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VOLUME:115 No.135, JUNE 7TH, 2018

OFFICIA

CLASSIFIED TRADER: CARS, CARS, CARS & MORE CARS

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2000 jobs - the cost of tax gamble

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest yesterday.

‘ALL I WANT IS JUSTICE’

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

DIANE PHILIPS: MEMORIES WE CAN TOUCH

SEE PAGE EIGHT

THE shooting death of seven-year-old Camron Cooper has devastated his family and shocked the community he called home.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, his mother, Shavon Feast and stepfather Norman

CAMRON COOPER Dawkins, said the early morning tragedy that ended Camron’s life also robbed each of them of bits of their sanity.

“It’s hard to understand,” said Ms Feast as she wiped away tears. “I lost my baby, and it is something I have to keep reminding myself of every moment.

“He would have been

right here,” she added, with a motion towards a small group of children playing nearby. “My baby was shot down. My baby was taken away. My baby is gone.”

The mother of three, asked to recall the last conversation she had with her young son, remembered an exchange they shared the night before his death: “I loved to annoy him, so I would tell him I love him and keep saying it until he got tired of it. That’s what I did before he went to bed Monday.”

Ms Feast said her three children shared a room and on many occasions they SEE PAGE THREE

MAN KILLED IN SHOOTING POLICE were last night on the scene of a fatal shooting.

The incident took place at Carmichael Road and Bacardi Road.

The Tribune understands the victim is reportedly

Santonas Jonas.

It is the 39th homicide of the year, according to Tribune records.

Few other details were available at time of going to press. For more details, see www.tribune242.com.

Gaming industry warns 192 shops may be closed

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE web shop industry yesterday warned that 2,000 jobs will be lost, and 75 percent of its locations will close, if the government follows through with aggressive triple-digit tax hikes.

The Bahamas Gaming Operators Association, the sector body, intensified its fight against the Minnis administration’s new sliding scale tax structure by producing a study showing that the main casualties of the socalled “wipe out” will be ordinary Bahamians - its employees and patrons.

The research, by tenyear gaming industry veteran and accountant, Gavin Hamilton, warned that the tax “grab” will generate

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

much less than the $35m anticipated revenue increase while producing unintended consequences counter to the intent behind the sector’s 2015 legalisation.

He suggested the increases, and their impact on the seven licensed web shop chains, would drive 30 percent of the industry’s existing customer base to an underground black market - resulting in the closure of up to 192 stores.

Mr Hamilton’s report, Review of the Gaming House Operator (Amendment) Regulations 2018, said the revised tax structure would place The Bahamas’ gaming industry FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

PAGE 2, Thursday, June 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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POLICE CAR IN COLLISION WITH VEHICLE AT FOOT OF BRIDGE

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net A POLICE cruiser en route to the prison was involved in an accident with a civilian’s car near Sidney Poitier Bridge on Tuesday evening.

The vehicles collided into each other at the intersection of Church Street and East Bay Street at approximately 6pm.

The Tribune understands a family of four, including a child and an infant, were inside the private vehicle.

Chief Superintendent Craig Stubbs, officerin-charge of the Traffic Department, told The Tribune: “Shortly after 6, or just about 6pm (Tuesday), the convoy comprising of a police cruiser and a

police bus was en route to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services,” CSP Stubbs said.

“At the intersection of Church Street and East Bay Street, the police cruiser collided with a vehicle that was heading north along Church Street…making attempts to drive onto the Sir Sidney (Poitier) Bridge.”

Occupants from both vehicles were transported to Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital but they did not have life threatening injuries, police said.

CSP Stubbs said according to the latest information police received, all patients were treated and discharged.

The prison bus was not damaged in the incident.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 3

THE POLICE at the scene of the fatal shooting of seven-year-old Camron Cooper.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

‘All I want is justice’ from page one shared a bed when one of them was sad or sick.

“That’s what they did Monday, but last night,” she said, “Camron wasn’t there.

My other son came to me and tell me ‘mommy don’t cry.’ He told me Camron is in a better place.

“I just want to hold him.

I want to hug my baby one last time. I want to kiss my baby. I just can’t understand how all of this happen so fast. It is so hard to believe it. No one here can accept what happen. I want justice for my son,” she cried out.

A friend standing nearby stepped in to console her.

“It’s my baby. He really gone,” she cried as her friend told her to let it out.

Sitting on a wall just behind them, Mr Dawkins said he was too distraught to speak much about the tragedy.

“Boy, he was such a sweet kid. Damn, like he was mannerly, he listened; it just hurt so much because he didn’t cause trouble or make it. He was just a nice kid,” he said.

Camron was hit by a stray bullet on Tuesday as he walked from his front door to a waiting car. He was on his way to school.

A man, believed to be the intended target, was also shot and remains in hospital. Police believe the shooting occurred over a drug dispute.

Camron was the third person shot and the second to die in two separate incidents in the Wilson Tract/ Homestead Street section of the Englerston community in less than 12 hours.

The deaths marked the

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

Police said the community is known as a drug source and is frequently under surveillance.

Despite this knowledge​ , however, residents suggest that the fear of crime and the sale of illicit drugs continue to trend up.

Several residents interviewed yesterday said police patrols in the area have been reduced to a point to which “known criminals” are able to “walk around with ease.”

Speaking anonymously, one resident, who has called the neighbourhood home for more than ten years, added: “It is real here, the games

and the tricks don’t last here.

These boys have legitimate gripes and when things go off, there is only one way it ends.”

The resident added: “I understand where the police and government are coming from with their approach to crime, but for

people here who grow up with the mind-set of kill or be killed, it’s not as simple as avoiding a life of crime.

In most cases, crime is life.”

Police took two people into custody on Tuesday night in connection with the double shooting.

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PAGE 4, Thursday, June 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

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C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Business rarely as usual for Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — He hectored Mexico’s leader over border wall funding. Lobbed statistics at the Canadian leader without checking his facts.

Cajoled the British prime minister to crack down on protesters. Had a têteà-tête with Russia’s head of state on a whim. Bonded with France’s prime minister over military parades.

President Donald Trump rarely conducts business-as-usual diplomacy when he interacts with world leaders.

Heading into his expected summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has a record on the international stage that suggests he’ll seek to charm the dictator and look for an agreement that he can pitch as a win — even if it’s more a triumph of appearance than policy. But never bet against the possibility that he’ll just walk away.

Trump’s unpredictable negotiating style has been on full display in the run-up to the historic June 12 summit in Singapore.

After months spent deriding Kim as “Little Rocket Man” and boasting about the size of his nuclear button, Trump has shifted tone in recent months, suggesting that a friendship was possible and agreeing to an unprecedented meeting.

Even when Trump temporarily backed out of the talks, he spoke of a “wonderful dialogue” building between the two leaders. And now that the talks are back on, Trump is shelving the “maximum pressure” phrase he coined to describe his sanctions against the North.

As he approaches the Kim talks, Trump’s avowed “America First” attitude has come increasingly to resemble “America alone.” His eagerness for a deal has unsettled Japan and South Korea. Elsewhere, talk of tearing up trade agreements and his imposition of tariffs to protect the American steel and aluminum industries have angered longtime partners.

An overriding theme of the president’s first 18 months of foreign policy has been his willingness to go it alone as he seeks to fulfill his nationalistic campaign promises — even if it unsettles allies.

“He just doesn’t care as much,” said Ian Bremmer, a foreign affairs columnist and president of the Eurasia Group. “In terms of postwar American history, no one has done more damage to American alliances than Trump has. All you have to do is talk to American allies.”

Critics have labeled Trump an inconsistent force, prone to publicly hectoring friendly partners, embracing foes and resistant to much advice or counsel. His loyal supporters see it all as a mark of Trump’s willingness to hold firm to his promised policies even when the conversations get awkward.

After nearly two years spent trying to understand the political novice, many world leaders are still struggling with how to engage Trump, though they have learned he is not easily moved from fulfilling the policies he promised to his most loyal voters during the campaign.

Foreign diplomats in the U.S. and leaders overseas have gone to great lengths to charm Trump, a rookie president schooled in New York negotiating who promised a major shift in foreign policy.

Those efforts have included getting their messages on to Trump-friendly TV shows like “Fox and Friends” and rolling out the red carpet when Trump visits.

In France, Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron invited Trump to view a spectacular military parade on Bastille Day, one

that inspired Trump to order up his own parade in Washington. In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fêted Trump with golf and American-style hamburgers.

But those overtures haven’t always yielded policy results.

Macron tried unsuccessfully to keep Trump in the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal. Abe wanted Trump to stay in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and has encouraged a more skeptical approach to Kim’s overtures.

White House officials privately assess that the world leaders most solicitous toward Trump are rarely the most effective. Germany’s Angela Merkel and Britain’s Theresa May, for instance, have both largely refused to play into Trump’s love for pageantry and have been candid about their disagreements with the president.

Indeed, even those who were inclined to buddy up to Trump appear to be changing course. During an April summit at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Abe and Trump engaged in what US officials described as a heated economic dialogue over Trump’s tariffs.

Just last week, Trump imposed new tariffs on the European Union, Canada and Mexico, despite furious lobbying from those countries. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “These tariffs are an affront to the long-standing security partnership between Canada and the United States.”

Trump, meanwhile, has focused much of his attention on adversaries rather than allies, seeking to sit down with Kim and routinely praising Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Fixated on his celebrity and tough-guy image, Trump cares deeply about the pageantry of his interactions with world leaders and also values what he considers respectful treatment.

That tone was set on Trump’s first international trip, when Saudi Arabia gave him an opulent welcome. More than a dozen horses flanked the presidential limousine as Trump was slowly driven to the Royal Court in Riyadh.

Trumpets played and soldiers stood at attention as the president arrived.

Trump declared the spectacle “very impressive.”

A key theme in Trump’s calls with foreign leaders has been his need for respect.

He badgered Mexico’s president over funding for his border wall, which he views as a face-saving fulfillment of a campaign promise. He nudged the British prime minister to do something about potential protests should he visit the UK, a potential embarrassment for a diplomatic visit.

Trump rarely sweats the small stuff.

When it comes to policy meetings and delicate negotiations, Trump is more likely to follow his instincts than stick to a scripted plan. His admission of stretching his information about trade in a call with Trudeau was in keeping with a seat-of-thepants style that can leave advisers nervous.

Advisers say Trump avoids spending extensive time in preparation. He grew frustrated with former national security adviser H.R. McMaster and his briefing style, though he is said to listen more to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Still, Trump is not a fan of detailed briefing books, preferring limited preparation and instinct.

Those close to Trump say he is approaching the Kim meeting the same way.

Budget and web shops EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE government establishes taxes so the government has the right to raise or lower taxes - that is a given. Discrimination, etc, laugh at that.

The presumption and perceived argument of the web shops is stupid - ridiculous and irrational. What if the judge tells them the law you operate under is unconstitutional and your operations is illegal?

Pre-the Christie move after there was a required Referendum and the people spoke with a NO to web shops the taxes on Lotteries was 15% - the legislation Christie passed web shops pay 11% down not up?

What has the web shops created? $200m of inlace - in circulation money is now revolving around with zero new revenue all the $200m is generated locally but now eight licensees are taking

a chunk from that because they operate web shops.

3,000 persona are employed – agreed very positive a plus to the web shops. For the profit level even if lower I predict they will continue. I perceive the web shops are crying instead of making $20-$30m they will make $15-18m a year…selfish.

W THOMPSON Nassau, June 5, 2018.

Business reaction to VAT rise EDITOR, The Tribune.

FOR those who have a nodding acquaintance with the rules and conventions of cabinet government as practised in a parliamentary democracy – particularly one like ours which follows the Westminster model – it is quite surprising to see people who ought to know better complaining about how they were blindsided by the increase in the valued added tax (VAT)

by Finance Minister Peter Turnquest.

Some in the business community who suggest that the Minister should have consulted with them first can be forgiven. Their sin is more ignorance than arrogance since they seem to think that the level of taxes to be imposed in a national budget is the same as other issues where governments can, and perhaps should, conduct prior consultation.

The operators of gaming houses who think the government was bound to consult them in advance of increasing their taxes

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net border on both ignorance and arrogance but, having regard to recent history, can perhaps be forgiven for both.

But members of parliament and media leaders should know better. They should educate the public rather than joining the hysterical chorus about the lack of consultation and foreknowledge of the tax increases in the national budget.

After the Budget Communication citizens are free to criticise the provisions of the budget to their heart’s content. But prior consultation or notice of intent are off the table.

The leaking of details of a national budget – especially the tax provisions – prior to the delivery of the Budget Communication by the Minister of Finance (Chancellor of the Exchequer in Britain) in Parliament is considered a cardinal sin.

There are several reasons

for this but principally because no-one should be given advance knowledge which can be unfairly exploited.

Perhaps the best case for reference is that of British Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton who, on the way to Parliament to deliver his 1947 Budget Communication, stopped for a chat with a newspaper friend. He gave the journalist a few details of the taxes he was about to announce: “No more on tobacco; a penny on beer; something on dogs but not on horses; increase in purchase tax but only on articles now taxable; profit tax doubled.”

There was no time for this to be published in a newspaper before the speech but it was circulated by word of mouth just 20 minutes before the Chancellor began his address.

Mr Dalton admitted his error, apologised and resigned.

DIOGENES Nassau, June 5, 2018.

Thank you, Princess Margaret Hospital EDITOR, The Tribune.

OFTEN times, we criticise the administration of PMH, particularly that of the A&E Department. With this in mind, I’ve decided to express my sincere gratitude to the administration publicly.

I, like many other Bahamians, were either directly or indirectly impacted by the unfortunate tragedy that took place during this year’s Labour Day Parade.

And due to the magnitude of injuries, I assumed A&E would have been chaotic

and unable to handle the many cases. Therefore, I dreaded going. However, to my surprise, A&E was under control. I was very impressed with the system that was implemented to ensure the smooth functioning of the department.

The level of professionalism my family and I received were outstanding. We did not have to “push” our way through because obviously, the department was organised. The patients received what appears as immediate care and attention; neither did we have to wait long

to see them. The doctors provided us with a synopsis of the state of our family members and updates as necessary. The level of efficiency was A1 and would hope that that would remain.

So, a HUGE thank you to the Minister of Health, Dr Duane Sands and the executive team for their remarkable response to handling a tragedy of that degree. Congratulations on a job well done!

THEREZE L GIBSON Nassau, June 2, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 5

THE AFTERMATH of the Labour Day March crash.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

Minnis: Don’t spread rumours over Labour Day March tragedy

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday urged the public not to speculate or spread rumours concerning the Labour Day tragedy, underscoring the matter will be thoroughly investigated.

Dr Minnis reiterated his condolences and expressed gratitude to parade participants, medical professionals and onlookers who sprang into action following the unprecedented incident that claimed the lives of four women and injured two dozen others.

The prime minister pledged the government will continue to offer support and care and underscored its commitment to assisting family members of the deceased, and those injured and their families.

“We mourn the deaths of Tabitha Charlene Haye, Katherine Agusta Fernander, Tami Patrice Gibson and Diane Elizabeth GrayFerguson,” Dr Minnis said in the House of Assembly.

“Our prayers and thoughts are with the deceased and all of those who sustained injuries.

The wounds of the injured are physical psychological, emotional and spiritual, which will require various forms of healing

and support.”

Labour Day holiday celebrations turned deadly when a truck mowed down parade participants. Police said the incident happened shortly after the driver exited the truck.

The driver was said to be assisting police with their investigations.

Yesterday, Assistant Superintendent Craig Stubbs said traffic investigators were interviewing injured people.

Dr Minnis noted he had heard wonderful stories about the contributions of the fallen unionists “who each, in their own way, contributed to our country, including as professionals in the banking industry”.

He continued: “I wish to reassure the public that the Royal Bahamas Police Force and other relevant authorities are investigating the matter. The various authorities will report their findings and what subsequent actions may be taken in the wake of this tragedy.

“I caution the public not to engage in idle speculation and rumours about the tragedy. In investigating and reviewing this matter we must be guided by the rule of law and fairness.

“I know that the House will join me in thanking the march participants, first responders, onlookers and the professional teams at the

Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital, who worked with great compassion and urgency to care for the deceased and the injured.

We commend all those who came to the aid of those affected by this tragedy.

“I again thank the various government ministers and officials, who quickly responded in the wake of the tragedy.

“As our union leaders and workers demonstrated during the march, we are one people, united in love,” he added. “We remain united in this time of tragedy and suffering. May God bring consolation to the bereaved at this time and may he continue to bless our Bahamas.”

The House of Assembly also held a moment of silence yesterday for the victims.

• PRINCESS Margaret Hospital will facilitate a special counselling session for all nursing and allied personnel staff members as a result of the Labour Day march tragedy.

The session will be held on Friday in the hospital’s meditation suite located in the Critical Care Block lobby from 1pm – 3pm.

Staff members can continue to seek additional counselling at the Bahamas Crisis Centre, located on East Street and Sands Lane, or call 322-4999 or 328-0992 for more information.

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THE TRIBUNE

Chipman condemns his own party’s plan to increase VAT

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CENTERVILLE MP Reece Chipman tore into his party’s budget yesterday evening, fretting about the impact various fee increases will have on his constituents.

He said he does not support the planned value added tax increase to 12 percent and lamented not being consulted on the budget while touting his qualifications as a certified public accountant.

“A photo-op or a text looking like we’re working together won’t cut it,” he said in the House of Assembly. “Too much is at stake.”

Mr Chipman said the intended VAT hike will cause hardship for Bahamians. He also said the significant increase in taxes

for web shops must now pay is “discriminatory”.

“Centreville is not in support of the 12 percent VAT increase as we believe it will be channelled to additional bureaucracy leading to a tougher business model and more hardship on the people of Centreville and the entire Bahamas.”

Although he said he supports the government’s overall fiscal consolidation goals, he added: “Centreville would like to make it clear to my constituents that their member of Parliament had no input in this particular budget, any analysis or participation and it is only now I’m offering my comments, concerns, references and statements.”

Mr Chipman read a letter sent to him by an angry resident of his constituency about the budget.

The letter read: “Dear Mr Chipman, I am a single mother and was just laid off from the 52-week programme after being on contract for quite a number of years. I was making minimum wage.

Now that VAT is 12 percent the exemption on breadbasket items will be saving me $12 per week.

I understand there will be VAT exemption on utilities; however, reconnections and late fees are killing me. Cable Bahamas charges $43 to reconnect, BEC $25 and water 10 percent of the bill. I’m usually having to pay reconnection fees because of the government’s untimely payroll systems. I am paying those, sir, almost on a monthly bases. We cannot afford to travel so there is no benefit to us to have customs exemptions.

Y’all have put up the police records fee so even the cost of Roger looking for a job has gone up and I trying to get him off the streets. The shops around here said governments can’t tell them what to charge so that budget thing ain’ got nothing to do with me. I really ain’ know what this government wants me to do.”

Mr Chipman, a backbencher, was particularly peeved at being left out of major policy decisions by the administration.

He said: “Whole qualified CPA sitting in this House at the highest of levels I presume and not consulted on a budget, not consulted on a reclassification of an accounting entry, not consulted on revenue enhancements or even fiscal responsibility legislation; come on Bahamas, we

cannot continue this way.

We have to do better. Even at our levels parliamentarians, we must be seen to be inclusive. We must be seen to be using Bahamian talent.

“I cannot sell a story I do not know. What I do know is the people of Centreville expects me, yeah, CPA me, 20 years of business management me, 20 years of training professional Bahamians in financial services me, East Street me, Centreville me, to be able to help them understand this government’s agenda.”

As for web shops, Mr Chipman said although he supports increased taxation on the businesses, the country’s “gaming laws are discriminatory and our policies can appear to be anti-Bahamian and that needs to end.” He said: “We need to stop discriminating

LAING DEFENDS FORMER FNM GOVT

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

RANFURLY HOMES FOR CHILDREN SECOND NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Please be informed that an Annual General Meeting of RANFURLY HOMES FOR CHILDREN has been called for Wednesday, 13th June, A. D. 2018 to be held at the Ranfurly Homes for Children situated Mackey Street at 6:00pm in the afternoon for the following purposes: 1.

The appointment of Directors and Officers; Signatories on the Bank accounts; Financial Report of the company; Any other related matter/s; Adjournment.

2.

3.

4.

5.

LaToya Polacek Secretary

FORMER Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing defended the fiscal performance of past Free National Movement administrations yesterday, knocking the Minnis administration’s narrative that its current fiscal consolidation measures are necessary to address years of fiscal mismanagement in the country.

When rationalising their intended increase of value added tax to 12 percent, government ministers have blamed “successive administrations” for problems the country now faces.

Mr Laing, a member of two FNM administrations, stressed on his Guardian 96.9FM show yesterday that past FNM governments kept deficits low without major tax hikes, except during the 2007 to 2012 period when spending was deliberately increased in response to the 2008 Great Recession.

“I have to say on the face of it my first observation about the budget context and framing is that it is not in keeping with the facts,” Mr Laing said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest has accused “governments before” of presenting “misleading budgets” with “hidden obligations,” although Mr Turnquest has never specifically accused previous FNM administrations of this behaviour. Nonetheless,

ZHIVARGO LAING Mr Laing said at no time has a government he was a part of underreported obligations.

From 1993 to 2001, he said, “the debt to GDP ratio never exceeded 42 or so percent, never got close to 50 percent in that period.” In the last two fiscal years of that period, he said the government ran a surplus on the recurrent expenditure

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against ourselves and Bahamian businesses and look at other propositions.”

For reasons never disclosed, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis fired Mr Chipman from the Antiquities Monuments and Museum Corporation (AMMC) earlier this year.

He drew Mr Chipman’s ire when he suggested the Centreville MP had engaged in misconduct. Since the dust-up, Mr Chipman has made several public appearances with Dr Minnis, particularly at events related to the Over-the-Hill initiative. After Mr Chipman spoke yesterday in the House, Tall Pines MP Don Saunders followed him and expressed unequivocal support for the government’s budget. National Security Minister Marvin Dames also delivered his contribution yesterday.

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accounts, a rare feat.

“Our debt to GDP ratio never arose to the level of 50 percent until the Great Recession, the most deteriorated period since the Great Depression,” he added.

“In that entire period of GFS deficits of an average of 1.2 percent, the government of The Bahamas had no value added tax, never introduced a new tax. In fact it was the pride of the minister of finance at the time to be able to stand up in the House of Assembly and say ‘I’m happy to say that this budget has no new taxes or increases in taxes’ and everyone would beat on their desks in Parliament in great jubilation because that was the case.

“In that period of time, all the Family Islands, many were electrified, were provided with water, many schools were built, many upgrades to clinics were done, police officers got salary increases, civil servants got salary increases…in all that period of time those things happened without any new taxes, without any increases in taxes and with substantially low GFS deficits. So I am left to wonder what period in all of that represented fiscal mismanagement.

“I think it is important to have a context that’s rooted in the facts of our history and I suggest to those that would put that there was this extensive periods of mismanagement that nothing could be further from the truth.”

”

“

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 7

TURNQUEST: MY COMPANY WON’T BENEFIT FROM BUDGET

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said it is “ridiculous” to believe removing customs duty on aeroplanes and helicopters will prompt him to now buy aircraft for his business.

The government is removing customs duty on aeroplanes and helicopters in an effort to build an aeroplane registry in the country.

Some Bahamians have seized on this to disparage Mr Turnquest, who has an interest in Sky Bahamas, but the finance minister laid out a detailed rationale for the duty

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest yesterday. exemptions during the budget debate in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“Most people by now know I have an interest in an airline,” he said. “I

would love to say that I can run out tomorrow and buy an aircraft. I really wish I could because the airline needs to improve its fleet.

Truth of the matter is, this is a very difficult business, very capital intensive and very difficult operating in an environment where the playing field is not even.

The whole idea now that I’m somehow going to go rush out because I’ve given myself a duty-free exemption and buy a new aircraft is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous and it’s petty.

“The whole idea behind duty-free exemptions on aircraft, and the member for Englerston knows this because she was involved in this, is to try to finally establish this long sought after

aircraft registry. Nobody is going to put their aircraft on the Bahamas registry if they got to pay ten per cent duty on a $20m aircraft or $30m aircraft. Why? Because nine out of ten they’re not gonna be here.

They just want their aircraft on the registry. The idea is to make it easy for foreign companies, particularly airline leasing companies and corporate entities, to register their aircraft in The Bahamas and put them on the registry. This is just like the ship registry. This gives us $50m.”

Mr Turnquest said foreign aircraft owners have good reasons for wanting to register their crafts here. The potential for the industry, he said, is

“exponential,” as it would create opportunities for a variety of well-paying jobs for Bahamians.

“An Israeli made aircraft wants to go to an Arab country with a US registry, can’t go,” he said. “A US registered aircraft wants to go to Cuba, can’t go. Countries in South America and individuals and companies who may own aircraft, fear for their lives. They don’t want people to know that they own an aircraft and so they seek another register. So this is a business.

The benefit of this industry is that while you make it easier for them to go on the register you can charge them every year, paying four, five thousand dollars, just for registering them.”

He said: “I want to disabuse those that may be easily misled by the rhetoric because I see the little cartoons on WhatsApp and whatever and I think they’re funny, they don’t offend me, I think they are absolutely creative. It shows the talent and creativity of the Bahamian people. But I don’t want the message to get lost about what we’re trying to accomplish. I always say Bahamians need to read, they need to take every opportunity to understand and to learn what it is that we are trying to do because not everything is someone trying to get you, not everyone is trying to take advantage of you. Sometimes we’re actually trying to be genuine in what we’re trying to do.”

ELECTRIC BILL EXEMPTION ON VAT IS RAISED TO $200

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE value added tax exemption ceiling on electricity bills has been raised to $200, Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest revealed yesterday.

The change will come into effect August 1.

Last week he announced the ceiling would be $100, but the decision was met with calls to increase the limit as some consumers argued not many households fell within the range to receive the exemption.

A week later, yesterday, Mr Turnquest told parliamentarians the decision was made to bring relief to as many people as possible.

The government, he said, will also extend the dutyfree provision for clothes, shoes and other clothing related items for retailers in

response to feedback from citizens.

“We are extending the duty-free provision for clothes and shoes by application, to include apparel, fabric, thread, zippers, and buttons such as to accommodate those who make clothes for themselves or for others,” Mr Turnquest said yesterday.

“These duty-free provisions are to be facilitated by application as well and again that’s because we want to ensure that the benefits go to those who we are trying to assist.

“We are also extending the electricity bill VAT exemption ceiling from $100 per month to $200 per month. That means that some 63,000 of the 90,000 BPL residential customers will now benefit.

“Again this will apply to all licenced utilities in the Bahamas and it will take effect come August 1.

“Further, just to address a few of the questions we have received, VAT relief on medicines includes over the counter medication.”

He continued: “We know that there are further questions regarding this change and we encourage persons to chat with us on our Ministry of Finance Facebook page. Transition guidelines for industries affected will be issued shortly to address issues of contracts and other complex transition matters.”

Mr Turnquest also hit back at Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis.

On Tuesday, the opposition leader was noncommittal 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.

“In starting this debate, I would be remiss if I failed to note and comment on the observations offered by the leader of the opposition, mostly recently, just last night when he was unable to commit to reverse the tax increase,” Mr Turnquest said.

“The PLP wrecked the fiscal house of the Bahamas. They know this, and the numbers are very, very clear. But Mr Davis knows he cannot and will not be able to reduce the VAT because he knows the financial situation that he and his party created. He knows that we are doing the right and proper thing by addressing it by setting

MINNIS CALM OVER POLITICAL RISK FROM TAX RISE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis does not appear concerned about losing political capital because of raising VAT to 12 percent.

“I have said before my job is to save the country,” Dr Minnis said yesterday when The Tribune asked him if he was worried his administration would suffer politically due to the VAT increase.

He dodged responding to questions regarding complaints

about the government’s lack of consultation on the decision, which also saw some Free National Movement members of Parliament left in the dark on the decision.

“You’ll get everything when I speak,” was the prime minister’s reply to these VAT related questions.

The government has been the target of intense backlash over its decision to increase VAT from 7.5 percent to 12 percent since Finance Minister Peter Turnquest made the announcement last week.

The Tribune reported

Tuesday the prime minister reportedly told a Cabinet minister it is “better to lose an election than to lose a country”.

Those words came in a private conversation with Health Minister Dr Duane Sands, who has defended his pre-election political stance, and that of the Free National Movement, against VAT. Meanwhile, a source told The Tribune the government is considering reducing the VAT rate if it can achieve set targets over the next three years.

The source explained the

short-term goal was not to pay off the debt but to bring in a surplus budget that would allow the government to start paying down on its debt.

With the VAT increase, the government projects it will reap $1,115,007,455 in revenue in the next fiscal year, a 60 percent increase compared with the forecasted VAT revenue for 2017-2018.

Mr Turnquest said this was indicative of the government choosing not to wait until it is too late to shore up the economy, but opting to act now and act responsibly.

up the country for future prosperity.

“If he thought this was the wrong move, he would be brave enough to commit to reducing it back to 7.5 percent as it is today. But he understands the financial gap. And he knows this is something that had to be done.

“All his bluster and posturing is just another example of PLP duplicity.”

In response to criticisms he and the Free National Movement have flip-flopped the VAT issue Mr Turnquest also said: “There is nothing shameful

about changing your position based upon the facts as they change. There is nothing shameful about that. Who among us has not had a change of position once we find out some circumstances?

“I mean every time you wake up in the morning you put on a suit because I could tell you that I did it this morning. (I) put on my suit and then decided what tie I was going to wear and I had on the tie, then I decided I would change it because of the colour of my suit. It depends on the circumstance.”

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PAGE 8, Thursday, June 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

you can touch ON Sunday, I threw away a Scrabble box that was more than 50 years old. It was hard to do because my parents’ hands had touched it. My mother died in 1965, my father the following year. That Scrabble box was one of the few remaining things I had with a trace of their DNA on it.

I had dragged it with me from home to home after they passed, later country to country, new house to new home, room to room and shelf to shelf. Its corners were held together with masking tape that had turned brittle. The inside lid held the basic RULES FOR PLAYING SCRABBLE with examples of words and how you could add an ‘s’ and gain more points by doing words in two or three directions. I never did get to use the word xylophone which, if I ever had a Scrabble goal, that would have been it, though x was only worth eight points and z worth ten. It would have taken extraordinary luck because xylophone has nine letters.

It’s amazing, the stuff we

By Diane Phillips keep. Hundreds of photos from the days we printed them and they did not live inside our phone, dozens of letters from decades earlier when people poured their hearts out in hand-written words, shared wisdom, worries and wishes, licked the envelope as if it held lifegiving secrets and trusted the slight package to a postman to deliver.

We keep those letters penned before the world of e-mail enabled us to hit delete and wipe out worries and wishes in a flash.

We keep mementoes from days when we were still astonished that information could move from a distant location to where we were, instantly, by fax, though non-commercial facsimile type equipment had been around for more than 100

years. Once Xerox made it commercially feasible, the quick transmission changed our expectations, paving the way for changes that have come barreling at us so fast ever since. Today, information flows through our lives like water through a sieve.

Maybe that is why we cling to remembrances we can touch. It is those hard copies that are the most difficult to part with.

I have gold-rimmed wine glasses that were my parents’ for the rare entertaining they did. No one uses a wine glass that holds two ounces anymore and I would happily give them to a collector if I knew they would be appreciated for their beauty. But there is no emotion tied to wine glasses as there is to old

books or a Scrabble box whose decrepit state you forgive. The gold trim, even if it is real, will never be the jewel of a hand-written letter from my father when I was in college. It will never equal the photos, my dad picking an orange off a tree when we first moved to Florida, my mother in one of those bathing suits with the wide straps and little skirt that will one day come back into fashion as poolside leisure wear.

What we choose to keep evokes emotions we need to stoke. What we keep triggers our senses.

It is said those who have a weak sense of smell are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. That seems a stretch to me, but I am not a scientist and have never researched smell or failing mental health. I would much rather research how safe you are with a single application of spray sunblock while spending time in the water or something equally important that requires spending time at a beach.

But if I were postulating seriously about one of the critical senses, here’s what it would be. The sense we pay the least attention to, the sense of touch, plays a greater role in our lives than we realize. It deserves more appreciation. Why is it that when we go into a store and we are just browsing, we have to touch everything?

We touch a purse we have no intention of buying, we run our fingers across a rack of dresses on sale though we really came to look for slacks; we pick up a frying pan in a home goods store and look at the bottom.

Why? We are not even interested in a frying pan.

We came to find dish towels or cilantro or a coffee maker that knows how and when to clean itself.

So our oft-overlooked

tactile sense that fuels an emotion contributes to what we choose to keep. Touching a picture is different from looking at a picture.

Touching a worn book that a loved one read is different from reading the same story on a Kindle. Computers changed our lives for the better and we would never go back. But neither will we ever keep them for sentimental reasons. Their software and their monitors do not touch us, they are merely useful tools.

Our technology moves so fast we forget how recent its development was. It was only a few decades ago that a group of engineers, conservatively dressed in the requisite white long sleeve shirts with narrow ties, worked away in then small town of Boca Raton, Florida, developing the personal computer in a building that was an architectural marvel but mysterious to everyone on the outside. IBM employees on the cusp of changing the world could not talk about their work, they could only say they worked for IBM. The campus included all the amenities that made tedious research tolerable, one of the early gyms, a tennis complex. The building, coincidentally, was used in the famous car scene in the movie The French Connection. It and the 125-acre campus it sits on, no longer shrouded in secrecy, just sold in April for a reported $179.3m and will become an expanded and update office park.

Against the backdrop of how fast the world moves and how fleeting our hold on the present is, we become gatherers, clinging to more of the past we can touch, parting with packaging of what we bought today, latching on to a box that held the first award we won or ring we were given.

And we look around us and wonder, how did I ever accumulate all this stuff?

What am I supposed to do with it now? Am I better off for keeping it or has the time come to downsize the contents of my cabinets, shelves and drawers?

Before I threw away the Scrabble box (and I will confess not all of it), I researched the game’s history. It was actually manufactured by a New York company called Selchow & Righter and copyrighted in 1948 for the Production and Marketing Company.

I had never paid attention to the box before I got ready to throw it away and I never heard of Selchow & Righter, but it turns out they also created Parcheesi, never a favourite because it was more luck than skill.

Maybe if I had been luckier I would have liked it more.

But anyway, the company created nearly 20 games and then changed hands a few times. It was purchased

by Coleco Industries in 1986 for $75m, a sale that included the games but not the company trademark which apparently remains under the control of the Righter Family. Three years after that purchase, Coleco declared bankruptcy.

Hasbro, the largest toymaker in the world, bought Coleco’s primary assets for a reported $85m and as I write this June 5, Mad Money’s Jim Cramer is advising listeners to hold on to Hasbro stock despite Toys R Us, a massive distributor, having gone bankrupt.

Holding on to Hasbro shares may satisfy the practical but it will never hold a candle to the memories re-ignited of a family sharing laughter and challenges around an old-fashioned board game on a snowy night when children were allowed to stay up just a little bit later.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 9

Bartender told police that tool was a firearm

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A BARTENDER mistaking a wheel wrench for a firearm ultimately led to a police officer fatally shooting the man wielding it inside of a nightclub three years ago, a jury heard yesterday.

Ramaeo Andrews, a Jet Ski operator, said one of the G-Spot’s bartenders mistakenly thought Gary Moss was holding a firearm when he came to the nightclub aggressively seeking payment for transporting his Jet Skis, prompting the bartender to inform the office, Corporal George Anthony Ward, who shot and ultimately killed him.

However, Mr Andrews told the court that the “weapon,” which was wrapped in Moss’ white t-shirt ultimately turned out to be a wrench. This was revealed when the 36-yearold dropped it after being shot twice in the lower body at the Faith Avenue north bar and nightclub on July 14, 2015.

The circumstances were revealed in an inquest before the coroner, Magistrate Jeanine Weech-Gomez.

According to a statement given by Jet Ski operator Makiko Patrick Holmes, which was read into evidence by officer Lynden Seymour, sometime around 6pm on the date in question, Moss picked up both himself and Devon Rolle from a ramp at Arawak Cay. There were a total of seven watercraft attached to Moss’ vehicle, five of which belonged to Mr Holmes’

Jet Ski rental company, Jac-Den-Jon Buck Water Sports, and two that were owned by Mr Andrews.

According to Mr Holmes’ statement, Mr Andrews had hired Moss to transport his watercraft because the former’s car was having mechanical problems.

After leaving the beach, Moss drove to the G-Spot bar and nightclub to drop off Mr Andrews’ jet skis, something he did every evening.

When they arrived at the bar, Mr Holmes’ statement said Moss parked in front of the building and used a tyre wrench (breaker bar) to unhook the trailer that Mr Andrews’ jet skis were on.

Mr Holmes, Moss and Mr Rolle then pushed the trailer to the back of the building where the Jet Skis are normally kept. After they were secured, Moss took off his white t-shirt and used it to wipe the rust from his hands that came from the trailer, and the wrench he was using.

Now bare-back, Moss said he was going inside to collect his money from Mr Andrews for transporting his Jet Skis. He subsequently used the t-shirt to pick up the wrench from off the ground so the rust would not get back on his hands.

Moss then proceeded into the G-Spot, while Mr Holmes followed. They made their way to the bar and Moss asked the bartender for Mr Andrews.

The bartender then walked to a back room and came back out shortly thereafter, indicating to Moss that Mr Andrews said to come to the back and see him.

According to Mr Holmes’ statement, Moss did as he

was told, and as he was walking to the room Mr Andrews was in, shouted out “Bring my money so I could go home.” Mr Holmes said in his statement that Moss was talking in a “loud tone” as he normally does.

While Moss was walking, Mr Holmes said he saw the bartender looking at Moss’ hand with a surprised look on her face. He said she said something to the other bartender and then walked over to the area where the music speakers were.

The bartender went to a police officer known as “Tupac”, whose surname is Ward, who was sitting at a table by himself.

Mr Holmes said she said something to the officer and he heard him say “you serious,” to which she responded by saying “yeah”. Mr Holmes said he further heard Ward asking “you sure he have a gun?” to which she again replied “yeah”.

Mr Holmes’ statement said the officer then got up from the table and walked towards the room where Moss and Mr Andrews were. About 20 to 30 seconds later he said he heard two gun shots coming from the area of the room.

When he ran to the room to see what had happened, Mr Holmes said Moss was

on the floor with blood coming from his lower back.

Mr Holmes said he heard Ward say “Nellie tell me you had a gun.” Mr Holmes also said he saw the white t-shirt and the wrench on the ground next to Moss.

Mr Andrews, when called to the stand, said he got to the G-Spot around two to three hours before Moss came, as he had to open the building for a bartender known as “Nellie”.

Later that day, he said he and another individual named “Quan” were both in the nightclub’s office area in the back when a bartender came and told him Moss had arrived. Mr Andrews said he told the bartender to tell Moss to come inside.

Mr Andrews said based on his business relationship with Moss, he knew him to be an individual who speaks in a very loud tone, and is very aggressive. However, he said the bartender was not aware of that fact.

Mr Andrews said when Moss walked into the office, he had an object in his hand wrapped in a cloth, which he personally thought was a gun based on how Moss was holding it.

Mr Andrews also said Moss said to him “bey give me my f***ing money” while pointing the object at

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him with his right hand. Mr Andrews said he wasn’t too bothered by Moss’ tone of voice, but was thrown off by the unknown object he was holding.

Mr Andrews said he was telling Moss to relax, and was reaching into his pocket to retrieve the money for Moss. Around that time, Ward made his way to the office, walked in and told Moss, “Drop it, police!” However, Mr Andrews said Moss merely looked in Ward’s direction and continued “making noise,” after which he heard two loud shots.

Mr Andrews said he subsequently heard Moss saying to take him to the hospital. He said he and Ward lifted Moss to Ward’s vehicle and placed him in it, and the officer drove him to the hospital.

Mr Andrews said himself, Mr Holmes and another individual drove behind them in Moss’ car.

While on the way to the hospital in Moss’ vehicle, Mr Andrews said Mr

Holmes told him that Nellie, whom he said Holmes was dating at the time, was the one who went to Ward and told him that Moss came into the nightclub with a gun.

Moss ultimately died.

When she took the stand, Merlene Stubbs, Moss’s mother, said the last time she saw her son was on the night of July 13, a Monday.

“It’s a huge loss for me,” Ms Stubbs said of her lastborn. “He was my strength and my baby.”

The case continues.

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PAGE 10, Thursday, June 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

THE SCENE of the suspected drowning in Abaco yesterday.

POLICE PROBE SUSPECTED DROWNING

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net POLICE are investigating the apparent drowning of a man at the government’s dock in Abaco yesterday.

ASP Terecita Pinder reported that police received a report shortly after 10am of a body discovered floating in waters in an area near the Sandy Point dock.

The body the was taken to Marsh Harbour Clinic where the man was officially pronounced dead.

Abaco police also reported yesterday they

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had arrested two women after dangerous drugs were discovered at a residence in Marsh Harbour.

According to ASP Pinder, shortly after 8pm on Tuesday officers acting on information executed a search warrant at a residence in High Rock where they searched and found two plastic bags containing suspected marijuana and two plastic bags of suspected marijuana seeds.

ASP Pinder said two women were taken into police custody and are expected to be formally charged in the Magistrate’s Court this week.

READERS SPEAK OUT ON BUDGET PLANS DISCUSSION over the 2018/2019 Budget shows no sign of letting up on tribune242.com.

After Health Minister Dr Duane Sands promised healthy changes are on the horizon for the breadbasket list - following wide public consultation, DonAnthony wondered how long it would take: “When will we finally get healthier options in the breadbasket items?

How many years to make a decision? This is really pathetic for a doctor to be the minister in charge and take so long to implement obvious healthy changes.

Meanwhile of over 190 countries in the world the Bahamas is in the top ten for obesity for both men and women.”

Bahamian developer Jason Kinsale, president of Aristo Development, told Tribune Business that “millions of dollars are on the line” through budget tax changes that make it “impossible” for real estate projects to claim back VAT. Proudloudandfnm responded with this: “I hope this administration is listening. Kind of shocking how they’ve gone this far without proper diligence.

Lazy, sloppy approach.

NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS

They really need to rethink what they’re doing.”

That comment prompted DDK to say: “I fear they have become too arrogant to rethink anything or listen to anyone, they’re sticking together like glue on this one.”

There was this from Bcitizen: “This is a big blow to businesses that need to buy physical locations to operate. This will kill businesses.

This part of the budget is worse than the VAT increase and a total backtracking by the government even though it was done under the previous one.”

And the final results of The Tribune’s online poll, in which we asked readers to grade the Budget are: A – eight percent; B – 14 percent; C – nine percent; D – 11 percent; E – six percent; F – 30 percent and U – 21 percent.

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

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 11

Going... going... gone

HER Majesty’s Bahamian Ship Yellow Elder was sunk as a “dive wreck” yesterday

by Stuart’s Cove Dive Bahamas, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said.

The vessel will be used as an artificial reef site for visitors.

Commissioned on November 20,1986,

HMBS Yellow Elder was one of three protector class vessels that was built by Fairey Marine in England.

The 108ft craft was used extensively by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in the fight against transnational activities such as illegal migration, poaching

and drug smuggling before becoming inoperable and deemed no longer costeffective to repair by a marine survey company.

HMBS Yellow Elder was decommissioned in 2016. Stuart’s Cove offered to use the vessel as a dive wreck without cost.

All residual oil and fuel was removed prior to it being sunk approximately five miles south of Coral Harbour. Other vessels sunk by Stuart Cove in the past have become natural habitats for coral and other marine life; a natural attraction for many visiting divers.

ROLLE WARNS NIB CONTRIBUTIONS MAY RISE IN FUTURE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Insurance Minister Brensil Rolle yesterday suggested officials will have to make a judgement call at some point on whether to increase National Insurance Board contributions as the government struggles to balance a “tremendous” increase in benefits.

Mr Rolle was asked about the financial stability of the NIB after Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said it was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Dr Sands highlighted the debts owed to NIB as he defended the government’s decision to increase the VAT rate from 7.5 percent to 12 percent.

At Cabinet on Tuesday, Mr Rolle said: “What I can say is the

benefits have gone up tremendously in National Insurance but the contributions have gone down, and we’ve got to make some judgements as to how we’re going to make that balance so persons continue to get the good services of NIB.” Mr Rolle was then asked whether NIB contributions, currently at 3.9 percent for employees and 5.9 percent for employers

(basic wage), would be raised.

“I can’t say that just yet, we are considering some options,” he said.

“NIB as you know is a collective service, we can only offer a benefit depending on our contributions, and if the contributions are going down and the benefits are going up at some point we’re going to have to make a serious judgement and we’re at that intersection

right now.”

In May, NIB announced its biennial rate adjustments to pensions, grants and the wage ceiling. The adjustment to pensions and grants are based on the change in the retail price index in the two previous calendar years, according to a notice on NIB’s website.

Effective July 1, pensioners will enjoy an increase of up to 1.2 percent; the

maternity grant will be increased by $10 to $490; the funeral benefit will increase by $30 to $1,810; and the insurable wage ceiling increased by $20 to $670 per week, and by $86 to $2,903 per month.

The insurable wage ceiling means that contributions are made based on up to $490 of a contributor’s weekly wage even if that person makes more than $400 per week.

PAGE 12, Thursday, June 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Rapist loses appeal

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE COURT of Appeal has dashed a convicted rapist’s hopes of overturning a Supreme Court judge’s decision not to entertain his bid at challenging his life sentence because doing so would have amounted to an “abuse of the process of the court”.

Appellate Justices Jon Isaacs, Justices Stella Crane-Scott and Roy Jones dismissed Barry Parcoi’s challenge to Justice Gregory Hilton’s refusal to hear

his plea of redress concerning the constitutionality of the life sentence that was imposed on him 24 years ago.

And in doing so, the appellate judges ruled Parcoi’s challenge to Justice Hilton’s ruling was “incompetent” and “really a non-starter,” as they found Justice Hilton’s ruling “cannot be impugned” and was “entirely correct”.

Parcoi was convicted of rape in 1994 and sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence and conviction were both upheld by the

Court of Appeal a year later.

Parcoi later appeared before Justice Hilton in 2016, seeking redress for the “unlawful, excessively severe and therefore unconstitutional” life sentence that was imposed on him.

At the time, Parcoi challenged the constitutionality of his life sentence, claiming it infringed on his constitutional rights under both Articles 17 and 19.

Parcoi’s lawyer at the time, Sonia Timothy, had argued he should have been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in accordance with the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, which notes a first time offender for the offence would receive that sentence.

Anishka Missick, Crown prosecutor, replied the Court of Appeal had already affirmed Parcoi’s conviction, so the appropriate court to hear the matter was the Privy Council.

Ms Timothy responded by stating the issue of the sentence’s legality was not

raised on appeal and, it being a constitutional question, raised the issue in the Supreme Court.

She further argued this option was not available to her client, as a 54-day deadline to file an appeal to the Privy Council had long passed.

However, Justice Hilton ruled if Parcoi was correct in his assertions that his life sentence infringed upon his constitutional rights under Articles 17 and 19, then in accordance with the proviso to Article 28(2) of the Constitution, he had a ground which to seek leave from the London-based Privy Council to appeal his life sentence on those grounds.

“The applicant, to his own detriment, has chosen not to do so,” Justice Hilton ruled. “The result is that this application is dismissed as an abuse of the process of the court.”

Justice Isaacs, in a written ruling, noted that while the appellate court has entertained him on his intended appeal, and that he had received “some gratuitous legal advice” in

the process, his appeal was “unsustainable.”

Justice Isaacs further stated that it is “not competent for this panel to seek to go behind what was done by a previous panel.” “…The system we have works by a hierarchy,” Justice Isaacs said. “The court above us is the Privy Council. “…You do not need a record to apply for special leave. All you have to do is write a letter and that will set in motion all that is necessary for you to get before that court or to have your matter heard by that court, if they agree to hear it.

“But insofar as your challenge to the decision of Mr Justice Hilton is concerned, that really is a non-starter.

His decision cannot be impugned. It is entirely correct.

“In the circumstances, this court dismisses your appeal against the decision of Mr Justice Hilton on the basis that the matter was already determined and disposed of, as he found; and the decision is one with which we agree.”

Parcoi was one of four convicts who took part in the notorious 2006 escape from Her Majesty’s Prison, now called Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, that resulted in the death of a police officer.

Forrester Bowe staged an escape from the maximum security wing with Parcoi, convicted murderer Neil Brown and convicted armed robber Corey Hepburn around 4am on January 17, 2006.

Brown was shot dead during attempts to re-capture him.

Bowe and Parcoi were injured during the incident as well but they were quickly captured by authorities.

Hepburn, on the other hand, escaped and led police on a two-week hunt before he was recaptured in an apartment building in Coral Harbour.

In October 2014, Bowe was found dead in his prison cell. A statement from the facility said Bowe was found in his cell “unresponsive to roll call”.

HEALTH MINISTER LEADS TRIP TO SWITZERLAND HEALTH minister Duane Sands led a delegation to the 71st World Health Assembly Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, last month.

In a speech on the Assembly floor, Dr Sands drew the meeting’s attention to the connectedness of natural disasters, carbon emissions, poor waste disposal and the marine food supply.

“The public health and economic impact are greatest for those in this assembly who are small island developing states with small populations and

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands during last month’s trip to Geneva. whose non-industrialised Dr Pearl McMillan, acting utilised a multi-sectoral economies are depending chief medical officer, Minis- approach. on travel and our ecosys- try of Health and Catherine Dr Sands said: “We have tems,” said Dr Sands.

Weech, managing director, recently undertaken in a He reported that Hur- Public Hospitals Authority. very densely populated ricane Irma, in 2017, Dr Sands thanked the area of The Bahamas, rendered one of the Pan American Health an initiative encompassBahama Islands, Ragged Organisation (PAHO) ing environmental, social Island, uninhabitable and for its technical support and economic incentives, that the Government has in response to disasters including cleaning and committed to rebuilding in the Caribbean region, upgrading of green spaces, Ragged Island as a “green” and advised the Assem- water and sanitary infraisland, thereby “decreasing bly that The Bahamas has structure upgrades and the ‘footprint’ of human embarked on a Healthy encouraging back-yard activity on that island.”

Environments Initiative in farming for fresh, organics The delegation included inner city communities that fruit and vegetables.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 13

Dean warns of a summer of rain as storm season close

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THERE will be an increase in rainfall over the next few months, chief meteorologist Basil Dean said in the wake of yesterday’s thunderstorms.

Mr Dean said Wednesday’s rains were triggered by a mid to low-level trough, the effects of which should trigger showers through Friday, lull on Saturday, and result in more rainfall on Sunday.

When asked about yesterday’s weather, Mr Dean said: “The summer months are our rainier months, with rainfall picking up from the middle of May. As a matter of fact, we’ve gotten a little earlier start.

“From early May, we’ve been getting kind of regular rainfall. And even if we have a look at the statistical numbers for New Providence…. we usually average about 8.77 inches of rainfall for June.

“So, we can anticipate an increase in rainfall over the next few months. But as we

CHIEF meteorologist Basil Dean. speak, we do have a mid to low-level trough, which has been oscillating between the northwest and central Bahamas.

“And that oscillation has been triggering occasional showers and thunderstorms, which we have experienced in some parts of the island today. Those conditions we anticipate will continue pretty much into Friday morning. We’ll perhaps get a little lull in the rainfall on Saturday and the rain should return again

on Sunday.”

“So we’re going to have these off and on periods of rains.”

When asked if the country will experience an above-average rainy season, Mr Dean said it is possible based on such an early start.

“An early start means that you’re likely to have more than normal. Considering (this), we could see an above average season,” he said.

“We already have one

under our belt.”

Mr Dean also discussed predictions for this year’s hurricane season, which officially began June 1.

This season is also predicted to be above average, with more than 10 storms named.

The chief meteorologist also noted there was a pre-seasonal storm, referencing tropical cyclone Alberto, which developed in late May. “The hurricane season, like our rainy season, also got an early start. (Alberto) was a pre-seasonal storm which developed, so we already have one under our belt.

“The seasonal predictions…we’re looking at an above average season in terms of tropical cyclones. Most of the seasonal predictors, for example, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), they’re looking at anywhere between 10 and 16 named storms.

“Colorado State (University), they’re looking at 14 named storms, and Global Weather Oscillations…are

CATASTROPHIC INSURANCE TO COST $3.4M

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE government’s policy from the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility will this year cost taxpayers $3.4m.

Finance Minister Peter Turnquest made the announcement yesterday as he told MPs the government also plans to establish a disaster relief fund to assist with future rebuilding requirements in the wake of natural disasters.

This follows the minister’s announcement last month that government successfully renegotiated the catastrophic risk insurance coverage with the agreement the new policy would divide The Bahamas into three district zones.

This new set-up would structure payouts based on this arrangement, Mr Turnquest said last month.

“It will be recalled that the previous administration irresponsibly cancelled our county’s coverage under the CCRIF

and, as a result, deprived us of a significant payout in the wake of Hurricane Matthew,” the minister said as he led the budget debate yesterday.

“At our request, CCRIF has provided new coverage for government infrastructure based on three island segments in order to cater to our unique archipelagic needs.

“They will also provide us with excess rainfall coverage. This insurance coverage will cost the government a total of some $3.4m in 2018-19. In addition, we plan to establish a disaster relief fund during this term, to which we will make annual contributions of sufficient size to build up a fund to assist with future rebuilding requirements in the wake of natural disasters.”

Last September, Mr Turnquest revealed the Minnis administration was working to amend the status of the country’s policy agreement with CCRIF, first signalling that a similar move to the one he announced

yesterday could yield The Bahamas its best value.

At the time of the suggestion, The Bahamas was due to receive a $234,000 Hurricane Irma-related payout from CCRIF, which reflected less than one per cent of the total Irma-related payouts the CCRIF had made in the region.

Moreover, the payment represented a fraction of the multi-million dollar relief fund needed in the southern islands at the time.

The former Christie administration said it withdrew from the CCRIF “after careful consideration” and advice from several government agencies.

Just months before Mr Turnquest’s comments, Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis announced that the move was made after the country was denied a claim after the passage of Hurricane Joaquin in 2015.

A committee was formed, he said, consisting

of technical officers in the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Meteorology and the Port Department, which found that it was “ineffective to continue with insurance” from the CCRIF and said “it would be more costeffective if the government self-insured.”

At the time, Mr Davis said the committee found that “premiums paid to CCRIF would’ve been better placed into an account to aid with hurricane disaster relief.”

looking at some 17 named storms.”

Mr Dean added that most seasons have on average 10 named storms.

“But I do not like to focus too much on the numbers. Because as we have seen over the years and in particular the last year, all it takes is one major storm to really destroy a community.

And we have certainly seen that over the last three to four years.

“Over the last several years, we’ve seen an uptick in tropical cyclone activity in The Bahamas.

“Last year we had a major hurricane that moved through the southeast Bahamas, leaving behind significant damage.

The year before that was another major storm.

“With that being said we should keep our guards up and do all the necessary things that will help us survive a storm, should one approach us.

“Preparedness is key.”

Pre-seasonal precautions include ensuring shutters and roofs are repaired.

Trees should also be trimmed back, especially those near utility lines.

“That will certainly minimise the amount of down utility lines, which can affect both power and communications. Just (through) these small things, we can keep ourselves safe through the process of a storm,” Mr Dean said.

PAGE 14, Thursday, June 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

A RESCUE worker carries a flock of farm birds rescued from homes destroyed by the Volcan de Fuego, or “Volcano of Fire,” eruption, in El Rodeo, Guatemala.

Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP

SAN MIGUEL LOS LOTES, Guatemala Associated Press

Sacatepequez and Chimaltenango, and people were advised not to linger near the affected zones.

The country’s seismology and volcanology institute warned of new flows descending through canyons on the volcano’s western slope toward the Pantaleon River, carrying boulders and tree trunks.

At a shelter in the Murray D Lincoln school in the city of Escuintla, about 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the volcano’s peak, Alfonso Castillo said he and his extended family of 30 had lived on a shared plot in San Miguel Los Lotes where each family had its own home.

The volcano is one of Central America’s most active, and everyone was accustomed to rumbling and spewing smoke, so at first nothing seemed unusual Sunday, the 33-year-old farm worker said. But then a huge cloud of ash came pouring out.

“In a matter of three or four minutes the village disappeared,” Castillo said.

It was smothered in what he described as a “sea” of muck that came crashing into homes, inundating people, pets and wildlife.

The family holed up in a house that heated up “like a boiler” inside, he said, then made their way onto the roof and then to the upper story of another, concrete home. After a cellphone call to Castillo’s brother, rescuers arrived and took the family to safety.

But the life they knew was gone.

“Nobody wants to go back there. My children say they would rather be in the streets. ... There are many people who are helping us, but we have absolutely nothing. We could not get anything out,” Castillo said. “For us, there is no tomorrow.”

In past disasters in which authorities determined there was no chance of finding survivors and further efforts to recover bodies would be too difficult, areas have been declared burial sites, the final resting place of the victims.

WEATHER HINDERS VOLCANO RESCUE

Founded in 1948, St Andrew’s has a long and proud tradition of providing the highest quality education to our students. St Andrew’s is accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS), the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and was the first school in The Bahamas to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Diploma (IBDP) Programmes.

Our reputation for “Ethics & Excellence” is recognised nationally and internationally. Our student body of approximately 540 students represents thirty-six (36) nationalities showing our diversity of being international and proudly Bahamian.

The School invites applications from qualified and experienced Bahamian candidates and Permanent Residents for the following teaching vacancies with effect from August 2018.

Primary School Vacancies Teachers with ability to teach Pre-school - Grade 5 (With a position of responsibility for the right candidate)

Secondary School Vacancies English Teacher Art Teacher Chemistry Teacher French Teacher Geography Teacher History Teacher Mandarin Teacher Physics Teacher Spanish Teacher (Ability to offer a 2nd subject would be an advantage)

Whole School Vacancies Learning Support Teacher Handyman GENERAL INFORMATION Candidates must be qualified teachers (holding a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent) with at least two (2) years teaching experience. Previous experience of the PYP and/or the IBDP programmes would be an advantage. Applications from teachers with experience in an Independent and/or International school are particularly welcome.

APPLICATION PROCESS Interested candidates should apply to the School’s Business Office by letter, email or fax as soon as possible.

All applications MUST include the following: • Letter of Application • Curriculum Vitae – to include the contact details of at least three (3) referees • A recent photo Failure to provide all this information may result in your application not being considered.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you have not heard from us within four (4) weeks of making an application, please assume your application was unsuccessful.

The closing date for applications is Friday 15th June 2018. Short listed candidates will be invited to interview at the School in Late June 2018.

No applications will be considered after the closing date.

St Andrew’s School Business Office P.O. Box EE 17340 Nassau, The Bahamas Email:sandrews@st-andrews.com Fax: 1 242 324 0816 For more information please see the School’s website www.standrewsbahamas.com

TROUBLESOME rain and more volcanic activity are hindering search and rescue efforts around Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire, but when teams have been able to work in the hardest hit areas the death toll has continued to rise.

Efforts were cut short again Wednesday when a downpour forced teams to retreat for fear of mudslides.

Boiling water flowing down the volcano’s slopes from dangerously hot volcanic gas and ash also posed a threat.

A day earlier, flows of superheated volcanic material forced crews to pull back.

But between stoppages, search teams working with shovels and heavy equipment found more bodies from Sunday’s big eruption.

Remains were loaded into body bags and carried out on stretchers.

Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences raised the death toll to 99 late in afternoon, an increase of 24 bodies for the day. Only 28 of the total had been identified. At least 197 people were listed as missing.

“Nobody is going to be able to get them out or say how many are buried here,” Efrain Suarez said, standing amid the smoking holes dotting what used to be the village of San Miguel Los Lotes on the flanks of the mountain.

“The bodies are already charred,” the 59-year-old truck driver said. “And if heavy machinery comes in they will be torn apart.”

Rescuers poked metal rods into the ground, sending clouds of smoke pouring into the air in a sign of the super-hot temperatures still remaining below the surface, which firefighters said reached as high as 750 to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (400 to 700 degrees Celsius) in some places.

A day after a new evacuation was ordered due to increasing activity by the volcano, a red alert remained in place for the departments of Escuintla,

TRUMP PARDONS WOMAN AFTER KARDASHIAN PLEA WASHINGTON Associated Press

FLEXING his clemency powers once again, President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the life sentence of a woman whose cause was championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West.

“BEST NEWS EVER!!!!” was the exuberant Twitter response from Kardashian West, who visited the White House last week to press the case.

Alice Marie Johnson, 63, had spent more than two decades behind bars, serving life without parole for drug offenses. She was released hours after the White House announcement and ran into her family members’ arms.

Michael Scholl, a member of Johnson’s legal team, said she was released just before 6pm from federal prison in Aliceville, Alabama. Footage from local news station WVTM13 showed Johnson running toward her family, throwing

her arms wide-open and embracing them in front of a crowd of onlookers.

“Everybody was crying and hugging,” Scholl said.

“I’m just so thankful. I feel like my life is starting over again,” Johnson said moments after her release, calling Kardashian West an “angel” and thanking Trump “for giving me another chance at life and restoring me to my family.”

Unlike a pardon, the commutation will not erase Johnson’s conviction, only end her sentence.

Trump’s decision, his latest inspired by a celebrity champion, comes amid a flurry of recent pardons issued by the president.

He says he’s considering a long list of other clemency actions for those famous and not, including former Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich, who is serving 14 years in prison for corruption, and celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart, who served about five months on charges connected to an insider trading case.

THE TRIBUNE

CONCERT IN AID OF BAND DIRECTOR

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A MARCHING band leader on Grand Bahama who is battling health problems is the beneficiary of a fund-raising all-star gospel concert on Sunday.

The One Bahamas Committee in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture, St John’s Native Baptist Church and the Legends Marching Band are hosting the concert at the Jack Hayward High School Gymnasium at 5pm.

Cecil Thompson, cochairman of the One Bahamas Committee, said the concert is in aid of Leslie McDonald, the founder and band director of First Baptist Church Boys Brigade Band, St John’s Native Baptist Church Marching Band, and the renowned Legends Marching Band.

According to Mr Thompson, Mr McDonald’s health had deteriorated in recent months requiring him to undergo several medical procedures.

“He is presently home and is recuperating satisfactorily. It is also important to mention that in spite of the very best medical care and attention Mr McDonald has been given, it is reasonable to expect that he will continue to experience health-related challenges in the foreseeable future,” he said.

Mr Thompson said the concert will feature some local and national choirs, internationallyacclaimed gospel groups and marching bands, school choirs, and church choirs.

These include the Grand Bahama Youth Choir, the Royal Bahamas Police Force Choir, Inter-denominational Mass Choir, Jay Mitchell, Zena Robins, Samuel “Scoppy” Rolle, Decision, Pastor Simeon Outten and the Freedom Band, Fabulous Cooling Waters, Bahamas Brass Band, Pioneers Marching Band, and the Legends Marching Band.

Mr Thompson is urging the community to support that event as Mr McDonald has made an extraordinary contribution to The Bahamas over the past 30 years.

He said under the leadership of Mr McDonald, the Legends Marching Band received many rave reviews, accolades and

commendations not only locally, but nationally and internationally.

“It is significant to note that within a relatively short period, the Legends Marching Band has become one of our country’s most popular, most beloved and most accomplished marching bands,” said the veteran educator.

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Thursday, June 7, 2018, PAGE 15