07022021 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021

$5.00

$5.07

$5.09

Kanoo chairman: ‘We have nothing to hide’

$5.01

Opponents fear ‘door’s left open’ on oil licences

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A

BAHAMIAN digital payments provider yesterday hit back at mounting attacks on its business by asserting that all contracts were won “above board”, it’s chairman adding: “I have absolutely nothing to hide”.

Nicholas Rees branded the politically-led assault on Kanoo as “inaccurate, reckless and laden with ulterior motives”, and warned they threatened to undermine not just the company but national “world first” initiatives such as the launch

• Payment provider defends contract awards • Blasts attacks as ‘reckless, laden with ulterior motives’ • Says talented Bahamians will question ‘coming home’ of the Central Bank’s Sand Dollar digital currency (see other article on Page 1B).

Confirming that Kanoo has also won the bid to provide the “multi-signature digital wallets” to all government departments and agencies, so that they can use the Sand Dollar for payment transactions, Mr Rees said the past two weeks have made him question whether “it was really NICHOLAS REES, centre, with Kanoo co-founders.

SEE PAGE 4

Kanoo: Attacks on us threaten Sand Dollar

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN digital payments provider yesterday argued that “reckless” attacks on it were threatening to undermine efforts to make The Bahamas a world leader in Central Bankbacked digital currencies.

Nicholas Rees, chairman and co-founder of Kanoo, told Tribune Business that the relentless onslaught suffered by the company over the past two weeks could dent consumer and business confidence in adopting the Sand Dollar for payments transactions.

Given that Kanoo has been awarded the contract to provide the “multi-signature Sand Dollar wallet” to all government departments and agencies, so that they can accept payments in digital currency from the

• Warns they will ‘discredit’ vital technology • And will drag Bahamas first ‘through mud’ • Chair: ‘Highly irresponsible’ for jurisdiction Bahamian public, Mr Rees said efforts “to discredit our technology” could deter persons from using this mechanism.

“It’s highly reckless to be attacking any payment service provider in this environment given what we’re doing with the Sand Dollar,” he argued to this newspaper. “From a jurisdictional standpoint, it’s highly irresponsible to be making these allegations (see other article on Page 1B).

“It’s designed to discredit our technology because of the success we’re having in the marketplace. Our technology has been validated by the Central Bank. We

Bahamas can’t ‘sideline itself’ over tax reforms

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas cannot afford to “sideline itself” by remaining aloof from international tax reform agreements, a prominent banker argued yesterday.

Gowon Bowe, pictured, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, speaking as The Bahamas became one of 130 countries to back the G20/OECD’s so-called Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), told Tribune Business that it was vital this nation maintain its access to international

markets given its status as a small, open economy.

He added that this nation’s goal, as ever, remained reforming the present regressive Bahamian tax structure for its own ends within the BEPS framework so that the economy’s

SEE PAGE 5

Crystal cancels Bimini call over COVID spike

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net CRYSTAL Cruises yesterday cancelled its July 4 inaugural home porting call to Bimini out of “an abundance of caution” as the government imposed a series of restrictions to contain the latest COVID case spike.

The cruise line, which is due to begin its Bahamas home porting from Nassau tomorrow, said in an emailed response to Tribune Business inquiries: “Today, we were notified by

the minister of health that there are a number of active COVID-19 cases on the island of Bimini.

“The health and safety of our guests and crew is paramount, and out of an abundance of caution we will be cancelling Crystal Serenity’s July 4 call into Bimini that is part of our Luxury Bahamas Escapes itinerary. Instead, the ship will spend the day at sea.”

“We are currently contacting our booked guests and travel partners about this itinerary change as well

SEE PAGE 6

were the first to become inter-operable [with the Sand Dollar] and integrated into third party mobile applications. This is a world first that has never been done before.

“As a provider we don’t want to be caught up in this political back and forth. We feel it’s damaging to the country. We’re delivering a major financial product that’s important in a global context. We cannot be irresponsible in dragging the Sand Dollar, the Central Bank and payment services providers through the mud in political silly season.”

Kanoo, in a separate statement, said it had been

selected by the Ministry of Finance to provide the multi-signature Sand Dollar wallets that will be integrated into the government’s own DigiPay platform, to which other digital payments service providers are already providing card and collection services on the government’s behalf.

Asserting that it won the contract “after a fair and transparent Request for Proposal (RFP) procurement process”, where it had to compete against all other authorised Sand Dollar providers such as Sun Cash, Omni and Island Pay,

SEE PAGE 2

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

OIL exploration opponents yesterday voiced fears that a Cabinet minister’s statement on outstanding fees “leaves the door open” for licence renewals if these sums are paid.

Rashema Ingraham, executive director of Waterkeepers Bahamas, one of two environmental groups behind the ongoing Judicial Review challenge to the former Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) permits and approvals, told Tribune Business she was “not completely satisfied” with the position identified by Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment.

The minister, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, said on Wednesday that the government would not even consider the renamed Challenger Energy Group’s application to renew its four southern Bahamas exploration licences for a further three years - with an obligation to drill another exploratory well in Bahamian territorial waters - until the outstanding fees were paid.

Mr Ferreira asserted that Challenger had not paid its seabed lease fees since 2017, a sum that had reached to over $1.9m as of last year, with another $1m already owed for this year to-date.

Ms Ingraham, though, argued that the minister’s statement on the government’s willingness to renew Challenger’s licences was open to interpretation, and could be viewed as saying the application will be considered “if licence fees are brought up-to-date”.

She told this newspaper: “It leaves the door open.

Behind the door are issues we are living with every day. We’re living with the fact that The Bahamas is a nation sensitive to climate change, and we’re feeling the effects.

“We’re in the position of being a developing and looking for ways to regenerate our economy, not only as oil stocks plummet and fall, but as the rest of the world is moving away from oil or big oil into renewable energy and major financial institutions say they are no longer investing in oil. We’re taking a big risk.”

Ms Ingraham added that the government should “use this opportunity to do two good things”, namely protect the tourism and fisheries industries by imposing “a permanent ban on oil drilling in Bahamian waters”.

She was backed by Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation’s (BREEF) executive director, who branded Challenger’s licence fee arrears as “a serious red flag questioning their ability or willingness to pay in the event of a disaster”.

“We would like to see an accounting of the licence fees that have been paid and what is still outstanding,” she said. “This seems to be very unclear. I understand that the company also has outstanding payments due to the drilling company, Stena, and one of the funding sources in addition to the licence fees owed to The Bahamas.”

Tribune Business revealed in January that the Government had refused to accept

SEE PAGE 5

PAGE 2, Friday, July 2, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Hospital and insurance agency shine a ‘LAMP’ PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis cuts the ribbon at Baha Mar’s new water park, Baha Bay. Pictured also is Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, Graeme Davis, Baha Mar president and Baha Bay staff.

PM talks up COVID revival and vaccines THE prime minister yesterday talked up The Bahamas’ post-COVID recovery and the need for more Bahamians to become vaccinated as he opened Baha Mar’s new $200m “water park”.

Speaking at the opening of Baha Bay, a 15-acre project that has created some 500 jobs, Dr Hubert Minnis said the Cable Beach-based mega resort has already recalled 3,500 employees since it re-opened in midDecember 2020.

Describing Baha Mar’s outlook as “very promising”, he added: “Your pace of bookings exceed those of 2019, which was a banner year with unprecedented numbers. And your occupancy numbers continue to rise.

“The Bahamas is coming back. Scores of jobs and economic opportunities for Bahamians, including new opportunities, are on the way. We are coming back stronger than ever. Indeed, today, is yet another wonderful and powerful sign of the recovery and revival of The Bahamas.”

Arguing that “the sacrifices” of previous

As Baha Mar opens $200m water park COVID-19 lockdown and complying with other health restrictions is now starting to “pay off”, with The Bahamas “roaring back”, the prime minister added: “Airports are busy. Resorts are reporting increased occupancy levels. Cruise ships have returned, and there are more to come.

“Some ships are even home porting, bringing added economic benefits to our country for resorts, taxi and tour drivers and other tourism service providers. The vacation rental market is experiencing tremendous growth.

“Before 2020, much of this rental business was seasonal, typically during the winter months and during certain holiday periods. But more and more renters are now seeing bookings throughout the year. This is a very promising sign for Bahamians in the rental market.”

Dr Minnis eventually tempered this by

acknowledging that The Bahamas still has “a long way to go” to achieve full post-pandemic recovery, and that this depended on more persons becoming fully vaccinated.

“We have to get more Bahamians back to work as quickly as possible,” the prime minister said. “We have to create more opportunities for Bahamians for the ownership of our economy.

“We can only do this together. There is something each of us can do to help this economic revival to gather pace. We must continue to get vaccinated.

The vaccines are the way to end this terrible pandemic. Vaccines are the way to ensure we limit future outbreaks. They are the way to ensure more visitors come to our shores in order to help revive our economy.

“Tourists will increasingly want to visit places that have highly-vaccinated populations in order to ensure their safety and that of their children. Let us end this pandemic in The Bahamas by coming forward in large numbers to take the live-saving vaccines.”

DOCTORS Hospital yesterday announced it has signed an agreement for a recently-acquired insurance agency to handle a new membership programme that aims to provide affordable primary care options.

The deal will see Affinity Insurance Agency, which was recently acquired by Simplified Lending, collaborate with the BISX-listed healthcare provider to encourage Bahamians towards preventative health care and a healthier lifestyle through the specially-designed programme.

That programme, Loyalty Advantage Membership Programme (LAMP), was designed to make health care more affordable without taking into account a person’s age, financial status or the most prohibitive of all qualifications – preexisting conditions.

Membership plans start as low as $14 a week, inclusive of VAT and fees, per individual with members entitled to primary care visits, in-hospital discounts, fee waivers and other “rewards” or $11.20 a week for plans supplementing existing insurance coverage.

Primary care LAMP plans are not intended to replace health insurance coverage for catastrophic events, or to cover the costs associated with long-term illness.

PATRICE ROLLE “We are honoured that Doctors Hospital selected Affinity as an official sales partner in this important initiative that we believe has the capacity to make a real difference in the health and well-being of Bahamian citizens and residents,” said Affinity’s managing director, Patrice Rolle.

“We all witnessed the impact of COVID 19 on The Bahamas because of the high rate of comorbidities in the population – diabetes, obesity, heart disease, kidney conditions.

For many it was a serious wake-up call, and we hope that access to affordable primary care through LAMP will encourage more people than before to seek basic healthcare, assess their current status and commit to healthy lifestyle habits.”

“One of our goals, particularly in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, is to make Doctors

Kanoo: Attacks on us threaten Sand Dollar FROM PAGE ONE

Kanoo said: “Interoperability of the system was a core mandate of the Central Bank.

“Kanoo’s early adoption of this technical capability has helped Kanoo stand out from our competitors.

The need for interoperability is such that it will enable customers of all providers and financial institutions to transact with the government using the Sand Dollar.

The fact that Kanoo has achieved this major historic milestone ensures that every financial player will be enabled to participate in the ecosystem.”

Kanoo added that it has become “the world’s first third party mobile application to integrate a Central Bank Digital Currency into its digital mobile ecosystem

and offer the ability to transact online in an e-commerce environment”.

“Kanoo is the world’s first third-party mobile application to develop ‘interoperability’, which means that we enable Sand Dollar transactions to flow seamlessly between Kanoo’s ecosystem and users and those systems and wallets of any other financial institution or reference application,” it added.

Accusing Kanoo’s critics of “muddying the waters in making the issue more complex than it needs to be”, Mr Rees told Tribune Business: “The issue is bigger than Kanoo, bigger than any political party. The Sand Dollar is a major national initiative we must embrace and coalesce around.

“I’m extremely concerned. We’ve invested a

Hospital more accessible,” said Dennis Deveaux, its chief financial officer. “Our Loyalty Advantage Membership programme is just one of a number of initiatives aimed at achieving this goal. This is evidenced by the fact that LAMP membership does not require a medical history, and is not limited based on pre-existing conditions.”

Ms Rolle added that the membership programme can help bridge the gap for small and mediumsized businesses that find standard health insurance coverage out of their financial reach.

“Through LAMP, that business owner or manager can increase employee loyalty, improve employee engagement, reduce turnover, improve staff morale, boost productivity, also lowering costs and increasing profit, enhance views of the organisation as being a long-term viable and stable organisation to work for, and demonstrate to key stakeholders that the company does more for its employees,” said Ms Rolle.

Doctors Hospital, which introduced LAMP in June 2020, said the programme has attracted a significant number of new members, and is hoping its connection with Affinity will cause those numbers to jump. tremendous amount of time, money and resources into delivery of this technology in support of the Central Bank, and the Sand Dollar project. All of these political attacks are damaging to the jurisdiction and the Sand Dollar.

“We’ve led the way on inter-operability. That’s a core mandate of the Central Bank on being selected as a provider of the sovereign multi-signature wallets. We ensure complete interaction with every customer and merchant regardless of what payment service provider they are using. We have complete interaction with all market players.”

Mr Rees said the Sand Dollar’s purpose was to ensure financial and payments services remain accessible to Bahamians across the archipelago, especially in the Family Islands, where commercial banks are unable to sustain the costs of managing a physical presence and have pulled out to leave some locations without access to banks.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 2, 2021, PAGE 3

FREEPORT’S CUSTOMS CRASH ‘LONGEST IT HAS EVER BEEN’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A GRAND Bahama businessman yesterday said he had only suffered a “minor inconvenience” as a result of Customs’ systems being down for the past ten days.

Greg Langstaff, the Grand Bahama Brewing Company’s proprietor, told Tribune Business that the issues with the Electronic Customs Automated Services (eCAS) system meant he had a shipment waiting for clearance for ten whole days.

“Luckily, my freight forwarder did not charge me for storage, because they

were understanding that it was not my fault at all.

We put our paperwork in and Customs is just delaying it,” he added. “It was a minor inconvenience for me. Luckily, this is just a personal shipment and was not a business thing.

“But I’ve got some stuff stuck in Customs right now that I air-freighted in for a specific job, and it has delayed us for a little bit. My freight forwarder’s saying that he’s hoping to get it through by the end of today or tomorrow. So it’ll only be two days. But I’m sure it’s costing other businesses a lot more than me because they’re holding everything up.”

The eCas system was

supposed to have been phased out yesterday and replaced with Click2Clear system, but that has been pushed back to September 1 due to the administrative and legal hurdles that need to be crossed relating to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and Freeport’s over-the-counter bonded goods system.

Mr Langstaff yesterday queried whether the problems with the eCas system were related to the Click2Clear transition, and said: “I hope it isn’t specifically responsible for the eCas being down.

“The Click2Clear will certainly help a lot of people, but it won’t speed things up for businesses

because I’m certain that they will either have to hire a person to do the job or have a broker, but that makes sense for the Government because they will be able to collect revenue a lot quicker.”

Tony Adderely, managing director of Expert Customs Brokers, said: “Obviously there have been some hiccups and hopefully they can be addressed and dealt with.”

Speaking to the impending Click2Clear implementation, he added: “It’s not that the licensees don’t want it to be introduced. A lot of them have some concerns about how it’s going to be introduced.

“So that is the primary

FAMILY COUNCIL VITAL TO BUSINESS SUCCESSION

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

CABLE Bahamas’ chief executive says establishing a family council is critical for seamless succession planning in family-owned businesses where communication among all members is key.

Franklyn Butler, who is also part-heir to the Sir Milo Butler estate, including Milo Butler & Sons Ltd, said that due to his grandfather having ten children - and those children having children into a fourth generation - it was vital to establish a “family council” to ease the process for family general assemblies to decide how the business and estate should move forward.

Mr Butler’s grandfather was the late Sir Milo Butler, the first Bahamian governor-general of an independent Bahamas and also a successful businessman. The Cable Bahamas chief recalled how important business decisions are addressed at council meetings, then shared with the larger family grouping, including in-laws as well as blood relatives who guide the family estate.

UNION, VOLVO REACH TENTATIVE DEAL AT VIRGINIA TRUCK PLANT

Associated Press

A TENTATIVE labour agreement has been reached between Volvo and a union that represents nearly 3,000 workers who have gone on strike twice this year at a truck plant in southwest Virginia, according to United Auto Workers officials.

He added: “This council is a crew of about eight or ten, often in-laws and others, who are guiding the agenda for the family assembly meeting, and making sure that issues around the non-family assets are being addressed.”

Mr Butler said it was important to focus on the non-business side of family wealth protection.

In common with all families, he added that his, too, suffers with members that have personal challenges with substance abuse and mental health.

“The family council often drives that type of support in our family structures, and I would encourage it for any of your family members thinking about the great long-term wealth for your family,” he added.

Sean McWeeney QC, former attorney general and currently a senior partner at Graham, Thompson

& Company, warned against overly complex family succession structures and, in particular, creating family councils that are “too big and unyielding”.

He cautioned: “The Latin Americans are famous for this. They want everybody to be in the family council and it’s a recipe for disaster. There needs to be a consensus developed within the family that only three, maybe four or five people, normally an uneven number, will be representative of the entire family and that can be done on a multigenerational basis.”

Mr Butler argued that every family enterprise needs a “family office” dedicated to resolving specific family issues.

“Somebody who does the back office administration and helps every family member to see how they’re spending their money, who talks about the performance of the family business and its other assets, and provides any kind of administrative support for any family member who’s hoping to either get in business or who just wants to live,” he said.

The Cable Bahamas chief said some at the top of the family structure can live in a bubble of privilege,

and may not be concerned about the welfare of other relatives to the extent they should. More importantly, they may not have an appreciation of how money is made or how to protect the privilege they have and, in turn, spend their money unwisely because they have been taken care of by parents for too long.

Agreeing that family offices can provide that “degree of support” when it comes to school fees, medical assistance and things of similar nature, Mr Butler said families also need to communicate, “establish a communication network, foster love and sharing in spite of family differences”.

He said: “For me, it’s about driving education.

Ensure that every future generation, who’s preparing for wealth, understands the challenges in front of them.

“That this is not just an opportunity to be entitled and to drive the nicest car, and to do all the wonderful things that they have grown up with, because they probably spent all their life in business class and now when daddy moves on they can’t travel in business class.

They need to understand that that is a privilege, not a right.”

Details of the deal were being withheld until UAW members at the assembly operations facility in Dublin could be briefed about the contract ahead of an upcoming ratification vote, the union said in a statement yesterday.

It’s the third tentative labor agreement after two previous deals were rejected by union workers.

The strike and picket lines will continue until the ratification vote, the union said.

Volvo says the 1.6 million square-foot Dublin plant is the largest manufacturer of Volvo tractor-trailer trucks in the world. It is one of the largest private sector employers

in the region, with approximately 3,300 employees, some 2,900 of whom are represented by the UAW. The previous contract, reached in 2016, was to have expired in mid-March and negotiations began in February. Unionised workers went on strike from April 17 to 30 and returned to work as negotiations resumed. UAW members rejected a proposed contract in May. The company announced another tentative agreement later that month, but it was rejected June 6.

“UAW members and their families felt strongly about the need for financial stability gains in this contract and were

willing to strike not once, but twice, to achieve those gains,” UAW President and Director of the UAW Heavy Truck Department Ray Curry said in the statement.

FRANKLYN BUTLER

concern of most of the licensees right now. It’s a matter of ensuring that the message is clear, so that everybody would understand what would be expected of the licensees.”

With the eCas system being down for ten-plus days, Mr Adderley said he is working with the old manual Customs processing system. He added: “Whenever the eCas system is down we end up having some problems here.

“We have been having some problems with the eCas system over the last week. It came up briefly and it went back down again, but these things go with automation from time to time. This time is the

longest time it has ever been down, so there are some issues, but they are doing the best they can.”

Mr Adderley participated in a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, where he was told the eCAS issues are being addressed. He added: “Hopefully that will be done in the right manner starting with the legal authority to proceed with these new measures.

“I always believe that whichever law enforcement agency you’re dealing with, I believe that they are to be mindful to follow the law, and in this case it’s my understanding that that is something that may have to be addressed moving forward.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that HANDLY THEOPHAT, of Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

LEGAL NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000) FO Investments Ltd. (the “Company”) Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of FO Investments Ltd. has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the Dissolution was the 24th day of March, 2021.

Luciane Ribeiro Moreno Liquidator

PAGE 4, Friday, July 2, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Kanoo chairman: ‘We have nothing to hide’ FROM PAGE ONE worth” coming home “if this is how the country is going to treat me and my co-founders”.

Suggesting this highlights why talented Bahamians choose to remain abroad

and not come home, he added that Kanoo was another victim of the socalled “black crab” syndrome where “too often in this country we tear down people who are making inroads”.

Kanoo was embroiled in a political firestorm after

it became caught-up in the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) attack on The Bahamas’ health travel visa system. The digital provider facilitates the visa payments on the Ministry of Tourism’s behalf, and questions surrounding the fees it was earning and why the money was not being deposited in the government’s consolidated fund quickly surfaced.

The allegations then expanded to political favouritism and nepotism amid claims that Dr Nigel Lewis, the FNM’s national campaign co-ordinator for the upcoming general election, was a Kanoo director and that the company had won multiple other government contracts.

Mr Rees, though, produced Kanoo’s annual returns filed with the Registrar General’s Department to show that Dr Lewis is not a director. He holds less than a one percent equity stake in the company, the Kanoo chairman added, which was given as a reward for putting himself and his fellow Bahamian entrepreneurs in touch with their Atlanta-based technology partner some five years ago.

Describing the company as “politically agnostic”, with Dr Lewis’ political connections “irrelevant” to Kanoo and its business, Mr Rees said it seemed like he and his fellow investors have “made a lot of enemies since we launched”.

Besides Sand Dollar and the health travel visa, Kanoo has also won the contracts to facilitate the electronic processing of child support and other court-ordered payments, plus food assistance payments on behalf of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.

However, further controversy arose when it was revealed that the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) had engaged Kanoo to facilitate the payment of tuition and registration fees by Family Island-based students. Mr Rees’ father, Olvin, is BAMSI’s deputy chair, and sources subsequently informed this newspaper he is close to the

prime minister.

However, Mr Rees slammed social media claims of favouritism and nepotism as wholly incorrect as he disclosed that Kanoo has hired attorneys “to look into the false assertions and innuendos made” with a view to taking potential legal action against its accusers. “How many other friends does the Prime Minister have?” he asked.

He revealed that BAMSI reached out to Kanoo and other digital payment providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and “there was no contract awarded. They signed up to our merchant services platform in the same manner as all of our merchants. It’s [BAMSI] one of our smallest clients”.

While declining to provide figures, Mr Rees said Kanoo was earning a two-figure monthly sum from the BAMSI arrangement. BAMSI declined to comment when contacted

by Tribune Business, but sources confirmed that it had sought “three to four quotes” from rival digital payments providers as well as Kanoo before ultimately opting to select the latter.

As for the Supreme Court payments contract, the Kanoo chair said this was awarded only after “an extremely intensive request for proposal” where it had to partner with another company to outperform all Bahamian and international digital payment rivals.

And Social Services had initiated a “pilot programme” where Kanoo and its competitors were invited to participate so that their technical capabilities could be “tested and proven”. Mr Rees said “transparent and accountable reporting systems” were also required, and both his company and others were selected to help digitise welfare payments.

Tribune Business has obtained independent verification that many of the contracts awarded to Kanoo were obtained through competitive bidding and tendering processes. Rivals, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that they, too, participated in the Supreme Court RFP as well as the Social Services vetting. The latter saw Kanoo awarded the food assistance payments, while Cash N’ Go and Omni now handle rental and uniform assistance.

“Every single one has

been open, every single one has been above board,” Mr Rees told Tribune Business of Kanoo’s contracts.

“I have nothing to hide. I have absolutely nothing to hide. We won hands down, solely related to our technology and our team. We’re a true Bahamian success story as it relates to young entrepreneurship and innovating in technology for The Bahamas.

“I make no apologies for that. It’s what I do every day. I help Bahamians to build their business and expand their business. We’ve made a lot of enemies apparently since we launched. We’re young, we’re new and and we have disruptive technology. We’ve been getting numerous attacks, not just in public, but attempts attacking our e-mail servers and core infrastructure which started late last year.”

Mr Rees said Kanoo was formed in 2016 when he was put in touch with US entrepreneur Nathan Horne and his business partner, Kenneth Lipscomb, who own Atlanta-based technology provider, Visikard.

Mr Horne had been in The Bahamas “consulting under the PLP administration”, and his technology solutions attracted attention.

Dr Lewis, a long-standing business partner of his father for more than 22 years, put Mr Horne and Mr Rees together. The latter described their meeting as “like lightning”, with Mr Horne acting as a mentor to him. He added that, “as a thank you for making such a fruitful introduction”, Dr Lewis was granted a one percent equity stake in Kanoo but “he’s not a director and has never been involved in the day-to-day operations”.

The Visikard duo have a minority equity stake in Kanoo as its technology partners, with the company majority Bahamian-owned through Mr Rees and fellow co-founders Keith Davies, Herbert Cash, Shamark Davis and Khalil and Kimani Braithwaite.

As for the Ministry of Tourism’s health visa contract, Mr Rees said Kanoo was approached five days before the platform’s launch by Think Simple, its developer, which was then part of the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) Living with COVID Coalition, to provide an online payment processing tool.

“Something like this would normally have taken four to six weeks, but we devoted the resources and got it done in five days,”

he added. “We’re pretty proud of that. That is a testament to the team and the technology.”

Responding to the attacks on Kanoo, Mr Rees blasted: “We’re really discouraged as young professionals and find it disingenuous that we’re being targeted in this manner because we provide a needed service to the government.

“We’re providing technology for digital transformation and are politically agnostic..... I make no apologies for having a father whose long-standing business partner is the FNM’s national campaign co-ordinator. That’s irrelevant to Kanoo. I couldn’t care less about this scenario.

“Too often in this country we tear people down who are making inroads, and this is a core reason as to why young people are not coming home. Over the past two weeks I’ve been thinking: ‘Was it really worth it coming home if this is how the country is going to treat me and the other co-founders with all the sacrifices that we’ve been making?’” he added.

“I have been so depressed over the past two weeks.

We’ve engaged lawyers and they’re looking into the false assertions and innuendos made. They’ve been significantly damaging, not only to the company’s reputation but my personal reputation.

“I’m a two-time Olympian. I embrace competition.

I feel competition enhances value and benefits countries.

It’s important we raise the level of competition above politics and deliver the best solution we can. We feel we should not be penalised and attacked for using our talent and resources to develop this company for Bahamians. Everything about this company is to lift up The Bahamas.”

Not all competitors were convinced, though.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one said: “Something doesn’t look right about the awarding of these contracts.” Another added: “Not all of them were put out to bid, and it appears that Kanoo always had the inside track.

“The excuse was used that ‘the government has been working with them’, which is not so because others have been working with government to fix lots of issues but we’re not given anything in return or invited to bid when the ‘meaty’ projects are on the line. The real issue here is that they have good friends in high places.”

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, LINDIRA A. CLEARE of Gamble Heights, New Providence, The Bahamas, Parent of TIARAH ZION LOVE CLEARE A minor intend to change my child’s name to TIARAH ZION LOVE MOSS. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that GRAVENEL IXE, of Shady Tree Street, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MARKES DEANGLO FRANCOIS, of Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 2, 2021, PAGE 5

Opponents fear ‘door’s left open’ on oil licences FROM PAGE ONE

then-BPC’s payment of outstanding licence fees. Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, disclosed to Tribune Business then that the two parties were now engaged in a “reconciliation process” to resolve the dispute over how much the oil explorer owes to the Public Treasury.

“They’ve sent the money, sent a cheque, but we’ve not accepted it,” he said in response to this newspaper’s inquiries. “They’ve tendered what they say the amount is, but we don’t agree. We’re now engaged in discussions that we call a ‘reconciliation’.

“I inquired of my senior officials and am informed that there remains a difference of opinion. BPC has tendered what it says are the outstanding licence fees. The parties have now embarked on a ‘reconciliation’ process in an effort to settle the dispute.”

Documents seen by Tribune Business reveal that BPC’s outstanding licence fees, some of which date back to before 2018, were supposed to be determined, settled and paid by endApril 2020 - almost eight months before it began drilling its exploratory Perseverance One well in waters some 90 miles west of Andros.

Mr Ferreira, in the February 25, 2020, letter that granted BPC the Environmental Authorisation (EA) approval that is now the subject of environmental activists’ Judicial Review challenge, laid out the timetable for resolving the issue.

“Finally, within 30 days of the date hereof, BPC and the ministry shall enter into a side letter agreement in relation to any outstanding licence fees up to the end of 2018, having regard to any reconciliation of payments that might be necessary,” stated the letter, which was signed by both Mr Ferreira

Bahamas can’t ‘sideline itself’ over tax reforms FROM PAGE ONE

competitiveness is enhanced, along with equity/fairness in taxation and the government is able to adequately fund all the public services it provides.

“There will be naysayers, conspiracy theorists and doomsday prophets,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business of The Bahamas’ commitment to BEPS. “But the right-thinking member of society, knowing The Bahamas is an open economy that needs to be on the global playing field, realises it would be foolish to sideline ourselves by taking the opposite position.

“We don’t exist without the global community, so being part of it is essential.

I’d look at this as an opportunity to reform the tax structure in the context of the inclusive framework so that we’re not running two parallel systems. I see this as saying it’s smarter for us to be proactive, understand the rules of the game taking place internationally, and take advantage of our sovereignty and ability to write our own laws.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

The Ministry of Finance, in a statement, said that while committing to the BEPS initiative it had “at the same time lodged reservations particular to The Bahamas”, although it did not say what these were or how they will work.

The BEPS initiative, which is focused on multinational enterprises with a gross annual turnover greater than $889m, is designed to prevent these conglomerates avoiding taxes in countries where their products/services are delivered by shifting profits/ revenues to low or “no tax” jurisdictions where they do no or little business.

Multinational companies use often-legitimate tax avoidance strategies to “exploit gaps and mis-

STENA ICEMAX DRILL SHIP and Simon Potter, BPC’s chief executive.

“Within 60 days of the date hereof, BPC shall pay to the ministry any and all outstanding licence fees (if any) for the period up to 2018 and, in addition, shall pay any licence fees as determined by the minister for the periods 2019 and 2020.” The EA letter did not explicitly tie the government’s Perseverance One approval to payment of these licence fees.

Simon Potter, BPC’s thenchief executive, responded at the time by saying opponents are “seeking to make

mountains out of molehills by misrepresenting what are basic business matters and practices”.

He added: “BPC has held its licences in The Bahamas since 2007, and has paid licence fees to the government since that time, which in aggregate amount to millions of dollars. As is the case in any business setting, there is a normal process whereby fees payable by BPC to government are checked, reconciled and audited for correctness - most especially for a publicly-listed company such as BPC, where such payments

matches” between different countries’ tax rules and “artificially shift profits” to low or “no tax” jurisdictions. This enables them to minimise their tax exposure by paying a lower rate, and more than 100 countries worked under OECD oversight to implement 15 so-called BEPS “actions” designed to halt the loss of much-needed tax revenue by developing countries due to such practices.

Countries had to confirm they were implementing a minimum four out of these 15 “actions” by December 2017. The four that The Bahamas selected were (Action 5): Countering Harmful Tax Practices; (Action 6): Treaty Shopping; (Action 13) Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting; and (Action 14) Dispute Resolution.

BEPS has assumed extra importance due to the increasingly digital nature of the global economy, and the activities of the likes

of Amazon, Facebook and Google. “The support of The Bahamas for the Inclusive Framework’s two tier reform proposal (referred to as Pillar 1 and Pillar 2) is consistent with, and informed by, the stated policy principles of the government with respect to the pursuit of tax fairness and equity,” the Ministry of Finance said.

“As a member of the inclusive framework, The Bahamas has actively participated in the development of these measures and has ardently articulated the legitimacy of jurisdictions such as The Bahamas.

It views these measures as a viable option for ensuring that small jurisdictions benefit from any measure to tax entities operating within its jurisdiction.”

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RASHARDSON PHILIPPE, of Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

have to be clearly and transparently accounted for.”

Mr Potter continued: “Given the various extensions to the licences agreed with the government, including most recently as a result of force majeure occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, a comparatively minor amount of licence fees remains outstanding.

“As the attorney general has correctly acknowledged, the exact amount remains to be to be finally checked and reconciled between the Government and BPC. Again, as the attorney general has

acknowledged, during 2020 BPC had offered to pay an amount to the government in advance pending this final reconciliation, but the government’s preference was to complete the final reconciliation first, and BPC is currently engaged with the government in that process.

“This is a basic, auditable business practice and, as noted, the amount involved is relatively minor in the context of more than a decade of substantial licence fee payments by BPC to the government.”

PUBLIC NOTICE

The ad in the paper should state that Allecia Williams is NO LONGER an employee at The Medi Center Clinic and therefore she is no longer allowed to conduct business on its behalf.

PAGE 6, Friday, July 2, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Crystal cancels Bimini call over COVID spike FROM PAGE ONE

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that MICHELINE PIERRE, of Murphy Town, Abaco, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 2nd day of July 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

as those guests who were scheduled to embark Crystal Serenity in Bimini to accommodate them in Nassau or on a future cruise,” Crystal Cruises added.

“Although all of our guests and crew are vaccinated as part of our comprehensive Crystal Clean protocols developed to address COVID-19, we believe that this is the most prudent decision for our Crystal family and the citizens of Bimini as it is important to continue to work together to reduce the spread of this disease.”

The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday confirmed that that a curfew was imposed on Bimini with effect from last night between 7pm and 5am.

Restrictions and prohibitions have again been imposed on weddings, funerals and related receptions, while bars are also forbidden to open.

Tourists are to remain on hotel premises or cruise ship during the curfew period. However, staff and guests may be able to move between a hotel and associated marina during this curfew period.

No timeline was given for how long the curfew and other restrictions will be imposed on Bimini. It may be extended for up to 14 days to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Bimini businesses yesterday voiced concern that the

NOTICE

THE CRYSTAL SERENITY restrictions will hit the July 4 independence weekend, which traditionally attracts a significant number of boaters to the island.

Fabrice Stuart, owner/ operator of Stuart’s Conch Stand, said: “This extended curfew is going to really affect business because this is one of the busiest weekends. This is the July 4 American Independence weekend. We already had cancellations after the curfew announcement and there wasn’t a warning or anything.”

The mailboat was docked at Bimini yesterday for its weekly stopover, where islanders can stock up on supplies and send items back to New Providence. She added: “So being the fact that today is the day when we get stuff coming in from the dock and all that stuff, it’s going to be hard. My people are on the way down

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODNEY EDOUARD, of Palm Beach Street, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that FRANCINE PPROSPER, of Johnson Road, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 1st day of July 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

THURSDAY, 1 JULY 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

1970.48

-2.28

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

-0.12 -121.98

-5.83

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

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.50 33.95 1.62 2.90 1.78 6.00 6.96 3.60 5.90 3.98 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.76 10.71 9.55 14.44 4.10 8.97 16.00

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.43 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.25 2.74 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 8.35 13.00 3.42 8.00 15.20

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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

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

LAST CLOSE 6.50 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.50 2.74 5.95 10.20 2.35 7.76 11.09 9.55 13.99 3.70 8.30 15.50

CLOSE 6.00 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.50 2.74 5.95 10.20 2.37 7.76 11.06 9.55 13.99 3.70 8.30 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGR1211386 BSBGRS880378 BSBGRS900283 BSBGR1322498 BSBGR1341506

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

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

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

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

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

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

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.14 100.00 100.00

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

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

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FX BGR121138 BGRS FL BGRS88037 BGRS FL BGRS90028 BGRS FX BGR132249 BGRS FX BGR134150

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

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

CHANGE (0.50) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 (0.03) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 1,000

230

700

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

VOLUME

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

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

P/E 25.1 42.9 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -8.1 32.1 14.9 13.3 14.1 23.2 16.6 17.1 13.1 17.1 18.2 8.8 24.6

YIELD 2.83% 3.15% 1.25% 1.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.38% 3.70% 7.06% 18.31% 0.77% 2.97% 2.51% 3.86% 3.24% 2.41% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 5.24% 4.43% 4.39% 5.65% 5.69%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 23-Feb-2038 26-Jul-2037 10-Dec-2028 15-Oct-2049 17-Jan-1950

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

MATURITY

NAV Date

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

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

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

to the dock right now to pick up the stuff.”

Ms Stuart said that while she will miss a huge opportunity this weekend, “we will make the best of it. The majority of our customers who were coming already messaged us and told us they’re not coming any more this weekend. They were tourists.

“They got too relaxed with the whole COVID-19 thing, and a lot of businesses weren’t wearing their masks, or sanitising and stuff. But for our business we still do that. A lot of people get mad, but I don’t have the luxury of $3,000 to be giving the government.”

Ms Stuart also lamented that when the last lockdown was imposed on Bimini, its resorts were allowed to operate well into the early morning hours after the curfew had come into effect.

“We don’t even know what to expect right now because we will be the ones losing money and they will have the money at the end of the day,” she added.

Percy Duncombe, general manager of Sue and Joy’s General Store, said: “Honestly, I feel as if this curfew is needed. I feel it’s definitely needed right now. I just don’t know how long this curfew is going to last.

“This is very, very important to me and I’m sure the government needs the money that comes from Bimini. I’m not sure how they are going to do this, but this ship comes in on Sunday and this is Thursday.

It’s going to hurt big time if the curfew is not over before then.”

Mr Duncombe also oversees the company’s liquor store in the Bimini Resorts World property. He added: “I know we have the July 4 weekend coming up, and they know how much money they are going to lose when they close Bimini down.”

Charles Wilkinson, owner/ operator of Charlie’s Bimini Bread, said he was “okay” with the extended curfew.

“I’m prepared for it. I normally close up shop at 5pm, so a 7pm curfew for me means nothing,” he added.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that KARL WALLACE of P. O. Box N-9051, Poets Drive, Seabeach Estate, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 2nd day of July, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ELYSER DESRAVINES, of Market Street, P.O. Box Cr-55963, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that PAOLA ALICE ALVINO CHRISTIE, of Old Fort Bay, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 2nd day of July 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CHRISTINA JEAN – BAPTISTE, of Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

PAGE 8, Friday, July 2, 2021

RICHARD BRANSON ANNOUNCES TRIP TO SPACE, AHEAD OF JEFF BEZOS CAPE CANAVERAL Associated Press VIRGIN Galactic’s Richard Branson is aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days.

Branson’s company announced yesterday evening that its next test flight will be July 11 and that its founder will be among the six people on board. The winged rocket ship will soar from New Mexico — the first carrying a full crew of

THE TRIBUNE company employees. It will be only the fourth trip to space for Virgin Galactic.

The news came just hours after Bezos’ Blue Origin said Bezos would be accompanied into space on July 20 by a female aerospace pioneer who’s waited 60 years to rocket away.

Bezos chose July 20 as his West Texas launch date — the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. He assigned himself to the flight just a month ago, the final stretch in a yearslong race to space between the two rich rocketeers.

Amazon’s founder will be on Blue Origin’s debut launch with people on board, accompanied by his brother, the winner of a $28m charity auction and Wally Funk, one of the last

publicly traded company.

But he stressed he was “fit and healthy” to fly as soon as his engineers give him the go.

“I’ve always been a dreamer. My mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars. On July 11, it’s time to turn that dream into a reality aboard the next @VirginGalactic,” he said via Twitter.

Virgin Galactic launches its rocket ship from an aircraft, reaching an altitude of roughly 55 miles.

Blue Origin launches its New Shepard rocket from the ground, with its capsule soaring to about 66 miles. Both those heights are considered the edge of space. By comparison, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launches its capsules — both crew

FROM left: Chief Pilot Dave Mackay, Lead Operations Engineer Colin Bennett, Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses, Founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations Sirisha Bandla and pilot Michael Masucci. Branson is aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days. surviving members of the Mercury 13 who was chosen as his “honoured guest”.

The 13 female pilots passed the same tests as NASA’s original Mercury 7 astronauts back in the early 1960s, but were barred from

the corps — and spaceflight — because they were women.

As late as Wednesday, Branson declined to say when he would ride into space because of restrictions placed on him by his

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 74° F/23° C

TAMPA

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Couple of thunder‑ storms

Partly cloudy, show‑ ers around; warm

Partly sunny with a stray t‑storm

Mostly cloudy with a stray t‑storm

Overcast and breezy with a t‑storm

Breezy in the morn‑ ing; partly sunny

High: 89°

Low: 80°

High: 89° Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 79°

High: 87° Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

97° F

88° F

102°-87° F

100°-85° F

97°-86° F

99°-84° F

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

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 81° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

S

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 75° F/24° C

7‑14 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 76° F/24° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

MIAMI

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 76° F/24° C

4‑8 knots

KEY WEST

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

uV inDex toDay

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

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

0.4 0.8

Today

2:33 a.m.

3:18 p.m.

2.5 2.5

8:58 a.m.

9:33 p.m.

Saturday

3:26 a.m.

4:11 p.m.

2.3 2.6

9:46 a.m. 0.4 10:31 p.m. 0.9

Sunday

4:18 a.m.

5:01 p.m.

2.2 2.7

10:33 a.m. 0.4 11:25 p.m. 0.8

Monday

5:09 a.m.

5:47 p.m.

2.2 2.7

11:18 a.m. 0.4 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Tuesday

5:56 a.m.

6:31 p.m.

2.2 2.8

12:15 a.m. 0.7 12:02 p.m. 0.3

Wednesday 6:42 a.m.

7:13 p.m.

2.2 2.9

1:01 a.m. 0.6 12:45 p.m. 0.3

Thursday

2.2 3.0

1:43 a.m.

1:26 p.m.

7:25 a.m.

7:54 p.m.

0.5 0.2

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:24 a.m.

8:04 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

1:25 a.m.

1:57 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

Jul. 9

Jul. 17

Jul. 23

Jul. 31

CAT ISLAND

E

W

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

S

E

W

4‑8 knots

S

7‑14 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 82° F/28° C Low .................................................... 75° F/24° C Normal high ....................................... 88° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 75° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 92° F/34° C Last year’s low ................................... 77° F/25° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.40” Year to date ................................................. 8.32” Normal year to date ................................... 13.78”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

and cargo — into orbit around Earth.

All three private space companies plan to take paying customers into space.

SpaceX will be the first with a private flight coming up in September.

Flights by Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin last about 10 minutes, with three or so minutes of weightlessness.

But the returns are quite different: Virgin Galactic’s rocket plane glides to a landing on a runway, like NASA’s old space shuttles did, with a pair of pilots in charge. Blue Origin’s automated capsules parachute to the desert floor, similar to how NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules made ocean splashdowns.

Their spaceports are just 200 miles apart.

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 82° F/28° C

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

8‑16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA

H

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

8‑16 knots

8‑16 knots

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

Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday:

WINDS S at 7‑14 Knots SW at 7‑14 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots SSW at 3‑6 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots SW at 6‑12 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SSE at 6‑12 Knots S at 4‑8 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots

WAVES 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 4‑7 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 2‑4 Feet 5‑9 Feet 4‑8 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 6 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 10 Miles 9 Miles 8 Miles 9 Miles 6 Miles 9 Miles 8 Miles 9 Miles 10 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 10 Miles 9 Miles 6 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles 9 Miles

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