07042017 business

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017

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Govt ‘almost there’ on Grand Lucayan

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

KWASI THOMPSON

THE Government feels it is “almost there” in resolving the Grand Lucayan resort’s fate, a Cabinet Minister yesterday saying negotiations had reached “a good but very sensitive” stage.

Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama, told Tribune Business

that talks over the potential sale of Freeport’s ‘anchor resort’ property were “too close” for him to provide any specifics.

He was only prepared to confirm the involvement of Canadian real estate developer, the Wynn Group, given that its identity - and interest - in the Grand Lucayan had been exclusively revealed by Tribune Business several months ago.

See PG B5

Talks reach ‘good but very sensitive’ stage Wynn submits proposed Heads to Govt Wants to ‘iron out’ subsidy/incentive queries

Dionisio: Other NAD SKY BAHAMAS CUTS US FLIGHTS tenants ‘furious’ at TO ASSESS NEW SECURITY RULES Mortimer treatment Down 66%, from

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Minister of Tourism yesterday ‘doubled down’ on criticism of the former Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) Board, saying other tenants were “furious” over one store owner’s perceived favourable treatment.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, while modifying his stance slightly, continued to insist it was “outrageous” and “egregious” that Patricia Mortimer, and her PatMor Group of Companies, had accumulated $2.1 million in unpaid rent.

And he seized on comments made by ex-prime minister, Perry Christie, as evidence that there had been direct interference by the former administration at the highest levels to assist Ms Mortimer.

Mr Christie, in a media interview last Friday, said he had sought to “protect a black Bahamian woman” in Ms Mortimer, although he denied seeking to influence or coerce NAD into a particular decision on the matter.

Asked whether this was evidence of political interference by the former administration, Mr D’Aguilar replied: “Absolutely they did. It’s not a black Bahamian woman. It’s got nothing to do with colour of the skin, or gender and sex of the person.....”

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Insists $2.1m rent receivable ‘outrageous’ Says Christie remarks show interference Highlights ‘political meddling’ in agencies

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR He again argued that Ms Mortimer received a favourable deal from the NAD Board because of her connections to the former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government, and questioned whether other LPIA tenants - should they have fallen into her situation - would have received a similar agreement.

“All of the other tenants See PG B4

SKY Bahamas yesterday said it is slashing the frequency of US flights by twothirds this month, in a bid to assess the financial and other impacts from aviation security upgrades.

Randy Butler, the Bahamian airline’s president and chief executive, said the US Department of Homeland Security’s demands would inevitably increase costs for local carriers and airports.

“We go into the US from Abaco and Bimini, and to be honest with you we’re pulling those flights off this week,” he told Tribune Business. “We’ll start going again, but for this month we’ll be pulling them off to assess all the changes and the costs.

Mr Butler explained that the frequency of Sky Bahamas’ US-bound flights from Bimini and Abaco

3 flights to one, for July Airline chief fears informal economy rise

will be cut from three per week to one per week, as it works through the new requirements from the US Department of Homeland Security.

Tribune Business reported yesterday that, according to the New York Times, foreign airlines flying into the US - such as Sky Bahamas and Bahamasair - have just months to show they are carrying out enhanced security protocols, including the interviewing of passengers, and bring their security standards into line with See PG B3

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CHAMBER CHIEF: ‘WE DON’T WANT GHOSTS OF BAHA MAR PAST’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FEARS of new Baha Mar construction delays are particularly ill-timed, the Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive yesterday warning: “We don’t want that ghost haunting us again.”

Edison Sumner told Tribune Business he had been informed by Baha Mar’s principals that the dispute which sparked China Construction America’s (CCA) warning should have “no material impact” on the $4.2 billion project’s opening and future operations.

However, he warned that it was “incumbent” on all parties involved to resolve the matter as rapidly as possible given Baha Mar’s history of missed construction deadlines, Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and acrimonious litigation between the See PG B4

Told ‘no material impact’ from CCA’s woes But warns against repeat of resort’s history Warning ill-timed as rating agencies visit

EDISON SUMNER

Zip-line ‘buccaneer’ in approvals push

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamian investor behind a proposed Arawak Cay ‘zip line’ attraction yesterday encouraged the Minnis administration to provide the necessary approvals for it to proceed and expand the tourism offering.

Paul Fernander, spokesman for Buccaneers Bahamas Ltd, told Tribune Business that Zip Line Bahamas had been approved by the Christie administration’s Parks and Beaches

Arawak Cay investor awaits lease papers Approved under former Christie Govt Sees project as tourism offering boost Authority. It is now awaiting documents on its lease agreement with the Government.

“As soon as we have the See PG B5

PAGE 2, Tuesday, July 4, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

LET THE ATMOSPHERE DO THE HEAVY WATER LIFTING WHEN you say ‘Go Green’, most people think about using less electricity. However, a vital part of going green is healthy living. This includes clean air, responsible consumption choices and, for the purposes of our article today, purified water.

In the Bahamas, few people I know drink water straight from the tap. Most of our drinking water comes in five gallon bottles that have to be carried through the home or office. However, there is a solution besides the tap and the bottle that is already being used in living rooms, offices, company waiting rooms, gyms and kitchens. That solution is atmospheric water generation – using the water vapour in the air around us to produce purified, greattasting water.

When you stop to think about it, it just makes sense.

There is literally tons of water vapour in the atmosphere above our heads.

And, as humid as it can get in the Bahamas, that water is all the more abundantly available. We just need some way to condense it, clean it and make it convenient.

That is what an atmospheric water generator

does. The name sounds really fancy, but it looks a lot like a sleek water cooler – minus the five-gallon bottle on top. Instead, all the water gets produced directly from the air. This is great for green-conscious homes and businesses, because you can get a version that produces two to five gallons per day of purified, greattasting water.

How does an appliance like this make clean drinking water? High-quality versions use an advanced, multi-stage purification process that may go something like this: * First, your atmospheric water generator draws in air through the specialised air filter, which prevents micro particles and dust from entering the unit. * The water vapour in the filtered air is then converted to liquid in the condensation chamber. * The water then flows into a stainless steel lower tank that contains a UV lamp to eliminate bacteria and microorganisms. * Using state-of-the-art micro pumps, the water is then pumped through the remaining filters. In highquality models (which I recommend, because our health is important) this

would include a sediment filter that eliminates particles over 5 microns in diameter; a pre-carbon filter containing activated carbon and coconut shell to polish the water; an ultra-fine membrane filter that eliminates particles as small as .01 microns in diameter; and a post-carbon filter to further polish the water.

This filtration process also ensures that any odors in your home or office have no effect on the water’s taste and smell. * The water then flows into a stainless steel upper tank containing a second UV lamp to ensure there are no bacteria or microorganisms left in the water.

Within the upper stainless steel reservoir, there are two stainless steel tanks. One of these tanks heats the purified water to 180°F, while the other chills the water to 44°F. Then, with just the touch of a button, you can dispense water that is perfect for drinking, gourmet coffee, purified ice, cooking, pet care and much more.

What benefits are there to drinking water from a highquality atmospheric water generator? * Your water will be one of the cleanest, most refreshing waters on earth.

For example, one of the issues with water coolers is that even though you may be using clean bottled water, the cooler itself is still a major problem. The biofilm, algae and bacteria that live in 95 per cent of coolers contaminate your water once they come into contact with it. This is not a problem with your water generator. * The water produced has a neutral or slightly alkaline pH, which is healthy for your body. * Your water will have no chlorine, fluoride, lead, trace pharmaceuticals or other harmful ingredients. * The unit has an appealing, contemporary, compact design. No one said going green had to be ugly! * You can get a model that reminds you when to change the filters, and doing so is a snap. * The convenience of not having to move five-gallon bottles around your home

or office is hard to overstate.

Similarly, if you have to wait for someone to lift a new five-gallon bottle on top of the cooler every time the old one is empty, you will not have to wait any more. * A hidden benefit to owning one of these units is that the appliance’s air filter helps purify the air, reducing and eliminating any dust, mites or small particles that may trigger allergic reactions and asthma. * Both the environment and your quality of life are improved because you eliminate the need for cumbersome plastic bottles. This means less plastic in the dump, and fewer bottles polluting our Bahamas.

Is clean water a luxury?

Certainly not. Atmospheric water generation is an effective solution for providing you with clean, convenient, great-tasting water every day. I would recommend speaking with your green

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• NB: Joshua Key is general manager for SuperGreen Solutions Bahamas, located on Wulff Road next to FYP. SuperGreen Solutions is one of the premier advisors, suppliers and installers of domestic and commercial energy efficient solutions.

Damianos Sotheby’s adds to Nassau team DAMIANOS Sotheby’s International Realty yesterday announced that Bryce Carroll has joined its Nassau sales team.

Mr Carroll’s family has a deeprooted history in the Bahamas, and he is licensed to sell real estate agent both here and in Texas, where he received his bachelor’s degree.

Mr Carroll will be based in Nassau, working alongside Damianos Sotheby’s existing sales associates.

Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty has 11 offices located throughout the Bahamas, situated in Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma, Nassau, Paradise Island, Ocean Club Estates, Lyford Cay, Old Fort Bay and private islands.

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THE TRIBUNE

E-commerce entrepreneur ‘bridges Out Island divide’

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE founder of a Bahamian e-commerce portal yesterday said he hopes to “bridge the divide” between Family island economies with the launch of an APP that will bring “new school innovation” to the mailboat system.

Omar Isaacs, chief marketing officer/founder of BUYBAHAMIAN.BIZ, an e-commerce site founded in 2013, yesterday announced the soft launch of

an inter-island trade APP dubbed ‘BAHAMIAN 2 BAHAMIAN – B2B’.

Mr Isaacs said that after nine months of research, his team had found there was no single platform where consumers or interested travellers could examine - or keep track of the mail boat schedules.

He added that while Family Island business owners were eager to expand their domestic market reach, but shipping via the mailboat system was a ‘cumbersome’ process.

Mr Isaacs said the

App not only centralises mail boat scheduling for easy access and viewing, but has also provided a booking and reservation solution for persons wanting to ship an average-size box or pallet, or pre-book one-way travel tickets from one island to their desired island destination using Nassau as the hub.

“We wanted to create a platform where you could book a ticket on the mailboat, view shipping times and buy a ticket to the Family Islands,” he told Tribune Business. “We wanted to bring new school innova-

Sky Bahamas cuts US flights to assess new security rules From pg B1 those of US airlines. Otherwise heavy fines will result.

Mr Butler said Bahamian airports and airlines will have to hire more staff to meet US regulatory demands, which in turn will raise travel costs via increased airline ticket prices and airport user fees.

Acknowledging the need for safety and security, he added: “I think you’re going to see more fees come. The Airport Authority is responsible for security, and they will have no other option but to hire more people and pass that security fee on to the passengers.

“The airlines will have to hire more people, and pass that fee on to people. Flying to the Family Islands is already cost prohibitive.

They’ll definitely have to separate the Family Islands from others.”

Mr Butler expressed concern that the increased cost, time and inconvenience will reduce demand for air travel - especially among tour-

ists and leisure travellers.

He warned that this could also boost the “informal economy”, especially the so-called ‘hackers’.

“We have an informal economy, which is the hackers, going out of these private airports,” he told Tribune Business. “You’re going to see more people using them, hackers, as it’s going to be cheaper. It means the informal economy will grow. It’s already a large one, and it will grow.

“The informal economy is going to impact the formal economy. We are going to have less flights per day.

Flights are done on economies of scale, and how many passengers you are likely to have.”

The Sky Bahamas chief said reduced flight frequencies were also a distinct possibility as a result of the enhanced US security demands, as airlines could not afford to sit on the runway waiting for passengers to clear security.

The Bahamas, a tourist-

CAPT RANDY BUTLER dependent nation with around 80 per cent of visitors coming from the US, is always disproportionately affected by new aviation regulations coming out of Washington D. C., as these impact the ease and cost of access to this country.

The new Minnis administration has already shown it is worried about ‘access’ and aviation-related costs for visitors to the Bahamas, fearing increases here will further undermine the Bahamas’ price competitiveness.

It has demonstrated this over the Nassau Airport

tion to that industry. This is all part of our greater mission, which is to be that bridge that connects all of the micro-economies of our islands and foster interisland trade.”

Mr Isaacs added: “We haven’t gone wholesale with the APP yet. Right now, it’s really for the Bahamian entrepreneurs looking to expand their product reach domestically. We really believe in supporting our own and giving Bahamian entrepreneurs a platform to push their products.”

Development Company’s (NAD) proposed increase to Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) user fees - a response to its debt downgrade.

Mr Butler added: “I can tell you that the Bahamian airlines and carriers are very challenged, and they are primarily challenged because of the backdoor taxes the Government have put on the people through NAD, which is ultimately owned by the Government.

“Now, when you have these requirements coming in, it’s going to cost more and we will have to get more people to do it [passenger screening and processing] faster. The goal is to get to the destination on time. We’ve got to move on it, and still complete the check-in and do it on time.”

Mr Butler said air travel was meant to be fast, and the new aviation security measures - which may be necessary - went against this industry rationale.

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Tuesday, July 4, 2017, PAGE 3

NAD to assist on security upgrade

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) yesterday said it would work with industry partners to implement new US aviation security requirements at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).

Jan Knowles, NAD’s marketing and communications manager, told Tribune Business in an e-mailed reply that implementation of these changes at LPIA will fall under the purview of the Airport Authority, which is responsible for security, and airlines servicing US destinations.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism, recently admitted in an interview with Tribune Business that the short timeline given to meet enhanced US aviation security demands was “causing concern”, with the greatest impact likely to be felt at Family Island airports.

He confirmed that the Government was currently assessing whether the Bahamas’ airports possess the necessary equipment and trained staff, and in sufficient quantities, to conduct the enhanced explosives screening and more rigorous

security checks demanded by the US Department of Homeland Security.

The Department’s guidelines, disclosed after the New York Times obtained an International Air Transport Association (IATA) memo, require all 280 airports that are the last points of departure for the US to possess equipment capable of detecting explosive residue on passengers’ hands.

This must be in place within 21 days, with the tougher security checks initiated by fall 2017. The New York Times reported that airports which fail to implement the explosives-detecting equipment could be cut-off from direct flights to the US. Ms Knowles said yesterday: “NAD is aware of the recent changes to global aviation security requirements by the Department of Homeland Security. The major implementation of these changes at LPIA will fall under the purview of the Airport Authority, who is responsible for security at LPIA, and our airline partners who service US destinations.

“As the airport operator, NAD will work with these partners to support the implementation of the changes and the passenger experience at LPIA.”

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PAGE 4, Tuesday, July 4, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Chamber chief: ‘We don’t want ghosts of Baha Mar past’ From pg B1 original developer, contractor and financier.

Mr Sumner said CCA’s warning that the October 15, 2017, ‘substantial completion’ deadline had been endangered by a Florida supplier would rekindle unhappy memories of Baha Mar’s recent pass.

And, should CCA’s fears come to pass, the Chamber chief said the reputational damage for Baha Mar and all involved could be “more irreparable than before”.

Mr Sumner said CCA’s warning was especially illtimed given that the international rating agencies, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), are due in the Bahamas within weeks for their annual assessments of this nation’s economic and fiscal strength.

He pointed out that S&P, in particular, had used Baha Mar’s delayed opening and economic impact as “a whipping stick” to downgrade the Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness to ‘junk’ status, and expressed hope this would not occur again.

Baha Mar and its prospective new owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises

(CTFE), yesterday declined to comment on Tribune Business’s CCA revelations on the grounds that the matter was before the south Florida federal courts.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, said: “Our position is that this is an ongoing legal matter between CCA and one of its vendors, and because it’s a legal matter we can’t opine on this at this point in time.”

CCA (Bahamas) could not be reached for comment, with Baha Mar and CTFE’s reluctance to speak understood to be based on fears that anything they say could prejudice the south Florida court case.

Mr Sumner, though, said he had been informed by Baha Mar officials that they were confident CCA’s dispute with a Florida-based supplier would not impact the $4.2 billion project’s opening plans.

“I’m advised this matter is an isolated case, and our information is it really is a matter between a single sub-contractor and CCA,” he told Tribune Business.

“I was told it should have no material impact on the opening of the resort and

Dionisio: Other NAD tenants ‘furious’ at Mortimer treatment From pg B1 at LPIA are furious someone was afforded this privilege and they were not,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business. “NAD was set up to avoid this kind of political interference. It should not have been an issue for him [Mr Christie].

“It’s a business. Let the business operate as it should. There’s so much meddling in these businesses that causes them to fail.

There is political meddling all the time, and this is why these government corporations are in the predicament they are in.

“Enough of these favours and deals. Let’s run it as it should be run in terms of NAD. Let NAD deal with it as it should,” the Minister continued.

“The Bahamian people want to know why it was allowed to grow to $2.1 million. It’s not right; just not right. Enough of this ‘I know this person, so I will

get a special arrangement.

It’s wrong.”

Wayne Munroe QC, Ms Mortimer’s attorney, did not respond to a Tribune Business message left for him yesterday seeking comment.

However, he last week told this newspaper on Ms Mortimer’s behalf that the $2.1 million central to Mr D’Aguilar’s charges related to a ‘disputed sum’, meaning rental payments for which his client believed she was being over-charged.

Mr Munroe said Ms Mortimer felt she was paying almost four times’ as much as other LPIA tenants, and explained: “NAD started calculating our client’s rent as 38 per cent of gross profit based on a projection of a throughput of 3.8 million travellers. The actual throughput fell far short of the projections and our client filed a complaint with NAD. “NAD agreed to revisit the matter and negotia-

its operations.”

Baha Mar/CTFE’s position, as relayed by Mr Sumner, is far more relaxed that the fears of ‘doom and gloom’ detailed in CCA’s legal complaint against Source Outdoor over the alleged withholding of 50 per cent of the project’s lounge chairs.

CCA, in a lawsuit filed with the south Florida federal court last Thursday, alleges that these 1,420 chairs are “essential to the timely completion” of the Cable Beach development.

It warns that it will be unable to meet the October 15, 2017, ‘substantial completion’ deadline for finishing Baha Mar’s construction unless Source Outdoor is compelled to deliver.

Failure to hit that date, CCA alleges, will expose it to penalty fees of $150,000 per day - rising to $250,000 per day after one month - under the terms of its construction contract with the China Export-Import Bank.

“Even if CCA were to immediately endeavour to purchase replacement chairs, the time required for the negotiation of a new purchase order, for the manufacture of the replacement items and for their shipment to the Bahamas would result in non-compliance by CCA with the ‘substantial completion’ date, and would subject it to the extraordinarily large liqui-

dated damages provided for in CCA’s agreement with Perfect Luck Assets, the owner of the project,” CCA alleged.

“Aside from the unmanageable financial burden that would be visited upon CCA were it unable to obtain immediate receipt of the chairs, because of the extremely high level of publicity and governmental attention being paid to this particular project, CCA’s reputation would suffer widespread, incalculable and irreparable damage.”

Raising the stakes, CCA then filed for an emergency injunction and quick hearing of its case, urging the south Florida district court to order that the 1,420 chairs be “delivered immediately” to its Miami-based freight forwarder for onward shipping to Miami.

“The project for which these chairs are intended is the most significant tourist development in recent years in the Bahamas,” the Chinese state-owned contractor said in its Friday legal filings.

“Its completion has been carefully calibrated to coincide with the start of the ‘high season’ for tourism in the islands. Because of the significance of this project, and the overriding importance of the completion date, CCA is contractually obligated to complete its activities by October 15, 2017.

“Any failure to meet this

contractual deadline would result in immediate, irreparable and incalculable damage to CCA’s reputation in the construction industry worldwide and within the Government of the Bahamas,” CCA continued.

“It would result in unprecedented derogatory publicity at the peak of the tourism season, and the resulting harm to CCA’s good name would be irreparable and virtually impossible to overcome.”

Despite Baha Mar’s reassurances, Mr Sumner said further completion delays - based upon CCA’s warnings - were the last thing that the project or wider Bahamian economy needed.

“I think that in our previous meetings with the hotel they’d indicated they were working very hard to meet deadline, and they’ve enunciated opening dates a number of times, so we’re hoping that they’ll be able to perform and open at the time they’re projecting,” he added.

Given Baha Mar’s history, which is littered with complaints of three missed construction deadlines by CCA, the Chamber chief executive urged all parties “to move post-haste to ensure any difficulties are worked out quickly”.

Warning against any repeat, Mr Sumner said: “We don’t want to go down that road again... My advice to

the parties would be to all parties concerned to get in a room, work out the differences - whatever they are - rather than go down this road again.

“The damage may be more irreparable than before, and there’s a reputational risk for the resort, all those involved, and the country as a whole.....

We’ve certainly had some teachable moments.

“If we’re going to come back and have the same ghost haunting us again, it’s incumbent on all parties to work this out as quickly as they could so that this project is not saddled for reasons that could be avoided.”

Mr Sumner added that the CCA warning had been delivered at “a concerning time”, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as the rating agencies due in the Bahamas within the next several weeks.

They will already be concerned over the Government’s $722 million borrowing and higherthan-expected $500 million deficit for 2016-2017, “so it’s not a good time to have this activity going on”.

“The rating agencies used Baha Mar as an issue in the sovereign downgrade of the country,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business. “We don’t want the rating agencies to come back again and use Baha Mar as a whipping stick for the economy and the country.”

tions followed. For context, NAD was at this time charging other tenants at a rate of 10 per cent of gross profits.”

Mr Munroe said Ms Mortimer sought equal treatment for her stores, and “NAD eventually agreed that it was so after protracted negotiations. In the meantime they had continued to charge rent at 38 per cent of gross profits.

“At all material times our client paid rent at the rate of 10 per cent as it understood applied,” he added. “NAD added interest on the difference and, together with that difference, this accounts for the sum said to be owed as arrears.

“It should be obvious that there would be no reasonable justification for NAD discriminating by charging our client rent at a rate almost four times higher than everyone else.”

Mr D’Aguilar, though, appears unwilling to let the matter rest, telling Tribune Business: “Why was that particular tenant, even if she disagreed with a certain portion of the rent, allowed to have a $2.1 million receivable when none of the other tenants at that

particular facility had a receivable?

“And why was a sum that huge allowed to accumulate? It’s egregious. Why didn’t the former Board take the necessary steps to collect on the outstanding sum, rather than allow it to accumulate over the years to $2.1 million? There’s a $2.1 million receivable, which is outrageous.”

Mr D’Aguilar accused the now-Opposition PLP of trying to distract the public’s attention from this issue by challenging assertions that the former Board was fired/dismissed, and giving numerous explanations for how the $2.1 million ‘receivable’ accrued.

He suggested that the impassioned defence of Ms Mortimer and the NAD Board by numerous high-level PLP politicians showed he had “hit a nerve”, and challenged his opponents to heed comments by Chester Cooper, Raynard Rigby and Alfred Sears.

“We’ve got to get beyond this. Stop protecting people,” Mr D’Aguilar said.

The Minister, though, said he would “agree to disagree” with Ms Mortimer and Mr Munroe on the

$1.2 million in rental arrears that the former Board wrote-off as part of its deal with the businesswoman.

“They have their point of view, I have my point of view,” he added.

Mr Munroe last week explained how the $1.2 million ‘write-off’ related to another LPIA tenant, whose obligations Ms Mortimer had inherited after she provided a guarantee to back them.

“Tyrone Nabbie’s Kafe Kalik trademark restaurants won the restaurant leases, and he opened his trademarked restaurant,” the QC wrote to Tribune Business.

“Our client, having guaranteed certain obligations of Mr Nabbie’s company, was forced to step in when Mr Nabbie fell into arrears with his rent.

“Our client took an assignment and transfer of Mr Nabbie’s shares in his company,” Mr Munroe added.

“She was made to pay a sum in the low to middle ‘six figures’ as arrears on Mr Nabbie’s operation. It is to be noted that $1 million of the arrears said to have been owed by our client is in relation to arrears from Mr Nabbie’s operations be-

fore our client took over.”

Mr Munroe said this all occurred under the former Ingraham administration, while the tender to operate news agent outlets at LPIA had required bidders to bid on four locations. As a result, the QC said there was “nothing sinister” about Ms Mortimer operating multiple sites - as suggested

by Mr D’Aguilar previously - because this had been a requirement of the Request for Proposal (RFP).

The RFP, and Nabbie rental arrears, both occurred when an FNM administration was in power, which Mr Munroe said showed allegations of political favouritism towards his client were “erroneous”.

He added that NAD’s records would also show that Ms Mortimer had paid $5 million in rent between 2012-2017, refuting another of Mr D’Aguilar’s claims.

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Tuesday, July 4, 2017, PAGE 5

Zip-line ‘buccaneer’ in approvals push From pg B1 lease agreement signed, and we have approval as to where the towers can be placed on the beach, our Zip Line engineers can design the footing needed for the 80 feet towers in phase one. Once the engineering plans have been approved by the Ministry of Works and the Minister of the En-

vironment, the project can begin,” said Mr Fernander.

The company is seeking approval to lease Crown land on the eastern end of Arawak Cay, and a portion of the Western Esplanade beach, to develop a ‘zip line thrill’ attraction as well as a complex including a ‘Pirate’s Landing’, ‘Blackbeard’s Cabaret’, ‘Nutty

Govt ‘almost there’ on Grand Lucayan From pg B1 Mr Thompson instead pleaded for “patience” from both the media and Bahamian public over the Grand Lucayan, indicating that the Government was talking to the parties involved every day due to the importance of the hotel’s re-opening for Freeport’s economic revival.

“We’re in the middle of trying to negotiate the deal, and for me to confirm or not confirm would really not benefit us or the persons we’re talking to,” the Minster said in response to Tribune Business’s inquiries.

“It is at a stage where we are talking to them every day. We are trying to close the deal as quickly as possible, but I cannot at this time

for obvious reasons - as we are in the middle of negotiating a deal of this magnitude - be communicating the position or details of the deal to the public or the media.

“The absolute best I can say right now is that we are really in the middle of negotiations, and doing the very best to bring this matter to a close. We are trying to get the best possible deal for Grand Bahama, and we hope to do that in the shortest possible time.”

Mr Thompson was contacted for comment after highly-placed government sources confirmed to Tribune Business at the weekend that the Wynn Group, as the Grand Lucayan’s prospective purchaser, had submitted a proposed ‘Heads of Agreement’ to

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Pirate’ and ‘Buccaneer Kidd’s’ play area.

Mr Fernander, in a previous interview, said the project’s first phase would include a pirate-themed 2,000 foot zip ride and kids play area. The second phase for Buccaneers Bahamas includes a harbour view deck, a restaurant and bar, and a nightly cultural show. The third phase calls for a 3,000 foot zip line.

“The delays in getting approval for what is new to New Providence, but so commonplace around the

Caribbean and the world, make timelines impossible to set. However, based on the announcements from the Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Minister of Trade & Industry and the Minister of Works on the need for entrepreneurs as well as the need to speed up the process to do business in the Bahamas, I feel hopeful that this present administration will provide the incentive to hundreds of Bahamians to move forward with plans to expand the tourism offering in the Bahamas,” said Mr Fer-

nander.

He added: “Once approvals and lease agreements have been signed, work will begin. Included in the lease is a clause that allows the Government to receive a percentage of the gross on a monthly basis as opposed to the established lease agreement that persons have with the administration that allows them to pay a monthly fee. This arrangement provides for the administration to benefit from the success of Zipline Bahamas.”

Mr Fernander said visi-

tors to Nassau are constantly seeking new and exciting onshore attractions. “In addition to Zip-lining there will be rock climbing, as well as an 80-feet ‘free fall’ that can be experienced, or all can be purchase as a package,” he added.

“With the incentives that can be offered to Bahamian entrepreneurs, Zip Line Bahamas can become the catalyst to more young and not so young - Bahamians taking opportunities to get involved in the tourism offering here in the Bahamas.”

the Minnis administration late last week for its review.

This occurred after Tribune Business contacts familiar with developments suggested that the Government was concerned about the value of investment incentives being sought by Wynn, especially promotional subventions to assist with airlift and marketing the resort properties.

“Again, I cannot confirm or not confirm,” Mr Thompson said when this was put to him. “It is really that sensitive, and really that close... It would not be in the best interests of the deal.

“We’ve reached to a position where I think we’re almost there, and we don’t want to jeopardise how far we’ve come and where we’re at. I have no response other than to say we are continuing to talk to the interested persons, we are continuing to talk to them every day, and we are seeking arrive at the best possible deal in the shortest possible time for the people of Grand Bahama.

“Where we’re at right now is a good place, but very sensitive. I was at a meeting today on this very property.

This is not something that’s on the backburner; it’s a live issue that we’re working on every day.”

The near nine-month closure of the Grand Lucayan’s Breaker’s Cay property, and much of the Lighthouse Pointe section, together with Memories subsequent pull-out has deprived Grand Bahama

of more than 1,000 hotel rooms - around 59 per cent of its inventory.

The post-Hurricane Matthew hotel closures, and loss of hundreds of jobs, have had a devastating effect on Freeport’s economy and society, with some predicting that the city will hit “the point of no return” if the Grand Lucayan is not sold and re-opened by Christmas.

Several Port Lucaya Marketplace vendors have predicted that 95 per cent of tenants “will not survive another two months”, given their dependency on a resort customer base that has all but dried up.

Tribune Business understands that Wynn’s business model for the Grand Lucayan, should the purchase go ahead, would involve it acting as the ‘landlord’ and real estate owner. It would then strike deals with resort/casino brands and operators to manage the hotels and amenities.

Sources familiar with Wynn’s position yesterday acknowledged that “the Government has some questions” over the level of tax/investment incentives, and marketing/promotional subsidies, it is seeking.

However, they suggested that the prospective purchaser had yet to receive any formal feedback or response to its proposed Heads of Agreement submission.

They added that Wynn wants to complete Heads of Agreement talks with the Government before

closing the Grand Lucayan’s purchase with current owner, Cheung Kong Property Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa’s property arm.

“There’s some terms with Hutchison that have to be worked out,” one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business. “But nothing’s going to proceed until they get a final agreement with the Government.

“Once that Heads of Agreement is done with the Government, they’ll close.

They want to iron that out, and once they do that they’ll close with Hutchison.”

Wynn has paid a deposit, the normal practice in all real estate deals, to the Grand Lucayan’s owner, to show the seriousness of its purchase intent. This has yet to reach the point where it goes ‘hard’, and can be kept by the seller if the deal goes through.

This provides a ‘narrow window’ for Wynn to conclude negotiations with the Minnis administration, although some observers yesterday suggested this was akin to “putting the cart before the horse” as the Canadian developer has yet to sign a sales agreement with Cheung Kong Property Holdings.

However, Tribune Business was told that the marketing/promotional support sought by Wynn was equivalent in value to previous government subsidies to the Grand Lucayan and its product.

One source pointed out that the former Christie

government had paid the salaries of Treasure Bay casino staff for many months, and assisted the Grand Lucayan in getting cruise passengers to stay at the resort.

Besides securing the return of Memories and its Sunwing affiliate, Wynn is also understood to be talking to AM Resorts as a potential operator for the Grand Lucayan.

AM Resorts owns and operates numerous resorts in Punta Cana, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and the Dominican Republic via five-six different brands.

“They’re a perfect fit,” one source said of AM Resorts, describing them as “a one-stop shop” and vertically integrated resort/leisure company due to their ownership of vacation wholesalers and affiliation with the Apple Leisure Group.

Many observers believe the Grand Lucayan’s reopening should be the Minnis administration’s leading national economic priority, given that the situation has the potential to derail its long-term plans for Grand Bahama if it persists much longer.

The new government has placed Grand Bahama at the centre of its economic revival strategy, with plans to market the island to three separate tourism niches, plus attract the film/ TV industry and financial services.

This, though, will all be for nought unless the current decline is arrested.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, July 4, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Gains for energy companies and banks boost stock indexes

By MARLEY JAY Associated Press

A MAN walks towards the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks are rising, yesterday, as banks like Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley make gains. Automakers are mostly higher as they start to report their monthly sales totals. Bankrate jumped after it agreed to be acquired by Red Ventures.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Monday as banks continued to climb along with interest rates, and energy companies rallied again with oil prices.

Better-than-expected auto sales and a strong report on U.S. factories also boosted stocks.

Energy companies made large gains in Monday’s abbreviated trading session as oil prices rose for the eighth day in a row. Banks rose as bond yields and interest rates continued to rise. Companies that stand to benefit from faster economic growth, like industrial companies and basic materials makers, climbed after the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity climbed in June to its highest level in almost three years.

“The market clearly liked that number,” said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. He said that economic reports over the last few months have been a bit disappointing, but “It’s still in line with expectations for modest GDP growth.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 5.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,429.02.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 129.64 points, or 0.6 percent, to 21,479.27.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 11.32 points, or 0.8 percent, to finish at a record high of 1,426.68.

The Nasdaq composite lost 30.36 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,110.06. That was a six-week low, as technology companies have been slumping for almost a month.

Overall, almost threefourths of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange finished higher.

Banks continued their recent winning ways as bond yields and interest rates increased further. Higher interest rates let banks make more money from lending, and that helped financial companies rally last week.

Major banks also raised their dividends and said they will buy back more stock. JPMorgan Chase added $1.85, or 2 percent, to $92.75 and Citigroup rose $1.38, or 2.1 percent, to $68.26. Morgan Stanley climbed $1.05, or 2.4 percent, to $45.61.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treas-

ury note rose to 2.34 percent from 2.30 percent.

U.S. factories did more work in June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The group’s survey of manufacturing reached its highest level since August 2014. That suggests the economy could be getting stronger and that U.S. manufacturing continues to recover after a slump in late 2015 and early 2016.

General Electric rose 44 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $27.45 and chemicals maker DuPont added $1.42, or 1.8 percent, to $82.13.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained 73 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $46.77 a barrel in New York, its eighth gain in a row. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 62 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $49.39 a barrel in London.

Before their recent winning streak, crude prices had reached their lowest levels of the year. Exxon Mobil rose $1.37, or 1.7 percent, to $82.10 and ConocoPhillips added $1.70, or 3.9 percent, to $45.66.

Car companies reported their monthly sales on Monday, and while overall sales continued to slip, the stocks mostly traded higher as investors felt the results were reasonably strong.

Barclays, execs in UK court over fraud allegations

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Barclays and four of its former executives, including the ex-CEO, appeared in court in Britain on Monday on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud connected with efforts to raise funds from Qatar and avoid a bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

The charges are the first in Britain against a bank and former executives for activities during the crisis.

At the heart of the case is the question of whether Barclays hid the true nature of the fundraising plan with Qatar from authorities and other shareholders.

The charges follow an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into two rounds of fundraising by Barclays from Qatar in June and October of 2008.

The probe centered on two side agreements under which Barclays paid the Qatari investors 322 million pounds ($406 million)

FORMER Barclays chief executive John Varley arrives for a hearing for charges of fraud at Westminster Magistrates Court, London, yesterday.

Barclays and four of its former executives, including its former CEO, are set to appear in court on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud connected with efforts to raise funds at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. (AP Photo/ Matt Dunham)

over five years, the bank disclosed in 2013.

Ex-CEO John Varley, the other defendants, and a bank representative appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Varley, 61, former investment banking chief Roger Jenkins, 61, Thomas Kalaris, 61, who headed the bank’s wealth management division, and Roger Boath, 58, head of the European financial institutions group, were all charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in re-

lation to the first round of fundraising.

Barclays, Varley and Jenkins were charged with another count in regard to the second round of financing, as well as a separate charge of providing unlawful financial assistance.

In bailing all four, senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot ordered Jenkins and Kalaris to pay a security each of 500,000 pounds because Jenkins lives in the United States and Kalaris is a dual national.

Boath and Varley were released on unconditional bail.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, July 4, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Auto sales fall 6 straight months, stay near record levels

By TOM KRISHER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Unemployment is down, consumer confidence is up, and gas prices and interest rates are still low.

Even so, U.S. auto sales fell 3 percent last month.

It was the sixth straight monthly decline as sales dropped off last year’s record pace. For the first six months, car and truck sales fell 2.1 percent, the first such decrease since the financial crisis in 2009.

But auto executives and industry analysts say it’s no cause for panic. Sales are still strong and aren’t expected to plunge anytime soon. Plus, buyers are still loading out trucks and SUVs with high-priced options, and that’s likely to boost earnings, at least in Detroit.

Sales are falling largely because people who delayed car and truck purchases in the years since the Great Recession have bought new ones, says Jessica Caldwell, executive director of analysis for Edmunds.com. “We’re kind of at the point where we don’t have a boost from that,” she says.

Also, auto companies are cutting lease deals as used-car values fall, cur-

tailing another incentive to buy. And people with lower credit scores are feeling the pinch from lenders tightening standards a bit, sending many into the used car market, Caldwell says.

In June, Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Hyundai all reported sales drops. Fiat Chrysler sales were down 7.4 percent, while Ford said its sales declined 5 percent. GM was off 4.8 percent and Korean automaker Hyundai posted a hefty 19.3 percent decrease. Nissan, Toyota and Honda each reported small increases on Monday, but they weren’t large enough to offset declines in Detroit. Volkswagen brand sales rose 15 percent over depressed numbers from last June.

Autotrader senior analyst Michelle Krebs says the small first-half dip is not an indication of broader economic troubles. She doesn’t expect a big recovery in the second half of the year, but also doesn’t see a huge decline, predicting full-year sales from between 16.8 million to 17.3 million.

That’s still below last year’s record of 17.55 million.

“We think the second half could be a little bit stronger than the first half was,” says Krebs, who expects 2016 still to be the fifth-best year on record.

CHEVROLET cars sit on the lot of a dealer in Pittsburgh. Yesterday, automakers release monthly sales reports. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) “We don’t see any imbalances that suggest anything is going to collapse.”

U.S. buyers continued a trend they’ve been following for years, purchasing SUVs and trucks and shunning cars. Car sales fell 13 percent in June while trucks and SUVs rose 4 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Trucks and SUVs accounted for 63 percent of sales last month. Just five years ago they were less

than half.

Sales of Toyota’s Camry, normally the top-selling non-pickup truck in the U.S., fell nearly 10 percent.

But Ford’s F-Series pickup, the top-selling vehicle in America, rose nearly 10 percent.

Slowing car sales are good for consumers who are looking to buy a car, says Caldwell. Dealer inventories are growing before production cuts take effect and

discounts are rising, so now is the time to buy.

Even with the sales decline, auto prices remain high, according to J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. The average vehicle sold for $31,720 in June, a record for the month, surpassing the old record of $31,073 set last year. But some automakers are having to raise discounts and sell more vehicles to rental car companies to keep their

sales numbers up. The average incentive spend per vehicle in June was $3,661 in June, also a record for the month. Even spending on trucks and SUVs is up about $350 from last year, J.D. Power and LMC estimated.

The general manager of the Honda division in the U.S., Jeff Conrad, conceded that the competition is stiff. He said Honda posted an increase “against a sea of competitors clinging to market share via heavy incentives and fleet sales.”

The shift toward cars is good news for companies that rely heavily on pickup trucks and SUVs such as Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler.

Mark LaNeve, Ford’s vice president of sales, said even though Ford’s retail sales to individual customers were down 1 percent in the first half of the year, its revenue will be up because of strong sales of loadedout pickup trucks.

The shift won’t be such good news for brands like Hyundai, which is heavily dependent on car sales.

Sales of Hyundai’s Elantra compact car, normally among the brand’s topselling vehicles, fell more than 40 percent to just over 13,000. A year ago, Hyundai set a sales record for the month of June.

Tesla: 1st Model 3 to be built Friday, sales start July 28

TESLA Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk speaks at the unveiling of the Model 3 at the Tesla Motors design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. Electric car maker Tesla said yesterday, that its Model 3 car will go on sale on Friday. (AP Photo/Justin Pritchard, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The first Tesla Model 3 electric car for the masses should come off the assembly line on Friday with the first deliveries in late July, the company’s CEO says.

CEO Elon Musk, in several Twitter messages early Monday, says the new car passed all government regulatory requirements for production to begin two weeks ahead of schedule.

The company plans to hold a party to hand over the first 30 Model 3s to customers on July 28, Musk wrote in a tweet.

The Model 3 is to start

MARKET REPORT MONDAY, 3 JULY 2017

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,863.75 | CHG -1.12 | %CHG -0.06 | YTD -74.46 | YTD% -3.84 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 17.43 9.09 3.60 4.70 0.13 6.50 8.60 6.10 10.60 14.49 2.72 1.60 6.00 10.00 11.00 10.00 6.90 12.51 11.00

52WK LOW 3.62 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.47 0.12 3.80 8.35 5.83 10.05 10.00 2.18 1.31 5.80 7.55 8.56 7.90 6.35 11.92 10.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 106.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.06 3.93 1.95 169.70 141.76 1.49 1.67 1.58 1.10 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.94 11.21 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.43 1.64 1.54 1.04 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.27 15.85 9.09 3.60 1.47 0.12 4.00 8.60 6.00 10.49 10.02 2.48 1.56 6.00 9.75 9.00 9.75 6.90 12.50 10.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 109.11 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.27 15.85 9.09 3.60 1.47 0.12 4.00 8.60 6.00 10.47 10.00 2.48 1.56 6.00 9.75 9.00 9.75 6.90 12.50 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.02 -0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

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

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

109.18 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD 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

VOLUME

2,000 6,497 3,200

VOLUME

NAV 2.06 3.93 1.95 168.44 141.76 1.49 1.64 1.58 1.07 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.80 11.13 9.63

EPS$ 0.444 0.932 -0.510 0.383 -1.117 0.000 -0.406 0.587 0.190 0.540 0.570 0.102 0.197 0.753 0.763 0.330 0.830 0.600 0.697 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.000 0.000 0.210 0.000 0.000 0.090 0.300 0.220 0.360 0.570 0.060 0.060 0.290 0.450 0.000 0.340 0.140 0.620 0.000

P/E 9.6 17.0 N/M 9.4 N/M N/M -9.9 14.7 31.6 19.4 17.5 24.3 7.9 8.0 12.8 27.3 11.7 11.5 17.9 0.0

YIELD 1.87% 6.31% 0.00% 5.83% 0.00% 0.00% 2.25% 3.49% 3.67% 3.44% 5.70% 2.42% 3.85% 4.83% 4.62% 0.00% 3.49% 2.03% 4.96% 0.00%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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

INTEREST 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2017 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.57% 4.52% 0.39% 2.75% 0.77% 2.51% 3.95% 3.95% 6.77% 6.77% 1.45% 4.17% -1.59% 0.17% 0.49% 2.72% 1.29% 2.00% 4.35% 4.69% 4.13% 4.28% 4.22% 4.64% 6.19% 3.43% 2.77% 2.98% -3.66% -3.90%

NAV Date 30-Apr-2017 30-Apr-2017 30-Apr-2017 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 30-Apr-2017 30-Apr-2017 30-Apr-2017 30-Apr-2017 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016

MARKET TERMS 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

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 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

around $35,000 and with a $7,500 federal electric car tax credit, could cost $27,500. Tesla says the fiveseat car will be able to go 215 miles (346 kilometers) on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in under six seconds.

Musk tweeted that the company expects to produce 100 cars in August and more than 1,500 in September. “Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in December,” he wrote.

That figure is less than previous estimates. Musk earlier had said Tesla would make 10,000 Model 3s per week by December.

Tesla also said Monday that it delivered about 22,000 vehicles in the second quarter, bringing firsthalf deliveries to about 47,100.

That’s at the low end of the company’s prediction earlier this year of 47,000 to 50,000 Model S sedan and Model X SUV deliveries in the first half, as much as a 71 percent increase over a year ago.

While second-quarter deliveries rose 53 percent from a year ago, they still were

about 12 percent below first-quarter deliveries. Tesla said in a statement that second-quarter production was hampered by a severe shortfall of battery packs.

Production averaged 40 percent less than demand until early June, the company said.

Tesla said that as long as global economic conditions don’t worsen considerably, it is confident that secondhalf Model S and Model X deliveries are likely to exceed deliveries in the first half.

Musk’s tweets about the Model 3 appear to erase doubts that Tesla would be able to meet deadlines for mass producing the cars, which is key to the company making money. Previously it has faced delays in getting vehicles to market. The Palo Alto, California-based company aims to make 10,000 Model 3s per week in 2018.

Tesla hasn’t said how many people have put down $1,000 refundable deposits for the Model 3, but Musk has said people who put down a deposit now won’t get a car until the end of 2018, suggesting it could be close to 500,000.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that SHARON FRANCOIS of Carmichael Rd., 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 4th day of July, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

IN THE ESTATE OF ABNER PINDER, deceased, late of the Settlement of Spanish Wells, St. George’s Cay in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claims or demands against the above-named Estate are requested to send the same duly certified to the undersigned on or before the 19 July, 2017 and notice is hereby also given that at the expiration of the time above mentioned the assets of the deceased will be distributed among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Administrator shall then have had notice.

Roberts, Isaacs & Ward, Attorneys-at-Law, Chambers, Unit 2, Cable Beach Court Professional Centre, West Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, July 4, 2017, PAGE 9

B O DY A N D M I N D

KNOW YOUR STATUS – BAHAMIANS TAKE PART IN REGIONAL HIV TESTING DAY

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

F

OR some people it was the longest 15 minutes of their lives and for others it was simply a ritual they have become accustomed to – getting their fingers pricked, then waiting for the results from a rapid HIV test.

Scores of Bahamians gathered in Rawson Square on Regional HIV Testing Day (RTD), which celebrated its 10th year last Friday.

Scotiabank branches across the Caribbean led the charge in providing private and confidential locations to facilitate voluntary HIV counselling and testing.

Additionally, healthy lifestyle counselling, glucose and cholesterol screenings, blood pressure readings, and preventative tools were offered.

RTD was originally organised by the Caribbean Broadcast Media partnership (CBMP) on HIV/ AIDS, in partnership with Scotiabank. The CBMP is an arm of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI), which is supported by the United Nations.

Over the last decade, more than 90,000 people in 21 countries have been tested through this initiative.

The goal is to test 100,000 people in the Caribbean by the end of 2017.

Many Bahamians took advantage of the free testing initiative. One such person, who wished to remain anonymous, described the event as “convenient”.

“I am trying to make this a ritual and get a HIV test every year,” they said. “It is important for you to know what your status is. You cannot let the fear of getting your finger stick stop you from knowing, that is why I am came.”

Events like RTD aim to increase public participation in voluntary HIV counselling and testing.

According to Dr Nikkiah Forbes, the director of the National HIV/AIDS Programme in the Bahamas, normalising HIV testing is part of addressing the epidemic.

“HIV testing is a door for prevention. It is also a door for treatment. Think about a person who is infected with HIV, they may not know that they are infected. There are some estimates depending

SEAN N ALBERT, Scotiabank’s vice president and district head, Caribbean North, at Regional HIV Testing Day.

MINISTER of Health Dr Duane Sands leads by example and gets tested.

BAHAMIANS participate in Regional HIV Testing Day in Rawson Square last Friday.

on various countries that quite a few people that are infected do not know what their status is. Surely if you do not know what your status is you cannot take steps to get into care. What if you are HIV negative, knowing your status helps to keep you HIV negative; it helps with condom use and knowing status of partners. So HIV testing is the way if you are negative to stay negative and if you are positive to get into treatment,” she said.

Despite efforts to prevent the spread of HIV, the disease continues to take a heavy toll across the Caribbean. According to statistics at the end of 2009,

there were approximately 240,000 persons living with HIV in the region.

The Bahamas is estimated as having the highest number per capita in the Caribbean, which has always been a cause of deep concern. Surveillance indicates that one out of 50 persons living in the Bahamas is HIV positive.

It is believed that at least half of them do not know their status.

Between 2006 and 2015 there has been a 38 per cent increase in new HIV diagnoses among 15 to 24-year-olds, with a twofold increase in men.

While those statistics are

concerning, fewer people have tested positive for HIV despite increases in testing over the past few years.

There has been a 43 per cent decrease in annual HIV diagnoses from 2006 to 2015 (52 per cent decrease in women, 34 per cent in men). The number of babies born with HIV decreased from 10 in 2,000 to 0 in 2015. AIDS deaths decreased by 35 per cent between 2005 and 2014 and since 2011, over 31,000 HIV rapid tests have been performed through the NAC with the support of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

“We are making great strides, but we have to look to the future,” Dr Forbes said.

“The Bahamas is a member of the United Nations which has a unit UNAIDS that is dedicated to specifically ending AIDS. So there is a vision that Bahamas has signed onto and that is to see the end of AIDS by 2030. To get there it is a difficult road, but there is a model essentially and a strategy.

So the idea is that if we can get people to the gold standard of treatment that we will eventually have so few cases from infections person to person that the cases would be so small

that AIDS will stop being transmitted and fizzle out,” she said.

This strategy recommends that by 2020 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90 per cent of these persons will have sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 90 per cent of them achieve viral suppression.

The successful public/ private partnership of RTD is a model as the Caribbean seeks to ensure that HIV programmes are not only sustained for future generations, but that progression to AIDS is halted and ended by 2030.

transitioning to a mother.

Originally we wanted to launch the Baby Expo in 2014, but like with a baby, the process of growth must take place. What really hit home for us was last year during a workshop was when several of our parents indicated that they need this. Here we are in 2017, three years later, launching our expo and we couldn’t be more grateful and humbled,” said Ms Hepburn.

She believes the expo will be beneficial for pregnant women, especially firsttime moms, as the event seeks to positively guide them through a very special time of their lives.

“As an industry involved in nurturing it is important to ensure that moms and moms-to-be are receiving the correct information through a forum such as this. We would also like to ensure that we equip mothers with safe and realistic

skills for their motherhood experience.

The event brings together under one roof all leading brands, service providers and players big and small within the industry who take care of moms and their little ones,” said Ms Hepburn.

Going forward, Parchomas Parents Choice Bahamas is looking forward to taking part in the Global Big Latch On breastfeeding event, continuing its monthly series, a book release, and more.

“Ready To Pop” tickets are set to go on sale this Wednesday at Lowe’s Pharmacy locations, Terrell’s Room, Camaries Nail Salon and Mommy’s Cradle.

For more information contact 433-8904 , 5658260, 467-4513 or 677-7943, or visit the Facebook page ‘Pregnancy Workshops Bahamas’.

Calling all moms-to-be

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net UNDER the theme “Ready To Pop”, the team at Parchomas Parents Choice Bahamas is hosting its biggest event to date.

Called the Moms2B and Baby Expo, the fun goes down at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts on Sunday, July 30.

Launched in 2013, Parchomas was started to not only empower expectant moms but also entire families. The upcoming event, beginning at 6pm, will exhibit and showcase various facets of prenatal healthcare, including products, services and technology, all of which are intended to aid Bahamian mothers and their infants.

Highlights will also include food booths and demonstrations on prenatal

MOTHERS-to-be, and especially first-time moms and their families, are welcome at the upcoming Moms2B and Baby Expo. yoga, prenatal massages, car seat installation, as well as instructions on how to properly bathe and care for a baby. On site there will also be obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatricians available for a question and answer period.

“It’s really a women empowerment with sup-

port from the entire family movement. We are bringing the village back because it takes a village to raise a child,” Jasadette Hepburn of Parchomas.

“Every attendee will receive a swag gift bag, but the fist 100 attendees will receive a bag with over $150 worth of baby and mommy

products. In the past we had successful workshops and bragged about seminars, but from the year 2013 to now nothing of this magnitude. This expecting expo is very exciting and exhilarating because this is huge; something we’ve envisioned for so long and now it’s in its complete form and it’s happening.”

She is most excited to see happy pregnant women at the event, because while the expo is informative, it is also deigned to be fun.

“Similar to a ‘girls’ night out” but with pregnant women,” Ms Hepburn added.

“What we teach in our class repetitively is connection and family. When a pregnant lady says, ‘I’m so happy I came’, I needed that; this is what I am looking forward to. Our president, J Hepburn, ‘The Baby Lady’, always speaks about her initial walk of passage,

PAGE 10, Tuesday, July 4, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Are Bahamian youths being prepared to live in a vocational climate?

A

t this time of year, when 17 and 18-yearolds all feel that the world is their oyster, and freedom from parental restrictions, the confines of academic institutions, along with the bliss of adulthood on the horizon, it seems fitting to explore a question that has arisen in the minds of many individuals: How prepared are Bahamian youth to function in a 21st century society?

Stern & Eichorn (1989) convey in their book “Adolescence and Work: Influences of Social Structure, Labour Markets and Culture” that typically adolescence is that period when youth transition from childhood into adulthood, yet a defining characteristic of this period is for one to figure out their occupational identity.

Undeniably, a large number of Bahamian graduates aspire to attend a tertiary institution and a number of them do. However, a large proportion enter the workforce immediately after graduation from high school. Despite the development of great programmes that are established and or growing to assist students with college and job preparedness, and with so many still seeking jobs or feeling unfulfilled, the question still is, ‘Are we, and by extension academic institutions, preparing newer Millennials to be marketable in the 21st century workforce, not only in skill set, but mindset?’

This country undoubtedly has a very educated workforce, with a 95.5 per cent adult (ages 15 and up) literacy rate, according to the 2003 United Nations Human Development Index. Even more impressive, in a graduation ceremony held for graduates of Galilee College, the current Minister of Education, Jeff Lloyd, noted that among our Caribbean counterparts, the Bahamas has the highest number of Rhodes Scholars – a prestigious title for persons who have excelled in their respective disciplines and are selected to advance their studies in the United Kingdom.

Nonetheless, will the ability to read and write be enough to aid our future generations in today’s society and set them apart from others on a job interview or when the work at the office becomes challenging? Are we equipping adolescents in 2017, as we did those in 1977, with the drive to succeed beyond the high school environment?

Historically focused primarily on manual labour, physical skills and people

ARE educational institutions teaching Bahamian youth both academic and sufficient practical skills? skills, and built on agricultural strengths requiring grit and stamina, creative work, along with worldclass people skills, the Bahamas was previously number one in the tourism industry for years. This has changed. An article in Tourism Today shared that in 2015 the Bahamas was fifth among the top 10 Caribbean countries for culture, entertainment, culinary and adventure. Yet we claimed the number four spot in absolute rankings, according to the 2016 Caribbean Tourism Quality Index Resonance Report. So

“The gap being created between acquiring knowledge and applying it is a trend perpetuated with each generation, causing great panic as employers are limited in their selection pool for effective workers and young adults are distressed that they are unable to find a job, even though they have the qualifications.” although an improvement, why the decline at all? At some point there was a shift to focus on white collar professions such as banking, so the level of“success in blue collar professions waned.

Therefore, industries like

tourism, according to data, are not as dynamic as in past years.

So, yes, we must pride ourselves on academic success, but are we preparing the next generation to sur-

vive in a world that does not solely prize academic accolades but rather vocational ability, practical knowledge, strong character and work ethic? What can we do to change and foster success for a generation born into a world very different from the one that existed 10 to 20 years ago?

Other than summer employment, youth may never be exposed to life experiences via the educational system meant to ‘educate’ them. Even in present day academic settings it is rare that educators ensure that an experiential opportu-

nity coincides with what is taught in theory. Herein lies the dilemma. What does education mean in the 21st century?

Human resource consultant, author and organisational development specialist Simmone Bowe shared that when interviewing candidates for positions she has seen that there seems to be a deficit in their ability to apply external knowledge to the job being offered.

Moreover, candidates seem to be weak in being able to present themselves as viable prospects for the position, solve problems, think critically, manage self, relationships with others and conflict, and to express their career goals and growth in a particular career and role.

The gap being created between acquiring knowledge and applying it is a trend perpetuated with each generation, causing great panic as employers are limited in their selection pool for effective workers and young adults are distressed that they are unable to find a job, even though they have the qualifications. Napoleon Hill’s quote is fitting: “There is an economic crisis!” This crisis is not because of lack of knowledge or skill, but due to a disconnect between what the labour force needs and its labourers.

What can be done to fill this gap, to avoid a further widening, between the knowledge supposedly obtained by those in emerging adulthood and their ability to apply themselves in a practical sense effectively?

Should we be preparing them to solely acquire jobs or to devise means of contributing to the economy, by way of using their own natural and/or groomed talents to have businesses of their own? The responses to these questions vary and are based on a person’s frame of reference, background, values and beliefs.

Nonetheless, numbers convey a clear picture. The level of general “success” seen among Bahamian youth can be a testament and a starting point, not only to creating conversation, but devising and carrying out measures that support them in experiential encounters.

These must surpass providing our young adults with only a strong academic foundation, but pragmatic ones as well.

• Kandra Knowles is a Bahamian who has studied, trained and worked in New York to become and function as a licenced social worker for children and families. She is currently working in Nassau.

MARIA MENOUNOS REVEALS BRAIN TUMOUR BATTLE, QUITS E! NEWS

MARIA Menounos (Photo by Jordan Strauss/ Invision/AP, File )

NEW YORK (AP) — Maria Menounos says she has been diagnosed with a benign brain tumour and has announced her resignation from E! News.

Menounos tells People magazine that she underwent surgery last month to remove a golf-ball-sized tumour discovered in Feb-

ruary. Menounos says 99.9 per cent of the tumour was removed during the sevenhour procedure on June 8. She says there’s a small chance that it could come back.

E! says Monday that Menounos is leaving the network after three years. The cable network says it be-

lieves Menounos will tackle her health struggles “with the same fierce dedication she is known for.”

The 39-year-old says her face is still numb from the surgery but should be back to normal soon.

Menounos is also caring for her mother, who has stage-four brain cancer.

MAN WHO INSPIRED ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE IS BACK IN HOSPITAL BOSTON (AP) — The man who inspired people around the world to dump buckets of ice water over their heads to raise millions of dollars for Lou Gehrig’s disease research is back in the hospital and is keeping his sense of humor.

A Facebook post from the family of 32-year-old Pete Frates said he is resting comfortably at Massachusetts General Hospital and that “doctors, medicine, prayers and love continue to help him get stronger.”

After some news outlets

erroneously reported Monday that he had died, Frates responded by posting a 45-second video on Twitter showing him lying in a hospital bed while the song “Alive” by Pearl Jam plays in the background.

Frates’ family said Sunday that he had returned to the hospital and was “battling this beast ALS like a Superhero.”

He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2012. The disease weakens muscles and impairs physical functioning.

There is no known cure.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $220 million when it took off worldwide on social media in 2014.

Frates is a native of Beverly, Massachusetts, and played baseball at Boston College. He played professionally in Germany after graduation and in amateur leagues upon his return to the US. He received his diagnosis after getting hit on the wrist by a pitch and noticing it wasn’t healing properly.

FORMER Boston College baseball captain Pete Frates, left, appears with his wife Julie, center, and two-year-old daughter Lucy, right, moments after he was presented with the 2017 NCAA Inspiration Award, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at their home in Beverly, Mass. The NCAA honored Frates who inspired the ice bucket challenge that raised millions of dollars for Lou Gehrig’s disease research.

Frates was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, July 4, 2017, PAGE 11

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MELISSA ALCENA

LIFE THROUGH MELISSA ALCENA’S LENS

S

ome people know what they were born to do from a very young age. They dashed around with stethoscopes wrapped around their necks, “healing” everyone in sight, or walked behind mommy in the kitchen, helping bake cakes and tripping over an apron much too big for them.

For Melissa Alcena, the realisation of what she wanted to do with her life did not occur in during childhood, but rather at a point when she needed inspiration the most.

After graduating from high school she did not take the usual route of going straight off to college.

Instead, she stayed home and worked for a company that did not move her in the direction she needed to help boost her creativity.

She decided to take action, which soon led to her discovering her passion for photography.

It all began with snapping photos at the Post Office. Melissa captured subjects who may not have been considered models in the public’s eye, but through the lens of her camera she found a unique beauty in each of them.

During this time, she discovered her calling.

Inspiration sparked and her new goal was to become a professional photographer. She wanted to gain more experience and attempted to find a university that would help her enhance the skills she had already acquired on her own.

Melissa’s first step toward becoming a photographer was travelling to Cuba, where she spent four months immersed in

MELISSA ALCENA the local culture. What she remembers most about this experience is that Cuba has a culture which “slaps you in the face”. The people she captured along the way allowed her to a build a portfolio which eventually led to her enrollment in Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada.

After graduation, she started working in casting.

She went out and found people to cast for print advertisements. Although her life was starting to unfold in a promising direction, she had a feeling that she was not good enough to become a professional photographer.

Five and a half years later, she decided to apply for permanent residency in Canada. This process did not turn out to be as easy as she expected and she soon experienced stressful episodes which led to her returning to the Bahamas.

However, her move back home resulted in some dark times for Melissa. As she struggled to find jobs that were not entry level positions, she slipped into depression.

During two months of stagnancy, Melissa shifted back to what really made

her happy.

“I started slowly just taking self-portraits here and there as a reason to get up out of bed,” she recalled.

“I was doing something, I was creating (and) I was only thinking of what was happening in the present moment. I didn’t have a chance to think about what ifs and the past; I had to focus on what I was doing and it felt even more fulfilling.”

She shot more and more images and posted them online on Instagram and Facebook. She received messages from people interested in her work and began photographing those who appeared the most interesting to her.

Melissa went back to Canada and lined up 30 people with uniquely appealing features. She spent the summer taking their portraits. Eventually, she was approached by Vice Magazine and offered a job, but decided not to stay in Canada because she felt she needed something that would provide her with a more stable income.

After returning to Nassau, she felt more content than ever before in her life.

“When I came back for good I was OK with that because I was tired of the city at that point and I felt like I got everything I needed out of it,” she said.

“There’s always something you sacrifice for a

dream, and I feel like I wanted to have security because I spent so much time doing the opposite.”

Her final move back to Nassau gave her the inspiration she needed to fully launch her career as a photographer. Today, she captures everyday Bahamians and searches for people who are not typically recognised as photogenic.

This has made her realise how much of an art form photography really is.

“I found that living in the Bahamas, a lot of people aren’t exposed to photography as an art form.

Photography is mainly considered a service,” she said.

Melissa describes

photography as a process where you interact with a subject and get to know them.

“You kind of utilise a bit of psychology so that they are comfortable with you and then you start building up to taking pictures.

There’s a goal in mind to kind of portray a personal life they never see of themselves, but not in a way that is false,” she explained.

For Melissa, her life as an artist does not stop with photography. She hopes to dip more into the field of videography as she continues to express herself through her lens.

Are you treating yourself better?

WHILE the idea of treating yourself better may sound simple as pie, many find this concept somewhat difficult. Simply because it is difficult to treat yourself better if you are stuck in a bitter place. More than this, in order to be better you must know how to ‘be’. And by ‘be’ I mean be yourself – be your best friend; be your own advocate. The only solution here is to give yourself a real honest to goodness whole life assessment that allows you to see things in a holistic kind of way.

Then the other issue is the way you define “better”. What may be better for some may not meet the better requirement for others.

The greatest measurement of better in my view is to use your feelings as the guide. It’s difficult to be better if you are feeling badly, bitter or worse. The feelings spoken of here are your true feelings not that plastic smile that so many glide through life with.

By addressing your emotional issues you begin the process of dealing and healing some of your inner wounds. Recognise that this is not a minor league suggestion. It requires a major shift in

Michelle Miller Motivationals

Michelle M Miller your thinking and an enormous amount of courage to cut away the many layers of lies that no doubt hold you hostage.

You may be surprised to find that in almost every case these lies are based on other people’s perceptions and perhaps opinions of you. Without much forethought, you have accepted them as your truth. Until you make up your mind to cleanse the lens of your

perception and take a real honest look at yourself you cannot treat yourself better.

Treating yourself better is a process but it won’t just happen. It is a decision that you must make; investing time and effort to redefine the way define yourself. You must be willing to see yourself in a new light.

At some point in our journey we can really get beaten up by the challenges of life. Indeed, a lot of stuff happens. That why it’s called life. And as much as we may only want sunshine in our life, we know that it must rain.

Yet it is not the many rain storms that we face, it is always our willingness to face them fearlessly that matters most. Facing life’s storms head on strengthens your resolve to bounce back. The best advice here is to own your feelings. When you own the way you feel you better yourself to address those feeling confidently.

The first step to treating yourself better begins by reevaluating the value of yourself. Make certain that you are not investing too much valuable emotional capital worrying about what people may

think. It is what you think about yourself that is the trump card.

Perhaps the bitterness hindering you from treating yourself well goes back to your childhood.

This indeed can be even more devastating, because you were defenceless. Let me just say that it was not your fault. You are not responsible for the actions/behaviours of those entrusted with your care.

While they may be horrible feelings, you must find ways to release your power from what happened.

Otherwise, it remains a major link in the chain of your emotional foundation. You are born worthy and destined to live a better life.

And absolutely nobody can take that away from you. Now that you are here you owe it to yourself to take responsibility for your life.

Let me reiterate that you cannot treat yourself better until you feel better. Treating yourself better is not about buying more expensive stuff. Instead, it is about dealing with that painful stuff within.

Start the process of getting inside of your life to heal your shattered emotions. You cannot build a better life if you are broken

within.

As a life therapist, I know that there is incredible value in facing the pain and healing yourself. It is the ultimate path to your authentic power. Freedom comes from first breaking free within.

Leader to leader, make the decision to treat yourself better by beginning the process of addressing your most painful emotional.

By dealing with the root of your feelings you can heal, repair and rebuild yourself. In so doing you develop the ingredients to bake a better, more emotionally healthy life pie.

It is your willingness to get naked inside your life; doing the inner work that builds the pillars of living an empowered life. Yes, you can do it.

What do you think? Send comments questions to 429-6770 or coaching242@yahoo.com.

• Michelle M Miller is a certified life coach, communication and leadership expert. Visit www. talktomichellemiller.com or call 1-888-620-7894; mail can be sent to PO Box CB-13060.

SECTION B

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017

Bahamian artist reclaims image of the black woman

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

“Therefore, this inspired a lot of the colour schemes within the work. I intentionally chose to work outside of local colour and in a realm where ones ‘blackness’ can not be fully defined. It becomes complicated to gauge the browns in persons’ skin when that person is blue, purple or yellow. I wanted the figures in the paintings to feel like people, women, real individuals that didn’t have to be defined by racial or societal standards,” she said.

“I wouldn’t say I have a style, as I’ve only been painting at RISD for a year and it’s encouraged to not have a style of work. We’re so young, and there’s so much to absorb and be introduced to, why limit yourself to one type of painting?

However, recently I’ve been really focused on colour and the ways I’ve been painting; how far one can extend a colour on a canvas and ways to make better painting decisions, and working on different colour grounds, experimenting with layering, glazes, translucency and opacities. Essentially I’ve been really interested in the medium of oil, it’s limitations and versatility.”

Since many of the paintings are based on the theme of reclaiming the image of the black woman, the artists’ subjects are mainly adapted from the work of white artists and alterations are made to the figures’ gender and features to give fairer representation.

“My process is to take a work and replace that image with that of a black woman, to where her nudity doesn’t solely define her as a sexual object, or as an image to objectify and dehumanise

A

S the only black woman in all of her classes at the Rhode Island School of Design, Gabrielle Banks is well acquainted with the feeling of isolation. And finding ways to share her experiences with a majority white community is something the artist is often tasked with.

With issues of race, colourism and the definition of what it means to be black being explored increasingly in contemporary art, Gabrielle not only tells her story, but also adds to the conversation with her exhibition “The Mark of a Woman”, which is on display at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas until July 30.

“A lot of the work is based on my experiences of being a black female at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). In almost all my classes I’m the only woman of colour, along with being the only person from the Bahamas in my undergrad programme. So I’ve been dealing a lot with different forms of isolation and how to communicate my experiences to a community where white is the majority,” Gabrielle told Tribune Woman.

“Being a marginalised body in the US is a complicated experience, but it’s one I’m grateful for because it helped inspire the work. I started to notice in a lot of my art history courses that the black female is not frequently represented in Western art. So (I followed) the advice of one of my most respected painting professors, Jennifer Packer: ‘Why not just make them black?’ “ Aside from the representation of black women, Gabrielle’s exhibit also shines a light on themes such as colourism and conflicts of ‘blackness’ within the black community.

AURIANA COOPER

ARTWORK from Gabrielle Banks’ “The Mark of a Woman” exhibit at the NAGB. Photos/ Shawn Hanna

DE’JANELL DIXON

COURTNEY BURKE

CHARITY HYPPOLITE

her,” Gabrielle explained.

“It was important for me as a task for myself. I spent a lot of time self-reflecting and thinking about my relationship to painting, myself, and my peers. This theme of ‘defining blackness’ is something that has been installed historically in all marginalised communities; the need to be categorised and placed into a box as a means of limiting an individual to specific standards.

It’s limiting and dehumanising. And so I embraced it.

I made every painting this semester about my so called ‘black thing’ and it was empowering, I finally felt comfortable in my subject matter and process.”

The eight pieces that were on display during the opening of her show garnered positive feedback from persons, she told Tribune Woman.

“A lot of positive feedback. Everyone was really open and supportive about the work. I couldn’t have asked for a more understanding and positive group of family members and friendly individuals. Everyone was so open-minded about the content, the way it was presented and what it represented. People were engaged with the work and wanted to know more. It was a wonderful experience that I’m so thankful for, especially the community of individuals that made it happen,” she said.

Gabrielle is currently acquiring her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting with a concentration in Art History at RISD. She specialises in portraiture, but has recently been exploring textiles and patterns within her growing body of work.

ANDRIA MILLER

BAHAMIAN BEAUTIES HEAD TO NASHVILLE FOR PAGEANT FIVE Bahamian beauties are making their way to Nashville, Tennessee, this week to compete at the International Junior Miss Scholarships Programme.

The local pageant, International Junior Miss Bahamas which was held in February of this year, crowned five queens.

They are De’Janell Dixon, Courtney Burke, Auriana Cooper, Charity Hyppolite

and Andria Miller.

The programme grants six titles: Junior Princess (ages four to six ), Princess (ages seven to nine), Pre-Teen (ages 10 to 12), Junior Teen (ages 13 to 15), Teen (ages 16 to 18) and Miss (ages 19 to 24).

The Bahamian queens will compete against delegates from all around the globe including Australia, the Dominican Republic and Hawaii.

IJM is a programme designed to encourage positive achievements by helping to build self-awareness in girls and young women.

The pageant programme offers cash scholarships to the winners and awards are provided for academic achievement, volunteer service and spirit of participation. Additional scholarships are provided for excellence in talent, modelling, public speaking and

other optional categories.

The local queens will compete against an average of 50 girls in their division during the international pageant. The competition consists of interview, fun fashion and evening gown segments.

Other optional contests are also held during the week where the girls can compete to win additional cash scholarships and gifts. However, those

competitions do not contribute to their overall performance in the pageant.

While the IJM programme encourages healthy lifestyles, there is no swimsuit competition.

Director of the local pageant Dominicka Smith said the IJM is a great experience for young women.

“The benefits for a girl competing at IJM not only (include) winning awards

and gifts, but the experience of networking and making friends worldwide.

The exposure from travelling and meeting people during appearances that they make throughout the year of their reign is rewarding. They have the opportunity during their travels to be an ambassador for their country. They are also considered role models to all young ladies and their peers,” she said.