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The Tribune

Volume:116 No.142, JULY 19TH, 2019

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Weekend

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

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Weekend

WEEKEND: A LIFE THAT MUST ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED

HYPOCRITES THE Christie administration entered into a ten-year, multi-milliondollar lease agreement with relatives of a sitting Cabinet member, Grand Bahama Minister Dr Michael Darville, and its decision not to publicly disclose the agreements has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from Public Services Minister Brensil Rolle who now has responsibility for leases.

Darville’s Wholesale Limited owns property on Gladstone Road which is being used as offices for the National Training Agency. Separate contracts, each establishing ten-year leases, were signed in 2013, 2014 and 2015, totaling $10.6m.

HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie ruled yesterday that Members of Parliament will not be allowed to raise matters related to the Town Centre Mall during proceedings.

His reasoning: the matter is before the Supreme Court.

He was referring to a writ that was issued on behalf of businessman Scott Godet who is suing the government for violating

pages 14 & 15

A COMIC’S VIEW CASE OF CARELESS STATEMENTS AND ≤≤

POOR NICKNAMES

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE admitting the government’s first rates of taxation for number houses were “probably overly ambitious”, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar has warned non-compliant operators behind on taxes face losing their licences.

“We will move with haste and determination to shut your illegal activities down,” he cautioned at Parliament yesterday, adding it was unfair for some operators to think they did not have to pay their taxes.

SEE PAGE SIX

CRIME DOWN BUT FEARS STILL REMAIN

SEE PAGE FIVE

SEE PAGE FIVE

Bold and beautiful

‘PAY UP OR WE’LL SHUT YOU DOWN’

Dr Darville’s brother, Carl Darville, is the president of the company. His late father, George Darville, signed the contracts as the company’s secretary. Dr Darville has said he has no interest in the company. Mr Rolle nonetheless contrasted his administration’s handling of the Town Centre Mall lease with the Christie administration’s handling of the leases involving Dr Darville’s relatives.

The Town Centre Mall, used to house the General Post Office, is partly owned

by St Anne’s MP Brent Symonette. The agreement was inked while Mr Symonette was immigration minister; he resigned from the post earlier this month citing personal reasons.

a public-private partnership for the creation of a new building to house the General Post Office. He entered into the agreement under the former Christie administration.

Mr Godet, president of La Grange Investments, told Tribune Business in October that he had suffered nearly $4m in losses, and had been unable to do anything with his property for 18 months as he waited for the government to provide clarification on its plans.

Page 11

SEE PAGE EIGHT

...as Speaker closes down Mall debate

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

NAT’S LEGACY

Pisces unveils swimsuit styles

FNM attacks PLP over lease deal to minister’s family

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Friday, July 19, 2019

travel food

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TRAGEDY OF MOLLY WHO HELPED MILLIONS THE AMERICAN who drowned in Abaco on Wednesday has been identified as Molly Greene, the co-founder of Water Mission, a non-profit organisation devoted to supplying clean water to developing countries and disaster areas.

Full story - Page 2

CRIME in the first half of the year declined by 17 percent compared to the same period last year, Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson said at a press conference yesterday.

The drop was bolstered by a 17 percent decline in murders as of June 30.

There were 54 murders in the first half of 2018 but 45 in the same period this year, according to police figures.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

‘ALL HE DID WAS TRY TO RUN AWAY’

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY members and loved ones of the young man shot and killed by police on John Street Wednesday afternoon are calling for justice.

The Tribune understands the deceased is 21-yearold Adrian Emillien who, according to our records, is the fifth person to die in a police shooting this year.

In an interview with The

DECEASED: Adrian Emillien Tribune, a woman who identified herself as the victim’s step-aunt, but who did not

want to be named, said her nephew was not a saint but said he was a humble and respectful person.

She said: “I wouldn’t say ‘my one good nephew’…no, yeah he was in and out of prison. It wasn’t for nothing serious but that never stop who he was as a person. He was a respectful person and a mannerly person. He was quiet because if you didn’t know him, you wouldn’t know he could talk.”

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

DIANE PHILLIPS WE SHOULD WIDEN OUR HORIZONS IN RACE FOR GOLD

SEE PAGE TEN

PAGE 2, Friday, July 19, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

A heartbreaking loss

MOLLY Greene in Africa. Bottom left, Molly and husband George in Kenya on a Water Missions International trip in June 2013. Bottom right, the couple with clean water equipment.

Drowning victim was co-founder of water charity which helped millions

By FARRAH JOHNSON AN American woman who drowned while on vacation with her family in Abaco on Wednesday has been identified as Molly F Greene.

According to reports, 72-year-old Mrs Greene was swimming with her grandchildren on Gilliam Bay Beach, Green Turtle Cay when she got caught in a rip current.

A native of South Carolina, Mrs Greene was the co-founder of Water Mission, a non-profit organisation devoted to supplying clean water to developing countries and disaster areas.

Yesterday, her family released a statement describing her death as a “heartbreaking loss.”

“Yesterday, Molly passed away in a tragic accident while on vacation with our family in the Bahamas,” George Greene, Mrs Greene’s son confirmed.

“We mourn the loss to our family. We know that a larger global family mourns with us and celebrates her life, as she blessed so many around the world. We ask for your prayers and request privacy at this time.”

Greene, of Charleston, South Carolina was well known for her significant contributions in working to provide disaster-stricken or impoverished areas access to drinking water, made possible by the filtration systems she and her husband designed, the local Post and Courier reported.

The idea for the group

was born from the devastation the couple witnessed in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch, a Category 5 storm, wreaked havoc on Central America, Honduras in particular.

The Greenes, who for years operated GEL, a Charleston-based environmental lab, started the non-profit with a goal of providing clean water to 100 million people within a decade. “Having experienced Hurricane Hugo nine years prior, we understood the urgent need for relief,” Molly Greene wrote in a Thanksgiving column in The Post and Courier. “George felt called to reach out, and sent an email to Leo Frade, the Bishop of Honduras, asking what we could do to help. To our

surprise, he received a response the very next day with a specific request, ‘We need six water treatment systems.’”

At the time, she and her husband did not have experience in designing or building such systems, and research revealed that existing systems were too expensive or too inefficient for use in disaster response, Greene wrote.

“Determined not to give up, George pulled out the textbooks and within two hours had sketched out a design for a water treatment system,” she wrote.

“Within two days, the team at GEL had built and successfully tested a prototype with the help of Charleston Water System.”

After further work and consulting with the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, the six water treatment systems were built and shipped.

John Cook, former CEO of Charleston Water System, was involved in the Greenes’ efforts since the beginning when he helped complete those first six treatment systems. “They started with no staff, no money,” Cook said. “If you look at what they have today ... they had enormous faith and enormous vision.”

Molly Greene was eternally optimistic, a trait that never failed to inspire others, he said, adding that he has no doubt that her legacy will continue.

“When you talked with her about this mission, she had an unbridled enthusiasm for what we were doing,”

Cook said. “It was hard to be around them and not be inspired. That’s one of the traits of great leadership.”

The Rev. Jeffrey Miller, rector at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church where Molly and her husband were members, said he was struck by how Greenes dedicated their lives to helping some of the most vulnerable people around the world and by how much their humanitarian work mirrors the words of Jesus Christ.

“They reached out to the least of these and they made a difference, and it’s a difference that transcends Charleston and transcends the world,” Miller said. “It flows from their faith and it was genuine.”

Editorial View - Page 4

THE TRIBUNE from page one The step-aunt claimed her nephew wasn’t armed or selling drugs, adding the community no longer feels safe.

However, police have said officers were conducting an operation on John Street in the Bain Town community around 1pm on Wednesday when they encountered a man “engaging in the sale of illegal drugs” and armed with a firearm.

The man “engaged the officers” which resulted in him being shot, police said.

The victim was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Officers recovered an illegal firearm and a quantity of dangerous drugs at the scene, police said.

“He wasn’t selling drugs at that time, I wouldn’t say (he didn’t sell drugs) previously or not before. I’m not going to sit here and lie. He wasn’t selling drugs - he was cleaning the yard, he was chilling as they say. No one identified themselves as police,” his relative said.

“Broad daylight…children go to that shop, that shop is through the corner, not on the main road but it (isn’t) safe no more. My kids restricted and can’t go up there, can’t get cup or ice cream. We don’t know if they (were) coming back; people in fear. This community, everyone is always (outside) and last night the corner was dry.”

She added: “The immediate people that actually knows him are distraught.

All he did was run because he’s known to police.

(Police) didn’t say who (they) was but (police) shot him three, four times. That was not one gunshot that (went) off. Y’all had to kill him? And y’all just want us to sit down because he’s known to police or he use to do this, or he use to that?

“He is still somebody. It’s inhumane to say ‘oh it’s just one less criminal (on the streets).’

“I’m in fear now because I have kids...These people are supposed to protect and serve, that’s what they swear to do. My six-yearold knows who killed her uncle yesterday. My kids know who killed their uncle yesterday.”

A woman who identified herself as the victim’s girlfriend, who did not want to be named, said she has

Friday, July 19, 2019, PAGE 3

All he did was try to run away ... He is still somebody.

It’s inhumane to say ‘oh it’s just one less criminal’ mixed feelings following the incident.

She said: “Right now I don’t know how to feel… one minute I’m trying to hold strong, the next minute (I’m) breaking down. I wouldn’t say he was a good boy, but he was trying to make it on the road as a Haitian citizen.

“He had his flaws, no one is perfect. . . my (daughter) is old enough to understand and she knows what’s going on so she can’t take it.”

She added: “I don’t know (how) to feel safe because the ones who supposed to be protecting us, they are working against us and killing us down like dogs in the road. (I want) justice, justice needs to come out of this.

“It’s wrong, he had no guns or drugs on him. Only shots fired that day was the shots the (police) let off,” she alleged. “Whatever they trying to plant or put together it (isn’t) working.

You shot a man running

THE SCENE of a police-involved shooting on Wednesday. (away) that means he afraid of y’all. He was running away from y’all and y’all shot him down like a dog and drag him out to the road like a dog. (Police) told him, ‘bey get up, bey

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

ain’t no-one helping (expletive) you…get up bey.’

They treat him like a dog (sic).”

When asked about police-involved shootings yesterday, Commissioner

Grand Bahama remembers ‘a good person who had no problems with anyone’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A RELATIVE of Eudelle Bevans, who is a native of Sweeting’s Cay, said the entire community there was shocked to learn of her murder in Freeport on Wednesday.

Gladstone Russell, chief councillor for Sweeting’s Cay, and cousin of the deceased, told The Tribune yesterday: “I am still in a cold shock about the tragedy - everyone here is sad about it.”

Bevans - who was in her late 40s - lived in Freeport.

Her body was found in the trunk of a vehicle at a local car junkyard at East Beach Drive, Freeport.

According to police reports, the body was discovered by a tow truck operator who had been contacted to move a vehicle that morning.

Superintendent of Police Brian Rolle, officer in charge of Central Detective Unit in Grand Bahama, said police received a call

around 8am about a body found in the trunk of a vehicle.

Supt Rolle reported that a tow truck driver had received a request around 6.30am on Wednesday from someone about moving a vehicle from the Queen’s Highway area. After towing the vehicle to the car yard, the tow truck driver checked the vehicle and found the body.

Supt Rolle said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. He also noted that there were injuries to her face and upper body.

A 20-year-old male relative of the deceased is in custody assisting police with their investigation into the murder, Grand Bahama’s sixth homicide for the year.

Mr Russell described his cousin Eudelle as a very loving individual.

“She was a well loved person, very friendly, and a good person; she had no problems with anyone,” he said.

When asked if Bevans had any children, Mr Russell said that she only had

one child – a son known as “Meko.”

Mr Russell also noted the deceased has three sisters who also live in Freeport.

The Tribune also spoke with the tow truck driver who did not wish to be named and who described the incident as a “shocking” experience.

He said that from time to time he has seen some unusual things, but not this.

“There are certain procedures that we must do as tow operators and sometimes while checking (a vehicle) you come across some things. But it was a shocking feeling (to find a body in the trunk); we don’t

of Police Anthony Ferguson told reporters in most cases, the suspect is usually in “possession of a firearm and confronted police”.

Commissioner Ferguson said: “If you are out there

on the front line and you are in possession of a firearm and you confront the police it is very likely that you can be injured, very likely.”

When asked if police officers are trained to shoot with the intent of arresting the suspect or trained to shoot with the intent to kill, Commissioner Ferguson said: “These are live bullets that we are firing. It’s not rubber bullets.

“We train daily because, let me put it this way…I think the Bahamian people... the fear, you know what it is the fear of you walking and somebody shooting you. You don’t want that fear so the police ought to be that buffer to make sure that if any shooting to do, let them shoot at the police because the police is trained to take necessary action to prevent you from being shot.”

The matter will now head to Coroner’s Court for an inquiry.

THE BODY of Eudelle Bevans was found in the trunk of a vehicle at a car junkyard at East Beach Drive, Freeport.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

come across that often and so this was a first for that,” he said.

He said that it is sad because a human life is gone.

Investigations are also continuing into Sunday’s murder, and police have now officially released the identity of the deceased man as 34-year-old David Albury, of Freeport.

According to reports, Albury was shot while in the area of West Atlantic Drive sometime around 1.45am and 2am on Sunday, July 14. He was taken to hospital, but later died of his injuries. His death was the island’s fifth homicide.

PAGE 4, Friday, July 19, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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Welcome progress - but we still must do more “IF THERE is only one person injured from a shot or weapon, that is too much.”

So said Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson as he spoke yesterday about the level of crime in the nation – and he’s quite right.

Thankfully, he had good news to report – even if we can still do better.

Crime in the first half of the year is down by 17 percent compared to last year – including murders down from 54 to 45 over the same period as last year.

That’s welcome, of course, but it still doesn’t feel like the tide has turned.

Incidents such as the mass shooting at a party in Montel Heights last month that saw 14 people injured, including a child as young as ten, stoke fears within the community.

Commissioner Ferguson acknowledged there remain concerns about the number of people injured in shootings, saying the figures for non-fatal shootings are “not where we want them to be”.

Notably, while he presented crime figures for a number of categories of crime that have fallen, he did not provide the figures for non-fatal shootings.

But we should be comforted that progress is being made. We should also be comforted that the commissioner is putting the focus where it needs to be – by trying to tackle the number of guns on the street.

“There are far too many guns on the street,” he said. He’s right.

Encouragingly, part of the crime rate drop is down to increased cooperation between police and the public – with people providing information helping the bid to crack down on crime.

There remains a long way to go.

We have yet to see how much the new

Shotspotter technology will affect crime – and we continue to hope that body cameras for officers and increased use of CCTV can also help police in their fight. More camera footage can play a part in the court process – and perhaps ensure some criminals who walk free are behind bars where they should be thanks to such technology.

Beyond that, we need to do more than just respond to crime, we need to tackle the issues that cause it.

We know that unemployment is high – and the cost of living too. Too many people trapped in joblessness for prolonged periods of time get drawn into crime to make ends meet.

Even reaching out to offer pathways back into work can be too late – we need to reach those who might become criminals as early as possible. Many come from difficult family backgrounds.

There are many single parents who do a great job raising their children, but there are others who struggle in a difficult environment and that can be a challenge. Extra ways of providing support for those who need it – through social services, through churches, through community networks – can be a lifeline in difficult times. It can offer to those families what the nation itself needs: Hope.

We long for the day when that fear of crime has diminished so that we no longer huddle in our homes, wary of going out after dark. That day does not feel like it is here yet – not when incidents such as the Montel Heights shooting still happen.

So we praise the police for the work done on our streets, but we yearn for more – as we hope the day will come when we can all reclaim those streets.

What can you do to help?

MOLLY Greene was a remarkable woman. The American woman was on holiday in Abaco this week when a rip current caught her as she was swimming and she drowned.

The tributes have been overwhelming – for this was a woman whose life touched so many.

She was the co-founder of Water Mission, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing clean water in developing countries and after disasters.

Her mission sprang from a simple question – she asked what she could do to help after Hurricane Mitch struck

Honduras. The answer was a request for six water treatment systems. She knew nothing about such systems, but with her husband George, they figured it out.

And from there they set out with a goal of providing clean water to 100 million people within a decade.

So as her family and friends mourn her, perhaps her legacy should be this – no matter who you are, no matter what you know or don’t know, you too can make a difference if you ask just one question: What can I do to help?

Ask it today, and let that be your tribute to Mrs Greene.

We need more male principals in education EDITOR, The Tribune HOW many male principals do we have in our junior and senior schools today? The answer is too few. I have worked in education for many years and I have come to realise that we need more men in the junior and senior schools.

This is not a sexist comment. It is simply a fact. I am a woman and I can see that the discipline in many schools at these levels are terrible. The majority of these schools are in inner city areas where many students are in gangs and where many of the young men and even young women live in a world where men are rarely seen.

Many of these students have little respect for women and do not see them as authority figures. I

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net have seen the way a male student reacts differently when spoken to by a male by comparison to a female.

There can be no learning in schools where there is no discipline. The Ministry of Education needs to increase the ratio of male to females in the administration of our schools and more of our inner city junior and senior schools need male principals. The males chosen need to be those who are serious about discipline and learning taking place in our schools. Promote the effective males. Move them up and skip a level if you have to. We must get our schools in order.

The principal of R M Bailey should be commended. He is an excellent example of a principal who turned a school around.

Everyone who knows him knows that he is serious about discipline and learning. We need males with that kind of mindset, not those who are slack and have no standards.

Students learn about discipline and boundaries in school first. This is important so when they come out into society they will know how to conduct themselves. I hope and pray that this issue is addressed and changes are made for the new school year.

ADVOCATE CHANGE Nassau July 18, 2019

FOR

Beware this racial inferiority complex EDITOR, The Tribune THE Bahamian population is over 92 percent black. Within this massive racial demographic is a consciousness of our skin tone, due to what African Americans would call colorphobia, colorism and internalised white supremacy.

Just like in the United States with light skinned African Americans, light skinned Bahamians are much better off than their dark skinned Bahamian counterparts. Most dark skinned Bahamians would prefer to marry someone who is mango skinned and has curly hair. Even on job interviews mango skinned Bahamians routinely fare better than their dark skinned Bahamian counterparts, despite the latter having better academic qualifications. How many times have we seen mango skinned Bahamians do the Bank Lane shuffle dance in handcuffs? What is the ratio of dark skinned Bahamians to light skinned Bahamians in Fox Hill Prison?

The New York Times African American columnist Kaitlyn Greenidge highlighted this sociological phenomenon in a recent write-up, when she wrote that African American civil rights activist and educator, Nannie Helen Burroughs, was discriminated against by light skinned African Americans because of her dark complexion. Conversely, the

mango skinned poet and activist, Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson, received red carpet treatment within the black community.

This inferiority complex was instilled in our African forebears who were enslaved by the British and Spaniards during the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the subsequent Jim Crow era. Interestingly, African mulattos were the products of interracial unions.

In many instances, African women were raped by their white slaveholders. Greenidge observed in her editorial that light skinned black people’s heritage in the United States stems from sexual slavery, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation inherent in American slavery. The blame for much of the racism in the antebellum South United States and throughout Europe can be laid squarely on the doorsteps of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Josiah C Nott’s and George R Gliddon’s Types of Mankind, at least in terms of giving white Americans and white Europeans scientific justification for the maltreatment of Negroes, of which several intellects in a 2018 Huffington Post column labelled Darwinian scientific racism. Within the evolutionary scientific framework of paleoanthropology, black Africans are considered the offsprings of the Australopithecus afarensis primate. Consequently, black people

are thought to be on the lowest rung on the Darwinian ladder of homo sapiens, with only a hairbreadth distance separating black people from simians. In Europe where evolution and biogensesis are the majority report regarding the genesis of human beings, black footballers in FIFA World Cup Soccer and in the Premier League routinely suffer the indignity of monkey chants from irate fans of opposing teams. Messrs Gliddon and Nott compared black people to chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas. This unfortunate, unproven scientific theory has led to the dehumanisation of black people. The Huffington Post writeup mentioned above calls this sociological phenomenon the simianisation of black people; and the fact that some white people had called former United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, apes.

This subtle form of racial discrimination was exhibited recently in The Bahamas when Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis was labelled a black African monkey by a purported member of the Free National Movement (FNM) and Water and Sewerage Corporation board, one Bennett Minnis. I have read that Bennett hails from Long Island and was related to the late Sir Henry Taylor, one of the founders of the PLP. Bennett’s vitriolic reaction

to the PLP’s ceremony at Taylor’s grave underscores the fact that some family members of Taylor are still harbouring unforgiveness towards the PLP for the shoddy manner in which the late PLP founder was treated by the political organisation when Sir Lynden Pindling was at the helm. The term “monkey”, when applied to black people, is a racial epithet, as I have amply demonstrated above. Bennett’s racist insult obviously stems from black Bahamians’ prevailing attitudes toward people with a darker skin tone. Davis falls within that category. We won’t admit it, but Bahamians with lighter skin tones look down on people like the PLP leader. That can explain why we take no umbrage at being labelled the N-word.

Is it any wonder why skin enhancement products such as Ambi Skincare Fade Cream have sold well in The Bahamas? It’s because we, as black Bahamians, are deeply ashamed of our African heritage and colour. It is unfortunate that the PLP leader has been subjected to such vitriol from a high ranking official within the FNM administration. The threat

by Bennett to block PLPs from entering Clarence Town, Long Island is nothing more than political rhetoric.

With the political acrimony between PLPs and FNMs, no apology is forthcoming. PLP National

Chair Fred Mitchell should not waste his time in begging for one or for the resignation of Bennett; nor should he add fuel to the fire by going back to Long Island in open defiance to the FNM official.

Interestingly, while Sir Lynden was of the same complexion as the current PLP leader, Perry Christie is of a light brown complexion. Sir Lynden’s dark skin tone was mentioned in Sir Randol Fawkes’ The Faith That Moved the Mountain, which is an indication that Bahamians in the 1950s were becoming increasingly conscious of their skin colour. Yet Pindling’s dark skin was an important political asset in that era when the majority of black Bahamians felt marginalised by the white oligarchy that ruled the colony. Consequently, like the Jamaican national hero, Marcus Garvey, who himself was jet black, Pindling was nicknamed the Black Moses. Bennett’s comments were inflammatory. We can use those unfortunate remarks to start a national discussion on internalised white supremacy. Davis shouldn’t be subjected to ostracism because of his skin colour. Like other politicians, he should be judged on the contents of his character and his political policies.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport Grand Bahama July 18, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 19, 2019, PAGE 5

FNM attacks PLP over lease deal to minister’s family... from page one The Progressive Liberal Party has attacked the Minnis administration for leasing the mall while Mr Symonette has an interest in the building.

Parliament passed a resolution permitting the lease last year but Mr Symonette sparked controversy this month when he revealed he discussed the leasing arrangements for the mall with Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, a revelation that appeared to contradict the resolution.

Although Dr Darville had no interest in the Gladstone Road buildings, Mr Rolle believes the previous administration should have brought a resolution to Parliament.

He said: “They’ve pushed the argument that Brent did not do certain things.

We contend that Brent did everything within the constitution and within the rules.

He was leasing a building to the government of the Bahamas. He disclosed he had an interest in the building. Once he disclosed his interest he said he could not participate in any discussions on whether we will lease the building. The hypocrisy of the PLP is primarily that one of their own had a lease for a close family member and they did not say a word. A politically exposed person was involved but nothing was said and they didn’t come to Parliament.”

Through the Department of Social Services, the government under the Christie administration also leased property from another brother of Dr Darville, Paul Darville, who owns Renaldo Investments. It is not clear when those contracts were signed and when they will expire but the Ministry of Public Service has budgeted $298,624.92 to lease the properties for the 2019-2020 fiscal period.

“Let’s dismiss leasing the training agency,” Mr Rolle said. “Look at Grand Bahama. Darville

LEFT, Dr Michael Darville the Minister of Grand Bahama in the last government, and, above, Public Services Minister Brensil Rolle was the minister responsible for Grand Bahama and this took place in Grand Bahama.

Notwithstanding the fact that it was leased through the Ministry of Public Service, the fact is anything coming out of Grand Bahama passes through his hands.”

When contacted this week, Dr Darville rebuffed Mr Rolle’s claims, telling The Tribune he had nothing to do with leasing of any of the properties.

“This was even brought up during the election campaign,” he said. “We debated this in the House of Assembly before because this has been in and out of the House. In fact, one time the debate was so intense that Melanie (Griffin, then social services minister) had to come to my defence and say I had nothing to do with it, that it was strictly a

technical matter. There is no conflict of interest whatsoever. This is all a red herring to deflect from Brent.”

Article 49 of the constitution and Cabinet manual and procedures govern the conduct of elected officials when they or their close relatives have business before the government.

Article 49 requires that parliamentarians resign if they become interested in a government contract unless the House exempts them when they have declared their interest beforehand.

Cabinet manual and procedures requires that ministers declare their interests or those of their immediate family when they have business before the government.

Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said there are no parallels between Mr Symonette and Dr Darville’s

matter because one had an interest in a business and the other did not.

“If Darville had an interest,” Mr Davis said, “he would’ve had to declare as the law requires but he did not. The issue here really is whether he participated in the decision and my recollection is he did not. A public declaration is only necessary when you have a personal interest in the contract. In that case you have to get Parliament to excuse you.”

Moreover, Mr Davis said Cabinet’s code requires that the interests of a minister or their close relatives be disclosed to Cabinet, not to the public.

“Cabinet code and procedures demands that you have to disclose the interests to the decisionmaking body and thereby you will be excused from participating in the

decision-making process,” he said. “It is Cabinet’s manual so the disclosure is to Cabinet colleagues.”

It is not clear if the contracts of Dr Darville’s relatives came before Cabinet. Mr Rolle suggested that under the previous administration, leases may not have generally come before Cabinet.

In statements yesterday, PLP chairman Fred Mitchell said: “The former minister has reported that he has and had at all material times no pecuniary or other interest in these buildings. He was not a party to the leases, nor is he now, nor does he have now, nor did he have at all material times in the past any pecuniary or other interest in the buildings or the leases.

“The former minister also reported that he played no role in the negotiations, nor

Cabinet decision in connection with the buildings or the leases. There is no conflict.

This is an attempt to compare the conduct of Brent Symonette to the case of the former minister. The cases are not the same. Mr Symonette is declared to be the owner of the building leased to the government. Mr Symonette was involved in the negotiations to lease the building... it was Brent Symonette who admitted to (talk show host) Shenique Miller that he told the prime minister that the Town Centre Mall deal was a conflict of interest. Later, the entire FNM parliamentary caucus voted to approve a House resolution that was a lie. The prime minister and Brent Symonette knew that they were misleading the House, so all statements coming from the FNM are necessarily tainted with credibility issues.”

...as Speaker closes down Mall debate Speaker Moultrie said yesterday: “On the issue of matters that have been debated in this Parliament particularly with respect to resolutions and on the matter of the lease at the Town Centre Mall, where the chair is satisfied that a writ has been taken out at the Supreme Court and that any discussion in this Parliament can have a prejudicial affect on matters before the court. Out of an abundance of caution I will deny any permission to discuss those matters because in my estimation

we are dealing with a doubleedged sword here.

“We don’t want to act in a way that could prejudice the outcome of a matter before the courts and I don’t want to put the Parliament in a position where the argument could be put that the Speaker permitted matters to be discussed in this parliament that had a prejudicial affect on the case.

“So we are dealing with a double-edged sword and out of an abundance of caution the chair rules that no discussion with respect to the lease of the Town Centre Mall, which I understand is before the courts nor will we

HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie

FNM OFFICIALS TIGHT-LIPPED ON REMARKS BY BENNETT MINNIS A3MAIN

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS were tight-lipped yesterday on whether the Minnis administration will address the viral homophobic rant levelled against Progressive Liberal Party leaders by a public official.

Bennett Minnis, a Water and Sewerage Corporation board director, unleashed a bitter tirade against several PLP leaders, calling them homosexuals and “African monkeys”.

Yesterday, Works Minister Desmond Bannister initially told reporters he had no comment on the matter. However, when asked by The Tribune whether he felt the matter was worth responding to, he replied: “These are Cabinet issues.”

WSC Executive Chairman Adrian Gibson

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 17, 2019, PAGE 3

FNM OFFICIAL STANDS BY HIS FOUL RANT AT PLP LEADERSHIP from page one Davis added the matter has also been referred to Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson due to Mr Minnis’ threat to block party executives from entering Clarence Town again.

Yesterday, FNM chairman Carl Culmer did not directly condemn or justify Mr Minnis’ comments, but said the PLP should “clean their own doorstep”.

Mr Minnis told this newspaper the PLP’s recent presence at the gravesite incensed relatives. He further alleged the party did not get permission from the family to hold a memorial service at the site. “They came and did that stuff without contacting family members and they had no right,” said Mr Minnis, who said he was the family’s spokesman.

“Just the audacity,” Mr Minnis continued, “let them make a big fuss, it don’t move me no way. I don’t care. If the prime minister move me from the board then I accept it, but I don’t think he will because the PLP cussing the FNM everyday, cussing the prime minister, they playing the race card with Brent [Symonette]. I don’t see what they making a big fuss about it. They wasting their time.”

Mr Minnis said: “They went to Long Island to my cousin’s grave.

They had no right carrying they [homophobic slur] around the grave. I have a right to say what I want to say. I said what I said, and I mean what I said.”

Sir Henry was one of the founders of the PLP and the country’s third governor general.

Mr Davis and PLP chairman Fred Mitchell led an annual memorial service for Sir Henry last week, and hoisted a flag at his grave in the Catholic cemetery with his grandniece Erica Darville. The party also hosted a similar event last year.

Yesterday, Mr Minnis told The

Opposition is a party of corrupt, thieving, no good, b*****d, homosexual, African monkeys Tribune he stood by his voice note description of Mr Davis as a “black African monkey”.

He also continued his attack on Mr Mitchell, repeatedly calling him a (slur omitted) during an interview yesterday. However, Mr Minnis explained his hate-filled comments were only directed at the party’s leadership and not its members.

He told The Tribune he was self-employed and not beholden to the government post, adding he has never received a public contract. Mr Minnis said he has received many calls of support for his position, and brushed off claims that he had made the recording while intoxicated.

“I’m not worried about the

WSC board director Bennett Minnis PLP. I don’t like them, never liked them, and I’m not talking about ordinary PLP supporters, just the leadership. I never liked them from Pindling, to Christie, to now Brave. I directed that at the leadership of the party, it ain’t have nothing to do with race. Brave is a black African monkey and I am a black Long Island man. I don’t care what they have to say about me, you can kill the body, but not the soul.”

Mr Minnis added: “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke cigarettes, I don’t do drugs and I never been lock up. I don’t have no criminal record. I have a clear mind in whatever I say or do.”

Yesterday, Mr Culmer pointed to “PLP operatives” behind nasty and defamatory comments and memes against Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and other FNM ministers and MPs. Mr Culmer insisted the PLP did not have the moral compass to pass judgment.

“At the end of the day, if they want to talk about morals – I’m not trying to justify – but what I’m saying is you can’t look at it from one side of it. For months, the PLP has all kind of nasty memes and notes and [Mr Mitchell] has not once condemned it. All this prejudice and disgrace, clean their own doorstep before you try clean someone else,” Mr Culmer said.

“There are a number of people behind the scenes making all the nasty memes. The PLP don’t have the moral compass nor in the position to advise anybody about prejudice and all the nonsense.”

HOW The Tribune covered the story earlier this week.

walked past reporters who hosted a similar event last attempted get his com- year. The PLP has called for ment outside the House of the government to force Mr Assembly.

Minnis to resign from his Earlier this week, WSC post, and for the Free PM’s office blastsMrJamaican Minnis told The Tribune National Movement to conCEO over BTCexecucomments his attack on PLP demn his remarks. tives was a reaction to their Mr Davis has said the recent presence at his late matter has also been cousin Sir Henry Milton referred to Police CommisTaylor’s grave in Clarence sioner Anthony Ferguson Town, Long Island. due to Mr Minnis’ threat to PLP leader Philip block party executives from “Brave” Davis and PLP entering Clarence Town chairman Fred Mitchell led again. an annual memorial service On Tuesday, FNM chairfor Sir Henry last week, and man Carl Culmer did not hoisted a flag at his grave directly condemn or justify in the Catholic cemetery Mr Minnis’ comments, but with his grandniece Erica said the PLP should “clean Darville. The party also their own doorstep”. from page one

The Bahamas. While the government welcomes partnership with international investors, it is unapologetic and steadfast in its efforts to ensure that Bahamian workers are treated fairly and with dignity, whether at BTC or any other entity.

“At every opportunity, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis works to secure opportunities for Bahamians at all levels of employment as well as the good name of The Bahamas.

The Bahamas is an exceptional destination for international parties and investors, who are welcomed to invest in our country, which continues to lead the region in a number of areas. International partners should work with goodwill in the ongoing development of The Bahamas and should not pander to various regional audiences.”

In one of the viral clips, Mr Nair said Jamaica is LiLAC’s best performing country. “There is one downside,” he added.

“Everywhere I go I tell everybody else, ‘but Jamaica can do it.’ So if you go to any of our other operations like Bahamas or somewhere else, they’re not going to like you very much.

That’s the only downside because everybody is going, ‘what are they drinking in Jamaica that they can do all these things that nobody else can?’ We were just in The Bahamas on Monday and Tuesday too. It’s like a night and day difference.

“My biggest wish is one day they will say ‘we can be like Jamaica, we can do what they’ve done in this country’ and Gary (Sinclair, BTC’s CEO), that’s one of the reasons we asked Gary to take over a larger (role) and be personally in The Bahamas to help them make this transition because he’s done it here and he can do it there and when he does it there, this company will be an even bigger rocket ship because the people in The Bahamas is no different from people in Jamaica. It’s all about attitude. If you feel like

you can win, you will win and that’s how the feeling is here.”

In another clip, Mr Nair referred to Dr Minnis when responding to an employee questioning when Jamaicans will be given more senior posts at the company. While laughing, he said: “It is so funny.

I’ll tell you a story. Gary and I and a few others was meeting with the prime minister of The Bahamas on Monday and you can see him standing there and his crown jewel, BTC, is run by a Jamaican who’s sitting right across from him and he’s like, he brought up more than once, we need more Bahamians, and he’s not trying to make eye contact with Gary…”

BTC’s CEO Garfield Sinclair said in a statement yesterday that Mr Nair’s comments were taken out of context. However, he did not elaborate on what the proper context was.

“To be clear, no fire has been started,” Mr Sinclair noted. “The statements were taken out of context and do not convey the full essence of the message that was delivered.

BTC maintains a good working relationship with the government of The Bahamas and will continue to work together to drive economic growth. Furthermore, Liberty Latin America is extremely supportive of BTC, values its employees, and remains committed to building a culture of high performance where colleagues are able to thrive and deliver moments that matter to our customers.”

BTC employees reacted bitterly to Mr Nair’s comments, according to

PLP leader Philip Davis and chairman Fred Mitchell pose with members of the party and Sir Henry Taylor’s grandniece Erica Darville at a memorial service at his grave in Clarence Town, Long Island last week.

BALAN NAIR, president of Liberty Latin America (LiLAC).

Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union officials who said they have received non-stop calls from angry staff.

Dion Rolle, BCPOU president, called Mr Nair’s comments disgusting and insulting.

The Progressive Liberal Party also offered criticism, with chairman Fred Mitchell saying the comments were “derogatory and derisory of Bahamians and Bahamian work ethic as well as disrespectful in the

extreme to the Bahamian prime minister”.

“The Liberty executive’s comments come against the backdrop of bad service by BTC, the unreliability of its

platforms both telephonic and data, and the absence of any indication of forward planning and investment in The Bahamas,” Mr Mitchell said in a statement. “In

Editorial View - Page 4

fact, this executive has a nerve to make fun of Bahamians and the prime minister when their company, Liberty, seems only interested in extracting profits, dismissing employees, stripping the company of its assets and moving jobs overseas.

“Mr Liberty executive, the laugh and joke are on you. You simply run a company poorly and it has nothing to do with Bahamians and their productivity.”

The FNM, in a statement, did not address Mr Nair’s comments directly but attacked the PLP’s response. “Let us be clear,” the party said, “the PLP is attempting to pull the wool over the country’s eyes once again with a fake show of nationalism. What they should instead be doing is using the coming weeks to personally apologise to us all for their five years of corruption, mismanagement and failure.

“First and foremost, we as a country and a party must again thank Prime Minister Minnis for always standing up for us and our jobs. During the campaign and throughout his time in office, he has always made it a top priority to provide good jobs and put Bahamians in leadership positions in all companies.

Once again, he’s proved that he always walks the walk and talks the talk.”

permit any matters to be discussed pursuant to rules 32,13,15, 20 or 25. That is the ruling and any attempt to put anything on the record in that regard will be expunged.”

He made the ruling after Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis raised the issue at Parliament questioning when the government intended to table the Town Centre Mall lease. He also said he did not know whether to believe Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis or St Anne’s MP Brent Symonette who have seemingly given conflicting information on the Town Centre Mall rental.

FOR SALE

from page one

FAITH GARDENS SUBDIVISION PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: Multi Family Residential PROPERTY SIZE: 7,800 sq. ft.

ACCOMMODATION: Consists of two-two bedrooms, one bathroom, living/dining room, kitchen, laundry, closet and porch.

LOCATION: Traveling east along Cleveland Boulevard from Faith Avenue, turn on to the last corner on the right, heading south the subject is the 19th lot on the left.

APPRAISAL VALUE: $227,000.00

Editorial View - Page 4

INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD CONTACT: IAN SYMONETTE OR SHERRY THURSTON 397-6940 OR 376-1343 OR EMAIL: DISTRESSED.PROPERTIES@COMBANKLTD.COM

PAGE 6, Friday, July 19, 2019 from page one While it is hoped this warning does not fall on deaf ears, the minister said the government is eyeing a revenue turnover of $32m to $34m from web shop taxes.

Initially, the Minnis administration hoped the tax would yield $50m, but the new lower rates of 15 percent and 17.5 percent reduced the estimate.

However, he said a winnings tax with gains of $10m to $15m is expected to bring government’s projected revenue close to its initial estimate.

Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis criticised the Minnis administration, saying had it consulted with all stakeholders and gained proper industry knowledge, it would not have needed to bring new amendments to the House of Assembly.

The seven licenced operators run 360 locations throughout the Bahamas.

They employ 2,800 people who earn $220 each week - $10 above minimal wage and equating to $33m a year, the minister said.

“Mr Speaker, when the government provided its undertaking to review and then adjust its rates with effect from January 1, 2019, two gaming houses immediately adopted the new rates and have been paying the new higher rate of tax since then,” the Freetown MP told Parliament ahead of it passing the Gaming Amendment Act 2019.

“These two gaming houses are, thankfully, the two largest gaming houses and will contribute over 70 percent of the tax the government expects to generate from gaming.

The remaining five generally smaller, gaming house operators are adopting any number of legal strategies to delay their paying either the old rate of 11 percent or the new rate of 15 percent but, with the introduction of greater enforcement powers to the Gaming Board in this bill, I warn those non-compliant operators that, in order to continue to operate in the gaming industry of the Bahamas, they will have

THE TRIBUNE

Pay up or we’ll shut you down, D’Aguilar tells the web shops

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar and, inset, PLP leader Philip Davis. to catch up on their outstanding taxes or lose their licence to operate.”

He continued: “A number of the smaller houses have assured me that, with the passage of this new legislation and accompanying amendments to the regulations, they have every intention of catching up and so, I am optimistic of a positive outcome.

“But, to those who are operating in this market without a licence or have no intention to catch up on their back taxes, we will move with haste and determination to shut your illegal activities down. After all, Mr Speaker, it is simply

not fair to all of us, both consumers and business owners, who faithfully pay our taxes every day of the year, to have persons/business owners living amongst us believing that they do not have to pay their fair share of the tax burden that we all carry.”

He also said: “With hindsight, trying to take the tax rate from 11 percent to an effective rate of 28 percent in one year was probably overly ambitious.

As such, the government gave an undertaking to review the rates and ultimately decided that a more incremental approach was probably better in the long

run than one big jump all at once.”

Regarding the winnings tax, Mr D’Aguilar said this aspect of the legislation may act as a deterrent to prospective players.

This tax will allow a five percent rate on winnings less than $1,000 and 7.5 percent on more than $1,000.

Any winnings from online casino operations will not be taxed, he said.

“Given the aforementioned growth in the domestic gaming market of about $20m in revenues annually, governments are always mindful of trying to balance growth in gaming and protecting its citizens

from the destructiveness of gambling.

“If this new winnings tax deters some of our citizens from gaming, is that really such a bad outcome?

If gambling continues to grow and grow and grow, ploughing more and more money into an unproductive sector of our economy taking money away from mortgages, health care, education and the like, the governments seeks to get a greater share of that revenue to fund things that help the many as opposed a past-time that is obviously enriching the few.

“Since, this will be a new tax, the amount that

the government hopes to derive involves a certain amount of speculation but the gaming houses operators have estimated that it should amount to between $10m to $15m bringing us closer to the $50m we had originally hoped to derive from the gaming industry.”

He was not the only member to highlight the impact that gambling has had on families.

Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson highlighted a provision in the bill that will allow relatives of players to seek an order from the court for exclusion.

The order would allow web shops to bar particular players from entering and playing should their actions prove addicting and has an effect on family life.

He urged Bahamians not to hesitate to use the provision where needed.

The Yamacraw MP also said there were too many web shops in certain areas.

The government intends to table amendments to the regulations at next week’s sitting of the House of Assembly.

NATIONAL LOTTERY STILL AN OPTION FOR BAHAMAS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the Gaming Board is still considering options for a national lottery, a recommendation on

a way forward has not yet been made, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said yesterday.

The minister said the Gaming Board was mulling over whether the national lottery would be outsourced

to a private company with experience or ran in house.

However, Mr D’Aguilar said he would not recommend the latter option given the government’s poor track record of running businesses.

In January, he said the body was compiling a report on the prospects of introducing a national lottery.

He made his comments yesterday as the House of Assembly debated amendments to the Gaming Act. “…The amendment proposed in this bill will provide the Gaming Board of the Bahamas, as the regulator of all licensed gaming activities in the Bahamas, with latitude to approve or disapprove for the gaming house operator licensees, after testing and certification by the internationally recognised testing and certification laboratories registered here in the Bahamas, a wider range and variety of numbers game offerings,” the Freetown MP said yesterday.

“Specifically, the proposed amendment expands the definition of ‘numbers

game’ to ‘any single combination or series of numbers, symbols or letters as may be approved by the board, may be wagered upon by a player at odds which are fixed at the time of conclusion of the wager.’

“Governments may use this amendment of the definition in the ‘numbers game’ as a first step in establishing a national lottery involving four ball or five ball or six ball.

“However, the government has not advanced, at this time, its thinking on the establishment of a national lottery and is still considering whether this would be something that it would wish to operate in house given the government’s poor track record of running businesses, something I would strongly recommend against or would this be something that it would wish to outsource to a private company with

experience in operating lotteries or outsource to a licensed operator or licensed operators and simply increase the rate of tax on this particular stream of business to yield more to the Treasury.”

He continued: “I would like to emphasise, however, that the Gaming Board is still considering all of its options and has not, yet, made any recommendation to the government on the best way forward.”

Government discussions on a national lottery have been ongoing since 2017.

In 2013, the Christie administration held a referendum to determine whether it would regularise and tax web shops as well as establish a national lottery. The public voted against legalising lotteries. However the Christie administration went ahead with plans to tax and regulate the web shop sector.

ALIV ADDS ITS SUPPORT TO PLASTICS BAN

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

THE MINISTRY of Environment and Housing has announced ALIV as its first corporate sponsor and media partner for the 2020 plastic ban campaign.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference this week, Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira said officials are very pleased to have ALIV join in their effort.

He said: “Nothing can happen without the corporate collective workings of the private sector and government, so we look forward to a very fruitful partnership as we move forward in this direction.

“You would have seen a number of billboards go up around New Providence and we will (increase) our public relations and education campaign so that every

single Bahamian is aware of what we intend to do.”

Mr Ferreira said the real issue of plastic pollution is the presence of microplastics in Bahamian waters.

“Plastic degrade into microplastics; it’s estimated that if we don’t take some sort of action that you’d soon have more microplastics in the ocean than fish. Apart from the hazards it poses, and this is a real hazard because work conducted by the Bahamas Plastic Movement and other scientists have indicated that these microplastics are found in fish even in our waters,” he said.

“As a small island developing state, which The Bahamas is, we are more vulnerable to the impact of these kinds of issues than other nations. The draft legislation is complete, we are just tweaking it and we soon will (host) town hall meetings and distribute that

to the stakeholders for their comments.”

Sasha Lightbourne, ALIV representative, said the telecommunications company is willing to support in any way it can with the “necessary and progressive initiative” from the Ministry of Environment.

She said: “This partnership is just one of many in which ALIV creates meaningful partnerships with organisations and government entities to support the progression of a cleaner environment which will ultimately turn to improve the health of Bahamians at large and improve our country from a tourism perspective. “. . .We have also implemented several initiatives within our own company since meeting with Ministry of Environment executives.

It is our hope that we will move towards a plastic-free Bahamas.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 19, 2019, PAGE 7

STILL NO MOVEMENT ON HIGH PROFILE INVESTIGATIONS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Anthony Ferguson yesterday confirmed several high profile investigations were still ongoing, but could not give an update on their status.

The police chief told reporters at a press briefing he did not have an update to probes into the missing Oban file, Junkanoo bribery claims, or the alleged Department of Immigration bribery ring uncovered by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He maintained investigations

take time and could not be completed overnight.

Commissioner Ferguson took a similar stance in March when asked to respond to public criticism over the pace of the Oban investigation.

At that time, he told reporters the police force had to be thorough, and its efforts took time to be done right.

The proposed $5.5 billion Oban project for an oil storage and refinery facility in Grand Bahama has been dogged by controversy since the government signed the Heads of Agreement on February 19 last year.

In April 2018, the Nassau

Guardian revealed police were investigating the disappearance of an Oban file from the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission. At the time, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold told press the police had been notified about a week before the matter was leaked to the press.

In the Junkanoo matter, audio recordings between a purported female judge and George “Bommer” Armbrister, a costume designer for the Genesis group, circulated earlier this year. The woman in the recording appears to solicit funds from Mr Armbrister in exchange for reducing

scores of his rival groups. Last month, The Tribune reached out to the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence for an update on the status of their internal report on the bribery claims. Seven people were appointed to the JCNP’s committee. They were initially given 14 to 28 days to investigate and report their findings.

Yesterday, a representative from the JCNP said its report on the matter is ready and the group is deciding when to hold a press conference on the issue.

Additionally, Commissioner Ferguson told The Tribune in February police were still reviewing

the information provided by the FBI concerning its two-year sting operation into visa fraud at the US Embassy in Nassau.

The FBI’s operation uncovered an alleged bribery ring between senior Bahamas immigration officials and a purported justice of the peace for fraudulent longterm work permits. These permits were used to get visas to enter the United States.

A team of investigators from the Royal Bahamas Police Force and an attorney from the Department of Public Prosecutions were briefed on the findings of the undercover investigation in November 2018.

COMMISSIONER of Police Anthony Ferguson, second left, hosted a press conference yesterday at the Paul Farguharson Conference Centre.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Crime down but far too many guns on street, says Ferguson from page one However, since June 30, four more people have been killed in homicides, according to The Tribune’s records.

Rape cases declined by 37 percent, attempted rape by 56 percent, unlawful sexual intercourse by 11 percent, armed robbery by six percent, robbery by 26 percent, attempted robbery by 29 percent, burglary by 29 percent, housebreaking by 21 percent, shopbreaking by nine percent, stealing by 11 percent and stolen vehicles by 37 percent, the police stats show. There have been 24 rape cases, four attempted rape cases and 63 unlawful sexual intercourse cases for the first half of the year.

The commissioner credited the crime rate drop to people providing police with information and to “intentional operations by police.”

However, numerous people have survived gunshot wounds from highpowered weapons this year. While Commissioner Ferguson did not provide

statistics on non-fatal shootings, he admitted the figure “is not where we want them to be”.

“It is at an unacceptable level,” he said. “There are far too many guns on the street. If there is only one person injured from a shot or weapon, that is too much. If you take, for example, and you understand the amount of ammunition that one weapon can carry, and if you take one of those ammo to a number of persons, in some cases you can injure or kill up to 20 or 30 persons.

“While we may look at it as this amount of persons that were injured, the danger is the fear that someone can take a weapon and you will see any number of persons being injured. In the case of Montel Heights, those things are extremely, extremely dangerous.”

Fourteen people were wounded during a shooting incident at a party in Montel Heights in late June. In April six people were shot in Kemp Road during a single incident and five people were shot from an automatic weapon in the Montagu Beach area that month as well. In all

three cases, the wounded survived.

Commissioner Ferguson said: “Despite the downward crime trend, there is the fear of crime, so the police are working assiduously to reduce this fear by increasing our visibility in communities and through intelligence-led operations.

“Today’s criminals are ruthless in committing criminal acts and often endanger the lives of innocent persons in the process.

Therefore, it is vital that individuals be extremely cautious of the company they keep. I know this may sound simple but the reality is that ‘bad company

corrupts good character’ and we are judged by the company we keep. On the other spectrum, keeping company with wise people can have a positive effect.”

The police chief said the Royal Bahamas Police Force has seized 4,664 pounds of marijuana through June 30 and arrested two people

for having large numbers of prescription drugs. Traffic related deaths, he noted, have declined by 33 percent from last year, with 28 deaths so far this year. He added that 1,480 people have been ticketed for traffic violations.

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PAGE 8, Friday, July 19, 2019

This week, we have a case of careless statements, and a popular politician who isn’t living up to his nickname.

W

ELL, well, well...what do we have here?

It seems Balan Nair, president of Liberty Latin America (LiLAC), which is the parent company of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) really put his foot in his mouth; then the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) put its foot to his behind.

The dust up started when comments Nair made during an internal staff meeting in Jamaica last week, which were recorded on videos, predictably made their way to social media and have since gone viral.

If you haven’t seen the video, the gist of it is that BTC is one of Liberty Latin America’s lowest performing subsidiaries and its Bahamian workers are apparently a joke (as evidenced by the disparaging laughter throughout the video).

In the video, Nair, pictured, went on to recall a meeting he had recently with Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis in which Minnis, who is not a fan of outsourcing call centres for Bahamian companies, insisted he wanted more actual Bahamian workers at BTC. To hear Balan Nair tell it, Doc was either scared,

THE TRIBUNE

First, Nair put his foot in his mouth - then the Office of the Prime Minister put its foot to his behind mealy-mouthed or disbelieving in his own words when he made that request because according to Nair our PM couldn’t look LiLAC executives in the eye when he said it.

And this is where I say, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa...wait one God-blessed minute!’

First of all, there is no fault on Minnis’ part for speaking up for Bahamian workers at BTC or any other foreign or Bahamian owned company in this country, especially since it’s what Bahamians would expect from our PM. If we look at Nair’s comments without being political or “in our feelings” because he was so dismissive and insulting to Bahamians, there are still several problems with his assessment.

I’ll start with the fact that he seems to have a low opinion of an important subsidiary like BTC due to performance issues, but fails to see where the current leadership team (including himself) may be part of the problem.

Yes, we all are tired of dropped calls and all manner of service disruptions that seem to be

happening with increased frequency lately, but who’s fault is that?

Who’s fault is it that calling BTC’s service line is sometimes like calling someone on the moon?

Let’s not forget it wasn’t always this way.

I can remember a time when BTC was able to build up a massive customer base not solely because they were a monopoly, but also because they were very reliable.

Sadly, that was a time before LiLAC was in the picture.

Now that they are, executives like Nair and his cohorts should focus their attention on figuring out how to improve service instead of bashing Bahamian workers because the last time I checked BTC is pulling its employees from a workforce that has made millions and billions of dollars in profits for other “foreign” and local companies that actually know how to train, motivate and manage their people.

After being “licked wit da tamarind switch” by the OPM, Mr. Nair offered up a verbal apology directly to the PM who was clever

BALAN NAIR, president of Liberty Latin America to make him put his public mea culpa in writing for all the country to see.

The only thing better would have been to make him make it on video.

Nair was dead wrong to publicly pander to his audience in Jamaica by disparaging his own staff in here in The Bahamas.

No ‘context’ can make his words right.

Sure, it might be cheaper or more convenient to outsource parts of BTC’s operations, but let’s not forget the company isn’t just pulling its workers from our community, but also its profits.

I hope the next time the good Doctor has to deal with any of these companies, but particularly BTC,

he puts his foot down with respect to the country’s and Bahamian customers’ expectations.

Be sure to look Nair in the eye Doc, and let him know if he’s not about working with Bahamians he can #CYC; carry ya cellular. That really is the bottom line, with no old school “bottle to the head” or antiquated “stop-list” necessary.

How can you call yourself “Brave” if you are scared of challenges?

WHAT also jumped out at me this week, was the aroma of fear, emanating from the opposition PLP. Apparently as the PLP readies itself for its convention, PLP Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis wants no challenges to his leadership team at the PLP convention next week.

Allegedly, after a closed-door meeting at the Pelican Bay Resort in Grant Bahama in mid-June, he made his desire clear to a room of nearly 200 stalwart councillors, according to an article by Rashad Rolle in The Tribune.

Calling for absolute unity, he said he wants his team of Deputy Leader Chester Cooper, chairman Fred Mitchell and Deputy Chairman Robyn Lynes to remain firmly in place, without challengers.

It’s quite “Brave” to put forth such ultimatums, when you’re not expected to face a leadership challenge yourself, Mr Davis.

So if his seat is safe, who is Davis referring to in his statement?

My guess is former West End and Bimini MP, and Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, who has long made it clear he’s ready for another run in front line politics, and who happened to be seated in the audience at the Pelican Bay resort.

The thought of Wilchcombe challenging current PLP chairman Fred Mitchell, must have Davis in a sweat.

So much so he’s resurrected former scandal-ridden PLP MP and Cabinet minister George Smith, to get the message out, far and wide.

Smith recently offered up these comments regarding the upcoming PLP convention.

“The next chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, will be the person that the leader and his supporters within the party will throw their support behind, the person that the leader is most comfortable working with, whoever that is.

I think this because the people assembled at a convention two years waited daylong, late into the night. They came from far and near and they waited around to overwhelmingly vote for Philip Davis to be leader of the party.

The leader won handily, the deputy won handily and considering that the chairmanship race was between two well-known personalities, a 200-vote majority is these days a comfortable majority in party politics in The Bahamas.

Since then Mr Davis has gotten the party out of the doldrums that the party was in and the organisation now is on a very positive path to win the next general election.”

Considering Wilchcombe in the 2017 PLP convention, received 419 votes to Mr Mitchell’s 627 votes for the chairmanship position, the closest vote among all the positions voted on, it’s obvious that a potential challenge by Wilchcombe, has caused some tribalism and tensions amongst certain factions in the party, and is a serious test of Mr Davis’ control of the organisation.

Let’s not forget that Wilchcombe learned the “art of politics” at the feet of the late Sir Lynden Pindling, he connects to the younger voters as well as the older ones, and has more mass appeal on the street level, than Mitchell does.

Wilchcombe is definitely a serious option for chairman of the PLP and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

As a comedian, I can’t let the irony in all of this slide.

Years ago, in this column I urged “Brave” to challenge the leadership of an obviously underperforming, floundering Perry Christie, who wished not to be challenged.

(We all saw how that complacency by Davis and other key members of the PLP ended up costing the party dearly.)

Now a couple of years later, Davis is pulling a page out of Perry’s book, asking for no challengers!

How can you call yourself “Brave” if you are scared of challenges, and you don’t want a fight, all the while attempting to bully party members into voting a certain way?

If this pattern of leadership continues with Mr. Davis, he might as well change that nickname of his from “Brave” to “Perry 2.0” with the same results as the previous PLP leadership.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 19, 2019, PAGE 9

32-YEAR-OLD CHARGED WITH STABBING MAN TO DEATH

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

D’Javon Johnson outside court yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

A 32-YEAR-OLD man was charged in Magistrate’s Court yesterday with stabbing another man to death during an argument last week.

D’Javon Johnson, of Cox Way, was arraigned on a single murder charge stemming from Nicartha “Twin” Murphy’s death on July 10.

According to initial reports, Johnson and Murphy were in the parking lot of an establishment on East Street South and Cox Way when

they got into an argument. When the fight escalated, both of them ended up stabbing each other about the body.

Both men were taken to hospital, where Murphy was later pronounced dead.

Johnson was not required to enter a plea to the charge and the case was adjourned to August 19 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) in the interim.

He has the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

Former COB employee has jail term cut by 40%

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has docked 40 percent of former College of the Bahamas employee Chimeka Gibbs’ 15-year sentence for stealing over $700,000 from the institution over a sevenyear period.

The appellate court said Gibbs will now serve nine years in prison for stealing $704,580 from the college, now the University of the Bahamas, between March 2008 and October 2015.

This, the appellate judges said, would bring Gibbs’ sentence more in line with the “principle of totality” as well as the 10-year maximum provided for in the Penal Code for any count of stealing.

The appellate judges also set aside a judge’s order for Gibbs to serve an additional five-year sentence if she fails to pay back the $704,580 she stole via annual installments of $140,916 within the next five years.

The appellate judges said Justice Grant-Thompson’s restitution order remains in place. However, it will now be a “judgement debt” owed by her to the University of the Bahamas, and enforceable as any judgement debt.

Doing so officially neutralised the possibility of Gibbs potentially serving 20 years in prison (the original 15-year sentence plus the five years in default).

In February 2018, a ninemember jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on all 24 criminal counts - 16 counts of falsification of accounts and eight of stealing by reason of employment.

Prior to convicting Gibbs, who, according to court documents served as both a senior clerk and a human resources assistant at the former college, the

jury was told the accused falsified numerous COB direct deposit files, the result of which purported to show she was entitled to over $200,000 in salary payments.

Gibbs accomplished the latter feat by manipulating the information contained on certain documents to be submitted to the Bank of the Bahamas on behalf of COB. As a result, Gibbs received up to $13,000 over and above her monthly net salary of $2,395 between 2008 and 2015. In total, Gibbs paid herself $640,000 extra between those seven years to various bank accounts at Commonwealth Bank, Scotiabank FirstCaribbean International Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada. And according to the Crown, the amount she stole increased every year.

In April of that year, Justice Grant-Thompson sentenced her to six years in prison on counts one, four, seven and 10, and nine years on counts 13, 16, 19 and 22; those were the stealing by reason of employment charges.

Justice Grant-Thompson also sentenced Gibbs to nine years in prison on the remaining 16 counts of falsification of accounts - six years for eight counts and three years for another eight counts, that were also ordered to run consecutively. That made for a total of nine years on those counts.

However, Justice GrantThompson ordered that the sentences relative to the separate charges are ultimately to run concurrently, making for 15 years in total.

Gibbs was also ordered to pay back the money she stole from COB within the next five years, via annual instalments of $140,916.

Failure to do so would result in an additional year in prison, Justice

IT’S ABOUT TIME MCALPINE JUST CROSSED THE FLOOR AFTER Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine called on Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to account for his personal phone call with former Cabinet Minister Brent Symonette regarding the government leasing a portion of Town Centre Mall, readers posted their views on tribune242.com.

Apostle said: “I don’t know why McAlpine don’t just do the honourable thing and cross the floor and join the PLP. Oh no.

He’s already across the floor so he should just declare his support and resign from the FNM instead of being, in his words, the conscience, after being fired from his position as chairman. Nobody listens to him and he should know by now that he ought to stay in the pulpit. Men and women of the cloth have typically not done very well in politics and this should be a warning for others.”

Sickened posted this: “Damn McAlpine! Just switch sides already!”

To which Realfreethinker responded with: “Better yet. Join the DNA which gives them representation in the HOA. That way all major political parties will have a member. He can then run for the leadership of the DNA.” And there was this from TheMadHatter: “If there is any way at all that Brent can get out of the contract (even if it meant paying the one million dollar fee), he should get out of it. Then Minnis should ask Brave to find a location for the post office, and go with whatever Brave says. Every 2 weeks, bring it up in the House that we are still waiting on Mr Davis to find a location.”

Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

Grant-Thompson said, meaning Gibbs could have ended up serving 20 years behind bars if she defaults.

The judge also ordered that the $66,369.26 on Gibbs’ various bank accounts be forfeited to the Public Treasury.

Earlier this month, Gibbs’ attorney Murrio Ducille submitted the sentence passed was “unduly severe”. In his view, his client was convicted on inadmissible evidence that bore no relation to the 24 charges she was ultimately convicted on.

The appellate judges

agreed with Mr Ducille’s submission in that regard, noting that not only was the sentence unduly severe, but it was “beyond the jurisdiction of the judge”.

“Firstly, if (Gibbs) repaid the monies she would have served nine years in prison in circumstances where she would have paid full restitution,” the appellate judges said. “Secondly, as she will be in prison during the five years in question it is unclear to us the basis upon which it would have been expected that she could repay the monies.

“In effect it would have

been 20 years imprisonment which would have been twice the maximum period for any one offence.”

The judges further noted that even if it was proper to order compensation to the Public Treasury as requested by the Crown, the penalty for nonpayment could not exceed an additional three months.

“In the court’s view this was not a case requiring the imposition of consecutive sentences but rather may have warranted sentences near the 10-year maximum provided for in the Penal Code,” the judge’s ruling

said. “A total sentence of 15 years or 20 years as the case may be is not compatible with the principle of totality having regard to the fact that the maximum imposed by the Penal Code for any count of stealing was 10 years.

“The court is satisfied that (Gibbs’) sentences should all run concurrently.”

Court of Appeal President Sir Hartman Longley and fellow Justices Sir Michael Barnett and Milton Evans presided over the appeal.

Al-Leecia Delancy represented the Crown.

PAGE 10, Friday, July 19, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

IT’S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN FIND IN AN OLD FOLDER...

WE CAME across it in a recent office move – a 1991 New York Times story in the international section with a headline that, for The Times, was significant in font size and position.

Pocket-Telephone System is Planned, it read. The subhead, just as startlingly newsworthy – A wireless network with a global reach. The story by one Edmund L Andrews carried a Washington, DC dateline, reported that a London-based international consortium named Inmarsat was planning a satellite phone that would fit in a pocket and with 30 to 40 satellites in space relaying to earth, people could stay in touch anywhere in the world for as little as $1 a minute. Well,

THE 1991 New York Times story

anyone who has ever used a satellite phone knows how costly they can be, but the story just reminded us how far we have come in a few decades when now, a cell phone holds more information on a tiny chip and receive, retrieve, send and save new information faster than a room-size computer of the 1990s could even conceive of handling.

It’s amazing what you can find when you shake up the files and folders that have been hiding quietly in an office, resting for a moment of discovery. We also found this image, right, which we shot for BTC showing a couple able to communicate while walking on the beach. It was a remarkable feat at the time.

THE BAHAMAS water polo youngsters.

We should widen our horizons in the race for sporting gold I

T doesn’t take much to light up social media and when the public senses an injustice was done to a team off striving youngsters who are giving it their all and can’t reach the top because someone pulled the plug, social media goes from buzz to frenzy.

That’s what happened recently when the junior national water polo team had to return early from a tournament after winning bronze and being one day away from competing for gold.

But the buzz-turnedfrenzy was another example of taking a piece of a story – the piece that jingles nerves and touches hearts – and running with it without the full information. Still, it brought to light a sport in which The Bahamas is excelling, a relative newcomer to the slate that has made this country among

the most admired in the world for athleticism.

In brief, the facts of the incident go something (or very much) like this: Bahamas water polo, officially the Bahamian Mantas Water Polo & Swim Club, less than two decades old but making its mark, was invited to participate in the Central

American Caribbean Swimming Federation (CCCAN) in Barbados. The team, which receives limited funding from the government’s Bahamas Aquatics Association, felt it important enough to participate they decided to raise the funds themselves. They wrote letters of appeal. They held a two-day long car wash in the boiling hot sun. They set up a gofundme page (with official permission) and, in the end, thanks to lots of elbow grease, a handful of corporate sponsors and a stipend from the Federation, they had enough to send the team and coaches to the tourney.

Having purchased the tickets in advance to obtain the best rate, the coach thought they were prepared. Two days before they left, the coach told players and parents they would be returning on Sunday morning even though it was the day of the finals. Despite the planned early return, they felt it was important to attend for several reasons.

It would be a qualifier for the Pan Am Games 2020, there were new rules they would have to play by in August in Trinidad and they would experience a 30-metre pool which they would be playing in during the Pan Am Games.

Off to Barbados on a shoestring they went and there they starred. The national team won every match they played and qualified for the finals and gold when the coaches said they were sticking to the original plan to return home as they did not have enough money for the boys to stay in the hotel for another night.

That’s when all hell broke loose on the social media front.

What followed left parents deeply upset, feeling they were being blamed for the decision to leave possible Gold on the table, which was untrue as parents were willing to pay the additional cost as they have always done this in the past.

But that did not stop the first people to hear of the story blaming it all on government. Why not? We blame everything on government. (Years ago, during the Ingraham administration, a woman called in to a radio show and said, “Why ‘dis gubmint can’t do sumptin’ ‘bout ‘dis rain?”

Ingraham obviously failed to stop the downpour which might have cost him the next election.)

But the reality is that Bahamas water polo deserves a lot more funding and recognition than it gets. Whatever caused the unfortunate end to the run

for gold in this instance, the story shined a light on a bright spot in Bahamas sport and culture.

For those who have never seen water polo, it’s like soccer in the water. In The Bahamas, there is only one team which is grouped according to age into four divisions. Because local water polo is so new, unlike swim matches where teams compete and improve, the only way the single team can compete is to travel.

Each time they go, it costs parents and supporters between $800 and $1200 per team member. Government picks up the tab or contributes for major competitions. But for others like the one in Barbados even though the players are the official national team, parents have to scrape together what they can and beg when they need to to cover any shortfall.

They must be among the most dedicated of any sports parents in the country. The older boys are in the pool at the Betty Kelly Kenning swim complex five nights a week from 6:30 to 8 pm. The younger boys practice four nights a week from 5 – 6:30. Both practice on Saturdays. Parents call it an investment in their boys and are proud to make the sacrifices they need to.

That kind of dedication should be applauded, especially in a country where young males so often find their only camaraderie in gangs.

The Mantas could benefit from a single patron who appreciates the fast-paced, demanding sport. And the government must find a way to make sports a revenue generator.

Endless possibilities exist – rowing competitions, paddleboard challenges, edu-karting races, equestrian events. We are so narrowly focused on what we already excel at we are like the basketball coach who ignores the power of the three-pointer.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 19, 2019, PAGE 11

BUZZ Aldrin poses for a photograph beside the US flag on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969.

Apollo 11 made us believe we could do anything – the truth is it could hasten our downfall

By ERIC OLSON Professor of Philosophy, University of Sheffield

THE Apollo project gave us the astonishing spectacle of a blue marble rising over the sterile surface of the Moon. Of course, the Moon was already known to be uninhabitable. But being shown something in high-resolution colour photography makes a stronger impression than being told it by the experts. Our planet appeared in the photos as a small, vulnerable object amid surroundings utterly inimical to life. They showed, in a way that no scientific report could, the importance of keeping the Earth habitable, boosting the environmental movement.

But the Moon landings affected many people in precisely the opposite way.

No other public project has been such a spectacular success. The aim was so simple and concrete that everyone could immediately grasp it. Kennedy’s commitment to “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” was made before the US had even put a man into orbit.

Yet it was achieved just eight years later – barely half the time it takes nowadays to build a new railway across London. “Top that,” the Americans can easily say. Fifty years on, no one has.

The trouble with spectacular successes is that they breed complacency. The Moon landings reinforced the belief that technology will always be able to solve our problems. Everyone knows the saying, “If we can put a man on the Moon, surely we can…”

All we need is the will to do it. And a lot of money, of course. But not as much as you might think: the entire Apollo programme, over 12 years, cost about £120 billion in today’s money.

That’s how much the US spends on its military in 11 weeks (and Britain in three years). If technology can do that, what can it not do?

This faith in technology has given us a false sense of security. Every day we hear urgent warnings about antibiotic resistance, soil

depletion, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and of course climate change.

These imminent catastrophes are the result of our own behaviour. The obvious solution is to change that behaviour: to stop abusing antibiotics, destroying tropical forests, burning fossil fuels, and so on. Yet we don’t.

Part of the reason we don’t is the expectation that technology will save us. If we can put a man on the Moon, surely we can develop new antibiotics, replenish the soil and restore the tropical forests.

We can stop climate change by building machines to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

(And anyway, we can build walls to keep out the rising seas.) All we need is better politicians.

This sense of security is unwarranted. Technology cannot do everything. Once an ecosystem has been completely destroyed or a species has gone extinct, nothing can bring it back.

No new Apollo programme will ever enable us to raise the dead after they have turned to dust. Some things are simply impossible – not for lack of money or technical know-how, but because of the laws of nature.

And just as our sense of security overestimates the power of technology, it underestimates the political obstacles. It’s not just that large public science projects are out of fashion.

The Moon landings had the advantage of drawing on national pride: they served to demonstrate the superiority of the US over other countries – the Soviet Union in particular.

Combating antibiotic

resistance, deforestation, and climate change, by contrast, requires all countries to work together. And these projects are unlike the Moon landings in being essentially altruistic: one country’s expenditure benefits all inhabitants of the planet equally, whether or not they have contributed themselves. The selfish can get a free ride.

A further obstacle is that solving problems we have created for ourselves is not the sort of thing that easily inspires greatness.

No one likes cleaning up after the party. It was easy to excite people about the first Moon landing because it was such a great spectacle. We could watch it on TV in real time, from blastoff to splashdown. Like a good mini-series, it lasted just eight days. Averting catastrophe is not like that – especially when the problem cannot be shown in a simple stunning image.

Saving the planet doesn’t make compelling TV. There is no dramatic start or end point. And if the mission succeeds, the result will be only more of the same: the absence of catastrophe. What could be more boring? In democratic societies at least, addressing global problems will always be a hard sell. That’s why Kennedy’s contemporary heirs have done so little.

The success of the Moon landings is no reason to expect technology to save us from ourselves. I fear it will make catastrophe more likely. Technology can help, but we need to know its limits. We’d be better off forgetting about rocketry and remembering the image of our planet as a tiny oasis in an inhospitable universe.

Funeral Service For

Roswell Winslow Dale Thompson, 55

of Thompson Street will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at 10:00a.m. at Holy Cross Anglican Church, Soldier Road. Officiating will be Rt. Rev’d Laish Z. Boyd Sr., assisted by Rev’d Canon Peter Scott and Rev’d Fr. B. Travis Fernander. Interment of his cremains will follow in St. Matthew’s Cemetery, Church Street. .

Predeceased by his parents David Gilles Thompson and Rose Mae Thompson; brother: Anselm Gilles Thompson.

He is survived by his Beloved Aunts: Eva Hilton, Octavia Johnson, Astrid Brooks, Cynthia Donaldson, Leonie McCartney, Paula Holder, Gwen Turner and Lorraine Burrows; Uncles: Anthony “Skeebo” Roberts (Gina), Michael Adderley, Oliver Adderley (Veronia), Pastor Kenneth Adderley (Bernadette), Carlton Adderley (Daphine), Angelo Adderley (Hillary), Trevor Adderley (Sonia), Blake Adderley, Sidney Adderley, Raymond Miller; Aunts: Gilda Adderley, Iris Adderley, Angela Jones, Paulette Adderley Zonicle, Marge Ferguson (Nelson), Ingrid Kerr (Raymond), Willadale Granger (Glen), Eyvonne Dendy (Larry), Myrtle Smith (Henry), Georgina Saunders (Leslie), Tonjia Burrows (Lester); The family of Nathan Thompson of Deep Creek, Eleuthera; Cousins: Rachel Thompson, Basil “Barney” Thompson, Cynthia Stewart, Elizabeth Brown, Doreen Thompson, Alphonso Thompson; Eloise Strachan, Godfrey, Cedric “Cega”, and Deborah Thompson; Carolyn Thompson, Warren “Doc”, and Locksley “Potcake” Thompson, Theresa Cooper, Kirkwood, Antoine “Bam”, and Marsha Thompson, and Allison Johnson; Patsy McKinney, Bishop Samuel Thompson, Derek, Phillip, Andrew and Basil Thompson; Ena Stubbs, Theodore, Paul, Andrew Thompson and Beatrice Gordon; Althea, George, David and Kendal Rolle; Maria Bain; Elise Delancy and Jeremy Delancy; Family and Friends: Lottie Rolle, Fay Callender, Laura Brown, Barton, Kea and Nikolai Callender, the families of the late Eva Lightbourne, Althea and Donzel Huyler, Robert and Samuel Isaacs, Lilla Mitchell and the family of Alicia Lady Fountain; Mr. & Mrs. Quinn McCartney, Mr. Leo Foulkes, Donna Johnson, Trevor McKay, Kim Hanna, Messrs.’ Perry and Terry Archer and Family, Mr. & Mrs. Reginald (Ray) Saunders and Family, Robert Bartlett and Family, Keith Sands and Family, Mr. Gowon Bowe and family, and especially his colleagues at Alexiou Knowles & Co.; Numerous Godchildren Special Thanks to: Canon Norman and Mrs. Lightbourne, Canon Crosley and Mrs. Walkine and the members of the St. Matthew’s Church family; Sharon Parish for the loving care provided to Roswell; your kindness is appreciated. Bishop Laish and Mrs. Boyd, Bishop Gilbert and Mrs. Thompson, Canon. Harry and Mrs. Ward and The Venerable G. Kingsley and Mrs. Knowles, Canon S. Sebastian and Mrs. Campbell, Canon Peter Scott, Fr. Travis Fernander and the Holy Cross Family including: Holy Cross ACM, Thursday Bible Study Group, Christian Achiever and, Holy Cross Vestry, Hon. Loretta Butler Turner and family, the staff of Butlers’ Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Queens College Class of 1980 and The Hilton, Adderley, Holder, Watson, Godets and Turner Families.

Arrangements are entrusted to Butlers’ Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Ernest and York Streets.

JKF was committed to putting a man on the Moon.

PAGE 12, Friday, July 19, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

MAN SHOUTING ‘YOU DIE’ KILLS 33 AT JAPAN ANIME STUDIO TOKYO Associated Press

A MAN screaming “You die!” burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire yesterday, killing 33 people in an attack that shocked the country and brought an outpouring of grief from anime fans.

Thirty-six others were injured, some of them critically, in a blaze that sent people scrambling up the stairs toward the roof in a desperate — and futile — attempt to

escape what proved to be Japan’s deadliest fire in nearly two decades. Others emerged bleeding, blackened and barefoot.

The suspect, identified only a 41-year-old man who did not work for the studio, was injured and taken to a hospital. Police gave no details on the motive, but a witness told Japanese TV that the attacker angrily complained that something of his had been stolen, possibly by the company.

Most of the victims were employees of Kyoto Animation,

which does work on movies and TV productions but is best known for its mega-hit stories featuring high school girls. The tales are so popular that fans make pilgrimages to some of the places depicted.

The blaze started in the threestory building in Japan’s ancient capital after the attacker sprayed an unidentified liquid accelerant, police and fire officials said.

“There was an explosion, then I heard people shouting, some asking for help,” a witness told TBS TV. “Black smoke was rising

FIREFIGHTERS work as smoke billows from a building in a fire in Kyoto

from windows on upper floors.

Ten there was a man struggling to crawl out of the window.”

Japanese media reported the fire might have been set near the front door, forcing people to find other ways out.

Firefighters found 33 bodies, 20 of them on the third floor and some on the stairs to the roof, where they had apparently collapsed, Kyoto fire official Kazuhiro Hayashi said. Two were found dead on the first floor, 11 others on the second floor, he said.

FANS DESCEND ON SAN DIEGO FOR 50TH COMIC-CON SAN DIEGO Associated Press DUST off your Captain Marvel cosplay, San Diego Comic-Con is here and those in full cosplay were grateful for the cooler-than-usual temperatures.

“I would be melting,” said Ana Nibbla of San Diego, who was dressed as a female Pennywise, or “Princess Pennywise” as she likes to call it.

She likes to hit the convention floor early to check out exclusives from artists who don’t go to conventions often.

“This is the one time a year I get to see them in person,” she said.

“This is my favorite, I’m a huge Stephen King fan,” said Cheryl Dolbel from Jersey in the Channel Islands, who was wearing a t-shirt with artist drawings of both Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise.

“We tried to go for the taping, but we couldn’t get in. We’ve been waiting a few hours.”

Trump: I tried to stop ‘send her back’ chant WASHINGTON Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday chided his supporters who chanted “send her back” when he questioned the loyalty of a Somali-born congresswoman, joining widespread criticism of the campaign crowd’s cry after fellow Republicans warned it could hurt the GOP in next year’s elections In a week that has corkscrewed daily with hostile exchanges over race and love of country , Trump also claimed he had tried to

stop the chant at a reelection event on Wednesday night in North Carolina.

“I started speaking really quickly,” he told reporters. “I was not happy with it. I disagree with it” and “would certainly try” to stop any similar chant at a future rally.

However, video shows the crowd’s “send her back” shouts resounded for 13 seconds as Trump made no attempt to interrupt them.

He paused in his speech and surveyed the scene, taking in the uproar.

The taunt’s target — Democratic Rep. Ilhan

Omar of Minnesota — was pressed for a response yesterday, as Trump was.

“This is what this president and his supporters have turned our country” into, she said. “This is not about me. This is about fighting about what this country truly should b e and what it deserves to be.”

“I believe he is fascist,” she said.

Trump, though taking issue with the chant, didn’t back away from his criticism of Omar and three other Democratic congresswomen of colour. They have “a big obligation and

ILHAN OMAR, a target of racist rhetoric from Trump. the obligation is to love your country,” he said.

“There’s such hatred. They have such hatred.”

Trump started the week’s tumult by tweeting on Sunday that Omar and the other three freshmen could “go back” to their native countries if they were unhappy here. His other targets — all Trump detractors — were Reps.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

All are American citizens, and all but Omar were born in the US. She fled

to America as a child with her family from violencewracked Somalia.

Citing Trump’s rhetoric, House Democrats said they were discussing arranging security for Omar and the three other congresswomen. The Democratic-led House voted on Tuesday to condemn Trump’s tweets as racist.

On Wednesday, it rejected a resolution by one Democrat to impeach Trump that was opposed by party leaders as premature.

The chants at the Trump rally brought scathing criticism from GOP lawmakers as well as from Democrats, though the Republicans did not fault Trump himself.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California declared the chant has “no place in our party and no place in this country.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted that it was “ugly, wrong, & would send chills down the spines of our Founding Fathers. This ugliness must end, or we risk our great union.”

AMERICAN WARSHIP DESTROYS IRAN DRONE WASHINGTON Associated Press

A US warship yesterday destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the ship, President Donald Trump said. The incident marked an escalation of tensions between the countries less than one month after Iran downed an American drone in the same waterway and Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike.

Trump blamed Iran for a “provocative and hostile” action and said the US responded in self-defence.

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told reporters as he arrived for a meeting at the United Nations that “we have no information about losing a drone today.”

Trump said the Navy’s USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, took defensive action after the Iranian aircraft closed to within 1,000 yards of the ship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.

PUMPSIE GREEN, FIRST BLACK PLAYER ON BOSTON RED SOX, DIES AGED 85 BOSTON Associated Press

FORMER Boston Red Sox infielder Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, the first black player on the last major league team to field one, has died. He was 85.

The Red Sox said Green, who lived in California most of his life, died on Wednesday at in a hospital in San Leandro, near Oakland.

“Pumpsie Green occupies a special place in our history,” Red Sox owner John Henry said. “He was, by his own admission, a reluctant pioneer, but we will always remember him for his grace and perseverance in becoming our first African-American player.

He paved the way for the many great Sox players of color who followed. For that, we all owe Pumpsie a debt of gratitude.”

PUMPSIE Green in 1959 and, inset, 2009.

A light-hitting second baseman and shortstop, Green brought baseball’s segregation era to an end of sorts when he entered a game against the Chicago White Sox as a pinch-runner for Vic Wertz on July 21, 1959 — more than a

dozen years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s colour barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Green joined the team on a road trip and had played nine games before taking the field at Fenway Park for the first time.