06242021 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021

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‘Get creative’ over govt debt aversion

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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HE government was yesterday urged to “become more creative” in the Bahamian debt markets as traditional purchasers of its bonds increasingly reject long-term paper due to the mounting fiscal crisis.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business that fears about the mounting national debt and the Government’s ability to repay creditors long-term meant institutional investors - the likes of banks, pension funds and mutual funds - have been increasingly limiting their exposure to bonds

long-term bonds, he urged the government to focus on creating “amortisation securities” - where the principal will be repaid over a series of years - rather than the traditional “bullet payment” issues where payments are backloaded to the final years.

This, Mr Bowe argued, would give investors greater comfort and confidence over the government’s ability to repay its debts, especially in the absence of the comprehensive debt management strategy that

GOWON BOWE

he has repeatedly urged it to publish.

While the government has pledged to release such a document after the Public Debt Management Act comes into effect on July 1, it has given no publication timeline. And, besides diversification, Mr Bowe also called on the government to help create greater liquidity in its debt, noting the relatively thin trading that is taking place in the $3.6bn that is already listed

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Minister: ‘No favours’ to payment provider

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday asserted that “no special favours” were involved in hiring a digital payments provider to handle the health travel via fees generated by tourism’s COVID-19 re-opening.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, accused the Official Opposition of “trying to make hay where there is no hay” over the selection of Kanoo to collect and remit visa fee payments to the Government amid allegations that it was chosen due to political connections.

Conceding that the urgency to re-open the Bahamian tourism industry

by November 1 resulted in the contract not being put out to competitive bid, Mr

• Dismisses claims over health travel visa deal • Tourism re-open urgency meant no bidding • Says opposition trying to ‘debunk’ system

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR D’Aguilar said Kanoo was recommended by Think Simple, the software developer for the health travel visa website, as the two companies had worked together before.

Kanoo’s principals include Keith Davies, the

Shipyard’s ‘really big deal’: Can be 30% of GB output

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A TOP hotelier yesterday hailed the planned $350m investment in the Grand Bahama Shipyard as “a really big deal” that could result in the facility generating up to 30 percent of the island’s economic output.

Magnus Alnebeck, Pelican Bay’s general manager, while acknowledging that his property is among the businesses likely to benefit from the arrival of two new dry docks, said the impact will be felt in multiple ways across Freeport’s private sector.

“The announcement that the Shipyard is to get new dry docks and the investment, that’s fantastic news for Grand Bahama and Freeport,” he told Tribune Business. “I think it is a really big deal.

“We used to say at the Grand Bahama Tourist Board, when Memories and Sunwing were here, that there were three major anchors in Grand Bahama that were almost equal.

The Shipyard was one, Sunwing’s Vacation Express airlift was another, and one was a mix of everything else.

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Melia closure’s $5m potential hit for bank

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BISX-listed bank has revealed that a major Nassau-based resort’s decision to close for two years has placed more than $5m worth of outstanding loans in potential default.

Commonwealth Bank, in its just-released 2020 full-year audited financial statements, further exposed how no sector of the Bahamian economy has escaped COVID-19’s devastating economic fall-out by revealing the possible impact on

its own business from Melia Nassau Beach making all its staff redundant.

“On February 15, 2021, the Melia Nassau Beach Resort announced that effective March 1, 2021,the resort would cease operations and make its staff redundant.

The gross carrying amount of the related loans and advances for these customers as at December 31, 2020, was $5.099m,” Commonwealth Bank informed its shareholders.

And it is also bracing for a similar impact as a result

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Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) chief executive; Nicholas Rees as chairman; and its chief financial officer, Herbert Cash.

Their identities have been in the public domain for some time, but also among the company’s directors is Dr Nigel Lewis, the Free National Movement’s (FNM) national campaign co-ordinator for the upcoming general election.

Tribune Business also last December disclosed that Dr Lewis is chairman of Public-Private Investments (PPIL) group, the entity that has received the Cabinet’s go-ahead to

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Minister’s cargo hub plans for GB airport

• Traditional investors shying away on fiscal crisis fears • Banker confirms 18-month trend on ‘long-term’ bonds • Urges ‘bullet payment’ shift; involving more investors with maturities of ten years or more over the past 18 months.

While some had reached their capacity limits in terms of the amount of government debt that regulations allow them to hold, Mr Bowe said the increasing risk aversion also reflected the fiscal realities and The Bahamas’ repeated creditworthiness downgrades to so-called ‘junk’ status by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

To improve Bahamian investor appetite for

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generate $1.5bn in revenues via a multi-million dollar proposal to revive and restore Nassau’s key heritage sites including three forts, the Queen’s Staircase (66 Steps) and Water Tower, and the Pompey Museum.

Mr D’Aguilar, though, dismissed Opposition claims of cronyism and favouritism involving Kanoo’s selection as the “payment bridge” between the health travel visa website and the Ministry of Tourism. “They are making hay where there is no hay,” he told this newspaper.

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ESTABLISHING the city of Freeport as an air cargo transshipment hub could generate the extra income required to make its rebuild attractive to private capital and operators/developers, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that additional revenue streams beyond mere tourist and resident passenger traffic may be needed to finance Grand Bahama International Airport’s (GBIA) $50m-$60m redevelopment into a resilient facility that can withstand future Dorian-strength storms.

Given Freeport’s US proximity, location on transAtlantic aviation routes and existing status as a maritime transshipment hub via Freeport Container Port, he argued that the island’s main aviation gateway was ideally suited for investors looking for an alternative cargo hub to congested US airports.

With the first investor briefing on the government’s efforts to outsource Freeport and six Family Island airports due to take place on Monday, Mr D’Aguilar said the returns sought by private developers, operators and financiers are typically dependent on fees generated by passenger and aviation traffic.

With traffic at Grand Bahama International Airport depressed due to the reduction in tourism and Grand Bahama Shipyard activity, and storm resilience key, he added that the cargo hub concept could provide the necessary revenue stream to both attract the private sector and generate the necessary financing.

“With Freeport’s airport, we all agree that it’s going to cost a tidy sum to

rebuild this airport to make it weather resilient. You’re going to have to think about different revenue streams to make that airport attractive and viable to potential investors,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

“Just brain storming, the proximity of Freeport to the US serves it well as a container port for shipping.

That behooves the question: Why not pursue another type of business such as air cargo? Freeport is wonderfully situated between North America and South America, wonderfully situated between Europe and South America.

“To me, in much the same way that the Container Port fulfills that function, serving as a transshipment hub for marine cargo, so too can the airport serve as a transshipment hub for aviation cargo.

It could be any airport in The Bahamas, but Freeport is best suited for that. It has a substantial amount of land and is already in the business. It can do it fairly well, because it’s in the business of marine cargo.”

Much would have to be done to realise such ambitions. While the Freeport Container Port is Hutchison Whampoa’s most-prized Grand Bahama asset, efforts to exploit the Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s ‘free trade zone’ status and menu of tax breaks to turn Freeport into a transshipment, logistics and distribution hub for marine cargo have yet to bear fruit.

The 741-ace Sea Air Business Centre, as an example, remains largely idle and an example of potential unfulfilled. Some observers will also likely question whether there will be any interest in Freeport as an air cargo hub given its proximity to existing commercial aviation centres in Miami and elsewhere in Florida.

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PAGE 2, Thursday, June 24, 2021

OPINION

Procurement reform hit by resistance to change

By DANIEL FERGUSON

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T WAS not my intention to write another article until the end of September, as I wanted to give the government the benefit of the doubt regarding its self-imposed September 1, 2021, timeline for when the Public Procurement Act will take effect. However, on Monday, the prime minister during his closing remarks in the budget debate referred to me publicly by warning that “if

THE TRIBUNE

you push me enough” the details of my personal files when I was employed at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and the

Ministry of Health will be revealed.

I was amused by this, and want to know what records he is referring to. He also alluded to me being “an angry man”, and that I breached confidentiality clauses related to my previous government employment. It is not my intention to answer the prime minister in this regard because I have provided this newspaper, and other media houses, with copies of my Military Discharge Certificate,

which reflects my honourable discharge from the RBDF along with a “very good” character reference.

I also received a “letter of appreciation” from the US Coastguard, and was subsequently appointed as chief supplies officer to the Ministry of Health.

The public should ask the prime minister why, if my files are so damaging, how I was appointed as lead investigator for the Lorequin Commission of Inquiry in 2004. And why was I employed in your

ministry as a procurement officer responsible for public procurement reform for four years, while also being named as the Caribbean’s representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS) body - known as the Inter-American Network of Government Procurement Officers - for the years 2019 to 2021?

I would agree, though, that I am an angry man - but only because the government will take the advice of others on procurement matters while ignoring the professional specialists. I am angry because, as a chartered procurement specialist, I am appalled by the amount of government contracts that remain politically motivated, and are neither tendered nor publicly advertised. Yes, the previous government did the same, but has this government proven to be any different?

With regards to the prime minister’s allegations of breach of confidentiality, I wish to draw the public’s attention to section 47 of the Freedom of Information Act 2017, which deals with whistleblowers.

This says: (1) No person may be subject to any legal, administrative or employment related sanction, regardless of any breach of a legal or employment- related obligation, for releasing information on wrongdoing, or that which would disclose a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, as long as he acted in good faith and in the reasonable belief that the information was substantially true and disclosed evidence of wrongdoing or a serious threat to health, safety and the environment.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), “wrongdoing” includes but it is not limited to: (a) The commission of a criminal offence (b) Failure to comply with a legal obligation (c) Miscarriage of justice (d) Corruption, dishonesty or serious maladministration Was it not this administration that brought this Act into force, and most recently appointed the Commissioners?

On two occasions during my employment with the Ministry of Finance, I had the opportunity to appear before the United Nations Convention on Corruption to apprise them of the public procurement reform effort that I led for the past four years. The United Nations (UN) Convention against Corruption is the only legally-binding universal anti-corruption instrument of which The Bahamas is a party. The Government of The Bahamas should be aware that organisations such as these, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank, all of whom are stakeholders in our economic development, are observing their actions, especially when it threatens its citizens for speaking truth.

What I find to be so ironic is that during the debate on Monday, Glenys Hanna Martin, MP for Englerston, in referring to my article stated that the writer was simply saying that since the Public Procurement Act was to be delayed until September this year, the government has a moral obligation, under best practices, to ensure that their mandated policy is for all procurement to be carried out through the e-procurement supplier registry is.

So, why the outburst? Is it that the government is not serious about transparency?

Desmond Bannister, deputy prime minister

and minister of works, eloquently made his contribution to the budget debate last Thursday by listing the many projects his ministry had completed. He talked about parks being redeveloped, road paving and the renovations of certain buildings. He also rose to his feet during the prime minister’s contribution on Monday, June 21, and advised that the e-procurement supplier registry was being used. He was correct, but what he did not say was how many of the 763 registered construction companies on the e-procurement system had an opportunity to bid on all of those projects he mentioned through the e-procurement supplier registry.

An analysis of the usage of the e-procurement supplier registry by ministries and agencies was conducted, and it was discovered that - from April 2020 to February 2021 the Department of Public Works created 15 restricted/ selective bid notices on the system during which time they selected the companies who were to tender rather than having an open, competitive bidding process.

They did create 22 other notices that were competitive, an extremely small amount for a department that initially had a capital works budget of $151m for the year 2020-2021. There are 2,200 registered companies on the e-procurement supplier registry, all waiting for business opportunities.

Why is transparency in public procurement being delayed? Who is the “operational leadership” in the Ministry of Finance that would have given advice to push back the Procurement Act coming into effect to September 2021? They are unlikely to have public procurement experience or qualifications. If they had, they would have known better. I previously indicated that both the international consultant and the local procurement officer were no longer employed by the Ministry of Finance.

The international consultant who was employed by the government’s Public Financial Management Reform Project stated in his final report: “The resistance to the public procurement reform from top-level political positions and senior-level management officials in government, as well as from members of Parliament, has also obstructed progress regarding the new public procurement legislation’s development and implementation of new procurement tools.”

This statement is powerful, and raises questions as to whether reform is being delayed to preserve the status quo and the issuance of politically motivated contracts, worth tens of millions of dollars, to supporters of whichever party is in power. I will leave it there.

NB: Daniel Ferguson, a retired chief petty officer with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), is a former procurement officer in the Ministry Health and Ministry of Finance, and former component co-ordinator for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sponsored public financial management reform project, in particular the public procurement reform. He led the drafting team for the development of the Public Procurement Bill 2021, and public procurement regulations. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, with over 25 years of experience in public procurement.

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Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 3

Regulator disputes Cabbage Beach ‘no permits’ assertion

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

“They could have approval at the Heads of Agreement level, but they have not gone through the environmental process. At this time, the department is not aware of any submission for Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) for any construction activities related to Cabbage Beach.”

The DEPP Act’s clause 13 states that no person shall begin work on any project unless that they have been issued a CEC in accordance with the prescribed regulations. However, an Access Industries spokesperson said the developer was unaware it needed approval from the DEPP to clear their own private property.

They added they have “reached out to DEPP for clarity on this issue, as the company believes that preliminary clearance work on its private property is allowed”.

Yet Mrs Newbold replied: “What lawyer told them that they could clear land and erect fences as they see fit? I can’t go by what Access Industries says, but I want to know what

lawyer told him that clearing land without approval was okay?

“Clearing land would also have incidences where they would have the removal of whatever trees and vegetation that’s on the land.

If they are clearing land in preparation for the construction of their condominium, they need a CEC for what the intended outcome is.

“They just can’t come and build a house and say they will clear down the land. If they did that we would have another situation with what we had with Ginn, where we had cleared down land and nothing happened.

Anything with regard to the environment requires an approval.”

Questions were raised last week as to whether the Ocean Club owner had all the necessary permits and approvals to begin it development. There were strong indications that it did not, especially since no public consultations appear to have been held either by the Town Planning Committee or the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP).

Adrian White, the Town Planning Committee’s chairman, who is also the FNM’s St Ann’s candidate in the upcoming general election, referred Tribune Business to Mandie Maynard, the committee’s secretary and a Department of Physical Planning employee, when asked whether Access Industries had applied for the necessary permits and if a public consultation had been held or scheduled.

Access Industries, in a statement at that time, said it had merely been doing site clearing so it could better assess the property’s development possibilities.

“The owner of the private land is doing comprehensive and permissible site work, including the clearing, so it can assess the property for the development of the hotel, condominium and retail project,” it added.

“Because of the use of heavy machinery, the site was closed because of safety concerns, and signs were posted to this effect, as well as to direct traffic to other access points to the beach.”

However, numerous Supreme Court rulings have confirmed that the route/ easement to Cabbage Beach

that was blocked off lies on land owned by Access Industries. Justice Gregory Hilton, in an April 30, 2019, ruling found it was “a private access way” over which the owner can set the terms and conditions of its use.

This effectively means the Ocean Club owner can act as it sees fit. Ownership of the Cabbage Beach property was transferred from Atlantis – owned by Brookfield Asset Management – to a subsidiary of Access Industries in 2014 as part of the Ocean Club’s sale to the latter.

Prior to the sale, Atlantis had allowed access to the beach via the easement through the private property. However, the company had petitioned the government on several occasions to address the vendor operation at the beach, due to concerns that standards were not consistent with the high-end tourism product the mega resort was offering.

In December 2015, the Cabbage Beach Vendors Association filed an injunction in the Supreme Court to prevent Access Industries from restricting access by way of the path. A 30-day

injunction was put in place, but further applications to have that extended were denied.

The vendors, from that point, still had just over 50 days to access the beach via that easement, based on an agreement between the then-Christie administration and Access Industries that was not made public. These events allowed Access Industries the leeway to erect a fence to restrict access to the beach, leading to the 2016 dispute and protest that eventually resulted in it being taken down.

Despite what happened five years, the Ocean Club owner appears to have given no advance warning or notice of the new fence that was erected on Wednesday, even though the 2016 protest should have alerted it to just how sensitive and emotive an issue Bahamian access to land - and especially beaches - is.

Its initial release, saying Bahamians “still can readily access the beach at Beach Club Drive, off Paradise Island Drive, or consider Junkanoo Beach or Montagu Beach in Nassau”, is also unlikely to have gone down well with many.

Over the Hill tax-free zone in mixed review

commercial vehicles.

The initiative was initially targeted at Bain and Grants Town and Centreville, but was subsequently extended to the St Barnabas and Englerston constituencies.

Nyoka Johnson, general manager of the Paint Depot on Mount Royal Avenue, said: “I can tell you for sure that we have been paying VAT and customs duties on everything we have been bringing in, so I’m definitely not aware of this Over the Hill Tax Free Zone.”

“To be honest with you we have not been benefiting from this, and no one has even corrected us on it. Even if we weren’t aware of it no one has been saying from a Customs side of things that we don’t have to do certain things, so we are not benefiting from this.”

Marilyn Munroe, owner/

operator of Jazenya’s Creations Dressmaking on Ross Corner, said she has been taking advantage of the business licence waivers. She added: “The only thing I wasn’t taking advantage of is bringing in any stuff from the US that I would use in the business.

“I just learned the other day that I have to apply for it. Because I’m a dressmaker, things like thread - or if I bring in any fabric or machines or anything like that - I wasn’t taking advantage of those concessions.

“For me, I think this is a good initiative, but I can’t speak for anybody else.

Because we aren’t making a lot of money, and then for us to be paying for business licence fees every year, was very taxing and I have been in business for over 20 years, so I can tell you how much it

adds up.”

Leon Strachan, owner/ operator of Island Tech Solutions on Rosetta Street, said he has not been taking advantage of the Over the Hill Tax Free Zone because he does not fully understand how it works.

“I just never got much information on the initiative,” said Mr Strachan.

Lachez Ferguson, owner/ operator of Shift Enterprises on Market Street, said she has not had any need to use the benefits under the Over the Hill Tax Free Zone yet, but “once the need becomes available then I would like to get exemptions on certain things”.

She added: “This could be done better than this because the government doesn’t give much information. I got a form to fill out from the government before and I want

more information on the car I want to bring in. My business is a car rental, so the only things I bring in are cars and car parts.

“I have the application right here but I didn’t submit it to the government yet because some of the things they are asking me for I had to clear it with my landlord. The application is burdensome, and then it doesn’t have much information on it and there is nobody to call or to find out any information from. The need to give the public more information or make information more available.”

Another Bain and Grants Town businessperson, speaking under condition of anonymity, said: “I only heard about the tax-free initiative, but I didn’t hear any of the details on how to go about applying for it.”

A SENIOR government official yesterday disputed assertions by the Ocean Club’s owner that it did not require permits to begin clearing the property at the heart of last week’s Cabbage Beach dispute.

Rochelle Newbold, director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), told Tribune Business she believed Access Industries needed to first obtain a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) before it could begin work on clearing property earmarked for a $250m condo-hotel project.

Confirming that no application has been made to, or approval granted by, the DEPP for clearing a site that includes an easement long used by Cabbage Beach vendors and others to access the beach, Mrs Newbold said: “We have no active application for any project on Cabbage Beach, or any condominiums of any value of that nature. So they haven’t gone through the environmental review.

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net BUSINESSES yesterday cited uncertainty, confusion and lack of information as to why they are not taking advantage of the Over the Hill Tax Free Zone (OHTFZ) incentives.

Tonya Gibson, general manager of Apex Awards, Signs & Engraving on Mount Royal Avenue, told Tribune Business she was told by the constituency’s MP that her business was not eligible for the various tax breaks and other investment incentives. “I think they said the zone stopped at

Centreville,” she said.

“What we were told is that we are right outside of the Centreville zone. I understand from our member of parliament that he said he was trying to see if they could have extended it to our area, but we are not in the zone.”

The Over the Hill Tax Free Zone initiative was launched in late 2018 to help stimulate economic activity, and regenerate inner city, by allowing residents and businesses present in the designated areas to access certain goods and materials tax-free. Real property tax and business licence fee concessions are also available, as is the tax-free importation of

PAGE 4, Thursday, June 24, 2021

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BTVI revives Abaco presence through $100,000 investment THE Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) yesterday said it has revived its Abaco presence with a $100,000 investment to outfit two high schools with trade and computer laboratories.

It confirmed in a statement that the Patrick Bethel and SC Bootle High Schools will be outfitted with four laboratories, which will be to the standard of the National Centre for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).

The trade laboratories will be used for several disciplines, including carpentry, plumbing, electrical, dry wall and masonry classes. BTVI said it will work with the two high schools to advance a dual enrollment programme, which will provide technical training options to students, making them job-ready after graduation.

“We have these laboratory components in our warehouse in Nassau, so when Patrick Bethel opens in September that campus will be fully equipped, state of the art, wired and smart.

The same facilities we will be putting in these two high schools will be available for adults to receive the same certifications in

SEATED from left as BTVI’s Abaco return is announced: BTVI adjunct instructor, Garth Johnson; Ministry of Education district superintendent for Abaco, Dominique Russell; BTVI’s dean of construction and workforce development, Alexander Darville; and BTVI’s chief financial officer, Andrew Gape. Standing from left are the Ministry of Education’s Abaco district education officer, Kendris D Hield; BTVI’s northern campus recruitment officer, Sherlock Prince; Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) senior business adviser and BTVI adjunct instructor, Danevia Bethell; BTVI’s northern Campus head of department for construction and mechanical trades, Kenton Roker, and BTVI’s dean of information technology and distance education, Anthony Ramtulla. the evenings and Saturdays, so the opportunity is here,” said BTVI’s chief financial officer, Andrew Gape, Prior to Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, BTVI had a presence at the Patrick Bethel High School. Both the storm and COVID-19 have accelerated BTVI’s response to expand into the high schools

in Abaco. BTVI has since established a partnership with the NCCER through Valencia College in Florida, which paves the way for Abaconians to receive NCCER certifications.

The NCCER is an internationally-recognised accrediting body that has designed standardised training and credentialing

programmes for more than 70 craft areas. The core programme includes 80 contact hours of training in the fundamentals of construction site safety, math, power tools, hand tools, communication skills, employability skills, construction drawing and material handling. Rigging is an option.

Alexander Darville, BTVI’s dean of construction and workforce development, said: “The world is crying for tradesmen and women. Today, there is only one electrician in Cat Island. To find an electrician in Harbour Island, we actually have to import them from New Providence.

“This is an opportunity to think about getting in the trades if you want to make a lucrative living.

There is major demand for the trades. Our aim is to get NCCER throughout the country. We have our eyesight on all Abaco and the surrounding cays.”

BTVI and Ministry of

Education officials held two town hall meetings on Abaco. More than 300 persons attended the sessions, including 100 who immediately signed up for the free NCCER core training.

Represented at the meetings were BTVI’s dean of information technology and distance education, Anthony Ramtulla; the northern campus recruitment officer, Sherlock Prince; and head of department for construction and mechanical trades, Kenton Roker.

The Ministry of Education’s Abaco district superintendent, Dominique Russell, said: “For our children, we don’t want them to only gain real world experience, but to develop the skills to be able to function, take care of themselves and contribute to the progress of our national development… We are looking at Abaco from a holistic perspective. You don’t just want to have the experience or skills; you want that certification that actually gets you the job.”

BTVI president, Dr Robert W Robertson, added: “The people of Abaco have endured much because of Hurricane Dorian and then, six months later, with COVID19. We are confident that they will take advantage of this free opportunity to either learn something new or enhance what they already know.

“Further, certification is a plus. Today’s employer values certifications. Certifications set you apart and speak to technical competency.”

Graycliff gains top health designation GRAYCLIFF yesterday said it has been awarded the Travellers Health Assurance Stamp (HST) for “Healthier, Safer Tourism” by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

The Nassau-based resort said the HST Stamp is awarded to facilities that actively participate in the COVID-19 health guidelines for re-opening tourism training offered by CARPHA, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).

At least ten percent of all staff, including senior management, must be certified for the business to qualify and weekly health reporting is required. Travellers to the Caribbean can search for HST-awarded tourism entities in the Caribbean Travellers Health App. “We’re honoured to have been awarded Travellers’ Health Assurance Stamp.

Our team continues to uphold all of our health and safety measures, which go beyond the ones required by these entities and the Government of The Bahamas,” said Enrico Garzaroli, Graycliff chief executive.

“We’re quite transparent in our safety measures. We have a video on our website showing what we do, and each guest has to complete a contact tracing form as well as show proof of either full vaccination or a negative test taken within five days to enter Graycliff Hotel & Restaurant.”

CARPHA is the Caribbean’s sole public health agency responsible for preventing disease, and promoting and protecting health.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

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Minister’s cargo hub ‘Get creative’ over plans for GB airport govt debt aversion

FROM PAGE ONE

However, Mr D’Aguilar added: “Sometimes it may be easier not to go into a large, congested airport like Miami, and some of the business can be directed to Freeport. It just needs someone with the vision and capital to make the investment in the airport.

“The residents of Grand Bahama want a world-class airport, but to bring about that investment there needs to be traffic to make that a reality. Passenger traffic has been challenged of late.

Cargo is a lot more stable, and adds another revenue stream.”

As a result, the minister said Grand Bahama International Airport could thus be attractive to someone wanting to get into the aviation cargo business or an existing operator with a US airport that is being restricted by “capacity constraints”.

Without private capital and investors, Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper that the government would be

restricted to building new airports at the rate of one every ten years. “The government builds an airport once a decade at the current rate, the last being Leonard Thompson International Airport in Abaco in 20102012,” he added.

“Family Island airports will be done once a decade because that’s the rate the Public Treasury can handle.

Everybody wants something larger and better, and you cannot do that from the Public Treasury. The only way to do that is through the private sector married with public land. They, of course, will want a return.”

The government is now in full ownership and operational control of Grand Bahama International Airport after paying $1, plus around $1m in severance costs, to Freeport Harbour Company and its owners, Hutchison and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

While many have hailed the purchase as vital to Freeport and Grand Bahama’s “economic survival”, others feel Hutchison Whampoa and the GBPA had effectively been allowed to abandon their developmental obligations to Freeport under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

The government (Bahamian taxpayer) also “reimbursed” Hutchison Whampoa for half the costs it incurred in paying due severance and other benefits to the airport’s 60-70 staff, who will leave its employment and be transferred to the state-owned Airport Authority.

FROM PAGE ONE on the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX).

Pointing out that investors will be more inclined to acquire the government’s long-term bonds if they have a better chance of exiting their investments, via selling them in the secondary market, the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief said other companies as well as retail (individual) investors need to be more active participants in the debt markets.

“While it has maybe not been done in a consistent chorus line, that has probably been the case for the past 18 months,” Mr Bowe told this newspaper, confirming the increased institutional investor aversion to long-term government debt.

“That’s because we never had a very liquid retail market, leaving it all to the institutions. Government paper has been concentrated in just a few entities, and there’s only so much capacity those entities have. As we see credit downgrades, as we see the absence of a debt management strategy, credit risk profiles and assessments put risk up.

“As the risk goes up, the willingness to take longterm paper goes down.

Are you prepared to take a credit risk in a market that is not very liquid and you will have difficulty exiting for a long period of time? Your risk assessment precludes long-term

debt opportunities.”

The likelihood that some institutions are at, or near, capacity on government securities holdings is illustrated by Commonwealth Bank’s recently-released 2020 audited financial statements, which reveal that 99 percent of its total $458m investments are in government bonds or related investments.

Mr Bowe was backed by another capital markets source, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said: “A lot of institutions don’t appear to be taking up long-term government paper any more. Treasury Bills and bonds with maturities of three years and under are the thing. I understand that when the Central Bank did these last couple of offerings, there was very little appetite in the long end.

“They had a lot in the short end. There is a consequence to these downgrades. They also have these new accounting standards where you have to assess expected credit losses for their impact. It will be a good wake-up call. Before, people were just buying

Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 5 coupons; six percent, buy a government bond, but not now.”

Mr Bowe confirmed that short-term government bonds are more attractive because investors can still see several years out, and anticipate the likelihood they will be repaid, as he urged the Minnis administration to shift from “bullet payment” debt issues where all the principal is to be repaid in the final few years before maturity.

“They [the government] may have to be more creative and look at amortisation instruments to demonstrate their ability to repay,” he told Tribune Business.

“In the absence of a debt management strategy, it is difficult to determine if they will meet all those payments as they become due.

“Amortisation instruments shorten the tenor and do not preclude them from refinancing. If you take a 15-year instrument and start principal repayments in year sixth, paying one-tenth a year over the next six years, the length of the security becomes about ten years. It shortens the debt exposure and it’s what they need to start doing.”

With the national debt set to break the $10bn mark in the upcoming fiscal year, Mr Bowe warned that if domestic investor appetite for long-term paper does not rebound then the

government would have to seek financing from the deeper international capital markets. This, though, would bring additional challenges in terms of generating the necessary foreign currency earnings to service it.

Some 55 percent of the government’s $9.417bn direct debt at year-end 2020, or just over $4.7bn, is held domestically, and Mr Bowe added: “It shouldn’t be overblown that financial institutions are shying away from government debt. The fact is that the same players always buying cannot always keep buying it....

“They’ve now listed the government’s debt on BISX, but there’s very little trading. The government needs to use its creativity and that of the private sector to encourage retail investors to become more involved so that it’s not left to the institutions. How do we create liquidity by getting corporates to buy it as part of their treasury management?

“It would be wise for the government to fix these structural deficiencies in the absence of an articulated debt management strategy.

They do need the domestic market to play a larger role in debt funding, and if they do not create excitement and enthusiasm around it they will have to turn to the international markets. That will come with its own issues and consequences.”

PAGE 6, Thursday, June 24, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Minister: ‘No favours’ to payment provider FROM PAGE ONE

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“There’s no missing money and no special favours.

“Why pick Kanoo? It was the developer. We had five days to roll the website out.

The government decided we wanted all our visitors to have a health visa and rapid antigen test, and it was successful.” Mr D’Aguilar also reiterated that Kanoo receives a 1.5 percent fee per transaction which, based on the $9.8m in health travel fees collected to end-March 2021, would see it earn close to $150,000.

Pointing out that the 1.5 percent fee was mandated by the Ministry of Finance as the maximum to be paid to all digital payment services providers, the minister added: “It ain’t like we are getting rich out of this. The biggest fee is to the settling bank. They get three times’ that.

“We didn’t fight that. We could have got cheaper by going with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), but the Bank of The Bahamas is

www.ub.edu.bs

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owned by the government. I think that the health visa has been a remarkable success in allowing us to open the tourism sector without an explosion of COVID-19.”

Accusing the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) of “trying to debunk it [the health travel visa] and tap into the frustrations of returning residents that have to pay the $40”, Mr D’Aguilar said the solution to this was for Bahamians to become fully vaccinated.

However, a rival digital payments provider, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday questioned the explanation provided by Mr D’Aguilar and the government over how Kanoo was selected. Even if timelines meant competitive bidding could not be organised, they asked why other companies had not been integrated with the health travel visa website to provide the same service some seven months later.

“They didn’t ask anybody else, and nor did they share the details of what the requirements are,” the source said. “They simply went with Kanoo, and said do this for us. My concern is, even if the statement about being under the gun is correct, how is it seven to eight months later none of the other digital payment

providers are integrated with the system.

“Kanoo has not provided a proprietary solution. If you want an e-commerce component added to your website, it’s a plug and play solution. You can do that with any decent website developer today. They’re trying to over-complicate this thing and it’s not.”

The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, in its explanation, asserted that it had been left scrambling to develop a solution that met the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 protocol requirements after the airlines said they were unable to screen the test results for passengers flying to The Bahamas - with one even warning that it would stop flying.

Left with a five to sixweek timeframe to develop the health travel visa website, the ministry said in a statement: “Given the tight timeframes involved, the Ministry undertook a sole sourcing arrangement as opposed to an open bid process which would have taken three months or longer to complete.

“Tourism was re-opening in five days, the website was going live in five days, and there was simply not enough time to develop and issue a Request for Proposal and

then wait and evaluate the proposals. This is not unusual in circumstances such as this. Indeed, even the imminent Public Procurement Act makes provision for limited bidding in similar exceptional circumstances.”

The Ministry of Tourism said Kanoo was hired on standard commercial terms, adding that all health travel visa fees were paid into an account that the former controlled.

To end-March 2021, the Ministry of Tourism said some $9.8m in health travel visa had been collected and $7.4m in related expenses paid, leaving a $2.4m surplus.

It added that 82 percent of the revenues were generated by tourists, with the remaining 18 percent coming from visitors. Some 65 percent of the expenses covered related to health insurance costs, while 30 percent was associated with administering the rapid antigen test.

Kanoo has also received from the government a three-year contract to implement an electronic payment system for the family courts, and a two-year contract with the Department of Social Services to provide digital assistance to its clients.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 7

Shipyard’s ‘really big deal’: Can be 30% of GB output FROM PAGE ONE

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Grand Bahama Shipyard, when fully operational, generates at least 25 percent if not 30 percent of economic activity in Grand Bahama and everything feeds from that,” Mr Alnebeck continued. “That is a big industry, that is a lot of activity, that is a lot of people and all sorts of side businesses.

“I’m sure that if you ask some of the car rental companies in Freeport they will say they rent out many more cars to the Shipyard workers than tourists.

When these cruise ships come in for renovation it is a big deal.

“We under-estimate it because we don’t see these people running around in the Port Lucaya Marketplace for three hours wearing a tropical shirt, straw hat and drink in hand.

They go to restaurants and spend three times’ as much as the tourist in the Marketplace.”

The prime minister, in

unveiling the planned Shipyard investment by its two cruise line owners, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, earlier this week, said it will exceed their combined capital injection into the Shipyard to-date by $100m.

“I am pleased to announce that Carnival and Royal Caribbean have agreed to a new combined investment of approximately $350m in the Grand Bahama Shipyard,” Dr Minnis said. “To understand the scale of this investment, the House may recall that the original investment - and other investments to-date in the Shipyard - have totalled approximately $250m.

“The new investment will match this and exceed it by $100m. The proposed infrastructure works will replace the two damaged docks with even larger ones. The new docks will be capable of handling and servicing the largest ships in the world. This will result in a notable increase in employment and economic

STOCKS END LISTLESS DAY ON WALL STREET MIXED AS CALM RETURNS

NEW YORK Associated Press

A LISTLESS day on Wall Street ended with indexes mixed yesterday, as nervousness continues to wash out of the market following last week’s jolt by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 slipped 4.60 points, or 0.1%, to 4,241.84 after earlier meandering between very modest gains and losses. It’s 0.3% below its record high set a week and a half ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 71.34, or 0.2%, to 33,874.24, while the Nasdaq composite added to its record set a day before.

It inched up by 18.46, or 0.1%, to 14,271.73.

The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 fell, but gains for financial companies and others that do best when the economy is healthy helped limit the losses.

Markets have calmed notably since the Federal Reserve surprised investors last week by saying it could start raising short-term interest rates by late 2023, earlier than expected.

The super-low rates the Fed has engineered to carry the economy through the pandemic have made investing easy for more than a year. They’ve propped up prices across markets, and any change would be a big deal. That’s why the Fed’s announcement triggered an immediate drop for stocks and rise in Treasury yields.

But since then, investors have focused more on how it may be still be years before the first rate hike hits, particularly as Fed officials continue to say they see the high inflation sweeping the economy being only a temporary problem.

Before the Fed raises rates for the first time since 2018, it will likely first have to check off several items, investment giant Capital Group said in a recent report.

First, the Fed will announce that it will reduce the bond purchases it’s making to keep longer-term interest rates low. Then it will actually begin tapering, before ending tapering and then signaling that a rate hike is coming.

“That schedule will take time, and Fed officials have made it clear that they will remain patient,” said Capital Group, which runs American Funds, in its midyear outlook.

In the meantime, the economy continues to roar higher, and corporate profits are soaring.

One measure of nervousness among stock investors in the market, known as the VIX, fell about 2%. Earlier in the day, it came close to its lowest level since the pandemic sell-off began in February 2020.

Of course, if the Fed is wrong and higher inflation is longer lasting, the central bank will then have to get more aggressive about raising rates.

The latest data on inflation will come on Friday with the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge. It will cover May, which the consumer price index has already said saw year-over-year inflation of 5%.

Bond yields were holding relatively steady following a mixed set of economic data. The yield on the tenyear Treasury inched up to 1.48% from 1.47% late on Tuesday. The two-year yield held at 0.25%.

Special Dividend Notice To All Shareholders The Board of Directors has declared another special dividend of 2 cents per share to all shareholders of record 24th June, 2021.

The payment of this special dividend will be made along with the regular dividend on June 30th, 2021 through Bahamas Central Securities Depository Limited, the Registrar & Transfer Agent Brent Roberts Secretary

activity on Grand Bahama, and for local businesses throughout Freeport and Grand Bahama.”

Dr Minnis said details on the “partnership agreement” have yet to be worked out, and details will be forthcoming at an unspecified date, but added that construction work will begin at the Grand Bahama Shipyard by October 2021.

Tribune Business understands that this work is to accommodate the two new dry docks, which are being constructed in Asia and will likely be delivered to the Grand Bahama Shipyard in the 2022 second half.

Giora Israel, Carnival Corporation’s senior vicepresident for port and destination development, told Tribune Business earlier this year that Grand Bahama Shipyard will become “the biggest industrial concern in the Caribbean by far” if it proceeds with the investment to build the world’s largest floating dock.

He added that the Shipyard and its owners were

currently exploring the “options and opportunities” to build such a dock in China to replace the one that was lost in April 2019’s accident.

Acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating fall-out has impacted the ability of the Shipyard’s cruise line shareholders to fund this investment directly, he added that some financing may be raised in The Bahamas to help cover the costs of associated land-based infrastructure work that would accompany the new dock.

Mr Israel, who sits on the Shipyard’s Board representing Carnival as a 40 percent shareholder, with the remaining ownership split 40/20 between Royal Caribbean and the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s Port Group Ltd, said investing in a larger dock was under consideration prior to the April 2019 accident involving the Oasis of the Seas cruise liner.

“Royal Caribbean’s ship was being taken only

partially out of the water because the dry dock could not carry such a big ship,” he recalled. “The manoevere had been done before, but this time something went wrong and the dock was destroyed. It was a total loss and had to be cut to pieces and taken out.

“That incident causes a lot of setbacks as we were unable to operate on other ships. The shareholders started the process of recovering the wreck and claiming the insurance proceeds. That process has not been completed.”

The accident meant GB Shipyard lost its status as the world’s busiest cruise ship repair facility, having serviced three-and-a-half times the number of vessels seen by any rival yard.

The accident left the company functioning at just 25 percent capacity, especially after Hurricane Dorian damaged another dry dock in late 2019.

Mr Israel, though, said its shareholders had been anticipating “building a larger dock” in response to

the increasing size of cruise ships that would have been “the biggest floating dock in the Americas”. Subsequent inquiries confirmed that such a dock has to be built in Asia rather than Europe, but the cruise industry’s enforced COVID-19 closure and billions of dollars in losses has disrupted financing plans.

“We are looking at our options and opportunities to build such a dock in China,” Mr Israel said at the time. “The COVID-19 situation put a strain on the ability of the shareholders to directly fund it. We’re looking at various options and opportunities as to how to build it and fund it. We’re looking at this process.

“We have to talk to the government in due course as we get more advanced in this process. It [the dock] will definitely be the biggest in the world; by far the biggest in the world. We have a lot of engineers working on it. We have to bring it over from China.”

PAGE 8, Thursday, June 24, 2021

Melia closure’s $5m potential hit for bank FROM PAGE ONE

of Atlantis’ decision to terminate 700, or just under 10 percent, of its 7,300-strong workforce although it is still calculating the likely impact.

“On May 18, 2021, Atlantis announced its plan to make 700 of the resort’s 7,300 employees redundant. This will affect all levels of employment at the resort. To date, the group has not completed its estimate of the

impact on the expected credit loss allowance (ECL) relating to the loan portfolio exposed to the Atlantis redundancies,” Commonwealth Bank added.

“The group has determined that both of the above events represent non-adjusting subsequent events and the necessary increase in the ECL impairment provision will be made in 2021.”

This comes following a year in which Commonwealth Bank’s

THE TRIBUNE total comprehensive income was slashed by 52 percent to $15.52m, compared to $32.374m the prior year, due to a 36.9 percent increase in impairment charges to $67.758m compared to the prior year’s $48.038m.

Baha Mar’s owner elected to cut its losses by closing the Melia Nassau Beach property until 2023 for a $100m renovation, resulting in up to 300 hotel job losses.

Graeme Davis, the mega resort’s top executive, told Tribune Business at the time it would simply be unprofitable to keep portions of the resort open during the construction work due to COVID-19’s devastating impact on travel demand and occupancies.

He added that the potential “disruption” from the hotel’s upgrades could “damage the brand and reputation of the property”, which was another factor that Baha Mar and its ultimate parent, Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), took into account when deciding to close the Melia Nassau Beach for two years until Spring 2023.

Pledging that impacted staff, which he estimated at between 200-300 persons, will receive their full severance pay and benefit entitlement, Mr Davis did not, though, commit to giving existing Melia staff “first preference” when the resort begins to re-hire ahead of its return.

And, while promising that the renovations will create “almost a new resort”, further positioning New Providence as “an upscale luxury destination” for when the pandemic ends, the Baha Mar chief said “no decision has been made” on whether the Melia brand and/or its allinclusive model will be retained after the property’s transformation.

Explaining the rationale for the two-year

closure, which takes effect on March 1, 2021, Mr Davis told this newspaper: “Based on the economic conditions of where we are with the demand, we just don’t see it to be profitable [to re-open] based on the current pandemic crisis, and with the reduction in inventory and the disruption to the guest experience.

“That will also be a factor throughout the renovation work, which can damage the brand as well as the reputation of the property.” The “reduction in inventory” refers to how many of the Melia’s 694 rooms, and 32 suites, will be off-limits at any one time due to the construction-related upgrades.

As for Atlantis, the mega resort said it needed “to make fundamental shifts” given continued uncertainty over the strength and timing of tourism’s postCOVID-19 recovery together with the nature of this rebound.

Predicting that travel and tourism, and the hospitality industry, “will be very different for everyone” when the sector does bounce back,

Audrey Oswell, Atlantis’ president and managing director, warned that these changes “will not be temporary or short-lived”.

To ensure the Paradise Island property can cope, Ms Oswell said: “Unfortunately, we have to part ways with team members that we respect and value. Out of 7,300 Atlantis team members, 700 of our colleagues will not be returning..... Many teams across the organisation will be reduced in size.”

“Our business suffered significant losses and, in response, we drastically cut costs that touched nearly every corner of Atlantis.

While these actions were necessary, it became clear that we had to go further when faced with two hard truths.

“We don’t know exactly when travel will return to normal business levels [and] when travel does return it will be be very different for everyone.

While we expect Atlantis to fully recover - and business volumes continue to increase since re-opening, the significant changes we will undergo are not temporary or short-lived.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 9

House panel pushes legislation targeting Big Tech’s power WASHINGTON Associated Press A HOUSE panel pushed ahead yesterday with ambitious legislation that could curb the market power of tech giants Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and force them to sever their dominant platforms from their other lines of business.

Conservative Republican lawmakers haggled over legislative language and pushed concerns of perceived anti-conservative bias in online platforms but couldn’t halt the bipartisan momentum behind the package.

The drafting session and votes by the House Judiciary Committee are initial steps in what promises to be a strenuous slog through Congress. Many Republican lawmakers denounce the market dominance of Big Tech but don’t support a wholesale revamp of the antitrust laws.

The Democratic-majority committee made quick work of arguably the least controversial bills in the package, which were approved over Republican objections. A measure that would increase the budget of the Federal Trade Commission drew Republican conservatives’ ire as an avenue toward amplified power for the agency. The legislation, passed 29-12 and sent to the full US House, would increase filing fees for proposed tech mergers worth more than $500m and cut the fees for those under that level.

A second bill would give states greater powers over companies in determining the courts in which to prosecute tech antitrust cases.

Many state attorneys general have pursued antitrust cases against big tech companies, and many states joined with the US Justice Department and the FTC in their antitrust lawsuits

against Google and Facebook, respectively, last year. The measure drew many Republican votes and was approved 34-7.

The panel then dug into a complex measure that would require online platforms to allow users to communicate directly with users on rival services. Proponents said it also would give consumers more power to determine how and with whom their data is shared.

The advance of the massive, bipartisan legislation comes as the tech giants already are smarting under federal investigations, epic antitrust lawsuits, near-constant condemnation from politicians of both parties, and a newly installed head of the powerful FTC who is a fierce critic of the industry.

The legislative package, led by industry critic Rep David Cicilline, D-RI, targets the companies’ structure and could point toward breaking them up, a dramatic step for Congress to take against a powerful industry whose products are woven into everyday life. If such steps were mandated, they could bring the biggest changes to the industry since the federal government’s landmark case against Microsoft some 20 years ago.

The Democratic lawmakers championing the proposals reaffirmed the case for curbing Big Tech as the committee began digging into the legislation.

It “will pave the way for a stronger economy and a stronger democracy for the American people by reining in anti-competitive abuses of the most dominant firms online,” said Rep Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, the Judiciary Committee chair. “Each bill is an essential part of a bipartisan plan to level the playing field for innovators, entrepreneurs and startup — and to bring

the benefits of increased innovation and choice to American consumers.”

Conservative Republicans laid down their markers. They insisted that the proposed legislation doesn’t truly attack anti-competitive abuses by the tech industry because it fails to address anti-conservative bias on its social media platforms.

And they previewed a fight over legislative definitions. The legislation as drafted would apply to online platforms with 50 million or more monthly active users, annual sales or market value of over $600bn, and a role as “a critical trading partner.”

The new proposals “make it worse,” insisted Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio, the panel’s senior

Republican. “They don’t break up Big Tech. They don’t stop censorship.”

The legislation’s definition of which online platforms would fall under stricter antitrust standards could mean that companies such as Microsoft, Walmart and Visa would soon be included, Jordan suggested.

“Who knows where it will end?” he said.

President Joe Biden’s surprise move last week elevating antitrust legal scholar Lina Khan to head the FTC was a clear signal of a tough stance toward the tech giants. It was top of mind for the conservative Republicans objecting to the new legislation. Khan played a key role in the Judiciary Committee’s 2019-20 sweeping investigation of the tech giants’ market power.

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PAGE 10, Thursday, June 24, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 11

HIGH COURT BACKS BUSINESSES CHALLENGING CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW

WASHINGTON Associated Press

THE Supreme Court yesterday sided with California agriculture businesses that objected to a state regulation giving unions access to farm property in order to organize workers.

As a result of the ruling, the businesses’ attorney said, California will have to modify or abandon the regulation put in place in 1975 after the efforts of labour leader Cesar Chavez.

The justices ruled 6-3 along ideological lines for the agriculture businesses.

It’s another potential setback for unions as a result of a high court decision.

“The access regulation amounts to simple appropriation of private property,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the conservative members of the court. Roberts said the regulation

“grants labour organisations a right to invade the growers’ property.”

At issue was a California regulation that allows unions access to farms and other agriculture businesses for up to three hours per day, 120 days per year, in order to organise workers. Businesses are supposed to be notified before organisers arrive, and organisers are supposed to come during nonwork times such as lunch and before and after work.

Two agriculture businesses had challenged the regulation saying it had the effect of taking their property without compensation in violation of the Constitution. The businesses also said the regulation was outdated and unnecessary given that unions can now reach workers many ways, including via smartphone and radio.

Writing for the majority, Roberts rejected the

suggestion that the ruling would “endanger a host of state and federal government activities involving entry onto private property.”

But writing for the threejustice liberal minority, Justice Stephen Breyer said “the majority’s conclusion threatens to make many ordinary forms of regulation unusually complex or impractical.”

Breyer wrote that he would have concluded that California’s regulation did not take anything but instead “regulates the employers’ right to exclude others”.

Breyer noted the “large numbers of ordinary regulations” that permit the temporary entry onto a property owner’s land. That includes entry for inspections ranging from food product safety like meat and dairy facility inspections to the inspections of nursing

homes, preschools and foster care facilities.

“I suspect that the majority has substituted a new, complex legal scheme for a comparatively simpler old one,” he wrote.

The ruling is the latest hit to unions by the court under Roberts. In 2018, the court’s conservative majority overturned a 41-year-old pro-union decision that had allowed states to require that public employees pay some fees to unions that represent them, even if the workers choose not to join.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ROSNY JEAN of Christopher Road off Farrington Road, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 17th day of June, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

PAGE 12, Thursday, June 24, 2021

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THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 13

Yellen: Failure to raise debt limit would be ‘catastrophic’ WASHINGTON Associated Press TREASURY Secretary Janet Yellen, pictured, told a congressional panel yesterday that failing to raise the federal debt ceiling would have “catastrophic consequences” that could bring on a financial crisis.

Testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Yellen said in response to questions that it is important Congress not delay in dealing with the debt limit, which has been suspended for the past two years.

That suspension is due to expire on July 31, when the limit will go back into effect at the level of debt at that time. The debt subject to the limit currently stands at $28.3tn. It has risen sharply over the past year as Congress has approved trillions of dollars in support packages to combat a recession

caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen Chris Van Hollen, D-Md, asked Yellen what would occur if Congress were to fail to either raise the debt ceiling or suspend it for a period of time so that the government could keep borrowing to meet its obligations, including making interest payments on the national debt.

Failure to make those debt payments would result in the federal government defaulting on its debt obligations, something that has never occurred in US history. A standoff on raising the debt ceiling in 2011 resulted in a first-ever downgrade on a portion of the federal government’s AAA-bond rating by the Standard & Poor’s rating agency.

Yellen said defaulting on the national debt should be regarded as “unthinkable” because it would have “absolutely catastrophic

consequences” that could precipitate a financial crisis.

“I would plead with Congress simply to protect the full faith and credit of the United States” by addressing the issue before the July 31 deadline.

The Treasury Department is able to use bookkeeping maneuvers, such as temporarily disinvesting government pension accounts, to keep the government from broaching the debt limit. But those measures can only buy a limited amount of time.

Yellen said she could not give an estimate for how long the emergency measures might last. Outside groups have estimated that the Treasury’s emergency measures would likely be exhausted by sometime this fall.

Yellen said it is hard to make an accurate forecast because of the large amount of uncertainty caused by the pandemic regarding

payment flows and revenue collections.

She said it is possible Treasury could reach a point where it would be unable to pay the government’s bills as soon as August, when Congress is scheduled to be out for its summer recess.

PAGE 14, Thursday, June 24, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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PUBLIC NOTICE

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

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

WEDNESDAY, 23 JUNE 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

%CHANGE

1960.06

0.20

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

-6.33 -132.40

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.35 33.95 1.62 2.90 1.78 6.00 6.96 3.60 6.00 3.98 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.75 10.71 9.01 14.44 4.10 8.97 16.00

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

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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

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

LAST CLOSE 6.29 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.25 2.85 5.95 9.98 2.48 7.75 11.36 9.01 13.19 3.75 8.19 15.50

CLOSE 6.35 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.25 2.85 5.95 9.98 2.48 7.75 11.26 9.01 13.19 3.75 8.19 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGR1210255 BSBGRS880378 BSBGRS900283 BSBGR1322498 BSBGR1341506

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.22 100.00 100.14 100.98 100.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.22 100.00 100.14 100.98 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 101.08 100.49 100.74 100.98 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 101.08 100.00 100.14 100.00 100.00

52WK HI 2.43 4.47 2.17 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.81 1.78 1.12 8.58 10.26 7.35 14.59 12.84 10.31 10.00 10.43 14.89

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

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FX BGR121025 BGRS FL BGRS88037 BGRS FL BGRS90028 BGRS FX BGR132249 BGRS FX BGR134150

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

CHANGE 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.10) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 1,000 2,000

250

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

VOLUME

6

NAV 2.43 4.47 2.17 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.75 1.76 1.03 8.58 10.14 7.35 14.59 12.64 9.99 N/A 10.43 14.89

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

P/E 26.6 42.9 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -8.1 30.4 15.5 13.3 13.8 24.3 16.6 17.4 12.4 16.2 18.5 8.7 24.6

YIELD 2.68% 3.15% 1.25% 1.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.21% 3.70% 7.21% 17.50% 0.77% 2.91% 2.66% 4.09% 3.20% 2.44% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.13% 4.43% 4.39% 5.65% 5.69%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 23-Feb-2025 26-Jul-2037 10-Dec-2028 15-Oct-2049 17-Jan-1950

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.85% 4.26% 0.77% 1.44% 1.14% 2.84% 0.14% 5.02% 3.25% 31.13% 1.04% 0.20% -2.27% -3.15% -0.08% -0.57% -1.94% -3.33% 1.14% 4.22% 1.09% 3.04% 1.01% 4.65% 4.93% 42.27% -1.56% 0.80% -0.60% -4.90% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%

MATURITY

NAV Date

31-May-2021 31-May-2021 28-May-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

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

PAGE 16, Thursday, June 24, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

BRITISH TRAVEL INDUSTRY URGES SWIFTER REOPENING OF SECTOR LONDON Associated Press

THE UK’s travel industry held a day of action yesterday, pressing the British government to allow more quarantine-free travel and provide cash-strapped businesses with much-needed financial support.

Hundreds of industry workers, including travel agents, pilots and cabin crew from airlines such as British Airways and easyJet, gathered outside the parliament in London.

There were other protests in Edinburgh and in Belfast.

Derek Jones, head of luxury travel firm Kuoni,

said the outbound travel sector has been “decimated” by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as by the government’s “haphazard” response.

“We are united in one message today,” he said.

“We want to see the safe reopening of international travel alongside targeted financial support for businesses which have not been able to trade for well over a year.”

According to industry body ABTA, an estimated 195,000 jobs have been lost across the sector and many more remain at risk.

One demand from the sector is for the government to expand the number

of countries that are on its so-called “green list”, which allows quarantine-free travel on return to England.

None of the popular holiday destinations in Europe are on the list, which numbers just 11 countries and territories.

“The evidence and data exists for government to make transparent policy decisions and the forthcoming review must provide clarity on how and when restrictions can be safely reduced for travel between low risk countries and for vaccinated and recovered passengers,” said Dale Keller, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives UK.

The government is set to update its traffic-light system in coming days, but few changes are expected.

There is speculation that Malta and Spain’s ever-popular Balearic Islands, which include Majorca and Ibiza, may be added to the list.

Malta and Spain are currently on the “amber list” alongside other popular summer hotspots such as Portugal, Italy, Greece and the United States. A tenday quarantine period at home is required for people returning from those locations.

The industry has accused the government of undermining its system, by urging

people to avoid holidays to locations on the amber list.

A debate is taking place within government as to whether people who have been fully vaccinated against the virus should be eligible for quarantine-free travel if they return from one of the countries on the amber list.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government has provided unprecedented financial support, and expressed hope that “the world could open up” soon.

“I’m optimistic that the world is catching up with where we are in our vaccination programme,” he said.

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 73° F/23° C

TAMPA

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

A t‑storm; breezy in the morning

Partly cloudy with a shower late

Breezy in the morn‑ ing; mostly sunny

A morning thunder‑ storm; some sun

A couple of showers in the morning

A couple of showers in the morning

High: 88°

Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 78°

High: 88° Low: 78°

High: 88° Low: 78°

High: 89° Low: 77°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

98° F

81° F

98°-83° F

99°-81° F

98°-84° F

99°-83° F

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

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

6‑12 knots

S

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

uV inDex toDay

FRIDAY

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

MIAMI

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 88° F/31° C Low .................................................... 73° F/23° C Normal high ....................................... 87° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 74° F/23° C Last year’s high ................................. 92° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 79° F/26° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.03” Year to date ................................................. 6.82” Normal year to date ................................... 12.43”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

KEY WEST

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

S

E

W

7‑14 knots

S

8‑16 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

7:54 a.m.

8:29 p.m.

2.7 3.7

2:06 a.m. ‑0.3 2:00 p.m. ‑0.7

Friday

8:49 a.m.

9:21 p.m.

2.7 3.6

3:00 a.m. ‑0.4 2:54 p.m. ‑0.7

Saturday

9:43 a.m.

10:14 p.m.

2.7 3.5

3:53 a.m. ‑0.4 3:48 p.m. ‑0.5

Sunday

10:38 a.m.

11:05 p.m.

2.7 3.4

4:45 a.m. ‑0.3 4:42 p.m. ‑0.3

Monday

11:33 a.m.

11:57 p.m.

2.6 3.2

5:37 a.m. ‑0.1 5:37 p.m. 0.0

Tuesday

12:29 p.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

2.6 ‑‑‑‑‑

6:28 a.m.

6:34 p.m.

0.0 0.3

Wednesday 12:48 a.m.

1:26 p.m.

2.9 2.5

7:19 a.m.

7:32 p.m.

0.1 0.5

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:22 a.m.

8:03 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

8:20 p.m.

5:59 a.m.

Full

Last

New

First

Jun. 24

Jul. 1

Jul. 9

Jul. 17

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

H

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

CAT ISLAND

E

W

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| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 76° F/24° C

One problem the sector faces is that infections in the UK are on the rise, whereas they are falling across much of Europe — yesterday, government figures showed another 16,135 new infections, the highest daily rate since Feb 6. The divergence has prompted many governments in the continent to slap tougher restrictions on those arriving from the UK.

8‑16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

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

N

N E

W

E

W

H

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

S

S

8‑16 knots

8‑16 knots

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

Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday:

WINDS SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots

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

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

WATER TEMPS. 83° F 83° F 86° F 86° F 83° F 82° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 84° F 84° F 85° F 85° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 82° F 82° F 84° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, June 24, 2021, PAGE 17

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