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VOLUME:116 No.125, JUNE 25TH, 2019
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WOMAN: CHOOSING CELIBACY GAVE ME BACK MY LIFE
BPL apologises for blackouts and admits
NOT GOOD ENOUGH By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Power and Light chairman Donovan Moxey has blamed this month’s adverse weather conditions for the power provider’s inability to receive rental generators earlier, which rendered it unable to fulfil electricity demands over the weekend when two of its units went offline. Although this was an “anomaly”, according to Mr Moxey, he apologised for the “unacceptable” widespread load shedding, which grossly inconvenienced thousands of customers. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the chairman explained that BPL took measures to avoid a situation like the one encountered at the weekend. He said the company did anticipate elevated summer demand and had planned to have rental generators in place by June
18. However rainy weather created a delay in their delivery. As a result, BPL now anticipates that the rental Aggreko units will be fully installed by tomorrow and Friday of this week at a cost of just under $2m a month. As for when the situation is expected to get better, Mr Moxey said realistically not until fall 2019 when the new power plant is expected to be fully functional. Officials said load shedding would continue this week in three to four hour intervals. Despite this, BPL has no plans to relax disconnections and the company continued yesterday to urge consumers to pay their bills or work out payment plans. “We don’t ever go into a year of planning saying we will have load shedding. We will never attempt that because our hope and push on this is on positive,” Mr Moxey said during a press conference at BPL’s Baillou SEE PAGE SIX
NOT SHOWING TONIGHT
By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
THE $42m Fusion Superplex complex yesterday said it has suffered a “significant blow” from constant power woes that have left it without a back-up generator to cope with BPL’s latest outages. The IMAX-centred entertainment destination said that having to use its generator every single night since it opened last year had resulted in its failure on Sunday, leaving the company and its 400 employees at the mercy of Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) current round of load shedding.
FIVE CRITICAL IN BUS HORROR
Nikolette Elden, the Fusion Superplex’s chief marketing officer, told Tribune Business that the company’s nine-cinema complex had been forced to cancel all its shows last night due to a power crisis stemming from a regularlyoccurring “serious surge” that had forced it to overuse its generator. Ms Elden said: “We were significantly impacted by BPL on Sunday. It was crazy what we went through. When people came seeking refuge [from the latest outages] we had to turn them away. Our generator wasn’t designed to run constantly, and on Sunday it failed. ” FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
SEVERAL tourists were airlifted to hospital following a serious traffic accident in Eleuthera yesterday.
Full story - Page 3
LUCAYAN PURCHASE ‘DON’T LET PUBLIC ‘ECONOMIC REBIRTH’ SEE SEX REGISTER’
By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel staunchly defended the government’s decision to purchase the Grand Lucayan resort, insisting the move will prove to be the foundation for “a full fledged economic rebirth” in Grand Bahama. Mr Bethel, praising the move as an act that took
“courage”, said the intervention directly reversed the fate of Grand Bahama’s economy. His comments came during the Senate’s debate of the 2019/2020 budget yesterday. “(This was) a simple act of courage,” he said. “We had the courage to intervene, to break the economic - how should I say it - the economic theories of SEE PAGE FIVE
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE country’s leading counselling and advocacy services provider for abuse victims does not want a sex offender register to be made public. Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson, director of the Bahamas Crisis Centre, said a public register would be ineffective and would lure
people into a false sense of security. Her comments when contacted yesterday came after the government published draft regulations for a sex offender registry earlier this month on its website. Many likely assume the sex offender register will be public, but neither the regulations nor the substantive law expressly state that SEE PAGE SEVEN
MDEEZ MURDER WASN’T ROAD RAGE By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE initial police report about how popular singer Devon “Mdeez” Knight died was wrong, Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson confirmed yesterday, three days after the homicide. Police on Friday said a traffic collision happened at the junction of Prince Charles Drive and Fox Hill Road involving two
REGGAE STAR MDEEZ vehicles at around 7pm. They said the male drivers subsequently became
involved in an altercation resulting in one of them being stabbed multiple times about the body. Police said the injured man, Knight, was transported to hospital where he died from his injuries. However, the killing was not an incident of road rage. Instead, Knight was involved in an altercation with a tenant who allegedly stabbed him. An injured Knight tried to
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE FIVE
FACE-TO-FACE ATARAH ON PATH TO FINDING THE TOP TALENT SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Tuesday, June 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Annual youth summer camp kicks off in fine style By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE Royal Bahamas Police Force’s 26th annual youth summer camp kicked off yesterday with an opening ceremony held at Church of God of Prophecy on East Street. The church was filled with excited campers and members of the RPBF, with remarks delivered by National Security Minister Marvin Dames and Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson. Mr Dames commended Commissioner Ferguson for hosting “what can be described as the most successful summer camp” in the country. To the campers, he
said having fun is important as well as “preparing you as the future of this nation to take on the baton from us”. Speaking to reporters following the ceremony, Commissioner Ferguson said the RBPF will continue to be “vigilant” in keeping children safe this summer, while admonishing parents to do the same. “We had hoped that parents take advantage of this summer camp over the next six weeks and enrol their children there so they could have some wholesome activities and safe environment that they can be during the period of the camp,” he said. About 4,000 children are expected to take part in the summer camp this year.
PHOTOS: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 25, 2019, PAGE 3
CASE OF RBDF MARINE CHARGED WITH MURDER DELAYED AGAIN By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
FAMILY and friends of a Royal Bahamas Defence Force marine charged with murdering his superior at Government House yesterday prayed for justice after his case was delayed by another month. Able Seaman Jevon Seymour was due to receive a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) yesterday, which is essentially the Crown’s case against him, for allegedly murdering Petty Officer Percival Perpall in April.
By FARRAH JOHNSON A NUMBER of tourists were airlifted to New Providence and South Florida hospitals for medical treatment following a serious traffic accident in South Eleuthera yesterday morning. Several people, including 25 tourists, were injured when a tour bus they were riding in skidded off the road and flipped over into nearby bushes. According to reports, the incident happened around 11am in Rock Sound. In the Senate yesterday, Attorney General Carl Bethel confirmed the government initiated a national disaster plan in response to the incident and sent prayers and well wishes to the victims affected. “There have been some casualties, as yet no deaths, but there have been casualties,” he said. “... All resources are being allocated to swiftly send air ambulances to South Eleuthera to bring the injured persons who
However, police prosecutor Samantha Miah indicated the file was not ready as yet, and thus requested the matter be adjourned to July 24. Seymour was remanded into custody until then. He can apply for bail at the Supreme Court at any time in the interim. After the hearing, 20 or so people, some of whom wore white t-shirts that read “Justice for Jevon”, formed a prayer circle just outside the Magistrate Court’s precincts to pray for their loved one. Seymour’s family and friends maintain his innocence and
CHARGED: Jevon Seymour
Perpall was seated in the administrative area along with another RBDF marine while others were on break in another area. The male intruder subsequently opened fire on P/O Perpall, hitting him several times to the upper body before fleeing the premises. He was pursued by alert marines, but escaped. Paramedics were summoned to the scene where they pronounced P/O Perpall dead. P/O Perpall, 52, enlisted in the RBDF more than 30 years ago and was once a United Nations peacekeeper in Haiti.
Tourists airlifted to hospital after bus flips over need hospitalised care to New Providence. “The United States Coast Guard has landed several helicopters at Odyssey and are prepared to do what they have to do for their citizens who may require more complex interventions,” he added. The Tribune understands the tour bus involved belongs to Eleuthera Adventure Tours Limited,
CRITERIA FOR ENTRY HAS NOT CHANGED, SAYS UNIVERSITY
THE University of the Bahamas has released a statement about its admissions process, saying its criteria for entry has not changed as the government’s free tuition scheme is about to come on stream. Last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said his administration has allocated $21m for tuition grant programmes to “effectively cover all Bahamian fulltime students” at UB and the Bahamas Vocational and Technical Institute. Students will be able to access free tuition by applying and receiving a new government grant. UB students will be required to only maintain a 2.0 grade point average to receive free tuition and full financial coverage of their compulsory course fees. In a statement, UB said in order to apply for the
are praying he he will be exonerated. Seymour, 35, is charged with the shooting death of P/O Perpall, 52, and the attempted murders of two of his colleagues, Calvin Hanna and Ellis Rahming on April 28. According to initial reports, the three officers were attacked while on duty at Government House. Around 2.30am on the date in question, a man accessed Government House, made his way to the guard house where P/O Perpall, the guard commander, and other officers were, police reported. According to police, P/O
government’s tertiary grant all students must first be accepted into UB. He/ she must meet the eligibility requirements in order to access the tertiary grant which includes: be Bahamian citizens; be enrolled full-time (a minimum of 12 credits per semester for new and returning students); and maintain the university’s minimum academic requirement, which remains unchanged as a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (and remain in satisfactory disciplinary standing with the university). For students in nursing and teaching to be eligible for further stipends, they must maintain, 2.75 and 3.0 respectively. UB’s full policy for admissions can be accessed at https:// www.ub.edu.bs/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ Policy-on-Admissions29-January-2019.pdf
who were giving guests from the Princess Cays cruise ship a tour of the southern part of the island when the accident occurred. Photos of the accident circulating on social media show skid marks and broken branches strewn across the road, with the tour bus overturned in bushes, laying on top of broken trees and uprooted plants. Victims of the accident
were transported to the Rock Sound Community Clinic by EMS personnel for treatment; however those who sustained more serious injuries were airlifted from the island for further care. Yesterday, the Public Hospitals Authority also released a press statement requesting blood donations for five people involved in the accident who were critically injured.
“The Public Hospitals Authority’s agencies namely the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) and National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) activated their mass casualty incident protocol,” the statement read. “NEMS assisted with ground transportation and deployed ambulances to the Lynden Pindling International Airport
(LPIA) to receive the injured. “An urgent call for blood donations has been issued. Donations may be made at the Princess Margaret Hospital Blood Bank and Doctors Hospital Blood Bank.” Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle confirmed police dispatched a team from the capital to Eleuthera to investigate the matter.
PAGE 4, Tuesday, June 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
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It’s time for web shops to pay their due NEXT time you go shopping, or go to a restaurant, consider this: when they bring you the bill, why don’t you say oh no, I’m only going to pay five percent VAT on this one? Or maybe eight percent? The answer is easy, of course – on a good day they’d laugh at you and say no seriously, you’ve got to pay the bill. And you’d dig into your wallet or purse and pay what you owe. So what makes web shops so different? For far too long now, the web shop industry has been in a seeming back and forth with the government over how much tax they should pay. If you or I were to turn round to the government and say you’re not paying what you owe, you’d be whisked in front of the court as fast as you could blink, but oh no, not the web shop industry. Even with an agreement on the table and due to be passed next month, there are still members of the industry talking about not paying taxes because they disagree with the proposal. Well, tough luck. The industry might count itself as lucky to exist legally at all – after all, when the public voted on the gambling referendum in 2013, Bahamians said no. That the government turned round at all and regularised the industry after that was a boon for the businesses. Does the industry then turn around and say thank you, we’re willing to play our part? No, members of the industry start filing lawsuits. Some even claim that no retroactive taxes should be owed for the entirety of the first half of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. And some went so far as to stop paying their taxes
completely while the debate rumbled on. And if the government doesn’t get in tax money it’s expecting, it has to either cut the services it’s expecting to provide to us all – or make us pay more money to make up for it. The web shops are dipping into our pockets when they say they’re not paying. So we agree wholeheartedly with Carl Bethel when he says “pay your tax”. Pay what you owe. The businesses have been given a chance to operate legally in an open environment – well, it’s time to behave as a legitimate business should and pay what it owes. And if it doesn’t? We suggest the government strips them of their licences.
Well done to Potter’s Cay police A SPATE of incidents earlier this year at Potter’s Cay prompted this column to call upon the police to step up patrols there to ensure people’s safety. On Saturday night, we were pleased to note that was exactly the case – with officers prominently visible, checking with drivers as they arrived at the location and walking the area to ensure no trouble. We applaud the force for responding to the threat, and for trying to bring peace back to an area that is popular with both locals and visitors. We also called in a separate column for extra policing at Montagu Beach – and so we hope the success of the Potter’s Cay policing can spread to other areas in need. Well done, officers, now let’s keep up the pressure to keep crime down.
So, what news from capsize investigation? EDITOR, The Tribune IN February, 2019 a boat left Haiti with reportedly 97 persons on board: The boat reported capsized and sunk in Bahamian waters in the Abacos. The media published the reports and told us that law enforcement in The Bahamas would be investigating this major incident. We have heard no more of the incident and the result of the investigation. In a letter to the press, dated February 6, 2019, I had suggested that an investigation would likely expose a Human Trafficking Group that exists in New Providence and Haiti. At the time of my letter I expected that the following action would have been taken by our law enforcement agencies to acquire the evidence that would expose the persons involved. My recommendations included: (a) Search of the boat by RBDF divers for evidence of the name of the vessel and any documents on board, that might identify THERE was plenty of anger on tribune242.com yesterday, amid current load shedding issues at Bahamas Power and Light. Tell_it_like_it_is said: “Same ‘ole BPL . . . Lack of solutions, abundance of excuses! Smh.” The_Oracle posted this comment: “New generators cannot solve the intrinsic incompetence and total dysfunction that is BEC, with BPL management. I think Nassau ought to be preparing for the
ownership, the captain and crew and the list of passengers. (b) The media disclosed that there were 18 survivors, who were to be cleverly interrogated to acquire information on the identity of the captain and crew (could they have been among the survivors), the cost of the trip, to whom the money had been paid, in Haiti or in New Providence. (c) The media disclosed that there were 21 persons, who identified dead bodies from this disaster. It was expected that the 21 persons would have been interrogated regarding their knowledge of the deceased making the trip to The Bahamas and their involvement in the financial or other arrangements. Their failure to cooperate with law enforcement would have been cause for the Bahamas Immigration Department to reconsider their status here. As expected nothing has been heard from the government of Haiti and its Consular representative here. One would have thought that a disaster in
total failure that seems imminent. How is the distribution system going to handle more supply and hence the higher demand that will result? Shifting the pressure from generation to transmission/distribution is just shifting the problem.” There was this from
which so many persons must have died would initiate some law enforcement attention from in that country, which could have resulted in the exposure of the traffickers, their arrests and prosecution. There has been no comments from the Haitian Consul, whose nationals have died under circumstances that may have been through gross negligence. It is my information that the boat left from an island off Haiti, named La Tortue, which is familiar to Haitian Iaw enforcement. I have worked with the latter in Haiti and found their police to be disciplined, efficient, effective and most importantly commands an Intelligence Unit that is aware of and up to date. In a dictatorship the police are expected to be alert and well informed. It is my opinion, that the government could stop the illegal trafficking promptly. PAUL THOMPSON Nassau May, 2019 Observer: “The public will continue to suffer for generations to come as it has with generations past from the mismanagement of our energy resources. Our energy costs are 20 times the cost of production in Florida (inclusive of back up generators and lost productivity). “Instead of carbon based fuels declining, our consumption is increasing with the ‘new’ generators using ‘last century’s’ technology. There is no hope.”
At least that $20m stays in our economy EDITOR, The Tribune BAHAMAS Hot Mix has been awarded a $20 million contract by the Nassau Airport Development Company to upgrade two runways at the Lynden Pindling International Airport. This seemingly mundane information has garnered much interest on Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) social media pages, with irate PLPs accusing the Minnis administration of once again looking out only for foreigners and its wealthy supporters, including Immigration Minister Brent Symonette. The public relations machinery of the Free National Movement (FNM) is tasked with convincing a sceptical electorate that this particular narrative is unsubstantiated, especially with all of the furore over the recent Immigration Amendment Bill 2019 and the alleged engagement of two Africans at the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions. Based on what I’ve read, Bahamas Hot Mix went through the normal tendering process, being selected by Golder Associates Ltd, besting three international companies from the United States, Canada and Costa Rica; and one Bahamian firm. Assuming that Symonette is still connected to Bahamas Hot Mix, objective PLPs would have to admit that the firm, which has in its employment scores of Bahamians who are PLPs and FNMs, has done stellar
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net work on many of the government projects its has been given throughout the years by both the FNM and PLP. Being the premier road building construction firm in The Bahamas with the experience, expertise and all of the necessary equipment, Bahamas Hot Mix will always have the added advantage over its Bahamian competition. Despite all that, however, Bahamians who begrudge Symonette for his wealth and for being raised with a platinum spoon in his mouth are unwilling to see the forest from the trees. In light of the three international firms which were given request for tenders, would Symonette detractors feel happy had the foreign contractors been awarded the contract instead of Bahamas Hot Mix? Had that been the case, would they be able to guarantee that they wouldn’t cry foul about foreigners being given preference over qualified Bahamian contractors? With Symonette, at least that $20 million gets to stay in the economy. It would then trickle down to average Bahamian households, whose breadwinners are gainfully employed by Bahamas Hot Mix. The PLP has to be careful in not giving the appearance that it is fighting to take bread out of the mouths of
Bahamians, many of whom are PLP supporters who simply want to provide for their families. With Symonette, the FNM is saddled with a fish or fowl dilemma. Do you categorise this latest transaction as a clear case of conflict of interest? Or is it simply a case of a businessman and Cabinet minister having his business tentacles all over the country? The FNM’s election loss in 2012 was partly due to Symonette. The party top brass had better hope that this is not deja vu all over again. Bahamians don’t vote in governments; they vote them out. Symonette is so valuable to the FNM, that it seems prepared to do or die with him and all of the pushback his name garners. At times I am left to wonder if the Minnis administration is naively optimistic about winning in 2022. While it is unreasonable for anyone to expect governments to completely ignore wealthy and well to do benefactors, it will still have to engage in the all important balancing act of making the average Joe feel like he’s not been forgotten. Whether the FNM wins or loses in 2022, Symonette will be fine. He’s a multimillionaire many times over. It’s those rank and file FNMs engaged by this administration since May 2017 who will be severely impacted by an FNM loss. KEVIN EVANS Freeport Grand Bahama June 19, 2019
Devaluing scholarship EDITOR, The Tribune PM Minnis just devalued the credit and scholarship of the University - thanks but no thanks. Did government consult with the President and Council before doing this crazy decision clearly and, oh so obvious, a major political move…When is the next election? Give scholarships - so many per constituency subject application BUT hell PM no degrading of the educational qualifications. Possibly this has
injured severely the ongoing accreditation process of the University in one foot in mouth gaff of the PM. President of UB please insist No-No-No, sir. Tax for Gambia/Killarney too close to the PM’s residence that makes an obvious question - will it include the location of his condo block? 40% of all cars licences do not have insurance - that’s 80,000 vehicles! Immediately all cars must have 52-week insurance insurance companies should
be encouraged as they do offer payment schemes, but Minister Wells must have 52 weeks insurance. Caught with no insurance minimum fine $4-5,000.00 plus remove drivers’s licence for six-months. Fish Fry…sorry guys your free-holiday is over…in’s my opinion Minnis coming to kill your business. Whoever put this crazy idea in PM’s head? W THOMPSON Nassau June 21, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 25, 2019, PAGE 5
LUCAYAN PURCHASE AN ECONOMIC REBIRTH, SAYS BETHEL from page one
the last 25 years which called for the diminution of the role of State in the economy.” Mr Bethel said policy, which he noted was established and continued by successive Ingraham and Christie administrations, failed Grand Bahama following the passage of hurricanes Francis and Jean in 2005. He said the failure of the Christie administration to intervene allowed for “the heart of that city to rot” and fall to the ground. The hurricanes led to hotel closures. Recalling the 2005 period, Mr Bethel said he petitioned the Christie government to step in,
but was shunned and scolded by not only the then-government, but members of his own party. “It was a political nostrum (at that time)… you get out when you can get out, but you don’t stay out when you must get in,” he contended. “I often say the story, I was like John the Baptist in the wilderness, a lone voice calling for the then-PLP government after the devastating hurricanes Francis and Jean that caused the Process Towers Hotel to be closed down right in the heart of Freeport. “I said, ‘This the heart of Freeport, the government should intervene, buy these hotels and get it opened.’ All, left and right, poured sport on me, (Mr) Christie
Mdeez murder wasn’t road rage from page one
drive himself to the hospital but lost consciousness on the way and collided into another vehicle. What prompted the altercation and attack is in dispute. The lawyer for a 32-year-old man police expect to charge with murder in the matter told The Tribune Knight attacked his client, a smaller man who subsequently drew a knife and stabbed the singer. Knight was the landlord for a property on which the suspect ran a car wash business, The Tribune was told, and Knight was there to demand payment of money owed to him. It is not clear why authorities took several days to correct the initial version of events. Commissioner Ferguson suggested officers had not yet completed their
investigation in the matter to inform the public sooner. “As far as I am aware the investigations were just completed and we can confirm that it was a homicide and we expect to charge someone very shortly,” he said yesterday. “These are the things we have when there are these conflicts. When police give a report in the first instance, it is a preliminary report. We are advised there was a confrontation and it was during that time (Knight) was stabbed and he drove off and the vehicle clashed. When you see that, preliminary reports first, we don’t want to be accused of not telling you in sufficient time and I think the investigation brought us to where we determined it was a homicide.” National Security Minister Marvin Dames called the incident “unfortunate”.
let them do it. Frank Watson (a former FNM deputy prime minister) said he don’t know what I had for breakfast. “But I was the only person.” He continued: “I only say that, to say this, that having seen the great harm caused to Freeport by the decision of the Christie government to stay out of the economy, to stay and turn, if you will, a blind-eye while the heart of that city rotted and fell to the ground with contagion spreading to the Pub on the Mall across the road, and spread straight through the International Bazaar, creating nothing but a wasteland in the heart of the nation’s second city. “(The Minnis administration)
had the courage, and I have to commend Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for his courage to reverse the economy of Grand Bahama and say we are not going to repeat same stupid mistake twice,” he asserted. The government purchased the Grand Lucayan resort property for $65 million from Hutchison Whampoa last August. The hotel closed in October 2016 for repairs after it suffered damage from Hurricane Matthew, which led to the loss of over 1,000 jobs. In November 2016, only the 196-room Lighthouse Pointe reopened. Shortly after taking ownership of the resort, the government
opened a tender process for the property, attracting some 62 expressions of interest from local and global firms. That list was shortlisted to 11 on February 14, and subsequently, on March 22, Royal Caribbean International (RCI) was unanimously approved for recommendation to Cabinet. As a part of its $65m letter of intent to purchase the resort property, RCI proposed an initial investment of $135m for the first phase of its proposed redevelopment of the site. RCI has said its project will take place over a 24-month period and estimates that some 2,000 jobs would be created in the first phase.
MDEEZ in action Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff
PAGE 6, Tuesday, June 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
BPL URGES CUSTOMERS TO SUBMIT CLAIMS
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Power and Light executives have urged consumers to submit claims in instances where they believe frequent disruptions might have damaged appliances. And as load shedding is expected to continue for several more days, the company is also making an appeal for consumers to save energy. Acting Chief Operating Officer Ian Pratt said consumers may find the claims process tedious, but said it must be followed in order to determine whether appliances can be fixed or replaced. BPL chairman Donovan Moxey from page one Hill Road headquarters yesterday. “So what we did earlier this year is, we looked at our maintenance schedule and we did the best job that we can given the assets available to conduct the maintenance. “Another thing that we did in anticipation of the summer is recognise that we needed additional rental generation so we then went through an appropriate RFP process. We engaged the winner of that process, which was Aggreko, to put in the rental generation for this summer.” He continued: “Ideally we wanted that to be available for us by June 18. There was significant rain that hampered the civil works and so that’s why we are delayed. The intention was to have those online by last week and that didn’t happen for us and so again we want to as a power company make sure the power is on 24/7. “Load shedding activities especially in an island configuration are things that you have to recognise they will happen so we do our best to plan for them, but our intention is to have the power on 24/7, 365 for our customers at all times and when we do run into issues where load shedding is required, we do that in
further apologised for such occurrences. “So the process itself involves submission of a claim form,” Mr Pratt said yesterday. “What sometimes customers have difficulty with is in order for us to actually process the claim we need to have some indication of what happened to the equipment. “So one of the requirements is to have an appliance repair technician look at the equipment to determine whether or not it can be repaired and that does two things for us: it tells us what happened to the device because you can look at a device and determine if it was a power problem based on the type of damage that you’re
seeing and it also indicates to us whether or not it can be repaired or not and therefore we would know what price we have to pay. “But there are a lot of concerns sometimes from customers about having to go out and find an appliance repair technician company that can provide those services but it’s a necessary part of the process.” “We have to have the information for us to be able to determine what happened to the device and so that is a necessary part of the process and so we actually encourage you if you incur this cost (for a company to look at appliances) to submit it along with the claim as well so that it can be considered,” Mr Pratt
said, when asked if any effort was being made to make the process easier. For his part, Mr Moxey invited consumers to submit claims to allow BPL to rectify cases as soon as possible. On the issue of energy conservation, Mr Moxey said power saving measures are also likely to lessen BPL’s need to load shed. These measures include changing light bulbs, unplugging appliances that aren’t in use and switching off lights. “If people can conserve energy to the point where that generation capacity that’s required gets reduced, that helps everybody, so it really minimises the load shedding,” Mr Moxey said.
“So one of the things that we are doing within our PR and marketing department is talking to Bahamians about how best to conserve energy and that goes from changing out light bulbs, getting high efficiency appliances, putting insulation in your home so that your air conditioning is not running as long as it should and turning off lights in rooms that are not being utilised.” He also said: “Again conservation is something that all of us can get involved with and so at the end of the day if we reduce our need for the amount of generation it can help everyone by minimising the load shedding activities and exercises that we go to.”
ACTING Chief Operating Officer Ian Pratt Regarding efforts at state owned facilities, Mr Moxey said over the next several months officials would be rolling out initiatives to cut back on energy consumption. He said using solar panels at the Office of the Prime Minister and other government offices will be first on the agenda.
Moxey apologises for ‘unacceptable’ level of load shedding THE BAHAMAS Power and Light head office. order to protect the network so that we can restore power to full capacity if we can. “We have brought in an additional 25 megawatts of rental generation - that’s on
top of the 90 megawatts of rental generation that we had in place prior to that.” Asked about the cost of these rentals, Mr Moxey said it was “significant”. BPL Public Relations
Director Quincy Parker later told reporters rentals for 90 megawatts costs $1.37m per month and the additional 25 megawatts carry a price tag of $475,000 per month. However the threat of load shedding will continue all week and into the fall season when BPL’s new power plant is installed. Mr Moxey also said: “These rental generation assets will relieve the pressure on our system immediately and together with machines that are being prepared and brought back into service, will give us some breathing room as far as the load is concerned. “It must be said, however, that even with these generators the possibility of load shedding remains until we have completed the new
132- megawatt power plant under construction in station A at the Clifton Pier power station.” BPL’s Chief Operating Officer Ian Pratt explained the rationale behind BPL’s need to load shed. He said as far as was possible, there was an attempt to evenly distribute the activity across areas. “Last week, however, additional units at the Blue Hills plant developed problems which resulted in them coming offline and setting up the present generation shortfall. Over the weekend, one unit at Clifton Pier also tripped offline due to a mechanical defect. This was repaired and that unit has been returned to service. “Two units at the Blue Hills power station tripped offline. One of those fed
into our steam turbine which takes the heat energy from the exhaust system of one of those generators to produce power.” He said when that engine went offline the steam turbine did the same resulting in the situation being exacerbated. “Work also continues at Blue Hills in order to turn the two units that were impacted over the weekend to full output capacity. Both of those units are already back online, but there are some additional work to be done in order to get them up to full power. Further, once those machines are back up to full power, we will be able to then restore it to power service our steam turbine units given us additional capacity,” Mr Pratt said.
POLICE DECLINE TO VERIFY CRIME SPIKES DURING POWER CUTS By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net
ALTHOUGH Bahamas Power and Light chairman Donovan Moxey has proclaimed safety concerns are a reason the power company does not preemptively release load shedding schedules, Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson yesterday declined to
verify the claim. Mr Moxey claimed when schedules were published in the past, there tended to be a “spike in criminal activities” in those areas. Meanwhile, National Security Minister Marvin Dames dodged direct questions on this claim, eventually saying he had no information about the “BPL situation”. However, he noted blackouts
are a “real concern for law enforcement”. Mr Dames added if officers are “pre-warned” of a blackout, police indeed “shift their resources as needed and where necessary”. Both Commissioner Ferguson and Mr Dames made these comments on the sidelines of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s youth summer programme
opening ceremony. New Providence residents have suffered through almost daily load shedding since June 19. This despite Mr Moxey saying earlier this year that officials did not expect load shedding this summer. Many locals took to social media to vent their frustration at going hours without power in the sweltering summer heat, while demanding, at the very least, a schedule for when power cuts will occur. Attempts by The Tribune over the weekend to establish a schedule for outages yielded no results. Mr Moxey addressed the schedule matter during a press conference held at BPL headquarters yesterday morning. “One of the things that we’ve done, and we’ve had this discussion a number of times internally, is there’s a safety issue when it comes to that,” Mr Moxey said. “And so even though power is important for our customers, what’s more important for us is our customers’ safety. “And so what we’ve found in the past is that whenever you do publish a schedule then there tends to be a spike in criminal activities around those particular areas. “And so what we don’t want to do is put our customers in potential harm’s way by publishing a schedule and allowing people who (do) criminal activity to be able to essentially plan their targets.” When asked to verify to these claims, Commissioner Ferguson replied: “I really don’t want to comment on any kind of thing that involves something in a different lane. I can tell you that members of the (RBPF) are up and about. They are doing their jobs and we will continue to do that. That’s as much as I will say in respect to that.”
Mr Dames dodged questions on this matter, repeatedly asking why reporters wanted him to comment on this issue. “What’s your intent really?” Mr Dames asked the press. “I don’t know anything about the BPL situation other than we had outages and they sent out communications to that effect. “BPL had concerns… you know. I mean, they had concerns. I can’t comment on what they would have said.” When asked if this was a concern for officers, Mr Dames replied: “If police officers have concerns… you know…I mean, there are always indicators from time to time that you come across. If you have a situation where there’s a total blackout, that’s a real concern for law enforcement…. But I can’t comment on what was said, and I think that’s what you’re looking for, me to comment on that.” Regarding whether in his experience, there has been information to show that power outages lead to an increase in crime, Mr Dames said: “Well there’s potential. There’s always the potential. When we have hurricanes, for example, that’s an opportunity for criminals to take advantage of a natural disaster. And we’ve had situations such as that. “And so I think your question would be whether their concerns were legitimate? I mean yes. I think it’s a legitimate concern. I mean, if there is a total blackout and an island-wide blackout, if they do certain things, there may be a risk that other things may happen. That’s not uncommon. But where are you driving at? I suspect there is something you need some clarity to.” Mr Dames said while he does not have the statistics
POLICE chief Anthony Ferguson to measure whether these recent blackouts have contributed to an increase in crimes, he added there is always “a risk that persons will take advantage of (a) blackout”. “If officers are pre-warned of a blackout, or if a blackout happens suddenly, you know, officers are advised, and the police will shift their resources as needed and where necessary,” he added. “And this is common, this is Policing 101.” During the press conference, Mr Moxey added BPL is working to “as best (it) can” that once load shedding occurs, to inform people in affected areas and “give some estimated time ranges in terms of how long their power will be off”. “We’re looking to set up community groups within WhatsApp communications and once that’s available -we’re securing that telephone line now- once that’s available we’ll communicate that through,” he said. “And so we do know that these various communities have community groups, community watch groups, they have constituency groups. And so we want to make sure that when we do have information to push out, rather than just going to our Facebook page or our other social media sites, we can also send it directly to these WhatsApp groups so they can disseminate the information appropriately to all who’s affected.“
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 25, 2019, PAGE 7
HALL-WATSON: MCALPINE EMBARRASSING FNM
By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net
SENATE Vice President Dr Mildred Hall-Watson slammed Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine during her contribution yesterday for attempting “to demean, disrespect and embarrass the Free National Movement.” In the Senate, Dr Mildred Hall-Watson said that sadly Rev McAlpine’s attempts have backfired and he “shamed himself.”
She said: “Your attempt to embarrass the government did not work. You isolated yourself and. . .the residents of Pineridge who elected you with FNM votes and embarrassed yourself. We will not allow our power to be diluted by others for their own personal ambitions. It is the people’s time and in time the people of Pineridge will deal with it. “The major tenet of this individual’s profession is to teach love to one another,” she said, referring to Mr McAlpine’s vocation as a minister of religion.
“Instead comments were made in a negative manner about skin colour, name recognition as a negative and that truly is unfortunate. One of the comments made during that debate (in the House of Assembly) I will not discuss here anymore, but I will say that each individual is responsible for their own comments, their own actions, their own attitudes and their own behaviour.” Earlier this month, Mr McAlpine, pictured above, criticised the Free
National Movement during his contribution to the 2019/2020 budget debate. At the time, he claimed he has been victimised by his party and excluded from all FNM meetings in Grand Bahama. Mr McAlpine claimed since voting against the increase in value added tax (VAT) last year, the FNM has excluded him. He said the government talks about being “transparent and accountable”, however he was not invited to the Grand Bahama
parliamentary caucus meetings. He had said earlier this month: “Now if they do this to their own people, what do you think they would do to you, the people who they claim ‘it’s the people’s time?’ Don’t get mad with me, all I’m doing is being transparent and accountable to the people of Pineridge. I think the word here is victimisation. “There’s more that I could say but this is just chapter one I’m dealing with; another time and another place, God spares life. I’ve got to keep moving.”
AG Bethel tells web shops: Pay your taxes and go to court later By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
AS the legal and regulatory framework for a tax agreement between the government and domestic gaming houses nears its competition, Attorney General Carl Bethel has warned those still fighting the deal to “pay your tax” and go to court later. His comments came at the close of his Senate contribution to the 2019/2020 budget debate. He declared that as of the passage of the new agreement, any entity or legal counsel endeavouring to “make a cottage industry from lawsuits challenging the laws that we have passed” would be free to do so, but is still mandated to pay all taxes due to the government. “…To reflect the agreement we have with the major gaming houses, which will pass in July, anyone that wants to have a… lawsuit — pay your tax, that is what the law says,” Mr Bethel asserted. “Pay your tax. When we have a settled law, you can sue all you want, just pay your tax and if the courts say we owe you something, we’ll settle it up afterwards.” The Minnis administration, as a part of its 2018/2019 budget, imposed a sliding scale tax schedule on the industry. The schedule aimed to tax houses at a progressively higher rate the more “taxable revenue” they earn.
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel
The tax scheme garnered several lawsuits from various houses, with each taking issue with the scope of the tax structure. Legal proceeding pushed tax collections in the sector back from the onset of the 2018/2019 budget period to the start of the 2019 calendar year. Ultimately, the government believed that all web shops were on board with the mid-February 2019 settlement agreement, however, Island Game, Paradise Game, Asure Win and the FML Group of Companies took the position that no retroactive taxes should be owed for the 2018-2019 fiscal year’s first half. Under that deal, back taxes for the first half of the 20182019 budget period from July 1, to December 31, 2018, — were to be levied at the old web shop taxation rate of 11 percent of gaming revenues. This was replaced by the new sliding scale operator tax, and its new rates of 15 percent (for revenues under $24m) and 17 percent (for over), with effect from January 1, 2019. Tribune Business subsequently revealed that Paradise Games and Asure Win had paid taxes due for July 2018 and then stopped, while FML and Island Game had yet to pay anything at that point. A new agreement was agreed earlier this month, with Tourism Minister
Dionisio D’Aguilar confirming the new settlement would involve no further changes to the mid-February deal. In the interim, he said the government had still been collecting the majority of its revenues from Island Luck, Ultra Game, and Chances, which accounts for 76 percent or three-quarters of the sector’s tax base. Addressing the current state of affairs in the sector yesterday, Mr Bethel said: “I am not threatening (any entity), the law requires, where there is a settled tax law, that if anybody wishes to challenge it they must pay their taxes pending. That is in the law, that is the law of The Bahamas.” He added: “So it is not a threat for me to say what the law is. If some lawyers want to make a cottage industry off of suing, no problem. If the court supports you, and this is what I said, if the court supports you, the government will do whatever the court says. But the law is clear on this matter. “If there is a settled law passed and you have a dispute with it, you are entitled to sue, but you must pay your taxes and comply with the law until a court says otherwise,” he concluded. The government anticipates collecting $50m in taxes from the web shop sector annually, split between $35m paid by the operators and $15m from the new levy on patron winnings. Editorial View - Page 4
CALLS FOR THE PUBLIC NOT TO SEE SEX REGISTER from page one
the register would be accessible to the public. The law instead empowers the minister of national security to notify the public about the release of certain convicts after consulting the commissioner of corrections and the commissioner of police about the risk they pose. Dr Dean-Patterson said: “What happens is public registers really gives people a false sense of security because you think if you’re a sexual offender and you come out of prison you go on the register and then people will get to know where you are and whether you’re likely to be a danger. I always thought the registry needs to be non-public. If we’re going to have a sex offender registry given the size of our country, you talk about them not living near a school, not being near parks, where in Nassau could you not live near a school? I don’t think it’s realistic and it could enhance vigilantism because this is a subject people are so angry about.” She continued: “First you want to look at what is the purpose of a sexual offenders register. If it is to manage sex offenders so they don’t reoffend, research is showing that it really doesn’t make much difference. I think researchers do feel that a register can deter a first offender
or a non-convicted person, that they may be less likely to reoffend, but for the person who has been convicted and hasn’t had an intervention, it doesn’t help. That’s something we need to be very aware of, a sex offender who goes to prison, we need to evaluate the risk they have to reoffend. The higher risk offender you can make an argument that that person needs to go on a register but unfortunately there’s no intervention for any of these people.” Most countries with sex offender registers do not make their registers public. According to the United States Office of Justice Programmes, which focuses on crime prevention through research and development, studies on the effectiveness of registers in preventing repeat crimes have been insufficient and have shown mixed results. Dr Dean-Patterson said the government should broaden its efforts to address sexual assaults. Reducing the backlog of court cases for sex crimes and embracing intervention programmes are key, she said. “You would be shocked at the number of sex offenders in prison, the numbers are so small. We looked at it in 2000 and it was less than 100 and of that 100, a half was convicted and the other half was on remand. I did other research between 2006 and 2008 of the Supreme
Court, they had like 11 to 14 cases completed per year and every year we have between 50 and 100 cases. If we have that many cases and you can only finish less than 20 cases, that’s an obvious problem. We need to look at the risk factors and pre-bargaining because literature does show that intervention can make a difference to first offending sexual offenders.” Contrary to popular belief, studies show the number of sexual offenders who repeat offences is low. “There’s a small group of sex offenders who reoffend and those are the ones we need to be focusing on,” Dr Dean-Patterson said. “That’s why you need a risk-management programme where you look at the risk different people pose. The majority of victims are raped by persons they know. And in those instances, if you could get them to take a plea and get them in a programme, it would help but the government has to invest in mental health intervention for sex offenders and they haven’t done that and that’s something we’ve been asking for for 30 years. It’s a complicated problem. We need to sit down and work at this, not do these easy fix things because they’re not going to work but they will make people feel like something is done. We have to be able to resource our intervention.” Support for a public sex
offender register soared after the 2011 murder of 11-year-old Marco Archer. Archer was killed by Kofhe Goodman. Although there was no evidence Goodman
sexually assaulted the boy, Goodman had prior convictions for sex assault of minors. In 2014, the Christie administration passed an amendment to the Sexual
Offences Act that would establish a registry but the law was never brought into force. The law imposes a number of reporting requirements on convicts.
PAGE 8, Tuesday, June 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
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EARLY 50 Bahamians in a crowd of 10,000 people attending Morgan State University came to a thunderous applause when Atarah Pinder, Jamielle Davis, Michaela Thompson and a few other Bahamian students walked across the stage to receive their awards. Atarah received a Masters degree in Business Administration with honours while Jamielle was named Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Marketing, both achieving a 4.0 grade point average. A proud Dr Jacinta Higgs contacted me to feature these young ladies after she returned from Baltimore as a part of the team supporting the girls. Both ladies have so much to share that I decided to cover the roads they took to their current success in separate columns. This week, we take a look at Atarah Pinder. Atarah was born in Nassau to Allyson Crawley and Samuel Pinder and first attended Dayspring Academy, then Nassau Christian Academy. She then moved to St. Augustine’s College and graduated with honours in 2012. She spent a year at the College of the Bahamas, enrolled in the Biology programme with a pre-med track. She took an elective class in psychology during her second semester and this is where her interest in psychology was piqued. She then headed off to the College of St Benedict & St John’s University in Minnesota. While there, Atarah was heavily involved on campus and within the community serving as a Resident Assistant, Co-President of the Archipelago Caribbean Association and as a Volunteer Youth Mentor at the Boys and Girls Club of Minnesota. During her first year, she was selected as a member of the Hynes Scholar Programme, a year-long cohort-based programme that explored gender, leadership and the opportunities and challenges of being women in today’s society. During her sophomore year, she was selected as a Psychology Research Fellow where she conducted highlevel personality research on the 2016 Presidential Candidates. From this opportunity, Atarah was also able to publish two articles in the St Cloud Times based on her research. In her junior year, she was inducted into the Psi Chi Honour Society where she served on the Executive Board. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2016. Atarah then settled in Baltimore, Maryland where she worked in the Human
LEFT: Atarah in Sarajevo, Bosnia; right: Atarah and her uncle, Most Rev Archbishop Patrick Pinder at Morgan State graduation
Atarah on the path to finding the top talent Resource department of the second largest healthcare system in the state. After some time, she decided to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree at the Earl G Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University. While in her two-year programme, Atarah has been inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honour Society and Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honour Society. She has served as a Graduate Assistant in the Graves Masters Office and on the board of the Masters Programmes Student Government Association. This May, Atarah graduated and received honours for graduating at the top of her programme with a 4.0 grade point average. She is currently studying for her PHR exam. The PHR is an HR certification. It stands for Professional in Human Resources and is awarded by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) after successfully passing the exam. She is now deciding between professional opportunities offered and available to her. “At that time, it was the nature versus nurture argument that piqued my interest the most,” Atarah said. “I never wanted to be a clinical psychologist/ therapist, but I always wanted to use the principles of psychology to improve traditional practices. For example, I’m quite interested in Industrial/ Organisational Psychology and I want to use the principles from the field to help organisations find ideal candidates for positions within their organisations. There is a lot of research that talks about how traditional means used to select candidates (like
ATARAH Pinder at the College of St Benedict campus; below: Atarah and her family at graduation day, College of St Benedict
the job interview) do not work... and a lot of times do not yield the best candidates for either positions or organisations. This is how I tie together my psychology degree, my MBA and my interest in human resources. I want to be apart of the conversation within organisations in finding the alternative methods used to finding talent and then helping these same organisations to implement and train on new methods.” Before settling in Baltimore, Atarah found herself on the other side
of the world. She travelled to Bosnia & Herzegovina where she volunteered with a youth non-governmental organisation called Zdravo Da Ste. While there, she assisted in implementing and organising programme strategies to aid in the development of vulnerable youth based on psychological principles. She also assisted in the grant writing process to secure funding from the European Union. “While in Bosnia, I was able to learn about the Bosnian war and see the effects that the war still has on the
country today,” she said. “I talked with a number of people, some of whom were children when the war started, about how the war shaped and changed their lives. They were always difficult conversations to have, but they taught me a lot about how to support others while recounting their pain.” She feels the experience taught her how to be confident and comfortable in unfamiliar environments. Atarah performed well in school from a very young age, so her path to success is one that was built by doing well every step of the way. She loves learning. Looking back, she believes that “maintaining a growth mindset, discipline, persistence and confidence in self” are key factors in determining your trajectory. “I’ve always done well in school,” says Atarah. “I don’t really remember my exact grades in primary school, but I do remember being among the top achievers in my class, and I graduated from SAC with high honours. I’ve always genuinely enjoyed learning. In college, especially being away from home, it gets a little harder because your support system is further away and you have the freedom to pretty much do whatever you like. But I always tried to remember why I was there. The ‘why’ is what always kept me grounded and focused. Really, I just would prioritise my studies making sure to get whatever assignments are due done and tests studied for. After those things were done, then I allowed myself to do whatever I wanted to do, whether that be catching up on shows, hanging out with friends, or reading leisurely.” Atarah’s closest support system includes her mother as well as her aunt, Paulette Turnquest and uncle the Most Reverend Patrick Pinder, Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nassau. She gave this advice to students: “I don’t think I can offer a specific key to good grades. Everyone is different and has to find what works for them. It may be difficult to find whatever it is that does (work for them), but students should keep trying. They should stay focused, consistent and disciplined, study well and always do their very best.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 25, 2019, PAGE 9
HIDDEN OIL SPILL: NEW STUDY CONTRADICTS OWNER’S CLAIMS NEW ORLEANS Associated Press
A NEW federally led study of oil seeping from a platform toppled off Louisiana’s coast 14½ years ago found releases lower than other recent estimates, but contradicts the well owner’s assertions about the amount and source of oil. Oil and gas have been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico since a subsea mudslide caused by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, knocked over a Taylor Energy Co. production platform, which dragged and broke a bundle of
well pipes. Taylor capped nine wells but said it couldn’t cap 16. The company contends oil sheens on the water’s surface indicate there’s only a dribble of 2.4 to four gallons of oil and gas a day. Taylor Energy, which is fighting a federal order to stop the seepage, also says any oil rising from the site is from oil-soaked sediment and any gas is produced by living organisms. “The results of this study contradict these conclusions,” said the report paid for by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees offshore drilling, and
written by two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists and one from Florida State University. Taylor said in an emailed statement that it wants verifiable scientific data about the leak and a scientifically and environmentally sound solution. The company has said remaining pipes are buried under so much oily and treacherous silt that stopping any leaks would do more environmental damage than letting them be. No coastal environmental damage has been reported from the ongoing seepage, unlike the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill,
an outside scientist said. The BP spill oiled at least 400 square miles of sea floor and 1,300 miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida, killing thousands of birds and contributing to dolphin deaths for years. The study’s authors figure that the total released each day from the Taylor site could have been as much as 4,500 gallons a day. They used sonar and a newly developed “bubblometer” to measure oil and gas bubbles rising through the water. These are based on direct measurements, while previous estimates have relied on satellite
and remote sensing of the sheen of oil resulting from the seep, Chris Taylor, of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in Beaufort, North Carolina, said Friday. The figure is a conservative one, the report said. Andrew Mason of the NOAA centers’ office in Silver Spring, Maryland, said, “These are not final definitive government estimates,” noting that they will figure in the government’s official estimate after additional study. The researchers said the oil cannot be from sediment because it’s only mildly biodegraded.
FOUR BORDER DEATHS IN TEXAS SIGNALS CHAOS AHEAD
WHAT IS RUSSIAN WARSHIP DOING IN HAVANA? HAVANA Associated Press THE Admiral Gorshkov, one of the Russian navy’s most advanced warships, docked in Havana’s harbour yesterday. The ship is one of the Russian navy’s most advanced and is armed with cruise missiles, air defense systems and other weapons. The frigate is part of Russia’s Northern Fleet. It was greeted with a 21-gun salute from Cuban forces stationed at the entrance to the Bay of Havana. The Gorshkov responded with its own salute. Russia has not provided details about the purpose of its trip, but the Kremlin has moved to bolster Russia’s military capability amid tensions with the West following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Associated Press
THE ADMIRAL Gorshkov frigate arrives at the port of Havana, Cuba yesterday
Trump imposes new sanctions on Iran WASHINGTON Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday targeting Iran’s supreme leader and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the US has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups. The sanctions follow Iran’s downing of a more than $100m US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump pulled back from the brink of retaliatory military strikes on Iran last week, but is continuing his pressure campaign against the nation. “These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We will continue to increase pressure on Tehran until the regime abandons its dangerous activities and its aspirations, including the pursuit of nuclear weapons, increased enrichment of uranium, development of ballistic missiles, engagement and support for terrorism, fueling of foreign conflicts and belligerent acts directed against the United States and its allies.”
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear pact that world powers made with Tehran in 2015. Other nations stayed in the deal, which eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear program. Trump called it a one-sided deal in Iran’s favor and re-imposed sanctions but says he wants to negotiate a different deal. Iran, which calls the sanctions “economic terrorism,” has thus far shown no interest in negotiating. The latest round of sanctions denies Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military figures access to financial resources and blocks their access to any
RHINOS RELOCATED TO RWANDA RWANDA Associated Press
FIVE critically endangered eastern black rhinos from wildlife parks in three European countries were transported to Rwanda’s Akagera National Park yesterday.. Two male and three female eastern black rhinoceroses were released into protective enclosures and will eventually be introduced into open plains to increase the genetic
diversity of the park’s rhino population, said officials. The eastern black rhino is in critical danger of extinction with about 1,000 remaining in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The five rhinos from European zoos and safari parks will bring to 20 the number of eastern black rhinos in Akagera Park after a number of the rhinos were delivered from South Africa in 2017.
financial assets they have under US jurisdiction. “For people who say these are just symbolic, that’s not the case at all,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “We’ve literally locked up tens and tens of billions of dollars.” Trump said the new sanctions are not only in response to the downing of the drone. The US has blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers this month near the Strait of Hormuz. Citing those episodes and intelligence about other Iranian threats, the US has sent an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region and deployed additional troops alongside the tens of thousands already there. All this has raised fears that a miscalculation or further rise in tensions could push the US and Iran into an open conflict 40 years after Tehran’s Islamic Revolution. “The supreme leader of Iran is the one who is ultimately responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime,” Trump said. “He is respected within his country. He also oversees the regime’s most brutal instrument including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.” Iran’s naval commander has warned that Iranian forces would not hesitate to act again and shoot
down more U.S. surveillance drones that violate Iranian airspace. The US said the drone was flying over international waters. “We confidently say that the crushing response can always be repeated, and the enemy knows it,” Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi Khanzadi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The sanctions came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is holding talks in the Middle East with officials in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia about countering the military threat from Iran by building a broad, global coalition that includes Asian and European countries. Pompeo is likely to face a tough sell in Europe and Asia, particularly from those nations still committed to the 2015 nuclear deal. Germany, France and Britain, as well as Russia and China, remain part of the nuclear accord that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for set limits on its uranium enrichment levels. The three European countries have sent envoys to Tehran recently, signaling they remain committed to diplomacy and dialogue. They cautioned against moves that can lead to conflict between the US and Iran.
TWO babies, a toddler and a woman were found dead near the US-Mexican border, overcome by the sweltering heat in a glimpse of what could lie ahead this summer as record numbers of migrant families try to get into the United States. Authorities believe the four may have been dead for days before the bodies were discovered on Sunday in the Rio Grande Valley. No details were released on the victims’ relationship. It was the latest grim discovery of migrants who died while trying to cross the perilous desert and the swollen Rio Grande. Migrant families have been coming over the border in unprecedented numbers in recent months, reaching a peak in May, when 84,000 adults and children travelling together were apprehended. Nearly 500,000 immigrants have been detained at the border since the start of the year, resulting in dangerous overcrowding in US holding centres. A total of 283 migrant deaths were recorded along the 2,000-mile border last year. The death toll so far this year was not immediately released. Three children and an adult from Honduras are believed to have died after their raft overturned on the Rio Grande in April. They had considered seeking asylum but were daunted by a long wait list to get into the US, according to a shelter official who met the family. A six-year-old immigrant from India was found dead in the triple-digit heat in Arizona this month, and seven people believed to be migrants died in June alone in irrigation canals that run alongside border barriers near El Paso. The total last year for such deaths in those canals was 11. Border Patrol spokesman Ramiro Cordero said that in past years, agents would be posted near canals and hear the cries of help from migrants. But they are doing other duties this year with so many immigrants showing up, some in poor health.
PAGE 10, Tuesday, June 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
TWO MORE CHARGED OVER DRIVE-BY SHOOTING
JAHMAN DELANCY, left, and Rashad Clarke, right, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net TWO more men were charged yesterday with murdering a 21-year-old man during a drive-by shooting that was captured on surveillance video two
weeks ago. Jahman Delancy and Rashad Clarke appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt concerning the June 12 murder of Bradley Smith Jr. Their co-accused, 27-year-old Jeffrey Hepburn, was charged in connection with the crime last
week. Hepburn was also charged with armed robbery. According to initial reports, shortly before 8pm on the date in question, two men and a woman were in front of a convenience store on Dunmore Street when a silver Honda Fit pulled up in front of the store.
The occupants of the vehicle opened fire in the direction of the two men, injuring one of them, before fleeing the scene. The victim was rushed to hospital, but died a short time later. Delancy and Clarke were not required to enter a plea to the charges and the matter was
adjourned to July 17 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment. Bail was denied and they were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) in the interim. They have the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 25, 2019, PAGE 11
17-year-old charged with murder of 16-year-old By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 17-year-old boy was charged with murder in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The minor, who was accompanied by his mother in court, is accused of the stabbing death of 16-yearold Joshua Davis, of Carissa Street, Freeport. The juvenile appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson in Court One. It is alleged that on June 17 at Freeport, the accused killed Davis. He was not represented by an attorney and was not required to enter a plea to the murder charge. According to initial police reports, Davis was at a night spot on Peach Tree Street around 1am on the date in question when he was stabbed during an altercation with another male. He was taken to hospital where he later died of his injuries. The judge told the minor and his mother that a preliminary inquiry will be held into the matter to determine if there is sufficient evidence for him to stand trial in the Supreme Court. However, she also advised them the prosecutor could seek a voluntary bill of indictment to have
the matter fast tracked to the Supreme Court. The judge asked prosecutor Sergeant Veron Rolle about the issue of bail for juveniles. He noted that due to the extreme nature of the offence, bail should be denied and the minor should be remanded to prison. Deputy Chief Magistrate Ferguson noted that he was not yet 18, so she remanded him to the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys in New Providence until August 13 when a preliminary inquiry will be held into the matter. Meanwhile three suspects in the recent Solomon’s Wholesale break-in and ATM robbery also appeared in court, but their arraignment was postponed until today. Following a brief discussion with an attorney involved in the case, the judge then informed the three accused that the arraignment was being postponed to today because of some issues that needed to be addressed first. The magistrate informed them that the charges involved in the matter are shop breaking, stealing, causing damage, and possession of proceeds obtained by criminal conduct. The men are expected to appear in court today at 10am.
THE MINOR outside court yesterday.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
MAN FACES $16,000 FINE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO FIREARM OFFENCES By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
KINGSLEY COOPER, right, in the red shirt, outside court yesterday.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
A MAN who pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition at his arraignment in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday was fined $16,000 or, in default he must spend 18 months in prison. Kingsley Cooper, 28, of Scott Avenue, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson where he was charged with firearm possession. It is alleged that on June 22 at Freeport, he was found in possession of an Austrian Glock .9mm pistol for which he did not have a licence. Cooper was also charged with possession of 11 rounds of .9mm ammunition. He pleaded guilty to both charges. According to the prosecutor, on the date in question around 3.35am, Officers McKenzie and Rolle acted on information received and proceeded to Club Liquid located at Les Fountain, where they spoke with Corporal Rolle who gave them certain information. As a result, the two officers approached the accused and conducted a search, recovering a firearm from his right front pocket.
The accused was arrested. While in custody, the prosecutor said the accused admitted to possessing the firearm and ammunition, which he said that he found in bushes. Prosecutor Veron Rolle suggested a prison sentence of four to five years. The judged asked Cooper why was he carrying a firearm in the club and where did he find it. He told the judge he found it in bushes in the Mayfield Park area. “I was not going to shoot no one with it,” he said. The judge said: “You have a gun in your possession in a public area. What if someone had gotten you vex or annoyed you?” “I was not going to use the gun, ma’am,” he replied. Deputy Chief Magistrate Ferguson told Cooper that since he saved the court some time by pleading guilty she would not impose the maximum penalty. “You did not put me through having a trial and normally such an offence I would fine you $15,000 on each count, but I will fine you $8,000 on each count for a total of $16,000 to be paid by June 27,” she said. She told Cooper that if he fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve 18 months imprisonment consecutively on both counts.