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VOLUME:115 No.126, MAY 24TH, 2018
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Aviation chiefs to probe ‘near miss’
L SOUR CE
PM SILENT AS SPY BILL APPROVED By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE controversial Interception of Communications Bill was passed by the House of Assembly yesterday with no input from Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, once a fervent critic of the bill. Official Opposition Leader Philip Davis SEE PAGE SIX
‘Plane dived HELLO FROM THE TOP OF EVERYTHING when pilot spotted jet’ AVIATION officials are investigating reports a BahamasAir jet averted a mid-flight collision with a Silver Airway plane on Tuesday afternoon. BahamasAir flight BHS137 departed Nassau for Marsh Harbour, Abaco, around 5pm when, according to a pastor onboard the jet, a startling incident occurred. Air Traffic Control, BahamasAir and Air Accident Investigation Department officials all said yesterday they received no report of the alleged incident but that
they would now investigate the claim. Up to press time last night, The Tribune received no response to questions sent to Silver Airways around noon. Chief investigator of air accidents Delvin Major said if such an incident did occur, the law demands that it be reported. He said such an incident would be “very serious.’ The pastor who spoke to The Tribune requested anonymity to do so. SEE PAGE FIVE
NEW $50M POWER PLANT FOR ANDROS By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN-led consortium is bidding to develop a $40-$50m biomass-fuelled power plant in North Andros through a proposal featuring a tie-up with BAMSI. Tribune Business can reveal that Providence Energy Partners is offering to develop a 10-15 megawatt
plant to supply all Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) power needs in North Andros. The proposal involves generating energy from biomass, which would be produced through the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute’s (BAMSI) plans to clear up to 5,000 acres for farm land. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
RICARD Beek unfurls the Bahamian flag at the summit of Everest. See page three for the story of his adventure.
SEVEN POLICE TO STAND TRIAL OVER BEATING By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
SEVEN police officers may have been carrying out a “personal vendetta” when they dragged a man off his job at a pharmacy six years ago, beat him, and swore to “f*** him right up until he talked” about an alleged police stabbing, an appellate judge has suggested. Appellate Justice Sir Michael Barnett, in a written ruling, said Michael Russell’s record of interview contained no investigation
SIR MICHAEL BARNETT, whose ruling suggested that police were not operating in an official capacity when they beat a man at a pharmacy. of the police stabbing claim, thus suggesting the officers were not acting in their
official capacity when they “brutalised” him at a Lowe’s Pharmacy location in 2012. Justice Barnett said it appeared the investigation was “limited to the incident at Lowe’s”. This possibility, along with other legal reasons, led the appellate court to order a “factual inquiry” into whether the seven officers were in fact acting as police officers or acting on a “complete frolic of their own carrying out a personal vendetta” against Russell while arresting him.
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE 11
DIANE PHILLIPS: SILENT LONGINGS FOR A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Thursday, May 24, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
$211M BORROWING APPROVED TO AID ELECTRIC SUPPLIER By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net FINANCIAL crisis was cited as the reason government yesterday passed a resolution to borrow $211m to aid the Bahamas Electricity Corporation. This undesirable
situation, the resolution said, was caused by the high cost of fuel in 2018, funding of capital projects, a high expense ratio and reduced cash flows due to tariff reductions. The move allows BEC to refinance existing loans by entering into a non-revolving term loan facility
agreement with various banks. The banks collectively include Scotiabank Limited, First Caribbean International Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of The Bahamas and Citibank. The resolution was debated in Parliament last week and passed yesterday.
It comes amid reports Bahamas Power and Light has earmarked $20m to pay out more than 300 employees who have expressed interest in taking voluntary separation packages. “Whereas BEC has found it desirable for the better performance of its functions under the act to refinance
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its existing loans to enter into a non-revolving term loan facility agreement with various banks whereby the banks have made available to BEC as Borrower loan facilities in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $211m in currency of either the Bahamas or the United States of America together with interests thereon at the rate and upon the terms and conditions set out in the facility agreement,” the resolution read. It continued: “Whereas it is a pre-condition of the facility agreement that the government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas guarantees to the banks the repayment obligations of BEC in respect of the principal of the loan and interest thereon under the facility agreement. “And whereas by virtue of section 17 of the Act the government may guarantee in such manner and upon such terms as it may think fit the payment of the interest and principal or either of them any loan proposed to be raised by BEC. “And whereas by virtue of section 17 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act, chapter 359, 2000 revised edition of the Statute Law of the Bahamas, no loans shall be raised by the government and no guarantees involving a financial liability shall be binding upon the government unless entered into with the prior approval of the House of Assembly signified by resolution thereof.”
THE BAHAMAS Power and Light head office. Last week, Chamber of Commerce’s Chief Executive Edison Sumner said Bahamians must brace for “a very expensive summer” as global oil prices surged to $80 per barrel. He told Tribune Business greater renewable energy penetration and usage “can’t come soon enough”, with no Bahamian or business able to escape the impact of energy costs that are forecast to soon exceed $100 per barrel. Virtually all companies and households will feel the impact in their Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) bills and at the gasoline pump. Mr Sumner said there was little most Bahamians can do to mitigate the immediate impact, other than focus on energy conservation, as he renewed private sector calls for a regulatory framework that will better spur more rapid take-up of renewable energy technologies.
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BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
A GRAND Bahama man is in hospital after he was shot by gunmen at his home in Deadman’s Reef this week, police reported yesterday. ASP Terecita Pinder said police were called to the Deadman’s Reef area in connection with a shooting shortly after 11pm on Tuesday,
When they arrived, officers were told that the victim had reportedly just arrived home in his vehicle with two other passengers when he was accosted by two males brandishing a firearm. There was a struggle between the victim and the assailants, resulting in him being shot several times about the body, she said. The suspects fled on foot, and the victim was said to be in stable condition at the Rand Memorial Hospital.
COCAINE FOUND AT AIRPORT BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THREE people were arrested at Grand Bahama International Airport after suspected cocaine worth over $40,000 was discovered in a carry-on travel bag. Two men and one woman were taken into custody shortly before 1pm on Tuesday at the US Pre-Clearance Departure Lounge at the airport. ASP Terecita Pinder
reported yesterday that DEU officers were called to the lounge where a man presented himself at US Custom to board a flight to Florida. A search was conducted of his carryon bag when US officials discovered three plastic packages, containing suspected cocaine. The drug weighed 7.5 pounds with an estimated street value of $45,000. Ms Pinder said that further initial investigations resulted in the arrest of another man and woman.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 2018, PAGE 3
Hello from the top of everything By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN Richard Beek reached the summit of Mount Everest just in time to witness its “magical” sunrise on Tuesday morning after a difficult journey. He and his guide were the first to the summit that day. “There were no other climbers in front of us and we past a few smaller groups that had departed camp four before us,” he said. “Looking down the route from Tibet had no climbers. The sunrise was very special. I have posted a video on Instagram at everest242. The sky started getting lighter while we climbed the final summit ridge which takes about an
hour. It was magical watching the mountains emerge out of the night as well as the sky reflecting off the ridge. There were clouds way below, otherwise the sky was clear.” Avalanches and crevasses forced the climber to make numerous adjustments during the journey. The experience was “very challenging” he said, adding the “final summit attempt was difficult everyday with minimal sleep.” “My philosophy has been one day at a time which made it more manageable.” Not everyone who made the trek was lucky. At least three adventurers have died this season; they included a Japanese climber identified as 35-year-old Nobuazu Kuriki, a 63-year-old Macedonian, Gjeorgi Petkov andLam Babu Sherpa from
Kurima Solukhambu. It was Mr Kuriki’s sixth time trying to reach the top of Everest, having failed all his attempts while travelling with minimal gear and no oxygen tank. On a previous climb, he lost nine of his fingers to frostbite. “We did see bodies; that was very sobering,” Mr Beek said yesterday. “One was in a tent at camp three and looked like the person was sleeping but you could tell something was not right. My sherpa said the person died a few days ago. The other body was just above camp three.” The Tribune began following Mr Beek’s mountain climbing in 2016 after he reached the top of Vinson Massif, the highest peak on Antarctica. He has now reached the summit of the highest mountains on every continent after 16 years of
RICHARD Beek at the top of Everest. mountain climbing. Now that he’s reached the top of the world, he said is looking forward to life at sea level. “Right now it’s about getting home and gaining back the body weight that I have lost,” he said. “Deltec Bank, who I work for, have been very understanding and I would like to thank them for helping me achieve this milestone. I won’t be going anywhere for awhile.” • See a video made by Richard Beek at the top of Everest on www.tribune242.com.
THE PERILOUS conditions faced en route to the summit.
PLP LOSES BID FOR COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE OBAN DEAL By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Progressive Liberal Party’s motion for a select committee to investigate matters relating to Oban Energies was defeated yesterday when Free National Movement (FNM) parliamentarians in the House of Assembly unanimously voted against it. Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin and Exuma and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper scolded the government while arguing why the committee should be established. Mrs Hanna Martin explained how useful a previous parliamentary committee was in benefiting Bahamians by causing changes to government policies. “This member was privileged to chair a Select Committee several years ago appointed by this Parliament to look into and inquire into the allegations of sexual misconduct of a teacher in Eight Mile Rock who was accused of sexually abusing several male students at that school,” she said. “The committee, comprising members from both sides of the political divide, submitted a report to this Parliament and as a consequence of its findings
and recommendations, there was a change in the policies and procedures in the Ministry of Education; new policies were initiated to protect children in such circumstances and avenues for reporting sexual misconduct. The teacher on the other hand, a sexual predator in our public schools, was convicted and is very likely poised to be deported from our country, if not already deported.” The opposition had hoped to determine if by tabling the Oban Energies Heads of Agreement in Parliament Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis intentionally misled the House. “This motion comes in response to the very many concerns, apparent irregularities, the unanswered questions and inconsistencies, and concerns nationally about what has now come to be called the Oban deal,” Mrs Hanna Martin said. “These concerns are underscored by the peculiar provisions of the Heads of Agreement, the incentives and concessions, including a commitment to come to this Parliament and change the terms of the Industry Encouragement Act especially for Oban, a first since the law’s enactment in 1970 (almost
50 years ago) and the grant of what amounts to a 99-year lease of hundreds of acres of Crown Land including a right of first refusal for an additional 500 acres for no apparent good reason.” Mrs Hanna Martin was critical of the government for not disclosing the exact location of the land granted to Oban Energies for its $5.5 billion oil refinery and storage plant. She recounted the most controversial details of the saga, including the history of former executive Peter Kriegar and the “ceremonial signing” in February when Mr Krieger signed the name of President Satpal Dhunna on the agreement, not his own. She questioned whether Oban Energies has the money to see the project through. State Minister for Legal Affairs Elsworth
Johnson, addressing the issue on behalf of the government, noted Dr Minnis has already established a cabinet sub-committee to review the deal. “The subcommittee has had several meetings with principals of Oban and as a member of the sub-committee I can report that progress is being made,” he said. “These meetings were conducted in New Providence, Freeport and at the site in Grand Bahama. It is the position of the government that the appointment of a select committee of this honorable House of Assembly at this stage would be premature. Accordingly, the government does not support the appointment of a select committee with reference to the Heads of Agreement between the government and Oban Energies LLC.”
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THE TRIBUNE
The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
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NFL decision ‘chooses mainstream appeal over players’ WASHINGTON (AP) — With its decision to ban kneeling during the national anthem, critics are accusing the NFL of prioritising being in the good financial graces of mainstream America over the social justice passions of its players trying to draw attention to the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police. Some opponents of the new policy now vow to never watch an NFL game again. The NFL’s new anthem policy — similar to NBA rules in place for decades — makes the athletes stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” or be absent from the field while it’s played. Critics say the league acted without input from its majority-black players and buckled to pressure from some major advertisers and even President Donald Trump, who rallied his mostly-white base against players for failing to display their patriotism, shifting the debate from social justice for minorities to how to act during the anthem itself. Others, including some players, applauded the league’s action or took no issue with the policy. “I think they made this decision to placate Donald Trump and those like him who blindly equate standing for the national anthem with patriotism,” said Democratic US Rep Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “The country I want is a country where everyone wants to stand for the national anthem,” Richmond said, emphasising the word “wants”. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted “#Winning” and declared the decision “a win for the fans, a win for (President Trump), and a win for America”. The NFL started requiring players in the league to be on the field for the anthem in 2009 — the year it signed a marketing deal with the military. Its new rule, passed yesterday, permits players to stay in the locker room during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” but requires them to stand if they come to the field. Taking a knee during the anthem has been an issue since August 2016, when now-unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick started protesting the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police. The issue bubbled over from the field into living rooms as other players joined the movement, and morphed into a larger discussion last fall when Trump called on NFL owners to fire players who did not stand during the national anthem. “This is white supremacy, period. A blatant and disgusting attempt to strip black athletes of their voice and reduce them to a number on a jersey — all while continuing to profit off of their bodies,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of advocacy group Color of Change. Bree Newsome, who climbed a pole to snatch down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina statehouse in 2015, tweeted: “For the white-owned NFL to blackball Kaepernick & then change policy to specifically target Black athletes’ protest of racism is not simply a
matter of football. It is about using one of the largest stages in America to reinforce racial caste in USA.” Civil rights groups denounced the decision. “Instead of working together to address an issue disproportionately plaguing the communities of the majority of NFL players, the owners instead desire that players bury their heads, shut up, and just play football,” NAACP chairman Derrick Johnson said. Kaepernick and other NFL players who kneeled said their protests were over the shootings and other mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement. The quarterback was not re-signed by the San Francisco 49ers after beginning his protest and has not played for an NFL team since. He has filed a grievance against the league, as has out of work safety and fellow protester Eric Reid. Calls to boycott the NFL because of the anthem decision started immediately online. NFL fans previously had threatened to boycott the NFL because players were kneeling during the Star Spangled Banner, and others said they wouldn’t watch until Kaepernick was signed by a team. Now a new group is promising not to watch pro football games. “As a former NFL player, I am extremely conflicted but more than likely will not be supporting anymore until this is resolved amongst other issues,” said Matthew A Cherry, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL Players Association said it would challenge any changes that violate the collective bargaining agreement. “This is fear of a diminished bottom line. It’s also fear of a president turning his base against a corporation,” Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long said on Twitter. “This is not patriotism. Don’t get it confused. These owners don’t love America more than the players demonstrating and taking real action to improve it. It also lets you, the fan, know where our league stands.” Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea, a 12-year NFL veteran, said “fining players for really expressing what they believe, I think that’s kind of overboard”. Others said they approved of the compromise. “I’m going to stand for the national anthem,” Denver defensive end Derek Wolfe said. “Whatever anybody else wants to do, that’s their decision and they have the right to their opinion. So, they can do whatever they want — as long as they stay in the locker room, I guess.” Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster shrugged his shoulders when asked about the policy and said that in a way, players are powerless. “If the team says, ‘This is what we’re doing,’ and ownership (does too), you either deal with it or you’re probably going to get cut,” Foster said. By Jesse J Holland, Associated Press
PO move EDITOR, The Tribune.
Moving the General Post Office to Gladstone Road. I pass through Gladstone Road almost daily and over the past weeks at the old food store there has been a lot of activity, but Minister Frankie Campbell says to the TV media until they take possession of the building they have no idea what it is all about. Big Gazette notice from OPM signed by The Prime Minister exercising domain rights to acquire the property. Closing East Hill General Post Office is going
to inexcusably cause considerable annoyance and nuisance to those who have post boxes there not thinking about parcel post and general delivery. The decision to move this from almost downtown to three-four plus miles away with only access at Gladstone Road if you have a motor vehicle is irresponsible - lacking consideration to the general public, etc, etc. I for sure thought the FNM policy was to consult - isn’t it The People’s Time? On this issue no consultation - the post office did not
take a poll of the current renters - no consideration. The old Penn building was seized by BOB - transferred to resolve and it seems the sole intent is to credit resolve with a few million to improve their financial position and no consideration to the public. We will remember just how the Minnis Government likes to make decisions without consultation. Screwed up big time on this Minister Frankie Campbell. W THOMPSON Nassau, May 16, 2018.
Bahamas education system EDITOR, The Tribune. IT is no secret that our education system isn’t thriving, to say the least. By definition, to educate means to give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to (someone). Our education system is trying to educate our students, but the efforts have been mostly ineffective thus far. We can point the finger in many different directions as to why it is failing, but in short, the children simply aren’t interested. At this point, not only does our education system need to be restructured, but it has a responsibility to its students. That is to integrate personal development into its curriculum. It is of utmost importance. With a generation of “Babies having babies” and parents with little time to impart these personal development skills to their children, it is the job of the education system to compensate. On a daily basis, students spend more time at school than with their parents. In a sense, teachers and staff members have assumed guardian roles to their students. In the Ministry of Education’s vision statement, they speak about equipping students with “multiple literacies”, but when will this vision be realised?
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net It all sounds good but how are we going to achieve a different result by doing the same things? That is the literal definition of insanity; doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. In a generation where the youth have been written off as ‘lost’ or ‘finished’, what have we to lose by taking a calculated risk on the way we educate our youth? We don’t need books like the seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. We need relatable content. Content that interests our youth. Content designed by Bahamians for Bahamians. The use of social commentary in order to provoke different ways of thinking. We need to work with psychologists in order to assess the dominant problems and issues faced not only in the school system, but in the life of a Bahamian in general. Courses on travelling aboard, saving, budgeting, portfolio building, race relations. A curriculum that promotes self-worth and intrinsic motivation. The youth must know that each one of us can make a difference and why our participation in the education system is important. We
need to know that we have a future. Think about how many of us were taught why we attend school, besides to get an education in order to get a “good job”? Who taught us that our worth stemmed far beyond our GPA or that there are a plethora of skill sets beyond proficiency in Math and Science? Imagine living with a diminished sense of selfworth based on your gra des. Why would you continue to participate in a game that you feel as though you have no chance of winning? We have spent copious amounts of money on the youth and that is a part of it, but money alone cannot produce real results. We cannot continue to allow complacency to suffice. We need drastic action in the reconstruction of our education system. Money is simply not enough. Time and energy are the real currencies that will help us to climb out of the debt that we have lost ourselves in. We already have brilliant students. Minds with nearly limitless potential waiting to be tapped. What needs adjustment now is our ‘D’ average education system. LAURENT ROLLE Nassau, May 16, 2018.
Billboard advertising EDITOR, The Tribune.
WERE we not told that the new policy would be strict and you would not see numerous billboards and outside advertising? Clearly, the product managers, advertising and promotions have gotten to someone as some roundabouts today are covered with large billboards. Saunders Beach was, I think, the first potential site for the electric signs - been
installed for months. Obviously, the cost is too high but blow me down right at the entrance to Goodman’s Bay there is a plywoodsized version going up - now the smaller neat Saunders still hasn’t been rented, imagine the bigger one? Then there are those nuisance small signs advertising everything stuck in the ground at roundabouts and along the highways - no one gets permits for them. Sandy Port bridge and
the casuarinas that block the sea view - can’t someone cut all of them down so the driving public residents and visitors can enjoy a little of the scarce waterfront (all the rest blocked with homes and high walls). Drains seemingly all blocked again and we are in the rainy season! ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau, May 15, 2018.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 2018, PAGE 5
Aviation chiefs to probe ‘near miss’
from page one He said: “Trust me, had it not been for the skilfulness of BahamasAir pilots, the situation could have been fatal beyond a shadow of a doubt. I really want the matter to be reported and investigated but hats off to those BahamasAir pilots.” The pastor said some 15 minutes into the flight the pilot signalled for passengers to fasten their seatbelts, causing him to grow concerned because
there was no weather outside that he believed would cause turbulence. “We started to go into a bit of a control dive,” he said, adding the dive never became frantic. “When I looked to the right, I saw a plane. I noticed the plane wasn’t going passed us but was coming toward us. “The plane came so close I was able to make out the colour but I knew it wasn’t a Sky Bahamas or a Pineapple Airways plane, I just knew the purple colour which Silver
planes have.” “I said to my dad, a plane just like Sky passed by us but it ain’ Sky. I said ‘boy that fly close.’” The man said after other passengers disembarked he stayed behind and spoke to the First Officer onboard. “He shook his head and said ‘Boy, that was Silver’. “He said apparently Nassau, Miami gave them missed coordinates. Many of the passengers, basically all of them did not know what was going on but I’m very alert when
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A WHEELCHAIR user is carried up the stairs of the House of Assembly yesterday - the only way she was able to attend yesterday’s session.
PARLIAMENT FAILING TO CATER FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
DESPITE Parliament passing the Persons with Disabilities Act four years ago, a wheelchair-bound woman had to be carried up the stairs of the House of Assembly by three men to attend yesterday’s session. This is not uncommon, as the building is not outfitted with the means to accommodate people with disabilities. It has also been nearly six months since the December 31 deadline passed for every building in the country used by the the public to be easily accessible to those who are blind, deaf, use a wheelchair or have other disabilities requiring particular accommodations. However, Social Services and Urban Development Minister Lanisha Rolle says the scene could soon change. She announced yesterday a group is looking into the feasibility of installing lifts at both the House of Assembly and the Senate building. The government is also looking into appointing disability inspectors to look at compliance issues around the country. “The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, that’s all female parliamentarians, on our last sitting we considered the feasibility of our donating through our efforts a lift for persons with disabilities,” Mrs Rolle told reporters outside the House of Assembly yesterday. “Certainly we are looking to bringing on a few disability inspectors to begin to look at the measure of compliance. Certainly the commission and the members who are there now have been around and have been engaging and on educational campaigns to ensure that persons understand the importance of equal access of persons with disabilities and CWP is simply seeking to partner with them.”
Asked whether there are compliance issues, the minister said: “I wouldn’t say issues with compliance (but) ensuring everyone understands what is required in terms of compliance there are certain specifications as to how ramps are supposed to be, where they are supposed to be in a building. “There are instances where persons who are able to walk are falling down on some of those ramps because some of them are too high, some are too low, some the wheelchairs still can’t get up on them and so there are certain specifications. “So these individuals will be trained to inspect according to specifications to ensure that persons have equal access and still it does not offend persons who need to be able to walk. “They will also ensure that there is parking for the disabled in the proper places.” She continued: “But in terms of the government buildings many of them are very old to a certain extent and sometimes it is difficult in terms of the structure to get the installations in place as quick as we want them, but certainly we need to look at creative ideas and innovative ways we can still ensure that the disabled community has access to buildings no matter what.” While many buildings remain non-compliant with the Act, the minister said the December 31, 2017, has not been extended. “But we are continuing to work with the community. I want to just stress also that his is a complex matter because again we are dealing with persons with their businesses who have to invest in it. That’s their responsibility to invest in it and to partner with the community.” Once the inspectors are fully functional, Mrs Rolle said they will study the Act and make a determination on the level of enforcement necessary.
I’m flying. “One of the guys who was with me, he was in the front part of the plane. He said he heard when an alarm went off in the cockpit but he didn’t know what was going on. I assume that was the radar telling them another plane was in close vicinity.” The pastor said he was “alarmed” by the incident. “I think something like that, it should be noted and the matter should be looked into. You cannot make those kind of errors
in aviation. The day could have caused triple times more mourning than in the Andros situation so I definitely feel like they should be cautioned and some questions should be asked.” In addition to Chief Investigator Mr Major, The Tribune spoke to BahamasAir’s Director of Safety Ashley Cooper and Bahamas Air Navigation Services Department (BANSD) Manager Keith Major yesterday. No one could verify the incident.
The pilot during the flight, a female, was off from work yesterday. Officials expect to quiz her today. Last night, Sky Bahamas CEO Randy Butler said if the claim is true, he hopes someone in the cockpit comes forward and speaks about it to aviation officials. “If that happened the way he describe that, a lot of systems and people failed,” he said. “That’s something like, let’s check that system before the next flight so we have safety notices right away.”
PAGE 6, Thursday, May 24, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
PM silent as Spy Bill approved from page one remarked on Dr Minnis’ silence on the bill, telling The Tribune he thought Dr Minnis would provide some assurance on what his party dubbed “a spy bill”. “An important piece of legislation like that you would have thought you would hear from the leader of the country having regard to how they characterized it before the
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election,” Mr Davis said. “[Dr Minnis] supported the bill now and his support of the bill is at odds with what he had to say about it in the past. They dubbed it a spy bill. The bill is a necessary tool in the fight against crime. As prime minister, at least speak of policy and give some assurance to the citizens at large that the execution would be done in accordance with law and would not be abused.” There was also strong push-back from Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin over the lack of transparency and protections in segments of the legislation. She raised several questions over the purported changes the Minnis administration made to the bill first introduced by the former Christie administration, and implored the Minnis administration to address, in Parliament, all the concerns surrounding the troubled legislation. One point of concern is a provision in the Bill that mandates that any general worker must intercept a piece of communication if told to by law enforcement, with any refusal being viewed as an offence to the law. “I don’t recall this being in the prior legislation,” Mrs Hanna-Martin said, “because what you are doing now is putting obligation on a postal worker to co-operate with a law enforcement agency to intercept a communication, whether they want to or not.” “And if they don’t do it, they are guilty of a criminal offence. I don’t know if I
am correct in the way I am reading it,” she furthered. In response, Yamacraw MP Elsworth Johnson, who presented to the Bill to Parliament on behalf of the government, said: “Yes, you are.” Mrs Hanna Martin remarked: “That is a serious thing.” At another point in the bill’s presentation, Mrs Hanna Martin raised concern over legal authority being granted to the Office of the Attorney General. Her argument was based on concerns raised by the Free National Movement in the lead up to the 2017 general election. “The side opposite said we can’t trust the position,” Mrs Hanna Martin said. In response, Mr Johnson insisted the bill, as worded, grants power of procedure to the Commissioner of Police and not the Attorney General. Mrs Hanna Martin next raised an issue with clause 21 of the Bill, sub-clause 1, which addresses the handling of information intercepted by authorities. The Englerston MP requested the government clarify how the process would protect any information obtained that doesn’t directly connect to the case being made against a person, In response, Deputy Speaker Don Saunders warned it was not the time to “re-debate” the clauses of the Bill. Despite his statement, Mrs Hanna Martin again requested some form of clarification.
Mr Saunders responded: “Englerston, member for Englerston, I am not in any way trying to circumvent you from asking the question. I am just putting members on notice that this isn’t going to be an opportunity for us to go to great lengths to debate. But I do get your point.” Looking to quell mounting tensions at the time, both Mr Johnson and Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis offered their input. Mr Davis argued the clause should, in its wording, specify protected information. However, Mr Johnson asserted if authorities lawfully discover any other criminal information, the law allows them to go back to a judge and request they be permitted to have that information also. In standing to answer the statement, Mrs Hanna Martin said the clause was not clear in its intent. In support of Mrs Hanna Martin, Mr Davis said: “The checks and balances raised by the member for Englerston has a larger input on the context on the public understanding what is being done with respect to this bill.” He continued: “For example, in Trinidad, the Commissioner of Police, he has to file a report annually with respect to these matters. Then that report is made public. It doesn’t identify, it doesn’t detail the names of the persons, but at least you understand what is going on. “In Jamaica, they have a similar act. By practice,
not as I am aware by any permission of the law, they file, they lay in Parliament a report on how the act is being administered. And this also informs whether or not any provisions of the act is required to be amended as we go on. It is restricted just to events and what is happening.” Mr Davis said similar criteria is also made clear in Britain, where reports are filed in Parliament. He insisted a similar mechanism be put in place in The Bahamas. Following Mr Davis’ point, Mrs Hanna Martin added: “I think that it should be a matter of practice, but it should be enshrined in the law because there should be checks and balances in it. I do not want to give carte blanche to any the discretion of a private entity or an agency and there is no protection for the individual.” She added: “I want to seriously, we want to recommend, I think the opposition wants to recommend an amendment to this bill that puts in place, as is being recommended by Cat Island, a reporting obligation which outlines what happens. “I am not sure how it happens in other jurisdictions with the information, you listen to hours and hours and hours of someone’s conversations and then you leave it to the discretion of the officer to redact or to reserve exculpatory (information). “I think that there should be protections. “We hope and expect
that these officers should do their jobs above board and they do, by and large, but there should be protections.” In response, Mr Johnson said the input was “duly noted” and proceeded with the remaining clauses. Confused by the continuation, Mrs Hanna Martin said the opposition was moving to amend the clause. However, several members on the governing side objected to the amendment, claiming there was never any firm call for an amendment on the part of the opposition. St Anne’s MP Brent Symonette said: “If she has an amendment it can be raised in the Senate.” Mrs Hanna Martin said in protest, to no avail: “There has to be transparency… I have concerns.” Deputy Speaker Saunders, in an attempt to stop Mrs Hanna Martin, added: “I get your point and I think the house gets your point, but I think we are beating this horse to death.” The Interception of Communication was subsequently passed by the House. It now moves to the Senate for debate and passage. The Free National Movement’s advancement of the Bill comes a little more than a year after the party used the Christie administration’s draft Bill to castigate the Progressive Liberal Party in their general election campaign.
COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER SOCIAL MEDIA RULES By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie yesterday reconstituted a new Rules Committee to
address matters regarding parliamentary procedure specifically members’ ability to read into the House record information from social media. Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells, St Anne’s MP
Brent Symonette and Jeffrey Lloyd - South Beach MP represents the governing side. Opposition members of Parliament on the committee include Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP Philip “Brave” Davis and Picewell Forbes, Mangrove Cay and South Andros MP. Mr Moultrie said: “Their task would be to review the rules and to consider matters that were not contemplated in this existing rule, particularly matters as it relates to social media and members being permitted to read into the records of Parliament information that they may be able to glean while on their feet from their cell phone. “Those matters in particular are to be addressed in the new review of the rules.” While it is unclear whether this is associated with Centreville MP Reece Chipman’s motion last month to establish a select committee to investigate fake news, it underscores the potential of social media to influence the country’s affairs at the parliamentary level.
THE SPEAKER of the House Halson Moultrie. Mr Chipman was last and directing our culture. year a victim of social The committee will take media rumours that some submissions from the public characterised as fake news. and hold public hearings He also called for a select to gather feedback before committee on whether the reporting to the Parliament. country is maximising its “There is a high risk of natural resources. fake news that interferes In the House last month even with our main ecohe said: “At this stage in nomic engine and industry The Bahamas I believe it is such as tourism and finanimportant for us as Baha- cial services. Disseminating mians and for our children, these falsehoods, particuthose that are unborn, larly if its done covertly, to identify with the spirit attacks the very heart of of sovereignty. The first democracy by preventing motion would be for a select constructive discourse.” committee to investigate Parliament must unanideliberate online false- mously support the hoods, nowadays termed establishment of a select fake news which has an committee, according to indirect way of impacting law, for it to be established.
SO WHERE IS YOUR GOD? “I so sick and tired of people telling me about their God… From what I can see, you’ll God and my, ‘suppose’ Father ain’t never do nuttin to help me. If you’ll jail my parents, you’ll need to jail God too. He sit right down, year after year and let me get abused. He could part the Red Sea but he did nothing to help me. Understand why I aint on your God run.” (bahamian children cry pg. 45) “My brother bleed to death in my hands, Ms. on the way to the hospital. I was bleeding too but I live; I can’t live without ordering a body bag. It is that simple. Read: ‘Bahamian Children Cry’ and its companion text, ‘Without Consent: Without Intent’ Every Serious Youth Worker Should Read These!
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THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 2018, PAGE 7
Sands calls for nationwide HIV testing following report By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Duane Sands yesterday suggested the government consider a nationwide HIV testing campaign in the wake of a Ministry of Health report that estimated 1 in 50 people in The Bahamas has the virus. “We should be demanding that every single adult in The Bahamas knows their HIV status,” Dr Sands told The Tribune yesterday. On Wednesday, The Tribune reported on Index Mundi’s statistics that the Bahamas ranks 17th in the world for HIV/AIDs adult prevalence rate. This is the highest rate in the region, and highest in the world outside SubSaharan Africa. “A lot of people have been mortified by the reality of the national HIV prevalence,” Dr Sands said. “But that surprise or that response fails to acknowledge the fact that we didn’t get here by accident.” One major factor Dr Sands attributed the prevalence of the disease to is the national tendency toward conservatism — a conservatism that does not necessarily translate to behaviour. He added that solving this problem, is going to require a “dramatic shift” in how we view the “actual practices of Bahamians”. “I think we have to first of all understand that the level of conservatism as it relates to human sexual behaviour has not served us well,” the Health Minister said. “Two, we need to be a lot more progressive in terms of teaching our young people, and our not-soyoung people, about the real risks of sex.”
DR DUANE SANDS “We need to make available condoms or barrier methods universally. And that requires a conversation about how far we should go.” He continued: “We should be demanding that every single adult in The Bahamas knows their HIV status. Every single one. Whether you’re married, unmarried, single, or believe that you’re in a monogamous relationship.” When asked how often individuals should get tested, Dr Sands suggested a campaign. “I certainly think in the first instance, we ought to have a campaign that every single Bahamian who is sexually active gets tested within the next 12 months. Now, in terms of the frequency subsequently, that would vary from individual to individual.”
Those with multiple partners should get tested more often. “There are many things that we acknowledge about life in The Bahamas, but we don’t acknowledge the fact that sex is the national pastime,” Dr Sands said. “We further don’t acknowledge that Bahamians engage in sex with multiple partners, that we engage in homosexual and bisexual relationships, and if we do, then we have a proclivity to stigmatise men who have sex with men and commercial sex workers.” The Health Minister also acknowledged that there are other sexually transmitted infections (STI) people have. Unfortunately, the database is not as “robust” or “validated” as the local data on the prevalence of HIV. However, Dr Sands
said, “There is a direct correlation between the transmission of HIV and other STIs,” adding that people who carry HIV generally also carry chlamydia and herpes. Noting that people also suffer from syphilis, gonorrhea, and other STIs, Dr Sands reiterated that everyone has a right to quality healthcare. He said that his ministry will be “ramping up” its capacity to test anyone who wishes to be tested at little or no cost. He added they are working to make testing available with a level of confidentiality and discretion so people are less afraid to get tested. “There are not only blood tests but saliva tests that are quite reliable, that don’t require any discomfort on the part of the individual. And where there results can be made available within 15 or 20 minutes.” Dr Sands added that making testing available at any health clinic is one of the plans for 2018/2019. The Health Minister also said there strains of HIV in the country that are resistant to some therapies. “The other problem that we have is notwithstanding the fact that we have universal availability of antiretroviral drugs, we now know that there are strains of HIV in The Bahamas that are resistant to first- and second-line therapy,” Dr Sands said. “And so, we are now having to expand the potency of medications available to Bahamians for the treatment of HIV. And if we don’t do this, then what happens is that these resistant viruses will spread throughout our community.”
While first-line therapy is available and free, the fact that there are “small numbers of individuals” who are infected with resistant viruses means the country has to access new drugs, which are “dramatically more expensive”. Dr Sands said that the more resistant strain is not cause for alarm. However, he said Bahamians should be concerned about what has been our reality “for more than 15 years”. “We have, once again developed a level of complacency. And a part of reminding Bahamians of what is happening in our community is a call to action. That, hey, it cannot be business as usual.” “That any sexual relations with any partner ought to be predicated by responsible behaviour. Which means Know Your Status and Know the Status of the individual that you’re about to have unprotected sex with. “ “Let me take this a little bit further. There are individuals involved in relationships with persons who they believe to
be monogamous. But those individuals are not. They may be having sex with multiple partners. And so, every body ought to know their status. And you ought to know the status of every person you’re sleeping with.” Dr Sands also reiterated that HIV can now be a “chronic disease”. However, living with it requires management. “In order to do well with HIV, it requires continuous engagement with a competent, capable, compassionate physician or healthcare team. It’s going to be monitoring the number of viral particles in the blood [etc].” It is only when you have control of the infection that you can lead a normal life.” “For those individuals who are not HIV positive but who are engaged in high-risk behaviour, you ought to avail yourself of prophylactic treatment.” “If you’re going to be having sex with men or sex with commercial sex workers, or sex with multiple partners.”
PAGE 8, Thursday, May 24, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Silent longings for a sense of community I
WENT missing last week, not literally, but from the regular routine of work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, and found myself accidentally in small town America. How I got to where I’d had no idea I was going is probably the funnier part of the story, but the consequences of what I found when arrived were interesting enough to give pause for thought, a whole heap of pause, in fact, and the takeaway was both greatly satisfying and stomach-bubblingly unsettling. First, I guess you deserve to know how it started. Quite by accident my husband and I, having watched our granddaughter graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, headed for the mountains of North Carolina. We believed we were going to Asheville, a popular vacation getaway or second home destination for a lot of Bahamians who have the time, resources and get up and go to get up and go there.
By Diane Phillips Lacking two of those three attributes – the time and resource - but having accumulated enough reward points on a given credit card since 1978 - and definitely absent time to book the rare vacation in a place we had never been - I had a brilliant plan. Ask my highly effective and efficient older daughter who lives in North Carolina to book our vacation in Asheville, using our 40 years of rewards points. All time and money issues would be handed off and handled well and after all, I had read Wind from the Carolinas so figured the connection between Bahamians and the Carolinas was a natural. Many came from there seeking freedom, now we go back
seeking a different kind of temporary freedom from stress, work, routine, deadlines. Where we got away from is now where our getaway is to. Our personal requests for our getaway were simple: mountains, lake with non-motorised water sports like kayaking, room with a terrace to enjoy the view and Asheville area. So older daughter, who excels at detail and organisation to the detriment of her own tranquility, pulls off the unbelievable, finds an historic property just re-opening after major renovations, right on a lake called Toxaway with a room with a terrace the size of a small home open to the view of mountains and
THE TOWN of Brevard and, top, Lake Toxaway. lake, Asheville area. Called authenticity. It either is. Or Greystone Inn, it could it isn’t. not have been more amazYou cannot create ing. Fabulous, enthusiastic authenticity any more than staff, Adirondack chairs on you can wave a magic wand sprawling grounds, fresh and change your history. fish and vegetables for But what you can do is idendinner, martini glasses tify, recognise and preserve chilled to perfection. What pockets where the soul of more could you ask for? it exists. So in the Nassau Only it was not in Ashe- inner city redevelopment ville. It was in the midst plan under discussion of nowhere on the outer now, you can create spebounds of cial incentives Transylvania for places with You cannot County, a place character, where it cannot create Bethel Baptist make up its authenticity Church, Mt mind between a any more than Olive Baptist bat and a white Church, the squirrel for its you can wave funny little logo. fuel station a magic wand And we fell in and change near South love with it. and Meeting It was not your history. But Streets. just about the what you can It is not just peacefulness, about the builddo is identify, the ability to ings. It is about take a pontoon recognise and the structure boat out on the preserve pockets of community, lake and hardly the integrity of see another soul where the soul human archi(that changes in of it exists. tecture, how we summer when link one with the area is another. What swarming with summer res- can we learn from places idents and visitors). It was like Brevard, NC, that get not just about the sunset it right without artificiality? ride another evening on the Incentivise the family electric-powered Miss Lucy, that wants to open a bakery a replica of a 1930s style where everything is crewood-built glass-enclosed ated by them on the spot ferry with brightwork so or a sherbet parlour with shiny it ached to think of native fruits for sherbets the polishing. and smoothies or an artiIt was that within the san’s woodworking studio Lake Toxaway community or silk printing business there was exactly that – a or a Bahamian tea, soap sense of community. or candle company. Make In nearby Brevard, a half those the stories along with hour away, where Toxa- the community centre that wayans go to bank or buy serves as an after school, groceries or shop at a bou- safe environment for hometique or stop for a latte and work, extra study, equipped pastry at a bakery, there is a with computer lab, white natural, friendly, open sense boards and weekly volunof community. Sure, there teer mentors. was the occasional store Why are we not talkthat sold a souvenir T-shirt ing about that which could but there were no chain make us a community? stores or restaurants. It felt, You can tell a lot about really felt, real, authentic, a place by the headlines in the kind of authenticity its newspaper. Read today’s that we have tried to mimic dailies, the crime whether but have never succeeded going up or down is frontat doing in Nassau, though page news, the politics Family Islands are more whether for or against what likely to get it right. is being proposed, still top That is the thing about news, the blame this one
and discredit that one, the trashing, thrashing and anger that bellows forth. That is the state of our news and it is the responsibility of journalists to report it. They are simply doing their job. What they are reporting, though, reflects how we live, the environment in which we find ourselves, having moved away from the small town feel where everyone wants to lend a hand like they did in our few days where we accidentally bumped into a slice of small town America that still exists and was beautiful at every turn. The tennis coach who arranged for a young college student to take us to the airport an hour away, the general manager of Greystone Inn who re-arranged her schedule so we could go into town together, the people who stopped to greet you and seemed pleased to learn you were visiting from so far away. They were not products of hospitality training. They were just folks who did not feel threatened by life from outside but enriched by it for the simple reason they had a confidence of community that comes from living in a relatively crimefree place, secure in their comfort and connectivity. The local paper, the Transylvania Times, carries a front page story about the school board picking two new principals, a small inside piece about someone returning to give clogging lessons, another about a meeting of library boards, and a column called Cathey’s Creek News with prayers, babies and a butterfly release at a school. That is not say everything is perfect. The once small community of Lake Toxaway is fighting its own growing pains as property values climb in the 1,200lot lakefront mountainous community and the property management team spends half of the homeowners’ maintenance fees on nearly 40 miles of roads while homeowners whose homes have gone from small fishing cottages to seven figure residences resist any increase in the ridiculously reasonable fees. If you ever get misplaced on vacation, losing yourself in small town America where it still exists is not such a bad thing. Better yet, making it happen one community at a time at home in The Bahamas, working on it one, two or three block stretch around our own neighbourhoods, would not be such a bad thing. We all have a silent longing for community. There is a lot to be said for feeling connected.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 2018, PAGE 9
Walker’s Cay sold to Texan businessman
WALKER’S CAY, pictured above and below, has been sold to Carl Allen, a regular visitor to The Bahamas. By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net WALKER’S Cay has been sold to Texas businessman and philanthropist Carl Allen who plans to redevelop the northernmost island in The Bahamas to its former glory as a sportfishing destination. Mr Allen - a long-time visitor to The Bahamas - finalised the purchase of the island with the current owners on May 20 and announced plans to start phase one development of Walker’s Reborn 2020 soon. “Taking on the redevelopment of Walker’s is a dream come true…,” he said in a statement released on the letterhead, Walker’s Reborn 2020. However, the purchase price was not disclosed. Walker’s Cay is part of North Abaco district. The island was closed to the public in 2004 after significant damage from several hurricanes. It is about 53 miles to the northeast of West End, Grand Bahama.
Mr Allen considers the Bahamas a second home and recalls first travelling to Walker’s Cay as a child, and continued to make frequent trips to the island. “One of my very first memories of The Bahamas was coming to Walker’s when I was 12. Walker’s Cay…was once one of the premier sports-fishing destinations in the world,” he said. “After successive hurricanes, it was closed to the public in 2005. Since then, I’ve dreamed of working together with Bahamians to build Walker’s back to its former glory. “This island is not just a gateway to this great country for sportsmen and visitors, but it also once provided jobs and livelihood for so many Bahamian families; we fully intend to restore it.” The Texan businessman continues to visit the island on a regular with his family, which he says will play an integral part in the rebuilding effort at the island. “I’ve spent more time in The Bahamas than
anywhere else other than my own home. My wife Gigi and I, as well as our children, love this country and have been blessed and privileged to make so many friends here,” he said. “We plan to work together with the folks here to restore Walker’s Cay and envision this rebuild as a partnership with Bahamians to create jobs – good playing and secure jobs – strengthen families and develop a lasting economic driver for future generations. Walker’s Reborn starts today, and we aren’t going to stop,” he said. According to the statement, Mr Allen is a successful businessman who took his family-run business from 130 jobs to nearly 1,000 creating the largest company in the industry. He and his family has been helping communities and investing in educational institutions and environmental causes. Along with his wife, Gigi, he has been an active participant in assisting further education in both the US and The Bahamas.
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THE TRIBUNE
300 jobs to come at GoldWynn By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net OFFICIALS broke ground yesterday on a $120m Cable Beach project that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said will employ 300 people during construction and 175 people upon completion. Construction on the GoldWynn Hotel and Residences, the brainchild of developer Paul Wynn, will begin in July and is scheduled to be completed in December 2020, Dr Minnis said. The project will include a beachfront infinity pool, seaside dining, a theatre, spa, tennis club, social house and gallery and a rooftop terrace and pool. The location of the property is across from the Office of the Prime Minister. Dr Minnis said the development will operate under the Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant brand and will be managed by Small Luxury Hotels. “The five-storey GoldWynn promises to be ‘an architectural masterpiece of contemporary architecture,’” he said. “The developer has agreed to a training and apprenticeship programme for employees. This will be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and BTVI which will facilitate the development of various skills. The
TRIBUNE FROM left, Davon Edgecombe, structural engineer at THE Caribbean Coastal Services; Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism and Aviation; Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Paul Wynn, CEO of Wynn Development; Dr Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister; Randy Hart, vice president of Wynn Development; Alex Reed, construction manager of Wynn Development and Nick Dean, IBS, at the ground-breaking for GoldWynn Hotel and Residences. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff luxury, hotel and residential other brands to Grand “Over the next many developer has also agreed economic activity. “Last evening we cel- brands and developments. Bahama and the Family years, the second home to sourcing and using local market for Bahamians here agriculture and other prod- ebrated the opening of Atlantis, Paradise Island, Islands and Cays. “Walker’s Cay, our north- at home and in the diasucts. The upscale boutique Rosewood at Baha Mar, has launched a global rebeachfront development the last of the three luxury branding. Four Seasons ernmost island, was once pora, and the second home includes privates residences brand hotels at the resort, Hotels and Resorts now “one of the premiere sports- market for non-Bahamians which also includes Grand operate the iconic One And fishing destinations in the will experience significant and a condo-hotel.” Only Ocean Club Resort world.” Its new owner has growth. This growth will Dr Minnis described the Hyatt and SLS,” he said. A “The Bahamas is a signa- on Paradise Island. We are pledged to return Walker’s help to boost construction, project as the latest indiour second largest industry.” cation of an increase in ture destination for global working diligently to attract Cay to “its former glory.
Pregnant tea dead ‘with b MURDERED SCHOOL TEACHER WAS THREE MONTHS PREGNANT THE TRIBUNE
THE TRIBUNE
A5MAIN
Bailiffs fail to deliver summons for lawyers in contempt hearing Tuesday, September 13, 2016, PAGE 5
ByonNICO SCAVELLA an testifed embryo, autopsy conducted the with ruptured blood vesmeanwhile, that wh at woman revealed Tribune a “nor- Staff Reporter sels in her eyes, mouth and 9:45am on the date in quesphotographed. mally formed” nscavella@tribunemedia.net foetus larynx. tion, he met withCpl Williams Det Fra whose measurements were That would have caused for an appointment. Sands also co PREGNANT school “consistent with a gestation lack of blood flow to her Proceedings continue A POLICE officer to teacher Marisha Bowen of 12-13 weeks”. eral withexhibits brain and contributed tomorrow Justice died as a result of six Additionally, the report her described death, Dr Sands’the report Bethel’scompletion summing up of the yesterday gav stab wounds to the neck said the 35-year-old had a scene noted. inside pregevidence to the jury. bloody postmortem ki and oxygen depravation, belt around her neck with The report in question According to initial Marisha according to a pathologist’s an underlying nant “furrow” teacher assault evidence was tendered into evidence reports, police said Bowen report. consistent with Bowen’s pressure yesterday apartment before the Justice was found afterMari 8am theshortly name The report from forenapplied to her neck by the he Carolita Bethelofficduring on the Friday in question morning and other Those by items sic pathologist Dr Caryn belt, which were associated Alister Williams’ trial over in her apartment other ers discovered her lifeless, mately turned allegations he caused Ms tenants of a complex on naked body lyingdeath in aonpool Bowen’s SeptemRed Searelevant Road, off Sumner official 9, 2016. Street. She was pronounced of bloodberin a bedroom sis, Det Cpl Fra Williams is for charged with the Bays dead atof the constructio scene. By LAMECH JOHNSON as a result appears Save almost two years ago. He said the murder, robbery and receivShe had injuries to her Tribune Staff ReporterDetective Corporal withou as a connection watching to the work undertaken ing in with brief the neck and upperon body. took Septem incident. Concerning the During previous proceedJavod Frazer testified how ljohnson@tribunemedia.net downloaded permits an an proceedings, said the at- the appropriate robbery charge, it is alleged ings, Detective Corporal he observed blood on walls, a compact disc Williams also robbed Javod that Frazer had said he saw in a manner cause torneys should have been MARISHA BOWEN the floorBowen and ofmiscellanetwo cellphones blood on walls,enlarged the floor later MARISHA BOWEN A JUDGE yesterday significant damage toitemsth and iPod. ous itemspresent. in anthe Guyanese Dr Sands’ report also and miscellaneous photography st POLICE at the scene on Friday (above) after Marisha Bowen (right) was found dead. The autopsy on Smith which pillowcases, Guyanese womdeclared that she willwoman’s not environmen “Mr Keod is an of- onassurrounding noted details Mswell Bow- asin a the presence. Red Sea Road the report was based was en’s unborn child which he an’s apartment before purple were allow two lawyers “to apartment frus- ficer ofsheet Clifton Bay. of onthe court,” he and said. before performed Ms ultiBowen’s white ultimately findingSgt her Rolle “lifeDet said was normally formed. to report haveIn blood on andstand body by Dr“lifeless” Sands at the also less” “nude” body Keo lyinga her Drseen Sands’ noted trate the process” of a mately con- finding January 2014, “He has counsel. Counsel shortly Rand Laboratory at the in a “large accumulation” Ms Bowen suffered numerthem, thehis officer said. filed aleague, body lying in both gave tes tempt proceeding thatand had“nude” Smith of affi has confirmed of Princess Margaret Hospital of blood inseries her bed. ous other injuries, suchsaid as the Det Cpl Frazer a “large (PMH) accumulation” of supplemented five days scheduled after the upperhearDet Cpl Frazer said the t lip lacerations and claiming been initiated as a result of in clients davits thatappeared Justic hadand what appeared killing. had what blood her bedfor on Sep- woman both lower upper lip woman Cpl Frazer. By KHRISNA VIRGIL were also said to be questioning a on tim said he remained shocked andreport According to the to be a recuse yellow dress with theirties accusations of bias Bain herse I simply say the a contusion onshould tocontusions, bewhole a yellow dress with tember 9,ings. 2016. Deputy Chief Reporter woman in relation to this case. heartbroken as he questioned how als there were six predomisuspected Yesterday blood coverthe right side of the chest, kvirgil@tribunemedia.net Police sources told The Tribune her 16-year-old son and 10-year-old suspected blood coverthe part of the judge who is from a judicial review pro recusal process initiated by And that discovery from nantly horizontal face, as well as a that an apparent love triangle was be- daughter would cope with the sudden stab intramuscular haemorrhage ing her testimony face, as well asblack a she POLICE have taken a secondpresiding man ing probed over as a possible motive for the loss. She was three months pregnant wounds that measured from ing cloth beltMichelen wrapped came days before he said a judicial receeding as had alleged Keod Smith was found to of her the tongue and lacerasister, into custody in connection with the teacher’s death. the timeone of her death, relative inch to the 1-1/4 inches her neck. He said tion to cloth the mouth. black belt wrapped he at personally observed an in homicide of Marisha Bowen,view the Ms Bowen was found shortly after confirmed. who thetola concerning expansion made a around series ofsaid decision be answerable and called length and 1/16” wide after he noticed visible injuries Dr Sands’ report effec35-year-old C W Saunders School 8am on Friday in her apartment by “We are very shocked and hurt by around her neck. He said embryo while attending spoke with her re-approximation. the woman’s neck and chin teacher whose body was discovered other tenants of a complex on Read this,” the relative said. “She was lovtively signalled the close of of a property in Lyfordthe Cay. based onand her affiliation wit onandofby the court tonoticed showvisible to by police at her apartment on Friday Sea Road, off Sumner Stree. She was ingautopsy and caringThe this was very unexthe former directions of the hetrial alsoon a grey towel with 7 proper. At theinjuries close September morning, The Tribune was told. suffering Smith from a singleand wound toDerek the pected. Shecause will be missed.” Keod theand Free Move why should not neck wounds were frontthey to back, bloodNational stains in the area of woman’s the Crown’s case, Wilthe chin schoolteacher being condays before ofM According to police sources, the body, police said. She was pronounced On Friday, the Ministry of Educaleft to right, and upward. her right arm. liams opted to remain silent man was arrested yesterday andRyan was deadwere at the scene. The wound detion, Science and Technology, in Dr a due to wasappear beThe committed.” and also a greyment. towel with ducted by pathologist characteristics After death. an autopsy combut called two witnesses known to the victim, who is a native scribed by sources as a slit to the vic- statement released just hours after theof the blood stains in the areamonths of Caryn Sands. of Guyana. tim’s Justice throat. discovery by police, said on school was stab wounds Msjudicial Bowen’s on review menced inThe his presence by before Rhonda Bain Ten later, “These his behalf--his mother trial Keo cont She was not only mother to a son Neighbours were said to have heard dismissed early urgedconsistent parents to with her skin and were Dr Dands, Det Cpl Frazer and attorney Lessiah Rolle, right arm. The revelations came and daughter, but was three months from her apartment and it immediately collect students from the for ascreaming contempt hearing to proceedings Smithto attempted to with been held being by a have “singlesaid the pathologist furwhose evidence he used pregnant at the time of her death. is believed to have led to the discovery school “due to the caused untimely death of He said the body was during Alister Williams’ edged sharp weapon”, Dr ther pointed out injuriesfo corroborate with draw his alibi the applications show whytoldthey should On Sunday police confirmed that an of cause her body, sources this newspaa teacher.”up by Mr Smith. The time bynot Det Rolle, trialShebefore Caro- examined African man was assisting them with per. had Sands’ taughtJustice at C W noted. Saunders report to the left and right sides that he could haveSgt been not beOncommitted the recusal, notwithstand has come for the court to investigations. At the time, authoriSunday, a relative ofto the prison vic- School from 2014. Also tied “loosely” of Ms Bowen’s skull, and hetheplaced at thewhich scene of crime two lita Bethel over Bowen’s after around Bowen’s neck also pointed out on the date and time in concerning a series ofmurder. af- take a section of an Bowen’s affida some strong brown, action evidence for ing paper bags was a dark, blood-soaked question. embryo. on each of her hands. She Police him said fidavits filed by Mr Smith, vit filed inStanley January entitle to make himself availfabric Bowen, belt, whichwho was 19 Rolle and MariHis mother testified that inches long and 1-1/2 inches anne Cadet from the Office was subsequently placed in on the date in question, taught at CW Saunders who represented by medical “Justice Bain, who is she? able to theFollowcourt.” A ROYAL Bahamas day morning was after reportSeaman Neville Dorsette circumstances surrounding wide. evaluation. Removal of the belt her son was at home in of the Public Defender repa body Baptist was found Defence Force marine was edly falling overboard from was eventually turned over School, ing brief observations, the the incident is bag. continuing revealed areleased dark, and red-brown the accused, Mr Ryan, in January 2014.who marine Garden Hills before left resent the Hehe alleged judge while onc As for Mr Ryan, Fred rescued by fishermen in HMBS Rolly Gray. to RBDF personnel was is and the Another general public willofficer shortly after 8am on the furrow abrasion, which was Roger Thompson and with her to do schools runs. then the area of Coral Island, According to a statement took him by ambulance now with friends and family. be informed accordingly, However, they wereFriday no worked under former Prim Smith added the letdirected himshetoultimately the eastern prominent on that theRBDF Fania Joseph are the two She claimed near Arawak Cay on Sun- from the RBDF, Marine to Doctors Hospital for a inmore An investigation into the said. question in the her dropped him offMinister in the right of thetenants front of her Crown attorneys on record shows for both the morning Hubert Ingraham should have been made part of the backyard where apartmentter byside other neck, Dr Sands’ report said. downtown area. Mr Rolle, for the matter. By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
Sands said the half-dozen stab wounds caused injury and bleeding to the soft tissue and blood vessels in Ms Bowen’s neck leading to blood loss. Dr Sands’ report also noted Ms Bowen, who worked at Charles W Saunders Baptist School, was approximately three months pregnant at the time of her death. An
SECOND MAN TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN CONNECTION WITH TEACHER’S KILLING
DEFENCE FORCE MARINE RESCUED AFTER FALLING OVERBOARD
of aofcomplex on Read afternoon sessions available at Sea an MAN CONVICTEDand OF ARMED ROBBERY HAS TO Road, off Sumner Street. court. portunity. She was dead CONVINCE COURT APPEAL SHOULD BE HEARD Notices to Show Cause pronounced Justice Bain at the scene.
he wasopshown green thata she was appointed to earlier towel hanging high-ranking on a fence position in th bordering the eastern Attorney General’s Offic adjourned part of the yard. Det Cpl By LAMECH JOHNSON ceedings in the Supreme Court. were issued by the Supreme of her ties to th the proceedings to 2.30pm Frazer said thebecause towel was She Tribune Staff Reporter On the evening in question, at abouthad injuries to her ljohnson@tribunemedia.net 8.10pm, Mr Sears was taking trash to his Court last month - August FNM to consider step. photographed by Detand Sgtthat her two son neck upper body. the next garbage bin at the front of his home whenand he A MAN convicted of accosting an eldersaw two men walking west along the northRolle and subsequently 18 - addressed to both men. were fathered by a perso Williams When is chargedthe with matter rely man at gunpoint was told by the Court ern side of the street. collected for murder, robbery and receivof Appeal yesterday that he would have to Shortly afterwards, Mr Sears felt an obThe same had also been sumed, both lawyers were heevidential claimed is a close frien convince the court that his appeal should be ject against his neck. purposes. ingthat inheconnection with the heard notwithstanding that it wassent filed late. to He Elliot turned and sawLockhart, the two men still absent and Justice Bain and advisor to Mr Ingra Jocelyn Similien, 28, appeared before Jus- had seen now in front of him. incident. Det Cpl Frazer said he Concerning the tices Dame Anita Allen, Stella Crane-Scott The taller of the two said: “Give me your QC, who represents robbery both charge, ham. made ita is decision. to westalleged was then directed and Roy Jones for a hearing concerning his wallet.” appeal against conviction for an armed robWhile the the shorter assailant held the gun, lawyers in contempt Keod Smith also claime “As this is a matter for ern sidewalk in front of the Williams also robbed bery that occurred on May 26, 2012 at the the taller man put his hands in Mr Sears’ residence of Reuben Sears. pocket and took out a wallet containing $95 apartment complex and matter. Keod Smith and Derek that Justice Bain had mad Bowen of two cellphones The hearing could not proceed because and other items before both fled. shown why a pattern of susand ananiPod. the Crown respondent had an emergency Four days later, Mr Sears attended It was revealed by Justice several rulings in favour o Ryan to show cause and the matter was adjourned to October identification parade and Similien was pected blood before being who in the pa According to Det Cpl 25. picked out as the person morning who fit the descrip- they should not be cited Bain in yesterday’s Fred Smith, Similien, however, was told by appellate tion of the person who robbed him. Similien around 9.15am he given certain instructions. Frazer, President Dame Anita that he would have to wasof sentenced to 10 years in jail“dethat took for contempt and commitsession court that hadpatterns been affiliated with th He said the blood inform the court of the reasons for the two effect from September 9, 2014,arrived the date of at Red Sea Road month delay in the filing of his appeal, conviction. spitethe numerous attempts FNM,swabs and “can only be e ted to prison, it iswere imperataken before along reasonable prospects of the success of his The penalty was subtracted by 10 monthswith Detective Serappeal and if there were any prejudice on remand. by to the thespent bailiff, the court tive Rolle for Keod andandplained were taken packaged.as coming about a geant Gardell based Smith Crown in allowing the appeal to be heard. Vernal Collie and Bradford McKenzie on SepThe appellant said he understood and reappeared to for the Crown in yesterday’s on hearinformation was unable effect service a result of her bias.” Derek they Ryanhad to be Around person-10.45am quested a copy of the transcripts from pro- ing. tember 14, 2016, Det Cpl received. on Keod Smith or Derek ally served and for them to Justice Bain, in Decem Frazer said he visited the Det Cpl Frazer said he be present in court to show ber 2014, found Keod Smit TWO FOUND WITH Ryan”. ‘FIREARM, AMMUNITION, DRUGS’ eventually arrived at the Rand Lab at the Princess By DENISE MAYCOCK and caughtthat up with cause,” the judge said. of dangerous drugs, police Justice Bainchase said guiltywhere of contempt for th apartment complex and Margaret Hospital Tribune Freeport the driver. reported.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 2018, PAGE 11
Seven police to stand trial over beating from page one And in doing so, Sir Michael, along with appellate president Sir Hartman Longley and appellate Justice Stella Crane-Scott, allowed Russell’s appeal of Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder’s decision to strike out his court action against the seven officers on the grounds it was statute barred and thus an “abuse of the process of the court”. According to the Court of Appeal ruling, Russell alleges in his statement of claim that on August 29, 2012, seven officers in plain clothes took him from Lowe’s Pharmacy’s on Soldier Road, where he was working at the time. The officers allegedly involved are Constables 3072 Teron McPhee and
2020 Reginald Knowles; Corporal’s 2053 Brian Moss, 2185 Jermaine Seymour, 1477 Dominic McKinney and Detective Corporal 2571 Dion Brown; and Detective Superintendent L Bevans. The officers are listed as the third through ninth respondents, while the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police are listed as the first and second respondents, respectively. Russel claimed the officers told him he “like to stab police” and proceeded to “brutalise him in a most outrageous manner”, punching and slapping him before dragging him outside and stomping and kicking him. While this was happening, Russell claims he adamantly maintained his innocence that the officers had the wrong man.
Nonetheless, he was taken to the police station and en route was told the officers were going to “f*** him right up until he talked”. While at the station, Russell claimed the police brutality continued. Eventually, Russell was arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court and charged with causing grievous bodily harm and resisting arrest. However, those charges were dropped on June 18, 2013. Russell commenced the action in question on March 20, 2015, some two and a half years after the incident in question. The defendants in the complaint were the seven officers in question, the Attorney General, pursuant to the Crown Proceeding’s Act, and the Commissioner of Police due to him being “vicariously liable” for the actions of the police.
However, the respondents, having entered an appearance, immediately applied to strike out the action for being “frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of process of the court” as the cause of actions pleaded in Russell’s claim were statute barred under the provisions of section 12 of the Limitation Act. The action was heard on January 27, 2016, and on April 8 of that year Justice Winder acceded to the respondents’ application and struck out the action. Russell tried to escape the provisions of section 12 of the Limitations Act by pleading the officers were being sued both as police officers and in their personal capacity, and that section 12 did not apply to actions against the officers in their personal capacity. However, Justice Winder
ruled that as Russell’s action was statute barred, it was “therefore frivolous and vexatious and an abuse of the process of the court”. Nonetheless, the appellate judges found Russell’s case “may not be as straightforward” as Justice Winder suggested, adding since his ruling in April 2016, the “jurisprudence with respect to public authority limitation has been more clearly elucidated by the Privy Council”. They ultimately ruled Russell’s claims warrant “a full trial and a complete ascertainment of the facts and the law with respect to the facts as ascertained.” “In our judgement, there should be a factual inquiry as to whether the third through ninth respondents when purporting to arrest the appellant were in fact
acting as police officers or whether, for the purposes of section 12, they were acting on a complete frolic of their own carrying out a personal vendetta,” Sir Michael said. “It should be noted that in the record of interview that the police held of the appellant there was no investigation of the initial allegation of ‘stabbing the police’. The investigation appears to be limited to the incident at Lowe’s on Soldier Road. This may suggest that they were not acting in their capacity as police officers when they brutalised the appellant at his workplace.” The appellate judges ruled the matter should be remitted to the Supreme Court for a “full trial”. Costs were awarded to Russell both in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, to be taxed if not agreed.
‘TREAT VIOLENCE LIKE A DISEASE IN ORDER TO FIND A CURE’ By FARRAH JOHNSON
INTERNATIONAL non-profit organisation Cure Violence yesterday said the only way to cure violence is by treating it like a disease. The group presented a new technique to address crime in Bahamian communities at a meeting with Rotary Club of Southeast Nassau yesterday. The Cure Violence model is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) approach in working to prevent the spread of contagious illnesses. The model applies three strategies, which include: “Detecting and interrupting potentially violent conflicts, identifying and treating individuals at the highest risk, and mobilising communities to change norms.” With the goal of decreasing violence through “disease control and behaviour change methods”, the programme has already reduced shootings in one of Chicago’s largest crime hotspots by 67 percent. R. Brent Decker, chief programme officer of Cure Violence, said: “This programme was started by a physician, an epidemiologist who worked at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) for about 20 years.” “He thought to offer to the conversation: What does the health or public health view or lens of violence have to add to this conversation? Because often times we’re caught in between the issue of (if) it’s more law enforcement, or (if) it’s solely poverty that needs to be fixed, and I think the health lens offers a kind of middle ground between some of that stuff,” he continued. Mr Decker said reputable health organisations such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and WHO, all regard violence as a health issue. He added it is important to consider the kinds of policies and practices that will “curve and reduce” violence in areas where it is prevalent. “The other thing that’s obvious of why violence is a health issue (is because) it’s a leading cause of death in many cities for young people. So in Chicago for young people between the ages of 16 and 27, they’re not dying of car accidents, they’re not dying of tuberculosis; they’re dying of gunshot wounds. This is true in Honduras, this is true in El Salvador, this is true in South Africa,” he said. The chief programme officer admitted that violence being categorized as a “contagion” was actually “good news”, because knowledge on how to address diseases and stop epidemics is widely available. Still, he insisted specific “characteristics” have to be met in order to understand violence “scientifically”. This includes “geographic clustering, epidemic waves, the mode of transmission, as well as the characteristics of that particular population”. Mr Decker said: “We see that there are geographical clustering characteristics of where violence is taking place… it tends to happen in specific areas over time.
Second, it spreads like a disease, but what we understand about other things like influenza or cholera is that there can be kind of a spike if something happens, then you see multiple cases after it. Violence follows a very similar pattern in terms of a significant number of cases.” “I thinks it’s important for us to rethink about violence as simply a human behaviour...these are all human behaviours that are formed, maintained, and can be changed, (and) we know scientifically and problematically, how to do all these things.” “But I think we’re stuck in the idea that this is bad people that need to be punished, and we’re not understanding the epidemic nature of violence. We make bad policy decisions, and bad practice decisions on how to actually to address it,” he said. Mr Decker said the brain is the organ that is affected the most by violence, and said the infection spreads through “observing, witnessing, or experiencing trauma”. He acknowledged that multiple factors including the media, the community, and family, contribute to the exposure of violence that has the potential to “influence someone’s susceptibility to being violent or acting violent.” He said the cycle of violence present in The Bahamas is a result of retaliation offenses, but to control the epidemic it is necessary “to interrupt transmission, prevent future spread, and change group norms.”
Explaining the role of an interrupter, Ricardo Williams, deputy director of Cure Violence, said: “ An interrupter job is mainly like a firefighter. When somebody is interrupting in the community -a lot of shooting taking place, the interrupters put out the blaze. But they also focus on stopping the shooting and killing on the front end before it happens.” “So what an interrupter does day-to-day, is being out there everyday, canvassed in the area, building relationships, meeting people where they are, (and) not being judgmental. We don’t look at people as good and bad people, we understand that people make bad choices, but we get to know them and help them get to the next level,” Mr Williams said. Mr Williams added it is common to assume what people are going through, but it is better to let them share their story themselves. The Cure Violence model has been successful in 53 communities and 25 cities around the world. The National Institute of Justice, the Center of Disease Control, the Bureau of Justice of Assistance, and the University of Chicago have also independently assessed it. Mr Decker said the group does plan on meeting with the commissioner of the police. “We just had an independent evaluation of our work done in Trinidad in Port of Spain, where they found that this programme had significant impact on shootings, killing, hospital admissions, and gunshot wounds,” Mr Decker said.
R BRENT DECKER, chief programme officer of Cure Violence.
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PAGE 12, Thursday, May 24, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
A Changing of the Guard ceremony was held at Police Headquarters, East Street, yesterday. The new guard and the police marching band marched from East Hill Street to police headquarters for the ceremony. Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
Judge scolds ‘delinquent’ attorneys as he rejects Nygard commital stay By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net AN appellate judge has hit out at attorneys who try to rush to get before the court and be heard on supposedly “urgent” applications. Justice Milton Evans, in a written ruling, scolded certain lawyers for being “delinquent” and then “at the last minute find themselves having to rush to get before the court” in a purported sense of urgency. He said such situations are not “true emergencies”, and typically end up placing the court in the “difficult position of having to deal with time constraints caused by the inaction of parties who fail to take necessary steps in a timely manner”. Justice Evans did not specify which attorneys he meant. However, his statements came as he dismissed Peter Nygard’s bid to have two committal proceedings stayed until the conclusion of his appeal of his contempt of court conviction last year for engaging in dredging activities off the
coast of his Lyford Cay home in defiance of a court order. And in doing so, Justice Evans noted Nygard had some three months between the time his stay applications were rejected in the Supreme Court in December of last year, to the time he (via his counsel) appeared before the judge who rejected them on March 29, to approach the Court of Appeal on the matter but “failed to do so”. Additionally, Justice Evans said the hearing of the stay application was ultimately set to be heard by him on April 10 at 10am, but when counsel arrived they indicated the committal applications in question were actually scheduled to be heard before Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Bain one hour later at 11am. That, Justice Evans said, placed the appellate court in the “difficult position” of having to deal with “time constraints caused by the inaction of parties who fail to take necessary steps in a timely manner”. According to Justice Evans’ ruling, Nygard’s
application to Justice Bain for a stay of the committal proceedings was refused via a ruling handed down on December 12, 2017. Justice Evans said on March 29 of this year, a “directions hearing” was held before Justice Bain, during which Nygard’s attorney agreed to have the trial of the second and third committal applications heard on April 10. “This means that the appellant had three months between the date of the learned judge’s refusal of both the recusal and the stay applications in which to approach this court but failed to do so,” Justice Evans noted. The appellate judge did note that Gia Moxey-Lockhart, Nygard’s attorney, was “duly apologetic” for the delay and the “difficulties which may have resulted from it”, and that counsel agreed to proceed with the matter. “However,” Justice Evans said, “I make mention of this nonetheless because it is important that the record reflect that true urgencies are not those
situations where parties are delinquent and at the last minute find themselves having to rush to get before the court on ‘urgent’ applications. “This court does not and cannot condone this type of behaviour and I trust that there will be no further need to address this issue with parties who appear before this court.” Nonetheless, Justice Evans said he “duly heard” submissions from Nygard’s attorney and Fred Smith, QC, attorney for the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay on the stay application, which was filed via summons on April 5. In the summons, which was supported by the affidavit of Antoine Thompson, Nygard sought a hearing of an application for a stay of both the second and third committal proceedings against him, pending the determination of his appeal of Justice Bain’s March 7, 2017 decision. And on that date, Justice Bain ruled that Nygard was found in contempt of court as a result of his 2014 breaches of an injunction made on June 13, 2013, and filed on June 14, 2013, which prohibited Nygard from carrying out any further dredging works in the seabed southeast of his Simms Point/Nygard Cay property. Nygard was fined $50,000 for his actions, and Justice Bain said if fine was not paid by March 21, 2017, he would face 14 days in prison. Nygard was further ordered to remove the excavated sand and return it to Jaws Beach by April 7, 2017, or face an additional $50,000 and a $1,000 fine for each day that order is not adhered to. Nygard paid the fine before the specified deadline, according to his press team, however, via notice dated March 14, 2017, Nygard challenged Justice Bain’s ruling and sought to have it and her consequent orders “wholly set aside”. Nygard also sought to have all judicial review matters affecting his interest
be listed before a judge other than Justice Bain; and all contempt proceedings affecting himself save for the summons filed on July 18, 2013, and the notion of motion filed on October 27, 2016, be stayed pending the outcome of that appeal. According to Justice Evans’ ruling, Mrs MoxeyLockhart submitted during the stay application hearing that the “incurable prejudice” that would befall her client if the committal hearings were to proceed prior to the hearing of his appeal was grounded in the issue of Justice Bain’s recusal. Mrs Moxey-Lockhart submitted that the order sought on appeal requiring those matters to be listed before another judge would be rendered useless without the stay being granted at this stage. Justice Evans said on the face of it, that submission seemed “reasonable in principle”. However, he said the “weight” given to those submissions must “inevitably depend on the facts available to support those submissions”. The appellate judge noted after filing the appeal, Nygard filed an amend motion in the Supreme Court on July 12, 2017, in which he sought Justice Bain’s recusal from “hearing any matter affecting or touching and concerning the legal interest of Peter Nygard by reason of bias and/or perceived bias of Madam Justice Bain”. Justice Evans also said that via a ruling on December 12, 2017, Justice Bain refused to recuse herself on Nygard’s allegations, and further refused to stay judicial review actions JR1, JR2, JR3, JR4, along with the judicial review pending the determination of the present appeal. According to Justice Evans, Mr Smith submitted at the time the proper approach would be for Nygard to file an appeal against Justice Bain’s December 2017 decision. Mr Smith further noted that on December 20, 2017, Nygard filed an application
for leave to appeal Justice Bain’s decision but has since failed to prosecute it. Justice Evans further said he was “constrained to agree” with Mr Smith’s contention that the effect of the stay application is an effort to “obtain by side-wide that which (Nygard) has so far failed to get by making the proper applications”. Nonetheless, Justice Evans said the appeal currently before the appellate court relates to Justice Bain’s March 7, 2017, ruling, and nothing to do with her recusal. “It is difficult then to conceive of any proper order which can be made on that appeal requiring the matters affecting the interests of the appellant to be listed before a judge other than (Justice Bain),” he said. “After reviewing this matter, it was clear that there was no incurable prejudice to which the appellant would be subjected if the matters schedule before (Justice Bain) were to proceed prior to the hearing of the appeal before this court. Justice Evans ultimately made an order refusing Nygard’s stay application and dismissing the associated summons. He also ordered that Nygard pay costs to the Coalition. Those costs, Justice Evans said, were certified fit for two counsel and are payable on the ordinary basis. The aforementioned stems from the Coalition’s battle with Nygard over the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home, which the Coalition alleges have led to substantial growth of the property. The group claims Nygard has almost doubled his property’s size, from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres, since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown Land from the sea. The advocacy group is alleging that Mr Nygard achieved this without the necessary permits and approvals, claims that have been denied by the fashion designer.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, May 24, 2018, PAGE 13
JANET BUTLER, owner and director of Marketing/Events, explains the plans for the re-opening of Goombay Land to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis as Minister of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson looks on. JANET Butler and her brother, Jason Albury, will reopen a business originally opened by their parents Reginald (now deceased) and Denyse Albury. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was on Grand Bahama on Friday, and toured the facility that is scheduled to re-open in June. Also shown with the Albury family are: Minister of State for Grand Bahama in the Office of the Prime Minister Senator Kwasi Thompson; Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe; Senator Jasmine Dareus; and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Harcourt Brown. Photos: Lisa Davis/BIS
Goombay Land reborn By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama natives Jason Albury and Janet Butler are restoring their late father’s entertainment business – the Goombay Land Go-Cart and Skating Rink in Freeport. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis toured the facility on Friday and commended them for continuing the legacy of their father Reginald Albury who died in 1997 after some seven years in business. Mrs Butler and her brother have started work to renovate the facility, and it is estimated that some $500,0000 is needed to complete the restoration, which will be carried out in phases. The first phase is expected to be completed soon and features a roller skating rink, go-cart racing track, a teen dance and laser tag arena. Fredrick Jervis of Coral KFL Contractors Co Ltd are the contractors. Some 20 to 25 people are expected to be employed in mid-June. Ms Butler said rental booths will be available to vendors to encourage more business activity and revitalise the economy.
JANET Butler with Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. Goombay Land initially opened in 1989. However, following the death of Mr Albury, the business was closed. Now, 21 years later, Mrs Butler said she and her brother Jason are revitalising it and intend to build on their father’s legacy of providing safe, family entertainment in Grand Bahama. Because Goombay Land is registered with the Roller Skating Association Rink with the United Skates of America (RSA) in the USA, they are also signed on to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme. Ms Butler said they will be offering STEM field trips to schools on Grand
Bahama in the autumn. She said the STEM curriculum is for school students from kindergarten through 12th grade. She also said they have been able form a partnership with the University of The Bahamas to have third year education students start their teaching practice courses at Goombay Land in the certified STEM programme. Dr Minnis said the restoration of Goombayland is a demonstration of confidence in the economy of Grand Bahama. He was also impressed with their plans outlined by Ms Butler. “The dream that she has outlined is coming forth and would return the facility as it was in the good old days of Grand Bahama. It is the government’s intention to also ensure this happens not only in the City of Freeport, but in Grand Bahama,” Dr Minnis said. Accompanying Dr Minnis to view the progress at Goombayland were Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson, Permanent Secretary Harcourt Brown; Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Communications and Senator Jasmin Turner-Dareus.
PAGE 14, Thursday, May 24, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Ready to defend the nation
ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force officers in action during the passing out ceremony at RBDF base on Friday. THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force has welcomed 111 recruits into its ranks. Minister of National Security Marvin Dames addressed the New Entry 55 & Woman Entry 24 Passing
Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Out Parade at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Base on May 18 marking the end of 18 weeks of basic New Entry training. Mr Dames inspected the guard, and presented awards to Marine
Recruit Phenton Miller, winner of Training Officer Award; Marine Recruit William Murphy, winner of Best Male Recruit Award; and Marine Recruit Christin Reckley, winner of Best Female Recruit Award.
MARVIN DAMES, Minister of National Security, presenting awards to graduates.