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‘ELECTION COULD BE CALLED THIS WEEK’ Davis claims ‘all the signs there’ that PM about to pull trigger

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis and House Speaker Halson Moultrie expect Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to dissolve Parliament and announce an early election this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow.

During a press conference yesterday, Mr Davis also accused Dr Minnis of playing “deceptive and disrespectful games” with the timing of the election.

Meanwhile, Speaker

AMNESTY ON PROPERTY TAX RAISES $27M

THE Government has reeled in “north of $27m” via its ongoing real property tax amnesty, a top official has revealed, with calls from additional delinquents for more time prompting a three-month extension.

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, said the Government was persuaded to extend the initiative to end-August after receiving “sufficient” pleas from taxpaying deadbeats for extra time to accumulate the necessary funds to make good on their arrears.

He said taxpayers were being given “every chance to get their affairs in order” ahead of any enforcement action.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Moultrie on Facebook said Parliament may be dissolved as early as tomorrow and that he expects the election will be called on August 17.

Other political and government insiders similarly believe Dr Minnis will dissolve Parliament this week, with an election date sometime in the first three weeks of August. The FNM’s paraphernalia is inside the country and the party has already identified rally dates through to mid-August, this newspaper understands.

SEE PAGE THREE

“No other member signed off on the report and it does not represent what the majority of the commission’s members agreed to,” Mr Pintard said.

Mr Pintard noted that, according to Article 69(3) of the Constitution, any decision of the commission requires agreement from no fewer than three members.

“Pursuant to Article 70(3),” he said, “when the commission intends SEE PAGE FIVE

WHY HAS SUCH A VITAL PROJECT BEEN STALLED?

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SPEAKER IN NEW CLASH OVER REPORT SIGN-OFF

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie committed a “clear and flagrant breach of the Constitution” when he submitted a report on Friday to Governor General C A Smith that contained only his signature and no one else’s from the Constituencies Commission, committee member Marco City MP Michael Pintard said in a statement.

INSIGHT SPECIAL

CAN YOU HELP US? AFTER losing almost everything apart from its buildings in Hurricane Dorian, the Humane Society of Grand Bahama is asking for help in its work. The shelter says it “has never received any financial support” from the government and lost more than 100 animals due to flooding in the hurricane. See PAGE FIVE for the full story.

SANDS FEARS FOR STAFF AS CASES SPIKE

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net WITH daily recorded new COVID-19 infections back in the triple digits, former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands says the country’s third wave appears to be accelerating.

Due to a stark rise in coronavirus deaths which is only expected to increase, coupled with burnt out

DUANE SANDS frontline staff and increased hospital cases, Dr Sands says the country’s situation “is not good”.

However, he believes that extending the state of emergency is not the answer to get out of the pandemic. Dr Sands said the best alternative would be to put legislation in place to govern behaviour as it pertains to COVID-19 protocols.

Never an advocate of the various extensions to the Emergency Powers Orders, Dr Sands feels strongly that SEE PAGE FOUR

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

McALPINE TO FIGHT ON AFTER FNM SNUB

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PINERIDGE MP Frederick McAlpine announced on Friday he will run as an independent candidate for the constituency in the upcoming general election.

The outspoken MP’s decision follows years of being at odds with the party.

His announcement came the day after the Free National Movement ratified officer-in-charge of Road Traffic in Grand Bahama, Welbourne Bootle for Pineridge.

During a press conference Friday, Mr McAlpine said Mr Bootle’s ratification was a tool not only to force him out as the representative of Pineridge, but out of the party.

SEE PAGE THREE

PAGE 2, Monday, July 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

TWO GIRLS STABBED TWO girls were stabbed during an argument in Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, on Friday, police said.

Shortly after midnight, Eight Mile Rock police responded to a local business in Jones Town.

They found two juvenile girls with stab wounds about the body.

Police were told that the girls were with an adult man when they were attacked and stabbed by a group of females.

EMS responded to the scene and took both victims to the hospital. One of the girls was treated for her injuries and released while the other was said to be in hospital in stable condition at last report.

A juvenile female is in police custody assisting with the investigation.

Police are also investigating a shooting that took place in New Providence on Thursday.

Initial reports indicate that shortly before

11pm, police were called to Lightbourne Avenue.

Responding officers were directed to a home where they found a man with gunshot wounds.

Police were told that the victim was walking in the area when three men approached. One produced a firearm and shot him several times about his body before fleeing the area on foot.

He was taken to hospital

by EMS. His condition is not known.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, July 19, 2021, PAGE 3

‘Election could be called this week’ from page one Dr Minnis, however, continued to be coy about his plans last week. When asked on Friday if he plans to dissolve Parliament anytime soon, perhaps this week or next, he did not answer directly, saying he always prepares a year in advance for events.

“You would note I’ve said, repeatedly and it’s been demonstrated, I always prepare at least one year in advance,” Dr Minnis said. “I’m one of those who believe in preparation and we’re going through our preparation and in the event things should change we’re ready.”

However at a press conference yesterday, Mr Davis said the evidence of an early election is growing.

“All signs point to the bell being rang this week,” the PLP leader

PLP leader Philip “Brave” Davis at a a press conference yesterday.

Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff said. “Ballot boxes have arrived in the Family Islands. FNM signs are

being moved around the country.

Preparations for the advanced

poll are well under way. Embassies abroad are being notified and the Speaker of the House has pointed to Tuesday as the date Parliament will be resolved. If the bell is rung on Tuesday, that leaves only tomorrow, the 19th of July, to register to vote or to transfer your registration if you have moved from one constituency to another.

“I want to emphasise how critical it is for every Bahamian to have an opportunity to register to enable them to vote with no undue burden placed on them as they exercise this most fundamental right of citizens in a democracy.

In this case the Prime Minister has a special obligation to ensure a fair process.”

Mr Davis condemned Dr Minnis’ approach to the election timing, saying it goes entirely against the philosophy behind his 2017 campaign promise to

implement a fixed election date.

“First, he’s calling an election nine months early after months and months of responding to questions about election timing by noting only that (the) election is due in May of next year,” he said.

“In his last campaign he promised a fixed election date, just one of many, many broken promises. In this campaign he’s playing games with the timing, games that are deceptive and disrespectful to voters.”

Mr Davis said the government has spent insufficient money educating voters about the changed voter registration rules.

Nonetheless, he said his party is ready for the election.

The early election speculation comes as COVID-19 cases are again spiking in the country. One hundred cases were confirmed on Saturday, the most in a single day since October.

McALPINE TO FIGHT ON AFTER FNM SNUB

from page one

He said he did everything he could to maintain the tenets of the FNM, under whose umbrella he was elected, but Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ leadership strayed from the original course of the party’s successive leadership leading to his decision.

He said the FNM government under its present leadership seemed agitated and combative in the face of challenges to be accountable and transparent.

Nonetheless, Mr McAlpine maintained that the people of his constituency received good representation.

“Through my representation and vocalisation on behalf of the people of Pineridge, Pineridge has blossomed from an ordinary constituency to national recognition,” the MP said on Friday.

“Pineridge, during this parliamentary session, was well represented on the local and national stage like never yet before.

“As a Member of Parliament under the Free

National Movement, I have done all I could to maintain the tenets and doctrinal foundations laid down by the forefathers of this political organisation: the likes of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and others, who embraced democracy and freedom of speech.

“The present FNM under the leadership of the Hon Hubert A Minnis seems, in my opinion, to have strayed from the original FNM course of successive leadership.

“The FNM today as we know it has become a disappointment for many Bahamians who once wholeheartedly supported the political organisation in support of democratisation and its governmental ability.

“Management during the national and global crisis has been dismal to say the least and has left the citizenry of The Bahamas, as we approach election, between a rock and a hard place. As the incumbent Member of Parliament for Pineridge, the political organisation decided this time around that elected Members of Parliament

should reapply for nomination; something which is not the norm.

“In my opinion, they wanted to get rid of some people and they felt this was the way to go about it.

For me, that’s neither here nor there. In good conscience it would be difficult for me to re-nominate or to seek a nomination from the party under the leadership of a Dr Hubert A Minnis.”

He continued: “Notwithstanding, the mere fact that the leadership, disguised as the party, is nominating another individual is doing what they wanted to do from the time I held the government’s feet to the fire, which is to force me out.

“This FNM government, under the present leadership, seems agitated and combative when you challenge them for accountability and transparency; something they claim to espouse.

“Nominating another individual for the Pineridge seat is not only seeking to force me out as a representative of the constituency, but also seeking to fulfil

a leadership objective to force me out of the FNM party at this time.

“I am keenly aware that the rejection by leadership of a political organisation is not a rejection from the people whom I love and have spoken up and out for.”

Regarding a run as an independent candidate, Mr McAlpine said he was confident he could provide the needed representation without party affiliation.

“I, therefore, announce this day in the year of our Lord 2021, after prayerful consideration and consultation with my family, constituents and wellwishers, that I will offer myself as an independent candidate in the upcoming general elections to continue my service to God and country through and for the people of Pineridge.

“I have served independently of this government and have gotten things done through advocacy and agitation; and during Pineridge’s greatest need

after Hurricane Dorian I was there for the people of Pineridge even when the government was missing in action. I have been independently representing Pineridge from 2018, after being victimised and ostracised by the government whom I was elected with for standing up for and with the people.

“I have served Pineridge independently all these years; so, I assure you, you have nothing to lose and much more to gain.”

Mr McAlpine urged people in the constituency to vote to maintain their voices rather than to maintain loyalty to political parties or leaderships.

He thanked Dr Minnis and the leadership of the FNM for the opportunity to serve, adding that he held no ill will against them.

“I have no bitterness, hatred or ill-will against him. I am a practising Christian who believes in forgiveness before asked and the spirit of reconciliation. In my humanity I may

have offended you, but in my humility, I ask you to accept my apology.

“To the members of the local and national FNM Council, my parliamentary colleagues, present and past, I say thank you.

“I cannot forget the former leader of the Free National Movement, the Rt Hon Hubert A Ingraham, who granted me my first parliamentary opportunity by allowing me to serve in the Senate for five consecutive years (2007 – 2012) and letting me participate in many rallies that assisted in solidifying many wins for the government at that time.

“I have no qualms or beef with the organisation called the FNM. This decision, as it has been for others in the past, is strictly made due to present leadership performance, not personality.

Everything rises and falls on leadership. For the first time The Bahamas finds itself in a political leadership deficit.”

PAGE 4, Monday, July 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

17 new deaths announced as COVID surge continues

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas recorded 401 COVID-19 cases from July 11 to July 17, including 100 cases on Saturday alone, the highest number of cases recorded in a day since last October.

This comes as 17 additional COVID deaths were recorded on July 14 and 15.

The number of coronavirus cases per week has steadily increased recently.

Last week the number of cases represented a 41 percent increase from the period beginning July 4 and ending July 10. There were 284 cases in the week ending July 4.

The week prior, June 27 to July 3, saw even more cases, with 338 reported.

Of the 100 cases recorded on Saturday, 83 were in New Providence, seven were in Grand Bahama, one was in Abaco, two were in Exuma and seven were in Eleuthera. The cases included 50 men and 50 women.

The Tribune understands at least one person was flown out of Eleuthera for emergency care over the weekend.

Seventy-six patients are

currently hospitalised with the virus, including 13 who are in intensive care.

Two hundred and seventy-three people have died from COVID-19 to date.

In the July 15 dashboard, five COVID-19 deaths were reported: these involved one Bimini death, a 35-year-old man on July 3; and a woman, 34, from Eleuthera on July 6. Three New Providence deaths were also recorded. They were two 53-year-old men on July 6 and July 13 along with a 79-year-old woman on July 14.

Health officials also said eight deaths had been reclassified, but only seven were COVID-19 related.

The victims were all from Grand Bahama and ranged from 44-years-old to 103-years-old. Their deaths took place between April and May. On Wednesday, an additional five deaths were recorded involving New Providence residents.

The victims were a 53-year-old man who died on July 10, a 31-year-old man who died on July 1, a woman, 87, who died on July 12, and two men aged 51 and 61 who died on July 13.

The spike in cases and deaths comes as the country

battles both vaccine hesitancy and vaccine shortage.

The government expects to receive 33,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the World Health Organisation’s COVAX Facility before the end of the month.

The government said yesterday that 99,755 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered to date, including 39,366 second doses.

Despite the spike in cases and concerns over the Delta variant of COVID-19, the government is preparing to let the COVID-19 Emergency Powers Order lapse without renewal in August.

Health Minister Renward Wells said this last week and Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis echoed that view to reporters during a trip to Eleuthera on Friday.

Dr Minnis said: “I think once we receive the vaccines, you can be assured that Bahamians will be reporting in droves to receive that jab and once we reach a decent level, I don’t see a need in addition to the vaccines once individuals are disciplined and follow the protocols. I think seeing what’s happening around the world we will be extremely disciplined.”

in New Providence, seven are in Grand Bahama, one is in Abaco, seven are in Eleuthera and two are in Exuma.

“What we do need is to understand, as I’ve said in my budget contribution, that our very economic survival is predicated on being a COVID-safe environment,” Dr Sands continued.

“If we don’t all collectively get that through our heads, we’re doomed. All of us need to understand that the rebound that we are benefiting from, the return to work that we are enjoying, the economic revival that we are seeing, is a fragile thing. It can only be sustained if we adopt best practices as it relates to COVID. “You cannot have an

emergency that goes on forever. We have been in an emergency for 18 months, now. At some point and time you are no longer in an emergency. You are in a new normal. Constitutionally, we are going to have to do what the legislative arm of government is supposed to do. And, that is to put in place whatever legislative framework is required to protect the livelihood, welfare, health and safety of Bahamians.”

The United States is also seeing a surge in COVID19 cases with the Delta variant of the virus dominating. This is said to be the most deadly of all variants being far more contagious with a higher death rate.

Locally, the COVID-19 death has risen sharply to

SANDS FEARS FOR STAFF AS CASES SPIKE from page one

the orders should end as COVID numbers are high even though they are in place. Government officials have said there is no plan to extend the current state of emergency, set to expire in August.

“I have said that the Emergency Orders should have ended a long time ago,” the Elizabeth MP told The Tribune yesterday.

“Certainly if we are where we are with the Emergency Orders then maybe an alternative approach may be better.”

The last COVID-19 dashboard issued by the Ministry of Health dated July 17 has recorded 100 new cases of the virus. Of the 100 new cases, 83 are

HOW TO REGISTER YOUR VACCINATION BAHAMIAN citizens and residents who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 outside of The Bahamas are now able to register their vaccination status online through the vax.gov.bs web portal, the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee announced yesterday.

This will enable the government to provide a more accurate account of all Bahamians and residents who are vaccinated, for the local and international reporting of COVID-19 vaccination

numbers, officials said.

You can register your vaccination status in five easy steps: 1. Visit vax.gov.bs 2. Click on the “Register Your Foreign Vaccination Only” button 3. Complete the questionnaire 4. Upload your vaccination certificate/ card 5. Submit Persons registering will not receive a local vax pass but will be included in the database as having been vaccinated.

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES

RECENTLY CONFIRMED DEATHS

13,566 273 SATURDAY

100 CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE 83 GRAND BAHAMA 7 ELEUTHERA 7 EXUMA 2 ABACO 1

FRIDAY

62 CASES

THURSDAY

69 CASES

WEDNESDAY

61 CASES

TOTAL TESTS

HOSPITALISED

NEW PROVIDENCE 53 GRAND BAHAMA 4 ELEUTHERA 3 EXUMA 2 NEW PROVIDENCE 60 GRAND BAHAMA 8 ELEUTHERA 1 NEW PROVIDENCE 49 GRAND BAHAMA 7 ABACO 2 EXUMA 2 ELEUTHERA 1

114,434

273 after 17 new deaths were reported on Friday.

Twelve of those deaths were reported in the July 15 dashboard and five were in the July 14 dashboard; both of which were released on Friday.

Seventy-six people are in hospital.

Dr Sands spoke to the high hospitalisation rates and deaths due to the virus stating that it is “not good” in the country at this time.

“This is a very unfortunate situation and we’ve been having this discussion now for several weeks because if we are still calling this the third wave, then it has not abated and if anything its accelerating,” he said. “So, by whatever metric we use, the situation is not good in The Bahamas.

“If we were to track the number of hospitalisations for the last 14 days, we were at a low of 50 and a high of some 73 or 74 admissions. The problem, unfortunately, is that a significant number of those admissions… 13 of them are in an intensive care unit.

That portends of a particularly bad scenario because

75

• A 53-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 10.

• A 32-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 11.

• AN 87-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 12.

• A 51-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 13.

• A 61-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 13.

• A 35-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM BIMINI ON JULY 3.

• A 34-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM ELEUTHERA ON JULY 6.

• A 53-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 6.

• A 53-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 13.

• A 79-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 14.

EIGHT DEATHS PREVIOUSLY UNDER INVESTIGATION HAVE BEEN CLASSIFIED AS COVID-RELATED. THESE ARE: • A 103-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON APRIL 7.

• AN 88-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON MAY 20.

• A 65-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON MARCH 4.

• AN 82-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON MARCH 3.

• A 72-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON APRIL 11.

• A 50-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON APRIL 24.

• A 44-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM GRAND BAHAMA ON APRIL 8.

CASES IN ICU

13

we know actuarially that between 30 and 50 percent of patients who require mechanical ventilation or ICU care, will not survive.

“The numbers of deaths are now at 273 with 22 still not yet assigned so it could be as high as 295. These numbers for deaths are likely, given the fact that we have more than 12 days left in July, we are going to eclipse the 31 deaths that we had in May. We have plenty more days left in July and we are already at 27 deaths. I can tell you that we had another death last night. It’s going to take a while for that death to make it into the official numbers.”

Dr Sands said to compound the issue, frontline health workers are feeling burnt out. There is also the question of whether those who are currently infected are vaccinated or not.

“I think we need to understand that the

RECOVERED

12,108

situation where we have Junkanoo rush outs and big funerals and so forth in a population where less than 10 percent are vaccinated is not a good idea,” he said.

“When you add to that the hard-working staff that cares for COVID patients, nurses, respiratory therapists and so on, they are exhausted! I am telling you that across the board, many of the people who day in and day out take care of COVID patients are tired.

“Based on what we have heard from Dr (Nikkiah) Forbes and others like Mary Walker, like in many countries, the disproportionate attack rates of COVID seems to be on the unvaccinated, at least in terms of people hospitalised and dying. I don’t have access to specific numbers to say that it was 92 percent or 96 percent etcetera, but I have no reason to disbelieve the sources who have already spoken on the matter.”

Death Notice For

Deacon Norman Charlton, 78 of #47 Coral Reef, Freeport, Grand Bahama and formerly of Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana died at Princess Margaret Hospital on Thursday, July 8th, 2021.

He is survived by his wife: Rev. Ella Charlton; sons: R/Sgt 1647 Charles Charlton, PC 3779 Shavardo Charlton, Shamarco Moxey and Shavon Kelly; daughters: Vernice Charlton, Sherry Lightbourne, Eloise Charlton, Nickola Charlton, Andrea Kelly and Joy Charlton; sisters: Hazel Smith, Francis McPhee and Mary Scott; uncle: Orthniel Charlton and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral arrangements are being finalized and details will be announced at a later date.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, July 19, 2021, PAGE 5

Humane Society calls for support AFTER the twin nightmares of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Humane Society of Grand Bahama is appealing for donations, saying the progress it has made in helping to reduce the number of unwanted and abused animals roaming the streets is in jeopardy.

HSGB was founded in 1967 and is the only animal welfare organisation/shelter on Grand Bahama.

In a statement, the shelter said it “has never received any financial support” from the government for the services it provides the community. After Hurricane Dorian damaged the shelter in 2019 and killed more than 100 animals due to heavy flooding, the HSGB was hampered even more after the coronavirus pandemic prohibited the group from holding fundraisers and led to a downturn in donations.

The shelter is now appealing for contributions to sustain its important work, saying no donation is too small.

THE HUMANE Society of Grand Bahama.

“In September of 2019, Grand Bahama received a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Dorian which stalled over the island for almost 48 hours. Despite not being in a known flood area, not being included in the official evacuation zone, and never having experienced any flooding in previous storms, the HSGB shelter buildings were inundated with over six feet of

flood waters,” shelter officials noted. “One hundred and six dogs and seven cats perished. Six staff members almost lost their lives.

The shelter said almost everything was lost except the buildings themselves.

Just as the HSGB had begun the laborious and costly rebuilding process, COVID-19 struck.

HSGB president Joseph Darville said: “Having been

brought to our knees just six months earlier by Dorian, one nightmare merged into another.”

The majority of disaster relief assistance the HSGB received post-Dorian came from abroad, the shelter said.

To date, the HSGB said it has received no financial assistance for disaster relief from the government or the Grand Bahama Port

Authority. The shelter said the inability to hold normal fundraisers, and the resultant downturn in general donations, and funding cuts from the Grand Bahama Port Authority have been devastating.

It added that much of the funds earmarked for the last of the rebuilding projects (veterinary clinic and cattery) had to be spent on operations.

Over the years, the HSGB said it has assisted homeowners and businesses by taking in thousands of stray, unwanted, abandoned, neglected, and abused animals, and this work resulted in a “noticeable difference in the number of animals roaming the streets.”

The shelter said all the progress made “is now in jeopardy of being reversed” due to funding issues.

The HSGB said the problem affects everyone, adding that neglected, starving animals roaming the streets is a public health hazard and an unwelcome sight for island visitors and

potential investors. Due to the economic downturn resulting from Dorian and the pandemic, many pet owners have found themselves unable to feed and provide medical care for their pets. The HSGB said it has been assisting as much as possible because helping pets stay in their homes is preferable to bringing them into the shelter, but said it is an added financial burden.

“Ironically, the very situations that have caused our current economic woes also mean that our services are needed more than ever,” Executive director Elizabeth Burrows said. “We would be most grateful for any assistance to help us keep our doors open. No donation is too small and we appreciate all support, whether it’s $20 or $2,000.”

Naming opportunities are available within the shelter’s new clinic for donations of $1,000 or more.

For additional email, contact info@hs-gb.org or call 242-352-2477 or 242-727-2477.

SPEAKER IN NEW CLASH OVER REPORT SIGN-OFF from page one

to submit a report to the Governor General, it must (first) give written notice of the intention to the Prime Minister, who shall publish that notice in the Gazette.

“The action of the Speaker does not comply with any of these fundamental provisions of the Constitution and is a blatant disregard for legality and for the constitutional order of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

Speaker Moultrie chairs the Constituencies Commission. Other members include Mr Pintard, Exuma and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper, Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells and Supreme Court Justice Deborah Fraser. All members – with the exception of

Speaker Moultrie – signed Mr Pintard’s statement.

Mr Pintard said: “What was clear from the beginning of this process, which began last September, is that the Speaker of the House was intent on having his own way and doing his own thing.

“The Speaker announced a meeting to sign the report, which was not properly constituted, and there was not a quorum. The member for Exuma indicated via email that he was in his constituency and not available for the meeting. No other member of the commission responded to the email or attended the meeting.

“The Speaker submitting a report to the Governor General signed only by him is grandstanding and political posturing. It marks a low point in the history of

our democracy.”

Speaker Moultrie’s term has come to be defined by controversy and this is only the latest indication of this.

He quit the Free National Movement in February this year to serve as an independent Speaker.

According to the unsigned report, a copy of which The Tribune obtained yesterday, most members of the committee opted not to recommend that constituency boundaries be changed to adjust the current number of 39 constituencies.

Speaker Moultrie and Mr Cooper disagreed with the majority, according to the report. However, Mr Cooper’s opposing view was not included in the report, which said his view was “not received at time of printing.” The

report nonetheless said Mr Cooper had concern about the “purity and accuracy of the permanent voters register with respect to the purging of deceased persons; and the number of missing persons not yet presumed dead as a result of the impact of Hurricane Dorian on the five constituencies in Grand Bahama and the two constituencies in Great Abaco.”

Speaker Moultrie, meanwhile, recommended that the number of New Providence seats be increased to 26, Grand Bahama seats be increased to six and the MICAL constituency be split “to reintroduce the constituencies of Inagua and Mayaguana and the constituency of Acklins,

Crooked Island and Long Cay.” In a statement yesterday, Speaker Moultrie said there is no constitutional requirement for signatures from “all” members of the committee.

“The Constitution mandates that the Speaker is the chairman of the commission. He is the communicator for the commission. The requirement of the chairman’s signature on any documents communicating decisions of the commission should be obvious,” he said.

Speaker Moultrie noted the report makes it clear that most members did not recommend changes to the boundaries.

He said the Constitution

does not allow for dissenting voices to be silenced, “which was the goal motivating the majority and another bone of contention in several meetings.”

“Dissenting voices have a right to be heard. The stalemate came about because of the efforts of the majority to acquire all five signatures in spite of the dissenting voices, thereby giving the false impression that the decision of the commission was unanimous,” he said.

According to the report, information from the Parliamentary Registration Department showed there were 191,217 registered voters, including 132,443 on New Providence, 30,552 on Grand Bahama and 28222 in the Family Islands.

PAGE 6, Monday, July 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

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A matter of politics and the pandemic THE worlds of politics and the pandemic are coming crashing together this week.

It is expected that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis will imminently announce the date for the next election. His chief opponent in that race, PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis, expects that announcement could come as soon as tomorrow.

At the same time, the numbers of new cases of COVID-19 are soaring. The latest dashboard for new cases issued by the Ministry of Health for Saturday showed 100 new cases in a single day.

Worse, on Friday, 17 new deaths were reported. For those undergoing treatment, a staggering 75 are in hospital and 13 of those in intensive care. They have our prayers for their recovery.

We have reopened tourism, and with it we have now seen a surge in new cases. Our chief market is the US, where the Delta variant of COVID has been spreading forcefully, and as Dr Duane Sands has noted, it is probable that the Delta variant is also now here. It is more transmissible, and other countries have reported younger people being hospitalised more frequently. In the latest deaths announced, it is noticeable that three of those recorded were people in their thirties.

Despite this, it appears the next big announcement from Dr Minnis will not be to step up measures to curtail the virus, but rather to ring the starter bell for the next election. The Tribune understands a series of rally dates have been identified through to mid-August, and the FNM’s election paraphernalia is inside the country.

Dr Minnis doesn’t have to call the election now. It is a choice. The FNM could continue in office until May of next year before a vote was required.

Indeed, as Mr Davis points out, one of Dr Minnis’ election pledges was to have a fixed election date – and this situation is anything but that.

Clearly, Dr Minnis has made a political calculation with regard to the timing of the election – but we hope that a pandemic calculation has also been made of the effects of rallies and door-to-door campaigning on the spread of the virus, and

that he will not shy away from the need to implement tighter measures to curtail this spread of the virus as necessary.

All indications are at present that the emergency measures we have lived under for so long will lapse next month. Will the current surge in cases and deaths lead to a rethink on that? Or are we committed to this path come what may?

As we look around the world, we should consider who is handling the pandemic best and what have they done that has worked so well. Over in England, today is supposed to be “Freedom Day” with an end to restrictions after more than 45 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine. The day arrives with the Health Minister infected with COVID and the Prime Minister in isolation as a result. Over in the US, the vaccination programme is stalling. The supply is there – but between misinformation, politics and mistrust, a significant portion of the population simply doesn’t want to get the jab. Former President Trump weighed in with a statement yesterday saying “people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don’t trust his (President Biden’s) Administration, they don’t trust the Election results, and they certainly don’t trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth”. It should be noted President Trump took the vaccine in January.

Right now, we are in the middle of a surge of cases – and fatalities. Dr Sands has described the country’s situation as “not good” and fears for the strain that health workers are under, saying “they are exhausted”.

Is this really the time to put the focus on politics? Isn’t now the time to have all hands on deck to fight this wave?

Indeed, in a cold political calculation, how likely is it that these workers under strain would cast a vote for the governing party in this situation, or those who are losing family members likewise?

Instead, why would the government not hold the course, see us through this wave and then look to the political battle. If it does well in facing this wave, it might even earn the gratitude of voters at the ballot box.

The choice is yours, Dr Minnis.

Raise age of consent EDITOR, The Tribune.

I READ in The Nassau Guardian that the legal consent age for sexual intercourse is 16. A 16-year-old cannot vote in The Bahamas. One must be at least 18. Engaging in an intimate relationship with the opposite sex is, in my opinion, a far weightier matter than casting your ballot.

In states such as Georgia, Maine, North and South Carolina, Nevada and Delaware, the legal age of consent is also 16. In Washington, DC, it is 21. I think that the state is being irresponsible by legally permitting a 16-year-old, who is financially dependent on his or her parents, to engage in sex. A 16-yearold can have sex, but knows absolutely nothing about paying rent, mortgage, utility, medical or grocery bills.

In most instances, the teen

has never held a job.

They’re not physically and mentally mature for sex. A nasty 50-year-old predator could prey on a naive teen without any legal repercussions. The parent, from a legal standpoint, is utterly powerless. The current law is undermining the home, pitting rebellious teens against their parents.

In many cases, 16-year-old girls are bringing unwanted babies into the home, which is already stretched thin financially. The financial burden is then passed on to the parent, while the teen’s opportunity for a college education suffers a massive setback. The teen mother would then have to settle for a minimum wage job.

This often leads to the perpetuation of poverty and other social ills Social Services and the church are grappling with. The government must realise that the

home is the foundation of society. Destroy that and you destroy society.

Moreover, no MP, senator or magistrate, appeal or supreme court judge would want their 16-year-old daughter or son having sex.

But it is these people who have set the age of consent at 16.

In an ideal world, Bahamians would adhere to God’s moral injunctions against sexual immorality, and maintain their virginity until they’re married and after they’ve gotten their education. But we live in a fallen world where sexual promiscuity is a reality.

Having said that, I believe that the age of consent is too low. The government should emulate Washington, DC, by increasing it to 21.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama.

July 15, 2021.

Zimbabwean refugees EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT IS traumatizing and shocking that the United Kingdom has been falsely convinced by Zimbabwean president Mnangagwa that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has dramatically improved and therefore asylum seekers can be deported to Zimbabwe. The merciless and cruel Zimbabwean

movement has been arresting activists and members of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change Alliance in record numbers.

There is superabundant evidence in the media that the Zimbabwean government is and its agents are abducting, torturing, illtreating, degrading, killing, harassing, arresting members of the opposition and

activists. Britain should continue to offer sanctuary to Zimbabweans who have fled the rogue ZANU PF regime. The world should put pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to urgently transform Zimbabwe democratically or resign.

TAPIWA MUSKWE London, July 16, 2021.

Our leaders and foreign investment EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT’S now official. None other than Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson (champion of the investment-begging Commercial Enterprises Act) has conceded that The Bahamas actually dwarfs all of its colleagues in the latest UN report on Foreign Direct Investment.

In fact, with inflows of $897m even during the Covid-19 pandemic, we nearly doubled our nearest competitor.

Of course, while the headline suits a convenient current narrative (a “rebound” just in time for an election) this is not really news at all.

Anyone who follows these matters outside of the attention-deficient cycles of Bahamian news and politics is already aware that, relative to its population, The Bahamas consistently has no peer on earth in the level of Foreign Direct Investment it attracts.

In other words, if Foreign Direct Investment were the Holy Grail, we would already be living in Paradise.

As such, we could heap each government which claims (falsely) to have single-handedly gotten us here with praise and re-election.

But alas, the holy grail it is not.

Massive investments in our traditional tourist plant like Atlantis and Baha Mar are the bright side of the equation.

There is no rational way to deny that these projects positively impact every facet of our economic well-being.

They do this principally by employing large volumes of labour and secondarily by directly consuming goods and services from Bahamian businesses and professionals.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net But a large and growing proportion of what is touted as foreign investment is nothing more than foreign residency and second home ownership, including the increasingly emphasized ‘residential’ component of resort communities.

While nobody has bothered to do a cost-benefit analysis of large-scale foreign home ownership in The Bahamas (aside, of course, from reporting the opinions of realtors) the anecdotal evidence is not encouraging.

There is little doubt, for instance, that a policy of marketing finite land resources as “luxury properties” on the international market has helped price Bahamians out of land ownership and reduce our middle class in a material way.

And unlike in the case of Atlantis or Baha Mar, there is no compensatory large-scale employment generated from even large clusters of foreign owned homes, like Lyford Cay or Ocean Club Estates on Paradise Island. In fact, they have become big generators of business for the likes of Western Union, whose services their foreign domestic workers use to send money back home.

As if to add insult to injury, government then colludes with the narrow clique of professionals (realtors and lawyers) that benefit from this largely harmful industry and introduces such “incentives” as a cap on Real Property Tax for ultra-wealthy homeowners, helping to keep our tax regime among the most regressive on the planet.

In addition, the Minnis government has taken this

unselective approach to FDI even further by eroding the Bahamianization rules and actually setting out (via the Commercial Enterprises Act) to lower the bar for “investment” of any and every type, telling the world that they can come here and do whatever it is they do at home, and we’ll call them “investors” – unless, of course, they’re Haitian.

What should be clear (but probably isn’t to Minnis and crew) is that the disconnect between the huge FDI that we attract and any meaningful impact on our standard of living is hidden in the distinction between beneficial and non-beneficial kinds of investment activity.

All of the evidence is that the positive impacts of Atlantis and Baha Mar are being cancelled out by an investment policy that prices Bahamians out of land with little compensating benefit (unless you’re a land lawyer like me, or a realtor) and a tax policy that targets Bahamian consumers in order to incentivize more of this non-beneficial activity.

Being blessed by such huge (frankly unheard of) levels of beneficial foreign investment as we already have in this tiny country should permit us to be more selective about the other kinds of foreignoriginated activity that we permit.

But our governments have, since 1992, done the exact opposite. Like a drug addict, they have treated every downturn of growth as evidence that more investment is needed and desperately lowered the bar, rather than examining whether the lowered bar is actually the problem.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, July 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, July 19, 2021, PAGE 7

Burglar awaits his sentencing

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A MAGISTRATE is to determine the fate of a man who admitted to breaking into a woman’s house and stealing an assortment of cash earlier this year.

Police arrested Donald Brown after he broke into a woman’s Yellow Elder

residence where he stole $2,430 on April 18.

He pleaded guilty to housebreaking and stealing during his hearing before Magistrate Shaka Serville.

The court was told that the woman told police that someone had broken into her home sometime between 10.30am and 1.30pm on April18. She said the culprit stole two

envelopes, one containing $1,500, the other $780 in cash. She also said the suspect stole another $150 that she had in her home. The prosecution said the complainant told officers she suspected her friend Brown was the thief because people around the neighbourhood were saying he was the one who had stolen her money.

RBDF PERSONNEL LEARN TO HANDLE NEW VESSELS

After she filed her complaint, officers investigating the matter arrested Brown.

When he was questioned in police custody, he denied the allegations.

During the hearing, Brown told Magistrate Serville that he used to live at the residence that he admitted breaking into.

The accused said he was a fisherman and went to

OFFICER TELLS OF DRUG AND GUN FIND

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer on Friday testified how he found a firearm and a quantity of drugs at a man’s residence last year.

Patrick Peterson was charged with dangerous drug possession and possession of an unlicensed firearm and a quantity of ammunition after officers alleged that they found the contraband on his property on August 21, 2020.

When he first appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney he denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned for trial.

When Police Constable 3940 Lamar Ash took the stand, he said he and his partner were on mobile patrol in the Elizabeth Estates area when they noticed two men acting in

a suspicious manner. The court was told that PC Ash then beckoned for the men to stop and informed them that they would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms. During their investigation, they found a bag with several silver foil wraps in the area of Peterson’s groin.

PC Ash said they then took the accused to his residence a short distance away where they discovered two wooden structures, both containing packages of suspected marijuana. The court was told that the officers also found a grey bag with a .9mm pistol and a quantity of ammunition during their search.

Peterson was subsequently arrested and taken to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station.

The case continues on August 12.

MAN DIES WHILE JOGGING A MAN collapsed and died while jogging in Winton Meadows on Saturday, police said.

The man was exercising on

Jasmine Drive around 8am when he collapsed, according to police. Police say an autopsy will be held to confirm his cause of death.

anything”.

In response, Magistrate Serville told Brown that he did not seem to be remorseful for his actions and instead appeared “entitled” based on his explanation.

As a result, he convicted Brown of the offences, but said he would defer his sentence until today.

Brown was remanded into custody until then.

MARIJUANA BUYER MUST PAY $1K OR GO TO PRISON

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

RBDF personnel completed the Safe Boats International Basic Operator Course and the Basic Maintenance Course on Friday, July 9.

The two-week training course at the Harbour Patrol Facility, East Bay Street, aimed to ensure RBDF personnel receive certified training for the newest vessels in the fleet, donated by the US Embassy on June 22 at a cost of $5.9m. Instructors included Training Specialist Yehudah Landau and Training Manager Willie Coco. Approximately 40 personnel were given lessons in learning to maneuver and operate the jet-propulsion vessels, and also how to troubleshoot maintenance and repairs to the vessels.

Able Woman Marine Ashley Seymour is pictured receiving her certificate from Training Manager Willie Coco.

Photo: Woman Marine Myiesha Gibson/RBDF

the home to pick up his money to purchase a boat engine. He also claimed he and the woman had an arrangement where she would keep his money for him. Brown said he didn’t have a key and the complainant was not at home at the time, so he moved a screen from a window and went inside. He insisted he “did not break any glass or

A 21-YEAR-OLD man who was caught purchasing marijuana must pay $1,000 to avoid spending three months in prison.

The man who was caught selling the drugs to him must also pay $2,000 to avoid spending time behind bars.

Police arrested Jazario Rolle and Adrian Hall after they were found with $120 worth of Indian hemp on July 7.

The court was told that around 5pm that afternoon, officers on Sunrise Road took up surveillance in a nearby bush. From their hideout spot, they saw

the accused exchanging silver foil wraps for cash.

The prosecution said the joints were removed from a nearby sofa that was next to an abandoned building.

The court was told that the officers then approached the men and informed them they would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms. When they checked the sofa, officers discovered 13 silver foil wraps near the interior of the chair’s handle.

Rolle and Hall were subsequently arrested. When they were interviewed in police custody they denied the offence.

However, when the pair appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, they both

pleaded guilty to dangerous drug possession with the intent to supply.

Their attorney, Jomo Campbell, told the magistrate his clients were young and pleaded guilty so as not to waste the court’s time.

He also said they “fell on hard times after the construction industry came to a grinding halt” and made the “silly mistake” of engaging in illicit activities.

After listening to his explanation, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt fined Rolle $1,000 or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

She said because Hall had a previous conviction of a similar nature, he would be fined $2,000 or four months in prison.

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021

Why hasn’t this project which could transform our country been put on the fast track Dr Minnis planned?

BAHAMAS Aviation, Climate & Severe Weather Network (BACSWN) is delighted to announce that following its recent designation as ‘Meteorological Weather Authority’ for International Civil Aviation; alongside, instructions contained in the Cabinet Conclusion — provided by Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar to Eileen Dupuch-Carron, CMG, LLb, on February 14, 2020 — it has commenced the process of filing notice with the FAA, ICAO and IATA of its intention to stand-up, fund and staff our nation’s first ‘Meteorological Watch Office’ with “the necessary technical and operational expertise to maintain a continuous 24/7/365 real-time watch over the weather conditions affecting any flight or vessel operations within the 183,00 sq miles The Bahamas’ sovereign archipelagic baselines, territorial seas, contiguous and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).”

In conveying their sincere thanks and gratitude to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet and Cabinet Select Committee for their unwavering support of its 100 percent Bahamian designed Aviation, Climate, Coastal, Marine, Meteorological, Navigation, 3D Terrain, Street & Chart Mapping and Severe Weather Sensing Network connected to its patent pending Convergence Centre on Shirley Street - which Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney & ColCOURTESY CALL ON THE PRIME MINISTER - Representatives of Bahamas Aviation, Climate & Severe Weather Network Ltd (BACSWN) and Raytheon Technologies lins Aerospace have gone (Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace) paying a courtesy call on the Most Honourable Dr. Hubert Minnis, M.P., Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The on record as saying will be Bahamas; Permanent Secretary to the Office of Prime Minister, Mr. David Davis, Office of the Prime Minister’s Senior Policy Advisor, Mr. Joshua Sears, Chief Executive the “‘First-Of-Its-Kind’ Officer of Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Mrs. Viana Gardiner, and PM’s Director of Communications, Mrs. Erica Cox at the Cabinet Office some months back. ( FROM Transformational Weather LEFT TO RIGHT: Mr. Robert Dupuch-Carron, Founder/Director BACSWN, Mr. Matt Gilligan, Vice-President Intelligence, Space, Navigation, information & Weather SerSystem… exceeding that vices ( Ret.); Prime Minister, Most Honourable Dr. Hubert Minnis, M.P., and Mr. Eugene Welch, Sr. Director of Air Traffic Control Systems at Raytheon Intelligence, Space, of any other industrialNavigation Information and Weather Services Division. ized nation” - BACSWN’s leadership laments the no semblance of dignity fact they’ve now had to - nor validity - could ever put on hold the hiring of prevail.

“Regrettably, we have almost 800 carpenters, masons, plumbers, electri- come to the conclusion cians and other skilled and that unless Mr Bethel’s unskilled workers. Scores objective is to obstruct, embarrass, of others with skills rang- frustrate, ing from UX/UI design, humiliate, confound, tarcollaboration with the nish the reputation or cast Department of Meteorol- unwarranted aspersions on ogy and secondment of Bahamas Aviation, Climate Meteorologists, Air Traffic & Severe Weather NetControllers and other data/ work’s ‘bona fides’ - thereby IT management special- preventing the Ministry of Aviation from availing ists are also on hold. itself of the sole, In a blisterexclusive and ing critique of sovereign right what they con- ‘Sadly, there to the ancillary tend is Attorney are now many benefits of a General Carl Bahamians verified $313.5m Bethel’s apparin Overflight ent indifference who, like us, Fees per annum to signing off on are finding from each and Bahamas Avia- it more and every flight of tion, Climate & any commercial, Severe Weather more difficult Network’s to support the cargo or priHeads of Agree- FNM in view of vate air carrier, we can arrive ment – despite at no rational the Cabinet what they see explanation for Select Commit- as the current tee tasked with administration’s the Office of the Attorney negotiating General apparsuch matters by favouring ently seeming Prime Minister of foreign to defy the will Minnis having investors.’ of the Cabinet, forwarded its Prime Minister’s a constructive, meaningful to bring such an ambitious Bahamians don’t give a and green for let’s get going! glowing recommendations on the $427M instructions and/or fulfil the and collaborative fashion $427m Family Island based toss about the colour of “Prime Minister, we project almost a year ago FNM’s election manifesto.” in the performance of their project to fruition, they one’s skin! They want jobs, stand ready and willing to While BACSWN initially official duties. As such, face nearly insurmount- not unemployment. They work with you and your - BACSWN’s Executive Chairman, Eileen Dupuch- welcomed the news from enshrined in the constitu- able levels of arrogance, want opportunity, not ‘All Cabinet colleagues. We Carron and its Founder/ Dr. Minnis that his Govern- tional principles of public entitlement alongside an for me baby”’.They want look forward to the immidirector, Robert Dupuch- ment’s new strategy would life is the fact that every indifference to the cor- action; not promises. They nent signing of our Heads Carron said in a joint be that all viable private Minister must carry-out a nerstone of our British want accountability; not of Agreement so that we sector projects would obtain Cabinet ‘Conclusion’ with- Westminster system of Con- to be told we don’t have a can contribute in our own statement: Approval”, out delay, interference, and/ stitutional “We usually adopt a “Fast-Track Government: right to know. They want way to make it even “Better policy of ignoring individu- BACSWN has seen no or obstruction, regardless the ‘Collective Cabinet answers; not putdowns. But in the Bahamas”. with respect of their own personal opin- Responsibility’ als who hurl tirades full of progress by the most of all they want those “We pray you will not be childish pejorative insults. to its Heads of Agree- ions,” read the statement. endless grandstanding of who offer themselves for waylaid by those who wish However, once in a while ment for months - despite “Sadly, there are now individuals who are as ‘une- Public Service to realize to diminish our nation’s there arrives such scathing, the gracious support and many Bahamians who, like lected as unelectable’. such service is a gift of one’s strategic importance by crass, vacuous, self-indulg- encouragement of the Min- us, are finding it more and “Today, more than ever, self to the country for the mischaracterizing our coning utterances that in the ister of Tourism & Aviation more difficult to support the our nation needs every benefit of every individual tributions or attempt to emotional universe where impressing upon the Attor- FNM in view of what they Bahamian – regardless in our Bahamaland; regard- disparage the ancillary most of us reside, such com- ney General his desire to see as the current admin- of their race, creed, or polit- less of one’s own personal benefits of a project which ments go so far beyond the have the agreement signed istration’s favouring of ical persuasion – if we truly convictions.

Raytheon, Pratt & Whitrealm of ridiculous to a sim- by Feb. 28, 2021. foreign investors. Yet, when wish our country to move “For today, Bahamians ney, Collins Aerospace, and “Clearly, no citizen in his it comes to hard working together to face the unique love the colour green. Just various US Governmental ilar category, dare we say, of being on the receiving end right mind envisions that Bahamian entrepreneurs challenges and opportu- to be clear, We’re not talk- Agencies state “will propel of attacks that are similar anyone is perfect. However, who have the capacity and nities in this era of global ing about the DNA. We’re The Bahamas into a world to that of being ‘ravaged by they do expect our leaders have assembled the global climate change. talking green for the envi- leader in weather and envia dead sheep’ - from which to be diligent and to work in strategic partners necessary “Suffice to say, most ronment; green for the dollar ronmental technology.”

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021 PAGE 9

Just look at the COVID numbers - these are dangerous times

By MALCOLM STRACHAN WHILE many countries have been rolling back restrictions in recent weeks, many are becoming worried this may be a short-lived reprieve if cases of the Delta variant continue to spread quicker were than people are becom- sent ing vaccinated. As for The off to be Bahamas, COVID-19 is tested to confirm still spreading at a discon- if the Delta variant certing rate with a spike is spreading throughin COVID-related deaths out the community. With since April. The Ministry nothing definitive said of Health confirmed there by the minister, one can were 17 additional deaths only assume the governin the country during this ment is still awaiting this period, increasing the sus- information.

His predecessor, howpicion the Delta variant is ever, is quite confident here already.

Our public health system the Delta variant is on a has been pushed to the rampage and is likely the brink for over a year now. reason for the rapid develAnd with nurses leaving opment of new cases of the service even as cases COVID-19.

Speaking to the media are rising, the situation is last week, Dr Duane Sands increasingly challenging.

Princess Margaret Hos- shared his thoughts.

“We know that the pital is operating at full capacity with sick patients, Delta variant is becoming 67 infected with COVID- the predominant variant 19 up to last week. Yet, in the United States. We there does not seem to be know that it’s becoming the sense of urgency one the predominant variant in would expect on finding out a number of countries and if these cases were, in fact, so even though we have no conclua result of the sive data that ‘We know that Delta variant. confirms the Particularly the Delta variant Delta varias this comes is becoming the ant is causing when the gova problem in ernment is predominant The Bahatrying to keep variant in the mas, I don’t pace with the United States. think it’s a rest of the reckless or We know that world in openirresponsible ing up and it’s becoming speculation to getting back to the predominant suggest that normal. the Delta varivariant in a Plainly ant is now in said, we number of The Bahamas. must decide countries and so “I think as a whether we matter of fact, are contenders even though we it is probably or pretenders. have no conclusive part of the Our reality data that confirms reason why here at home we’ve seen is a stark con- the Delta variant an uptick in trast to places is causing a the number such as the of cases preproblem in The UK, Canada, senting to the and even the Bahamas, I don’t various emerUS, which has think it’s a reckless gency rooms tapered off of and why we or irresponsible late. Each of are seeing these coun- speculation to younger tries can boast suggest that the people with much better COVID-19 Delta variant adoption requiring hosrates of their is now in The pitalisations. vaccination Bahamas.’

You have programmes. people in Dr Duane Sands The UK, their 20s, 30s Canada, along being hospiwith countries like Israel talised and I think we need and Chile have all vacci- to recognise that what is nated around 70 percent of going on worldwide might their populations. The US be happening here in The has arrived at somewhat of Bahamas.” a lull as most people that He is right. We’ve had were pro-vaccination have cases where COVID has already taken their shots, taken a life as young as five leaving only those who are months, and of the recent anti-vaxers and others who deaths reported by the minare apathetic. Still, they istry of health, there were have vaccinated more also at least two people in than half of their popula- their 30s. tion – about 55 percent of Although he is not the Americans. top man at the Ministry If we were to look in of Health anymore, the our region, The Bahamas Bahamian people continue ranks near the bottom to repose a great deal of with respect to vaccinated trust and confidence in Dr populations.

Sands and appreciate his However, vaccination commentary. hesitancy still continues Nevertheless, we yearn to be the narrative being to have the same in Wells pushed by the government as the reality we face brings without data confirming along with it the loss of if we have the Delta vari- lives – Bahamian lives. ant here or when we will After all this time, details secure enough vaccines to continue to remain confusimmunise enough people to ing on the exact quantities achieve herd immunity. of vaccines we can account It was nearly a month ago either through COVAX, that Health Minister Ren- donations or otherwise. ward Wells said samples Additionally, the timelines

continue to shift at the same time as government ministers are scolding the Bahamian people for not getting vaccinated.

Furthermore, after a series of delays on the arrival of the AstraZeneca doses from the COVAX facility, the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee announced the suspension of first-time doses until more arrive here. This means that unless you are in line to obtain your second dose, you will have to wait until the remaining 33,600 doses of AstraZeneca arrive later this month – assuming there are there are no further delays.

Minister Wells also noted we are slated to receive an additional 57,330 doses of Pfizer by August, offered through PAHO, as well as the final tranche of about 33,000 doses of Astrazeneca through the COVAX facility. Additionally, it has been reported that we can expect additional vaccines to be donated by the US in the third quarter of this year. However, it is unclear how generous a donation that will be. It is highly doubtful it will be so substantial that we would have all of the vaccines needed to comfortably achieve herd immunity, so where will that leave us?

That said, it is positive to see actual vaccines on the way. But if we are looking at timelines of when they will arrive against the backdrop of decisions being made by the government, the narrative that the science is being followed is leading to a great deal of confusion.

Take that recent UN report which revealed The Bahamas ranks near the bottom of vaccinated countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and compare it with the fact we are also one of the most visited countries in the region as our major hotels are already experiencing 90 percent occupancy in the middle of a pandemic.

Nearly half of the population from our primary source market is unvaccinated and almost 100 percent of infected Americans ending up in the hospital with moderate to severe illnesses are among the population which has rejected getting the jab.

Reopening feels great.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone that will argue with you on how good

it feels to be back to work and receiving our liberties again. But with a state of emergency set to expire next month, it does seem very concerning that politics, more than public health, is what seems to be driving many of the decisions we’re seeing.

If we look at the US as a model, they were one of the first countries to implement a well-resourced vaccination programme.

Nevertheless, whether due to prematurely rolling back restrictions or vaccination hesitancy, they are dealing with full-fledged outbreaks in places where there are lower vaccination rates.

abroad register their vaccination status also speaks to the politicisation of this entire process. If one were to play devil’s advocate, it would be quite easy to pad the numbers of vaccinated citizens without providing the granular details about where they actually reside.

Of course, we hope the government would not resort to such practices to present the illusion that our numbers are better than they are. But as the saying goes, desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Friends, these are very unsettling times. Make no mistake about it. to

We need to be really careful with how the expiration of the state of emergency will play out considering our vaccination programme is nowhere near wellresourced. As supply chain issues continue to cause delays with COVAX, a politician’s word is only meant to soothe voters, particularly as election time nears.

Even in the context of an election, if you can win against COVID by balancing the protection of public health, people’s livelihoods and the economy, you can certainly win an election.

The government’s invitation for Bahamian citizens who have been vaccinated

PAGE 10 MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

The Great Betrayal THE Bahamas Court of Appeal is to be praised for an exemplary display of courage and independence in delivering its landmark ruling confirming the right of all unwed Bahamians to pass citizenship to their children at birth in the Shannon Rolle case. This should resolve generational inhumanity and injustice for thousands of Bahamians.

We should be exceedingly proud as a country that in the face of ever-increasing social and political pressure, ever more vocal and at times rabid opposition, our Judiciary has once again shown itself equal to the lofty task of defending natural justice and upholding the rule of law. And thank goodness. Nowadays, it would seem our Judges are the sole remaining protectors of justice, the lone voice of reason crying out in the wilderness, the last line of defence in the struggle for social progress, the only beacon of hope in the dark and stormy tide of irrational hate that continues to infect and sicken Our Bahamas.

They were not always alone in this effort. In November 1970, as the dream of an enlightened and progressive Independent Bahamas had already

HOW THE FREE NATIONAL MOVEMENT ABANDONED ITS FOUNDING IDEALS TO BECOME THE ENEMY OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW IN THE BAHAMAS begun its steep descent into the seventh circle of political tribalism, victimisation and discrimination, the battlements of equality and justice were also manned by a small group of breakaway PLP MPs, who opposed Pindling in a narrowly unsuccessful no-confidence vote. First known of as the “Dissident Eight” and then the Free PLP, the following year this group would join with other opposition forces to become the Free National Movement (FNM).

It was their tough and pragmatic, but also idealistic and progressive leader, Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, who had brought the vote of no confidence. He had the courage to defect from a formidable populist PLP government – taking with him some of the best political minds of a generation – precisely over what he perceived to be a growing tendency toward dictatorial excess, arbitrary abuse of power, distain for individual rights and disrespect for the Constitution.

In 1974, Sir Cecil

Wallace-Whitfield put his money where his mouth was, defending the mercilessly politically targeted long-time resident, Canadian-born Darcy Ryan, who, as a Belonger under the Constitution was entitled to citizenship but was irrationally denied by the PLP in what was one of the first real flexings of Pindling’s authoritarian muscles - an early foray into what would later become a deliberate and systematic programme of wilful distain for the rule of law, political victimization and discrimination.

The FNM founder fought an entire government for years, to the bitter end, even convincing the Supreme Court to order the imprisonment of a Cabinet Minister for ignoring a judge’s order to grant Mr Ryan citizenship.

Sir Cecil was someone who would never countenance the idea that a person could be discriminated against because of their background, ethnicity, gender, religion or political persuasion. Today, that

titan of a man is surely turning in his grave over the Great Betrayal that is being perpetrated in the name of the party to which he gave every last drop of his blood, sweat and tears, even unto his dying breath.

Today’s FNM is an impotent shadow, empty shell and bastardised, sickly version of what it was in his time. The so-called party of freedom and equality has become a crass panderer to the worst, most xenophobic elements in society, more than willing to waste desperately needed public funds - in the wake of a devastating Pandemic - just to fight the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant equality to Bahamian parents and children.

The once brave and principled FNM has reduced itself to the equivalent of a political used car salesman, boorishly peddling in hatred and incitement, currying favour with elements of society holding precisely the outlook the party founders rejected: that some people deserve special privileges, while certain other unfortunates are to be reviled and disenfranchised, just because of who they are - women, foreigners, migrants and their children.

The Bahamas Court of Appeal has now spoken in the name of fairness, justice and equality. I have no doubt the FNM’s ill-conceived appeal of this ruling to the Privy Council in London – to be undertaken at great public expense – will result in a similar outcome.

Hopefully, that august body takes the opportunity to publicly dress down a hapless, feckless government for its regressive, abusive and self-serving tactics.

But this FNM still won’t learn. No matter how many court rulings knock them back, they seem only to know how to continue down the same arrogant road, cutting off their nose to spite their face, stubbornly and repeatedly.

The decision to challenge the citizenship case is not the only serious departure from the FNM’s lofty roots. Take for example the government’s shameful ethnic cleansing campaign, the stated aim of which is to bulldoze and eradicate every single ethnic Haitian community in The Bahamas, erase cultural diversity, forcibly assimilate people and force them to conform to a particular style of living, dictated from on high.

Carried out in defiance of ongoing court proceedings and in the face of an injunction prohibiting home demolitions, this campaign is the epitome of authoritarian highhandedness, ethnic discrimination and contempt for the rule of law.

Under this FNM, the

FOR SALE

By FREDERICK SMITH, QC

armed forces, particularly the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Immigration Department, have been allowed to continue to run rampant, oppressing and terrorising the citizenry with impunity, riding roughshod over people’s constitutional rights and generally behaving as if they are above the law.

Both agencies continue to conduct illegal roadblocks and stop and search exercises, in total defiance of the right to freedom of movement and the presumption of innocence. The use of arbitrary force on the part of the police has been given a huge boost by the government’s use of Emergency Orders, which appears specifically designed to create a law enforcement dictatorship where officers can interfere at will with members of the public, controlling their movement, demanding the production of “papers” and arresting people on virtually any pretext, or simply on a whim.

Meanwhile, on this FNM’s watch, police killings of civilians is at an all-time high. In 2020 alone, officers shot and killed 20 people, per capita more than any other country in the region. And while we hear much in the news today about police killings in the United States, measured by that same metric, the problem is almost FIFTEEN times worse in The Bahamas than in our neighbour to the north.

Already this year, the police have killed another six civilians, yet there has been no public effort on the part of the government to curtail or even investigate this trend. Have the police taken it upon themselves to become the judge, the jury and – quite literally – the executioner? What of the terror this strikes into the citizenry, the collapse of trust in law enforcement that it generates?

Under successive governments, The Bahamas Immigration Department has been allowed and even encouraged to become an epicentre of discriminatory abuse, lawlessness and unbridled wielding of arbitrary power. Sadly, the FNM is drafting in Fred Mitchell’s illegal wake. Immigration officers continue to believe they are the unquestionable gatekeepers and sole arbiters of every individual’s very right to exist in this jurisdiction. They feel entitled to adjudge people “illegal”, thereby rendering them essentially non-persons who are devoid of rights. This FNM government has done absolutely nothing to stop this, despite judgment after judgment of the courts, choosing instead to positively encourage illegality.

This self-arrogated power has in turn been used to terrorise and disenfranchise innocents in countless numbers, to abuse and extort them for money to line the

pockets of officers while taking everything from the victims, even their personal liberty. Under this FNM, the evils perpetrated by the Immigration Department have been bolstered and supported as never before.

People who have been held for up to nine years in arbitrary and illegal detention, never charged with any crime, find that efforts on the part of attorneys and human rights defenders to have them released are resisted tooth and nail, at the highest levels of government.

Again, the Judiciary has performed admirably in restoring these victims to liberty as quickly as possible whenever such cases are uncovered. And when the courts are asked to make what restitution may be possible for these egregious crimes against humanity, the Attorney General’s office has fought under this FNM to grossly limit compensation to victims.

The judiciary must be praised for resisting political might and ruling on the side of justice. For this, judges have been criticised and maligned in the public sphere by powerful political figures, their rulings disparaged and continually challenged, at great expense to the public purse and great damage to the public’s perception of the importance of the rule of law.

I say not just as an officer of the court, but also as a citizen of this country, that we are indeed extremely lucky to have a Judiciary of such integrity, which guards its independence jealously and remains committed to safeguarding the underpinnings of our democracy in the face of this unconscionable level of duress. Many societies, in the developing world in particular, are not so fortunate.

The judges are more than doing their part. It falls to the citizenry now, to see the political class is called to account for its betrayal of the founding principles of our independent Bahamas.

If we do not demand better of our leaders, we will not get it. Things will only continue to get worse. We never know when the sites of the discrimination rifle will be fixed on any one of us.

As for the FNM, it’s own members, and individuals in leadership positions within the party who know what is right and proper, must rediscover their courage, find their voice and stand up and be counted. They cannot continue to watch from the sidelines, toe the party line and pretend they do not see what is happening. Evil will always triumph when good men do nothing.

For my part, I cry shame on my FNM for betraying its founding identity, and applaud my PLP colleague Wayne Munroe for standing up in the name of justice and equality.

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INSIGHT

MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021 PAGE 11

Cuba could help US normalise relations ALL may not be lost in the efforts to improve relations between the government of Cuba and the Biden Administration in the US, despite the rhetoric – most of it emanating from the Cuban government in the wake of protests by thousands across the island.

The protests were occasioned by grievances over high prices, food shortages and power outages – due in part to the US trade embargo whose impact has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic that crippled Cuba’s tourism industry, its biggest foreign exchange earner.

Unlike the former Trump administration, President Biden has not taken a hard line on Cuba. If anything, his administration has been seeking ways to revitalize the eased relationship which the Barack Obama administration promoted in 2015 and 2016.

Finding those ways has not been easy due to internal politics in the US and to insufficient movement by the Cuban government to manage dissent peacefully, rather than clamp down on it by military force. The Cuban government’s harsh response to protestors on 11 and 12 July, fed the desire by influential members from both parties in the US Congress to continue Donald Trump’s tough measures against Cuba, including its designation as a sponsor of terrorism that triggered additional financial and other sanctions.

The Biden administration has been navigating a thin line between wanting to improve relations with Cuba and not dismissing political and human rights concerns.

The most notable advocate of maintaining the Trump Administration’s hardline policy on Cuba is the Republican Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, who wrote to Biden on July 12, saying: “The current protests in Cuba are not just about current economic shortages. They are about the longstanding and deliberate actions taken by the dictatorship to stymie the economic prosperity

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS and political freedom of the Cuban people”.

The Biden administration could be better helped by the Cuban government to resist Rubio and others, and to return to the easing of strained relations between the US and Cuba of which he was a part as Vice President in the Obama administration. It has always been well-known, including by the Cubans, that Biden is deeply committed to political and human rights, including the right to protest and dissent. Had the Cuban government responded in a spirit of tolerance and willingness to listen to the protesting voices of 11 and 12 July, it would have aided Biden in being stronger in his efforts to combat hardliners such as Rubio.

The US government regards freedom of expression of artists and freedom of speech by media to be fundamental rights everywhere, including in Cuba.

US support for these freedoms are not efforts to subvert Cuba.

Most Caribbean governments also uphold these rights in their own countries. In the almost 60 years of experience of the 13 English-Speaking Caribbean countries as sovereign states, governments have learned to manage dissent and protests and to encourage media freedom as part of their democracies. Had they not done so, the economic progress of these countries, with considerable foreign investment, would not have been accomplished.

The experience in Cuba has been different. Over the last 61 years, trapped by a trade embargo, which causes economic hardship and deprivation, and threatened by repeated attempts to overthrow the government, the Cuban authorities have employed

harsh measures to stop dissent and protests. They have not had the room to nurture a culture of tolerance and persuasion.

Ending the trade embargo against Cuba has always been the right thing to do. As Barack Obama famously said in December 2014, “an outdated approach has failed for over 50 years to advance our interests”. In announcing efforts to normalize the relations between the two countries, he stated, “Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past so as to reach

for a better future –- for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our entire hemisphere, and for the world”. Those shackles were quickly fastened again

by Trump.

Yet, a Cuba, that is released from the chains of the trade embargo and the threats to its security, could quickly become an economic powerhouse, attracting foreign investment, and unleashing the creativity and entrepreneurship of its people that comes from greater freedoms.

There is clearly a need for the US and Cuban administrations to return to the sensible negotiations about their future that started under the Obama-Biden administration. The Cuban government can help that process by changing from a culture of repression to one of tolerance and constructive management of dissent.

Such a change would help empower Biden to continue what he helped to start with Obama.

Eyes are already on the US midterm Senate elections to be held in November 2022. Marco Rubio won his Senate seat in 2016 by less than 10 per cent of the vote. He relies heavily on the Cuban-exile vote to return to the Senate.

Both he and the Republican Party will be heightening the anti-Cuba rhetoric to maintain that seat in a Senate now equally divided between the Republicans and Democrats.

Cuba should be mindful of that reality and ease up on the rhetoric that blames America for all Cuban discontent. The Cuban President Miguel DíazCanel, may have started that process. On July 14 in a televised address, he offered some self-criticism, for the first time, by saying

that the government’s shortcomings in handling shortages and other problems played a role in the recent protests.

That’s an important step.

It should be followed by a more open dialogue with those who have ideas about how the country should be governed. Thus, Biden would be emboldened to normalise relations, including ending the repressive trade embargo.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own).

PAGE 12, Monday, July 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

COURT BLOCKS ORDER LIFTING CDC VIRUS RULES ON CRUISE SHIPS ST PETERSBURG, Florida Associated Press

PANDEMIC restrictions on Florida-based cruise ships will remain in place after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a previous ruling that sided with a Florida lawsuit challenging the regulations.

The one-paragraph decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals was filed at 11:50pm Saturday, just minutes before a Tampa judge’s previous ruling on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

restrictions was set to take effect.

The judges’ issuance of a temporary stay keeps the CDC regulations regarding Florida-based cruise ships in place while the CDC appeals the June decision by US District Judge Steven Merryday.

The lawsuit, championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, claims that the CDC’s multiple-step process to allow cruising from Florida is overly burdensome, harming both a multibillion-dollar industry that provides some 159,000 jobs and revenue collected by the state.

A spokeswoman for

DeSantis did not immediately respond yeserday to an email and a text message seeking comment. In court filing, attorneys for Florida urged the 11th Circuit to reject the CDC request to keep its rules intact for now.

“The equities overwhelmingly favor allowing the cruise industry to enjoy its first summer season in two years while this Court sorts out the CDC’s contentions on appeal,” Florida’s lawyers argued.

The CDC, however, said keeping the rules in place would prevent future COVID-19 outbreaks on ships that are vulnerable

to the spread of the virus because of their close quarters and frequent stops at foreign ports.

“The undisputed evidence shows that unregulated cruise ship operations would exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, and that the harm to the public that would result from such operations cannot be undone,” the CDC said in a court filing.

The CDC first flatly halted cruise ships from sailing in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which had affected passengers and crew on numerous ships.

Then the CDC on Oct. 30 of last year imposed a four-phase conditional framework it said would allow the industry to gradually resume operations if certain thresholds were met. Those included virus mitigation procedures and a simulated cruise to test them before embarking regular passengers.

Merryday’s decision concluded that the CDC can’t enforce those rules for Florida-based ships and that they should merely be considered nonbinding recommendations or guidelines. Several cruise lines have begun preliminary cruises under those

guidelines, which the Tampa judge agreed with Florida are too onerous.

“Florida persuasively claims that the conditional sailing order will shut down most cruises through the summer and perhaps much longer,” the judge wrote in June, adding that Florida “faces an increasingly threatening and imminent prospect that the cruise industry will depart the state.”

The 11th Circuit’s brief decision did not include any opinions from the judges, which the panel said would be released later. The decision noted that one appeals judge dissented.

Mourning first lady returns to a Haiti with an uncertain future PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Associated Press

HAITI’S political future grew murkier yesterday after the surprise return of first lady Martine Moïse, who was released from a hospital in Miami where she was treated for injuries following an attack in which the president was assassinated.

Martine Moïse did not make any public statements after she descended a private jet wearing a black dress, a black bulletproof vest, a black face mask and her right arm in a black sling as she mourned for President Jovenel Moïse, who was killed July 7 at their private home.

Some experts — like many in this country of more than 11 million people — were surprised at how quickly she reappeared in Haiti and questioned whether she plans to become involved in the country’s politics.

“The fact that she returned could suggest she intends to play some role,” said Laurent Dubois, a Haiti expert and Duke University professor. “She may intervene in one way or another.”

Martine Moïse arrived just hours after a prominent group of international diplomats issued a statement that appeared to shun interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the man currently running the country with the backing of police and the military.

Joseph’s name was never mentioned in the statement made by the Core Group, composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the US, France, the European Union and representatives from the United

IN this handout photo released by Haiti’s Secretary of State for Communication, Haiti’s first lady Martine Moise, wearing a bullet proof vest and her right arm in a sling, arrives at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-auPrince, Haiti, on Saturday.

Nations and the Organization of American States.

The group called for the creation of “a consensual and inclusive government”, adding, “To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government.”

Henry was designated prime minister a day before Jovenel

Moïse was killed. He did not respond to requests for comment.

The UN, OAS and US State Department did not offer further explanation when contacted.

Given the current state of Haitian politics, Dubois said he believes the arrival of Martine Moïse could have an impact.

“She’s obviously in a position to play a role... given how wide open things are,” he said, adding

that the Core Group’s statement is striking because it makes no reference to Joseph. “One has to wonder whether the developments in the investigation have anything to do with this. They’re all these puzzle pieces that are just changing moment to moment.

Right now it seems very hard to figure out how to put these together.”

Authorities in Haiti and

Colombia say at least 18 suspects directly linked to the killing have been arrested, the majority of them former Colombian soldiers.

At least three suspects were killed and police say they are looking for numerous others. Colombian officials have said that the majority of former soldiers were duped and did not know of the assassination plot.

Police in Haiti on Sunday identified another suspect in the case: Pierre Joseph Ashkard. Online records show he is a Canadianbased businessman who runs a medical business in Texas with Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian physician and pastor whom local authorities recently arrested and consider a key suspect.

A day after the killing, US State Department spokesman Ned Price had said Joseph was the incumbent in the position and was serving as acting prime minister before the assassination: “We continue to work with Claude Joseph as such,” he said.

On July 11, a delegation of representatives from various US agencies traveled to Haiti to review critical infrastructure, talk with Haitian National Police and meet with Joseph, Henry and Haitian Senate President Joseph Lambert in a joint meeting.

The deepening political turmoil has prompted dozens of Haitians to visit the US embassy in Portau-Prince in recent days to seek a visa or political asylum.

“We can’t stay anymore in the country,” said Jim Kenneth, a 19-year-old who would like to study medicine in the US. “We feel very insecure.”

MERKEL TOURS ‘SURREAL’ FLOOD SCENE AND VOWS CLIMATE ACTION BERLIN Associated Press GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a “surreal, ghostly” scene in a devastated village yesterday, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed above 180.

Merkel toured Schuld, a village on a tight curve of the Ahr River in western Germany where many buildings were damaged or destroyed by rapidly rising floodwaters on Wednesday night.

Although the mayor of Schuld said no one was killed or injured there, many other places weren’t so lucky. The death toll in the Ahrweiler area, where

POLICE officers search in the rubble for possible victims at a bridge over the River Ahr, in western Germany.

Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa via AP Schuld is located, stood at 112. Authorities said people are still missing and they fear the toll may still rise.

In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany’s most populous,

46 people were killed, including four firefighters. Belgium confirmed 31 deaths.

Merkel said she came away from Schuld, still partly strewn with rubble

and mud in bright sunshine, with “a real picture of, I must say, the surreal, ghostly situation”.

“It is shocking — I would almost say that the German language barely has words for the devastation that has been wreaked,” she said at a news conference in a nearby town.

Merkel said authorities will work to “set the world right again in this beautiful region, step by step,” and her Cabinet will approve an immediate and mediumterm financial aid program on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than $354m will be needed immediately. And he said officials must set up a longer-term rebuilding programme which, from experience with previous

flooding, will cost billions.

“Thankfully, Germany is a country that can manage this financially,” said Merkel, who is stepping down as chancellor following an election in September. “Germany is a strong country and we will stand up to this force of nature in the short term — but also in the medium and long term, through policy that pays more regard to nature and the climate than we did in recent years. That will be necessary too.”

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to tackle climate change undeniable.

Scientists can’t yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the

extreme weather disasters on display around the world.

“We must get faster in the battle against climate change,” Merkel said, pointing to policies already set in motion by Germany and the European Union to cut greenhouse gas emissions. “And nevertheless, the second lesson is that we must pay great attention to adaptation” to climate change.

Investing in fighting climate change is expensive, she said, but failing to do so is even more costly.

“One flood isn’t the example of climate change, but if we look at the loss events of recent years, decades, then they are simply more frequent than they were previously — so we must make a great effort,” Merkel said.