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VOLUME:115 No.148, JUNE 26TH, 2018
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HEALTH: INTRODUCING THE GAME-CHANGER FOR HIV
Prove right to shanty homes
Foulkes says legal process to begin ahead of evictions By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes yesterday confirmed the start of the government’s three-part legal notice process for shanty town residents across the country, insisting the July 31 eviction deadline will be adhered to. Speaking with reporters during the Senate’s lunch recess yesterday, Mr Foulkes, who spearheads the government’s Shanty Town Action Task Force, confirmed officers sanctioned by the body had commenced the delivery of a request for shanty town residents to show legal documentation of their right to
the lands they now occupy. According to the senator, the move was the first step in a three-part process that looks to definitively verify whether residents have a legal right to occupy the lands they now do, all while systematically removing those residing illegally. “Today is the first round, which gives the residents in all the shanty towns an opportunity to show whether they have a legal right to be there,” he told reporters. Mr Foulkes continued: “Whether they have an occupancy certificate or whether they have any conveyance for the land upon which they live.” SEE PAGE SIX
HERE COMES THE SUMMER
DAYS before value added tax is to increase to 12 percent, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis spent much of yesterday in Andros explaining his administration’s 2018-2019 budget, which has received intense public backlash. Speaking to constituents gathered at a town
hall meeting in Kemp’s Bay, South Andros – one of several held on the island – the prime minister painted a hypothetical picture of struggle and strain for Bahamians under the leadership of an administration that would have to bow to the demands of an international body if the government opted not to raise VAT. SEE PAGE THREE
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A LIGHTNING strike caused an island-wide power outage yesterday evening, Bahamas Power & Light Chairwoman Darnell Osbourne said. She told The Tribune: “We had a little fire, the system shut down. With the lightning strike and weather issues, these are things out of our control.” SEE PAGE SIX
UNIFIED BUS SYSTEM IS READY TO ROLL
By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net
THE unified bus system pilot project should commence “any time now”, Transport and Local Government Minister Frankie Campbell said yesterday. Following a press conference to mark the International Day of the Seafarer, Mr Campbell addressed questions relating to the unified bus system, the General Post Office and the maritime sector. SEE PAGE SIX
WOMAN HIT IN HEAD AS CAR FIRED UPON
PM ON ISLAND TOUR TO EXPLAIN NEED FOR VAT By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
LIGHTNING BLAMED AS ISLAND LEFT IN DARKNESS
By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net
YESTERDAY saw the launch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s 25th Annual Summer Youth Programme at Zion Baptist Church East and Shirley Street. See page two for more. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
POLICE are investigating a shooting that left a woman suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The incident took place early yesterday morning in the area of Flamingo Gardens. The victim is currently in hospital and listed in stable condition. SEE PAGE SIX
FOULKES: WE’LL HELP WORKERS FIRED FROM WEB SHOP JOBS By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes promised the Minnis administration will help more than 300 people who may lose their jobs as web shops respond to increased taxation, though he gave
few details about how the government will do this. Mr Foulkes said his ministry received a formal notice last Thursday from Island Luck that it will reduce its workforce by 50 percent, or about 350 workers, within 30 days. “I can say very confidently that the government will not sit down idly and
allow those people to suffer,” Mr Foulkes told reporters following yesterday’s morning Senate meeting. He noted unemployed people can access benefits from the National Insurance Board. Those eligible could receive 50
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THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, PAGE 3
‘Rebels should have resigned not waited to be fired by PM’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net GOVERNMENT appointees who voted against an increase in value added tax to 12 percent should have resigned their positions rather than wait to be fired, retired parliamentary clerk Maurice Tynes says. Mr Tynes, the chief adviser to House Speakers from 1993 to 2017, addressed the issue during the Progressive Liberal Party’s module for aspiring candidates last week. He was contacted by The Tribune yesterday to elaborate on the issue. “The budget bill is usually one that is fundamental for the government so the whip will be on that,” he said. “The budget is the most fundamental legislation the government could come up with.
If they can’t support the government’s budget, they ought to resign. The VAT increase is part of the budget. I thought once they had announced they couldn’t support it, they would’ve offered their resignation.” Debate has persisted about whether Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was right to fire Bain and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Social Services and Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine as chairman of the Hotel Corporation. The men had breached Westminster protocols which demand that those who serve in a government post show loyalty to a government’s priorities. No law requires such a person
to resign or be fired, but it is widely held that conventions in the Westminster system be defied only rarely. In their termination letters, Mr Robinson and Mr Miller were cited for breaching the Manual of Cabinet and Ministry Procedure. Mr Tynes said a prime minister can be expected to exercise his or her discretion to applying the whip for matters not relating to a budget. “Under the Westminster system, it is pretty much under the discretion of the prime minister if he is going to force anybody out for going against the policy of the government,” he said. “The prime minister on some issues would take the whip off and tell his members they could vote their conscience. It’s usually these big national issues they do it on. In
Britain, it happened during the Brexit issue for example. They were allowed to vote their conscience. “It’s not a hard and fast rule but the principle is if you are a member of the government, a Cabinet minister or parliamentary secretary, if you can’t support the government’s policy publicly then rather than go ahead and just talk about it, you resign.” The firings have sparked debate about how the Westminster system generally functions in the Bahamas. Former parliamentarian Pierre Dupuch, in a statement to the press yesterday, said Bahamian administrations rely on Westminster protocols only when convenient. In particular, he said the system of parliamentary secretaries does not function locally the way it does in the United Kingdom.
“Had (Westminster protocols) been relied on consistently over the years, many politicians would have either resigned or not run again,” Mr Dupuch said. “It is true that parliamentary secretaries are obliged to vote with the government or offer their resignations. This is true under the Westminster system. But what is a parliamentary secretary and what role does he/she play in the government? In England, a parliamentary secretary acts almost as a deputy Cabinet minister. The position was created to help organise a huge ministry, involving thousands of people. “In the Bahamas, the parliamentary secretary is essentially a hired hand used to guarantee votes for the government in the House of Assembly. Most parliamentary secretaries in the Bahamas do nothing
other than collect extra money for the position. But they are important to the dictatorial way in which the Bahamian government has operated for many years,” Mr Dupuch said. “I remember in the early eighties, Sir Lynden Pindling appointed two parliamentary secretaries. At the time both Sir Kendal Isaacs and Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, along with the other members of the FNM in the House of Assembly, were vehemently opposed to it. “We maintained then that it was only a manoeuvre to put almost dictatorial power into the hands of the prime minister. Over the years the respective prime ministers, both PLPs and FNMs, appear to have used this method of controlling parliamentarians. It has become a dictatorship.”
PM ON ISLAND TOUR TO EXPLAIN NEED FOR VAT from page one He also reverted to the narrative that the Progressive Liberal Party was to be blamed for this decision, telling Androsians under the former government the pay roll for civil servants increased by $250m. This among other fiscal missteps by the Christie administration, he said, placed the government in a situation where if it did not raise the VAT rate the government would have to borrow $661m for the country’s survival. “What also happened during the past five years, the payroll for the civil servants went up, increased $250m,” Dr Minnis said during his first town hall meeting yesterday at the Marion Forbes Centre in Kemp’s Bay. He also spoke to residents in Mangrove Cay at the Courthouse, those in Love Hill at the Central Andros High School and other constituents in Nicolls Town at the Hartley Christie High School. It is unclear how the prime minister derived the wage bill increase. Last September, Brensil Rolle, minister of state for the Public Service and National Insurance, said between December 2016 and May 2017, the public purse ballooned by $16,532,738 because of the Christie administration’s hiring of new public service workers during that period. In June, he told Parliament the cost to Bahamians of such increases was $10,149,738. “Our debt went up during the past five years by $2.5bn or at least $500m per year,” Dr Minnis continued.
“In spite of us paying VAT, which generated and gave the government $1.5bn, we gave them $1.5bn.” He also said: “We had several choices. We have a VAT 7.5, that’s generating a certain amount of money. We could look at that and decide all right we do nothing leave it at 7.5 and borrow an additional $661m to move the country forward so that we can survive. “But if we did nothing and borrowed the $661m, we would have been further downgraded and our interest rates would have increased even further. So we find ourselves in a deeper hole and then as the interest rate continued to rise and you can’t pay it we must seek help from outside. “What would happen?” Dr Minnis asked. “We had to make a determination whether we try to control our future destiny, whether we control and make decisions for ourselves and try to pay our bills and move forward or allow a foreign international financial agency to loan us the money and they would decide how many of you in the civil service we must lay off. We will have no say. “They will tell us to lay off 2,000, to lay off 3,000. They would tell us how much to decrease your paycheque. We would have no say. A foreign entity will determine that for us. “They would also determine for us what programmes we must cut. They can determine that we must cut the support that we give to Bahamasair. They can determine the support that we give to BPL
BNT CORRECTION IN the Monday, June 25 edition of The Tribune it was incorrectly reported that Bahamas National Trust executive director Eric Carey suggested his organisation might be able to support the Oban Energies project as a result of a new heads of agreement, which is in the process of finalisation.
However, Mr Carey said despite the fact that a new agreement is being drafted, the BNT will still not support the proposed oil refinery and storage project for Grand Bahama. The Tribune apologises for incorrectly stating the BNT’s position on the Oban Energies project.
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. and therefore your light bill will rise. Your water would rise. Your transportation between here and other islands increase. Your transportation to Florida increase, you cannot afford
to travel to Florida. “So the decision was, do you allow an international monetary agency to take over and dictate to you? As Bahamians we own our own land. Let us decide
Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff what we want to do. Not you. “So those were decisions that had to be made. We could have done nothing and that’s what would have happened. You see
exactly what is happening in Barbados.” He insisted that in making the tough decisions contained in the new budget, his job was to protect Bahamians.
PAGE 4, Tuesday, June 26, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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Hurricane warning for Bahamas govt WHEN Prime Minister Dr Hubert A Minnis goes on the road this week to sell the budget, there is one tool in his doctor’s kit that he should be prepared to use – a strong dose of the oftenoverlooked costs of funding hurricane mitigation, recovery and rebuilding. The problem with talking about hurricanes when the sun is shining is that a lack of urgency lends itself to that great Bahamian character trait of procrastination perfected. The other challenge in calling attention to funding for natural disaster mitigation and recovery is that the subject has no sex appeal. When the coast is clear, mitigation is not romantic. It is not glamorous like opening a new Bahamas consulate in Miami or exciting like a Bahamian teen, Deandre Ayton, being the number one overall NBA draft pick and landing with the Phoenix Suns. But if the Prime Minister wants to hit home with the budget, he has to go beyond the need to curtail debt service – the interest we pay on the money successive governments have been borrowing – and include the high costs of recovery and rebuilding from hurricanes. With the exception of government payroll and associated expenses like pensions, disaster relief, recovery and rebuilding have become the single largest expense of the government. The Bahamas is not alone. Disaster relief and recovery are becoming the heaviest burden on nearly every government in the hurricane or natural disaster belt. The US spent over $300bn on national disasters in 2016. Dr Minnis speaks about being a doctor, treating The Bahamas as a patient, wanting to heal what ails the unhealthy state of the country’s financial affairs. As the medical practitioner turned prime minister makes his rounds to the Family Islands this week, he needs to include disaster prevention and recovery funding in his prescriptive arsenal. Overlooking the reality of costs of disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery could cause untold damage to the “patient” already suffering from a shaky financial grounding. Shortly after the FNM came to power in May of 2017, Works Minister Desmond Bannister issued a strong wake-up call in a Meet the Ministers presentation hosted by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation. “What we have done in the past will not allow us to sustain ourselves in the future,” he said. Building on lowlying shore lines, allowing destruction of coral reefs that protect the coast by breaking the power of wave action and slowing the rush of water, constructing buildings without hurricane clips, or failing to meet the tough standards
of today’s building code all increase risk and potential for loss. According to Bannister, a house built more than ten years ago is unlikely to meet today’s building code. The Bahamas has spent some $2.5bn between 1980 and 2010 on hurricane and disaster recovery. Mr Bannister predicted that cost would continue to increase and could rise to $.5bn a year over the next ten years. The cost to rebuild homes in South Beach following Hurricane Matthew in 2017 has been estimated to range from $460m to $740m. The higher figure would make the cost to rebuild in just one community of New Providence even greater than government payroll. As the leader of this nation tries to get the public to understand and appreciate the bitter pill of paying for decades of overspending and over borrowing, the need to include the cost of recovery and rebuilding needs to be added to the prescription along with measures to mitigate against disaster prior to storms. We have seen the devastation of hurricanes on nearly every island and the ongoing impact of that destruction on places like Ragged Island where life after Irma, a category 5 hurricane that destroyed nearly everything on the small isle, left the once-proud isle virtually uninhabitable. Neither the government nor the public has demanded that full attention be focused on the threat of hurricanes and what this country must do to protect itself. Yet nothing is more critical to the endurance and survival of The Bahamas than ensuring we are building to a standard that will allow the country to continue on a path of life and growth for all its citizens and residents than being ready for what Nature dishes out. We have allowed developments like that in Bimini to destroy coral reefs that are Nature’s barrier to the shoreline. Only in Grand Bahama where one man’s generosity has helped pay for 15,000 children to learn to swim have we taken the need to be able to swim to survive seriously enough. Every child in The Bahamas should be taught how to swim. With The Bahamas in the direct path of impact from climate change which is expected to produce warmer waters and rising sea levels, generating even more powerful storms, the people of The Bahamas have a very bitter pill to swallow if we do not take strong measures to mitigate against potential damage before the floods and winds rob us of more of our land and lifestyle. If Dr Minnis wants us to swallow a pill for debt and a healthier financial picture, he should use this time to add the more important pill for our very survival.
Robinson’s pay EDITOR, The Tribune. BAIN and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson’s decision to vote against the Free National Movement’s (FNM) VAT Amendment Bill in order to please his Over-the-Hill constituents came at a hefty price tag. Robinson argued that a 12 percent VAT would be too onerous on his poverty stricken constituents. After all the euphoria over his daring defiance of the FNM has faded, I hope Bain and Grants Town re-elects him in 2022, due to the enormous financial sacrifice he has made on their behalf. When Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis terminated him as parliamentary secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Tourism, Robinson saw a salary of $45,000 go up in smoke. That is no chump change for an MP whose net worth was declared to be a meager
$7,300 in 2017. In addition to his PS salary, Robinson’s MP salary is $28,000. Altogether, Robinson was earning an impressive $73,000 per annum. Not bad for an individual in his early 20s. Knowing the bad habit Bahamians have developed in begging these MPs for financial assistance, Robinson will hardly be in the position to render assistance, if that was what he was doing before his firing. It remains to be seen if his constituents will still support him in the months and years ahead, especially now that he is saddled with a mere MP salary. This should never be a factor in determining if an incumbent is re-elected. But unfortunately this is what Bahamian politics has come to. It has become extremely parochial. At the very least the Bain and Grants Town MP can commiserate with many of his lower-class constituents.
Robinson knew the consequences of his actions under our Westminster system of government and decided to side with Bain and Grants Town. He seems to be a very informed young politician. Bain and Grants Town is a traditional Progressive Liberal Party stronghold. This is a quintessential blackbelt area. No one in that area can rightly accuse Robinson of being aloof. After all, he is one of them. Today, Robinson is being hailed a hero by many Bahamians of all political persuasions who are upset over the increase of VAT. Time will tell if he will be rewarded by his constituents in 2022 for taking a pay cut of $45,000. Time will tell if the FNM’s VAT projections materialises. KEVIN EVANS Freeport, GB June 21, 2018.
Futures of rebels at risk EDITOR, The Tribune FOR every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So states Newton’s third law of motion. The four FNM MPs who deluded themselves that they had some imaginary obligation of conscience to buck their party on the 2018/2019 budget should do well to ponder this theory of physics and of life. They carelessly put themselves in political jeopardy by grandstanding against their party at a time when probity and party unity were aligned. It is a safe bet that some of them probably only wanted to use the occasion to drop licks on their leader. Others were probably just naïve and may have thought that a budget was a platform to prove their independence. It is not. The Member of Parliament for Centreville had already shown his impetuous nature when he had to be fired by the Prime Minister earlier this year. The Member for Pineridge has a history of recklessness having chastised his PM for having the audacity to want to help Dominican children made homeless by a hurricane last year. The Member for Golden Isles might have allowed the fawning of a loyal radio audience to delude his judgment, under the guise of being what his constituents wanted. But the saddest cast of all was the up-and-coming Member for Bain and Grants Town. His political firmament shined brightest and no doubt the PM would have harboured plans to showcase him as the embodiment of youthful potential. True leadership calls for politicians to explain to their constituents why a vote they must cast is in the national interest. Abraham Lincoln exemplified this when he stood up against slavery, paying the ultimate sacrifice for his bravery. The fundamental role of government is to make tough decisions in the best interest of the people. Nothing lays out the principles, philosophy and programme of a government and of a political party more than its annual budget. The budget is a
expected to vote with their party. In very few instances they can abstain from voting. The government may choose letters@tribunemedia.net to use only a one- or two-line confidence document and whip on a particular bill. If if Parliament were to reject they differ with the governthe budget the government ment on a three-line whip would fall. The Prime they must cross the floor and Minister would be seen to vote with the opposition. no longer command the Conscience votes are respect of the majority of allowed on matters like the members in the House abortion or capital punishif he was to be defeated on ment, the so-called life and a budget bill. It is a serious death bills. The governmatter and practitioners of ment cannot broker a free the Westminster model of vote on its budget. parliamentary democracy Political purists will agree impose heavy sanctions on that there is no such thing as those who step out of line a free vote in the House of on a budget vote. Assembly. MPs are always Party discipline is there- tethered to the political fore strictly enforced and parties on whose back they any member of the par- were carried in parliament. liamentary caucus who They are free to speak as doesn’t toe the line does so they wish but they have no at his or her own peril. Just discretion on whether to as convention holds that support the budget. all members of the governThe four rebel MPs prement vote for the budget, it sented themselves as a clear also expects that all mem- and present threat to the bers of the opposition will authority of the Prime Minvote against it. ister leaving him with no The fact that four mem- choice but to relieve them of bers of the FNM defied the their positions in his governgovernment shows their dis- ment. In voting no on the respect for the Whip process budget, they signaled a loss as much as it underscores of confidence in their own that some of our elected offi- party and its leader. They cials don’t know or simply must go. don’t care to understand The men argued that they how the system works. voted against the increase in The most important the Value Added Tax. But votes taken in the House the tax was but a part of the of Commons at Westmin- overall budget and in voting ster are underlined three no they joined the PLP in times in the order papers attempting to bludgeon the telling members that they government’s fiscal agenda. must fall in line with their There is talk in some quarparty on the vote or risk ters that the Prime Minister being kicked out, with the must be merciful in dealing technical term being “with- with these obstructionist MPs. drawn from the whip”. Leniency now flies in the face Both the government and of the Manual of Cabinet and the opposition deploy this Ministry Protocol, a breach disciplinary tool. for which the FNM lashed the What is more egregious PLP when they were in oppois the fact that two of the sition. It would be the height four are junior ministers, of hypocrisy for the PM to parliamentary secretaries ignore it just like Perry Chrisfor whom a protocol exists tie did. demanding their vote on These four men will most bills in our House of now have enough time to Assembly. contemplate their foolish The party can give its attempt at regicide. Forparliamentary caucus no giveness is the province of higher instruction than a the bishop. For the king, three-line whip. Because it however, disciplinary action is so important, it is usually is the only comeuppance reserved for matters like for vacuous behaviour. the budget or entrenched manifesto policies that the THE GRADUATE party ran on. Nassau, Governing party MPs are June 25, 2018.
LETTERS
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, PAGE 5
‘Going underground is no solution for web shops’ By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net GAMING operators opposing the government’s impending sliding taxes for the industry who may “go back underground” were warned not to try their luck by Free National Movement Senator Juanianne Dorsett, who yesterday blasted the “newly legitimated entrepreneurs” for their luxurious habits. “I can’t say that my heart bleeds for this handful of newly legitimated entrepreneurs who operated illegally for many, many years and made millions of dollars without paying a dollar in taxes,” Mrs Dorsett said during her contribution to the 2018-2019 budget debate yesterday. “I cannot say that I sympathise with these entrepreneurs who boast their multi-million dollar
homes and multiple properties on Paradise Island and other upscale communities, their yachts and jets and luxury cars. “Madame President, when the business of gaming was illegal it was operated by this same small handful of persons, the Bahamian people decided that they did not want this activity to become part of our economy,” she said, referring to the failed 2013 gaming referendum. Taking the entire industry to task for its intense opposition to what she characterised as the government’s push to reduce the national debt, Mrs Dorsett said Bahamians should not fall prey to the political ploys of the various gaming operators, who she contended were soundly rejected once before. “(Bahamians) did not want it to be made legal, but the (Christie
administration) decided that, regardless of what the people wanted, they would legitimise the gaming industry anyway. “So they legalised the illegal gambling and rewarded those persons who were operating illegally, who were engaging at the time in what was then a criminal activity, by allowing them a monopoly on the gaming business. “And they taxed them at a mere 11 per cent. “Since they were legitimised, they have grown at an unbelievable rate to the point that there is hardly a neighbourhood in New Providence where you won’t find a gaming house. “And I understand they have presence in most of the Family Islands. Based on the way they are growing, we can only assume that as an industry they are doing well,” Mrs Dorsett said.
“Madame President, they, like the rest of us, don’t want to pay increased taxes—and I get that. And I agree that no industry or sector of the economy should be taxed based on the fact that they are profitable. But no industry can dictate to the government how it should tax them.” Mrs Dorsett said if such a move were allowed, no Bahamian would opt to pay their fair share of taxes. “And I don’t buy their argument that this tax is discriminatory,” she continued. “I find it interesting, Madame President, some of the gaming bosses are threatening to go back underground because of the increased taxes. “But, Madame President, I seriously doubt that, after all the PLP did to bring them out from underground, so that they can participate unfettered
in the economy like other business people, that they would choose to go back to operating underground, no matter how they are taxed.” Besides, Mrs Dorsett said: “These are smart people – very smart people. So I know that they realise that, should they go back underground, they would find the underground today to be quite different from the underground in which they operated in earlier times; and they will not survive it. You don’t have to take it from me - ask Marvin Dames.” Some operators have threatened staff cuts to push back against the government’s impending new sliding tax scale system, which comes into force in just one week. ASure Win web shop last week said it would close 11 sites and terminate about 50 workers by the end of this month, citing
of the day we want every Bahamian to be employed,” he said. Meanwhile, it’s unclear if web shops will pursue legal action against the government over increased taxes as they initially threatened. President of the Bahamas Gaming Association Gershen Major said “no comment” when asked about this on Sunday. The association’s lawyer Wayne Munroe said, “Not yet as far as I know” when asked about it as well. In addition to Island Luck, ASure Win plans to close 11 locations by the end of June, which could see as many as 50 people let go, though the government argues this was always planned and is not tied to increased taxes. Another web shop, Paradise Games warned employees last week that job cuts and store closures may be on the horizon due the government’s increase in taxes for the domestic gaming sector. “The domestic gaming industry is a competitive market with high operating costs. In some instances, these locations identified were already underperforming,” ASure Win noted in a press release last week.
“With the proposed tax increases in the 2018-2019 budget, a sobering review of our operational costs and structure led us to take this preemptive action. External auditors have simultaneously been engaged to provide an impact analysis of the proposed tax increase on our business. “Once those assessments have been completed, the results will dictate any further action. While ASure Win values its employees, given the current situation, the company has had to make some fundamental business decisions concerning the future sustainability of our operations,” the company added. Mr Foulkes said ASure Win’s Family Island businesses have struggled, prompting the workforce reductions. “Those residents in the Family Islands who are unemployed, there is relief for them also,” he said. Asked if the government is considering adjusting its tax hike for web shops, which will come into effect on July 1, Mr Foulkes demurred. “That’s up to the discretion of the Cabinet and I have no authority to speak to that,” he said.
DION FOULKES, Minister of Labour.
underperforming locations. The impending increase in taxes forced it to make fundamental business decisions concerning the future sustainability of operations, the company said in a statement. Island Luck has further warned 350 of its employees could be sent to the unemployment line. Paradise Games has also foreshadowed the same action, although it has not intimated the number of cuts it is considering. Meanwhile, FML Group of Companies has gone against the grain, saying on Sunday he will not lay off employees prematurely, but will wait to see how the tax hikes affect the sector. Prior to being appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis last year, Mrs Dorsett served as the member of Parliament for Fox Hill from 1997 to 2002.
FOULKES: WE’LL HELP WORKERS FIRED FROM WEB SHOP JOBS from page one
percent of their average weekly insurable income for only up to 13 weeks under the law. “There are other options we have to bring relief to those 350 persons if (they are fired),” he said. “I do not want to stay too much. I don’t want to be premature but I can assure all of those workers at Island Luck that the government will come to their assistance.” The government has budgeted $4m in the Ministry of Social Services to help people who may be affected by value added tax’s increase to 12 percent. The web shop sector has not been unified in its response to increased taxes. Unlike Island Luck, FML Group of Companies has said before announcing layoffs or store closures, it will examine the impact of increased taxes. Mr Foulkes said he was pleased to see FML CEO Craig Flowers say he wants to save jobs and not act prematurely. “I understand that Paradise Games, that several other houses are adopting the same position and that is very encouraging because at the end
PAGE 6, Tuesday, June 26, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
N ADDERLEY ff Reporter ribunemedia.net
LIGHTNING BLAMED union has been change public AS ISLAND of bus drivLEFTaINmore ilitate sing system in DARKNESS
amas Unified from page one s Union was A statement month and isfrom BPL said weather in the esident, Frederwest affected transmission lines around 6.50pm. By n. 8pm, power was restored in limited areas: Poinciana ress conference Drive, parts of Bain and Mr GrantsFarrington Town, Carmichael Road and side streets and ore consultation parts of Wulff Road. In its statement, BPL said ed bus system the fault was identified and JITNEYS in downtown Nassau. repairsannounced had begun by tech- JITNEYS on Bay Street. The government is hopeful of introducing a prototype for a unified bus system project. and nical staff. r aMany cardresidents took system done. But we are looking to reroute the pilot project issue” the union wants to to that various route to tackle. to Facebook to express forward to working along res. their anger at the situation. bring back life in that com“If you mention the word One person wrote: “Since with the minister for the confirmed that By NICO SCAVELLA back to the ministry. that would be used by bus who will be utilised, the bus we’re hopeful it will be VAT is going up as of July pilot project.” munity. We haven’t a which ‘bus yououtwill seeas the Mrs Armbrister also said passengers in basically gotten the drivers, busesdriver’, will be rolled as soon poscurrent tothe Tribune Staff Reporter 1, Ministry plan of Finance, nscavella@tribunemedia.net the ministry has sent out resame way transit passes are used and then they come sible. This has been quite a Bahamas and Bahamas response as yet if they made frustration on persons’ faces. Mr Farrington called for fares after the quests for proposals (RFPs) used in the US. back to us. So this is a pro- lengthy process and we’re Power and Light had better changes.” We committed toof make the THE elimination Christie adminis- of to fivemoney firms for the those provi“We’re in the process of cess involving bothare the govjust at the end the prokeep this lovin’ power on!” added tax hike. has identified a new sion of “oversight” of the fine tuning all of the ar- ernment and the omnibus cess now, so we’re hoping Another person posted: tration Mr rangements Farrington said that turnaround to show on buses andinchanges to be utilised its unifiedto busbus system, and are for the unified organisations. all will go well.” n“Island goalswide are blackout to route bus system, with of- now in the process ofchanging ana- systems,” the Mrs Ambrister “So it’s the not something The proposed unification 242 what y’all unified perception public a nice, uniformed routes. ndAGAIN. start ficials “hopeful” that a pro- lysing the “responses of the said when contacted. “The the government is doing of the public bus system is thinkjump BPL will say (caused) from page one addressed formed in the Bahamas. And that air conditioning and of abus drivers inbeen the driver…Nice, The union has two proposed totype for the project will firms that indicated new route, the #17 newly has ga- comon its own. It’s something part of the courteous, Newsystem Providence it this time?”that is ystem Bahamas Unified Bus Drivincludes facilitating desire to participate.” zetted. And everything has in which (NIB) the owners are mould. Road Improvement ProSaid another person: “As be rolled out soon. munity ismoving the very “number one things,” obeying all gramme road safety rules. aPermanent “three-card system” – a2016, Transers Union. certain he said. The new General Post Secretary in In October been smooth- participating and allowing (NPRIP), funded long as my ue,” Mrappliances Far-and the “It is ready to be During the union’s first Mr Campbell added that Office will be a multimillion Ministry card of Transport port and Aviation Minister ly. So we anticipate that us to see how the process by the Inter-American Dedevices come back on I’m yellow for passengers launched,” Campbell Glenys Hanna Martin said we’ll pressbe conference lastin week, it is roll important ensure building on (IDB), Glad“We strong AviationMr Lorraine in a position due will out and to evolve so dollar velopment Bank straight.are They blew our and said, regarding theTribpilot the Christie BUBDU President that we all “planning and all priorat the water heater last time.” Armbrister told The administration course to roll out the Fredpilot that can work out the stone whichRoad, also located involved the paying the $1.25 fare, a orIn March, a unified project. “There are #17, some was “hoping” to roll out a project erick Farrington said a kinks itising” done way to site of the old Works Min- une that the new route, which will actually soisthat we in cana eventuupgrading ofPhil’s Newgrocery Provismall housekeeping matters green card by for andfor aaunified bus beproposal letter wastodelivmake sureinto thata unified NIB deadister Desmond been “gazetted” the $1, prototype the forerunner the ally move sys- store. dence’s road network. that works Bannister for has from a government standered tosystem.” Mr Campbell on tem linesthat are met. In of outstanding said BPL was ready to meet government, and that the system by year’s end 2016, unified will be for the betTheterms project, which is bepink card for senior citipoint that I believe June owed to by the $500,000 United demands for the summer Ministry of Works haswill be-be adding at the time that her Mrs12. Armbrister, as well terment of the whole island fees ing financed resolved in the shortest As of June 19, Mr FarPost Office States in regard to the season, always a challeng- gun preparing the necesannouncement Road Traffic Controller of New Providence.” from the IDB, is anpost atzens. Persons would scanwas the clos- asrington time.” ary Transport said told the union was Of the East Hill Street office, he ing 6, time for the power sary road markings and sig- est the government has got Ross Smith, The TribShe added: “Certainly tempt Mr to Campbell encouragesaid jitney When asked astops time-boarding awaiting a response the upon a search for une generation company. forcards the new for bus in its decade-long that the new routefrom has General Post Office, Mr didn’t want to go into detail, rankie Camp- nage Mr Campbell admitted jitney industry reform. him. “tweaked” since its Campbell said it “continues but added that the Baha“Preparations are on the forline, the new route. been that it was Mrs hoped that the When asked mas is a nation “known for way to project ensure that is BPL bus. pilot However, ArmbrisShe said at the time that gazetting, and asabout such this the to be a work in progress:”. would have already letter, Mr The minister of local gov- paying our bills as it relates is ready for the summer terproject indicated that theyou issue scan the pilot project would specifics of Campbell said route said re“And as them, underway. he hasunclear. seen it, but there is ernment said that he began to the postal sector and any that seeks season in order toto meet ofbeen when the pilot project “have all of the features or mains While helog couldinside not prom-the system. a Nonetheless, “process” that mustasked take tackling these issues “the of the international organithe peak demand,” he said will they’ll be implemented deas many of the features” as when hein feasibility of pends ise a specific date, he said it place. He also disregarded the House of Assembly. on “actively how soon the the day, government would like when the government plans minute” he took office, and sations that we belong to, is being pursued” At the end of each the the notion thatpilot just project, because is encouraged by the fact you would find that we are “The islands of Bimini, government, in conjunction it to have, including sched- to roll out the bus system” in and “should happen any a suggestion has not been that there is “light at the always up to date in our Abaco, Exuma and New with representaules, fare boxes, established which she said will last for driver know how much timeindustry now.”will acted upon immediately, end of the tunnel” — refer- payments.” Providence will be targeted tives nce. can “fine tune” the signage for bus stops, and six months when impleThe objective of the sixit means that it not being ring to the new building He said that he is satisfied for special attention before final money then make. details ofhe the will project, salaried bus mented, Mrs Armbrister that is required. month pilot project is to uniformed, 0,June.” Mr Campbell meaning considered. that whatever is outstandFRANKIE CAMPBELL MP which buses itand said: “Thatasked depends on how determine whether will When specifically Mr Campbell apologised ing will be addressed “in It’ll also makes it drivers. easier for Yesterday, Mrs Arm- soon wethe canBUBDU’s fine tune these had been iden- bus be drivers feasiblewill to participate have a uniabout pro- to the Bahamian public for the shortest possible time.” Mr Campbell also comthe bus pilotsystem project, and also mentioned the last details. (Officials)money have any “inconveniences” they deductions National fied infrom New brister posal to eliminate Yesterday’s press conmented on busing system, in then relay that information potential usethe of Downtown a “card” to decide on implementing the owners may have faced due to dis- ference was held to Providence. on buses by Nassau Partnership’s longInsurance and all those var“The data collection will term plan to implement a a three-card system, Mr ruptions at the post office. commemorate June 25 as re will be a sixhelp us to establish the three-loop shuttle system Campbell said all proposals “I want to thank the International Day of the ious deductions. od dedicated costs and the parameters of downtown. and suggestions are “on the hardworking, dedicated Seafarer. a unified bus system island“We (are) living in a day table.” staff at the General Post In honour of this day, Mr “Providing (a unified bus data for the wide,” he said. Regarding the fact that Office who would have Campbell highlighted the system) is feasible, then one and time of technology,” he the other. pilot project has a four approximately per endured significant inhu- contributions of three diswill people complement AThe WOMAN from Nas- two men and tral Division seized85a quanbudget of approximately cent of the 300 bus drivmane conditions trying to tinguished Bahamians in They will not act in comsau Village is in custody two women were arresttity of dangerous drugs. added. $700,000. gton confirmed after ers doofficers not have National to each other,” she was arrested at edpetition on Thursday during he a The were carry- render the service that is the maritime sector. According to InterMr special Insurance benefits,in the Mr needed. These were: Captain Mr Pindling Farrington said a on East ing said. Lynden out an operation operation yesterday that the Campbell, through the Street. Campbell said that was his “I am hopeful that in the Dwain Hutchinson of the Adding that he has been area from page one national Airport for poswhen a building letter on this proposal was Inter-American Developministry and hasa “no direct involved in that the shortly DNP’s afdis- searched involved in dis- session of dangerous drugs Police said quantity of shortest possible time, we Bahamas Maritime Authorment Bank, the Italian bearing” on the National will bring resolutions to all ity, Captain Cyril Roker, cussions, Mr Friday, 17th February 2017 was on Wednesday, police re- ter 10am, a team ofCampbell officers marijuana found. delivered to Mr Campbell government provided said the two initiatives will Insurance Board. of those concerns.” acting port controller of theAccording matter, to and a Royal ported. Investigations continue. assigned to the South Cena grant of $500,000. He “marry” “I can say though, as Workers at the Gen- the Port Department, and tothe ensure that the June 12, and that Bahamas Police Force on Shortly after 1pm, the ereport,“tweaking” added that the Bahamian Bahamian people have an part of the government, eral Post Office last week Commander Raymond shortly before 3am woman was travelling to a response government will compleunion is awaiting we are taking all neces- protested conditions at King of the Royal Bahamas effective transportation on Monday, a man and the United States when US done. ment that money with system. sary steps to move towards the building. These have Defence Force, incoming "Please remember that woman were driving on Customs and Border Patrol from him. about $200,000. the ease of doing business included a malfunctioning acting port controller. Mr Campbell also Higher in Drive in Flamingo officials been various smoother roads and well detained her at Gardens when “persons the US In Pre-Clearance terms of the routes, De- busorganized thoroughfares thopened thisfire present to their vehicle, parture Lounge, after just “QUOTE OF THE DAY” are no excuses MrfourFarrington called for for hitting the female passen- over pounds of cocaine (former Transreckless driving. Also, ger to the head.” were discovered in herto lug-be made to Distributed By adjustments According to Superinnever underestimate the ster) Glenys gage, police said. tendent Shanta Knowles, aThe route will “interfere importance of using your woman that was handed BAY STREET GARAGE in, inpress reference police liaison officer, over to the police and taken turn indicators when with theand 15, 21, andrequiring 19” bus number of assailants is into from page one all of those per- process is not complied had already packed up and enumerators from various Dowdeswell Street custody is expectt the project,” changing currently unknown. he sons to move lanes!" who do not with, government agencies vacated various communi- government agencies. ed to appear in court today. It is also unconfirmed stops and cause “chaos”. 322-2434 • 322-2082 have a right to be there. will immediately move in ties across the country. The populations of Police also reported that whether the shooters “That is one of the for“The third notice would and “remove them.” That came on the heels the communities were He also called a route were on foot or in for another requirements that we be from the Department advocates “But all of the legal of comments earlier this originally reported as: vehicle. havebe to implemented do, pursuant to of on Environment, which notices will be given,” he month when he confirmed Montgomery Avenue, 115 to Vil362 (gave) him confirmed our Supt Knowles the advice from the Attor- will give notice to all vehi- added. the government remained residents; Allen Drive; 28 RoadOffice,” heading north. that the male in the car lage ney General’s he cle owners to remove their Mr Foulkes said upon on track with its eviction residents; Bellot Road; 10 present project was unharmed. The injured said. crediting spe- residents; Golden Gates “There is no busvehicles, goingthat’s intrucks, cars, completion of this process, deadline, the victim (is) was transported second round motorcycles; whatever is the government would cifically continued Road, 291 residents; Lazahere a little to “The hospital. would be the actual notice there,” he said. have completely removed efforts by various stake- retto Road, 56 residents; that direction. We wanted at The needs to be is which will be in two weeks, Mr Foulkes said if the all debris, unsanctioned holders in the shanty town Cowpen Road (west), 165 investigation
Unified bus system is ready to roll
OFFICIALS ‘HOPEFUL’ OF PILOT OF UNIFIED BUS
WOMAN HIT IN HEAD WOMEN HELD AFTER DRUGS DISCOVERY AS CAR FIRED UPON
PROVE RIGHT TO SHANTY HOMES
ongoing.
homes, derelict vehicles, outdoor toilets and abandoned animals from the properties – rendering the lots vacant. Last week Mr Foulkes indicated that 50 per cent of shanty town residents
communities. The government’s survey was conducted in ten shanty towns over a four-week period from Elizabeth, Carmichael (Garden Hills), and Golden Isles constituencies, and with the help of 60
residents; Bacardi Road east, 39 residents, and west, 96 residents; and Lumumba Lane, 160 residents. The report also included 27 residents who participated but were not categorised by location.
Death Notice for MINISTER MELANIE JOYANN SCAVELLA, 56 of Palmetto Crescent, Marathon Estates died at her residence on Sunday June 17th, 2018 She is survived by her father: Ernest Scavella; adopted father: Albert Thomas; (11) sisters: Paula, Shari, Erica, Muriel, Doria, Claudine, Monique Johnson, Shekia, Ernestine, Monique and Deniece; (7) brothers: Stephen Scavella, Henderson, Ernest Jr., Steven, Willard, Dave and Glenn; and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral service will be announced later.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, PAGE 7
HUNT FOR GUNMAN WHO ROBBED TOURISTS
MINISTER of Health Dr Duane Sands during a previous tour of Princess Margaret Hospital.
Delay in new fees at hospital By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands confirmed yesterday the government will delay the implementation of 500 fees at the Princess Margaret Hospital, which were to aid in increasing revenue generation for the state hospital. Ahead of the 2018-2019 budget debate, Dr Sands said the fees were to be implemented come July 1. However, in an interview with The Tribune yesterday, he said it was unlikely the fees would come into force by that date. July 1 will also mark the
first day Bahamians will pay the increased value added tax rate of 12 percent since the tax was implemented at 7.5 percent under the former Christie administration in 2015. “I doubt it would be July 1,” Dr Sands said when he was asked about the timeline yesterday. “We still need time to adjust the policy and get the kinks out. We also need to make a determination as to whether there will need to be an introduction of legislation for the fees. “We anticipate there has to be an increase in revenue by the health care system to avoid a deficit, so this is still a priority for us.”
He also said: “The health care system will have to make adjustments in order to ensure we can provide services at a high standard. It will definitively mean an adjustment in the fees and approach to the collection of fees from individuals who previously didn’t have to pay but who had health insurance provided by the government.” Back in April, Dr Sands told Tribune Business many of the fees had been legislated and in place for more than 40 years, but were never enforced due to the perception that healthcare is free. At the time, he said the Public Hospitals Authority
faced an annual $28m funding deficit, adding the government’s budget woes prevented this from being covered by Bahamian taxpayers. Dr Sands said he had little choice but to “bridge the gap” through new revenue measures and/ or spending cuts. While many Bahamians were demanding improved healthcare service quality, Dr Sands previously said they were often failing “to connect the dots” between such desires and how this was to be paid for. He added that the government’s political opponents were bound to exploit what will amount, in many cases, to fees
equivalent “to 10 percent” of the cost of services provided. He said he would be “shocked” if the Progressive Liberal Party “admits fiscal responsibility is a good thing”. The PHA intends to charge morgue storage fees, among others, and will charge a penalty to keep bodies at the morgue beyond a specified time frame. The fees relate to a variety of PHA services. Late last year, funeral directors protested the proposal, prompting Dr Sands to halt and review this plan along with hundreds of other intended fee changes.
POLICE have mounted an island-wide search for a gunman who robbed two tourists on West Bay Street yesterday morning, police said. The incident occurred shortly after 10am. The tourists, a man and a woman, were on West Bay Street when they were approached by a gunman who got out of a silver coloured vehicle. The armed man robbed them of a bag containing cell phones, cash and other items before getting back into the vehicle and escaping. Police are searching the island, with a particular emphasis on western New Providence with a view to apprehending this suspect. Police also said they are following some leads but are asking anyone with information to contact police right away at 919, or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS in Nassau or 1-242-300-8477 in the Family Islands.
POLICE PROBE DROWNING OF US MAN POLICE on the island of Exuma are investigating the death of an American male, who died while snorkeling. According to reports, shortly after 11am on Sunday, a man was snorkeling with a family member in waters between Musha Cay and Rudder Cay, when they noticed that he did not surface. A search was made and the male was discovered at the bottom of the sea. He was removed from the water and taken to a community clinic where he was pronounced dead. Investigations are ongoing
PAGE 8, Tuesday, June 26, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
The woman who taught thousands how to type R
ECENTLY, I was in the Seagrapes Shopping Plaza sitting in my car waiting on my passenger to return when I noticed the lady in the car next to me reading The Tribune. Her paper was opened to page 8, main section, and she was reading this column. I sat there for a moment, but something urged me to get out and introduce myself to her. She was reading the article I did on Metellus Chipman, an avid pigeon breeder and leader of “The Pigeon Nation”. She told me that her husband absolutely loves his pigeons and twice a day, like clockwork, they appear on their lawn to be fed. She told me about the beautiful show the pigeons put on and the lovely sound of their cooing and their wings. As we continued to talk, I found out that I was talking to a future focus of Face to Face – a woman who has contributed nearly 40 years of exemplary service in education to this country. If you have ever driven down Jerome Avenue, you have noticed Toya’s Typing, because it’s a landmark - the two-storey yellow building which so many Bahamians, great and small, have passed through. As this senior educator who has touched the lives of some 7,000 students over her career prepares to retire, she sat down with me to share a glimpse into her life and service. Anita Latoya MaycockJohnson, better known as “Toya” was born in Farmer’s Cay, Exuma. She is the last of 17 children born to Lincoln and Zerline (nee Nixon) Maycock. Four of those children died in infancy, so the couple raised 13 children on the island. Her father had a passion for children
Face to Face
By FELICITY INGRAHAM
and seeing them succeed through the pursuit of education. Originally from Ragged Island, Lincoln James Maycock was a carpenter who went to Exuma to work for a Colonel Lansing who owned an island in the Exuma chain. Soon after, Lincoln embarked on a new career. He had always done above average in school and his former teacher Thomas Greenslade (father of former Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade) recommended him for the job to teach on Farmer’s Cay. At the time, there was no school house, so the children learned at the local church, St Mary’s Baptist, which was called the “meeting house”. Some of the members, however, did not want school being conducted there and eventually, Lincoln had to move his classroom and set up under a tamarind tree. He quickly put his building skills to use and built the first school on the Island. This school did not come from government funding; he built it out of his own pocket. It wasn’t until he retired and left the island to move to Nassau that the government embarked upon the construction of a school. “Even though he earned very little, this did not deter him from contributing his service and he has taught some of the most influential persons in The Bahamas,” she proudly shared. Days in Farmer’s Cay were sublime. Her father
was also a boat builder. He and his brother Carl made A class and B class boats for regattas that won many a race. On the weekends, Lincoln would pack the kids up in the boat – his children, nieces and nephews and other children on the island and take them touring through the Exuma cays. “What you would pay big money for today, we were able to experience for free as children,” she recalled fondly. “We would go to Musha Cay, Staniel Cay, Children’s Bay, Darvy Island, and Black Point. We would go crabbing and enjoy native fruit like cocoa plums, sea grapes and darling plums.” Lincoln also had a beautiful white horse named Pocahontas and he rode it everywhere he went. “Daddy taught me how to ride that horse,” she said. “He taught me how to muzzle, mount and ride the horse. I remember when he taught me how to ride and squeeze my legs and say, ‘Whoa!’ when I was ready to stop. I mounted that horse and I was riding, riding but when I said, ‘Whoa’ the horse did not stop! He yelled for me to ‘Pull the muzzle!’ and it finally stopped. I will never forget that.” By the summer of 1979 when Toya was 11 years old, the big family moved to New Providence where her father built a threebedroom house on a Jerome Avenue property he had purchased from the Pyfroms. In Nassau, she first attended Pyfrom Secondary School, which is now CI Gibson Senior High. She then attended LW Young school which was on Mackey Street at the
ANITA Latoya Maycock-Johnson looks through her log of students. Below, her husband Arnsel with their sons and Toya with her daughters. Far left, her father Lincoln with his horse Pocahontas.
time near Bar 20 Corner. Toya had dreams of working in office administration and wanted to attend a private school to do so, but her parents could not afford it. Not too far down the road from her school on Mackey Street, Toya found the answer – Warren Commercial School. There, Toya was set on a path that ended up defining the rest of her professional life. Eugenie “Lily” Warren, a native of Jamaica who called The Bahamas home, taught a variety of skills at her school including typing, bookkeeping, shorthand, knitting and crocheting. The two gained an affinity for one another and in the summers when Lily would return to the mountains of Jamaica, she left her school in the care of Toya. She trained under Lily and earned $30 per week for running the summer programme. Eventually, Toya got an offer to join a real estate company for $75 per week. While working there, Toya had a schoolmate named Sanrda who would constantly ask her to teach her how to type. Finally she obliged and on weekends, she would teach her friend the skill. From there, more and more people would ask her to teach them how to type, and they would bring friends who also wanted to learn. The entrepreneurial bug bit her and she ended up leaving the real estate company and starting her own business. She advertised in The Tribune and The Nassau Guardian to attract the first set of students. The school’s success continued to come from consistent referrals that grew and grew as more and more Bahamians saw the skill as vital in enhancing their careers. “I started with just four students around my dining table,” she said, “I ended up applying for a business licence and that is how it all began, and that was in 1980.” A year later, Toya found it necessary to move the school from her Balfour Avenue home. She ended up renting the family homestead on Jerome Avenue for her business. Eventually, her proud father upon seeing her business flourish, added on the front section and then an upstairs
portion, all of which still serve as the home of Toya’s Typing. She received support not only from her father, but her loving husband Arnsel Johnson: “I met him while I was going to Warren Commercial School and we have been inseparable from then until now.” Together, the Johnsons raised seven children: Bodine, Stuart, Ebony, Apryl, October, Zerline and Lincoln, and they also have one granddaughter, Aryauna Davis. Their eldest Bodine is the sensational singer and cultural performer who was recently named “Teacher of the Year” at LW Young Junior High. When the pair met, Arnsel was a champion wrestler. He and his partner Edward Penn won many a successful match held at places like the Nassau Stadium, Bird Land on Mount Royal Avenue, and even in Freeport. They devoted their time to teaching the younger generation the art, however; they were not allowed to take it to the schools as they had dreamed. Arnsel was also a professional mechanic and carpenter and took good care of the family, which now lives in Winton Meadows. Toya mainly worked alone as the teacher for her school and only one other teacher ever joined her, Yvonne Bastian, who worked with her for a while before going on to other pursuits. She does, however, have the support of her daughters Ebony and Zerline, who plan to continue evening classes when Toya retires very soon. Great people have come out of Toyas Typing, and some of them were honoured at a 25th anniversary banquet, including: Supt. of Police and a recent subject of Face to Face Elaine Sands; senior executive in the Department of Public Service Remilda Knowles; hotellier Levita Fox-Roker; banker Monica Rolle; poet Mazell Knowles; Tourism Executive Tomeiko Williams-Davis Baker and entrepreneur Monette Auria Williams; and Minister Ruthmae Miller. Of the thousands who have learned typing and other secretarial skills from Toya’s Typing, more than 2,500 of them successfully attained
Pitman certification, now the City and Guilds award, which is internationally accepted. Toya has a long list of certifications, including a distinction in Pitman Typewriting I, II and III, the Royal Society of Arts Examinations Board, the College of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI). She was awarded for her years of dedication by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and in 2014, she was awarded by Celebrating Women International at a gala banquet. “I started teaching on the typewriter,” she shares. “I had four manual typewriters to start with. We moved from manual to the electric typewriter, then to the electronic typewriter. From there, we gradually evolved to the word processor and now the computer. I remained relevant by continuing to learn new skills and seek certification in order to pass them on to my students.” It’s been a rewarding career for her. One of the highlights that stands out to her is when her parents went to the hospital and police reservist Barbara Bethel met them, telling her that because of their daughter, she was able to gain permanent employment in the hospital. She then went out of her way to help the Maycocks. Another time, one of her students who became an entrepreneur was able to hire Toya’s daughter, which allowed her to fund her own college fees. As she prepares to retire, she plans to get back into gardening, a pastime she loves. She plans to spend time in her backyard garden and with her dogs, and growing spiritually. She is currently writing a book that will give all the details of her life and her lineage. It is filled with photos as her father did an excellent job of archiving them, which she found in a trunk in Farmer’s Cay when he died. He even left recordings he made reelto-reel, and Toya loves listening to them and hearing her father’s voice. She hopes that the book will serve as an important part of the capturing of Bahamian history and her life, one she feels has been well-lived.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, PAGE 9
VAT: It’s going to be rough By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net “A TOTAL disaster for the poor people,” is how Vachel Sweeting described the government’s plan to increase value added tax from 7.5 percent to 12 percent. The Tribune recently canvassed Nassau to gauge the public’s reaction to the Minnis administration’s decision to raise the tax. The majority of people who spoke to this newspaper replied with anger, shock, and a feeling of being blindsided by the CHARLES government. SEALEY “With regards to the VAT “They have to evaluate increase, it is a total disaster the things that are actufor the poor people. This is ally going on and see if it’s not something that the poor something that needs to be “It’s so sad people can actually take on done with regards to the because nowadays, at this stage,” Ms Sweet- Bahamas.” we have a convenience ing, a Killarney constituent, Philip Armbrister, a store, and people can’t said. South Beach constituent really shop like that in the She added there is “no and father of six, said he convenience store. They guarantee” the government anticipated a tax increase— still have to go to the big will use the collected money however, he didn’t expect stores. for its intended purpose. it to be implemented so “So it ain like we making “Our debt never went swiftly. that much money in a condown by the implementa“It’s something that venience store. But you tion of this VAT, so we are would have been expected just got to pray man, ‘cause not certain that this is going down the road as things this going to be something to happen,” Ms Sweeting change,” he said. else.” said. “But it just came, Charles Sealey, 23, tried “And, of took everybody to see a positive outcome of course, only by surprise, the VAT hike. the consumgovernment The father-of-one lives ers are being in in a six-member housegoing to just one hold and suggested the tax carry year. increase could have a benthis cost. “And eficial effect on the family And the structure. this is state“Well, to be honest I going to ment think it’s going to help us in turn was positively,” he said. affect made “We’ve already started businesses, prior to talking about having more because election that family dinners at home, persons will it would be no cooking more instead of VACHEL (clamp down increase in taxes. spending money outside of SWEETING on spending). And (that) is an auto- that area. So I think for the “They matic increase in tax. better. would not So, I think it’s caught “It will make things a look to spend the people off guard,” little tougher on us (but) any more Mr Armbrister said. for the family system I money out there. They’re In 2016, when Prime think (it’s) a good thing.” going to start staying home Minister Dr Hubert Minnis In terms of alternative and cooking and probably was leader of the Official tax measures, Mr Sealey farming…just to be able to Opposition, he critiadmitted that he survive.” cised the idea does not have Ms Sweeting of increasing enough also referred to her nieces, taxes in an knowledge nephews, and friends with interview of the tax children, saying their expe- with The system riences have given her an Nassau to make appreciation of how the Guard“an VAT hike will affect par- ian. eduents – such as school fees “I cated increasing. don’t deciWhen asked how the believe sion”. increase will affect her in increas“But I extended family and live- ing taxes, am hopelihood, Ms Sweeting said I believe ful that they changes will have to be in decreasing made the PHILLIP made. taxes and increasright decision ARMBRISTER “As we plan to go to the ing opportunities,” on what they food store, we would really Dr Minnis said at think is the have to evaluate what it is the time. “Increasing best thing for that we need to have,” she taxes is a lazy way out. the country. said. When you don’t want So I’m just “We’re going to to think, you just going to do the right thing really have to get tax.” and follow it,” he said. back to farmNaquel Diana Noe, 20, is a ing ... or we Brown, 43, mother-of-one who also may have runs a con- lives in a six-person houseto take a venience hold. She thinks the impact job in the store of the VAT hike will be United with her “pretty bad” on her family, States as family. as she is unemployed. expats.” As a The Centreville constituWhen small ent added that the cost of asked business groceries and diapers conwhat owner and cern her the most. She said avenue mother of she wished the government the govfour, Ms Brown had tried another way to ernment discussed the generate revenue. BRYAN should impact of the increase Bryan Hendricks, 51, HENDRICKS have taken on her livelihood. predicts that the increase instead to “Boy, it’s going to be in VAT is going to “cause a increase rough,” the South Beach problem”. revenue, constituent told The The Seabreeze constituMs SweetTribune. ent has no children, but ing pointed to its spending, “We have a convenience lives with his wife and suggesting the government store and we’re already extended family. He added cut back. paying a lot (of) VAT. And the tax hike is going to She also referred to we already ain’ making impact people “in every the November 2017 pro- much because we have to way”. posal of the Minnis buy most of our grocer“(VAT) is going to be administration to increase ies from here, so and then a serious thing on the the salaries of members of to add VAT on to it…it’s nation,” he said. “The Parliament. This has not already rough.” nation going (to) feel it.” been implemented. Ms Brown said she thinks The VAT increase takes “Stop putting money into the increase in VAT is effect on July 1. broken cisterns because it’s going to make a bad situa Photos: Shawn Hanna/ only going to pour out,” she tion “worse”. Tribune Staff said.
NAQUEL BROWN
DIANA NOE
PAGE 10, Tuesday, June 26, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Calendar unveiled for Independence events By KATHRYN CAMPBELL AN “exciting” calendar of events has been prepared for this year’s independence celebrations. Mark Humes, chairman of the 45th Independence Secretariat, said the public could look forward to improvements from last year. “Every event this year is going to be a highlight. We’ve worked hard to put together an exciting week of events and we want everyone to come out, celebrate with us and show their Bahamian pride,” said Mr Humes at a secretariat meeting on Thursday at the Churchill Building. A week of cultural and community events has been organised to commemorate the anniversary. The celebrations begin on Friday with the official launch of the Independence season by
MARK HUMES, Fort Charlotte MP. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in Rawson and Parliament Squares. Festivities end on Independence Day, July 10, with a formal state reception at Government House. Mr Humes declared: “We
would like the public to begin to show their Bahamian pride. Hoist flags, place flags on their cars, drape their homes with flags and clean up their perspective areas. This is our time to celebrate.”
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Friday, June 29 Official launch: 6pm, Rawson and Parliament Squares Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to officially open the activities Entertainment: The Royal Bahamas Defence Force Pop Band and Aquinas Acers Pop Band Rush to Independence: 7.30pm Junkanoo Rushout Sunday, July 1 Beat Retreat: 5.30pm, Parliament and Rawson Squares Live Performances by: The Royal Bahamas Police Force; The Royal Bahamas Defence Force; The Bahamas Correctional Services Monday, July 2 Command performance: 7pm, Performing Arts Theatre at University of The Bahamas Featuring: Audrey Dean Wright; The National Youth Choir; The National Children’s Choir; The Bahamas National Youth Orchestra The National Dance School; Audrey Dean Wright; The Bahamas National Symphony Orchestra Thursday, July 5 Queen’s New Year Honours
Friday, July 6 National pride and flagraising day, Parliament and Rawson Squares: 10am until 8pm Flagraising ceremony by Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling Historic Walk Down Memory Lane Entertainment by: The National Youth Orchestra; Finalists of the first National Recording Artists Search; Tropical Depression; Mount Moriah Transformers; Charlie the Yellow Man; Scorch Conch Band Announcement of winners of National Recording Artists and Essay Competitions Bahamian food and craft vendors display and sell their wares Saturday, July 7 National health fun run and walk: 6am at Goodman’s Bay Monday, July 9 45th Grand anniversary celebrations tattoo and fireworks display: 8pm, Clifford Park Tuesday, July 10 The People’s Love and Unity rush: 1am Rush from: East Street to George Street National heroes award: 11 am at Government House State reception: 6pm at Government House
READERS RESPOND TO HECKLING OF DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AFTER Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest was heckled while speaking at the Galilee College’s 2018 graduation ceremony, readers gave their reaction on tribune242.com. Proudloudandfnm said: “If he had any sense of what is actually needed he’d know we are at a place where the only thing that can increase revenue is TAX CUTS AND SPENDING CUTS. STOP DROWNING US IN TAXES.” BahamasForBahamians
criticised the minister: “Peter Turnquest owes the graduates an apology for hijacking their ceremonious departure from high school with his deflated attempts at selling this FAILURE of a budget.” There was this comment from Sheeprunner12: “That is why the schools should
not invite politicians to be their main speakers . . . find persons who have contributed to that school in some tangible way or an outstanding alumnus, but leave politicians who have NO connection to that school alone . . . Galilee got what it asked for.” But John had this to say: “While the VAT increase may be a bomb that left many shellshocked, many still have confidence that the country will fare better under the Minnis-led FNM than it did under Christie and the PLP. The absence
of wastage and reduced corruption and tighter fiscal management should help deliver benefits.” On Monday, Tribune Business reported that the government has admitted to again “kicking the can down the road” on Bahamasair’s $120m loan – to spare taxpayers a further $25m burden. DDK responded with this: “Just operate the airline like a business rather than a forum for votes until a BAHAMIAN consortium comes forward with an acceptable offer - and
sooner rather than later. KP, Butler those would welcome some sensible competition, I am certain.” And BahamaLlama said: “This airline is debt-ridden, bureaucracy-obese, doesn’t make any money, 70% of its fleet are available at any given time, can’t afford any new inventory, flies to few international destinations, and its reputation for abysmal lateness is so infamous, the advice is only the first morning flight is guaranteed. But it’s all going great? “The last two times I flew on BahmasNightAir,
the 6pm flight to Exuma arrived at 10pm; and the 11.45am flight to Freeport arrived at 7pm. This is a badly-managed welfare programme, and the typical kind of mess which results when a government tries to run a business. Competition increases choice, and drives down prices. International carriers here would blast the regionals away, and rightfully so - that’s the free market. • Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
A BENCH has been dedicated to the 1993 class of SC McPherson High School. Pictured is viceprincipal Rolle and vice-principal Heastie along with some of the graduates at the dedication of the bench, which was held on June 13. The bench was donated by the graduates.
THE TRIBUNE
CELEBRATING YOUNG SCHOLARS
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, PAGE 11
THE Ministry of Education hosted an event to honour public school scholarship recipients last week. Frankie Campbell, Minister of Transport and Local Government, told recipients “you are all successful, but you’re not yet finished”. He urged the students to bloom and blossom where they are planted. Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
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PAGE 12, Tuesday, June 26, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
VALUE ADDED TAX INCREASE TO OUR VALUED INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL AND GROUP MEDICAL INSURANCE POLICYHOLDERS: Value Added Tax (VAT) will increase from 7.5% to 12% effective July 1, 2018. The VAT increase is applicable to INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP MEDICAL INSURANCE premiums. Clients who have existing payment arrangements with Colina (salary deductions, post-dated cheque payments, pre-authorised credit cards) will need to adjust their standing orders as soon as possible to reflect the increased VAT-inclusive premiums for billing periods after July 1, 2018 to avoid interruption in coverage. Clients who have the selected pre-authorised cheque payment option will have their payment automatically adjusted. For more information on how the new tax rate will impact your premiums due, please visit our website at
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FARMER’S MARKET DRAWS IN CROWDS AT ELIZABETH By SYDNEI ISAACS
DESPITE the rainy weather, a healthy crowd was present at the first Elizabeth Estates Park Pop Up Farmer’s Market on Saturday June 23. The fresh, affordable produce proved to be irresistible. Elizabeth Estates is now the third site for the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources/BAIC “pop up” farmer’s market. Others are at Bahamas National Trust Retreat on Village Road and at Gladstone Road, 8am to 3pm on a Saturday. Photos: Derek Smith/BIS