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VOLUME:115 No.134, JUNE 6TH, 2018

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

ALICIA WALLACE: WHY VAT HITS POOR THE HARDEST

Shot dead as he set off for school

Camron, 7, hit by stray bullet from drugs bust up

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

37th and 38th homicides for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

In the latest incident, A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD according to Assistant boy about to head to his Commissioner of Police last day of school was fatally Clayton Fernander, the shot outside of his Piper child, a second-grade Lane home yesterday morn- student at Columbus Priing after being hit by a stray mary, had just left home bullet. to get into a vehicle waitAn adult male believed ing nearby to take him to to be the intended target school. was also ACP Fershot during nander said the incithat a short dent, which distance police say away, two stemmed men were from a drug allegedly dispute. He involved remains in in a drug hospital. dispute in The child, which a identified firearm was by police produced as Camron by one of Cooper, was the men the third BLOOD on clothes at the scene and shots person shot yesterday. were fired. and the Camron’s second to body was die in two separate inci- hit by a stray bullet. dents in the Wilson Tract/ “It is such a sad, sad situHomestead Street section ation,” ACP Fernander of the Englerston commu- told reporters. “(The child) nity in less than 12 hours. A was later taken to PMH by man who was shot around private vehicle, where he 10pm on Monday in front later died.” of his home on Homestead Relatives of the boy, Street died in hospital yes- who remained at the scene, terday morning, police said.

SEE PAGE THREE The deaths marked the

CAMRON COOPER, aged seven, a student of Columbus Primary School, who died yesterday morning after being shot as he set off for school.

Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

THREE AMERICANS DIE IN PLANE CRASH

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THREE American men were killed when a plane heading from Eleuthera to the United States crashed yesterday.

The men have a house on the island and had travelled to Eleuthera on Monday to fish, according to Chris

THE SCENE of the crash.

Johnson, a porter who serviced them minutes before the crash.

Air Accident Investigation

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

Department chief investigator Delvin Major said the men were leaving the Rock Sound International Airport in a private plane when they crashed in a bushy area about a mile north of the runway.

A team from his department will head to Eleuthera today to investigate the incident.

SEE PAGE THREE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

FOULKES: KEEP SALARIES OF MPS AS THEY ARE

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net MINISTER of Labour Dion Foulkes said the salaries for MPs should remain as they are until there is a substantial economic turnaround.

The senator’s comments came when asked his opinion on whether the salaries of parliamentarians should increase.

“I think until there is a substantial increase in terms of economic activity, I think that MPs salaries should remain

what they are,” said Mr Foulkes.

Last November, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said: “I want to put the country on notice that at the next budget I will come forward with a pay increase for the members of parliament.”

Salary increases for politicians were not a part of the 2018-2019 budget that was tabled in Parliament last week, however the government did announce plans to increase the value added tax rate to 12 percent as of July 1.

MPs make $28,000 a

year.

On November 13, 2017, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold provided a stipulation on the prime minister’s pledge, saying it was contingent on an economic upturn.

At the time, Mr Newbold said there was “no intention to” raise politicians’ salaries so long as the economy is feeble and Bahamians are suffering.

Asked if he meant the economy must considerably improve for MPs’ salaries to be raised, he said: “It’s the only way they will be raised.”

Calling All High

SCHOOL STUDENTS

BUILDING DESTROYED IN EIGHT MILE ROCK BLAZE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net FIREFIGHTERS are investigating the cause of a building fire in the Eight Mile Rock area on Monday evening.

ASP Terecita Pinder said

Every year in August THE TRIBUNE publishes a popular Back to School supplement as a guide to the following academic year.

7. Name of college hey will be attending (if attending) Plus a suitable photograph in .jpeg format (graduation or any other image).

In the supplement we feature the profiles of high school students How to submit profiles across the Bahamas and Family Islands.

Email to back2school@tribunemedia.net with ‘Back To School’ in We want profiles from as many the subject field and photos in .jpeg schools and students as possible to format. make this guide essential and informative.

By post to Back To School, The tribune, Shirley Street & Derveaux Profiles must include Streets, PO Box N-3207, Nassau.

By Hand to The Tribune office 1. Name 2. Age The deadline for the profiles is June 3. School 30, 2018 and there is no cost in4. Grade volved. For any questions please 5. Parent name or names contact Tribune Features at kherig@ 6. Goals and aspirations, prizes tribunemedia.net. won and honors awarded

fire officials received a report around 11.30pm of a blaze in Pinedale, EMR, in the area of Zion Baptist Church.

On arrival, she said officers met an abandoned single story wooden and stucco structure engulfed in flames.

The fire was extinguished,

but the building was extensively damaged. No one was injured.

ASP Pinder said police were unable to obtain information about who owned the building or whether it was insured. She said investigations are continuing into the incident.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 6, 2018, PAGE 3

POLICE at the scene of yesterday morning’s fatal shooting.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

Shot dead as he set off for school from page one described him as a loving and easy-going child.

Bobby Brown, who identified herself as the boy’s aunt, said she is shocked at what took place.

She said residents in the community are in fear, adding the ongoing gun violence has forced them indoors and too afraid to go out.

“Too much of the senseless killing, this have to stop, too much of the senseless killings,” she said. “We can’t even come outside and have a talk or stuff like that.

“I was inside at the time of the shooting; my son was getting ready for school so I said let me stay inside and do what I got to do.

“It is sad, this morning would have been his last morning for school. Like he was getting ready for school, his normal way,” she said.

Over at Columbus Primary, the school received news of the tragedy as it prepared for a visit from Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling.

Several counsellors were seen speaking to teachers and students when The Tribune visited the school.

Principal Patricia Chisholm said the school,

initially in a joyful mood, found itself in a state of shock and in need of prayer.

“When we heard the news, we immediately got things together for counsellors to come in, we didn’t want the kids to be caught off guard,” she said.

“God is our healer. This is something that one can’t prepare for, but we have to be here for our kids and our teachers in this trying time,” she added.

Back at the scene, ACP Fernander said the area is known by police as a drug source and is constantly under surveillance.

However, he stressed that the circumstances surrounding yesterday’s incident illustrates a greater need for police presence in the community.

To that end, he assured residents that officers would return to the community in “full force.”

“You will see me out of these clothes. We are going full force in these communities,” he said. “And we will go in every community where we have information that drugs are being sold and the folks, they will just feel the police presence in these areas. “...I think it is high time that we continue and be consistent with our full

court press within these communities where we know that drugs are fueling a lot of these shootings.

“We just can’t continue to talk about it, it’s action time and you will see that as we move forward. And again, we want to just give condolences to the family,” he said.

The man who was shot was listed in stable condition up to press time. The suspect is known to police and is believed to be a resident of the area.

ACP Fernander said of the suspect: “The nation, the nation should be concerned about this matter and as they do, the public always comes to our assistance and I just want to press on them to do the same to let’s flush out this person.

“He should not be, this culprit, this coward, he should not be out there another hour. And we are going to get the information out there to you, the members of the public.”

On Monday night, a man was shot a few blocks over from yesterday’s scene.

According to police, the man was standing outside his home when he was approached by two armed men in hoodies. The men opened fire, striking the man about the body before

vacating the area.

The man, Michael Johnson, 18, was taken to hospital by private vehicle where he died a few hours later.

ACP Fernander said police don’t believe the two incidents are connected, but appealed to residents to assist police with any information.

Police said last night that two suspects were in custody in connection with yesterday’s shooting.

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CAMRON COOPER, who was shot dead as he went to school.

THREE AMERICANS DIE IN PLANE CRASH from page one Authorities would not reveal the identities of the three men yesterday but Mr Major said the pilot had requisite licenses. The crashed aircraft was a Cessna 421.

According to Mr Johnson, he and other porters took two coolers and three bags to the plane ten minutes before the incident.

“They were cool guys,” he said. “It was a father, his brother and his son. The older men looked to be in their forties or fif-

ties while the younger one looked like he was in his twenties.

“They have a house down here. It’s a different group of them that come over from time to time.

“It’s hard for us. It happened so quickly,” the porter said.

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PAGE 4, Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Trump’s daily diet of six outright lies PERHAPS the biggest casualty of the Donald Trump presidency in the United States has been the truth. Trump lies all the time, without appearing to hesitate first. There is no evidence Trump possesses any internal governor that would regulate his mendacious behaviour.

Washington Post reporter Glenn Kessler has for many years compiled a widely respected column called Fact Checker. The column is cited frequently by other news organisations, including by those with a right-leaning tilt. It is, therefore, something of an industry standard.

A couple of months ago, Kessler reported that in his first 406 days in office, Trump had made 2,436 false or misleading claims – that amounts to exactly six lies each day he has been president. Since he often tweets on the weekends, the American people can reasonably expect half a dozen outright falsehoods from their chief executive every day of every week he remains in the White House.

On some level, citizens of democratic governments generally expect a certain degree of deception or corrupt activity in their elected officials. Public service in governmental organisations often leads incumbents astray and constituents are seldom truly shocked when this is revealed. There may be entertainment value in the latest scandal, but the veil of innocence has fallen from most experienced eyes, especially in Europe and North America.

Even in this jaded context, however, Trump’s behaviour has been unusual, astounding, and has begun to make Americans wonder about their country in ways not witnessed since the dark days of fear monger senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin in the 1950s and of shady president Richard Nixon 20 years later. Who are we, that we can elect someone like Trump as our president, many now wonder.

In a lengthening list of zany, thoughtless and ultimately dangerous things this president has introduced into the American consciousness is his attacks on US intelligence and law enforcement. It is one thing to criticise institutions such as the CIA, Department of Justice, FBI and US Attorneys. They have all stumbled and made serious errors of commission and omission and judgment in recent decades. They can all improve, and all have admitted as much.

Leave term limits alone

But Trump, by his own smug admission, is attacking these institutions not for their failures but for what seems to be an analytical triumph, belated as it appears to have been. A new book, Facts and Fears, by former Director of National Intelligence and lifetime intelligence official James Clapper has now offered sober judgments which should give pause to any serious citizen of the US or its allies.

Clapper says of Russian influence in the 2016 American election: “Of course the Russian efforts affected the outcome.

Surprising even themselves, they swung the election to a Trump win. To conclude otherwise stretches logic, commonsense and credulity to the breaking point.”

Clapper writes: “We (the intelligence community) showed unambiguously that Putin had ordered the (disinformation) campaign to influence the election and that Russia had used cyber espionage against US political organisations and publicly disclosed the data (from Wikileaks and elsewhere) they collected.”

Of Trump’s disregard for the truth, and particularly the products of painstaking intelligence analysis, Clapper says: “I don’t believe our democracy can function for long on lies, particularly when inconvenient and difficult facts spoken by the practitioners of truth are dismissed as ‘fake’ news. The intelligence community cannot serve our nation if facts are negotiable.”

There is an eerie and profoundly discomfiting harmony between Trump’s blatant and remorseless lying and Russia’s disinformation efforts, which had their origins in modern Russian and then Soviet history under Lenin and were honed over decades of autocratic authoritarianism in Moscow. Russian President Putin would have been well schooled in such techniques during his KGB career.

Clapper writes that “getting its larger audience to conclude that facts and truth are ‘unknowable’ is the true objective of any disinformation campaign. If someone actually believes the falsehood, that’s a bonus, but the primary objective is to get readers or viewers to throw up their hands and give up on facts.”

Millions of Americans, including many in Congress, remain convinced by or at least indifferent to the continuing Trump disinformation campaign.

It will be up to Robert Mueller to open their eyes.

EDITOR. The Tribune Editor,

Healthy start has fallen flat EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM obsessed with being sober. There is absolutely no one, or occasion that I can use as an excuse for me to consume alcohol, I am not telling anyone if they should drink or not.

But the focus of this letter is to prove that the attempt to start to be a healthier nation by the Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands has fallen flat. I am convinced that all Dr Sands was doing was to do or say something, anything that would get him some press. It’s my opinion that his quest to jockey for position has clouded his otherwise common-sense.

Since Dr Sands wants to pretend to be helping, he should, with the greatest speed, ban cigarettes.

Cigarettes has been directly responsible for the demise of many Bahamians whether becoming habitual users or subjected to second hand smoke. Which we are on the subject of smoking, is there a ban on smoking indoors in businesses?

Why are the casino staff tortured by patrons who

blow smoke in their faces, sometimes deliberately, for their full eight-hour shift.

It is well documented that second-hand smoke has caused more damage than smoking directly.

Ban all snacks that are loaded with artificial preservatives, additives and sugar that has caused our impressionable children to have a great disadvantage in their formative years.

There should be no snack sold near or around a school where an unsupervised child can take his lunch money and buy candies. Sodas should be banned from all schools and replaced with water only.

Teachers are slaughtered by 40 children in a class all wired with sugar. Lord knows how a sane teacher can last for years after being held hostage by children in sugar overload.

The Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd would have something to be “happy” about, when he announces that the decision is made to remedy this highly damaging age-old practice.

Politics and “taking bread out of people’s mouths” should be the last asinine excuses for not fixing a problem that has caused enough damage to our children.

These two examples are just a microcosm of the problems in our health system that needs to be addressed, if the good doctor is serious.

Finally, Dr Sands must be under the floor hiding right now. All of the breadbasket items that has been declared VAT free are all unhealthy and could contribute to high blood pressure and eventually death. If the FNM were sincere, they would lift the VAT on fruits and vegetables. It is now clear how much the FNM cares about us from over the hill.

Well blow me down. I wonder who all are bragging now, that it is “The people’s time!”

IVOINE INGRAHAM Nassau, May 30, 2018.

W.

minister the person who is the leader of the party with the majority in the House MUST we copy-cat the of Assembly. In the event letters@tribunemedia.net United States on everythere is no such undisputed thing they do, even the will never fall to the lot of leader, the Constitution dumb stuff? The govern- any man who is not in an makes further provisions ment wants to tinker with eminent degree endowed for the Governor General the Constitution by imitat- with the requisite qualifica- to exercise her judgment. ing the American practice tions”. Don’t laugh. You Some people take issue of limiting their president can’t make this stuff up. with the fact that the public to two terms in office.

Their electoral college was at large doesn’t get to Term limits is a rela- designed to preserve “the decide who leads the polititively new spanner in the sense of the people”, not the cal parties. In our system, democratic toolbox for the “will of the people”. And at everyone is free to join a Americans. For the first 175 the same time, it was to ensure political party and to paryears of their existence, the that the president is chosen ticipate in the party process American Republic stood “by men most capable of ana- of selecting a leader. without a threat to the pres- lysing the qualities adapted to Every tribe, organisaidency because there were the station, and acting under tion or political party needs no term limits. circumstances favourable to a leader. In the name of Since declaring inde- deliberation and to a judicious reform, we must not now pendence from Britain, combination of all the rea- throw out the baby with the the Americans flirted with sons and inducements which bathwater. Limiting prime the notion of holding their are proper to govern their ministers to two terms in president to just two terms choice”. office would be to reject the but the feeling was not uniWhile we try to put that collective wisdom and will versal. Some delegates to in a Trumpian context, of the voters. It could also their constitutional conven- we must not forget that as result in the removal of a tion thought the president the Americans were grap- competent prime minister deserved a lifetime appoint- pling with republicanism at an inconvenient time or a ment. Of course, life in 1776, the parliamentary time of national crisis. expectancy was shorter back system had been evolving We can discuss openness then but that idea sounded in Europe since 1188 but and transparency in polititoo much like the European had not yet reached matu- cal parties. We can initiate monarchies they abhorred. rity in Great Britain where campaign finance reform It wasn’t until Franklin the king still exercised con- and even seek to limit the Delano Roosevelt, a Dem- siderable authority. It is influence of mega donors ocrat, came along in the the predominant system of and corporate interests on 1930s and just kept on win- democratic governance in parties. But the Constituning presidential elections the world today. Very few tion should not dictate to that the Republicans in countries have term limits. political parties who their Congress pushed through The Westminster model leaders should be and for the 22nd Amendment to empowers the executive how long they should serve. their Constitution which branch with a legitimacy that The ultimate limiter of the limited the president to two is derived from its ability to time in office of a prime minfour-year terms. Roosevelt command the confidence of ister should be the voters: died when he was in his the legislative branch. The first of all his constituency fourth duly elected term. entire executive, includ- and then the national elecThe US is a constitu- ing the Prime Minister, is torate, not some knee-jerk tional republic with an accountable to Parliament. statute invented to subvert executive branch headed by In the American system, the will of the people. Bahaa president. The president the president heads the mians have demonstrated is a stranger in their legis- executive branch and is also that they know exactly what lature and doesn’t have to head of state. They use to do when they are tired of be of the same party as the something called checks-and- a particular party or prime majority in Congress. balances which forces the minister.

Contrary to the false view three branches to compete Even some Americans that the president is directly for power, often disastrously. regret their term limits. elected by Americans, This has given them the Absent limits, there is a Donald Trump’s election in strange anomaly called the good chance today they 2016 proved the undemo- “government shut down”. would be in Barack Obama’s cratic shortcomings of their In our system if the gov- third term in office, not the system. Their electoral college ernment cannot pass a first term of Donald Trump. has the final say and it was budget, that government Term limits are a bad designed so that only “quali- falls and a new election idea that would be superflufied citizens” get to choose the must be called. The govern- ous in our system. While president. This was a grand ment does not shut down the life of our parliament compromise, the best of many because its members fail to may run for five years, a other elitist options. prime minister can lose his do their job.

The American system The pure genius of our job at any time. is also skewed in favour of system rests on the fact Margaret Thatcher went less populous states. In 50 that while the government to a European Union meetstates the people vote for is given a five-year term, it ing in 1990 as the Iron Lady electors who go through must perpetually account to Prime Minister of the UK, the process of deciding who the people or risk being dis- but got a call in her hotel becomes president. Amass missed at any time. room that same night to the most electors and you The appointment of a say that she had lost the can ignore the will of the prime minister is exclusively confidence of the members majority of the people. a prerogative exercised by of her party in the House.

Despite fighting a war to the Queen, via her Gov- She went back to England separate from Britain, the ernor General, acting in and offered the Queen her founding fathers in the US accordance with the provi- resignation to avoid being were leery of democracy. sions of the Constitution. fired.

They feared that in letting The parliament doesn’t The government should ordinary people decide vote on who becomes leave well enough alone. their leaders they could end Prime Minister but parlia- Fixed date elections and up with what Alexis de Toc- ment can at any time vote even proportional repqueville called “the tyranny to defeat the government resentation are theories of the majority”. with a motion of no confi- that could be studied and Writing in the “Federal- dence in that prime minister. debated but hands off term ist Papers” Caribbean born Term limited by the people’s limits.

Alexander Hamilton said representatives. that the US Constitution THE GRADUATE The Constitution prowas designed to ensure vides that the Governor Nassau, “that the office of President General appoint as prime May 30, 2018.

LETTERS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 6, 2018, PAGE 5

Trucks may be banned from future parades

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net LABOUR leaders are discussing removing flatbeds and trucks from future Sir Randol Fawkes Labour Day parades in light of last week’s tragedy, Labour Minister Dion Folks said yesterday.

When asked by reporters about the request by union leaders to remove vehicles from future parades, Mr

Foulkes said he has spoken with union presidents and the family of Sir Randol on the matter.

He added the type of music played at the parade is also under consideration.

“I have spoken to both the president of the TUC (Trade Union Congress) and the NCTUB (National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas),” Mr Foulkes said.

“I have also (had) communication with the Fawkes family through Ms Rosalie Fawkes, who represents (them). We are reviewing the whole process and the content of the parade. As a result of the tragedy that occurred on Friday, the union leaders and executives and indeed the entire nation, we’re very concerned about how the parade has been transformed into what it is

THE DAMAGE at the crash scene after a vehicle ran into the Labour Day March parade.

today.

“And there is a strong feeling among the labour leaders that maybe we need to go back to how it was in the past, with not so many big flatbeds and trucks and the type of music.

“But that is something that they will have to decide. It is their parade and I respect that. The Fawkes family is playing a major role in terms of advising us in terms of what

to do. And of course I will consult my colleagues to get their views also.”

The annual Labour Day Parade turned to tragedy when a truck struck a crowd of people Friday morning, leaving four women dead and more than two dozen people injured. Police said the incident happened shortly after the driver exited the truck leaving four passengers inside.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

DAVIS: TAXATION WILL DRIVE WEB SHOPS UNDERGROUND

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemeduia.net AS HE urged the government to revisit the proposed tax sliding scale for web shops, Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said increasing taxes on gaming house operators provides the incentive for the numbers business to return to the “underground”.

Mr Davis said Bahamians are also concerned about the proposed five per cent stamp duty to be charged on deposits and winnings of web shop users beginning July 1.

He said with banking services dwindling in the family islands, residents are concerned about receiving and sending money to relatives to aid in providing necessities.

Web shops were legalised and regulated under the former Christie administration despite Bahamians voting no during the gaming referendum in 2013.

“In light of the tax structure assessed in every other industry, what could be the possible rationale for the 350 per cent tax hike on web shops other than to drive them out of business and place more than 3,000 Bahamian jobs at risk,” Mr Davis said yesterday during

a press conference.

“Another collateral damage to the financial services industry from this harmful tax policy is the fall away of the smaller gaming houses and the creation of a possible gaming monopoly.

I don’t believe in the circumstances that the smaller gaming operators will go quietly into the good night.

“They might very well decide to return to the underground informal economy, which takes the sector back to the undesirable pre regulatory era. Fifty per cent tax is an incentive for new entrants to enter the informal gaming industry.”

“The PLP government worked hard and long to regularise this industry and make it compliant with the requirements of the OECD, FATF CFATF FAF and the US state department. All those F’s to ensure that we preserve our financial services industry.

“I point out that the unregulated gaming industry was mentioned in US state department’s annual report on the Bahamas for its vulnerability to the proceeds of crime. We call on the government to revisit this tax hike in regard to the reputational damage and possible black listing,” he continued.

According to Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest last week during his budget communication, the government plans to increasing taxation on gaming house activities with the introduction of a sliding scale of rates applied to taxable revenue next month.

“To facilitate this,” he told parliamentarians during the 2018/2019 Budget Communication, “we are proposing a number of measures that are designed to generate additional revenue to the government.

“Specifically, we are increasing the taxation of gaming house activities through the introduction of a sliding scale of rates applied to taxable revenue, namely: up to $20m, a rate of 20 percent; between $20m and $40m, a rate of 25 percent; between $40m and $60m, a rate of 30 percent; between $60m and $80m, a rate of 35 percent; between $80m and $100m, a rate of 40per cent; and over $100m, a rate of 50 percent.

“Also, the taxation of gaming patrons through a five percent stamp tax to be levied on both deposits made by patrons at the gaming houses and any non-online games/digital sales...”

OPPOSITION leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.

WOMAN ABDUCTED AND RAPED ON SUNDAY MORNING

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN was abducted and raped after leaving a pharmacy in the Carmichael Road area on Sunday morning, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash told The Tribune yesterday.

The incident took place shortly after 9am.

“A lady was at a local pharmaceutical establishment where she was accosted by a lone male who forced himself into her vehicle and drove to the western district of New Providence where he raped her,” CSP Cash said.

The rapist later dropped the woman in the Carmichael Road area before fleeing the scene on foot.

The victim is in her 40s and her assailant may possibly be in the same age range based on the description given to police.

“We’re following some significant leads as to who the suspect may be and again the investigation is ongoing,” CSP Cash said.

“As soon as we can make a proper identification as to who that individual is, we will release that to the media.”

According to CSP Cash, the incident was reported to police shortly after 1pm on that same day, Sunday.

However, the incident was not released to the media by police in a crime report and only confirmed when The Tribune contacted CSP Cash after reports were posted on social media.

On April 28, a six-yearold girl was assaulted off Baillou Hill Road.

The matter was not reported to the media until May 15, the day after a tenyear-old girl was sexually assaulted.

On May 15, a community resident, who asked not to be named, told The Tribune: “You would have thought the police would give out as much information as they could (on such incidents).

“Just saying, the time these incidents happened could spark somebody’s memory and they could have seen something that can help catch these men.”

On May 25, a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted near the Big Pond Park, next to the National Insurance Board off Baillou Hill Road.

On May 29, a 15-yearold boy was arranged in a Magistrate’s Court over allegations he committed the three assaults on the minors.

That same day, a woman was “indecently assaulted” on a beach in the western district of New Providence.

Police were called to the scene shortly after 11pm.

According to their reports, a man and woman were walking on the beach when they were approached by two armed men. The men robbed them of cash and other items before indecently assaulting the woman and escaping on foot.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Christian Council wants rethink on tax increase

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Christian Council president Delton Fernander wants Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to remember his past lamentations about value added tax and to reconsider his government’s intention to increase VAT’s rate by 60 percent next month.

At one point, Dr Minnis in 2014 called on the church to protect Bahamians against VAT, one of many indications of his opposition to what he called an “anti-middle class” and “pro poverty” measure.

“I call on him to consider his own words,” Mr Fernander said yesterday.

“This is the church now speaking on behalf of the vulnerable of society to realise that this is going to be onerous on those who can least support it now.”

Dr Minnis and his party’s past views about VAT have fueled resentment among Bahamians.

Mr Fernander said: “I saw an interview, he kind of indicated that stances change when you get in the chair and you see what the mindset was of the previous administration. But for most of us we would kind of hold politicians to a level where before they push

BAHAMAS Christian Council president Delton Fernander. agendas, they should be sure what their words stand for.

“It is our hope,” he continued, “that the uproar will cause them to revisit their decision because we weren’t consulted on the front-end as opposed to when we first introduced

VAT to the country and it is really, really going to be a challenge for the poor of our country and the middle class and at this time I don’t know if it’s the right time to do it.”

Mr Fernander said the administration’s desire to fix the fiscal affairs of the

country is understandable but paying bills should not be the government’s foremost priority.

“I sat on the consultation committee with the New Zealand consultants and I have a good idea why 15 percent was being considered at the time,” he

said. “We needed to move towards an increase but I would use (the prime minister’s) own statements which is that we can’t tax our way out of this situation. Creativity is necessary. We might get the desired result in terms of reduced deficits but we might have a frustrated citizenry. You must keep the economy growing and expanding in a way that makes life palatable for those of us in our society. If you wipe out all your debt and people can’t eat today, it doesn’t accomplish what you intended.”

Mr Fernander criticised the lack of consultation that preceded Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest’s announcement of the VAT hike last week. The finance minister has said governments around the world shield their revenue measures to avoid influencing consumer behaviours. He said it is conceivable there could be a “run on the bank” if people, anticipating a tax hike, rush to capitalise on the lower tax rate.

In response, Mr Fernander said: “The volume of spending that would have to take place before they approve the budget would have had to be massive for it to have a major effect. While what he said

may be the reality, that kind of movement in the market would be unlikely.”

As for how Bahamians could now cope with VAT’s rate rise, Archdeacon James Palacious, vicepresident of the BCC, said lifestyle changes are critical.

“We need to find different ways to save money, not to spend more money than we need to,” Mr Palacious said.

“We don’t got to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like. We need to buckle down, be more thrifty, waste less and find cooperative ways of purchasing things. People in the same households must combine their resources and buy things wholesale, for instance.”

One significant budget revelation the BCC supports is the extra taxes web shops must now pay.

“We don’t at all have any problems with the taxation increases going on there,” Mr Fernander said.

“We’ve made our position quite clear. We pushed and voted that it’s not something we wanted in our society. It has had unintended consequences. It has been addictive. The church looks to this government to do what they said they will do; by increasing the taxes, they become part owners almost, like a private-public partnership.”

revenue implications and even though those revenue implications pale when you look at long term health implications, they still have short term revenue implications. There is a lot of things we’d like to do right now.

“But this (VAT rate increase) is what we believe is the right thing for the people of The Bahamas right now. It’s bitter medicine but we all have to take it.”

In his defence of the VAT increase, Dr Sands said: “It is a regressive tax, and what we sought to do is simultaneously put some progressive changes in there. When you talk about eliminating tuition at BTVI - huge savings for the poor.

VAT off breadbasket items and medicine - huge savings for the poor. If you look at the net, what will probably

happen for the poorest is that this budget is neutral in terms of their net taxation, and that is what we were seeking to do.

“We sought to have a progressive net-impact,” he continued, “so the goal was using an approach which is reasonably doable and offset it for the least among us, like the over-the-hill redevelopment initiative tax breaks.

“You can’t take it all in isolation - look at what the net picture is. Fundamentally, when you see all these various things eliminating duty on new vehicles, increasing exemption for people traveling, if you were to now look at the poorest 75-100,000 people and look at their tax bill in 2017 and tax bill in 2018 - I put it to you that it’s probably unchanged, that’s the intent.”

BREADBASKET ITEMS LIST TO INCLUDE HEALTHIER GOODS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands has promised more healthy changes are on the horizon for the breadbasket list - after wide public consultation.

Dr Sands underscored the Minnis administration’s commitment to fully vetting proposed changes, adding they will not require any amendments to the regulations of the value added tax law.

He was responding to intense criticisms from consumers that there are no healthy options on the zerorated list.

“Those are two separate policy decisions,” he said.

“One (increase in VAT

rate) has a legislative requirement - you have to bring an act to amend the regulations of the VAT bill, the VAT 2018 regulations,” he said, “and because we have not completed the conversation or consultation then we have to go with the existing breadbasket with that amendment.

Changing the breadbasket requires that we gazette the changes and does not require a bill or act of Parliament.”

Dr Sands continued: “We haven’t made it to Exuma, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, we haven’t made it to Abaco. We made a commitment we would talk with people. At this point. there was overwhelming consensus that sugar had to go, so we started with

that. I believe the pushback against corned beef was so great we decided we let it have a bye.”

It was announced last week that as of August 1, VAT will be removed from all breadbasket items, except sugar, which will be taken off the breadbasket list.

This means VAT will not be applied to butter, cooking oil, mayonnaise, grits, cheese, corned beef, evaporated milk, margarine, rice, flour, bread, tomato paste, baby cereal, baby formula, soup, broths, baby food, powdered detergents, condensed milk, soaps, fresh milk and mustard. The overall VAT rate will increase from 7.5 percent to 12 percent as of July 1.

In February, Dr Sands told Tribune Business the Minnis administration was

set on totally changing the government’s breadbasket food line-up in time for the 2018-2019 budget year.

He said the government would align tax and economic policies with the Bahamas’ dietary health needs for the first time since the 1970s.

Dr Sands further said, at the time, the concept of “giving people a bellyful” through imposing price controls on basic food staples had contributed directly to The Bahamas’ health crisis, particularly its struggles with non-communicable diseases.

On Monday, Dr Sands said: “In terms of addition of fruit and vegetables, and various other items, you have to look at the impact both at the wholesale level, retail level, and on the revenue side. So all of these policies have

DAVIS WON’T COMMIT TO CUTTING VAT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis was noncommittal yesterday on whether a PLP administration will return the value added tax rate to 7.5 percent should the party be elected to office in the next general election.

Instead, Mr Davis said he was not going to make any promises because he could not say what condition the current Free National Movement government

would leave the country in following an election.

However, the PLP leader was “unequivocal” in stating the party sees the proposed VAT increase to 12 percent as a “mistake”, adding there was potential for a “double dip recession”.

He further criticised the Minnis administration for the disconnect between executives in government and members of parliament. The Tribune reported yesterday that several backbench MPs were surprised by the announcement of a VAT increase. Mr Davis

also took at swipe at Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for his numerous changes in position on matters of national interest saying the national footwear is now a “flip flop” and rejected the assertion the proposed VAT hike was in an effort to dodge the devaluation of the Bahamian dollar.

For his part, PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper said the government had done a “piss poor” job in consulting stakeholders and the business community on the tax hike.

Mr Davis also addressed the former government’s rationale over introducing VAT at a rate of 7.5 percent.

He said: “I wish to say having governed this country we were satisfied, that is the Progressive Liberal Party, that the VAT revenue (from the) 7.5 percent coupled with our revenue enhancement measures and a pro-growth economic strategy, we thought that was sufficient to defray the government’s day to day operational costs and to deliver on their promises to the Bahamian people.

“We felt with the opening of Baha Mar, The Pointe, the sale of the Lucayan hotel complex in Freeport, the cruise port in east Grand Bahama, the Ocean Cay development in Exuma Cays and other projects on the drawing board, that there would have been no need for a hike in VAT. “Let me be unequivocal

in our opposition to this tax hike. It is a mistake and can induce double dip recession.”

Mr Davis noted the establishment of a revenue enhancement unit under the former Christie administration. He maintained the unit collected $25m to $30m each month up to May 2017. Mr Davis claimed the unit was dismantled when the Minnis administration took office, adding if it remained, the country would not be faced with these fiscal problems.

“This unit within the Ministry of Finance was collecting $25m to $30m per month up to May 2017 and their work was being commended by international credit rating agencies.”

He did not say which agencies he was referring to.

“It is not true to say that the unit was floundering.

It floundered after May 2017 because the minister of finance dismantled the unit and revenue collections suffered. The revenue enhancement unit should be immediately reestablished to its full manpower to carry out this important mandate of collecting revenue,” he continued.

Mr Davis, former deputy prime minister, said there is as much as $630m in uncollected revenue.

He said the government should focus on this stream of revenue instead of increasing VAT.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 6, 2018, PAGE 7

ROBBER HELD

BY MARINES A BURGLARY suspect was detained by marines from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force yesterday morning.

The marines were conducting a coastal surveillance patrol in south New Providence when they observed a young man running away from another male. The marines gave chase and apprehended him.

They also retrieved a sharp-edged tool and a container of money.

The suspect was handed over to police for further questioning.

A MARINE, left, points a pistol at the handcuffed suspect.

Policeman: It was my life or his

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A SENIOR police officer yesterday expressed his remorse to a woman for having to kill her teenage grandson in Yellow Elder Gardens five years ago, although he added: “It was either my life or his.”

Sergeant Antoine Hamilton made the statements before briefly questioning Theresa Duncanson on her testimony concerning what she remembered about the October 15, 2013, death of 18-year-old Antonio Duncanson.

Sgt Hamilton, out of respect to her being the grandmother, suggested to Ms Duncanson that it was unfortunate that he was forced to fatally shoot her grandson, but stressed that hopefully the evidence led in Coroner’s Court would reveal why he did what he did.

According to the evidence led before Deputy Coroner Carolyn VogtEvans, Sgt Hamilton was one of two officers, the

other being Reserve Superintendent Christopher Pennerman, who was asked to assist in the apprehension of an “individual of interest” who was suspected of being in possession of a firearm.

Around 1.50pm on the date in question, the three officers of “Charlie Delta 10,” one of whom was former Police Constable Carey, received certain information about two males suspected of being in possession of a firearm.

As a result of the information they received, the former officer said his unit went to Yellow Elder Gardens and conducted a mobile surveillance of the area in an unmarked police vehicle.

While doing so, former P/C Carey said he observed the man dressed in orange brandishing a chrome handgun, which he subsequently placed in his waistband.

Upon seeing this, former P/C Carey said he contacted police control room for backup.

The crew of “Alpha Echo 3,” led by Sgt Hamilton and Reserve Supt Pennerman arrived in the area a short while later, after which former P/C Carey said he guided them towards where the two suspects were.

When Reserve Supt Pennerman took the witness stand, he said both he and Sgt Hamilton were led to the intersection of Seymour Street and Lightbourne Avenue, where the crew of Charlie Delta 10 pointed out two men walking north along Seymour Street.

One of them wore an orange shirt and dark-coloured pants and orange and blue Nike sneakers, he said.

The other wore a green Heineken shirt, black pants and sneakers.

As he and Sgt Hamilton approached the two men in their police vehicle, Reserve Supt Pennerman said both fled in separate directions; the man in the orange shirt ran past the car and north along Seymour Street and onto Old Cedar Street while the other one, whom former

OAS HAS CRUCIAL ROLE IN REGION

By Our Special Correspondent in Washington THE Organization of American States is now in its 70th year. An organisation long and naturally dominated by the United States, the OAS has been criticised for that and for other things. But whether they are speaking from the core of their conscience or playing to the TV cameras for points with viewers back home, Western Hemisphere heads of government and foreign ministers often make news when attending an OAS meeting.

The 48th OAS general assembly meeting was no exception. It was held earlier this week in Washington DC, in the stately and elegant headquarters building just down the street from the Washington Monument.

George Washington’s bust is featured along an ornate balcony decorating the Hall of Nations, along with commemorations of numerous other hemispheric and national heroes.

Prior to the first session of the assembly, over 100 demonstrators waved flags and placards outside the meeting venue and chanted in protest against the actions of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. Many carried simple white wooden crosses bearing the name of one of the numerous recent reported victims of Ortega’s increasingly militaristic regime. A few protesting the regime of Bolivian president Evo Morales waved flags in a neighbouring, smaller demonstration.

Inside the meeting hall, though, foreign ministers took to microphones and verbal sparring ensured in a predictably sharp edged debate over the big issue of this and many other days in this hemisphere: Venezuela.

As the crisis in that country deepens and reports of insufficient food, water and medicine proliferate in the news, the outflow of refugees threatens to drag many more neighbouring countries into the regional emergency.

Venezuela has now been ruled for 30 years by Hugo Chavez and, since 2013, by Chavez’ former foreign minister Nicolas Maduro. The oil rich Caribbean nation has not prospered under their leadership. While both Chavez and Maduro gained some admirers with their defiance of the United States and chummy relations with Castro’s Cuba and Morales’ Bolivia, their policies have despoiled what should be a vibrant economy. Political repression has constituted their response to resulting public restiveness.

As the OAS general assembly convened this week, a front-page Washington Post story detailed the accelerating “brain drain” from Venezuela, as those with marketable skills leave the country in droves.

And during the general assembly’s early plenary sessions, it did not take long for debate battle lines to be drawn. Costa Rican foreign minister Epsy Campbell took the microphone first, decrying both the “unfair, irregular and undemocratic” recent election in Venezuela and the rising death toll in Nicaraguan political strife.

Campbell, proudly describing herself as the first woman and first person of African heritage to serve in her current post, carried on as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo entered the hall trailed by a coterie of aides.

As Pompeo was settling himself and Campbell concluded her remarks, Venezuelan foreign minister Jorge Areaza spoke on a procedural point in rebuttal. Noting Pompeo’s arrival, Areaza noted acidly that Venezuela “seemed to have become the main topic of this conference,” and criticised the OAS as “a corporation created to attack (Venezuela)”. But he cited Articles 19 and 20 of the OAS charter forbidding outside interference in the affairs of sovereign members.

The American Secretary of State was next. After pushing basic elements of

Donald Trump’s agenda such as “organisational burden sharing” (ie lower US financial contributions), decrying “transnational crime” (drugs trade) and, of course, illegal immigration, Pompeo levelled his rhetorical guns at Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the latter accused of “dismantling its democracy”.

Pompeo criticised Maduro’s “alteration of the constitutional order and holding a sham election”. Pompeo threatened to pursue suspension of Venezuela from the OAS, further punitive economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation if matters did not improve.

Areaza again responded.

The US, he charged, is perpetrating a “coup d’etat” against Venezuela, financing street violence in Caracas and withholding scarce urgently needed medicine. “We are not Panama in 1989,” Areaza said. “We are not the Dominican Republic in 1965.”

Areaza quoted Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, as saying “the Monroe Doctrine is current and valid”.

But the Venezuelans are swimming against the tide.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso said his nation “cannot ignore it when democracy implodes.

It may be painful to (Venezuela), but we must speak out”.

Last month, the OAS released a report it had commissioned by three independent international legal experts, from Argentina, Canada and Costa Rica.

OAS will submit the report to the International Criminal Court. The impressively detailed report essentially indicts the Maduro government for crimes against humanity and may help set the stage for ICC proceedings or even regional military intervention.

The situation in Venezuela is bad and getting worse. Its effects are already widespread but will almost certainly have broader effect, until change comes. That change may come from the OAS.

P/C Carey said was Jaquan Rolle, ran south.

Reserve Supt Pennerman said Sgt Hamilton, who was driving, got out of the car and immediately gave chase. Reserve Supt Pennerman said he then hopped in the driver’s seat and moved the car to a secure location before also giving chase.

Upon reaching Old Cedar Street, Reserve Supt Pennerman said the man in the orange shirt turned left onto a dirt road and pulled a handgun from his waist.

In fear of their lives, Res Supt Pennerman said Sgt Hamilton drew his service weapon and fired three shots at the suspect, who subsequently fell back on the ground. Upon checking the individual, Reserve Supt Pennerman found that he had sustained three gunshot wounds.

Former P/C Carey, who said he observed Sgt Hamilton initially giving chase to the man in orange, said a short while after the senior officer took off in hot pursuit, he heard what sounded

like gunshots.

Former PC Carey said he went to the source of the sounds, which brought him onto a dirt road south of Old Cedar Street. He said he ultimately found the suspect, suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head, and laying on the ground in a “swampy, grassy area.”

A firearm was nearby his body, former P/C Carey said.

Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived a short time later and took the suspect to the hospital, where he later died.

During reexamination, former P/C Carey said the primary reason why he did not arrest the two suspects was because he was doing a covert operation at the time.

Nonetheless, Constable Carey said he was familiar with Duncanson because a week before the incident in question, a feud was being waged between the “Rolle brothers” in the area— one of whom he said was Jaquan–and that he had

previously profiled both Duncanson and Rolle, as the two were associates.

The court also heard police recovered a weapon from the crime scene, a silver .40mm pistol.

The weapon and its components were later processed for fingerprints, which yielded negative results.

However, swabs were collected from the gun’s tiger, slide, and grip.

Ms Duncanson, when she gave her evidence, said on the morning her grandson died, she did not go to work as she was feeling unwell. She said she had taken a bath and was laying down when she got a call sometime around 1pm that something had transpired in Yellow Elder.

Ms Duncanson said she wasn’t able to go anywhere, and ended up staying home all day. However, someone later came to her and told her that Antonio was the person who was killed in the incident she had heard about earlier.

The case continues today.

CAMPERDOWN

PLANT

Nassau, Bahamas – The annual summer plant sale held by the Horticultural Society of the Bahamas will be held in Camperdown, June 9th, 2018 from 9am to 1pm. Follow the directions to Soursop Street!

Founded by the late Mrs. Sara Bardelmeier in 1983, the Horticulatural Society of the Bahamas (HSB) is home to many gardeners in the Bahamas who are eager to share their knowledge and expertise with you. They will offer a wide variety of plants which will include bromeliads, ferns, orchids, succulents, palms, vegetables and other plants including tillandsias. Prices will be unbelievable…Starting at $5.00

Replenish your garden or start a garden with the vast variety of plants that will be available.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Why VAT rise hits hardest for the people who can least afford it

By Alicia B AHAMIANS tuned in to the Budget Communication in Parliament last Wednesday with great interest.

After laying out a number of supposed benefits to the Bahamian people, Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest showed the price tag. The FNM administration intends to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) by 60 percent, taking it up from 7.5 percent to 12 percent on July 1. It expects this tax hike to increase revenue by $400m in the next fiscal year.

In a press conference, Turnquest suggested this is the best way to pay off arrears left by the former administration of approximately $360m. He insisted the government is doing the right thing by being honest with the Bahamian people as opposed to presenting a misleading budget and delaying pay day.

Under-budget or increase taxes? These are clearly not the only options. This administration is depending on us to play into the stereotype of “lazy” and “D-average” so it can do as it sees fit with little to no pushback.

Even if VAT is the best option for The Bahamas, it would have been more transparent — a term the FNM enjoyed using before May 2017 — and shown a commitment to more participatory governance to share the details of its financial concerns with the people before this point. It would have been easier to understand this decision if we had been provided with this information before the Budget Communication and had the opportunity to offer ideas. The people

Wallace

sitting in Parliament are, after all, our representatives and not a collective dictatorship.

FLIP-FLOP

would be welcome as well.

VAT AND CUSTOMS DUTY

In the Budget Communication, it was announced Over the past few days, Customs exemption would many people have quoted be increased from $300 the 2016 version of Dr to $500, twice per year.

Hubert Minnis who said: “I There is also a reduction don’t believe in increasing in Customs duty on new taxes, I believe in decreas- small cars and excise duty ing taxes and increasing on new electric and hybrid opportunities.

Increasing cars under $50,000 in value. taxes is a lazy way out. Neither of these benefit the When you don’t want to poor. think, you just tax.”

We learned VAT will not In 2013, be applied to Dr Minnis ‘Poverty is not a breadbasket said the PLP items. These choice and it is not should share include rice, its economic about choices. It flour, grits, studies and is not the result of cheese, butter, analyses as cooking oil, well as alter- working less, or milk, evaponatives it working less hard. rated milk, considered Poverty is a soups and with the mustard.

Consystemic issue Bahamian cerns have people. Today, and a monster we been raised the Bahamian continue to feed about the lack people are of healthy making the with decisions like options on the same request. VAT increases.’ breadbasket We want to list, and Minknow how this ister of Health Dr Duane administration came to the Sands suggested more conclusion that a 60 percent items, including fresh proincrease in VAT is best for duce, will be added. the country. We also want VAT is also being waived to see the other options that from electricity bills below were under consideration, $100 and water bills below why they failed, and how $50 impacting 30,000 and the administration arrived 43,000 people respecat this conclusion. Hearing tively — close to the 40,000 from the Prime Minister reportedly living in povon his change in position erty. This measure, clearly meant for the poor, still does not bring balance when we are looking at 12 percent VAT on everything else. The 2013 Household and Expenditure Survey showed 12.8 percent of the population in The Bahamas

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Interested persons should send resumes and supporting documents to: P. O. Box N-9240 Nassau, Bahamas All applications must be submitted on or before June 8, 2018.

is living in poverty — on less than $5,000 per year.

WHAT IS POVERTY?

We need to understand what it means to be poor.

Poverty is not the inability to purchase a particular brand of cellphone. It is not making the decision to attend a community college instead of a well-known university. It is not driving a 2010 Honda Civic. It is not being a college student and living with your parents. It is not a situation you can see your way out of at any given time. It is not a decision or series of decisions you consider prudent or responsible. It is having $5,000 per year and being unable to make decisions that do not fit that budget.

Poverty is not a choice and it is not about choices. It is not the result of working less, or working less hard.

Poverty is a systemic issue and a monster we continue to feed with unilateral decisions like VAT increases and discriminatory practices. It is an issue we trivialise and makes jokes about when we hear about VAT going up and

Confidence Insurance Bahamas Agency Ltd. will be

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declare ourselves “poor” because we may not be able to go to crossfit any more.

Not being able to benefit from the elimination of duty on airplanes does not make you poor and jokes about it are lazy and D-average.

Dine on the Line — an awareness campaign in which participants spend $4 on food every day — was last week, and maybe we should we have an exercise of doing everything else on the line for a month. Can you live on $11.64 per day?

And no, 12 percent VAT is not likely to force many of us below the poverty line, but think about what it means for those already living in poverty. The reality of the over-burdened Bahamians living in poverty is not a punchline and we do not need that kind of comic relief.

EQUAL, BUT NOT FAIR

The general conversation about the increase in VAT has revealed what we do and do not understand. It has been made clear, repeatedly, that the privilege some of us enjoy helps us to ignore or be completely unaware of the challenges other people face.

VAT is paid by all, but our experiences are not the same. We are not all in the same situation. VAT is a regressive — as opposed to progressive — tax. It is not higher for people with higher income. VAT is flat, so everyone pays the same rate, but it is not equitable. Middle class and poor people pay a larger proportion of their income in taxes through VAT. Though everyone is paying the same tax on individual items, the effect is different.

There is a popular pair of images used to show the difference between equality and equity. There are three people of different heights trying to watch a game over a fence and there are three boxes they can stand on. In the first image, they each get one box. The shortest person still cannot see the game at all while the other two can. That is equality. In the second image, the tallest

person does not get a box, and the shortest person gets two. In this image, they are all able to see and enjoy the game. That is equity.

What if taxation was equitable? What if the government found a way to alleviate the burden that has always been on the poor? What if we, as citizens, cared enough to look for alternatives to the quick fixes our representatives find and implement?

WHAT WE NEED

Fiscal responsibility is critical. We know the government needs money to provide services, from education and health care to road repairs and waste disposal. None of this is free and the government needs a source of revenue. It does not, however, need to disproportionately burden the poor to meet its needs.

It does not need to keep financial records and decisions out of our reach.

This administration needs to recognise that while the people did not necessarily vote FNM as much as it voted anti-PLP, there were expectations. Expectations of accountability. Transparency. An understanding that the Bahamian people are not interested in being blissfully unaware of the government action and inaction. We expect to be involved and to have the opportunity to contribute, critique, co-create the systems and programmes we need and demand.

We need to have a conversation about wages.

Over the past few days, many have talked about the need to increase the minimum wage, but that comes with its own effects.

Even so, it is time to talk about a living wage so every working person can afford adequate food, shelter and other physiological needs.

VAT is in the spotlight.

No one wants to hear about taxes, much less increased taxes. We can agree on taxes, bills and poverty. We do not want them, but they exist. Let’s be honest with ourselves and each other, let’s use our power as a people to call on our representatives to stand with us, regardless of class or colour.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 6, 2018, PAGE 9

Boston Dynamics’ scary robot videos: Are they for real?

BOSTON Associated Press IF YOU’VE ever watched a YouTube video of a Boston Dynamics robot, you probably remember it. But you may not know what the videos leave out.

Millions of people have watched the humanoid Atlas jogging through a field, or the intimidating, 6.5-foot-tall Handle zip back and forth swiftly (and ominously) on wheeled legs. Then there’s the dog-like SpotMini dexterously opening a door — a machine so unsettling it inspired a nightmarish episode of the TV show “Black Mirror” last year.

All of these robots are real, but the videos can sometimes be misleading.

Interviews with several former employees — and public comments by Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert — help illustrate what’s really going on.

CAN ROBOTS REALLY DO THAT? Probably. But what you

don’t see are their many failed attempts.

“The videos are an accurate representation of the best trials of the robots,” said one former Boston Dynamics employee, who asked not to be named out of concern over endangering career prospects in the small and tight-knit US robotics community.

What doesn’t make the cut in those YouTube clips, he added, are the many “blooper reels” shared internally.

Spoiler alert: Walking robots fall down a lot.

DO THE ROBOTS DO ALL THIS ON THEIR OWN? Rarely. The videos typically don’t show a nearby human test engineer with special remote control systems that guide the robots through their activities. Onstage demos, however, give the game away.

But the human assist is no longer always necessary. In May, the secretive firm posted its first video of the SpotMini robot autonomously navigating

wonder, are people really afraid? Or is it afraid like in a horror movie when you’re afraid on purpose?”

A BOSTON Dynamics SpotMini robot walks through a conference room during a robotics summit in Boston. It’s never been clear whether robotics company Boston Dynamics is making killing machines, household helpers, or something else entirely. But the secretive firm, which for nine years has unnerved viewers with YouTube videos of robots that jump, gallop or prowl like animal predators, is starting to emerge from a quarter-century of stealth.

Photo: Charles Krupa/AP a predetermined route through an office. The robot had already built a map of the route during manual testing using cameras mounted on its front, back and sides.

ARE THEY MEANT TO BE SCARY? Only if you want them to

be, Raibert told a gathering of engineers at the Boston Robotics conference in May. “Even though there’s a lot of blog headlines that say the robots are scary, if you look at our YouTube videos you see a lot of people like them,” Raibert said. “That makes me

WON’T THEY RUN OUT OF POWER? Yes. The firm’s first commercial robot, the SpotMini, is all electric. It can run for 90 minutes at a time.

But the battery is “so easy to remove” that the robot could recharge itself, Raibert said. He said engineers are also testing a maneuver where another robot can help recharge its robotic companion.

WHY SO MANY VIDEOS? The YouTube videos started off by accident when a non-employee posted a video of the company’s BigDog pack mule robot about a decade ago, according to former employees who worked there at the time.

It got so much attention that the firm started its own YouTube channel, which now has 32 videos — one with nearly 30 million views.

Apple dangling more goodies, while adding tech diet options SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA Associated Press APPLE will offer more ways for people to limit the time they spend on iPhones while introducing features designed to make its products even more indispensable.

The paradox emerged yesterday as Apple executives previewed new versions of free software due out this fall.

The forthcoming controls are aimed at addressing criticism that devices are becoming increasingly addictive and distracting, especially for children. Experts worry that all the flashy colours and beeps give users shortterm, feel-good rewards while increasing stress in the long run.

Yet Apple made it clear it also hopes to make its devices and services even more alluring — and potentially irresistible — by creating new avenues for its digital assistant, Siri, to serve as a backup brain for users. The company is also creating more entertainment options and new ways to communicate, including group video chats through FaceTime and more options for the iPhone X’s animated emojis.

People have become so dependent on technology that it’s unlikely any company will be able to solve the addiction problem, but they can help keep it from getting worse, Gartner analyst Brian Blau said. The best hope, he said, is for technology to help people

CRAIG FEDERIGHI, Apple’s senior vice-president of Software Engineering, speaks during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP enjoy life and then get out of the way.

“Apple at least seems to be hearing what people are saying and trying to do something about it,” he said.

Apple’s new controls will expand on the “Do Not Disturb” options on the iPhone and iPad. The display can also be set to dim automatically just before bedtime. Users can also block app notifications from showing up on the home screen not only based on time of day, which they can do now, but by location, such as when visiting the playground with their kids.

Other features will provide weekly reports on how much time people are spending

looking at their screen each month. Users will be able to set daily time limits on specific apps.

Last month, Google revealed plans to force Android phones into “shush” mode when placed face down on a table and have the screen show only greyscale colours late at night.

Other highlights during Apple’s annual software preview include: BETTER BROWSING PRIVACY Apple is taking a swipe at ubiquitous “share” buttons created by Facebook and others to track users’ behavior online regardless of whether they click on them.

The company said it’s shutting down that tracking, unless the user decides to permit it, through a Safari browser update for Mac and iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads.

Apple also intends to crack down on data companies’ ability to identify specific devices by creating a unique fingerprint based on a device’s settings, installed fonts and plug-ins. Instead, Apple will send out generic information to make all Apple devices look alike.

Unlike Facebook and Google, Apple doesn’t depend on online ads dictated by data about a user’s interests. Instead, Apple generates most of its revenue

from device sales.

Chris Hoofnagle, faculty director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, believes Apple’s move will prod rivals Mozilla and Microsoft to do the same, though Google may remain a holdout with the Chrome browser given the company’s dependence on ads and data.

The announcement comes as Facebook acknowledges it struck data-sharing deals with at least 60 device makers, including Apple. Facebook insisted there was nothing scandalous and said the deals were designed to make it easier for people to use Facebook features without opening its app or website.

AUGMENTED REALITY GETS AUGMENTED Apple rolled out new support for augmented reality as it unveiled a new format for digital objects that appear to live in the real world. Digital objects created with the new format, called USDZ, will work in Apple’s Safari browser, Messages and Mail apps, meaning AR isn’t limited to stand-alone apps that people choose to download separately.

Apple is trying to extend AR experiences to a broader population, rather than just hard-core, tech-savvy users.

What remains to be seen is whether there is enough of a compelling reason for someone to use AR, even if it’s built into everyday apps.

• GEORG von Tiesenhausen, the last of the German rocket team that launched the US space programme, has died at his Alabama home. He was 104.

US Space & Rocket Center spokeswoman Pat Ammons confirmed to The Associated Press on yesterday that von Tiesenhausen died on Sunday.

Von Tiesenhausen started his career in 1943 at the German Rocket Center in Peenemeunde, Germany, where he held the position of section chief. It was there that his career in rocket development began.

The famed scientist worked alongside Wernher von Braun during World War II in Germany. Several years after the war, von Tiesenhausen joined von Braun in Huntsville, Alabama. While there, von Tiesenhausen proved instrumental in forming the backbone of the US space programme, ultimately aiding in the launch of the first US satellite and the first US astronauts. While at the Marshall Space Flight Center, von Tiesenhausen designed and created the famous lunar rover that accompanied the last three Apollo missions in 1971 and 1972.

Von Tiesenhausen developed the reputation as Marshall’s resident dreamer, working tirelessly to achieve his goal of establishing a permanent lunar base and then one on Mars.

The rocketry pioneer was presented a lifetime achievement award in 2011 by Neil Armstrong at the rocket center in Huntsville. Von Tiesenhausen was fondly known as “Von T” by his colleagues, including Armstrong.

• MICROSOFT is paying $7.5bn for the popular coder hangout GitHub as the maker of Windows further embraces the types of open-source projects it used to shun.

CEO Satya Nadella said the all-stock deal pairs Microsoft with the “world’s leading software development platform”, a destination where developers around the world go to share and review each other’s code.

As Microsoft built its business on proprietary software such as the Windows operating system, it came to be seen as an antagonist to the open-source philosophy of free software written by a collaborative community of developers. The company has been working for years to shed that reputation, especially after Nadella took over in 2014.

“Developers will be at the centre of solving the world’s most pressing challenges,” Nadella said in a blog post Monday. “However, the real power comes when every developer can create together, collaborate, share code and build on each other’s work.”

This is not the first time Microsoft has bought into a community. Its biggest-ever deal was its $27bn acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016.

GitHub, a San Francisco startup, was founded in 2008 and has grown sharply since announcing its first outside investment in 2012.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 6, 2018, PAGE 11

500 REMAIN IN SHANTY TOWNS AHEAD OF DEMOLITION

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

AS the July 31 eviction deadline approaches, some 500 residents are believed to remain in shanty towns set for demolition in the capital, The Tribune was told.

Meanwhile, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes yesterday confirmed the government was on track with its eviction deadline for shanty town residents.

Haitian Pastors League President Dr Jean Paul Charles told The Tribune about half of the residents in the ten shanty towns surveyed by the government have relocated, but there was still a sizeable population that remained who would likely need assistance.

“A good number of them have already moved out and found another place to rent,” he said. “But there are some people still in the village, and we encourage them and we tell them they have to move out.

“It does seem at this time the government is not willing to do anything, they said they would, but nothing yet.

We also formed a committee but it’s only so much we can do ourselves, it’s too heavy for the church to carry.”

Dr Charles said: “Around 500 (remain), I don’t want to say all of them need assistance but the majority of those that stay, they are unable to get another place. Some of them are (able to move), you know some people will try to stay to see what will happen as they’ve been living there for so long.”

Dr Charles told The Tribune his group continues to visit shanty towns to advise people of the deadline and provide assistance.

“The way of living there is not humane, but I think Bahamian people have compassion to help people move out to live in a better condition,” he said, adding the league has made suggestions to the government to render assistance to displaced shanty town residents; however, there has been no commitment to offer rental assistance.

“If they can help them maybe pay a couple months for them, or first and last so they can get set up. That’s

what we are asking the government,” Dr Charles said.

“We said that before but the minister for labour said he would look into it but they will try.”

When the July 31 deadline was announced, human rights group Rights Bahamas said it now had evidence to take “constitutional action” against the government over the timeline mandating the eviction of shanty town residents, arguing the decision was discriminatory.

At the time, RB president Stephanie St Fleur branded the move “ethnic cleansing” saying it contravened certain articles of the Bahamas Constitution.

Yesterday, Ms St Fleur said the groups’ concerns over the eviction timeline remain.

Ms St Fleur said: “The basic concern is those who aren’t employed, then some of mothers said they were looking for places but no places want to rent to persons with more than two young kids.

“Some of them are looking to move but nobody wants to rent to them,” she added, “and then majority of them who aren’t working”.

Mr Foulkes, who is chairman of the Shanty Town Action Task Force, told media outside Cabinet the task force has met with five landowners with no expectation of extending that deadline.

“There’s no problems that we encounter,” he said, “or that we see coming up that will cause us to change the July 31 date for the shanty town removals.

All of the timelines that we have, most of them are internal, we’ve met them all.

“We’ve met with five (land owners), two of them we cannot locate. I don’t know whether they are in the jurisdiction or not but we have so far spoken to five of them and they are cooperating with us.”

Mr Foulkes said failure to contact the remaining two will not have an impact on the removal exercise as officials will be acting in accordance with the building code.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, “we will comply with

the laws of the Bahamas namely the Town Planning Act that mandates certain things must happen with unregulated structures.”

The government’s survey was conducted in ten shanty towns over a four-week period from Elizabeth, Carmichael (Garden Hills), and Golden Isles constituencies, and with the help of 60 enumerators from various governmental agencies.

The populations of the

communities are: Montgomery Avenue, 115 residents; Allen Drive; 28 residents; Bellot Road; 10; Golden Gates Road, 291 residents; Lazaretto Road, 56 residents; Cowpen Road (west), 165 residents; Bacardi Road east, 39 residents, and west, 96 residents; and Lumumba Lane, 160 residents. The report also included 27 residents who participated but were not categorised by location.

THE HAMSTER Road shanty town.

GN 2035

READERS REACT TO VAT RISE

GN 2034 AS the debate over the VAT controversy continues, Tribune readers have been giving their reactions to the news that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis reportedly told a Cabinet minister it is “better to lose an election than to lose a country.”

Proudloudandfnm said: “I disagree with more taxes.

As do many of us. What we want is to see government reform first! Giving our government more revenue without significant reform is insane.”

That was backed up by Happyfly: “I agree... It appears all we are going to ever get from the ruling elite is some hot air about the last regime’s financial improprieties and then some more taxes. Really not even sure what the point of a ‘Transparency Act’ is if everyone that has ever considered running for government in this country can be 110 percent confident that there is absolutely ZERO accountability regardless of what laws are in place and/or how badly they behave!!”

And DonAnthony: “You are so right. This FNM Administration is squandering away all the goodwill and mandate they had from the people to make hard, meaningful changes for the betterment of this country. Nothing in this budget reflects that, it is lazy, simply raising taxes and no cuts. Why is there no date for the sale of these unprofitable govt corporations?

Not one, not Bahamasair, BEC, Water and Sewerage.

Just a never-ending horizon of bleeding the Treasury and the Bahamian people dry. Why is there not a commitment to reduce the bloated civil service by at

least 5 percent? Nothing, just the easy way out – raise taxes, which, regardless of what they say, will increase the burden on the poor.”

Jamani2 was slightly more optimistic: “At this hour, we have to throw off the red and the gold.

We must come together as Bahamians to clean up a mess. I know that is easier said than done – especially in a place like the Bahamas. But you have to trust the collective wisdom of the nation, too. The Bahamian people are smart, discerning, and wise. They know who is looking out for their best interests.

This is why transparency, integrity, and communication are so important. Do what we have to do and let the people make up their own minds four years from now.”

And in The Tribune’s current online poll, which is asking readers to grade the 2018/2019 Budget, the results at the time of going to press were: A – eight percent; B – 15 percent; C – 10 percent; D – 12 percent; E – 6 percent; F – 29 percent and U – 21 percent.

The poll is still open, so don’t miss your chance to vote and join the conversation on tribune242.com.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

SUSPECT TARGETED VICTIMS INVOLVED IN HIS DIVORCE PHOENIX (AP) — Dwight Lamon Jones apparently never put his bitter divorce behind him.

Almost eight years after splitting from his wife, the Phoenix-area man began confronting people connected with the breakup and shooting them, killing six people in four days last week before ending his own life as police drew near, authorities said.

A day after Jones’ death, police said they did not know why he waited so long to seek vengeance. But experts said it’s not unusual for killers who feel wronged by catastrophic life events to wait years to settle old scores.

So far, investigators have been unable to determine a precise motive for the shootings, but they say three of the victims were directly tied to the divorce — a forensic psychiatrist who testified about Jones’ mental health and two paralegals who worked for the law firm that represented the suspect’s wife.

WEINSTEIN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO RAPE CHARGES NEW YORK (AP) — The battle lines in Harvey Weinstein’s criminal case grew sharper on Tuesday as the movie mogul pleaded not guilty to rape and criminal sex act charges in New York and his lawyer promised a fight.

A lawyer for Weinstein signaled he would use legal challenges to try to derail the case before it reaches trial, even as signs surfaced that prosecutors are showing their own resolve by continuing to interview potential victims.

The not guilty plea marked Weinstein’s first court appearance since surrendering on May 25 after months of accusations by dozens of women alleging sexual and other misconduct.

NBA STARS: WE’RE NOT GOING TO THE WHITE HOUSE CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Curry and LeBron James spoke their minds last year. They have not changed their minds this year.

No matter whose team wins the NBA championship, neither superstar will be at the White House anytime soon.

On the day when the Philadelphia Eagles were supposed to be there to commemorate winning the Super Bowl — a visit canceled by President Donald Trump — Curry and James said neither team was interested in going to the White House to meet the president.

“I’m not surprised. It’s typical of him,” James, the Cleveland star, said of Trump’s decision to cancel.

LILIAN Hernandez cries as she is comforted by her husband at a shelter near Escuintla, Guatemala. Hernandez lost 36 family members in all, missing and presumed dead in the town of San Miguel Los Lotes after the fiery volcanic eruption of the Volcan de Fuego.

Photo: Oliver de Ros/AP

‘Nobody is left’ after eruption ESCUINTLA, Guatemala Associated Press LILIAN Hernandez wept as she spoke the names of aunts, uncles, cousins, her grandmother and two great-grandchildren — 36 family members in all — missing and presumed dead in the explosion of Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire.

“My cousins Ingrid, Yomira, Paola, Jennifer, Michael, Andrea and Silvia, who was just two years old,” the distraught woman said — a litany that brought into sharp relief the scope of a disaster for which the final death toll is far from clear.

What was once a collection of verdant canyons, hillsides and farms resembled a moonscape of ash, rock and debris on Tuesday in the aftermath of the fast-moving avalanche of

super-heated muck that roared into the tightly knit villages on the mountain’s flanks, devastating entire families.

Two days after the eruption, the terrain was still too hot in many places for rescue crews to search for bodies or — increasingly unlikely with each passing day — survivors.

By afternoon, a new column of smoke was rising from the mountain and Guatemala’s disaster agency said volcanic material was descending its south side, prompting an evacuation order and the closure of a nearby national highway. Rescuers, police and journalists hurried to leave the area as a siren wailed and loudspeakers blared, “Evacuate!”

On Sunday, when the volcano exploded in a massive cloud of ash and molten

rock, Hernandez said her brother and sister ran to check on their 70-year-old grandmother on the family’s plot of land in the village of San Miguel Los Lotes.

“She said that it was God’s will, she was not going to flee,” Hernandez said. “She was unable to walk. It was hard for her to get around.”

Her brother and sister made it to safety, but their grandmother has not been seen again.

Hernandez and her husband, Francisco Ortiz, survived because they moved out of Los Lotes just two months ago to begin a new life on a small plot of land.

The couple has been staying at a Mormon church in the nearby city of Escuintla and going to a morgue there to await news. So far

only the body of one relative, her 28-year-old cousin, Cesar Gudiel Escalante, has been recovered and identified.

“The people ended up buried in nearly 3 meters of lava,” Ortiz said. “Nobody is left there.”

Other families experienced similar tragedies.

As President Jimmy Morales toured the area and met with survivors on Monday, a woman begged him to help her loved ones in Los Lotes.

“Mr President, my family is missing. Send a helicopter to throw water over them because they are burning,” she said. “I have three children, a grandchild, and all my brothers, my mother, all my family are there. ... More than 20 have disappeared.”

The fast-moving flows with temperatures as high

as 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (700 Celsius) and hot ash and volcanic gases that can cause rapid asphyxiation caught many off guard.

On Tuesday, it was clear that the official death toll of at least 70 was sure to climb and fears spread that anyone still stuck in the buried houses was dead and would remain entombed there.

At a roadblock, Joel Gonzalez complained that police wouldn’t let him through to see his family’s house in the village of San Juan Alotenango, where his 76-year-old father lay buried in ash along with four other relatives.

“They say they are going to leave them buried there, and we are not going to know if it’s really them,” the 39-year-old farmer said.

“They are taking away our opportunity to say goodbye.”

PUERTO RICO TO RELEASE STORM DEATH DATA AFTER RULING SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Associated Press

PUERTO Rico’s government said Tuesday it will comply with a court ruling that orders officials to release all death certificates issued after Hurricane Maria hit the US territory amid allegations that the official death toll of 64 is severely undercounted.

The court said in its ruling earlier in the day that the government also has to turn over other information, including copies of all burial and cremation permits issued after the Category 4 storm and allow access to the demographic registrar’s database that details causes of death.

“The information is public by nature,” wrote Judge Lauracelis Roques.

“People still don’t have a clear picture as to how many lives were lost due to a lack of food, medicine, health services or simply because of an ineffective response to an emergency. That’s why it’s urgent to shed light on all components of government preparedness and response.”

The government has seven days to comply with the ruling, which responds to a lawsuit filed

by CNN and Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism.

A Harvard study published last week estimates that there were up to 4,600 more deaths than usual in the three months after Maria, although some independent experts questioned the methods and the number in that study.

A WOMAN places one of the hundreds of shoes in memory of those killed by Hurricane Maria in front of the Puerto Rico Capitol, in San Juan, on Friday.

DESIGNER Kate Spade.

DESIGNER FOUND DEAD IN SUSPECTED SUICIDE NEW YORK Associated Press

KATE Spade, a fashion designer known for her sleek handbags, was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment Tuesday in an apparent suicide, police said. She was 55.

News of her death shocked the fashion world and led to an outpouring of tributes from her legions of fans.

A housekeeper discovered Spade’s body hanging in her bedroom, police said.

While investigators were still in the early stages of

their inquiry, the department’s chief of detectives, Dermot Shea, said evidence including a note pointed to “a tragic suicide”.

Shea wouldn’t discuss what was in the note, but law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that, among other things, it contained a message to Spade’s 13-year-old daughter, saying it was not her fault.

“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” Spade’s family said in a statement through a spokesman. “We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly.”