07172026 NEWS

AROUND DA ISLANDS

DAD GRIEVES SLAIN

SON: ‘NOT THIS ONE’

‘Hardworking’ handyman fatally wounded by two gunmen on a scooter

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE father of a quiet, ‘hardworking’ handyman gunned down by masked attackers Wednesday night is demanding answers, saying he could have believed gunmen were hunting his other son — but “not this one”.

Dwight “Smily” Benjamin, 35, was shot dead shortly after 9pm after

leaving a residence of Father Calnan Road, of Market Street. Police said two men approached on a scooter before one, dressed in a black jacket and white mask, climbed of and opened fre. The attack fatally wounded Benjamin and plunged his family into disbelief, with relatives struggling to understand

GRIEF - SEE PAGE TWO

BPL outage rebate is just $8.45 per home

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power and Light customers will receive just $8.45 each under a rebate initiative tied to more than $610,000 in regulatory fnes. The disclosure came one day after the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority announced that more than 72,000 residential customers would share the money, but did not reveal how little each household would receive. BPL said eligible New Providence customers will receive the one-time credit automatically during the July billing period. The $8.45 will appear in the “adjustment” section of

REBATE - SEE PAGE FIVE

Emotional memorial held for the ve victims of fatal car crash

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter

Ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A NEAR-capacity crowd packed the William Thompson Auditorium last night as grieving families, friends and national leaders gathered to honour the fve teenagers whose lives were cut short in last month's Shirley Street crash. The emotional memorial celebrated the lives of Bertrica Brown, 18, Diamond Stubbs, 17, Stania Webb,

CAPTAIN PLEADS GUILTY TO $4M US DRUG BUST

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN boat captain accused of carrying about $4 million worth of cocaine aboard a vessel owned by former National Security Minister Marvin Dames and his wife has agreed to plead guilty and is asking a US judge to

sentence him to between nine and 11 years in prison.

Malcolm Goodman, 31, a former employee of Mr Dames, struck a plea deal with US prosecutors after weeks of negotiations and agreed to admit possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Goodman initially denied the charges but later changed his plea under an agreement requiring prosecutors to dismiss a second count of importing a controlled substance. US authorities arrested Goodman on February 11 after intercepting the 45-foot M/V Reel Xperience about four miles of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He told ofcers he had

PLEA - SEE PAGE THREE

GOODMAN

TWO women comfort each other as family and friends gathered for a memorial service at the William Thompson Auditorium for the five young people who died in a car crash on Shirley Street on June 28.

Photo: Nikia Charlton

19, Evalena Johnson, 19, and Keno Gordon Jr, 19, all recent high school graduates whose futures were only beginning to unfold. Many attendees wore memorial

MALCOLM

Handyman killed by gunmen in suspected mistaken identity

GRIEF from page one

why anyone would target a man they said avoided trouble and devoted his life to working and helping his family.

His father, Shawn Benjamin, told The Tribune yesterday that his son never bothered anyone.

“My son ain’t that type of person. I have another son. If they say they come for that one, I could believe that, but not this one,” he said. “I upfront. I grieving right now.”

He said his son had been visiting a friend when the gunmen struck.

Mr Benjamin later went to the friend’s home searching for answers and was told the attackers had targeted the wrong person.

“I been hunting,” he said. “I don’t care whoever I come behind.

That’s my son. I been hunting. I been up and down the place where they does be.” The killing tore open an

old wound for the father of four, who said gun violence claimed his eldest

son in 2008. He now has two surviving sons.

“I done lose a son. I done know how it feel but this the second one and for unnecessary (expletive),” he said.

Relatives described Benjamin as a quiet, family-oriented handyman who worked hard, kept largely to himself and rarely ventured beyond his job and home.

They said he readily ran errands for relatives and could tackle mechanical, construction and other hands-on work.

His cousin, Shandera Sweeting, said the nature of the killing had deepened the family’s anguish.

“This is why it really hurts a lot,” Ms Sweeting said. “Smily don’t even trouble people. This the first time my family ever had to go through something like this and for a person who don’t even party or any of them things, to do my cousin so

dirty.” Ms Sweeting said the family had only recently buried another relative and was struggling to absorb another death.

“Something really need to be done with all this reckless killing,” she

said. “They take away my uncle son. He didn’t deserve that. Smily was a very respectable man.” Benjamin’s killing pushed the

murder count to 41 for the year, according to The

records.

country’s

Tribune’s

SHAWN BENJAMIN father of Dwight Benjamin.

DWIGHT ‘SMILY’ BENJAMIN

Families and leaders mourn five teens killed in crash

shirts bearing the faces of the teenagers they had come to remember. One of the evening’s most poignant moments came when Diamond’s mother entered the auditorium wearing her daughter’s graduation gown.

Diamond’s aunt, Raquel Ramsey, said the gesture helped keep her daughter’s memory close.

“It just made her feel more closer to her during this time, and I feel like it brings out the love within her,” Ms Ramsey said.

Ranique Clarke fought back tears as she remembered her nephew, Keno, who had lived with her since moving from Cat Island three years ago after graduating from high school following the death of his father.

She said his death had left an emptiness that words could not describe.

“Walking in the house, waking him up, you know, because he was from the island, he really didn’t know Nassau, so I used to take him everywhere. He was

basically my baby,” she said. Recalling the night of the crash, she said she still relives the moment she watched him drive away.

“I took him to the barber and I watched him get in that car,” she said. “I can’t question God, but you know, if I could turn back the hands of time after watching him hope in that car, I would.”

She remained by his bedside during the fve days he fought for his life.

“I was praying with him, I watched the tears roll down his eyes, so I knew he could have heard me, you know,” she said. “I tell God thank you because I still had fve days.”

A tearful Ramyiah

O’Brien paid tribute to her close friend, Bertrica Brown.

The pair frst met on a volleyball trip before growing closer after Ramyiah joined the track and feld club run by Bertrica’s brother.

“I’m just so grateful that I had Bertrica as a friend because she was such a good friend,” she said.

“She was always there for me. She was such a kind

and loving person. I never thought that I would be doing this so soon,” she said through tears.

Even after graduation, the friends remained close.

“One of the last conversations I remember having with Bertrica was, it was the day of her graduation because I couldn’t make it over to Abaco because of work, and I felt so bad.

“But she just told me she was like it’s all right, and that’s when I started to ask her about school because I know she wanted to go to college and she let me know

she does want to go and she is going.”

Ms O’Brien also refected on her friendship with Diamond Stubbs, whom she met during the Bahamas National High School Pageant. Diamond and Bertrica were also members of the same dance team.

Olive Mackey remembered her cousin, Stania Webb, with laughter as well as tears, recalling her playful personality and close relationship with her family.

“It was great potential. We looked forward to it. Already planning

her graduation, but can I tell you, God had another plan,” Ms Mackey said.

Among those attending the memorial were Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper and Opposition Leader Michael Pintard.

Mr Davis embraced relatives of the victims, many of whom are from his Cat Island constituency, before addressing the gathering.

“There’s no speech that can take away the pain of a parent who’s lost a child, or a sibling who’s lost a

brother or sister, and there’s no explanation that that can make sense of attracting like this one, but what we can do, what we can do, is stand together in solidarity with each other,” he said.

“Tonight, that is what we do. We stand with these families. We stand with their loved ones. We stand with the people of Cat Island, and we stand all those of them afected by this heartbreaking lost.”

See PAGE 12 for more images of the memorial service.

Captain pleads guilty to smuggling $4M in cocaine

travelled from New Providence and had been at sea for about seven hours before authorities stopped the vessel.

During an inbound customs border search, officers allegedly discovered 200 kilograms of cocaine wrapped in cellophane and formed into brick-shaped packages.

Goodman reportedly admitted he was solely responsible for smuggling the drugs.

Mr Dames has previously maintained his innocence in connection with the case.

The offence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and a

maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Goodman also faces supervised release, forfeiture, restitution and a fine of up to $10,000.

However, prosecutors and Goodman jointly recommended a sentence of between 108 and 135 months — equivalent to nine to 11 years — under the federal sentencing guidelines. The plea agreement, filed on Wednesday, also asks the court to apply the federal safety-valve provision, which allows some non-violent offenders to receive sentences below the otherwise mandatory ten-year minimum.

Prosecutors said the recommendation depends on Goodman

continuing to co-operate with authorities, fully disclosing information and meeting other conditions, including having no disqualifying criminal history.

“The defendant also agrees to fully cooperate with the Government in all proceedings, whether administrative or judicial, involving the forfeiture to the United States of all rights, title, and interest, regardless of their nature or form in all assets, including real and personal property, cash and other monetary instruments, wherever located, which the defendant or others to the defendant’s knowledge have accumulated as a result of illegal activities,” the plea agreement said.

Goodman must also pay a mandatory $100 court assessment at sentencing unless he proves he cannot afford it.

As part of the deal, he waived most of his rights to appeal his conviction or sentence and acknowledged that his guilty plea could carry immigration consequences because he is not a US citizen.

In a separate filing on Thursday, US Magistrate Judge Jared Strauss recommended that the court accept Goodman’s guilty plea after finding that he entered it “freely” and “voluntarily.” Judge Strauss also recommended that Goodman be formally adjudged guilty and that the case proceed to sentencing.

PLEA

MALCOLM GOODMAN

A NEAR-CAPACITY crowd packed the William Thompson Auditorium last night as grieving families, friends and national leaders gathered to honour the five teenagers whose lives were cut short in last month’s Shirley Street crash.

Photos: Nikia Charlton

PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis and Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper attend the memorial service.

OPPOSITION Leader Michael Pintard speaks during the memorial service last night.

Cooper promises ‘better days’ for frustrated teachers

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister

Chester Cooper has promised “better days ahead” for teachers who feel forgotten as frustration over low pay, punishing workloads and difcult working conditions continues to batter morale across the public school system.

Mr Cooper said the Ministry of Education would intensify its engagement with educators throughout The Bahamas and confront long-running concerns over compensation and other unresolved issues.

“I believe there are better days ahead for any teacher who may feel that they have been forgotten,” he said during a press conference yesterday on the ministry’s teacher recruitment exercise.

“We are going to be rolling out active engagement programs for our teachers, guidance counsellors, administrators, senior masters, and principals.”

Mr Cooper said the ministry would ensure that no one in the public education system was excluded as it tackled both legacy concerns and emerging

challenges.

“Everyone in the public education system, we are going to ensure that no one is left out. We're going to ensure that we address legacy issues as well as moving forward.”

His pledge comes as teachers continue to complain about heavy workloads, inadequate pay, challenging working conditions, limited resources and overcrowded classrooms.

Those frustrations surged into public view earlier this month when veteran educator Antoine Duncombe published a Facebook post detailing the fnancial strain teachers face in The Bahamas.

The post went viral, attracting more than 1,000 reactions and over 200 comments by press time.

Mr Duncombe argued that salaries should refect a worker’s skills, qualifcations, experience and contribution. He said professionals should not spend years pursuing education, training and public service only to struggle fnancially.

“Teachers in The Bahamas are expected to shape the nation’s future, yet far too many are trying to survive on salaries that simply do not match the demands

or responsibilities of the profession,” he wrote.

“As a male educator, I can honestly say that the current salary is not attractive and makes it increasingly difcult to build the kind of life many aspire to have.”

Mr Duncombe, who has worked in education for more than 11 years, said dedication to teaching should not force educators to surrender their fnancial security or future prospects. Scores of educators echoed his concerns in the comments, with some saying they had left The Bahamas in search of better opportunities.

The concerns mirror warnings from international organisations about deteriorating teacher morale worldwide. Reports from UNESCO and the International Barometer of Education Staf have cited heavy workloads, fnancial pressures and declining professional prestige among the forces driving discontent in the profession.

UNESCO estimates that the world will need an additional 44 million primary and secondary teachers by 2030.

Govt seeks 100 Bahamians to plug teacher shortage

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Chester Cooper said he has launched a drive to recruit as many as 100 Bahamians as the government races to plug a 300-teacher shortage before schools reopen in September.

Mr Cooper appealed yesterday to recent graduates, former teachers and retired educators to enter or return to the classroom, declaring: “Your country needs you.”

The Ministry of Education is also pursuing teachers from several countries, including Ghana, as it scrambles to prevent the shortage from leaving students without qualifed instructors in critical subjects.

“I want to be clear that yes, we have invited all countries to assist us with flling the 300 gaps, but we are hoping that we are able to get a cross section of diverse professionals by discipline and by country,” he said, adding that 42 applications had been submitted to the Public Service Commission, with 27 already received by the commission.

Mr Cooper urged Bahamians with expertise in mathematics, science, the arts and trades to help train the next generation as the ministry accelerates recruitment ahead of the new school year.

“We're accelerating the process for all of our applicants, as you would imagine, recruiting Bahamians is likely to be a faster process than recruiting foreigners,” he said.

The recruitment push has drawn ferce scrutiny since Ghana’s foreign afairs

minister announced last week that The Bahamas was prepared to receive 300 Ghanaian teachers this year.

Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson questioned how the government could negotiate the recruitment of foreign teachers “in minutes” while failing after ten months of talks to secure salary increases for more than 2,000 Bahamian educators.

Mrs Wilson also criticised the government for failing to brief the union before the announcement emerged from a Ghanaian ofcial.

She said teachers were still waiting for money owed to them, including rent allowances, while some people who graduated from the University of The Bahamas in 2025 had yet to be hired by the ministry.

Mr Cooper acknowledged that communication may have broken down and said the lapse would be corrected.

He pointed to a June meeting at which the Bahamas Union of Teachers and the Bahamas Educators, Counsellors and Allied Workers Union both recognised the teacher shortage as a major concern.

He said the ministry would continue working with both unions throughout the recruitment exercise.

Mr Cooper described Ghana as “enthusiastic” and “exuberant” about helping The Bahamas secure teachers, but stressed that the government was seeking recruits from a range of countries and disciplines. He insisted the recruitment of foreign teachers

was not designed to displace Bahamians, but to ensure every child had access to a qualifed educator.

All international recruits would undergo a thorough vetting process, he said.

Asked about teachers awaiting salary increases, Mr Cooper said salaries and benefts were covered by industrial agreements now in the fnal stages of negotiation.

The minister recalled attending high school in Exuma without science or music teachers, saying the government had a duty to prevent other students from enduring the same gaps, even if that required recruiting educators from overseas.

Among those answering the ministry’s appeal is former teacher Shantell Taylor-Neely, 50, who has more than 16 years of experience in education.

“This is still my country. I train all over the world, but when it comes to the education system, I know the impact that I can make simply because I've been impactful from the start,” Ms Taylor-Neely said.

“It's the future of the country to have an educator in there who cares. It's not the dollar value because you're not going to get paid for what you what you're teaching, but it's the impact.”

The Bahamas’ recruitment struggle unfolds against a worldwide shortage of educators. A UNESCO-Teacher Task Force report found that teacher shortages have fuelled larger classes, overburdened educators, educational disparities and greater fnancial pressure on education systems.

EDUCATION MINISTER CHESTER COOPER

Govt to seal off shanty towns before future demolitions

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

AUTHORITIES are likely to seal of shanty town sites before future demolitions after a confrontation at Montgomery Village left the chairman of the Unregulated Communities Action Task Force injured, Works and Family Island Afairs Minister Clay Sweeting said yesterday.

Mr Sweeting said ofcials had assessed the breakdown during the demolition exercise and would probably clear residents from similar sites before crews moved in.

Government crews demolished 64 of 67 structures in the Montgomery community of Cowpen Road earlier this month.

During the operation, a resident allegedly assaulted task force chairman Superintendent Stephen Carey, leaving him with injuries that required three stitches.

Mr Carey alleged at the time that the confrontation began after the resident threatened a Royal Bahamas Defence Force ofcer.

The man was arrested on suspicion of threats of harm and disorderly behaviour. While ofcers escorted

him to a bus, he allegedly attacked Superintendent Carey. He is expected to face charges. Mr Sweeting called the incident unfortunate and said it erupted after some residents refused to leave despite receiving extensive notice.

He said the Montgomery operation difered from earlier demolitions because residents remained on the property until the last moment.

“The diference with that shanty town, that was diferent from others in the past, is that people did not heed the warning,” Mr Sweeting said.

“In all the shanty towns, people moved out and found other accommodations. But in this situation, I guess people didn't think that it would be demolished, so they provided them with some leeway in regards to collecting the items, and during that, that did become an altercation.”

Mr Sweeting defended the government’s handling of the demolition, saying residents had been given more than a year to prepare and were granted additional time while ofcials assessed those living in the community.

“The task force did their due diligence,” he said. “They even provided them with some extra time to assess the persons in there.”

Mr Sweeting said only eight Bahamians were living in the community when crews moved in and more than 60 structures were torn down.

He insisted that dismantling unregulated communities remained a government priority.

“It is imperative that the government of The Bahamas deals with shanty towns,” he said. “They are unsafe, they are unhealthy, and they do not fall in line with what we want the future of The Bahamas to look like.”

Mr Sweeting said the government ofers assistance to Bahamians and legal residents displaced by demolitions, although some do not accept it.

He said permit holders are also expected to help workers living under their sponsorship secure accommodation.

The task force has continued its enforcement drive beyond New Providence.

Mr Sweeting said ofcers were in North Andros yesterday assessing structures and issuing the required

30-day notices under the Building Control Act.

“Today, the task force is in North Andros, assessing the structures there and providing the shanty town there with notices regarding their 30 days, which is required by the Building Control Act,” he said.

The Montgomery

demolition marked the latest phase of the Davis administration’s campaign against unregulated communities.

Ofcials have said residents were frst served eviction notices in February 2025 and repeatedly warned that their homes would be demolished if they failed to leave.

The operation left several residents uncertain about where they would live. Some said they had struggled to fnd afordable housing despite searching for alternative accommodation, while others said language barriers complicated their eforts.

$2.6M DRAINAGE PROJECT PLANNED TO TACKLE PINEWOOD FLOODING

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE government is moving to install four lift stations in Pinewood Gardens in a $2.6 million bid to break the cycle of flooding that has swamped homes, destroyed belongings and trapped residents for decades.

Works and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting said yesterday the equipment had been ordered and was being manufactured, with delivery to The Bahamas expected within three to four weeks.

The stations will anchor a pilot drainage system designed to automatically

pump stormwater into deep disposal wells when rainfall overwhelms the area’s natural drainage capacity.

Mr Sweeting said the technology should remove floodwaters far more quickly than conventional gravity drainage systems and could shape the government’s response to flooding elsewhere in New Providence.

The project is expected to take about 12 months to complete after construction begins, although the schedule depends on when the equipment arrives.

“We anticipate it's supposed to be a 12-month completion. So if all works well, it'll be 12

months after the commencement date,” he said during the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing.

Mr Sweeting said the government selected the Pinewood Drive Lift Station project after completing a flood-zone identification study and water-cluster analysis for New Providence.

He cast the project as a direct response to a crisis that has repeatedly upended the lives of Pinewood residents.

“We're not simply here to make an announcement about the Pinewood Drive Lift Station as another infrastructure project,” he said. “We're here to address a problem that has affected

families for decades, and to inform you of our engineers' belief that this is the most appropriate and effective solution based on extensive technical studies and environmental assessments.”

Years of clearing drains and canals have improved the movement of stormwater across New Providence, Mr Sweeting said, but those measures can no longer keep pace with increasingly intense rainfall.

The new system will pair lift stations with deep drainage disposal wells. When water rises faster than it can drain naturally, the stations will automatically activate and force the excess underground.

“Simply put, when heavy rainfall causes water to collect faster than it can naturally drain away, these stations will automatically pump excess water into a specifically designed deep disposal well,” Mr Sweeting said. “That means less standing water, faster

drainage, safer roads, and greater protection for homes and businesses.”

He compared the system to automatic bilge pumps aboard boats, which activate once water reaches a certain level.

“If anyone's ever been boating and understands that they have what they call bilge pumps in the boats, when the water meets a certain level, the pump automatically kicks in,” he said. “This system forces the water below the surface, so it should work very quickly.”

Engineers have also prepared for the possibility of encountering natural voids in the limestone during excavation. Mr Sweeting said any such discovery would be assessed before work continued.

The government plans to use the Pinewood project to guide future flood-control efforts, with a similar system proposed for Coral Harbour.

Pinewood Gardens has endured severe flooding for decades. Heavy

rainfall has repeatedly poured into homes, ruined furniture and appliances, stranded residents and turned roads into impassable waterways. The crisis flared again in October 2025 when Tropical Storm Imelda dumped more than eight inches of rain on New Providence and submerged large sections of the community.

At a Ministry of Works town hall after the storm, residents described years of recurring destruction. Some said they had repeatedly lost household belongings, while others recalled being trapped inside their homes for days or requiring rescue by emergency personnel. Officials at that meeting unveiled a separate proposed $20 million drainage project funded through a partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank. That plan included new canals, drainage channels, settling ponds and an expanded maintenance programme.

their electricity bills, with all rebates expected to be issued by July 30.

The utility unveiled the precise fgure as it prepares to return at least $610,240.94 in fnes stemming from regulatory breaches connected to the crippling power failures that battered New Providence in 2018 and 2019.

The rebate amounts to less than $10 for each eligible household despite the years of disruption, repeated blackouts and regulatory battles that produced the settlement.

The programme applies to active residential customers in New Providence who were receiving electricity service in March 2026. Customers will not have to apply, as BPL will identify qualifying accounts through its billing records.

BPL proposed returning the money directly to consumers rather than paying the full value of the fnes to URCA. The regulator accepted the proposal, saying it would allow customers to beneft directly from the settlement.

“The total value of the rebate initiative will be no less than $610,240.94,” BPL said. The settlement closes

two enforcement cases arising from the September 2018 fre at Clifton Pier Power Station and the prolonged load shedding that repeatedly plunged New Providence into darkness in 2019. The Clifton Pier blaze knocked signifcant generating capacity ofine and unleashed widespread outages. The following summer, BPL struggled to meet electricity demand as recurring power cuts disrupted homes and businesses across the island.

URCA found that BPL failed or refused to provide all the information demanded during its investigations, obstructing the regulator’s ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities. The regulator also concluded that BPL breached several core obligations under its public electricity supplier’s licence. It found that the utility failed to take all reasonable steps to maintain its generating facilities, inadequately forecast and planned for electricity demand, failed to provide an adequate, safe and efcient electricity supply and did not take reasonable steps to prevent or quickly resolve unplanned interruptions.

URCA fned BPL $229,535.34 in the frst

enforcement case in November 2019 after describing the utility’s conduct as repeated and continuing breaches.

BPL challenged the regulator’s fndings before the Utilities Appeal Tribunal, dragging the dispute across several years before abandoning the appeals and negotiating a settlement.

Rather than collecting the fnes itself, URCA approved BPL’s proposal to distribute the full settlement amount among eligible residential customers.

“By accepting the Customer Rebate Initiative in lieu of payment of the fnes, URCA has ensured that the beneft of the settlement would fow directly to consumers,” the regulator said.

BPL said the rebate will be treated as an unrecoverable expense borne entirely by the company and cannot be passed back to customers through tarifs, rates, future bill adjustments or other charges.

URCA had also stressed that the utility cannot claw back the penalties from the same customers receiving the credits.

BPL said it will maintain records of the credits, monitor their application and submit a fnal report certifed by its internal auditor to URCA for review.

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MINISTER OF WORKS CLAY SWEETING

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If we need teachers we must pay them fairly

“Your country needs you.”

That was the jingoistic phrase yesterday from Minister of Education Chester Cooper as he talked up a drive to recruit up to 100 Bahamians to help fll the holes in our education system.

It also comes in the wake of the announcement of 300 teachers from Ghana potentially being recruited.

Your country needs you. Well, that leads to a question. How much does your country need you?

Let us take a step back a year. After all, Mr Cooper is still relatively new to his ministerial post after his move from Tourism.

Back in June last year, this exact same topic was still playing out – in another summer where there were questions over teacher recruitment.

Rather than Ghana, The Bahamas had recruited teachers previously from Cuba. However, recruiting from Cuba ran into complications, with pressure from the US over Cuban recruitment.

The Ministry of Education then turned its eyes to hiring people from the US and Canada. Step forward Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson to douse the conversation with the cold water of reality.

She pointed out what salaries teachers are really getting. In the 2022-25 industrial agreement, the starting salary for a Bahamian teacher had gone up – but they were still being paid a pittance. It had risen from $25,200 to $28,700. That is just under $552 a week.

The highest salary in those negotiations was $43,400 per year – and many of the teachers who would get that have been in the teaching profession for 30 years.

Mrs Wilson said: “I wonder which teachers are going to leave the United States, where their salaries range from $42,000 to $71,000 per year with the average teacher salary of $63,000… Canada salaries range from $53,000 to $95,000 per year with an average salary of $69,000.”

Put that in context and our highest salaries for teachers with three decades of experience are about the same as the lowest salaries in the US. As Mrs Wilson so clearly pointed out, which of those teachers are going to come?

A year on, and here we are without that food of US and Canadian teachers to the rescue, and the gaps still yawning wide in our education system.

Mrs Wilson, meanwhile, is pointing out that we see to have been able to agree the recruitment of Ghanaian teachers “in minutes” while there has been no agreement over salary increases for Bahamian teachers after ten months of talks.

So, your country needs you. If that is the case, then your country needs to pay you properly.

When asked about teachers left waiting for salary increases, Mr Cooper said that was covered by agreements in the fnal stages of negotiation. As any negotiator will tell you, fnal is only fnal when it is signed.

Mr Cooper also did not give any indication of the sweeping levels of salary increases for teachers that would be needed for our country to become competitive – both in attracting teachers from overseas and in stopping the brain drain of our own brightest and best.

Earlier this month, veteran educator Antoine Duncombe posted to social media about the strain teachers face fnancially, saying: “Teachers in The Bahamas are expected to shape the nation’s future, yet far too many are trying to survive on salaries that simply do not match the demands or responsibilities of the profession.”

Here’s one thing to take note of – teachers know the salaries are not great. It is not as if low salaries are a recent phenomenon for teachers.

Yet teachers have already been stepping up for our country. They teach because they care. They teach because they are passionate. They teach because that is their talent, to help the next generation to thrive.

A great many of them do so despite the salary being so low they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. They do so while dipping into their own pockets all too often for school supplies. They do all this because this is their calling. They do so while not demanding the world – although wouldn’t it be wonderful if we recognised how education is the silver bullet that deals with so many issues in our society? But no, our teachers are not asking for the world – they are just asking for a fair shake of the dice.

We cannot talk about how much our country needs teachers while at the same time demonstrating how little we value them.

Speeches are great. Action is better. Pay rises of a scale that would make the recent Budget tremble would show how importantly we regard education.

Our schools should be shining examples of what we can do. The way we reward our teachers should mark us out as leaders in the region. That is what we really must do if we want to talk about how much our country needs teachers.

As we say, Mr Cooper is still relatively new in his ofce. We look forward to how he shall live up to his words.

Protect consumers

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Starlink has been a welcome addition to The Bahamas. It has given many people, especially in the Family Islands, access to internet service that simply was not available before. That is why reports of a $1,000 congestion surcharge for customers in New Providence deserve public attention.

Starlink says the surcharge is necessary because the network is congested. Fair enough. But that immediately raises another question. How do we know the network is congested? Who decides that? Is there an independent assessment, or does Starlink simply make that determination itself? Is there a standard that must be met before a surcharge can be imposed, or is it entirely a matter for the company?

If Starlink decides when congestion exists, decides

how much customers must pay because of it, and decides when the surcharge should end, there is very little independent oversight. That should concern consumers. More importantly, what precedent does this set?

If one licensed telecommunications provider can impose a $1,000 congestion surcharge, what prevents other providers from introducing their own special fees? Could cable companies impose congestion charges in busy neighborhoods? Could providers charge extra because a customer’s home is more expensive to serve or because demand in a particular area is high?

Once these types of charges become accepted, where does it end?

Starlink is a licensed telecommunications provider in The Bahamas. The public is entitled to know whether

Our Independence tragedy is not the plane crash

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS a nation, we have collectively mourned the tragic loss of life in the recent auto accident and the devastating plane crash on our Independence Day.

Our hearts break for the families shattered by these sudden, violent endings. The government has rushed to the scene, ofered condolences, promised investigations, and assured us that lessons will be learned. This is the ritual of compassion, and it is appropriate. I now write with a discomfort that borders on anguish. It feels almost cruel to say this in the shadow of fresh graves, but we must confront an uncomfortable truth.

While we mourn the spectacular tragedies, we have become numb to the routine ones. The government’s rush to address these singular events is a performance of concern that masks its chronic failure to address the far greater, slower catastrophes that kill and diminish Bahamians every single day.

I want us to consider the carnage we have been normalized to.

We face an energy crisis where we pay exorbitant rates for unreliable power, crippling businesses and families, while our government fddles with a broken monopoly.

The healthcare crisis presents dilapidated hospitals, where our nurses are striking, and our clinics understocked. People die waiting for care while ministers announce gleaming, unfunded future projects.

Our education crisis has our children emerging from a system that trains for compliance rather than innovation, leaving generations unequipped for the 21st century.

The employment crisis has left legions of young people with degrees unable to fnd meaningful work, trapped in underemployment or economic exile.

An immigration crisis where we finch from compassionate, pragmatic policies while shanty towns grow and our infrastructure strains.

A fanning national housing crisis where we have Bahamians and non-Bahamians alike living without proper homes and some without indoor toilets in our capital city. A true example of a condition of

19th-century colonialism in a 21st-century nation.

Let us not forget our food crisis where we import 90% of what we eat, one shipping incident away from empty shelves.

These are not challenges. They are state-sponsored disasters, unfolding in slow motion, claiming lives and futures with the same fnality as any plane crash. Yet this government and previous ones are quick to respond to the spectacular, treat these systemic deaths with bureaucratic indiference.

The government’s counter-narrative will be predictable. They will speak of “progress,” of “challenges being addressed,” of “legacy projects” and “future plans.” They will point to budgets and blueprints. They will blame past administrations. They will call for unity in the face of tragedy.

This is the propaganda of promised tomorrows. It is a deliberate strategy to distract from the emergencies of today. It asks us to accept the mansion’s blueprint while our current house collapses around us.

But there is a hard truth we must face. We cannot continue to dress the wounds of a failing nation with the bandages of episodic compassion. The auto accident and the plane crash are mirrors held up to our national soul. They reveal our addiction to spectacle, our hunger for a singular villain, and our profound inability to confront the grinding, permanent catastrophes that defne our daily existence.

When will we as concerned citizens demand that our government treat every crisis, energy, health, education, immigration, housing, food with the same urgency it reserves for a plane crash? When will we stop accepting the anesthesia of empty promises and demand the radical surgery required to save our failing nation?

We must demand a full, comprehensive, legislated National Development Plan. Not another talk shop, not another retreat, not another glossy brochure but a binding, legislated, enforceable, timetabled plan.

Time to diagnose the full crisis by acknowledging

that our problems are not isolated but systemic. They are the predictable output of 53 years of governance without vision.

Time to prescribe concrete solutions with 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year targets for every sector, backed by transparent budgeting and independent auditing. Enforces accountability through real enforceable and enacted legislation that holds ministers and ministries legally responsible for failure to meet benchmarks. No more “I’ll look into it.” No more “next year.”

These must be accompanied by a new social contract between the government and the governed. We, the people, must be willing to sacrifce the comfortable mediocrity of the status quo for the demanding excellence of a sovereign nation. We must be willing to pay taxes that actually fund services, to hold our leaders accountable between elections, and to abandon the false comfort of partisan tribalism for the hard work of nation-building.

The Bahamas is not a failing nation because of a plane crash or an auto accident. It is a failing nation because we have allowed our independence to be a legal fction rather than a lived reality. We have confused the passage of time with the achievement of maturity. Fifty-three years is not a young nation. It is a middle-aged adult with a midlife crisis, clinging to the excuses of youth while refusing the responsibilities of adulthood.

The real tragedy of our Independence Day is not the plane crash. It is the 53-year crash we call governance.

It is the slow, grinding disaster of a nation that has never truly attempted sovereignty. One that only managed the departure from colonialism without ever embarking on the journey to self-determination. We must stop playing country and become one. The pretence of success must be abandoned for the reality of reconstruction. The choice is ours. The time is now.

A citizen no longer willing to mourn the spectacular while tolerating the routine

B AZZAN JOHNSON Freeport, Grand Bahama July 11, 2026.

the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority has any oversight of a surcharge like this. Was URCA consulted before it was introduced? Does it have the authority to review the basis for the charge, or is this entirely a commercial decision beyond regulatory scrutiny?

This is not about preventing companies from making a proft. It is about ensuring that consumers are protected and that clear rules apply equally to every licensed provider. If this surcharge is acceptable today, Bahamians deserve to know what similar charges could become acceptable tomorrow. These are questions that URCA must answer.

A CONCERNED BAHAMIAN Nassau, July 13, 2026.

Put ID badges on your kids before the next storm hits

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN parents

should equip young children with identifcation badges before hurricanes strike so emergency responders can quickly reunite families if children become separated during a storm, a disaster preparedness expert has urged.

Dr Kendra Van Kirk, senior advisor for community engagement and education at the University of Miami’s Global Institute, said every child should have an identifcation badge as part of a family’s hurricane preparedness plan, with parents ensuring children are wearing them before a hurricane watch or warning is issued.

“It is super important for every single child to have an identifcation badge, and what we recommend is that the badge be put on

the child before the storm arrives,” she said.

Dr Van Kirk spoke during the “Stronger Than the Storm – Hurricane Preparedness” programme on Thursday at the Collab Unit of the Ministry for Grand Bahama.

The University of Miami has partnered with the ministry to provide disaster preparedness education focused on children, families and the people who work closely with them.

As part of the initiative,

Dr Van Kirk visited several Urban Renewal summer camps, where she spoke with children and demonstrated identifcation badges developed by the university.

She said the badges are particularly important for very young children and those with developmental conditions such as autism or attention-defcit/hyperactivity disorder, who may be unable to

identify themselves or communicate information about their families if they

Doctor says girl’s behaviour is consistent with trauma

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A DOCTOR testifed yesterday that the emotional behaviour of an 11-year-old girl who accused her mother’s boyfriend of sexually assaulting her in 2024 was consistent with someone who had experienced trauma.

Dr Sherlanda Ferdinand testifed in the unlawful sexual intercourse trial of Anthony Bain, 50, before Justice Jeannine Weech-Gomez.

Prosecutors allege that Bain had sexual intercourse with the complainant when she was 11 while they were alone at a home on Williams Lane sometime between August 1 and August 25, 2024.

Dr Ferdinand said the child cried profusely and trembled during an examination in November 2024. She said she had to comfort the girl and assure her that it was okay to speak.

Under questioning from the prosecution, Dr Ferdinand said the complainant’s behaviour was consistent with that of a child who had experienced trauma, in this case alleged sexual abuse.

Dr Ferdinand said the examination revealed no physical abnormalities, including abrasions, tenderness or bruising to the girl’s

genital area. She also said there was no evidence of semen or discharge. The doctor explained that semen would not have been present months after the alleged incident.

However, the medical report listed the condition of the complainant’s hymen as unknown.

Dr Ferdinand explained that the complainant was crying and would not allow the doctor to open her legs sufciently to conduct a full genital examination. She said she could not see an obvious hymen.

She said the presence or absence of a hymen was not the only evidence used to determine whether a sexual assault had occurred.

Dr Ferdinand said a patient’s demeanour and emotional state during a physical examination could also be possible indicators of an assault.

She said it was highly unlikely that physical evidence of sexual assault would have remained because of the time that had passed since the alleged abuse.

Dr Ferdinand also said the complainant was not given medical treatment, such as prophylactic medication, because the examination took place about three months after the alleged assault.

Under cross-examination, the doctor said she could not defnitively say whether the complainant’s hymen was intact.

The doctor’s account of the complainant’s behaviour during the examination was similar to the girl’s demeanour while testifying earlier this week. The complainant struggled to give evidence and took some time to respond to questions. She was also timid and soft-spoken throughout her testimony.

The complainant said she was living with her mother, three siblings and Bain, who was her mother’s boyfriend, at the time of the alleged incident.

Police Constable Roe’van Gardiner said he was working at the Wulf Road Police Station on April 2, 2025, when Bain went to the station to inquire about a name check.

PC Gardiner said he searched the police system and found that a wanted notice had been issued for Bain in connection with an allegation of unlawful sexual intercourse.

He then cautioned and arrested Bain.

The ofcer identifed Bain in court.

Danielle Kemp and Stanley Rolle represented Bain. Valentino Bowe and Erica Ingraham prosecuted the case.

Man accused of secretly recording woman during sex gets bail

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

A MAN accused of secretly recording a woman while they had sex in Eleuthera last year was granted bail yesterday.

Prosecutors allege Tracy Knowles, 34, recorded nude videos and images of the woman while they engaged in sexual intercourse in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, between October and November 2025. Knowles pleaded not guilty to voyeurism before Assistant Chief Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux. He was granted $5,000 bail with one or two sureties and must sign in at the Governor’s Harbour Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday by 6pm. Knowles was warned not to interfere with any witnesses or risk having his bail revoked. His trial is scheduled to begin in Eleuthera on September 28. Alphonso Lewis represented the accused.

Suspected electrical re damages

home of Police Commissioner

become separated during a disaster.

Each badge contains

a compartment holding the child’s emergency and medical information,

including existing medical conditions, medications and allergies, enabling emergency responders or other caregivers to provide appropriate assistance until the child is reunited with relatives.

Dr Van Kirk also urged families to complete their hurricane preparations well before a storm threatens.

“Oftentimes we fnd ourselves in last-minute preparation. A hurricane is here and we haven’t done the work in advance,” she said.

She encouraged families to assemble emergency supplies early, develop a household emergency plan and identify a meeting place in case relatives become separated during a storm. The programme also ofers guidance on managing stress and building resilience among children, young adults and caregivers.

Bail granted to man accused in deadly traffic collision

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 73-YEAR-OLD man accused of causing the traffc death of a 64-year-old father who was attending a family reunion in Central Andros last month was granted bail yesterday.

Prosecutors allege Richard Deal Sr caused the death of Burdette Cartwright Sr while driving dangerously on Queen’s Highway at about 11.50am on June 23.

Cartwright died after the vehicle he was driving collided with a truck at the intersection of Staniard Creek and Queen’s Highway. His 16-year-old son attempted to revive him using CPR.

A local physician pronounced Cartwright dead at the scene.

Cartwright and his family had travelled to Central Andros for their annual reunion, a tradition relatives said has continued for at least 25 years and is held around the time of Crab Fest.

Police said the collision involved Deal’s white Ford F-150 and a black Nissan Wingroad driven by Cartwright.

The Ford F-150 allegedly entered Queen’s Highway from Staniard Creek and collided with the southbound Nissan. Four passengers were travelling in the Nissan: three women, aged 49, 51 and 52, and a 16-year-old boy.

The three women were treated at a local clinic before being airlifted to New Providence for further medical care. Cartwright’s son was also airlifted to

New Providence but was reportedly uninjured.

Deal was treated for injuries at the local clinic. His passenger was unhurt. He was not required to enter a plea to vehicular manslaughter before acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans.

Deal was informed that the case would proceed to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment.

He was granted $8,000 bail with one or two sureties and must sign in at the Western Police Station by 9pm on the frst Monday of each month.

Deal returns to court for service of the voluntary bill of indictment on November 12. Inspector Deon Barr prosecuted the case, while Roger Minnis represented Deal.

Woman faces libel charge over sharing sex video online

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN accused of leaking another woman’s sex tape online earlier this month was granted bail on a libel charge yesterday. Prosecutors allege

Job Summary:

Krishea Bryant, 21, accessed the woman’s phone and shared a sex video of her on WhatsApp and Facebook on July 12 in New Providence with the intent to shame her. Bryant pleaded not guilty to libel before acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans.

She was granted $5,000 bail with one or two sureties and must sign in at the Wulf Road Police Station every Monday and Wednesday by 9pm. Bryant returns to court for trial on November 12. Inspector Deon Barr prosecuted the case.

A company is in urgent need of Warehouse Helpers. The Warehouse Helper is responsible for stocking, cleaning, loading, and unloading, as well as performing other warehouse duties as assigned. This role requires heavy lifting and the proper handling of inventory and customer goods.

Responsibility of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Stocking inventory (e.g., windows, doors, tiles).

• Carrying out cleaning tasks and special projects.

• Assisting with loading and unloading trucks for deliveries.

• Pulling inventory from the shelves as needed.

• Managing all merchandise with appropriate care.

• Assisting in all areas of the warehouse as needed.

• Assist with counting.

• All other duties assigned.

Job Requirements:

• Physical Stamina: The ability to lift heavy objects (typically up to 50 lbs).

• Safety Protocol Adherence: A strong commitment to following workplace safety standards to prevent accidents.

• Organizational Abilities: Strong time-management and attention to detail to ensure goods are sorted and stored in their correct locations.

• Carpentry Skills (Plus): Basic woodworking experience would be a plus but is not required.

If you meet the above requirements, please forward your resume to chinainvestment1969@hotmail.com

PRESENTATION made by University of Miami to equip young children with identification badges before hurricanes strike so emergency responders can quickly

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

Aviation Icon - At nearly 90, Paul Aranha remains a living national treasure

YOU could tell the tale of Paul Aranha’s life reeling of a series of numbers – 17,400 hours of fying, a record unlikely ever to be matched by another Bahamian, an historian whose weekly columns ran for years in this newspaper, a collector of books with 1,400 volumes including just about every one that includes The Bahamas, a seeker and hunter of postcards and a collection of 1,400 of them, some dating back to the turn of the last century.

Yes, you could, if you wanted, tell the story of Paul Aranha’s life in a series of nearly mind-blowing numbers but if you did you would barely be scratching the surface of the man who remains a living national treasure, a bounty of history and knowledge. At nearly 90, his step is a bit more cautious and he prefers small gatherings to the galas he used to attend, but at 6’3 with a mind as sharp as ever, he is a commanding fgure whose story in many ways parallels that of The Bahamas itself.

It is a Monday afternoon and we are sitting in the study in his home, extremely modest by Lyford Cay standards. The study is where he spends 90 percent of his time these days, surrounded by books, including every volume of The Bahamas Handbook ever published, rare books, original Bahamas Speed Weeks hardbacks, leatherbound and paperback and while it seems almost foolish to ask, I can’t help myself. “Have you actually read all these books?” He looks me squarely in the eye, smiles and nods yes. Every one,” he says.

1926 Bahamas Map

That Aranha is fascinated by history and The Bahamas is not surprising. It was his father William N. Aranha who in 1926 drew what was the ofcial map of The Bahamas. Long before there were computers or internet or AI, the senior Aranha meticulously drew The Bahamas, every settlement on every island, the waters between the islands, every bay and cut and channel depicted and labelled. To this day,

that map has been to The Bahamas what GO is to Monopoly, the starting place.

Every voyage has a starting point and the younger Aranha, the man now nearing nonagenarian status, began his fying career with gliders at 16. Like many of his peers at the time, he was shipped of to boarding school at age 13, expecting to be away from home, far from swimming in the harbour or sea, of roaming freely in what was then a sleepy Nassau village for the next fve years until it was time at the end of his school career to return to family. “Fortunately, Barbara (his sister) got a job working for British Airways and was able to get a few passes,” he says, recalling how privileged he was to be able to return twice during that 5-year hiatus from home.

In typical self-deprecating fashion, Aranha says he still does not know how he qualifed for such an acclaimed academic institution as Woodbridge in the UK

“Frankly, I don’t understand how I pulled it of,” he wrote in his autobiography Island Airman, published 20 years ago, “for recently, John found and gave me a copy of one of those exam papers and even now I fnd it impossible to answer its questions on scripture, history and geography, making me wonder why I was ever accepted.”

But accepted he was, though excel he did not, but he brought with him a love of the outdoors and quickly took to rabbit and pheasant hunting until one day there was an accident and a good friend hunting rabbits accidentally shot of two fngers of his own hand instead.

Aranha found other ways to amuse himself while in the UK and one of those was fying gliders. It wasn’t quite like the freedom of The Bahamas that he still missed and summer adventures in Exuma which many years later would – like astronaut Scott Kelly – become his favourite place to view from the seat of an aircraft. But he kept busy and something about the

gliders stirred something inside the man who would become the aviation icon of the nation. He was like a student pilot on steroids –every spare hours he could squeeze in a day or week he was in a plane, chalking up the hours, training.

16 aircraft by age 25

His frst fying job was the equivalent of a mailboat in the sky, fying for ESSO, scooting around the islands to service the fuel supplier and ferry staf and small supplies. As Chief pilot of Bahamas Aircraft Owners, he few the Aero Commander for Dawson and Neville Roberts (both now deceased) and by the time he was 25, he had fown 16

diferent aircraft, some with a little more excitement than expected including the time a tail wheel blew of and he had to lift the tail section of the plane to get home from Andros. While friends were still trying to get their frst car, Aranha had fown nearly every single engine Cessna made, the Tiger Moth, Grumman Goose, Piper Apache, Piper Aztec … the list seemed almost endless though it turned out to be nothing by comparison to what lay ahead, including the frst time he lost an engine in a DC-3 or another time when passengers refused to disembark from an overloaded fight in Inagua and even swearing at the local commissioner did not resolve the issue. The only solution – after an interminable standof and no give with the whole island against him though it was not he who loaded the plane, fy them all to Nassa u.

Heady days, harrowing times

Aranha’s adventures in the sky mirrored the history of The Bahamas in so many ways. There were the heady days of fying bigwigs and royalty and

Commander for the Royal Bahamas Police Force, trained on jets for Bahamas Air Lines, became a fight instructor. “Flying was exciting and the excitement never diminished.” Every fight was a rush of a different kind, the type of life where adrenaline came naturally and knew no limits. The experience added up. Dozens of hours turned into hundreds, hundreds into thousands. From fights zipping across the Atlantic between The Bahamas, Spain and West Berlin to travels around the islands, Paul Aranha, pilot for BAL and founder of Trans Island Airways, became the pilot’s pilot.

Today the man who few everything from a single engine prop plane to the only aircraft faster than a Concorde, the Convair 990A, basks in the solitude of his study, surrounded by his collections of books, stamps, postcards, paperweights, artworks. He relishes time with his wife, Kim, (Bahamas Humane Society Chairman and animal protection activist of 40 years) and their children and grandchildren, including an adorable curly-haired doll about to turn one as Grandpa’s clock ticks toward 90.

“Anything you wish you had done diferently?” I ask him as one of his thick leather-bound books of postcards sits partially on his leg as he politely allows me to thumb through. I feel privileged to be in the private study and personal space of such an icon.

“I would have liked to have spent more time in West Berlin when I was young,” he says, a tinge of regret that soon passes. “It was a great city then and of all the places I few, it was my favourite.”

Instead, his fying time became increasingly Bahamas-centric as his own Trans Island Airways business grew and he experienced the best of all worlds on a regular basis –fights to and over Exuma.

“You could fy over Exuma four or fve times in a single day and it would never be the same, the way the sun refected on the waters or the sunset shone, the blues, the incoming tide, the angle of the fight and light on the water,” he said. He worded it slightly different in Island Airman:

“Going into space must be a high for any astronaut,” he wrote. “For my part, I would like to look down at Earth and see the Bahamas.”

the often-harrowing days of the 80s with sky-high cowboys heeding no one’s orders. He few the Aero

You did see it, Paul Aranha, more often and in more lights and shadows than any other living man. And we are better for your having shared your memories with us.

AVIATION ICON PAUL ARANHA

The Island Airman - book by Paul Aranha

Paul Aranha’s collection of postcards.

VICE PRESIDENT, TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS

Position Summary

The Vice President, Transmission & Distribution Operations provides executive leadership for the Company’s

transmission and distribution network, ensuring the safe, reliable, and effcient delivery of electricity across the service territory. This executive role oversees feld operations, maintenance, construction, outage restoration, asset management, and operational readiness while supporting BGC’s long-term strategic objectives and grid modernization initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership for transmission and distribution operations.

Oversee feld operations, construction, maintenance, and system restoration activities.

Drive operational excellence through safety, reliability, and performance improvements.

• Lead emergency response and outage restoration efforts.

• Collaborate with Engineering, Project Management, Finance, and other stakeholders on capital projects and infrastructure modernization.

Develop and mentor high-performing operational teams while promoting a strong safety culture.

Monitor operational performance, budgets, and key utility reliability metrics.

Minimum Qualifcations

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, Utility Management, or a related discipline.

• Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in electric utility transmission and distribution operations.

• Minimum 7–10 years of senior leadership experience managing feld operations, construction, maintenance, and outage restoration.

Demonstrated knowledge of utility reliability metrics (SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI), regulatory compliance, and utility safety standards. Valid driver’s license required.

DIRECTOR, TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS

Position Summary

The Director, Transmission & Distribution Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for the daily execution of BGC’s transmission and distribution operations. Reporting to the Vice President, Transmission & Distribution Operations, this role is responsible for overseeing feld operations, maintenance, construction, outage restoration, and system performance while ensuring the safe, reliable, and effcient delivery of electrical services. The Director plays a critical role in driving operational excellence, workforce performance, and infrastructure modernization.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the day-to-day operations of the Transmission & Distribution department, ensuring safe, reliable, and effcient service delivery.

• Oversee transmission and distribution construction, maintenance, switching, substation operations, and outage restoration activities.

• Direct feld operations, including overhead and underground distribution, contractors, and operational supervisors. Champion a culture of safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous operational improvement. Coordinate emergency response, storm restoration, and operational readiness initiatives. Partner with Engineering, Project Management, Procurement, Finance, and Customer Operations to support capital projects and grid modernization. Monitor operational performance, workforce productivity, and utility reliability metrics to achieve departmental objectives.

Minimum Qualifcations

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, Utility Management, Business Management, or a related discipline.

Minimum 10–12 years of progressive experience in electric utility transmission and distribution operations.

Minimum 5–7 years of leadership experience managing feld operations, construction, maintenance, and outage restoration. Strong knowledge of transmission and distribution systems, utility safety standards, regulatory compliance, and reliability performance (SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI). Valid driver’s license required.

Position Summary

DIRECTOR, ENGINEERING

The Director, Engineering provides operational leadership for Bahamas Grid Company’s engineering functions, supporting the planning, design, development, and reliability of the Company’s transmission and distribution network. Reporting to the Vice President, Engineering & Planning, this role oversees engineering operations, system planning, protection and control, technical standards, and engineering support for capital projects. The Director plays a key role in ensuring engineering excellence, operational readiness, and the successful execution of grid modernization initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the daily operations of the Engineering Department, ensuring safe, effcient, and high-quality engineering services. Oversee engineering design, system planning, protection and control, and technical support for transmission and distribution operations. Provide engineering leadership for capital infrastructure projects, system upgrades, and network expansion initiatives. Develop and maintain engineering standards, technical specifcations, and regulatory compliance programs. Support the implementation of grid modernization technologies, including automation, SCADA, and distributed energy resources.

• Collaborate with Operations, Project Management, Finance, Procurement, and other stakeholders to support infrastructure development and operational reliability.

• Provide technical leadership, mentor engineering teams, and promote continuous improvement and innovation. Minimum Qualifcations

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, or a related engineering discipline. Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation or equivalent professional certifcation preferred.

Minimum 10–12 years of progressive experience in power system engineering, utility engineering, or transmission and distribution operations.

• Minimum 5–7 years of leadership experience managing engineering teams within an electric utility environment.

• Strong knowledge of power system planning, engineering design, protection and control, utility regulations, and grid modernization initiatives.

Position Summary

SENIOR SUBSTATION COMMISSIONING ENGINEER

The Senior Substation Commissioning Engineer is responsible for leading the commissioning, testing, energization, and operational acceptance of transmission and distribution substations, protection systems, SCADA systems, and associated electrical infrastructure. This role ensures all substation assets are commissioned safely, reliably, and in accordance with engineering standards, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices while supporting the successful delivery of capital projects and grid modernization initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the commissioning, testing, energization, and operational acceptance of substations, transformers, switchgear, breakers, and protection systems. Develop and execute commissioning plans, procedures, and system energization strategies.

• Oversee testing and commissioning of protection, control, communications, and SCADA systems.

• Coordinate commissioning activities with Engineering, Operations, Project Management, contractors, and equipment vendors.

• Ensure compliance with engineering specifcations, utility standards, safety requirements, and regulatory obligations. Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to engineers, technicians, and commissioning personnel. Support emergency response, outage restoration, and continuous improvement initiatives related to substation and system reliability.

Minimum Qualifcations

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Minimum 7 years of progressive engineering experience in substation commissioning, protection and control, power systems, or utility operations. Professional Engineer (P.Eng./PE) designation or eligibility for professional registration preferred. Demonstrated experience with protection relays, SCADA systems, utility automation, and substation commissioning. Strong knowledge of IEEE, IEC, and utility protection standards, with experience using power system analysis software such as ETAP, ASPEN, or CYME.

SENIOR ENGINEER, PROTECTION & CONTROL

UTILITY POWER CABLE JOINTER/SPLICER (SPECIALIZED)

•

Position

responsible for the installation, jointing, splicing, termination, testing, maintenance, and repair of underground transmission and distribution cable systems across BGC’s electrical network. This specialized role supports the safe, reliable, and effcient operation of underground electrical infrastructure by performing precision cable jointing, fault diagnosis, system restoration, and commissioning activities in accordance with utility standards, engineering specifcations, and industry best practices.

Key Responsibilities

Install, joint, splice, terminate, and repair low-, medium-, and high-voltage underground power cable systems. Perform cable fault locating, testing, diagnostics, and acceptance testing using specialized equipment.

Support the installation, maintenance, commissioning, and restoration of underground electrical infrastructure. Respond to planned and emergency outages, including storm restoration and after-hours callouts. Ensure all work is completed in compliance with Company safety policies, utility standards, and regulatory requirements. Operate

Minimum

• Strong knowledge of underground distribution construction methods, cable fault diagnostics, electrical safety practices, and utility standards. Valid driver’s license required.

LEAD CONTRACTOR SPECIALIST

Position Summary The Lead Contractor Specialist is responsible for supervising and coordinating Bahamas Grid Company’s Contractor Specialists while providing day-to-day operational

a key role in driving contractor performance, quality assurance, safety compliance, and the reliable delivery of services across Street Lighting, Customer Services, Vegetation Management, and other contracted utility programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise and provide leadership to Contractor Specialists responsible for contracted feld operations.

• Coordinate daily contractor work activities, scheduling, and

standards, and safety requirements.

Conduct feld inspections, validate completed work, and support

initiatives.

Coordinate contractor activities with Engineering, Transmission &

Operations, Procurement, and other internal stakeholders.

Support

Promote

contracted operations.

Minimum Qualifcations

Associate’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology, Construction Management, Utility Operations, Business Administration, or a related discipline; Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in utility operations, contractor management, feld operations, or transmission and distribution.

Minimum 2 years of supervisory or team leadership experience.

Experience managing contractors within an electric utility or regulated infrastructure environment preferred.

• Valid driver’s license required.

Strong knowledge of utility feld operations, contractor performance management, safety standards, and customer service practices.

CONTRACTOR SPECIALIST – STREET LIGHTING

Position Summary

The Contractor Specialist – Street Lighting is responsible for coordinating and overseeing contractors performing the installation, inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement of Bahamas Grid Company’s street lighting infrastructure. Reporting to the Lead Contractor Specialist, this role ensures all contracted street lighting activities are completed safely, effciently, and in accordance with Company standards, engineering specifcations, and contractual requirements. The incumbent plays a key role in improving asset reliability, service delivery, and customer satisfaction while supporting BGC’s infrastructure modernization initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Coordinate contractors responsible for the installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of street lighting infrastructure. Monitor contractor performance, productivity, and compliance with Company standards, service level agreements (SLAs), and quality expectations.

• Conduct feld inspections, validate completed work, and support contractor performance improvement initiatives. Coordinate planned maintenance, emergency repairs, and outage restoration activities related to street lighting assets. Support the management of street lighting assets, inventory, LED conversion programs, and infrastructure improvement projects.

Collaborate with Engineering, Customer Operations, Municipal Authorities, and internal stakeholders to ensure timely and effective service delivery.

Promote compliance with Company safety policies, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices. Minimum Qualifcations

Diploma or degree in Electrical Technology, Utility Operations, Engineering Technology, or a related discipline preferred. Minimum 5–7 years of experience in utility operations, electrical distribution, or street lighting maintenance. Experience coordinating contractors and overseeing feld operations within an electric utility or infrastructure environment. Strong knowledge of street lighting systems, utility construction standards, electrical safety practices, and contractor performance management. Valid driver’s license required.

CONTRACTOR SPECIALIST – SERVICES

Position Summary

The contractor specialist – services is responsible for coordinating and overseeing contractors performing customer service installations, new electrical connections, service upgrades, temporary services, disconnects, reconnects, meter-related feld activities, and maintenance of customer electrical infrastructure. Reporting to the lead contractor specialist, this role ensures contracted customer service work is completed safely, effciently, and in accordance with company standards, engineering specifcations, regulatory requirements, and customer service expectations. The incumbent serves as the primary liaison between customer operations, engineering, contractors, and feld personnel to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality customer services.

Key Responsibilities

Coordinate contractors performing customer service installations, new service connections, upgrades, disconnects, reconnects, and meter-related feld activities.

Monitor contractor performance, productivity, and compliance with Company standards, service level agreements (SLAs), and quality expectations.

• Conduct feld inspections, validate completed work, and support contractor performance improvement initiatives.

• Coordinate work activities with Customer Operations, Engineering, System Operations, and other internal stakeholders to ensure timely completion of customer requests.

Support new customer developments, service upgrades, emergency restoration efforts, and infrastructure improvement projects. Promote compliance with Company safety policies, engineering specifcations, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.

Assist in resolving customer concerns while supporting continuous improvement in service delivery and operational performance.

Minimum Qualifcations

• Diploma or degree in Electrical Technology, Utility Operations, Engineering Technology, or a related discipline preferred.

Minimum 5–7 years of experience in utility operations, electrical distribution, customer service feld operations, or contractor management. Experience coordinating contractors and overseeing customer-related feld work within an electric utility or infrastructure environment.

Strong knowledge of utility service connections, electrical distribution systems, customer operations, and utility safety standards. Valid driver’s license required.

CONTRACTOR SPECIALIST – VEGETATION MANAGEMENT

Position Summary

The Contractor Specialist – Vegetation Management is responsible for coordinating and overseeing contractors performing vegetation management, right-of-way maintenance, tree trimming, hazard tree removal, and vegetation clearance activities across BGC’s transmission and distribution network. Reporting to the Lead Contractor Specialist, this role ensures vegetation management programs are executed safely, effciently, and in accordance with Company standards, environmental regulations, contractual requirements, and utility reliability objectives. The incumbent works closely with Operations, Engineering, Environmental agencies, municipalities, and contractors to maintain system reliability, public safety, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities Coordinate contractors performing vegetation management, right-of-way maintenance, tree trimming, and hazard tree removal activities. Monitor contractor performance, productivity, and compliance with Company standards, service level agreements (SLAs), and environmental requirements.

• Conduct feld inspections, validate completed work, and support contractor performance improvement initiatives.

Identify vegetation hazards affecting transmission and distribution assets and coordinate mitigation activities to improve system reliability.

Position Summary

The Senior Engineer, Protection & Control is responsible for leading the design, implementation, and optimization of protection, control, and automation systems across BGC’s transmission and distribution network. This role provides advanced technical expertise to ensure the safe, reliable, and secure operation of substations, feeders, SCADA systems, and associated electrical infrastructure while supporting grid modernization and system reliability initiatives.

Key Responsibilities Lead the design, confguration, and implementation of protection and control schemes for substations,

Support annual vegetation management programs, storm preparedness initiatives, emergency response, and post-storm restoration activities. Collaborate with Engineering, Transmission & Distribution Operations, Environmental agencies, municipalities, and internal stakeholders to ensure effective program delivery.

Promote compliance with Company safety policies, environmental regulations, and industry best practices while maintaining accurate operational records and reporting.

Minimum Qualifcations

Diploma or degree in Forestry, Arboriculture, Environmental Science, Utility Operations, or a related discipline preferred. Minimum 5–7 years of experience in vegetation management, utility operations, right-of-way maintenance, or contractor management.

Experience coordinating contractors within an electric utility, infrastructure, or environmental services environment.

Strong knowledge of utility vegetation management practices, ISA arboricultural standards, environmental regulations, and utility safety requirements.

• Valid driver’s license required.

Rubio gathers countries on left-wing political violence as it becomes a Trump focus in elections

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and MEG KINNARD Associated Press

SECRETARY of State

Marco Rubio on Thursday convened leaders from more than 60 countries to take part in the Trump administration’s latest effort to quell what it calls “left wing” political terrorism, a marquee issue for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

This focus comes even as studies show that there are very few reported cases of such incidents in the US, especially compared to historically higher levels of far-right violence.

With sweeping statements about the “alarming rise” of political violence by the left, Rubio and other US officials painted a dark image of the future if the “communists and Marxists” perpetrating these supposed acts are not defeated. He urged officials in attendance — mostly from European and Latin American countries — to unite to address the issue, which he says has been a “blind spot” in counterterrorism doctrine.

“So many people in positions of power have

repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and even terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause,” Rubio said in opening remarks.

“A bomb planted by a neo-Nazi group was ‘a nefarious and murderous act of evil.’ It is, but a bomb planted by a Marxist revolutionary; well, that’s just merely a tragic excess of idealism.”

A report published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that left-wing terrorism attacks as of July 4, 2025, had surpassed those from the far right for the first time in more than 30 years. However, a closer look at the data reveals that the uptick reflects a very low starting level and a concurrent drop on the far right. There was an average of 0.6 left-wing incidents annually from 1994 through 2000, compared with an average of 20.6 on the right, the report shows. From 2016 to 2024, there were an average of four per year on the left and 22.7 per year on the right. Those numbers had dropped dramatically on the right as of early July 2025, with only one incident. Meanwhile, there had been five

from the left.

But the report’s authors note that right-wing terrorism could easily return to elevated levels and that it is important to fight terrorism on both sides of the political spectrum.

A Republican push before midterm elections

President Donald Trump and his allies have prioritized talking points against the far left ahead of the congressional elections this November. Trump has repeatedly stated that the Democratic Party’s ascendant left are communists who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of life” and even engage in assassinations.

Vice President JD Vance has similarly called out communism as a political shift that is “something we haven’t seen in the US” House Speaker Mike Johnson has decried “radical candidates” who are “self-described, self-identifying Marxists.”

For Rubio, his worldview on this issue has been largely shaped by his own history: He is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956, a few

years before communist leader Fidel Castro rose to power in Havana. The former Florida senator said Thursday that it was that same government’s sprawling intelligence and ideological network that “helped to build the far left in our country and in our hemisphere.”

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and main architect of the administration’s immigration policy, followed Rubio’s remarks, aiming to drive home the immediacy of the perceived threats he saw to American institutions coming from the left, and what response is needed in return.

“If your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives,” Miller said. “That is the level of dedication and urgency

that is required.” This ideological focus has repeatedly conflated democratic socialism — which often centres on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation — with communism, under which private ownership is largely eliminated. It has only intensified in the last year, following the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to become New York City mayor and several of his proteges winning their New York City congressional primaries last month, beating out incumbents.

One of the ways the administration has started to target leftwing efforts is through sanctions. In November, the State Department designated four antifa or anti-fascist groups in Europe as foreign terrorist organizations. Treasury

Secretary Scott Bessent said in his remarks Thursday that targeting these groups and entities’ financial networks is the best way to circumvent their efforts.

Later Thursday, Rubio announced a new policy that would give the department a wide latitude to restrict visas to members of these supposed groups who have supported or incited acts of terrorism, including those who have supported those efforts financially, aided recruitment or provided logistical assistance.

“We have spent decades developing the world’s most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities, and now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront this emerging threat here at home,” Bessent told the conference.

SECRETARY of State Marco Rubio, left, listen as President Donald Trump meets with Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday in Washington. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Chinese Embassy donates wheelchairs to support persons with disabilities

THE Chinese Embassy donated 15 wheelchairs, walkers and walking sticks to the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities during a handover ceremony held yesterday at the Ministry of Social Services in collaboration with the Ofce of the Spouses of the Prime Minister.

During her remarks, Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas Her Excellency Yan Jiarong said this is the ffth consecutive year the embassy has made such a donation to The Bahamas.

Anne Marie Davis said the value of the donated equipment extends far beyond the items themselves, noting that a wheelchair represents greater independence for someone in need.

Minister of Social Services Barbara Cartwright emphasised the ministry’s longstanding partnership with China in supporting the disability community. She said the latest donation is another step in the ministry’s eforts to improve the lives of persons with disabilities by ensuring they have access to critical services and support

ANN MARIE DAVIS, wife of the Prime Minister, and Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas Yan Jiarong speak with Thorne Clarke from the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities during a ceremony marking the donation by the Chinese Embassy of Wheelchairs to the Commission.

Photos: Shawn Hanna

Memorial for ve teens killed in Shirley Street crash

PHOTOS: NIKIA CHARLTON