imagine, when we had the PCR test, people could only apply within five days of travel. Now, when you have a vaccine, you can apply months in advance. “So that’s somewhat overloaded the [health travel

Private sector backs govt on digital drive By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Chamber of Commerce’s chairman yesterday voiced optimism that making 40 public services available online by year-end will improve The Bahamas’ ease of doing business ranking. Krystelle RutherfordFerguson, pictured, told Tribune Business that the government’s launch of its “one-stop shop” online portal to access and pay for key services is a “step in the right direction”. She added: “Hopefully, this will translate into an improvement on the ease of doing business index done by the World Bank. So I think that’s an important point to highlight that we should be able to benefit in our rankings from more and more of the services being available online. “With regard to digitising as many government services as possible, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. The jurisdiction, for a while now, has been trying to do things to increase its competitiveness, as well as to increase the ease of doing business for the local business environment. “So these steps are steps in the positive direction; they definitely mean that. With regard to the business community, we would be able to consolidate the time it takes to get your documents from various government agencies or ministries.” Mrs Rutherford-Ferguson pointed to the findings of a recent chamber membership survey, where the preliminary results indicated it was of the “utmost importance” that road

blocks to be an improved ease of doing business need to be rapidly removed. She added: “Seeing that the government intends to target 40 online services by the year’s end, it’s definitely a step in the direction of reducing those hurdles and removing some of those roadblocks.” Dwayne Higgs, WHIM Automotive’s general manager, said he has already signed up for the mygateway.gov.bs pilot programme. He added: “This has a lot of potential if people don’t have to go down to a government office and waste hours trying to get a document when they can just apply online. I think this is very convenient and I think everybody would appreciate that.” Calling the target of 40 government services online by the end of the year a lofty and aspirational goal, Mr Higgs said: “I think it is important to have goals rather than not having goals, and then you’re just barely getting by. “I like the fact that everything is going digital. Your business license and your VAT, you can do online, pay property tax online, and all that. That’s the way to go.”

visa] website at the outset. So we’ve had to bring it back down to you can only apply within 14 days of travel. Otherwise, the website gets overloaded.” The Bahamas travel health visa website is now being adjusted to take on the doubling of applications, which Mr D’Aguilar said have increased from 2,000 per day to now 5,000 per day with persons booking for travel as far out as October. He added: “We’re up to over 5,000 applications a day and it’s very encouraging, but we need to be able to synthesise and go through all of those applications on an efficient basis. Everybody has grown to expect us to respond within 24 hours. That has slipped with the greater demand, and so we’re having to adjust manpower and approval processes to accommodate this surge in demand for visas.”

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Health visa limits a ‘terrible decision’ By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN excursion operator yesterday said it was a “terrible decision” to limit tourist travel applications to within 14 days of arrival so as to prevent a health visa overload. Iola Knowles, director of Sandytoes Excursion, hit out after Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister for tourism and aviation, revealed that the surge in travel demand sparked by The Bahamas’ May 1 elimination of mandatory COVID-19 tests for fully vaccinated visitors was “overwhelming” the website that approves health visa applications. Applications have more than doubled from 2,000 per day to more than 5,000 per day since that date, and Mr D’Aguilar said the Government had been forced to impose a ‘within 14 days of travel’ restriction to reduce the volume of submissions by visitors seeking to obtain approvals for visits months in advance. Ms Knowles said: “I think, if anything, they need

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR to beef up the system to help travel and visitors so that they can accommodate more applications, because otherwise it’s just going to bottleneck. “A lot of the tour operators are still suffering. They could use more business, and if they’re going to bottleneck for a 14-day window I don’t think that that’s a wise fit. I think if anything they should focus their efforts on beefing up the travel visa system so they can accommodate more applications.” Mr D’Aguilar yesterday said his ministry is adding more personnel to enable them to process applications more efficiently. However, Wesley Ferguson, president of the Bahamas

Taxi Cab Union (BTCU), said: “I guess once they get the message out properly, people who intend to travel to The Bahamas will have to make earlier arrangements. “But I can tell you the amount of technology that is available, we have to be able to upgrade the system. I don’t see D’Aguilar (minster of tourism and aviation) implementing something only just last month and it is already antiquated.” Mr Ferguson, backing Mr D’Aguilar’s call to “put all hands on deck”, added: “If the government is serious about this industry being revamped and organised in the COVID-19 environment, they will have to put the resources in place and the necessary technology to accommodate the influx of tourists.” Nicholas Pinder, general manager of Born Free Fishing Charters, said the health travel visa woes will likely cause a problem for tour operators and the Government needs to sort the matter out rapidly. “They will just have to figure a way through it,” he said.

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THE TRIBUNE

‘Pull out all the stops’ to secure stronger summer FROM PAGE ONE individuals are booking in advance for future trips, and the cruise line home porting may also be contributing to this particular influx. Then there is the pent-up demand, and people are recognising that The Bahamas is doing the right thing as a destination of choice and confidence is being restored. “This is contributing to a system that is being overloaded. I think everybody is conscious of pulling out all the stops necessary for the smooth operation of this, so it does not negate demand or slow down the pace of the tourism recovery.” While “difficult to put a percentage on it”, Mr Sands added that “week over week, all sectors are seeing growth” in the booking pace and volume of business, and it was vital that The Bahamas did not allow health travel visa approval delays to deter potential visitors and drive them to rival destinations such as Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. “I think we must be positive and ensure the issues are in fact resolved,” he told

Tribune Business. “Business is increasing, the volume is increasing, and we need to put in a process that addresses the increase in demand. “Rather than trying to [Monday morning] quarterback it at this point in time, we must be forward looking. We are encouraged by the level of business that we’re getting. Let us correct bottlenecks that exist, remove unnecessary impediments to travel, make what manpower and technology changes are required, be innovative and let’s move forward. “In the hospitality business, over-demand is a very good thing, and to me these are encouraging signs. We are trained to work through these welcome difficulties, and will resolve the problems sooner rather than later. It’s a good problem to have.” While not providing figures, Mr Sands said the increased demand produced by US vaccinations and elimination of border COVID-19 PCR test requirements for fully inoculated travellers was opening up the possibility for The Bahamas to enjoy a 2021 summer that

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resembled pre-COVID winter peaks. “We’re coming off what in the past would have been our strongest season, which is the winter season, but we’re seeing a summer season that could be stronger or as strong based on the numbers. As we continue to grow our numbers over the coming months, that augurs well for where we may find ourselves at the end of this year and in the first quarter next year.” Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business his boat and yachting clients have yet to encounter any difficulties with obtaining The Bahamas’ health travel visa. Revealing that many boat owners were requiring their crews to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Mr Maury said: “We’ve not had any trouble with the travel visa yet. I hope we don’t, but there’s a lot of screening involved. I haven’t seen any hold-ups yet. It’s OK for now. Let’s hope we keep rocking and rolling.” Mr Maury said he had predicted that demand for Bahamas vacations would surge in line with

the US vaccination rollout. He added that recent visits to Florida for boat shows revealed that the state was “overloaded” with mega yachts, while restaurants were full to capacity, creating an opportunity to lure “people that are vaccinated and want a more serene vacation in The Bahamas”. Mr D’Aguilar on Tuesday revealed that it is “all hands on deck” to prevent “a surge” in visitor demand from “overwhelming” the Bahamas’ health travel visa website and deterring potential tourists. The website, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has effectively become the hub around which the entire Bahamian tourism industry functions because it controls visitor access to The Bahamas via the health travel visa approvals it grants. Mr D’Aguilar said the website had to be “tweaked” after daily applications more than doubled to hit 5,000 following The Bahamas’ decision to eliminate border COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated travellers. Disclosing that this relaxation has effectively extended the vacation booking window, he explained that fully vaccinated travellers are seeking to obtain their approved health visa now for visits during the July to October period. This contrasts sharply with the previous regime,

as the requirement for all visitors to obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within five days of arriving in The Bahamas significantly narrowed the booking window to a matter of days. Mr D’Aguilar said this switch, coupled with the demand increase, meant the government has had to “limit applications to within 14 days’ of travel” so that the system can better “digest” and process all the submissions it is receiving. The health travel visa website’s issues were badly timed from the government’s perspective given that they coincided with the full launch of a “onestop shop” online portal designed to ultimately give Bahamians electronic access to more than 200 public services digitally. This event will likely further increase scepticism among some as to whether the mygateway.gov.bs portal will be executed and function efficiently, and match what the government is promising, while information technology (IT) issues have also impacted The Bahamas’ own COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. Ed Fields, deputy chair of the National COVID19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, confirmed on Tuesday that the migration of data from Doctors Hospital’s IT platform to the one being used by the committee had resulted in

BTC revenues off 9% despite mobile revival FROM PAGE ONE

the first three months of the year, although this was partially offset by the loss of 700 customers from its fixed-line telephone platform. BTC closed the 2021 first quarter with 180,100 mobile subscribers, 8,000 TV customers and 27,800

ESTATE OF STANLEY BRUCE BETHELL, JR. TAKE NOTICE that anyone having a claim against the Estate of STANLEY BRUCE BETHELL, JR. late of Boatswain Hill, Nassau, Bahamas, who died on 15th December, 2019, may submit such claim in writing to the law firm of MAILLIS & MAILLIS, Chambers, Fort Nassau House, Marlborough Street, Nassau, Bahamas, tel: (242) 322-4292/3, fax: (242) 323-2334 ON OR BEFORE the 31st July, A.D., 2021.

some 1,000 persons who had received their first jab not being transferred over. This has prevented those impacted from getting their second dose and becoming fully vaccinated, but Mr Fields downplayed this by saying the number “is now dwindled down significantly. We’ll have to work until all the data is transferred and that really is where the hitch is”. However, one of those affected, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the issue as “a monumental cock-up” and alleged that several prominent members of Bahamian society have also been affected although Tribune Business could not confirm this before press time. “About 1,000 people have been lost in cyber space,” the source said. “When you migrate from one system to another, with something as sensitive as this, I don’t understand why they didn’t run the two platforms side by side. It’s a hell of an inconvenience. You’re messing with people’s lives. It’s a huge problem.” The source said they began inquiries when they failed to receive the e-mail notifying them they were due for a second COVID19 vaccine shot. After the vaccination website refused to make an appointment, they added that they visited one of the vaccination sites where they were informed of what had happened.

WATER & Sewerage Corporation Team Conducts Site Assessments in Inagua, San Salvador and South Eleuthera.

BTC HEADQUARTERS broadband Internet customers. Excluding mobile users, it had some 69,500 customers, while its fibreto-the-home technology passed 120,900 residences. Fixed-line telephone customers totalled 33,700. BTC’s revenues suffered a 12.6 percent year-over-year decline in 2020, dropping by $26.2m from $207.3m in the prior year to $181.1m for the 12 months to endDecember, a fall that will largely have been driven by COVID-19 and its devastating impact on consumers. The carrier’s revenue also fell by $48.1m over a twoyear period when the 2020 figures are measured against 2018. That equates to a 21 percent decline.

‘Disconcerted’ by Water Corporation supply takeover FROM PAGE ONE meeting yesterday, Mr Bannister suggested that it was time for Aqua Design to move on as the company has been present in The Bahamas for a long time. He said: “Water and Sewerage is putting in [reverse osmosis] plants, and we anticipate that by the end of the year they’re going to be able to operate those plants. The contracts for the company that has been here for many, many years have expired. They have agreed to stay on basically until the end of the year, and then we anticipate that Water and Sewerage is going to run those plants.” Aqua Design Bahamas presently produces what the Water & Sewerage Corporation provides to customers in those three communities, and this move means that the latter will once again be in charge of both production and distribution - a step that Adrian Gibson, its executive chairman, had hinted at previously. The Water & Sewerage Corporation has also acted after Aqua Design recently threatened to shut-off supply to the three communities, and demobilise its three plants, unless the stateowned utility paid at least a portion of the $3.8m debt said to be owed to it. However, a deal was struck on May 2 that involves Aqua Design Bahamas continuing to operate the three reverse osmosis plants until November 1 this year. It warned that a supply cut-off could still happen if the government and Water & Sewerage Corporation failed to deliver by last Saturday, May 8, but the latest developments suggest both sides are fulfilling their obligations. Stephen Cartwright, owner/operator of Nagua Springs in Inagua, said he had heard the Water & Sewerage Corporation brought a container with equipment to the island, but was unsure of the purpose. Now understanding that its plans to take over the

reverse osmosis operation from Aqua Design, Mr Cartwright said: “I hope that the government paid people for the monies that they owed them because that will make it look bad on them, because I think they owed them $3.8 million. If they can just put a system in place and not pay the company that would be a very bad look for the country.” Allison Mortimer, coowner of J’s Discount in San Salvador, who had told this newspaper Aqua Designs could leave the country because the island had a back-up system installed by Water & Sewerage Corporation last year, said: “The Water & Sewerage Corporation tested their system with us and it had lots of pressure. “So we just have to sit back and wait. If Water & Sewerage Corporation are going to take over the management of the water plants all we have to do is just sit back and wait and see.” Aqua Design had said previously: “On Sunday, May 2, the Water & Sewerage Corporation accepted the terms proposed by Aqua Design Bahamas to resolve all outstanding issues between the parties. “A letter of comfort is to be issued by the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas by the close of business on May 7, assuring payments by the Corporation. Water & Sewerage Corporation and Aqua Design are working to finalise written agreements in the coming days. “Should the parties comply with their obligations, Aqua Design will continue production at these plants through November 1, 2021. Should Water & Sewerage Corporation not meet its obligations, we will cease production on May 8, 2021. We are hopeful that our dialogue with Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Government of the Bahamas will remain productive, and that Aqua Design will be able to continue operations.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 12, 2021, PAGE 5

Spain adopts landmark law to protect ‘gig’ delivery workers MADRID Associated Press SPAIN approved a pioneering law yesterday that gives delivery platforms a mid-August deadline to hire workers currently freelancing for them and that requires transparency of artificial intelligence used to manage workforces. The royal decree passed by the centre-left ruling coalition immediately affects some 30,000 couriers. It comes in the wake of a ruling by Spain’s top court last year and at a time when other countries in Europe and elsewhere are deciding on a labor model for the socalled gig economy, which is often blamed for precarious jobs and low salaries. That’s because, until now, gig and other contractor workers had to pay social security fees from their own pockets if they wanted to receive benefits including unemployment subsidies and a public pension. App-based food delivery businesses say that the law threatens a 700-millioneuro ($851m) industry in Spain, and some of the couriers took to the streets yesterday in different cities because they say that remaining self-employed benefits them. Francisco López, 37, said he was making 2,400 euros ($2,900) per month working an average of seven hours every seven days of the week, more than he could have made at his previous job at Barcelona. “A lot of us have families and children. By working for more than one company we can adjust our schedule. The rates are currently not the best, but they do offer us an economic cushion,” said López, who has managed to send remittances to his relatives in Colombia during the pandemic. But Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz said Spain was “at the vanguard” in taking legislation on the relationship between delivery platforms and their workforce. “The world is looking at us,” Díaz told reporters following a weekly Cabinet meeting and adding that it reflected the “new winds” that, across the world, deliver welfare to citizens. In the United States, Joe Biden’s government has rolled back on a rule from his predecessor’s administration that would have made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors, blocking a change supported by delivery and ride-hailing services. The executive branch of the

the country is going to win.” Díaz also dismissed the criticism: “Just as workers shouldn’t fear advances in technology, companies shouldn’t fear labor rights,” the minister said when asked at a press briefing following the weekly Cabinet meeting. Spain’s Supreme Court ruling last year said that there was a “presumed

A DELIVERY worker rides his motorbike in Madrid, Spain, yesterday. Spain has approved a pioneering law that gives delivery platforms a mid-August deadline to hire the workers currently freelancing for them and that requires transparency of artificial intelligence to manage workforces. Photo: Manu Fernandez/AP European Union is also currently consulting with the public on potential rules that could be applied across the bloc. The Spanish government’s decree doesn’t need parliamentary approval and is the result of an agreement with the country’s main workers’ unions and industry associations, although smaller groups representing the interests of the food delivery platforms claim they have been sidelined in the negotiations. APS, which groups ondemand service providers Deliveroo, Stuart, Glovo and Uber Eats, the main players in the food delivery market, condemned the government’s move. “While Spain claims to be a start-up nation, this is the first law in Europe that forces a technological company to disclose its algorithms,” said APS in a statement. During negotiations, the government agreed to initially restrict the need for work contracts to delivery companies operating digital platforms. That leaves out the domestic care and cleaning services industries where the gig work model is also spreading. The law makes mandatory for all businesses the ground-breaking requirement of having to hand over to the workers’ legal representatives information about how algorithms and artificial intelligence systems function in assigning jobs and assessing performance, among other aspects. “Workers cannot lose their soul on the keyboard of our laptops or on electronic gadgets,” Díaz said. Uber said that the regulation would hurt the couriers “who use food delivery apps for much-needed flexible earning opportunities” and also the restaurant industry in Spain which, amid the coronavirus pandemic,

is increasingly relying on delivery to make ends meet. “We want to be a longterm partner to Spain and are exploring different options to adapt our delivery business to the new regulation,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. Some of the associations representing “independent couriers” wrote to the European Union’s Job Commissioner Nicolas Schmit calling for the Spanish law to be paused until the bloc has come up with a standardised framework. Four of the associations said that a model that requires companies to give them contracts could lead to the loss of 23,000 of some 30,000 existing jobs. But the general secretary of UGT, one of Spain’s main workers’ unions, said the riders protesting against the law were controlled by the platforms and that the law was meant to protect labor rights across the board. With the law, Pepe Álvarez told public broadcaster TVE, “workers are going to win, the social security system is going to win and

work relationship” between a delivery worker and Glovo. The ruling sent ripples across the industry, with the judges concluding that the platform couldn’t be deemed just as an intermediary. Dani Gutiérrez, a 29-year-old member of the “Ridersxrights” association who has failed to receive work from food delivery

platforms after striking and protesting against their labor conditions, welcomed the new law but said that it lacked ambition. “It should have gone much further, beyond the riders, because the working class is being pushed to precarious conditions through this type of collaborative economy, with fake freelancers and so on,” Gutiérrez said.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Gas stations report shortages as pipeline shutdown drags on CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA Associated Press MORE than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast reported running out of fuel, primarily because of what analysts say is unwarranted panic-buying among drivers, as the shutdown of a major pipeline by a gang of hackers entered its fifth day yesterday. Government officials acted swiftly to waive safety and environmental rules to speed the delivery of fuel by truck, ship or rail to motorists and airports, even as they sought to assure the public that there was no cause for alarm. The Colonial Pipeline, the biggest fuel pipeline in the US, delivering about 45% of what is consumed on the East Coast, was hit on Friday with a cyberattack by hackers who lock up computer systems and demand a ransom to release them. The attack raised concerns, once again, about the vulnerability of the nation’s critical infrastructure. A large part of the pipeline resumed operations manually late on Monday, and Colonial anticipates restarting most of its operations by the end of the week, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. Motorists may still feel a crunch because it takes a few days to ramp up operations, but she said there is no reason to hoard gasoline. “We know that we have gasoline; we just have to get it to the right places,” she said.

A CUSTOMER helps pumping gas at Costco, as other wait in line yesterday, in Charlotte, NC. Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, halted operations last week after revealing a cyberattack that it said had affected some of its systems. Photo: Chris Carlson/AP S&P’s Oil Price Information Service put the number of gas stations encountering shortages at more than 1,000. “A lot of that is because they’re selling three or four times as much gasoline that they normally sell in a given day, because people do panic,” said Tom Kloza, an analyst with S&P. “It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” The pipeline runs from the Texas Gulf Coast to the New York metropolitan area. The states most dependent on the pipeline include Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, Kloza said. In Virginia, 7.7% of the state’s nearly 3,900

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that MONALISA MARC, of Golden Gates, Sisal Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

gas stations reported running out of fuel yesterday, according to Gasbuddy. com, which tracks supply. In North Carolina, 8.5% of almost 5,400 stations were out, the company said. There were scattered reports of higher gasoline prices, but prices were rising even before the pipeline incident heading into the busy summer driving season. Nevertheless, Granholm warned gas station owners, “We will have no tolerance for price gouging.” To ease brief shortages, the White House is considering temporarily waiving a law that says ships delivering products between US

ports must be built and manned by Americans. The Transportation Department also is relaxing some workforce requirements and enlisting railroads to deliver fuel inland. And the Environmental Protection Agency lifted some fuel quality requirements on an emergency basis. “We’re looking at every option we have across the federal government and all of the federal agencies,” Granholm said. In Georgia, Gov Brian Kemp suspended state taxes on motor fuels through Saturday. Georgia collects a gasoline tax of 28.7 cents per gallon and a

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that RONALD PIERRE of Morris Street, Adelaide Village, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

diesel tax of 32.2 cents per gallon. “It will probably help level the price at the pump off for a little while,” Kemp said. However, he urged people not to hoard gasoline, saying he expects the situation to be resolved soon. “You don’t need to go out and fill up every 5-gallon can you’ve got,” the governor said. Scattered gas stations in metro Atlanta were out of fuel on Monday and yesterday. In Georgia, nearly 6% of about 6,400 stations had run out of fuel, Gasbuddy. com said. In Florida, drivers in some areas faced long lines, and 3% of gas stations had run out. The state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, declared a state of emergency Tuesday evening in response to the gasoline. The move activates the Florida National Guard, as needed, and directs state emergency management officials to work with federal and local officials. Virginia Gov Ralph Northam also declared a state of emergency. Dave Gussak drove from one station to the next in Tallahassee, Florida, in search of gas, seeing a line nearly a mile long at the pumps outside a Costco. He eventually passed a station with gas on the way to

Florida State University where he works. “This is insane,” he said. Irena Yanava’s tank was about half full, but she wasn’t about to take chances as she sat in her car at the same Tallahassee gas station. “I know that I’ll be needing it soon, so why not?” she said. Citgo’s Fairfax, Virginia, terminal ran out of premium reformulated gasoline, and its Richmond, Virginia, terminal was out of unleaded regular, according to the American Automobile Association, citing a shipper bulletin. The Colonial Pipeline carries jet fuel as well. American Airlines rerouted two long-haul flights from Charlotte, North Carolina, because of possible shortages. Passengers flying to Honolulu will have to change planes in Dallas, and those heading to London will stop in Boston to refuel. Southwest and United flights carried extra fuel on flights to Nashville, Tennessee, Baltimore and some other airports in case jet fuel was unavailable at those airports. Normally airlines load only enough fuel for a single flight, because topping off adds to the plane’s weight and hurts mileage. Most planes can carry enough fuel for a round trip, but the extra fuel burn costs money.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that NICOLE YVONNE HENRI, of Quintine Alley off Wulf Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ALIYAH MEZIDOR, of #74 Peter Street, P.O. Box N-10330 New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that FRANTZ ETIENNE CENATUS, of Minnie Street, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that NOEL JULIEN, of Landy Street off Palm Beach Street, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 12th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MACKINSON MATHIEU, of #67 East Beach Drive, Freeport, Grand Bahama is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021, PAGE 9

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, WILLIAM STURRUP, of Haven Court, Rockcrusher Road, New Providence, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to WILLIAM STURRUP PRATT. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, LEONARD BLACK AND LISA NATASHA MILLER of 45 Drake Avenue, Columbus Park , Grand Bahama, The Bahamas. Parents of CATTALIYA LENLIA MADALINE MILLER A minor intend to change my child’s name to CATTALIYA LENLIA MADALINE BLACK If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice. LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE Bentley Bronfman Capital Ltd. (In Voluntary Liquidation)

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that WILBERT ODEUS, of Central Pines Estates, P.O. Box AB21024. Abaco, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that CHERELUS MARK, of Infant View Road, Nassau Street, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that HOWARD JOSEPH, of Carmichael Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that HIMCHAN RAMPERSAUD, of #14 Danielle Street, Lynden Pindling Estates South. P.O.Box EE-16491 New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O.

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 3rd day of May, 2021. Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The liquidator is (Amicorp Bahamas Management Limited) whose address is Bahamas Financial Centre, 3rd Floor, Shirley & Charlotte Street, P.O. Box N-4865, Nassau, Bahamas. Dated this 10th day of May, 2021 (AMICORP BAHAMAS MANAGEMENT LIMITED) LIQUIDATOR

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000

NOTICE

POSA POSA LIMITED

Achilles International Ltd.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 as follows:-

Voluntary Liquidation

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

POSA POSA LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act, 2000.

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on 14th February 2020 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

The Liquidator of the said Company is Amicorp Bahamas Management Limited whose address is Bahamas Financial Centre, 3rd Floor, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, New Providence, Nassau, Bahamas.

Dated this 10th day of May, 2021 (AMICORP BAHAMAS MANAGEMENT LIMITED) LIQUIDATOR

Amicorp Bahamas Management Limited Liquidator

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

TUESDAY, 11 MAY 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CHANGE

1951.83

0.08

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

0.00 -140.63

-6.72

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 5.15 33.05 1.50 2.90 1.78 6.00 6.96 3.60 6.00 4.05 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.50 10.71 9.00 14.60 4.25 8.97 16.00

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.44 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.25 2.75 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 8.00 13.00 3.42 8.15 15.20

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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

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

LAST CLOSE 5.05 32.12 1.50 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.30 2.93 5.90 9.75 2.40 6.80 11.39 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.19 15.50

CLOSE 5.05 32.12 1.50 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.30 2.93 5.91 9.75 2.42 6.80 11.33 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.19 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS780222 BSBGRS760240 BSBGRS870288

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.00 100.50 100.66

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.97 100.66

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

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

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.00 (0.06) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME

5,217

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

VOLUME

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

P/E 21.1 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -8.1 30.7 15.9 13.2 13.5 23.7 14.6 17.5 12.4 17.2 19.7 8.7 24.6

YIELD 3.37% 3.92% 1.33% 1.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.10% 3.72% 7.38% 17.93% 0.88% 2.89% 2.67% 3.86% 3.01% 2.44% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

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

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

MATURITY

MUTUAL FUNDS

N O T I C E TO THE GAZETTE Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, notice is hereby given that:(a) Bellwood Limited (the “Company”) is in dissolution; (b) The date of commencement of the dissolution is the 10th day of May, 2021; (c) The Joint Voluntary Liquidators are Igal Wizman of EY Bahamas Ltd., Caves Corporate Centre, West Bay Street & Blake Road, P. O. Box N-3231, Nassau, The Bahamas and Roy Bailey of Ernst & Young Ltd, Ritter House, Wickhams Cay 2, Road Town Tortola, VG1110, British Virgin Islands; and (d) Creditors of the Company are to prove their debts or claims on or before 9th June 2021, and to establish any title they may have under the International Business Companies Act, or are to be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before the debts are proved or from objecting to the distribution. Aegis CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED Registered Agen

52WK HI 2.42 4.43 2.16 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.83 1.78 1.24 8.58 10.26 7.35 14.59 12.84 10.31 10.00 10.43 14.89

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

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

NAV 2.42 4.43 2.16 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.75 1.75 1.03 8.58 10.14 7.35 14.59 12.64 9.99 N/A 10.43 14.89

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.11% 4.62% -0.08% 0.88% 0.64% 2.75% 0.14% 5.02% 3.25% 31.13% 0.72% 0.80% -2.20% -1.87% -0.37% 0.01% -2.48% -11.52% 1.14% 4.22% 1.09% 3.04% 1.01% 4.65% 4.93% 42.27% -1.56% 0.80% -0.60% -4.90% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%

NAV Date

31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 26-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021

MARKET TERMS

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

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

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

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

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

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

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

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

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

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

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

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

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

N/M - Not Meaningful

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

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

PAGE 12, Wednesday, May 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

STOCKS PULL BACK ON WALL STREET AS INFLATION CONCERNS GROW Associated Press

BANKS and energy companies led a broad pullback for stocks yesterday, knocking the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 470 points lower and wiping out the market’s gains from last week. The S&P 500 lost 0.9%. That, plus its losses on Monday, outweigh the benchmark index’s gains last week. The Dow sank 1.4%, its worst day since Feb 26. Treasury yields mostly edged higher. The market’s downturn so far this week reflects growing worries among investors that inflation is rising. Any

significant acceleration of inflation would be a drag on the overall market and could crimp the broader economic recovery. The selling comes ahead of a key measure of inflation at the consumer level due to be released by the government today. Commodity prices have been rising, particularly for industrial metals such as copper and platinum, as well as for energy commodities like gasoline and crude oil. Tech stocks, which get most of their valuation from the future profits those companies are expected to earn, become less valuable if inflation decreases the value of those earnings. Big technology

companies were among the biggest decliners for a second straight day. Still, financial and energy companies, the best-performing sectors of the S&P 500 so far this year, fell the most. These sectors, in addition to industrials, have been favorites of investors betting that the economy will continue to recover from the pandemic. It’s not uncommon for the stocks that have notched the biggest gains over time to fall sharply when investors turn cautious. “Yesterday, people were just watching to see what’s causing the market to move downward,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. “Today

the question is, ‘gee, maybe this could be more than I was expecting it to be,’ so investors are saying ‘let me take profits while I can.’” The S&P 500 index lost 36.33 points to 4,152.19. The Dow fell 473.66 points to 34,269.16. The blue chip index hit an all-time high on Friday for the third straight day. The Nasdaq lost 12.43 points, or 0.1%, to 13,389.43. Small company stocks also gave up some ground. The Russell 2000 index fell 5.71 points, or 0.3%, to 2,206.99. Inflation has been a concern for investors since bond yields spiked earlier this year, though yields have mostly stabilised since

then. The yield on the tenyear Treasury was steady at 1.61%. Despite reassurances from the Federal Reserve and a much weaker-thanexpected US jobs reading last week, investors have refocused on the potential for surging prices to pressure central banks into tapering off on their massive stimulus and ultra-low interest rates, analysts said. The market is going through a period of “digestion” as the economy recovers and is due for some consolidation following a strong run, said Sunitha Thomas, national portfolio advisor at Northern Trust Wealth Management. Rising inflation isn’t unusual given

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 72° F/22° C

TAMPA

uV inDex toDay

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Humid with partial sunshine

Humid with a couple of showers late

Humid; a stray after‑ noon t‑storm

Partly sunny with a shower in spots

A morning shower; partly sunny

A morning shower in places; windy

High: 87°

Low: 76°

High: 87° Low: 75°

High: 86° Low: 74°

High: 86° Low: 73°

High: 85° Low: 72°

AccuWeather RealFeel

98° F

81° F

98°-83° F

99°-80° F

93°-74° F

88°-70° F

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

almanac

ABACO

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 77° F/25° C

6‑12 knots

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 76° F/24° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 76° F/24° C

N E S

WEST PALM BEACH

| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 75° F/24° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 74° F/23° C

MIAMI

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 76° F/24° C

4‑8 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 86° F/30° C Low .................................................... 77° F/25° C Normal high ....................................... 84° F/29° C Normal low ........................................ 71° F/21° C Last year’s high ................................. 80° F/26° C Last year’s low ................................... 75° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 3.32” Normal year to date ..................................... 6.90”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 76° F/24° C

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

KEY WEST

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

6‑12 knots

7‑14 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

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

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

9:01 a.m. 9:22 p.m.

2.3 2.8

3:12 a.m. 3:02 p.m.

0.0 0.0

Thursday

9:37 a.m. 9:59 p.m.

2.2 2.8

3:50 a.m. 3:37 p.m.

0.0 0.0

Friday

10:15 a.m. 10:37 p.m.

2.1 2.8

4:29 a.m. 4:13 p.m.

0.1 0.1

Saturday

10:54 a.m. 11:17 p.m.

2.0 2.7

5:09 a.m. 4:51 p.m.

0.2 0.2

Sunday

11:36 a.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

2.0 ‑‑‑‑‑

5:51 a.m. 5:33 p.m.

0.3 0.3

Monday

12:00 a.m. 12:23 p.m.

2.7 2.0

6:36 a.m. 6:20 p.m.

0.4 0.5

Tuesday

12:48 a.m. 1:16 p.m.

2.6 2.0

7:25 a.m. 7:16 p.m.

0.5 0.5

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:27 a.m. 7:46 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

7:01 a.m. 8:43 p.m.

First

Full

Last

New

May 19

May 26

Jun. 2

Jun. 10

CAT ISLAND

the strong economic recovery along with a surge in company earnings, she said. Rising inflation in commodities has begun to push prices for some consumer products higher. Still, analysts expect increases to be mild and tied to the growing economy, even as the jobs market lags behind. Consumer confidence and retail sales are regaining ground as people get vaccinated and businesses reopen. Signals of inflation have popped up in other markets. China reported its strongest increase in producer prices since October 2017 last month, as supply constraints cascaded into manufacturing.

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

7‑14 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 85° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C

8‑16 knots

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

Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday:

WINDS SE at 6‑12 Knots S at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots S at 6‑12 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots

WAVES 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 0‑1 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑2 Feet 0‑1 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 6 Miles 7 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 81° F 81° F 84° F 85° F 83° F 83° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 79° F 81° F 83° F 84° F 82° F 82° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 81° F 82° F 82° F 82° F 82° F 82° F 83° F