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Govt will borrow $722m to pay bills

Christie administration ‘left the cupboard bare’, says Finance Minister

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net THE Minnis administration projects borrowing more than $722m to cover inherited outstanding bills along with the costs associated with running the country moving forward, after discovering the current fiscal year is “far bleaker” than anyone could have imagined as the Christie administration left “the cupboard bare,” according to Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest.

The deputy prime minister explained that $400m is needed to satisfy expenditure for the past year, while $322,462,707m will be borrowed for the 20172018 Budget, amounting to a whopping $722,462,707m.

Describing the new ad-

ministration’s position as “difficult” because it has to grapple with an “historically high burden” of government debt, Mr Turnquest said to continue on this track is “destructive.”

Therefore, he said the government will have to run a ship that is fiscally prudent with an agenda of change aimed at eliminating the deficit to return the debt level to more sustainable levels.

He further pledged to table in Parliament a complete list of subsidies the government awards to foreign developers so that Bahamians can see not only where value added tax (VAT) dollars were spent but how other tax dollars were handled by the previous government.

SEE PAGE THREE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Peter Turnquest carrying his red box containing the Budget as the House of Assembly resumed yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

HURRICANE AND SHORTFALL OF REVENUE $10M PAID IN NHI CONSULTANCY FEES AND BLAMED BY DAVIS FOR $400M EXTRA DEFICIT $30M IN ROADSIDE CONTRACTS IN PAST YEAR

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter Sdorsett@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION Leader Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday blamed Hurricane Matthew, a shortfall in income revenue and a reduction in taxes for a $400m overrun in the country’s GFS deficit.

The GFS deficit at the end of June is projected at $500m, according to Minis-

ter of Finance K Peter Turnquest, five times the $100m forecast by the Progressive Liberal Party government, which was voted out of office on May 10.

Mr Davis also criticised the Free National Movement (FNM) for planning to borrow an “unprecedented” $723m - which covers a period of two fiscal years.

He accused the FNM of providing “a false narrative” to cover for the fact

that “they cannot live up to what they promised in the general election”.

He said the FNM made “wild promises based on a lack of understanding of the economy” and now that they are in the government they have to face the reality.

The former deputy prime minister also denied that the PLP made “deals” months, weeks or days SEE PAGE FIVE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Christie administration paid over $10m in consultancy fees for National Health Insurance in the last fiscal year, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest revealed yesterday.

This includes money paid for NHI’s public relations

activities that were conducted by a foreign firm, he told The Tribune.

During his budget communication, Mr Turnquest said the Christie administration also spent $30m in the last fiscal year for “roadside contracts” in New Providence under the Beaches and Parks Authority, even though the authority had been given an SEE PAGE SIX

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By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter and COLIN C CORTBUS aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A DOUBLE homicide in Tampa, Florida, has landed the grandson of a longstanding Grand Bahama family business owner in federal court facing charges for possession of bombmaking materials as a confessed Neo-Nazi.

Brandon Russell, a former St Andrew’s School Interna-

tional Baccalaureate student and grandson of Park ’N Shop owners William and Molly Russell, was charged last Monday after he was arrested during a traffic stop in Key Largo on May 22.

Russell, a 21-year-old Tampa resident enlisted in the US Army National Guard, returned home from duty on May 19 to find the dead bodies of two of his roommates, Jeremy Himmelman and Andrew Oneschuk.

Police reportedly arrived a short time later with his other roommate, 18-yearold Devon Arthurs, who had held up a nearby smoke shop and confessed to killing the men because they disrespected his Muslim faith.

Arthurs told police he had recently converted to Islam, and no longer shared the same Neo-Nazi beliefs as his roommates.

SEE PAGE TEN

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THE TRIBUNE

Don’t miss breaking news throughout the holiday weekend and a video review of the week’s most important stories with The Tribune’s Top 5.

And, on Tuesday, start the week as The Tribune returns to newsstands with a round-up of all the weekend news, business and sport.

Plus The Tribune’s Classifieds Trader – the best guide to cars for sale, real estate, help wanted and more.

TOURISTS and Bahamians pictured enjoying the sunny weather at Cabbage Beach.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 3

Govt will borrow $722m to pay bills

THE RED box carried by Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest, containing his Budget speech, as the House of Assembly resumed yesterday under the new government.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff from page one “To cover the fiscal overhang for 2016-17 we need to borrow $400m,” the deputy prime minister explained to reporters following his budget presentation in the House of Assembly.

“What it means is that we have bills outstanding today that we have to borrow to meet because of the fact that there was no provision made for those expenditures in the previous budget. So in order to make sure that we can pay salaries and that we can pay all of the existing payables that we know about as well as some of them that we are aware of that are still coming in, we need to provide the Treasury with funding to be able to do that.

“You would know that over the last couple of weeks there have been numerous complaints from various institutions that they have not been getting their salary deductions forwarded. All of this is a part of why we needed to do this borrowing to make sure that we meet our commitments to our vendors directly as well as to our employees throughout the civil service who are due these payments.”

He continued: “In our 2017-18 Budget we are projecting that we are going to have to borrow $323m. So it’s two sets of borrowing here.”

“Obviously we are not happy about that. But included in that $323m is a lot of commitments that you can’t just sever. So as soon as we are able to within the next couple of months, we intend to do a detailed project to identify those expenditures to do a complete efficiency audit to make sure that these expenses (and) these costs are legitimate that they are necessary in order for us to function as an effective government,” Mr Turnquest also said.

Bleak prospects According to the East Grand Bahama MP, while the former Progressive Liberal Party government had forecast a GFS deficit of $100m, the actual out turn is expected to be around $500m. This is five times the budget prediction from 12 months ago.

Speaking to members of Parliament, he said Hurricane Matthew further accounted for the ballooning

of the deficit and missed fiscal targets.

“To foreshadow what I am about to discuss, let me be quite blunt: the fiscal situation in the current fiscal year is far bleaker than we could ever have imagined.

Our predecessors have literally left us with a cupboard that is bare.

“The stark facts are as follows: the deficit out turn in the current fiscal year features a significant deterioration as compared to the fiscal projections contained in the previous final budget. While they had forecast a GFS deficit of $100m, the actual out turn is now expected to be on the order of $500m. That is an astonishing five times the budget forecast of only 12 months ago.

“The sharp deterioration in the state of the public finances in 2016-17 did admittedly flow, to some extent, from the multi-faceted impacts of Hurricane Matthew in early October 2016.

On one hand, the hurricane severely dampened economic activity in October, with the impact extended and through to the fourth quarter of the year. As a result, it is estimated that real GDP in 2016 posted a zero rate of growth for the year as a whole, as compared to the Budget forecast of 0.5 per cent growth.

“This directly weakened revenue collections.

Recurrent revenues were also reduced through the effects of the exigency order implemented by our predecessors, as a means of providing relief to those impacted by the hurricane.

In combination, these factors resulted in a shortfall in recurrent revenue collections to the tune of $216m, to a level of $1,960m vs the $2,176m budgeted. “Weaker revenues thus account for a significant portion of the $400 million slippage in the GFS Deficit in the current fiscal year.”

He went on: “Hurricane Matthew also affected the expenditure side of the budget, through the actions implemented by the government to assist in the rebuilding efforts and the repair of public infrastructure. For example, the capital expenditures of the Ministry of Public Works were bolstered by over $55m above and beyond its budget allocation. Total capital expenditures thus amounted to $310m vs the

$242m budgeted.

“In addition, recurrent expenditures during the year amounted to some $137m more than had been forecast, ie, $2,458m vs $2,321m.

“Key contributors to this increase were a higher level of debt redemption, at $21m, as well as higher interest payments on government debt, at $27 million.

Total government direct debt at the end of the 201617 fiscal year is estimated to amount to $6.5bn or 71.5 per cent of GDP.” Mr Turnquest said this, however, is not the end of the story in the current fiscal year. He said the combination of revenue shortfalls and accelerated spending contributed to a greater than usual backlog of payments and commitments as the government approaches the end of the fiscal year.

“The latest information has this backlog in excess of $300 million and it is possible that this number could increase before the end of the year as we get a greater understanding of the many deals of the former administration. This high level of outstanding payable is directly responsible for the government seeking emergency funding to meet the obligations of the 20162017 Budget, as vendors are clamouring for payments. It is our intention to fully pay all of this backlog of payments and commitments this fiscal year and minimise, to the greatest extent possible, any carryovers into the 2017/18 fiscal year.”

Fiscal improvement Over the next three months, the government plans to work diligently to improve the fiscal situation and prospects that have been left behind, Mr Turnquest said.

This includes, among other things, an in-depth review of government expenditure programmes to

determine where and how value for money can be enhanced, how effectiveness and efficiency of service can be improved and where savings and reallocation can be secured to both finance the government’s policy priorities and facilitate a more expeditious reduction and elimination of the GFS deficit.

“We will strengthen the accountability and transparency of the fiscal operations of government in the Ministry of Finance as such we have embraced and would vigorously implement the IDB funded Public Financial Management project details of which are on the website.

“Also as part of this initiative, to bring transparency and accountability to the fiscal operations, we intend to table in Parliament a full list of financial subsidies provided to developers so the Bahamian public can see not only where the VAT money has gone but where all of the tax money has gone.

“We will also seek to reduce these subsidies to an irreducible minimum and apply a very rigid test on future requests for financial subsidies to ensure that more money is available to finance the operations of the government.

“We will introduce revenue administration legislation which, if approved, would formally create the Department of Inland Revenue and strengthen the enforcement powers and revenue collections. “Individuals and businesses should be alerted that, in this new era of accountability and transparency, this government will adopt a zero tolerance approach to those who do not pay their taxes. We will be fair and transparent in our enforcement efforts but we will also be decisive,” Mr Turnquest said.

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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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Mixed reactions to Trump’s first overseas trip DESPITE differing views about President Trump’s first official trip overseas, on his return last weekend he predictably proclaimed it a success.

Covering Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican and Belgium together with Sicily for a G7 summit, commentators suggest that the visits to the first three were more fruitful than the others.

In Riyadh, the President strongly urged a gathering of Arab leaders to take action against ISIS at its source in the Middle East while he also struck a huge US arms deal with Saudi Arabia involving ships, tanks and anti-missile systems. But he has been criticised for providing weapons on a large scale in a conflict zone and for failing to address human rights issues with the Saudis.

In Israel, he was able to strengthen his friendship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, after the latter’s less than satisfactory relationship with Barack Obama, and provide reassurances about the US commitment to continued political and economic support. This was followed by a visit to Rome where, by all accounts, he had a notably cordial meeting with the Pope before travelling on to the more difficult part of his trip in Brussels and at the G7 meeting of highly industrialised countries where differences emerged about NATO and climate change.

Mr Trump lambasted 23 of the 28 NATO countries, including Germany, for failing to meet their obligations in paying full contributions to the organisation; but, to the consternation of many who were concerned about his negative remarks on the campaign trail about the relevance of NATO, he did so without expressly reiterating the US commitment to collective security under Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

Then, at the G7, while agreeing to fight protectionism, he refused to endorse the 2015 Paris climate accord saying that he needed to consider the matter further.

The most serious reaction to all this has come in the form of strong words at a political event in Munich by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has questioned the US’ reliability as an ally.

While declaring herself a ‘convinced trans-Atlanticist’ and that ties with the US were of paramount importance as a pillar of Germany’s foreign and security policy, she said that Europe was no longer able to ‘depend completely on others’.

The Americans were intent on putting their own interests first with the result that Europeans should now take their destiny in their own hands and fight for their future.

She added that the traditional Western alliance was threatened both by the

US presidency and by ‘Brexit’.

Although it has been suggested that this outburst might have been to boost her position as a strong leader ahead of September elections in Germany, there is no doubt that real divisions have developed in response to Mr Trump’s stance on NATO and climate change during his visit - and these may have become worse when sound policy positions were seen as being unhelpful and even provocative, partly as a result of not being presented carefully in accordance with accepted diplomatic practice.

It appears, for example, that accusations of the US’ serious weakening of environmental protection may be premature.

America’s commitment and contributions to NATO over the years have been crucial to the success of the organisation in deterring Soviet aggression during the Cold War. In the face of continued Russian expansionism, its role remains as important as ever and any significant internal divisions would play into the hands of Putin and the Russian leadership.

Substantive change in the US’s commitment to and support of NATO - including any reduction of the large numbers of American forces stationed in Germany itself - is surely unlikely since a strong Europe, both economically and militarily, is in US interests. But many would agree that Mr Trump is right to demand that NATO partners should fulfil their obligations. The message had to be conveyed, but perhaps the manner of doing so could have been improved.

While Mrs Merkel’s demand for greater European unity might boost moves towards a common European defence policy, in the foreseeable future the continent’s security will depend on continued US engagement. Meanwhile, Britain has made it clear that ‘Brexit’ does not mean the nation’s isolation from Europe and it has already led the way with deployment of troops and weaponry to deter Russian aggression in the Baltic and eastern Europe.

Thus, Mr Trump’s first foreign trip seems indeed to have gone well, as he claims, but it has - at the same time given - rise to some problems. The German Chancellor’s strong words have induced instantaneous ‘tweets’ from him, which presumably have been produced without any proper consideration or in consultation with his foreign policy advisers.

Such action is of concern to the rest of the world because of the danger of misunderstanding and miscalculation when crises develop in the complicated sphere of foreign affairs.

The potential repercussions are almost too frightening to contemplate.

Adrian Gibson EDITOR, The Tribune

AS A descendant of a Long Islander, I cannot sit by and allow this attack on the Member of Parliament for Long Island, Adrian Gibson.

Just to recap, a week after election, young Mr Gibson decided to follow the lead of his constituents and say how disappointing it was for Long Island not to have a seat at the Cabinet table. Long Island was a serious fight, with Gibson going up against the incumbent, Loretta Butler-Turner, and winning the seat, hands down.

Butler-Turner would have, through a plot with some of her colleagues, removed now Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis from his role as the leader of the Official Opposition.

MP Gibson has come under serious fire in social media recently for having the guts to say publicly

what many of the 35 MPs who did not get a seat at the table are thinking. I can respect someone who hit the ground running and represented the thoughts of his constituents. They were of the impression that Long Island was a highly contested seat and would have been rewarded a prominent seat at the table if the electorate there delivered the torch on Election Day. They did what was expected of them in grand style and then were disappointed when there was no reciprocation.

When MP Gibson was interviewed by the press he said he and his constituents were disappointed with the lack of action towards Long Island … nothing else… nothing more. He expressed himself on behalf of the people whom he represents and there are no ill feelings between Prime Minister Minnis and himself. Peo-

ple need to stop stirring the trouble pot and start thinking of ways they can assist the new government with cleaning up the mess created by the former government. It is a mammoth task which needs every right thinking citizen of this country to put their shoulder to the wheel and move the engine along.

Instead of trying to run the new Long Island MP into the ground, one should start taking note of the shining record he is going to have as a representative.

Gibson, a noted journalist and broadcaster, is both experienced and qualified to take on any prominent task put before him. Good things are going to be coming out of Long Island under the representation of MP Gibson.

TANYA A WRIGHT Nassau May 29, 2017

CART-

Visa perk of travel to the US EDITOR, The Tribune

IN THE Bahamas, we enjoy luxuries countries could only dream of.

One such is the ability to travel throughout the United States of America without a need for a visa.

As long as your criminal record is clean, of course.

This brings us to my point of concern: the Police Record which is simply a document that conveys your criminal history. It is issued by the Criminal Records Section within the Royal Bahamas Police Force at a cost of $3 for Bahamians and $5 for foreign applicants.

For many of us, we see this as just another administrative document needed to get things done. Obtaining it is relatively easy also, thanks to the efficient services provided by officers within the Criminal Records Section. However, for many among us, this document signifies more than just a pass for travel to North America, but also the determining factor between a job offer or job denial.

In The Bahamas, when a person is convicted, their criminal record lists the conviction for up to seven years, in some cases even

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net longer. This begs the question: does this policy promote positive re-introduction of ex-convicts into the community? Ask yourself this: how can we render punishment to offenders for crimes committed against society, yet, after their release, hold past acts against them?

This practice, in my view, brings into question whether we truly believe ex-convicts have the ability to become law-abiding citizens. If we are truthful, we would admit many employers would not entertain an individual with a criminal record. Especially when, for example, a record of an individual convicted of possessing a marijuana joint says, “Convicted of Possession of Dangerous Drugs”.

I have always maintained that the only employer in the world that hires daily, without reference, interview, qualifications or need for a clean police record, is crime and its many organisations and departments. In my view, if more individuals are given an opportunity to change through probation and community service for

certain offences, I am sure many would take corrective measures to adjust their behaviour. This change would come directly after realising what’s at stake if they didn’t (i.e. loss of freedom and future opportunities).

This approach would facilitate the ability to develop positive mentoring similar to what we see in the Shock Treatment Programme, in addition to providing participants for the development of “much” needed community service initiatives. I think we can all agree both aspects are desperately needed with the thousands of young Bahamians falling into despair.

If we are serious about combatting every facet of crime we must seriously take a look at the ex-convict re-introduction process. Give them, a fighting chance at succeeding, rather than setting them up to fail at the onset.

After all, we’ve all made mistakes at one point or the other, imagine if yours were held against you for seven years. Where would you be today?

CLIFFORD LIAMS Nassau May 29, 2017

WIL-

Response to Fred Mitchell EDITOR, The Tribune.

THIS letter is in response to Fred Mitchell, former Fox Hill MP. I really wouldn’t want to get myself into the back and forth, but what he’s saying is exactly what his party did while in office.

They profligated the resources of the country. For-

eign interest is not to blame and neither are catchy phrases; poor, inept and corrupt governance is the blame. In Bahamian vernacular we simply say “slackness”.

I bid the PLP goodnight and I pray God never allows me to find refuge under their big tent ever again; having recently met others

of a far different cloak.

God is the blame, he spoke loud and clearly: “Don’t fly in my face, for if you do I shall clip your wings and you shall never fly again” A FORMER PLP SUPPORTER! Nassau, May 30, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 5

Hurricane and shortfall of revenue blamed by Davis for $400m extra deficit from page one before the general election.

He said the budget communication in the House of Assembly was “disappointing” and offered “no hope for the future”.

“Let us look at some specifics that they provided,” Mr Davis said during a press conference yesterday.

“The comment on the out turn to $500m, the minister answered his own point as to why the prediction of the PLP on the deficit was off target. The hurricane was responsible for it by his own statement. It is not mismanagement at all. He said the combination of increased expenditure to fix the public infrastructure and repair homes as well as reducing the taxes caused the increase,” Mr Davis said.

“Their own projections

THE OPPOSITION press conference after the Budget.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff this year can similarly be that the majority of those impacted by one hurricane. contracts would’ve been in We take grave exception to the making a year or two the issue of expenditure in years and it just so happens the run up to the general that they did not culminate election as ‘deals’. There until that time because of are no deals but expendi- the long process and the buture in the public interest reaucracy. If they examine . . . The fact that contracts that, I think they would find were signed before the elec- that the contracts would tion, I am sure if they were have been in train for at to examine the process, least two to three years.” they may have recognised Mr Davis said when you

TAX RELIEF ON CLOTHES AND FOOD

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Finance K Peter Turnquest yesterday announced the government’s tax relief measures which feature the elimination or reduction of import duties on clothing, accessories and on a number of food, beverage, personal care, car parts and accessories, including those needed by those who are disabled.

However, what was missing from Mr Turnquest’s budget communication was the Free National Movement’s election campaign promise to eliminate value added tax on breadbasket items and other areas.

When questioned about this, the East Grand Bahama MP told reporters that this pledge could not be delivered immediately because of the overspending and unpaid bills left behind by the Christie administration, calling it a “trade off.”

“Literally two days ago, we had to say let’s be conservative, before we go giving out concessions, let’s be sure we have the house covered,” Mr Turnquest told reporters.

According to the Tariff (Amendment) Bill, tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, the duty on several food products was reduced. It is not yet clear when the new rates will go into effect.

The reductions are: soy sauce and pizza sauce, re-

duced from 30 per cent to five per cent; fruit drinks reduced from 60 per cent to duty free; salmon fillet, shrimp and prawns have been reduced from 35 per cent to free; breads, cakes, pastries and chips from 30 per cent to 20 per cent.

Nutritional preparations for tube feeding only; jams, fruit jellies, marmalades - including guava jam and jelly, pineapple jelly, strawberry jam and orange marmalade; fruit or nut puree; milk; yoghurt and pastas are also now reduced from five per cent to duty free.

In addition, clothing and accessories are now 20 per cent, down from 45 per cent. Toys will also see the same duty reduction.

Other duty reductions include breathing apparatus, gas masks and air purifiers from 45 per cent to free; medical equipment – including ultrasonic scanning apparatus, magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, and dental drill engines from 25 per cent to free; water heater parts from 45 per cent to 35 per cent; massage apparatus from 35 per cent to free; primary cell batteries from 45 per cent to 25 per cent and exercise and gym equipment from 45 per cent to 25 per cent.

Another category of reductions was outlined in the Excise (Amendment) Bill.

Parts and accessories for carriages for the disabled; new pneumatic tyres of rubber used on motor cars,

buses or lorries, aircraft, motorcycles and bicycles have been reduced from 45 per cent to 25 per cent.

Retreaded tyres used on buses or lorries and motor cars were cut from 45 per cent to 25 per cent; used pneumatic tyres used on the same types of vehicles from 45 per cent to 25 per cent, inner tubes of rubber used on motor cars, buses or lorries, aircraft, motorcycles and bicycles from 45 per cent to 25 per cent and electric motor cycles from 65 per cent to 25 per cent.

The bill further replaces the rate of .25 cent per stick on cigars, cheroots and cigarillos, including beadies with 200 per cent.

Mr Turnquest, the deputy prime minister, also said the government plans to reduce import duties on a number of personal care and other personal products, as well as household items, including: shampoo; hair products; soap; toilet tissue; low-flow shower heads; sunglasses; clothes hangers; shoe parts; sound and video equipment parts; microphones; building materials, including: sheets of veneers; wood flooring of various materials; wooden forms for concrete pouring; wooden posts and beams; asphalt shingles; Durock and cement panel boards; and other cement panels and sheets.

However he did not specify the rate reduction on these items.

Having a Stroke? is the place to go

F.A.S.T.

look “dispassionately at the budget statement,” you will discover that the statement is an “admission” that the fundamentals of our economy were prudently managed and a solid foundation laid for growth.

“This is evidenced amongst other things by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that predicts that this year the economy will grow by 1.4 per cent and will be followed by a 2.2 per cent growth in 2018,” Mr Davis said.

“Indeed the government itself is predicting 3.3 per cent growth for next year, which must be a testament to the prudent management of the PLP government. In the government’s efforts to make political points, the Free National Movement has to be very careful not to talk down this economy to the harm of the national interest. The budget statement

appears to do just that. A responsible government must outline the facts as they are but must always give a people hope that there are better days are ahead.”

Mr Davis urged the government to be “extremely careful” with cutting government spending before to ensure “that they do not make the last state worse than the first”.

“The fact is the government is the largest spender in this economy. If the government contracts its spending, then the economy of this country gets into deep trouble. We again say to the government be very careful,” Mr Davis said.

The Cat Island and San Salvador MP said he also noticed all the “talk about eliminating value added tax” had not included VAT reductions in the Budget.

The House of Assembly

will debate the budget next Wednesday.

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PAGE 6, Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

THE HOUSE of Assembly resumed yesterday with the Budget presentation under the new government.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

$10m paid in NHI consultancy fees and $30m in roadside contracts in past year from page one allocation of just $3m in the previous budget for such a purpose.

Mr Turnquest said such expenditure, never before revealed and publicly accounted for by the previous administration, explains why significant amounts of value added tax (VAT) revenue were spent to satisfy priority spending programmes and not to reduce the national debt as was originally pledged.

He also said $25m was spent over the past three years for Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival.

“I submit that those choices for the use of the large sums of VAT dollars collected did not correspond to the wishes and expectations of Bahamian citizens,” he said.

Mr Turnquest also accused the previous administration of hypocrisy, saying that despite the pledges it made when it came into office in 2012, the Christie

SPEAKER of the House Halson Moultrie during yesterday’s session. administration entered into and days before the elec- ago, the new administration numerous commitments be- tion, things were done that was still discovering unpaid fore the election which the constrained our ability to commitments left in place Minnis administration now carry forth our agenda,” he by its predecessor, Mr Turnsaid. quest said, adding that plans feels compelled to honour.

As recent as three days to offer further tax relief for “In the months, weeks

Bahamians were scratched as the realisation of the high number of unpaid commitments settled in.

“We are being surprised everyday,” he told reporters at the House of Assembly. “Up until two days ago there were things we intended to do to more tangibly demonstrate our commitment to the Bahamian people with respect to our promises on the campaign trail. We had to delay that until we stabilised our situation and could fully understand the impact that those things are going to have on our system. Things just keep coming at us. It is unusual that there isn’t one agency that can tell you what all the commitments are and we are finding that we are getting commitments from all over the place in a very decentralised kind of way and that just cannot work.

“Vendors are clamouring for payments,” he said in his communication. “It is our intention to fully pay all this backlog of payments and commitments this fiscal

year and minimise, to the greatest extent possible, any carry overs into the 2017/18 fiscal year.”

Despite the fiscal headwinds, Mr Turnquest said: “I would also stress that this funding does not indicate insolvency but rather gross imprudence in the management of the fiscal affairs by our predecessors, as demonstrated by the large amount of financial commitments made in the runup to the general election.”

With respect to NHI, the previous administration hired KPMG, among others, to provide main consultancy services.

Mr Turnquest noted that the $10m in consultancy fees was paid even though NHI has not yet been completely implemented.

NHI’s public insurer is not yet in place, as prior to the general election the previous government did not sign an agreement with the company it selected as the third party contractor responsible for managing the public insurer.

READERS RESPOND TO FNM’S FIRST BUDGET YESTERDAY saw the new government give its first Budget communication, with Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest stressing the “historically high burden of government debt”.

Readers gave their reaction on tribune242.com.

Proudloudandfnm said: “We’ll never get out from under these damned taxes.

I think its time I left my country. I see no future here . . .”

Baldbeardedbahamian had this to say: “It is time

to cut the amount the country pays out every month in pension funds to past PM’s who have served two terms.

Credibility gap does not deserve anything in my opinion.”

To which Sheeprunner12 responded with: “Agreed . . . this mindless pillage of the Treasury (with no form of contribution) is unsustainable. It adds another $1 billion to the government’s real expenditure every year!”

There was this from TalRussell: “It’s not the People’s Budget . . . stupid . . . it’s the Business Owners Dinner Plates Budget!

What’s next KP? Import duty on crabs shipped out Andros to Nassau?”

Craig said: “I am not surprised at the projected level of the budget deficit.

When you have the likes of Jerome Fitzgerald and Shane Gibson in Cabinet advising the PM on such matters it’s no wonder we have these problems. I have no idea what Shane’s qualifications are, what, a low level union boss? And Jerome – this guy’s business failed miserably and he lost his house on PI. These are the kind of people that we given power to run this country and now we see the result. Incom-

petence, nepotism and corruption – a broke country.

I hope this new crew is a little better!”

Birdiestrachan wasn’t impressed by the Budget: “HISTORICALLY high and the FNM wants to borrow more? They wanted the job at all costs. Making promises they never intended to keep, damaging others’ character, telling lies. Now they have the job. Get on with it. Trust me, these fellows have no vision.”

But The_Oracle didn’t agree: “Okay Birdie, so this administration should cancel all fiscal commitments made by the outgoing administration in order to reduce borrowing going forward? I like the idea, as damn near anyone entering onto a contract with such a bunch of crooks ought to probably be prosecuted.

However, cancelling contracts and not paying bills is a surefire way to lose any Government credibility remaining. Now, if we could go after the $$ stolen, kicked back and otherwise pilfered . . . that ought to negate the need to borrow at all! Locking them up would be icing on that cake!”

And ThisIsOurs said: “Will be waiting to hear initiatives for cost cutting and streamlining government.

There’s plenty wastage, theft and overpricing of services to correct.

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

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 7

Details laid out of plans to tackle corruption

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Minnis administration added some meat to the bones of its transparency and accountability agenda yesterday, with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest revealing the government’s plans for anti-corruption initiatives, handling of constituency allowances and regulation of public procurement processes, among other things.

During his budget communication, Mr Turnquest said the government will implement “rules and procedures” to govern how constituency allowances are used. Attorney General Carl Bethel told this newspaper that the process has lacked discipline in recent years and that questionable activity has taken place through it, prompting a need for more rigorous oversight.

Mr Turnquest added that fiscal responsibility legislation, opposed by the previous administration, will be introduced by the current administration.

“That would make it difficult for future administrations to incur deficits unabated,” he said. “This law would also prevent ministries and departments from introducing new spending initiatives in-year without

identifying the requisite financing from within their budget allocations.”

Mr Turnquest said the government will introduce Public Procurement Regulations “to support the amendments to the Financial Administration and Audit Act”.

The 2013 amendment to the Financial Administration and Audit Act established the Public Procurement Department, formerly the Tenders Board.

Although that amendment gives the minister of finance the power to create regulations regulating the procurement department, such regulations, if they exist, have never been disclosed.

Asked about the matter yesterday, Mr Turnquest said “some rules exist,” but more must be done to harmonise procurement processes across the public sector.

“These amendments will make it mandatory for the government to use transparent bidding procedures when it acquires goods or services from the private sector,” he said in his budget communication. “It will also mandate a certain percentage of government procurement being available for small and medium sized businesses.”

For years, the country’s procurement processes have been criticised by stakeholders as opaque and non-transparent.

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest presents the Budget yesterday.

Mr Turnquest also revealed the government’s intention to establish an Anti-Corruption Agency.

He said the government will comprehensively review expenditure programmes to “determine where and how value for money can be enhanced, how effectiveness and efficiency of service can be improved and where savings and reallocations can be secured to both finance the government’s policy priorities and facilitate a more expeditions reduction and elimination of the GFS deficit.”

He said the government intends to table in Parliament a full list of financial subsidies provided to developers “so the Bahamian public can see not only where the VAT money has gone but where all of the tax money has gone.”

He said Bahamians will be stunned to learn how many subsidies have been offered to foreign investors.

“We will seek to reduce these subsidies to an irreducible minimum and apply

a very rigid test on future requests for financial sub-

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

sides to ensure that more money is available to fi-

nance the operations of the government,” he said.

PAGE 8, Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Finances to affect crime fight

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames yesterday said many of the Minnis administration’s long-term crime fighting strategies will “take some time to really bring to the fore,” adding that the country’s law enforcement agencies will have to “make do with what we have” until the government gets its fiscal affairs in order.

Mr Dames, in an interview with reporters following the 2017-2018 Budget communication in the House of Assembly, said as the country is not in the “healthy financial state” it should be to accommodate all of the government’s anticrime initiatives, his ministry will have to peck away at crime by utilising its current resources, and implement more cost-effective strategies towards that end.

However, Mr Dames stressed the Minnis administration’s commitment to “manage the affairs of this country in a prudent manner and still get the desired results that we’re looking for,” pointing to a number of “short-term” measures his ministry has already started to implement in an attempt to “assist in the reduction of crime to bring down the level of fear throughout our communities.”

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames with Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling.

These, the Mt Moriah Free National Movement MP said, include increasing anticipated, and noted that police visibility, increased the previous administration generation and subsequent has constrained the governimplementation of various ment’s ability to carry out crime fighting operations, its agenda in its first year. and reviewing the existing During his first budget anti-crime programmes to communication, Mr Turn“see whether they’re yield- quest also stressed the “hising the desired results.” torically high burden of govMr Dames also said the ernment debt” now placed government is seeking to on the FNM administration, establish more collabora- due to the former Progrestion between the country’s sive Liberal Party adminislaw enforcement agen- tration overseeing the single cies to not only to better largest run up of debt in the “extend the reach” of law country’s history. enforcement, but to allow Mr Turnquest also said the government to better the GFS deficit at the end of capitalise on the “total re- June is projected at $500m, sources of law enforcement five times the $100m foreto assist in the reduction cast by the Christie adminof crime to bring down the istration. The East Grand level of fear throughout our Bahama MP also said there communities.” is an excess of $320m in Yesterday, Deputy Prime commitments left by the Minister K Peter Turnquest, former government, with who is also the minister of new bills being found daily. finance, said the country’s As a result, Mr Turnquest fiscal situation is “far, far, said the FNM administrafar more bleak” than the tion is holding the line on

expenditure and only providing money for things of the highest priority.

When questioned on the impact the country’s current fiscal position has on his ministry’s ability to carry out its mandate, Mr Dames said: “…You always wish that you had this unlimited supply of cash right?

That you could change things overnight. But we’re living in the real world. And as a government we have to begin, through examples, showing the Bahamian people that we are a responsible government and that we have to manage the affairs of this country in a very, very responsible way.

“You heard the budget communications earlier by the minister of finance.

We’re not in a healthy financial state. So recognising that, we have to make do with what we have. There are a lot of things that we can do as a country, that we can do in government, that we can do everywhere that you don’t need a serious expenditure of cash to do it.

“This is what responsible governance is all about,” he added. “We have to get away from this place where every time you need to do something it’s cash, cash, cash, cash. We’ve been spending carelessly now for a while, and what has it gotten us?

Increased crime, high rates of unemployment.

“So what we’re saying

is how can we manage the affairs of this country in a prudent manner and still get the desired results that we’re looking for, as it relates to crime, as it relates to the economy? And so this is what good governance is all about.”

To that end, Mr Dames said his ministry has already started the process of meeting with the heads of the various law enforcement agencies with an aim to “get an examination and an overview of their respective plans and strategies” for this year. He also said the government would be looking at short-term anticrime measures to bring “immediate relief” to the Bahamian society.

“One of the things too that we will be looking at certainly as a government from a policy standpoint is to work closer with these agencies,” he added. “And we mentioned that during our campaign, that…we want to see more coming together of these organisations to extend the reach of law enforcement. But not only to extend the reach, but to also show those who are on the opposite side of the law that ours is a very, very strong and powerful reach, and we intend to from time to time use the overall resources, the total resources of law enforcement to assist in the reduction of crime to bring down

the level of fear throughout our communities.”

Mr Dames noted that there have been a “few murders” since the FNM administration came to office, but said the government is “working very assiduously” with the country’s law enforcement agencies to have them start to roll out our policies so that they can begin to move as quickly as possible, to begin transforming those policies into strategies, and then to operations.

“That’s not going to happen in a few days or even a few hours,” he added.

“And so we’re not saying here today that because the FNM is the government, that murders will go away. But what we are saying is that we will begin to work closely with all of the law enforcement agencies and all of the stakeholders in government to move as quickly as possible so that Bahamians could begin to see some relief from crime.

“There’s some things that we can do in the short term and we know that, and this is why we have already begun this engagement with law enforcement, such as we can increase our visibility, we can make better use of our resources, how limited they may be, but we can make better use to ensure that we can begin this process of bringing the level of crime down.”

ister of Finance K Peter Turnquest confirmed yesterday.

Mr Turnquest said this year the officers will receive all the money the government has committed to giving them.

They will receive the money in four instalments.

The Police Staff Association, which took the former administration to court in 2015 over the overtime issue, previously said the to-

People who fall into those categories will be dealt with separately.

The overtime payments come as the PSA is in the midst of a transition period.

With his recent promotion to assistant superintendent, Dwight Smith has vacated the office of PSA chairman and can no longer serve as an executive in the association.

Nominations for PSA positions will be held on June 1 and an election to fill the

association’s vacancies is set for June 15.

As the administration tries to curb violent crime in the country, no significant increase for national security purposes are contained in the 2017-2018 budget.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force has received a seven per cent increase in its estimated budget allocation for the new fiscal year, up from $126m in the previous budget to $136m in the

new budget.

The budget for the Ministry of National Security remains mostly unchanged.

Of note, the Minnis administration has allocated $90,000 to the National Intelligence Agency, just as the Christie administration had done in the previous budget. Mr Turnquest yesterday reiterated his administration’s intention to bring legislation governing the NIA.

$5.6M BUDGETED FOR POLICE OVERTIME PAYMENTS THIS YEAR

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net IN the upcoming fiscal year, the Minnis administration has budgeted $5.6m for overtime pay for police officers who worked overtime at separate periods in 2013 and 2014.

This includes the first tranche of payments paid to police on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Min-

tal payout for police would be about $16m if the choice is made to give police financial compensation.

The Tribune understands that as many as 1,799 officers were eligible to begin receiving pay starting Monday.

This does not include reservists and retirees, nor does it include officers who have since died and whose estate is entitled to collect the cheques, this newspaper was told.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 9

BAHAMASAIR MAY CUT BACK DOMESTIC SERVICES

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday speculated over the possibility of systematically reducing Bahamasair’s domestic presence year to year, with an ultimate view of withdrawing domestic services completely in the coming years.

The Free Town MP, speaking to The Tribune outside of the House of Assembly after the Minnis administration’s first budget communication, proposed plans to have other domestic carriers fill local routes, with Bahamasair shifting its focus to exclusively servicing “international nonstop direct” routes.

He said the “nature of the industry” has long hampered successive governments in their attempts to cut the subvention supplied to the cash-strapped airline.

Mr D’Aguilar, a respected businessman, said the government must find a way to “encourage and develop” the domestic aviation industry all while it works to end its presence in it.

“We have used Bahamasair, at least internationally, as a way to carry Bahamians to and from Florida and not as a tourism tool to bring people to this coun-

“So, as capacity increases, I think we will slowly exit and use our aircraft and resources to try and establish more international routes to bring people here on more non-stop direct flights.

“We want those domestic carriers to begin to, as their capacity grows, fill those routes.”

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR, Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Bahamasair. try,” he told The Tribune.

“There is more than Nassau to Miami, Nassau to Orlando and Nassau to Fort Lauderdale. We have been beating ourselves up with the Nassau to Florida route for so long, when there are so many other carriers that run that route.

“There are other routes that we can take, other routes that we can make where we can earn something. We want to explore international routes which we can offer as non-stop direct because those are routes that are less competi-

tive.”

Later admitting that the task could be easier in theory, Mr D’Aguilar argued that the national flag carrier must move away from the idea of competing with domestic services, which he highlighted as the “prime vessel” by which the government could meet its task.

“You’ve got lots of private companies who want to do that and who have done that perfectly well, so why do we as the government want to compete with these companies in this market?

Review Speaking about the country’s finances, Mr D’Aguilar suggested that the country is in a financial crisis.

Mr D’Aguilar went on to indicate that he had already implemented several of the fiscal strategies to be used by the government on a national level throughout his ministry.

With respect to sports tourism, Mr D’Aguilar said his ministry was already looking to determine if the country was getting “sufficient” economic value for its investment.

He explained that the government had, over the existence of this particular sub-office, invested a lot of resources in bringing international events to The Bahamas.

However, Mr D’Aguilar revealed that many of these events have not yielded an adequate “economic spend” to justify its investment.

According to Mr D’Aguilar, this is more often the case with what his ministry considers the “high-profile” events.

He told The Tribune: “We are approached often by event organisers wanting to come here. I know there have been several proposals that have come across my desk, but my problem with these sporting events is that they all required some level of local investment and commitment. That is the way the world works now.”

He continued: “But before I spend the people’s money, I have to make sure that number (organisers) say will be here, will be here. Also, those that come with the event have to leave something here while they are here. It has to be profitable for us.

“So, when you come to me with a sports deal or when a person approaches me with a sports deal; I need to know exactly how many people are coming; how much are they going to spend and what is the GDP affect on the Bahamas and what we have found is that it is not generally the highprofile sporting events that yield the greatest amount of money.

“If you have an NBA team come here, not many people are going to come here to watch (that team)

because they can watch (that team) on their televisions or in their cities. Persons will not travel to the Bahamas specifically to watch that event. But, if you have a baseball event that involves kids, then their families come, their grandparents come and they bring with them an entire entourage of people and those people end up spending money.

“So, it’s not the high-profile sporting events that we are necessarily interested in, it is those events that bring us the most bodies, the most tourists. We want to attract groups of people who spend money and what we have found is families tend to do that.”

The country hosted many international sporting events over the course of the Christie administration’s time in office.

Many of those events are hosted annually, with the government providing some level of funding or exemption to host any one particular event.

While not naming any of these events specifically, Mr D’Aguilar yesterday said his office would have to review each event on an individual basis before renewing any host agreement.

The Bahamas will host the Commonwealth Youth Games in July.

LABOUR LEADER ALEXANDER THOMPSON DIES ALEXANDER Thompson, a prominent figure in the Bahamian labour movement, died yesterday morning. He was 80.

Mr Thompson was born in Stanyard Creek, Andros in 1937, and as a little boy, worked with the mail boat collecting the mailbag and delivering groceries. Always seeking ways to assist, he performed odd jobs around the church and the neighbourhood.

He attended St Faith Pri-

mary School in Fresh Creek and was taught by Edith B Riley. He worked at the church after school hours and also worked as a water boy, cleaning the mission house and as a sexton of the church, ringing the bell.

When the Lighthouse Club in Fresh Creek opened its doors for business in 1954, Mr Thompson was hired as a bellboy and his duties included going to the airport to unload the plane as the guests arrived.

He was responsible for taking the guests and their baggage to the car, driving them to the hotel and delivering their baggage to the guest rooms.

A devoted Methodist, he moved to Nassau at 21 and was married a year later.

After defeat in 1960, he ran again the following year for the Trustee seat in the Hotel Union and was successful, holding the seat until 1967. That year, he ran for the position of Treas-

urer, which he won and held the seat until 1982, the longest serving Treasurer in the union’s history.

In 1965, he studied bartending at the Hotel Training School. Over the years, he attended various Conferences and International Labour Organisation conventions on the distribution of gratuities, labour laws and industrial relations in Switzerland, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda.

In 1982, he ran for the position of Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union, a seat that he won and held until 2002. During this time he, along with a team of others was able to negotiate a range of benefits including a five-day work week, 15 per cent gratuity, overtime, maternity leave and seminars for shop stewards.

Mr Thompson was also the Catering and Food &

Beverage Manager for the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union during his tenure as Vice President. Additionally, in 1987, he attended the Trade Union Institute in Israel where he studied industrial relations.

Although retired since 2002, Mr Thompson was often called upon for advice on labour matters and was esteemed as a labour advocate. Funeral arrangements are being made.

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PAGE 10, Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Terror suspect linked to The Bahamas from page one

He also told police, according to The Miami Herald’s account of the arrest affidavit, that Brandon Russell had previously “threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure” in Neo-Nazi online chat rooms.

During a sweep of the apartment, the FBI and Tampa police found a white, cake-like substance in its underground garage that tested positive for hexamethane triperoxide diamine (HMTD), a highexplosive substance. Police also found empty bullet casings that contained fuses which could be used as a detonator, according to The Miami Herald.

In Russell’s bedroom, the FBI reportedly found a framed photograph of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted and executed for detonating a bomb in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.

“They also found Nazi/ white supremacist propaganda, according to the FBI complaint. While in his bedroom, devices used by police bomb technicians alerted to the presence of radiation sources - thorium and americium,” The Miami Herald reported.

The article continued: “Before asking for an attorney, Russell told FBI agents he was a “national

socialist”, according to the complaint, and a member of a group called the “Atom Waffen,” or “atomic weapon” in German.”

Atomwaffen is a small, white supremacist collective that has been branded a hate group by the AntiDefamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Russell reportedly told officials that the explosives were manufactured in 2013 for a rocket-making project in collaboration with a University of South Florida engineering club, and that the intent was to send balloons into the atmosphere. However, The Miami Herald article notes that FBI Agent Timothy Swanson wrote in his report that HMTD is “too energetic and volatile for these types of uses”.

Russell reportedly faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in federal prison if convicted on charges that include possession of unregistered destructive devices and unlawful storage of explosive charges.

St Andrew’s would not confirm yesterday whether Russell graduated from the IB programme; however, in 2013, he was heralded as an “amazing student” in the March 8 edition of the school’s weekly newsletter “Heads Up” for an experiment with a Tesla coil that he had made.

Russell was also praised for his role in facilitating a class presentation

from historian and former St Andrew’s alumnus Eric Wiberg. Mr Wiberg, a licensed sea captain and maritime lawyer, has chronicled the activities of German and Italian submarines in and around the Bahamas, and Russell had reached out to him for more in-depth information for his research essay on U-Boats in The Bahamas.

“Brandon Russell is an IB Student in Year 12,” the newsletter read. “Yesterday, Thursday, March 7, Brandon attempted to carry out an experiment with a Telsa coil he created.

Brandon was supported during this experimentation by his Physics teacher, Ms Arthur, his peers from Physics class in Year 12 and a few of the Physics students in Year 13. It was amazing to see the camaraderie, interest and cooperation among the group, as they eagerly tried to reach their goal and help Brandon succeed at this experiment.”

It continued: “Brandon’s story does not end here.

On Monday March 11, the Theory of Knowledge Year 12 class and the IB History class will hear from Mr Eric Wiberg, Historian, and author of U-Boats in the Bahamas. Mr Wiberg is alumni of St Andrew’s and former student of Mr Allan Murray. Brandon’s Research Essay is on U-Boats in the Bahamas; therefore upon his research he came across the works of Mr

Wiberg and decided to contact him for more in depth information. Mr Wiberg’s response to Brandon then started the communication and interest to speak to the rest of the Year level on his works. Well done, Brandon!”

Attempts to reach several of Russell’s family members were unsuccessful up to press time.

In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, a friend of the pair claimed that Russell’s family “was not happy with his views and kicked him out of his home”.

Watson Fincher told the paper that he met both Russell and Arthurs online in political chat rooms dedicated to white nationalism.

He claims that Russell was 17 when he was drawn by the “ideological exchange”.

Russell’s mother, Chantalle Russell-Hilts, operates The Athlete’s Foot franchise stores in Nassau and Freeport.

He joined the Florida National Guard in February, 2016, according to the Miami New Times. It was noted that Russell worked as a systems operator maintainer and that he had no deployment history.

In February, 2016, Mrs Russell posted a photo to Facebook of her son wearing a National Guard t-shirt with Mr Russell Sr, and in September, she posted another photo of him congratulating him on his designation as “PFC. Russell Signal Corps Soldier”.

BRANDON RUSSELL

TRIAL DATE FIXED FOR DECADE-OLD MURDER CASE

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A TRIAL date in 2018 has been fixed for a man accused of allegedly killing

his common-law wife more than a decade ago.

Leo Roderick Johnson, 50, appeared before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs on Tuesday for a fixture hearing concerning the August

19, 2006 murder of Ericka Fowler.

A date was set for November 26, 2018.

Last October, Johnson sought a formal declaration from the court that Article

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20 (1) of the Constitution had been infringed and asked that the proceedings be stayed permanently.

The grounds for the application were that the present case is an abuse of the process of the court; that the delay was presumptively prejudicial; that no reasonable explanation was given for the delay and that the applicant had been severely prejudiced in his defence because of the delay.

He relied on the Court of Appeal decision of Cancino Lightbourne vs the Attorney General (2010), which outlines a number of factors for consideration of future applications for stay of a trial.

The Crown, in response, relied on the Court of Appeal’s decision of Stephen Ronald Stubbs 2013 where the appellate court ruled that there had been a breach of Stubbs’ rights after a ten-year delay of trial but said the trial should still proceed.

In his written ruling delivered in November where he dismissed the application, Senior Justice Isaacs noted that the authority case of

Lightbourne was not helpful to Johnson due to difference in circumstances of the two cases.

“Lightbourne was discharged by a magistrate presumably because there was not sufficient evidence to commit him to stand trial at the Supreme Court,” the judge said.

“He was then re-arrested and charged a second time on the same evidence. Lightbourne’s (armed robbery) case was stayed in all of the circumstances that obtained. In the instance case, there is eye witness evidence of five children born to the applicant and the deceased, and other family members, that saw the applicant drag the deceased from her home, stab her and cut her throat. The deceased died in the street of her injuries.”

The judge then noted the reasons provided by the Crown for the delay, which were “the prevailing conditions of the limited number of trial courts in 2007, the demand for legal services and the supply of legal services in The Bahamas as contributing to the delay.”

“I do not accept that submission given the seven years of inactivity by the Crown. Nevertheless, the burden remains on the defendant to show that a fair trial cannot be had,” the judge said.

“In all of the circumstances and the prevailing law, the delay in this matter has not been shown to have prejudiced the applicant.

“In the result, the applicant is entitled to a declaration that the delay in bringing him to trial within a reasonable time has breached his right guaranteed by Article 20(1) of the Constitution.

“I find, however, that on a balance of probabilities, a fair trial can be had despite the delay and breach of the applicant’s constitutional right to a trial within a reasonable time. The application for a stay is therefore dismissed,” Senior Justice Isaacs ruled.

Johnson subsequently indicated his intention to file an appeal against the judge’s decision resulting in an adjournment of the matter.

However, an appeal was not filed.

NOTICE Water Connection Deadline:

Pinewood Gardens, Coral Lakes and Boatswain Hill

The Water and Sewerage Corporation advises residents of Pinewood Gardens, Coral Lakes and Boatswain Hill that the deadline to submit applications to connect to the new water supply system in the respective subdivisions is June 2, 2017.

Residents who have not applied are advised to call the Corporation immediately.

Tel: (242)302-5599 or Toll Free (242)300-0150 Find out more on

or our website www.wsc.com.bs

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 11

23 years in jail for hacking victim up with a cutlass

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net A MAN, who was convicted by a Supreme Court jury of the decapitation of another man, was sentenced to 23 years in prison yesterday.

Jason Glinton, 37, who was accused of the October 2012 murder of Fortis Moncur in Cat Island, was retried before Senior Justice Bernard Turner in March.

At the original case’s climax before Justice Carolita Bethel, the judge was compelled to declare a mistrial when she was informed of an alleged public confrontation between Glinton and a juror.

Though Glinton was originally charged with murder, the jury in his retrial convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter by a count of 8-4 on March 10.

In considering the Court

of Appeal case of Larry Raymond Jones, Senior Justice Turner determined that 23 years was a sentence sufficient to send a strong message to society that such acts will not be tolerated.

Glinton’s sentence was reduced by six months spent on remand and his sentence was ordered to run from the date of conviction, March 10.

Senior Justice Turner advised him of his right to appeal both conviction and

sentence.

Prosecutors alleged that Glinton struck Moncur in the head with a baseball bat and then hacked him up with a cutlass following Moncur’s accusations of him sleeping with his girlfriend.

The killing allegedly occurred between October 5 and 18, 2012.

When he took the stand during his retrial, Glinton alleged he was oppressed and brutalised while in po-

lice custody.

He claimed that police assaulted him and placed a plastic bag over his head to force him to sign a prepared confession statement in which he allegedly described what led to Moncur’s death.

He also alleged that he was coached by the detectives during the video recording of his interview in showing police where he had discarded Moncur’s remains.

Partially decomposed human remains were found in Devil’s Point, but they only found the head after Moncur led them to it, it was revealed in court.

Forensic pathologist Dr Caryn Sands was unable to determine the cause of death as she did not have a complete corpse to examine during her autopsy.

Jacqueline Forbes-Foster prosecuted for the Crown while Murrio Ducille represented Glinton.

OUTSTANDING PROBATION REPORT DELAYS MANSLAUGHTER SENTENCING

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN must wait an additional three weeks before he is sentenced for the fatal stabbing of a banker he claimed had made a sexual pass at him.

Lamar Albury, 26, appeared before Senior Justice Vera Watkins for the penalty phase of his trial yesterday more than two months after a jury found he was not guilty of the 2015 murder of Devince Smith, but was criminally liable on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

However, an outstanding probation report concerning Albury’s social background resulted in an adjournment of sentencing until July 21 at 1pm.

Albury had denied the murder charge against him during his trial, which began on February 20 and concluded on March 8.

Smith’s partially decomposed body was found shortly after 2.30pm on December 21, 2015 at his St Alban’s Drive apartment.

Smith was a sports coach and was employed at Pictet

LAMAR ALBURY, 25, at a previous court appearance.

Bank & Trust Ltd. He was to his relatives that he had also a former president of fatally stabbed the banker, the New Providence Volley- who had hired him to do a paint job at his apartment ball Association.

On the first day of trial, for an upcoming holiday the jury heard that Albury gathering, when the victim allegedly had confessed had made a sexual advance

to him.

The second day of trial, Smith’s housekeeper testified that in the three months she had known Albury, the accused had been to Smith’s apartment on three occa-

sions and on two other occasions, the accused and Smith were seen in the victim’s Jeep drinking.

The prosecution’s final witness was forensic pathologist Dr Caryn Sands, who testified that the wounds, which included a slit throat, were unlikely to have been caused by a painting knife as Albury had told police when interviewed in custody 14 days after the incident.

At the close of the prosecution’s case, Albury was asked by Senior Justice Watkins to indicate whether he would remain silent at his trial or elect to give testimony under oath.

Albury elected to take the stand and spoke of how his accepting a “compliments to the season” Hennessey drink from Smith when he arrived at the apartment before he started the job, spiralled into a scuffle and stabbing after the banker allegedly made a sexual advance at him.

When cross-examined, it was suggested to Albury that in his voluntary record of interview in police custody, he made no claim that Smith made a pass at him.

Albury said it was shame-

ful to speak about the alleged action, so he withheld the information. The convict also denied that Smith was running away from him. However, he conceded that Smith had no weapon.

Albury was asked why the chairs in the living room were overturned if the scuffle had occurred upstairs and Smith had collapsed at the foot of the stairs.

The accused said when he left Smith there, he could not say that he was still alive and that Smith might have overturned the chairs.

Albury conceded that he turned himself in with a lawyer 14 days after the incident.

However, he claimed that he hold his relatives what happened the day after and not December 29/30 as the jury heard.

Albury also conceded that he burned the clothes he wore on that day.

Albury, who was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services until his next Supreme Court appearance, could face as many as 35 years in prison.

He is represented by Michael Hanna while Cordell Frazier appears for the Crown.

PAGE 12, Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

How chemical imbalances in the brain cause depression A

TERRIBLE name for a terrible illness.

I would much prefer some name in Latin or Greek as I am sure a mysterious name would be much more acceptable.

The problem with the name ‘depression’ is that everyone thinks that they know what it is: “Unhappiness”, “Weakness”, “Snap out of it”, they say.

It is a bit like telling someone to snap out of diabetes.

It sounds fine but close to impossible.

We know lots about this illness called depression and it is a nasty illness; just as things can go wrong with our hearts and lungs, our brains are also susceptible to major problems.

Our brains are pretty incredible, containing roughly the same number of cells as there are people in the world and then each cell connects to hundreds of cells around it. The messages pass along the cells by a form of electrical conduction and then at the junctions (synapses) chemicals are formed and pushed into the space, passing the messages to the next cells.

In this illness called depression there are not enough chemicals so the messages do not flow properly and as the brain controls the whole body everything goes out of balance.

This explains the wide range of symptoms that may occur; from feelings of depression that gave the illness its name to headaches or stomach upsets.

A core symptom is the loss of joy. This differentiates it from having a bad day, when there are usually things that one can do to cheer up. With depression, nothing works. Feelings of guilt and hopeless-

ness are common as are appetite changes and sleep disturbances. Daily living becomes a struggle and thoughts of ending it all creep into the mind.

Untreated depression is the main cause of mortality in psychiatry, suicide is all too real. Thoughts can become so negative that the belief that the world would be better off without you can become overwhelming and death seems to be the only option.

The causes of depression are like a jigsaw puzzle many pieces conspiring together to throw your brain chemistry out of balance.

There is a genetic vulnerability but anyone can get the illness; stress, hormone changes like childbirth or menopause can cause it.

Thyroid imbalance, any major illness like cancer or surgical intervention, can set it off.

It is like one imbalance sets off another like cascading dominoes running through your body. The neurochemical imbalance may be small or very marked and, in this way, resembles diabetes or hypertension. A slight case of sugar can be treated by lifestyle changes but major problems would need insulin injections.

The same concept is true for depressive illness: a slight imbalance can be solved by positive thinking and lifestyle changes.

A more marked imbalance will need some form of talk-

ing therapy to help correct these chemical imbalances.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy looks less at the past and works to retrain your brain to deal with thoughts and actions in the here and now.

There are times when the imbalance is so great that these therapies are not enough and medication is needed; the group of drugs known as antidepressants have transformed treatment. They work by gradually restoring the imbalance of the neurotransmitters in the brain; they are not ‘happy pills’ and can take up to six weeks to work as they gradually allow the level of these chemicals to build up and return to normal.

They have saved endless lives by preventing suicide but they are not without problems; about 20 per cent of people suffer side effects, some cannot even tolerate the medication and during the early weeks suicidal thoughts can even worsen.

The solution is to work with a doctor you can trust who can combine talking therapy and then the use of medication if necessary.

You must feel that any difficulties will be taken very seriously because, if the illness is severe, it is potentially fatal.

Mental illness is still associated with the stigmas of fear and ignorance. So many people do not get treatment or do not believe that they can be helped.

The costs of this illness are

extraordinary - no research into cost has been done in the Bahamas but in the United States unfunded research was published in ‘Scientific American’ magazine in 2015, putting the cost of this and related

problems like anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at $210 billion a year.

As the great English Test cricketer Geoffrey Boycott said: “Until you have had depression I don’t think you are qualified to talk about it.”

• Dr Mike Neville is a forensic psychiatrist who has practiced for more than 40 years in The Bahamas, working at Sandilands, the prison and in private practice.

Comments and responses to mneville@tribunemedia.net

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 13

Grand Bahama dentist dies after stroke

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama dentist Dr Hayward Romer, who suffered a stroke in March, died Tuesday evening at the Rand Memorial Hospital.

Dr Romer, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, passed away around 8.30pm. His death has left a huge void in the dental profession in Freeport.

Many of his patients and colleagues are saddened and shocked by the news and had been praying for him to get better.

Dr Romer had a stroke on March 18 and was unable to walk without assistance, use his right hand or speak clearly and fluently. He was

airlifted to Florida, where he underwent two weeks of intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy at a rehabilitation centre.

The family had started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise some $80,000 for his medical expenses and further medical treatment in the US. Kahrin Prince, his daughter, reported that her father had progressed well but later experienced a setback when his platelet count had dropped very low. He was taken to the hospital and given an emergency blood transfusion, but doctors also discovered that Dr Romer had heparininduced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a blood clotting condition.

Mrs Prince said that the

insurance company refused to cover her father’s medical costs and the family was seeking to raise money to pay his medical bills and for a much needed surgical procedure in the US to treat the HIT. “We expected him to get better,” said Ellody Russell, of Bain’s Dental Office in Grand Bahama. “I went to see him, and he showed improvement; he was in good spirits, and I was shocked to learn the news of his passing.”

Ms Russell said Dr Romer was “adored and well known in the community”.

“A lot of people considered him like family,” she said.

Dentist Dr Karen Bastian of Soft Touch Dental

in Freeport said Dr Romer would be greatly missed in the Grand Bahama community.

“It is a hard thing for our community now because we are down one more dentist it is not like we are overrun with dentists.

“He will be missed in this community because he had a service that no other dentist has. He had a walkin part in his private clinic, and that is desperately needed on this island,” she said.

“Most of us don’t do that because we need to know what procedure we are going to do and when, but he had the art of walk-in dentistry down to a science. So, I know the Bahamian public will miss that.”

Dr Bastian said that Dr

Romer also provided oncall service to the hotels.

“He also offered some services to hotels where he was called in - a lot of us don’t do that because we don’t know what hour they will call. They have on-call service at the Rand, but that is limited to only dentists that work at Rand, it is not private practice, and so their hands are tied in what they can do.

“Dr Romer definitely will be missed in this community because there was so much he did as far as dentistry goes with the patient population.”

Dr Bastian said Dr Romer was also willing to assist when called.

“We referred patients to one another, and if I were out of office, I would call to

see if he could fit my patient in and he would call me and asked me the same thing.”

Samantha Forbes of Bahamas Orthodontic Centre said Dr Romer had served the Grand Bahama community well.

“He will be missed because he catered to many people in the community providing affordable dental care. The community has taken a significant loss in that regard and (his death) definitely will affect a lot of people. I have seen people who are very distraught about who they will go to now,” she said.

Dr Romer was also a mentor and coach/trainer to many young running athletes in Grand Bahama.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen, and three children.

CULTURAL FESTIVAL TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT IN EIGHT MILE ROCK

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

IN celebration of its silver jubilee, the West Grand Bahama Youth Development Association announced plans for a Cultural Festival and Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the Sunset Village grounds in Eight Mile Rock.

Fred Delancey and Lindy Russell, WGBYDA founders, said proceeds raised from the event will aid all the schools in West Grand Bahama that are still facing difficulties with repairs following Hurricane Matthew.

“After Matthew, everybody thought government fixed the schools up, but the government did as much as they could do. But for the most part, schools were facing a lot of difficulties, and we want to use this opportunity so the schools can fix themselves up,” said Mr Delancey.

The festival begins at 10 am with the Oral ‘Big O’ Basketball Tournament, with some ten school teams competing.

The festival will also

LINDY Russell (left) and Fred Delancey, co-founders of West Grand Bahama Youth Development Association announces plans for Cultural Festival at Sunset Village EMR on Saturday. feature Bahamian culture, including a coconut bark, conch cracking, and bush tea demonstrations and a Junior Junkanoo parade.

There will be events for small children.

Also planned are a cultural show, featuring rake and scrape bands, as well as performances by various schools in West Grand Bahama.

“The whole objective is to showcase of Bahamian culture…we want to show-

case the artistic abilities of the students into this area,” Mr Delancey said.

Mr Delancy said the area schools are selling $1 tickets for the event that will go towards the schools to help with repairs. He said ticket holders can redeem their tickets for a free prize at Ruthnell’s in Hawksbill.

“We asked the schools to sell tickets because we want to make sure all the schools participate because whatever funds they raise

they keep for themselves,” he said.

The association initially started celebrating its silver jubilee early in the year with a church service at Mount Zion Baptist Church; then a library dedication and naming in honouring of late Pastor Wilbur Outten in February; and a recognition awards luncheon.

The association mentors young people and provides spiritual, cultural, sporting, social and community programmes.

The WGBYDA has recognised individuals in the West Grand Bahama community who have gone on to achieve great things, including Eight Mile Rock resident Henry Rolle, a Bahamian who is now assistant head coach at Auburn University.

Mr Rolle, who is in his 16th season with The Plains, works with Auburn’s women’s sprinters, jumpers, and hurdlers. In 2012, he coached a double medalist in the world junior games as well as a NCAA runnerup and nine Olympians all while serving as relays coordinator for Bahamians.

Bahamian sprinter Anthonique Strachan placed first in both the 100 (11.20) and 200 metres (22.53) at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain, while training with Mr Rolle.

When asked about the outstanding achievement by West Grand Bahama resident Pakesia Parker Edgecombe, who was elected MP for West Grand Bahama, Mr Russell said he was very excited about it.

PAGE 14, Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

On deck and close to the action at the Battle of Jutland 101 years ago this weekend, Lt Robert Tatton Bower, of the Royal Navy, wrote a letter to his father, giving a first hand account of the largest World War 1 naval battle from aboard HMS Inconstant. Lt Bower’s descendants have Bahamian connections: his son Paul, came to the islands and was Publisher of The Nassau Guardian while his grandsons, Nigel and Bobby, are known business figures in Nassau.

My dear Father, I hope Mother got my letter to say that I was all right. I wrote as soon as we got back. I will try to tell you all I know of the show on Wednesday (May 31, 1916).

We were cruising near the coast of Denmark, in our usual position, with the battle cruiser fleet (BCF), and as far as we knew individually, there was no particular reason to suppose that the Germans were about.

I had had the forenoon watch, and was asleep in the wardroom when the buzzer, which is set going for action stations, started.

We all went up, thinking it was a submarine or a suspicious merchant ship, but found that the Galatea, our flagship, had sighted the enemy on the starboard bow. We could see them, and they appeared to be three cruisers and several destroyers.

The nearest ship opened fire at a range which must have been at least 17,000 yards, and as she had bigger guns than us, and could outrange us, we sheered off to port, at the same time making our report to the flagship of the BCF. After about half an hour, the BCs had come up about ten miles on our starboard beam, we thought to strafe the cruisers that we had sighted, but by this time the German BCs had appeared, and they engaged at very long range. At this moment, our friends turned away, and bolted back to rejoin their own fleet, so we followed at full speed.

We were then going directly astern of the German BCs, and we could see that as yet the range was too

long and both sides were firing short. At this time the four ships of the Queen Elizabeth class got into action, and we could see the flashes of their guns far away on the starboard bow.

They must have been firing at the High Seas Fleet which had just been reported by Goodenough in the Southampton, for the volume of fire on the side of the enemy increased enormously.

It was a very misty day, and as we approached the BCs we noted that they had turned away from the enemy, and were firing astern.

They seemed to have suffered little damage, but the Queen Mary and the Indefatigable were not there.

We did not find out until long afterwards that they had been sunk a few minutes before, when the BCs had been under the fire of nearly the whole German fleet.

The BCs now turned towards us, still blazing away, and doing well, while the other four followed them.

The two fleets were now in parallel lines steering about South East, with a gap between the BCs and the four battleships. Just at this time, the Grand Fleet appeared in four columns, and steering at right angles to our course. They deployed into single lines at once.

As they came up, preceded by the Defence and another cruiser, probably the Black Prince, we exchanged a few rounds with a German light cruiser, which was not far off. Owing to the presence of about forty destroyers at the head of the Grand Fleet, we found ourselves being “ridden off” and were obliged to cross the bows of the Colossus, and finally

ROBERT Tatton Bower was a sub-lieutenant on board HMS Inconstant during the Battle of Jutland. found ourselves about two and sank, probably the Lu- ing, probably by way of the hundred yards on the wrong tzow; another one hauled Skagerrack. In fact it was side of our battle line, be- out of the line, burning like the “Pommern”. There is tween them and the enemy. blazes, and was never seen every reason to believe that The enemy then opened again; and a battleship of they made their report befire, and we had a very the Kaiser class was seen to fore they got home, as it is warm ten minutes, being be sinking. I saw one Ger- very inaccurate. Our losses almost scorched by our man destroyer disappear in are exaggerated, and theirs own side, while the enemy’s a sheet of flame and smoke. are minimised. Our full reJust before dark, when port will not be known for short shots fell all around us. After being straddled by with the BCs we had got some time, as the action four twelve point twos we a few miles ahead of the was fought in the enemy’s hastily dodged back. Dur- battleships, we had a short waters, and all the destroying these few minutes, the sharp action with the lead- ers have been employed since.

Defence had been still firing ing ships of their line.

It only lasted twenty minIt is regrettable that our at the aforementioned light cruiser, and had very fool- utes, and no damage was losses were so heavy but ishly got between the lines done. It was too dark. As a theirs were at least equaland stayed there, about a result, however the enemy ly so, and they were only thousand yards nearer the were driven to the North saved from annihilation by enemy than our battleships. Westward, leaving us be- the Devil’s own luck. AnSuddenly either one or tween him and his base. other two hours of daylight, two of the big ships opened During the night a division and hardly a ship of theirs fire on him, and about two of our destroyers made a would have escaped.

I have lost a dozen friends minutes he was hit. I think very gallant torpedo atthe whole salvo must have tack. Out of five, only one in the various ships. I think taken effect, because he returned but she reported Digby Willoughby is the simply burst into a sheet of that they got their attack only one you know. He was flame, I should say about home, and she saw another commander of the Indefatifive hundred feet high. It Kaiser class ship turn turtle gable, and I am afraid there was the most awe inspiring and sink, after being struck is little hope of him being by several torpedoes. saved. Tell Mother that sight.

In the morning, it was Hanly was in the Queen All this sounds like a series of tragedies for us, but hoped to finish them off, Mary, and I am afraid is you must remember that as they were obviously gone and that David Wainwhile it was happening the very demoralised, but it wright was in one of the enemy were being pounded, was even worse weather destroyers which made the so much so that they turned than the day before, and attack and was lost.

Clare Viner was in a deaway in the mist. One of although we swept all day, their battle cruisers blew up they got home in the even- stroyer which was disabled

and all the officers killed or wounded except himself.

They were towed in safely.

For ourselves, we got off with one hit and no damage done, which I think is miraculous considering the corner we got into. I really thought we were in for it, especially as we had just seen a ship four times our size blow up.

If, as I think, we shall have a casualty list of between four and five thousand killed alone, what on earth will it be like on “the DAY”?

I must say that we all thought the day had come at last and the disappointment was very bitter when we couldn’t find them the next morning.

I should think it will be called one of the most indecisive affairs in history, but still, we oughtn’t to complain, as at one time we had the worst of it. I hope you will be able to follow this very garbled account. Don’t let it get into other hands.

There is no harm in showing it to people whom you can trust.

Love to you all, Your loving Bob

THE SEA BATTLE THAT CHANGED WORLD WAR ONE IT WAS the battle that changed the course of the First World War. Fought over 36 hours on May 31, 1916, the Battle of Jutland was the only major battle of the war fought at sea, but became known as perhaps the largest surface battle in naval history due to the numbers of battleships and battlecruisers engaged.

The battle, between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet off Denmark’s Jutland peninsula, brought together the two most powerful naval forces of their time. It was significant both for being the largest naval battle of the First World War, and for the severe number of lives lost. It also severely diminished the German naval fleet’s capabilities.

It saw the British Navy lose more men and ships but remaining powerful while the encounter left the German Navy too diminished to put to sea again while the war lasted.

By 1916, Germany’s High Seas Fleet commander Admiral Reinhardt von Scheer had decided that the British blockade of German ports had gone too far and the toll on the Germans could not continue. Admiral Scheer’s fleet attacked the English coastal towns of Lowestoft and Yarmouth on the nights of April 24 and 25 in a bid to lure out parts of Britain’s fleet from its respective bases.

He then ordered Admiral von Hipper to move 40 ships along the Danish coast in May but news of this provocation was picked up by a code-breaking team in London. In response Britain’s Admiral John Jellicoe ordered Britain’s Grand Fleet out to meet them at sea, so starting the Battle of Jutland on May 31.

Britain’s combined force significantly outnumbered the German fleet, but despite their inferiority, the Germans had the advan-

tage of greater visibility thanks to the position of the sun. Just after 4pm, 1,000 British men lost their lives when the magazine of battle cruiser Indefatigable was hit. Around 20 minutes later the Queen Mary cruiser was sunk in just 90 seconds, exploding under German fire.

As the two fleets converged to start the battle in earnest, the British suffered a third major loss when the Invincible was sunk shortly after 6.30pm. The sides met again as the Germans headed home and the clash left German ships Seydlitz and Derfflinger badly damaged while the Admiral Hipper’s flagship Lutzow was sunk by her own crew.

The Germans claimed that the battle represented a victory for them as the British had lost more ships - 14 - and more than 6,000 men.

However, Admiral Jellicoe claimed the victory belonged to the British as his fleet was still a strong entity while the Germany’s High Seas Fleet was no longer seaworthy. In all, the Germans lost nine ships and suffered more than 2,500 casualties.

THE TRIBUNE

THE fishing in The Bahamas remains spectacular with species weighing over 100lbs being taken over the past week.

A grouper of 85lbs was caught by Team Throwdown in Romora Bay Resort and Marina, Harbour Island, and another of 105lbs was landed near Exuma.

Keep checking the Bahamas Sport Fishing Network (BSFN) expert page for fishing reports throughout the Bahamas: this will be helpful in tracking the “hot

Thursday, June 1, 2017, PAGE 15

spots” and providing advice on gear and fishing methods being used.

For a sample of the spectacular fishing to be had in The Bahamas, expert advice, tournament dates and results, informative features and photo galleries visit www.bsfn.biz or Facebook - Bahamas Sport Fishing Network.

BSFN slideshows can be found on USA Today’s website in the Travel section at experience.usatoday. com.

PAGE 16, Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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