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VOLUME:114 No.169, JULY 26TH, 2017

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VASYLI RETRIAL Appeal judges throw out murder verdict

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net THE Court of Appeal yesterday ordered a retrial for Donna Vasyli, who was convicted of the 2015 stabbing death of her millionaire husband.

Vasyli, 56, made a return appearance before the Court of Appeal a year after her substantive hearing on her challenge to the jury’s verdict concerning the March 24, 2015 murder of her Australian podiatrist husband, Phillip Vasyli, pictured right.

Vasyli’s lead lawyer, Clare Montgomery, QC, previously argued last July, among other grounds of appeal, that the ab-

sence of evidence of her client’s good character during trial might have negatively influenced a jury’s unanimous guilty verdict against her.

She said her client was denied the benefit of having evidence of her good character presented prior to her conviction, which she said amounted to “breach of duty” on the part of counsel for the accused.

Mrs Montgomery submitted that had counsel ensured evidence of her client’s good character was led in court,

ATLANTIS BOSS WARNS RIVALS: DON’T DISCOUNT

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE top executive at Atlantis said yesterday that he fears market cannibalisation amid concerns over whether Baha Mar and Atlantis can co-exist.

Howard Karawan, president and managing director of Atlantis, said there needed to be a big push to grow the market, and warned that 20 per cent discounts did not bode well for The Bahamas.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

it would have suggested Vasyli likely did not have the propensity to murder her husband, and consequently might have resulted in a different verdict from the jury.

Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin Gaskin countered not only was ineptitude or negligence a non-issue at Vasyli’s trial, but stressed there is no duty on the trial judge to raise or direct on the issue.

He added that as Vasyli’s lawyers did not supply the jury with evidence

DONNA Vasyli pictured outside court yesterday. of good character during their defence, it was not an issue for the judge to give a direction to the jury.

The Court of Appeal yesterday quashed the Australian widow’s conviction and remitted the case back to the Supreme Court, citing that this was in the interest of justice.

In the 71-page judgment that

was handed down, Court of Appeal President Justice Dame Anita Allen explained what led the panel to the conclusion that a retrial was necessary.

“Before the jury was evidence that the appellant told the police on one occasion that the clothing she had on that evening SEE PAGE FIVE

350 JOBS IN RIU REVAMP

MINNIS RULES OUT DAVIS’ CALL TO MEET

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Tribune Staff Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday said he would not meet with Leader of the Opposition Philip “Brave” Davis as he dismissed concerns about being the subject of payback following a letter from the PLP leader.

Dr Minnis insisted his “life is an open book” and

hit out at Mr Davis for breaching protocol after the harsh letter was leaked to the press.

Asked to clarify whether Mr Davis called him in relation to the letter, Dr Minnis said “No. N-P-O. No.” He repeated the same in response to questions of whether he would meet with Mr Davis over this issue in the future.

SEE PAGE THREE

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in Atlantis yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

PLP ROAD BACK TO POWER ‘NOT EASY’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION Leader Philip “Brave” Davis called Exuma MP Chester Cooper’s evaluation of the Progressive Liberal Party’s election defeat “a newbie

assessment” and - while accepting some of the critique - likened him to a child who tells the truth, no matter the cost.

While addressing PLP supporters Monday night at a monthly Yamacraw meeting, the interim PLP leader emphasised the Official

Opposition is “down but not out” and Mr Davis said he is certain that the PLP “will return to governance.”

Last month, Mr Cooper, in a speech before the PLP’s National Progressive Institute said the party lost SEE PAGE SIX

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes said yesterday more than 350 local construction workers will be engaged during the upcoming renovation of the Riu Palace on Paradise Island.

During an interview with reporters just before a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Foulkes revealed the government had secured the agreement on the heels of the resort’s announcement that it would let go nearly 200 employees at the property while it executes a $25m renovation.

Mr Foulkes hailed the agreement yesterday as he noted the move would, if all plans are successful, keep a large percentage of that $25m budget in the hands of Bahamians and “in our economy”.

SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Wednesday, July 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis enjoying a Bahamian popsicle alongside Kentisha Ward, above left, owner of Pop Stop, and taking a break with Cabinet members during his tour of Atlantis, right.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

FROM left, Howard C Karawan, president and managing director of Atlantis, Julie Lightbourn, owner/chef of Sip Sip Harbour Island and Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

LANISHA ROLLE, Seabreeze MP, and Brent Symonette, St Anne’s MP, pictured in Sun & Ice at the Atlantis Resort (above left) and Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd during the tour, above right.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 26, 2017, PAGE 3

Minnis rules out Davis’ call to meet from page one It is unclear what Dr Minnis was referring to when he said “NPO”. However, he could have been referring to medical Latin term “nil per os”, which when translated in English means “nothing through the mouth”.

“My life is an open book I have nothing to hide,” Dr Minnis said when asked if he was concerned he could find himself subject to any payback at the hands of the PLP. He was speaking to the media following a tour of Atlantis on Paradise Island.

“My only worry today is that yesterday (Monday) was my anniversary and I forgot,” Dr Minnis added.

Last week, Mr Davis wrote a strongly worded letter to Dr Minnis regarding criminal probes of PLPs. He warned: “When you set out to dig a grave for your enemy, dig two.”

The letter was leaked to The Tribune and other media and also circulated on Facebook and messaging platform WhatsApp. Dr Minnis suggested he rejected the letter because it was made public. He said Mr Davis could have called him, but as it stands, the Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP has not done so.

“The leader of the opposition, if he wanted to speak to me, he knows what to do if he sent a letter to me. He subsequently gave the letter to the press and social media. He is not talking to me.

He knows protocol.”

The Tribune did not receive the letter in question from Mr Davis.

Dr Minnis also said: “Listen, whoever does wrong will be dealt with be they PLP, be they FNM. Once they have done wrong, then the laws will take their course. Let the chips fall where they may. If he has facts, then give it to the police. Don’t tell me about it.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and his Cabinet visited Atlantis yesterday for a tour of The Cove, Royal Towers and Coral Towers. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Don’t tell the press. Give it to the press.”

Mr Davis’ letter, which was written on July 18, highlights his frustrations with the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s (RBPF) anticorruption investigations.

Calling investigations like the one into former Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Dion Smith an “abuse of power,” Mr Davis warned: “When such abuses of power occur, the offending parties, be they police officers or politicians, need to understand that there will come a day of reckoning for them as well.

“What goes around, comes around. And let me hasten to add that that is not a threat. It is an immutable law of the moral universe, one that is sometimes expressed in these words: when you set out to dig a grave for your enemy, dig two.”

Mr Davis added: “Those who are committing these abuses should therefore understand they cannot do so with impunity. To use your own words: where you do wrong and abuse your position, there are consequences.”

Mr Davis wrote that while he believes crimes should be investigated when reasonably suspected, exonerating information should be taken into account during investigations.

Mr Davis also expressed concern that investigations have not been “free of political contamination”.

In his letter to Dr Minnis, which was also sent to Attorney General Carl Bethel and National Security Minister Marvin Dames, Mr Davis protested the treatment of the PLP politicians who have been in custody, including Mr Smith whom he felt should not have

“spent a night in jail even after it had become unmistakably clear that there were no reasonable grounds for believing that he had committed any criminal offense whatsoever”.

Mr Smith, former executive chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation, was arrested and held in police custody overnight in late May in connection with a theft probe from the government agency, police said at the time.

Eight other people were also arrested over the course of the investigation, however no one was ever charged.

Earlier this month, Assistant Commissioner Paul Rolle said police closed the investigation into the matter and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Yesterday, Dr Minnis also ignored questions over

whether he was still renting a building to the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA).

In 2015, while in opposition, Dr Minnis came under criticism over allegations he was involved in a conflict of interest because a company he owned was renting to the PHA while he sat in Cabinet as health minister under the previous Ingraham administration.

However, Dr Minnis has said after becoming the minister his interests were disclosed as is required by law and also to former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. He has said Mr Ingraham told him to have the PHA relocate as soon as was possible.

But now that the Minnis administration’s anticorruption plan is underway and some former PLP politicians have been questioned by authorities while

others have faced charges before the courts, questions have again surfaced over whether the prime minister is still financially benefitting from the PHA. Dr Minnis’ company, Leechez Investments Ltd, was awarded a two-year contract with the PHA to lease its Stat Care building in 2005 while he was a private citizen. Dr Minnis has said he disclosed the contract while in office and said he had directed the PHA to find another landlord. However the contract continued on a month-tomonth basis and Dr Minnis disclosed the matter in his financial declaration submitted to the Parliamentary Registration Department ahead of the 2017 general election.

According to an April 18, 2017 letter from the PHA, the contract is valued at $7,500 a month.

PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE APPEAL FORMALLY WITHDRAWN

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE parliamentary privilege appeal that was previously lodged by the Crown under the Christie administration was formally withdrawn and dismissed in the Court of Appeal yesterday.

In May of this year, Crown counsel Loren Klein asked Justices Dame Anita Allen, Jon Isaacs and Stella Crane-Scott for an adjournment to allow the new Attorney General Carl Bethel, QC, to be briefed on the conduct of the proceedings thus far and for instructions to be taken.

Weeks later, well ahead of yesterday’s brief hearing, the government filed notice of its intent to withdraw its appeal of the landmark Supreme Court ruling on parliamentary privilege concerning former Marathon MP and Cabinet minister Jerome Fitzgerald.

In yesterday’s brief hearing before the appellate panel, the matter was officially withdrawn and dismissed.

Outside of the Claughton House, Charlotte Street courtroom, Fred Smith, QC, spoke to the press about the outcome.

“I’m very pleased to report that the appeal by Mr Fitzgerald by the Crown against Save The Bays (STB) has been completely withdrawn and all of the costs which Save The Bays

CORRECTION

A HEADLINE in yesterday’s edition of The Tribune - “Doctors demand NHI be scrapped” - was accidentally placed on a story from the Bahamas Insur-

was subjected to up to the day of the withdrawal will be taxed if not agreed. And, of course, we had a crossappeal (where) the government would get the costs of that appeal, to be taxed if not agreed,” the environmental group’s lead lawyer said.

Mr Smith said he could not speak to the legal costs for the respective appeals, but what was important “is the $150,000 that Mr Fitzgerald is going to pay with interest”.

“And Save The Bays is entitled to all of those documents that Mr Fitzgerald and his cohorts illegally had, unconstitutionally had.

They committed a constitutional crime against Save The Bays. My papers, Zach Bacon’s papers, Save The Bays’ papers, my employees’ papers, it was a disgrace it was a rape of our privacy,” he said.

“And we will now require the government and Mr Fitzgerald to return all of our papers cause no doubt he had copies. I want an affidavit sworn by Mr Fitzgerald that he doesn’t have one piece of paper that belongs to me, Save The Bays, or my other clients. We are entitled to have our privacy respected and it is completely abhorrent to our constitutional democracy to have parliamentarians going into parliament, abusing their parliamentary privileges, raping our privacy in public.

“And I hope that day

ance Association who had warned the NHI Secretariat may be acting illegally as an insurance company.

The Tribune apologises for the error.

never happens again in The Bahamas,” Mr Smith said.

In March 2016, Mr Fitzgerald accused STB of being a political organisation seeking to “overthrow” the Progressive Liberal Party government under the guise of an environmental group. In the House of Assembly, Mr Fitzgerald read private emails from STB members and others, which he said supported his claims.

Speaking outside Parliament, Mr Fitzgerald had later warned members of the environmental group to “batten down” because a “category five” hurricane was on its way, as he threatened to table “every single” email and bank statement in his possession if needed to protect his integrity and parliamentary privilege.

Additionally, then Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell claimed in Parliament in March 2016 that some $8.25m has been filtered through various organisations connected with STB – locally and internationally - from 2013 to 2015.

Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay (Save the Bays) and Zachary Bacon, the brother of hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon, a resident of Lyford Cay, brought action against Mr Fitzgerald, Mr

Mitchell and the attorney general.

However, Justice Charles found that there was no case against Mr Mitchell concerning breach of the group’s constitutional rights.

In her landmark ruling on August 2, 2016 Justice Charles said it was unquestionable that a resident’s private correspondence should not be the subject of public discussion and scrutiny, let alone in the House of Assembly.

“The courts are given an exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate in and to supervise breaches of the Constitution by the executive and the legislature,” Justice Charles said.

“Parliament cannot change the scope or divest the court of its ‘original jurisdiction’ by legislation. In addition, it is for the court and not Parliament to decide on the scope and application of parliamentary privilege,” she added.

“As a general rule, the court should not meddle in the internal affairs of Parliament and should leave it to regulate its own internal affairs. The court also recognises that the authority and dignity of Parliament would be seriously compromised if it were to interfere arbitrarily in the internal

procedures of Parliament.

“But if a person alleges that his/her constitutional rights have been or are being infringed in order to establish that infringement, the court would be entitled to carry out an inquiry to determine whether there was indeed a breach.

“It is axiomatic that, a man’s private and confidential correspondence, precious to his heart, should not be the subject of public discussion and scrutiny.

The second respondent (Fitzgerald) made unsubstantiated allegations about the first applicant (STB) which he portrayed as a money-laundering organisation.

“These statements are regrettable since it had nothing to do with the mid-term budget debates which were ongoing at the time,” the judge stressed.

“In The Bahamas, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and the court is the guardian of the Constitution.

“Parliamentary privilege is trumped by breaches of the Constitution and although Parliament is supreme, it is not as supreme as the Constitution. Therefore, Parliament cannot use its privileges to trample on the constitutional rights of an individual. In construing constitutional provisions, a broad and generous approach is required to give individuals the full measure of the rights and freedoms referred to in the Constitution,” Justice Charles ruled.

Justice Charles ruled against STB in its case against Mr Mitchell concerning breach of the group’s constitutional rights, ruling that it had not made out a case in this regard.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, July 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Trump blusters, while China fills void EACH week brings a new and different Donald Trump departure from established and accepted norms. There are outrageous tweets, inconsistent and even contradictory interviews, claims that the establishment American media almost immediately brands as lies, and now, further evidence of personal behaviour that would be regarded as rude at a neighbourhood dinner party.

At the G20 summit meeting in Hamburg earlier this month, Trump, in the presence of most of the other heads of state of the world’s leading nations, chose to wander over to Russian President Putin and engage in what The Washington Post has now described as almost an hour long private meeting with only the Russian leader’s interpreter present to witness the exchange. It is hard to imagine such behaviour working to the advantage of the United States.

Among the witnesses to the TrumpPutin conversations was Chinese President Xi Jinping. One can only wonder what he must have thought as he looked on. But as America drifts steadily toward an isolationist, xenophobic posture under Trump, China continues to work toward positions of greater influence around the world.

American scholars and journalists continue to examine Chinese overseas behaviour, partly to divine their true objectives. For the most part, their conclusion has been that the Chinese seek economic influence in the form of market development and investment opportunities. The consensus seems to be that while the Chinese seek support for their political initiatives in the United Nations and its subsidiary organisations, there is not presently a push for military or overwhelming political influence outside the regions surrounding their own borders.

Their recent aggressive behaviour in the matter of tiny islets in the South China stands in sharp contrast to an seemingly more militarily and politically benign posture in most of the rest of the world.

American academic and Centre for Strategic and International Studies director Scott Kennedy describes Chinese behaviour overseas as a kind of “economic colonialism,” underpinned by frequent close collaboration with local political elites in countries where they invest. Most substantial Chinese overseas investments are accompanied by an influx of Chinese workers.

“In many countries, the presence of

these Chinese workers generates intense local resentment,” Kennedy recently told a New York audience. The scholar noted that when the Chinese workers and supervisors collaborate with local counterparts, the results are much more harmonious. When they do not, there is fear, resentment and dwindling popular local support for the very feelings of bilateral friendship the investment was designed to foster in the first place.

Kennedy advances the thesis that in many respects, China and the United States are appearing to move in opposite directions. As the US under Trump blusters about unfair trade deals and insufficient financial commitment by its NATO allies, pulls out of a worldwide climate change pact heralded as visionary less than a year ago, and seems to court adversaries like Putin while disrespecting long-time allies, China is continuing its investment and influence building in many parts of the world.

The Chinese have a long history of trying to manipulate and control their neighbours. China’s neighbours, including Russia, Myanmar and Vietnam, have for decades been wary of Chinese economic might and its huge population of 1.4 billion. Even half a century ago, the Soviet Union and Vietnam, despite being involved respectively in a superpower rivalry and a shooting war with the United States, remained profoundly wary of China.

The New York Times describes the recent ascendancy of Chinese influence in neighbouring Myanmar (formerly Burma), which has enjoyed warm relations recently with the US and hosted two visits by American President Barack Obama in the past five years.

“But the US did little to build on the new relationship, and now the tables have turned. As the Trump administration pays little attention, China is exercising strategic and economic interests that come from geographic proximity, using deep pockets for building billiondollar infrastructure,” the Times reports.

“And not only Myanmar. Across Southeast Asia, China is energetically bringing nations into its orbit, wooing American friends and allies with military hardware, infrastructure deals and diplomatic attention.”

For the Americans, this would be a wake-up call if they were paying attention. For everyone else, it’s both an opportunity and a cautionary tale.

Legalise marijuana EDITOR, The Tribune.

I WRITE in reference to a letter advocating for the legalisation of marijuana which was published in your daily on 20/7/17.

Many Bahamians seem to forget that just a generation ago, tourists came to The Bahamas not for the sun, sand and sea, but for the warmth of its people.

The people of The Bahamas were the country’s most marketable product. Our people were who they were because of the culture in which they were raised. There were strong family and community values, crime rates were low (not absent), people were more honest, God-fearing and hardworking. There were single parent homes, but they were in the minority and most parents seemed to understand their role in raising their children.

Fast forward just a few short years and we witness a major ideological shift as

success was equated with having money. It didn’t matter how you became rich. The value of honesty, integrity and hard work was called into question as drug dealers became urban heroes. Street dealers and high ranking government facilitators of drug dealing wrecked the moral foundations of this country. It has not recovered since.

We now see a proliferation of single parent homes where the parents are devoid of understanding their responsibilities to their children and the larger society.

Children are starved of the love and care they deserve from their parents. Homes where parents themselves lack the moral and social training to inculcate appropriate values into their children. Homes where children are placed in front of televisions streaming violence, promiscuity and counter-intuitive values. It is the void created by this fundamental breakdown of

the most basic unit of society that is the cause of crime and behaviour that seeks acceptance. There are many in this country that do not seem to understand this.

Sociopathy in all its incarnations are a fruit that springs from the seeds of neglect. Our country is in the state it is because of the accumulation of the consequences of individual choice. Poor choices!

Marijuana is not the problem, it never was. It has no appeal at all to many, but it appeals to too many who feel the need to escape or to feel a sense of community with others who use it to ease their pain. The author stated that “...legalising marijuana will save many of our young men from murder...” I argue that raising them properly will probably save a great deal more and make a stronger country in the process.

JB Nassau, July 20, 2017.

Whistle while you fly a kite EDITOR, The Tribune.

LETTERS

THERE is in this country a long-standing tradition of eloquent men who choose to share their opinions with the wider world behind a veil of anonymity.

That is their choice and I do not harbour strong feelings one way or the other.

For my own part, I have never hidden my public opinions behind a pseudonym. That fact alone seems to annoy some people, including the person who wrote under the pseudonym “The Whistleblower” in both The Tribune and Nassau Guardian of Tuesday, 25 July 2017. For, in addition to (wrongly) describing me as a PLP, or a PLP apologist, he refers to me as “one Andrew Allen”, as if to belittle my claim to voice opinions, while paradoxically focusing his entire contribution on them.

Mr Whistleblower’s instinctive retreat into tribal politics is unfortunate, but not unexpected, in so small and politically-fixated a society. For the record, I am no PLP. Neither am I an FNM. In fact, the most casual search of The Tribune or Guardian’s archives will disclose far more letters by me critical of the PLP than the FNM over the years. Of course, equally predictably, smart-aleck PLPs at the time

letters@tribunemedia.net shielded themselves from my valid criticisms by calling me an FNM. So Mr Whistleblower is in good company.

What seems to grate him most was my comment that the 2012 to 2017 government was the most productive in recent history in terms of national development. Unsurprisingly, I stand by that statement.

The reason I made it, and the reason I stand by it is because it is based on simple, testable facts, rather than rumours, opinions or unsubstantiated accusations. Also unsurprisingly, Whistleblower failed to directly refute any of the facts that I cited.

Here they are again:NHI, which clearly (despite being ‘unfunded’ in Whistleblower’s eyes) was to be financed by a payroll tax of some kind, just as NIB is today; The University of the Bahamas (silence from Whistleblower on this one); Upgrading the RBDF drastically (again, silence); doubling the conviction rate for serious offences via Swift Justice (silence).

Against these very specific achievements, we have nothing from Whistleblower but a barrage of adjec-

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Bahamians remember that in June PLP Chairman emeritus Errington “Minky” Isaacs threatened to strike PM Dr Hubert Minnis in the mouth after the PM had revealed in the House that Isaacs had received a very lucrative BPL contract under the Christie administration. The threat made national headlines.

Nothing was done about it by RBPF officials. It was a very dangerous precedent that was set. No other sitting PM has ever been publicly threatened.

Interestingly, not one PLP MP or Senator publicly reprimanded Isaacs for uttering the threat, not one.

PLP interim Leader Philip “Brave” Davis came close to issuing a reprimand. But objective observers could tell Davis was walking on

eggshells as he lukewarmly discussed the Isaacs matter. You get the impression that the PLP House caucus has given a tacit approval of Isaacs’ statement by refusing to publicly denounce his threat.

And now we have the latest threat towards Minnis coming from PLP Leader Davis. Despite the language aerobics Davis’ utilised in his threatening letter to the PM, it still came across as a threat. The letter was condescending, manipulative and disrespectful.

Apparently, Davis and the PLP do not want to see an end to systemic political corruption in this country, which is the leading cause of the treasury being flat broke. Handing out ridiculously inflated contracts to PLP hacks has hurt the country financially.

tives: ‘reckless’, ‘corrupt’, ‘greedy’.

Here is what seems to confound people like Whistleblower: there are actually some of us who are directed not by political tribalism, but rather by a genuine desire for national achievement. When we see a government achieving things, we say so. Likewise, when we see an opposition (now in government) with no plans and a litany of bogus claims (they will ‘resell’ Baha Mar; 500 Chinese passports in the Baha Mar deal; they will give VAT exemptions on breadbasket items) we say so, too, even if we once supported that party, or even if our daddy was a so-and-so within it. It is called political maturity.

When Whistleblower or anyone else can show evidence of corruption against a politician (PLP or FNM) I will be among those deploring that politician, and I will not be shy to put my name where my mouth is.

But to reduce the debate on national development to accusations of personal corruption (as both Whistleblower and the FNM have done) is a disservice to country and a cop out from intelligent discourse.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, July 25, 2017.

Threats to Minnis

The FNM was given an overwhelming mandate to conduct extensive audits of various government agencies which were managed

by PLP operatives between 2012-2017.

There is a perception among tens of thousands of Bahamians that the PLP was corrupt. If Davis and Co are unaware of this, then they are more out of touch than originally thought. Whatever process has been undertaken by the FNM will either vindicate or incriminate PLP politicians.

Until then, Davis must publicly retract his threatening, disrespectful written statement in addition to an apology to Dr Minnis and the Bahamian people.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER Nassau, July 25, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 26, 2017, PAGE 5

Vasyli retrial from page one was the clothing she wore at her daughter’s house (blue nightdress and white robe); and on another occasion told them she wore a pink and white Bahama Handprint outfit that evening.

The evidence also was that a multi-coloured dress found in her daughter’s closet had the deceased’s blood on it, with no explanation as to how the blood got there.

Therefore, we have the appellant purporting to have worn two different outfits that evening, none of which include the multicoloured dress the Crown suggests she wore and then placed in the closet at the Lilypond, and the evidence of the appellant that the surveillance cameras at the house were not working.

“Indeed, if the jury accepted that the recorded footage was from the house; that it was the appellant on the tape; and that she did not have on either a blue night dress and white robe, or a pink and white Bahama Handprint outfit as she told the police, it would be evidence from which the jury could infer that the appellant lied about the clothing she wore that night; and about the functionality of the cameras as well.

Notwithstanding the prosecution’s evidence in this regard, the defence did not challenge or provide a reason for the alleged lies, and in those circumstances, the jury was possibly left with the impression, as suggested

by Counsel for the prosecution, that the appellant lied about her clothing and the functionality of the cameras to conceal the murder of her husband. Consequently, given the reference to it by the Crown in its closing address; and the reliance by them on the lies of the appellant as proof of guilt, there was clearly a danger that the jury might regard the lies of the appellant as probative of her guilt.

“These circumstances ought to have attracted a Lucas direction by the learned judge on the significance of lies; and there is no doubt that he was un-

A TEARFUL Donna Vasyli outside court after being found guilty in 2015 of killing her husband. der a duty to so direct the jury. In my view, his failure to do so was an irregularity which substantially affected the merits of the case; and I would remit the matter for retrial to the Supreme Court on the authority of Reid v R (1978) 27 WIR 254.

“As to the need for a good character direction, I agree with (Justice Jon) Isaacs that such a direction need not have been given by the trial judge for the reasons stated by him,” Dame Anita’s judgment added.

Justice Jon Isaacs, for his part, highlighted the appellant “argued that though evidence of her good character in the legal sense had not been raised, her good character in the moral sense had been and that was sufficient for the judge to give a good character direction.

“She says that in the circumstances of this case, a good character direction was clearly material as it impacted upon the issue of her credibility and propensity to commit such an offence. Having reviewed the law it was determined that a good character direction need not have been given by the judge inasmuch as such evidence as was led in the

trial ‘demonstrated nothing more than the quality of a relationship’ and did not raise directly or inferentially the good character issue.

“The judge, in summing up stated, that there was little or no issue of provocation arising from the evidence. Indeed, the theory of the crime put before the jury by the Crown and left for their consideration by the judge, suggested the appellant was provoked to do as she is alleged to have done. Thus, the judge ought to have directed the jury on the issue of provocation in the terms of Section 304 of the Penal Code. The failure of the judge to leave the issue of provocation with the jury deprived her of an opportunity to be found not guilty of murder; although she may have been found guilty of manslaughter.”

With respect to whether there should be a retrial, “the interest of the public in The Bahamas that those persons who are guilty of serious crimes should be brought to justice and should not escape it merely because of some technical blunder by the judge, as in this case where the judge did not leave manslaughter as a possible verdict for the

jury to consider, leads me to conclude that an order for a retrial would be in the interests of justice; and would not, in my view, amount to an error of principle in the exercise of the power under Section 13(2) of the Court of Appeal Act,” Justice Isaacs continued.

Dissent Justice Crane-Scott dissented on the necessity of a retrial however.

She noted that the appellant “was charged with the murder of her husband in circumstances where there were no eye witnesses to the deceased’s killing, the time of death was not established and the prosecution case was wholly circumstantial.”

She also noted: “Put slightly differently, and given the inconclusive state of the circumstantial evidence, I am unable to say that a jury properly directed, in relation to both the credibility and propensity limbs of the appellant’s good character, would inevitably have returned the same verdict. In short, in the absence of the good character direction, the appellant’s conviction cannot be regarded as safe.

“In my view, the judge

incorrectly approached the task which lay before him on the no-case submission, choosing instead to abdicate the task of evaluating the strength of the evidence and the meaning of unexplained facts, to the jury to decide. “...I am satisfied that despite the seriousness of the offence, the prevalence of murders in this jurisdiction and the interest of persons in this community in knowing that persons who are guilty of serious crimes are brought to justice and should not escape it, the evidence against the appellant is so weak and inconclusive that it is not in the interests of justice to order a new trial and I decline to do so.”

Vasyli was initially convicted in October 2015 of the stabbing death of her husband at their home in the exclusive gated community of Old Fort Bay. At her trial before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs, the jury saw Vasyli’s videotaped interview while she was in police custody. During that interrogation, a police officer suggested to the widow that she stabbed her husband for embarrassing her in front of houseguests while he was drunk. She strongly denied the accusa-

tion in the presence of her lawyers at the time, Elliot Lockhart, QC, and Judith Whitehead.

During that interview, Vasyli told police her husband had been drinking and fell down the stairs – shattering glass from picture frames along the way – hours before his dead body was found.

She added he was walking around the house looking “disgusting” with his pants hanging down even though she told him guests were coming. However, she said, she did not argue with her husband.

She was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison.

With yesterday’s decision by the appellate court to quash her conviction, she can apply for bail ahead of her re-trial.

Murrio Ducille assisted Ms Montgomery and Michaela Ellis in Vasyli’s appeal.

Neil Braithwaite, assistant director of public prosecutions, Floyd Moxey and Rosalee Ferguson assisted Mr Gaskin in the Crown’s response.

The full judgment was published on the appellate court’s website.

REDUCTION IN VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN SCHOOLS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THERE has been a “downtick” in the number of reported incidences of school violence, Education Director Lionel Sands said yesterday, who attributed the decline to heightened school security measures and local police support.

Mr Sands, in an interview with The Tribune, said education officials are “happy” the frequency of violent incidents has decreased, pointing to a greater emphasis on “conflict resolution” by various school officials to curb the unsavory trend.

However, Mr Sands said the Ministry of Education is not “satisfied” with just a mere reduction, and will work to “reduce them to a level where we are able to live without having the fear that teachers or students would have being in a school environment.”

Government school brawls, on and off campus, have been a major issue in recent years.

In December 2015, a 16-year-old Doris Johnson Senior High School male student was killed during a brawl that occurred less than a mile from the school’s campus.

Earlier that year, a security guard at LW Young Junior High School was hospitalised after he was shot multiple times by a gunman dressed in a school uniform.

In June 2015, four girls aged 14 to 16 were arrested during a fight that involved dozens of C V Bethel Senior High School girls, sending two of them to the Prin-

cess Margaret Hospital.

One girl had a portion of her ear bitten off during that fight.

In January of this year, a teenage boy was sent in critical condition to hospital after he was stabbed multiple times during a brawl at Government High School. Later that month, a 7th grade male student of AF Adderley Junior High School allegedly brought a gun on the school’s temporary campus.

And in June, a teenage boy was taken to hospital for treatment for “minor wounds” after he was stabbed with a knife during an argument with another teenager at HO Nash Junior High School.

Notwithstanding this year’s incidents, the likes of which were enough to prompt Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) officials to speak out publicly in fear for teachers’ safety in February, Mr Sands maintained that school violence is on a downward trend.

“I’ve seen it and I’m happy that we have experienced that,” he said. “And it’s really in part to the efforts of our school security personnel within each of the schools, our administrators and also we have other partners who come in to help students to be able to deal with conflicts.

“And so conflict resolution is so big nowadays in our system where every school, we have a programme that deals with conflict resolution, and that has helped over the last several months for us to be able to see the downtick in the kind of violence that we’ve seen in the past.

“And so we’ll continue to up our efforts in those areas, conflict resolution and that kind of stuff, and also training of our school personnel, administrators in how to deal with students having challenges with conflict and that kind of thing.

“So we’ve seen it, and we’re happy that it is. But we’re not stopping there.

We will continue to do what it is that we’ve been doing to ensure that we bring it down to a level we’re satisfied with. We’re not satisfied with it yet, but we’re getting there.”

Mr Sands said the ministry has placed a greater emphasis on weapon detection at the school’s gates, which he said has contributed to a dip in school violence. He said officials have wised up to the tactics of some school students to throw weapons over the school’s walls and/ or fence, only to retrieve them after being screened.

“The challenge we had with that in many of our school grounds are wide open,” he said. “And so the kid might not necessarily come through the gate with a weapon, but certainly we’ve seen in the past where children might have been able to throw the weapon over the fence and then collect it once they get through the gate.

“And so what we’ve done is we’ve ensured that security personnel traverse the perimeter of the grounds constantly to ensure there is nothing hidden around the perimeter that children could have access to once they get through the gate.

And so we’ve heightened that to ensure that that does not happen.

“Now, the challenge we have is, if kids have the weapon and they’re out of the school grounds and they use them after schools, it’s difficult for us to be able to police that because that’s outside of the boundaries of the school. And we understand that children do that, they have access to weapons once they get out of school.

“And once they in a uniform and they’re in the vicinity of school, not necessarily on the grounds, then obviously most people would say that’s a school problem. But the school’s problem ends at the gate.

And now the parents would have to also take responsibility for their children once they leave our care. Be that at the gate or beyond the gate, they ought to take responsibility for ensuring that their children are not getting involved in.”

Mr Sands said the ministry and various school officials have been aided in their attempts by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), who do their best to quell arguments and/or fights that take place off campus. “…That’s the reason why we rely on the police to be around the school vicinity after school and even before school,” he said. “You’ll see that when school reopens, where the police would be visible around the schools, and then after school at 3 o’clock they’ll be visible around the school to ensure and encourage children not to get involved in those kinds of activities in the school vicinity.

“And so once we’re able to get, and we have been getting the support of the

en us over the years.”

Still, Mr Sands said that “leadership” at all levels of any school is fundamental to reducing school violence.

police in those areas, I think we’re moving in the right direction. And wish to thank the police for the support that they have giv-

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PAGE 6, Wednesday, July 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Public board appointees named

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE government has finally released its list of appointments to public boards and committees, with several Free National Movement (FNM) backbenchers and former FNM members of Parliament getting top posts.

The listing, which was obtained by The Tribune yesterday, lists former National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest as chairman of Bahamasair Holdings Limited. Former FNM Golden Isles candidate Kenyatta Gibson has been appointed chairman of the Gaming Board. Marie Ferreira is his deputy.

Mr Gibson, a former member of the Progressive Liberal Party, was Gaming Board chairman under the first Christie administration. In 2004, he announced the Gaming Board was looking at the feasibility of a national lottery being introduced, however those plans never came to fruition.

Meanwhile, Zion Baptist Church head pastor Reverend Terrance G Morrison and Greg Collie appointed to the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) alongside Chairman Myles Laroda.

The appointments of Rev Morrison and Mr Collie will now allow the work of the PDC to continue without restraint.

The list, which references 104 statutory agencies and/ or entities, lists persons appointed members of statutory boards and committees for the period July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, unless otherwise indicated.

According to the list, RoyalStar Assurance Managing Director Anton Saunders has been appointed chairman of the National Insurance Board (NIB), while Dave Smith has been appointed NIB deputy chairman. FNM Golden Gates MP Michael Foulkes has been appointed chairman of the Education Loan Authority (ELA), and Ken Lightbourne has been appointed his deputy.

FNM MICAL MP Rev Miriam Emmanuel has been appointed chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), taking over from former BAIC chairman and former Deputy House Speaker Dion Smith.

Darnell Osbourne has been appointed chairman of Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) board of directors while FNM Long Island MP Adrian Gibson has been appointed chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC).

Wayne Aranha and Tony Allen have been appointed the chairman and deputy chairman of the Bank of the Bahamas (BOB) respectively, while Robert Adams has been appointed as chairman of the Central Bank of the Bahamas board.

The Bahamas Development Bank is chaired by Lynden Nairn, with Cedric Moss listed as his deputy.

Patrick Ward and Elizabeth Darville are both the respective chairman and deputy chairman of the belea-

guered Bahamas Mortgage Corporation (BMC).

Former Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) President Rev Ranford Patterson has been appointed chairman of Cable Bahamas.

Mike Smith is chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (BCB), while Patrick Walkes is his deputy.

The deputy chairman of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is Dave Hanna.

The Bridge Authority’s new chairman and deputy chairman are Gregory Bonaby and Sandy Morley, respectively. The Port Authority is chaired by Clarence Finlayson.

Wallen Wells has been appointed chairman of the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), while the newly formed Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is chaired by Wendy Craig.

Nassau Flight Services is chaired by FNM North Eleuthera MP Rickey Mackey.

James Pinder and John

Wilson are the chairman and deputy chairman for the Airport Authority, respectively. The Air Transport Advisory board is chaired by Michael Allen.

Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine has been appointed chairman of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas, with Lindsay Cancino to serve as his deputy. Ethan Adderley is chairman of the Hotel Licensing Board, and Brendan Foulkes is his deputy.

St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright is chairman of the Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority.

Former Sojourner Douglass College (Nassau) Executive Director Theresa Moxey-Ingraham is chairman of the National Training Agency, and Lady Naomi Wallace-Whitfield is deputy chairman. Willamae Salky and Bahamian gold medalist Tonique WilliamsDarling are the chairman and deputy chairman of the National Scholarship Committee.

Former Bahamas Elec-

tricity Corporation (BEC) General Manager Kevin Basden is chairman of the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute’s board, with Peter Whitehead serving as his deputy.

The National Sports Authority is chaired by Vaughn Roberts, and Larika Burrows is deputy chairman.

The National Junkanoo Committee for New Providence is chaired by Dwight Marshall, with Kishlene O’Brien serving as his deputy chairman. Mark Gardiner and Kevin Russell are both the co-chairpersons for the National Junkanoo Committee’s Grand Bahama division.

Centreville MP Reece Chipman has been appointed chairman of the Antiquities Monuments and Museum Board. Fort Charlotte MP Mark Humes has been appointed chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority. Shonel Ferguson is chairman of the Clifton Heritage Authority.

• See business pages 7-9 for the full list.

PLP ROAD BACK TO POWER ‘NOT EASY’

from page one

the recent election for many reasons.

The first time MP said the party ignored scandals and condoned behaviour it should not have.

He also said the party lost touch with the people it most sought to help. Although Mr Cooper said the PLP made contributions that the country will come to appreciate in the future, his speech was striking for its criticisms of the organisation.

On Monday night, Mr Davis said he understands the road ahead for the PLP “is not an easy one” and indicated the leadership of the party will “embark on a listening tour” throughout the Bahamas in the coming months.

“PLP’s, we are down, but not out; chastised, but not rejected as this election loss is not unchartered waters for the PLP. We will return to the governance of this country. That much is certain...How do we win again? How do we regain the support of public officers, our major labour unions, our millennials, and the next generation?” he asked.

“Who will take our party’s positive message into the highways and byways to regain what has been eroded over time? Chester has gotten some criticism for his dissection of the general election’s aftermath. For my part, I call it a ‘newbie’s assessment’. Do any of you have children who, no matter how well you think you are doing, they tell you the truth? “They give it to you straight. You may be upset in the first instance, but when you look at circumstances with their optics, you see it – even if the light is painfully bright.

“Notwithstanding that light, Chester’s chief summation is true. ‘Despite our shortcomings, history will

OPPOSITION leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis. judge us fairly… we helped many, we tackled key issues, we left the Bahamas, as a whole, better than it was in 2012.’ Still, our work must start from the foundation and now. This is the age of social media. Whoever gets the best message, the best alternatives for good governance out fastest and clearest will win in 2022.”

He also said: “The road ahead is not an easy one.

That is why our leadership team will embark on a listening tour. In the coming

months, we will constructively engage our Bahamians from Abaco in the north to Inagua in the south. We hear your demand to be fully engaged every step of the way. As such, we go back to the basics, carrying out this exercise that is critical to servant leadership.”

Mr Davis also criticised the Free National Movement (FNM) and its leader Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for “fostering division” and villainising PLP members and supporters

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under the guise of cleaning up corruption.

“The ‘new sheriff’ has gone to great lengths to foster division, painting our Bahamas as a corrupt nation in the international arena, with no thought as to the consequences,” Mr Davis said.

“Many of you, like many other Bahamians, must be deeply concerned and personally offended by what many Bahamians view as political persecution, political intimidation and victor’s jus-

tice being meted out against the PLP and played out in the media under the guise of ‘cleaning up corruption’ by this FNM administration.

“This should come as no surprise though. This is a typical action in the FNM’s playbook. They like to demonise, scandalise, and villainise...I received many calls from citizens who have expressed deep concern that our system of democracy, undergirded by the prevalence of the rule of law, is under vicious at-

tack. They dislike the methods they liken to the ones used by dictators, despots and tyrants, who eventually destroyed their countries.

Tactics like jailing opposition members, and firing or casting aside perceived opposition supporters.”

Mr Davis urged PLP members and supporters to “be strong in the face of a purely political exercise designed to demonise our party, demoralise us, and weaken our political resolve”.

350 JOBS IN RIU REVAMP from page one

“The hotel has agreed, to the extent possible, to use Bahamian businesses and Bahamian vendors in terms of the purchase of material to renovate the hotel,” said Mr Foulkes.

“A large portion of that $25m will stay in our economy.

“Over 350 Bahamian workers will be employed during the construction, in addition to the 100 that are going to be maintained from the general staff,” he added.

Mr Foulkes in a statement Sunday said that his ministry and the Paradise Island hotel held discussions with the interested parties to ensure the rights and best interests of the hotel’s employees were secured.

The hotel will temporar-

ily close from July 24 to October 28 for the multimillion-dollar renovation that includes hotel rooms, restaurants and public spaces.

On Sunday Mr Foulkes said during the renovation period, approximately 110 employees will remain employed during the construction phase. This includes employees from security, housekeeping, front desk, food and beverage and the grounds department.

He also said once the hotel opens in October, the more than 300 employees at the property are expected to be reengaged.

“During the temporary closure, all employees will receive their contractual vacation: two-three weeks entitlement. During the first week in September 2017 the management of RIU has agreed to pay a one-week salary bonus to all staff to

assist with back to school preparations,” the minister also revealed on Sunday.

“After consultation with National Insurance, the Department of Labour has confirmed that the remaining 195 employees that are out of work as a result of the temporary closure, are entitled to receive unemployment benefits as set out in the National Insurance Act.” Riu Palace sustained notable damage during the passage of Hurricane Matthew last October.

In February of this year, the Ministry of Tourism’s Director-General Joy Jibrilu foreshadowed that the all-inclusive property was set to undergo “major renovations” at a press conference during the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Marketplace summit.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, July 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Cabinet members during their tour of Atlantis yesterday - but questions are being asked of the FNM’s plans and policies as they settle into governance.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Raising questions over the future of democracy T

HE results of the 2017 general election left The Bahamas in good spirits. Many of us have been in celebration mode for months, and insistent that we all temper our demands with patience and manage our expectations of the new FNM-led administration.

Criticism has generally not been welcome — an odd sentiment to express during “the people’s time” and unbecoming of a democratic nation. Fortunately, the second annual Future of Democracy Conference created a “people’s space”, inviting Bahamians to presentations, conversations, and workshops at University of The Bahamas to consider, critique, and address issues of governance and democracy.

Presentations and roundtables from educators, activists, community workers, Bahamians living abroad, (former) politicians, and practitioners covered a broad range of topics. Their questions, challenges, and messages spoke to the limited understanding and exercise of democracy, the (under)use of people power, and the need for better systems. A common thread throughout the two-day conference was the importance of civic participation and careful attention to systems, especially those that do not reflect the principles espoused by the Bahamian people or meet the needs of the collective.

Public Disclosure For the past few years, there has been an increase in attention on public disclosure as required of Members of Parliament. It has become a part of the conversation about transparency and accountability, and civil society has demanded compliance with the law.

Perhaps more importantly, focus has been on Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition who are named by Article 8 of the Public Disclosure Act as responsible for publishing communication received from the Public Disclosure Commission to the House or Senate and/or provide information to the Attorney General or Commissioner of Police for appropriate action to be taken.

Such action has not been taken, presumably because Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition have found their own Members noncompliant with the law, and are not more interested in lawfulness, transparency, and accountability than they are in the facade of the same and protection of their membership.

In his presentation at

the Future of Democracy Conference, Lemarque Campbell explained the Public Disclosure Act in detail, and pointed out the deficiencies in the law and recourse for the Bahamian people. Anyone unfamiliar with the Act can access the recording of Campbell’s presentation on the Out Da Box Facebook page.

One of the expectations of the Bahamian people when they voted against the PLP, leaving us with the FNM by default, was an administration that valued and embodied the principles of transparency and accountability. We expected the FNM administration to repair the system that clearly has not worked for us thus far. Unfortunately, that has not happened, and there has been no indication that it will happen.

On July 12, it was reported that three parliamentarians missed the filing deadline, and the names had not been forwarded to the Attorney General. This came after the report that Public Disclosure Commission Chairman Myles Laroda was instructed to send the list by July 3, after the government-set deadline of

June 30. What does this say about the FNM administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability? What does this mean for our democracy; in particular, the principle of the rule of law?

Can this same administration mete out punishment to PLP Members of Parliament of the last administration? Is that what democracy looks like? Is the law for some, not all?

Are those in seats of power under no obligation to follow the laws of the land, and only subject to questioning and consequences when they no longer have the safety of seat in Parliament?

We must be careful not to be duped by the theatrics of politicians who act on their own time, in their own mysterious ways, and create events that appear (often in retrospect) to be designed for the gain of quick and easy points at best and mass distraction at worst. The current administration has not been convincing in its attempt to present itself as law-abiding, transparent, accountable, and for the people.

Death Penalty National Security Minister Marvin Dames said, “We cannot have a lawless society and it is our job as the government to introduce new policies and to enforce old ones to make sure everyone is safe.”

It is unfortunate that the government does not seem

up to the task. Not only is there no regard for rule of law as an equalizer among all people, regardless of position or affiliation, but complete disregard for human rights.

Yesterday, we learned of the FNM’s plan to push for the death penalty to be enforced — certainly only one part of their “zero tolerance” plan to curb crime which was not well-detailed in the party manifesto. The death penalty is a breach of two human rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — the right to life and the right to live free of torture.

The over-referenced theory that the death penalty is crime deterrent has been disproven in several countries.

This administration seems to be under the impression that punishment is equivalent to prevention — a gross error. The death penalty is only an option after a crime has been committed and the accused convicted. The country would have already suffered a loss, spent money on court proceedings, and put victims, witnesses, and their loved ones through significant trauma. Why is this administration’s response to the climbing murder rate a punishment — not a solution to the issue, but a scare tactic that has proven ineffective?

In discussing crime and creating systems and strategies to reduce crime, there must be a conversation about the difference

between prevention and punishment. Punishment only happens and has effect after a crime has been committed. This is already something we, as a country, are not doing in the most effective way, failing to incorporate rehabilitation which results in high recidivism. Prevention is the area that needs the most focus. Civil society members from social workers and psychologists to researchers and economists should be invited to contribute to a national crime prevention plan. Bigger prisons, moving prisons, and capital punishment do not help people to resolve conflict, solve financial issues, or push students to finish high school. Crime is a systemic issue, and requires a robust, dynamic plan that responds to the environmental factors that lead to crime.

These two examples — public disclosure and the death penalty — are indicative of the FNM administration’s view to systems.

Our current position is a reflection of the same kind of thinking from a different group of people. To see the change we desperately need (and voted for), we need to build better, more instructive and responsive systems and see the too-little-toolate reactions for what they truly are — unproductive distractions. We, the people, must stop showing up for their poppy shows and demand the systems, policies, and recourse we need and deserve.

READERS RESPOND TO GOVT PUSH TO ENFORCE DEATH PENALTY

THE issue of capital punishment is back in the news, after National Security Minister Marvin Dames

said the govt will push for it to be enforced in an effort to reduce violent crime.

Readers gave their views

on tribune242.com: Tarzan said: “Clearly the Bahamas will have to abandon the Privy Council

appeal system to institute a death penalty that will actually be imposed. It will never happen with British judges in the chain of appeal.

Institution of some form of RICO statute would be a big step forward, so that entire drug gangs could be incarcerated for the acts of any of their members taken in pursuit of their common criminal conspiracy. The drug distribution and sale business is at the heart of these gangs’ activities.”

There was this from Sheeprunner12 :“The Bahamas can remain under the Privy Council for foreign/diplomatic/trade/civil affairs. But it can attach itself to the Caribbean Court of Justice to deal with criminal affairs . . . OR the government can amend the Penal Code to make the Bahamas Court of Appeal the final court when dealing with matters relating to homicide cases. It can be solved, if the government wishes to take the initiative.

We now know that Minnis & Dames prefer death penalty . . . where is Carl Bethel on this debate? Sounds like a Trump-like situation brewing here.”

Jackbnimble agreed: “I agree that we need to get

rid of the Privy Council and only retain them for civic matters. Our Court of Appeal should be our final court with regard to criminal matters and if it takes a referendum to fix it then let just do that and be done with it instead of pussyfooting around.”

ThisIsOurs had this to say: “It’s becoming clearer that none of them have any plans for anything. They’re all campaigning trying to win the 24 hour news cycle.

Two unconnected problems, one, some of these guys don’t expect to live beyond 30 as it is, two, in some warped reality they believe they’re the one who wont get catch, threatening them with death won’t stop them.

Where is the coordinated crime plan?”

Honestman didn’t think the death penalty would make much of a difference: “Introduction of the death penalty is a tired old chestnut. If the death pen-

alty worked why are there so many murders in Texas?

Having a death penalty option might make a desperate populace feel that something is being done but in reality it will make little difference. Let’s face it, these young punks don’t think ahead when they pull the trigger so why do we think they would think any more because there happens to be capital punishment on the statute? This is all about governments (past and present) being clueless as to how to stop the use of illegal arms in our country. Breaking away from the Privy Council in order to facilitate the introduction of capital punishment would be a very bad move for The Bahamas.”

And Milesair said: “The death penalty doesn’t work.

Just look at the US. Also, some innocent people get killed by it. Two wrongs do NOT make a right. The death penalty is nothing more than state-sanctioned violence. What ever happened to ‘Thou shall not kill’ or does that not apply because the government is doing it?”

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

PAGE 10, Wednesday, July 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Christian Council: Line crossed in demand for financial records

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NEW Bahamas Christian Council President Delton Fernander said the government has crossed the line by demanding that churches produce their financial records in 14 days to comply with non-profit organisation (NPO) regulations.

Bishop Fernander said other mechanisms already exist that provide oversight of church finances, adding he does not get why the government needs to see the financial records of churches that do not accept money from the state.

He called on the Registrar General’s Department to extend the deadline for compliance with the regulations. If it fails to do so, Bishop Fernander said: “I guess we would have a wonderful prison ministry because…I do believe there are a lot of pastors who are willing to make this stand with me.”

The Registrar General’s Department, however, noted in a press statement The Bahamas is seeking to “enhance regulatory oversight of the non-profit sector” through its calls for financial records of NPOs. The department said its review of NPOs is important to ensure that it’s in “compliance” with the country’s international obligations, “preventing the potential use of non-profits in The Bahamas as vehicles for international criminal activity, and protecting our financial industry which is vital to our national development”.

The Companies (NonProfit Organisation) Regulations came into effect in 2014 to guard against money laundering and terrorist financing.

It mandates that registered NPOs keep details of their purpose, objectives and activities, the source of their annual income, the identities of the people who own, control or direct them and annual financial statements or other financial records that show and explain their transactions in and outside The Bahamas.

This week, the Registrar

BISHOP DELTON FERNANDER, president of the Christian Council.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

‘Overkill’ Meanwhile, Bishop Fernander said the church wants to work with the state.

“The church has to work with the state but the church will not allow the state to dictate what the church will do,” he said. “In this case, it’s clearly crossing the line.

Usually the state is able to ask for financial records when it takes state funding. If you do not take state funding I don’t see how the state should be asking for financial records.”

Asked if churches have maintained financial records up to at least five years as regulations require, Bishop Fernander said he “guarantees” they have.

“All of us have to do it for our banks,” he said. “If you have an account at any bank and you are any kind of organisation at the end of the year you must produce your financials. So there are other tools. It’s very suspicious. We have a whole regulatory board

that investigates finances.

Why is the eye so scrutinising the church that you really, really need to know what’s happening in the church? As pastor, if I were to have a special service and collect an offering and you give me an offering and I deposit it and it’s over a certain amount I will get a call. Not only will I get a call but there will be an investigation into where these finances come from.

Isn’t this an overkill?”

He also lamented that not all churches are required to comply with the law, suggesting some denominations have been left out.

“That makes it an unequal playing field,” he said. “If it is that some churches are exempted and some are not as a council we must always ask for an equal playing field. We see some injustice there. Then, to be lumped in with other

civic organisations as if the church is not something unto the Lord…”

Attorney General Carl Bethel, when contacted yesterday, said churches are not being targeted.

“This is the registrar general exercising the powers of her office and taking action in her discretion,” he said.

“This is not aimed at Christian churches or any particular entity. The next step is to issue a notice directed at friendly societies who are apparently not well regulated and are by virtue of their status able to obtain bank facilities. There has to be oversight of these as well. Going forward, steps will be taken to address institutions that may have an incorporated or parliamentary basis to ensure they too are in the same position.

There can be no institution that is free from legitimate

oversight of its financial arrangements. We’re not interested in how much it is making but that what it is applied for accords with the proper purposes of the institution.”

As it pushes for a delay in the deadline, Bishop Fernander said the Christian Council will participate in a Q&A session with Mr Bethel.

Failure to comply with the regulations may result in a fine up to $10,000 or a revocation of licenses.

Bishop Fernander did not rule out the possibility of taking legal action against the government, saying churches will be “guided” by legal experts.

Save the Bays, the environmental group, has sought judicial review proceedings in the Supreme Court challenging the Registrar General’s Department’s actions.

tion, it is calling for investigative processes to be “fair and balanced,” BCC President Delton Fernander said yesterday, as yet unexplored avenues exist to investigate corruption in a way that re-

moves the appearance of a witch hunt.

His statement follows recent arrests and prosecution proceedings against high-profile Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) poli-

ticians at the conclusion of police bribery and extortion probes.

“Let me state emphatically that I fully support police investigation and the administration of justice wherever it is necessary,” Mr Fernander said during a press conference.

“However, the investigative process and the administration of justice must be seen by all to be fair and balanced. This being said I applaud the government on its stance against corruption but advise the government along with civil society that there are other tools at their disposal that can remove the appearance of a witch hunt.

“One such tool that was discussed at the University of The Bahamas last week is a commission. Justice must be unbiased and blind to anything except the facts before it.

“In my view, it is not in the common good for it to be said that the government is using the laws of the land and its enforcement agents to carry out a political campaign promise. This issue must be handled in a manner that concludes with the renewed confidence of the Bahamian people in our system of justice and law enforcement.”

Last week, former Public Hospital Authority (PHA) Chairman Frank Smith was

arrested and arraigned on 15 charges, including 13 counts of extortion, one count of attempted extortion and one count of bribery.

Earlier this month former Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett was also arraigned and face one count of misconduct in public office and four counts each of bribery and extortion.

Both men have since been granted bail.

Members of the PLP have also called for an independent body to investigate corruption allegations, saying the police investigations may be open to interference by the executive.

General’s Department listed in newspapers hundreds of NPOs, including churches and organisations like the Bahamas Historical Society and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, that must submit such information. Bishop Fernander, however, said the Christian Council is displeased with how the department did this as he believes it created the impression churches are “intentionally breaking the law”.

To this, the Registrar General’s Department noted: “...The notice is not intended to allege that any or all NPOs in The Bahamas are engaged in any form of terrorism financing.”

ANTI-CORRUPTION INVESTIGATIONS MUST BE FAIR

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the Bahamas Christian Council supports efforts to combat corrup-

ROLLE TAKES NIB MINISTERIAL ROLE

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

GARDEN Hills MP Brensil Rolle is now the substantive minister of the public service and the National Insurance Board more than two months after he was sworn in as a minister of state, confirmed Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday.

Speaking to the press, Dr Minnis said the move was made to allow him to have more time as the country’s leader to oversee the affairs of Cabinet among other things. Mr Rolle was sworn in as a minister of state in May. Dr Minnis said: “That will give me more time to act in my capacity as CEO overlooking and overseeing the Cabinet. It will also give me the opportunity to spend one day per month

in the Office of the Prime Minister in Abaco and one day per month in the Office of the Prime Minister in Grand Bahama. “So it allows me to deal with matters in those particular locations so that they do not necessarily have to be brought to New Providence.”

Since coming to office, Mr Rolle has been the source of several revelations to do with matters in the public service, which suggest overspending of public funds.

Last month, he said the government’s payroll increased by $10m as new employees were hired in the final five months of the former Christie administration.

He said the Christie administration hired 6,500 new public service workers during the past five years.

He suggested that the new administration will take a

more rigorous approach to hiring people and that some who were hired under questionable circumstances under the former administration could be terminated.

To highlight the questionable nature of some hiring practices, he revealed that under the previous administration a security guard was hired to guard a police station. And such was the loose nature of the process that some people were hired but never received a salary, he said.

Given his experience in the public sector as a former teacher and a former undersecretary in the Ministry of Works, he said the hiring process under the former administration departed from tradition.

Mr Rolle painted a picture of an administration that failed to fix the problems long known to plague the public service sector.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 26, 2017, PAGE 11

Govt to make legal moves to make justice more efficient

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames said on Tuesday the Minnis administration will be “moving a series of bills through Parliament very shortly” in an effort to “improve the efficiency of justice in the country”.

In an interview with reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Mr Dames said in the short term, the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) will “increase visibility in hot spots and continue to target prolific offenders”.

His comments came days after the country recorded its 78th homicide for the year, according to The Tribune’s records. There were also five recorded homicides last week.

Last Wednesday, after a man on bail for murder was shot and killed near his home, officer-in-charge

of the Central Detective Unit, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash urged persons out on bail for serious crimes “to stay home” or risk the chance of being killed.

Yesterday, Mr Dames said the problem is much bigger than telling persons to stay inside.

“A person has the right to bail, that is something we will continue to deal and live with but there are things we have to do. We have to improve the efficiency of justice and maybe that will mitigate against persons going out on bail,” he said.

“There are things that we have to do, things we proposed as a government.

Hopefully, these things will bring out the changes we need but that is not in the short term because it requires the enactment of new legislation and bills being moved through Parliament and so very shortly we will be moving these bills

but until that comes there are things we must do in the short term.”

Mr Dames also said the RBPF is seeing improvements in some areas of crime and he said the focus now is “getting the guns off the streets.”

“They (police officers) are seeing improvements in certain areas. The focus is now more on how do we take the large number of weapons that have been allowed to accumulate on our streets and in the hands of primarily young people,” Mr Dames said.

“So we need a greater intelligence capacity. So all efforts are focused on multi-agency approaches and we are working on these right now. In the short term we are increasing visibility and targeting prolific offenders as well as new patrolling plan, these have been consistent with what we have been requesting as a government.”

On Monday, Mr Dames

FNM ‘TAKING STEPS TO CORRECT’ PROBLEMS IN NHI SCHEME

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY a week after he admitted the National Health Insurance scheme’s “non-existent checks and balances” have left taxpayers totally exposed to fraud, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands yesterday insisted the Minnis administration was in the process of taking several corrective steps in its attempt to correct the scheme.

In an interview in which he chastised the former administration for its “ill-conceived approach” to NHI, Dr Sands lamented the challenges that have arisen as a result of the “premature roll out” of the plan during the Christie administration.

“I think [this] government has made it very clear to the Bahamian people that NHI will be approved, but we acknowledge the challenges, we acknowledge the premature roll-out of NHI,” Dr Sands said.

“What we are watching play out are manifestations of an ill-conceived approach to National Health Insurance. That said, we have made a commitment to the Bahamian people to make it right. To make it work. That requires a series of steps.

Those steps will be taken, the problems will be corrected and in short order.”

Dr Sands said the lack of a clear legal framework for NHI has severely limited the impact of the service since its introduction, noting the lack of certain

provisions have left the decision makers attached to the plan unable to rule one way or the other on major issues.

The Elizabeth MP said the government is well on its way to announcing and implementing all the necessary legal framework needed to make the scheme work properly.

Dr Sands stated: “...And so, while I am aware of legal opinions on either side, we have to make a decision.”

“That decision is, we are going to constitute the board to ensure that the National Health Insurance Authority is legally and properly constituted; that we have the right governing structure, the right corporate structure, that all of the contracts that have been issued have a sound legal footing, but most importantly that the Bahamian people get benefit for the millions of dollars that they have spent and they continue to spend on this programme,” he said.

Late last month, Dr Sands confirmed the Minnis administration had rejected the Christie administration’s model in which the publicly owned BahamaCare would have administered all care and benefits packages to the “exclusion” of the private health insurance sector.

The former Christie administration launched NHI without key components of its management and governance structure being in place, with the insurance sector among these missing elements.

The original model envisaged BahamaCare and the private health insurance underwriters operating as regulated health administrators (RHAs), offering the same benefits packages at the same price to the Bahamian public.

However, the scheme was launched without either.

Key details had not been agreed with the private insurance industry, while BahamaCare had not been created despite Aetna and its Bahamian partner, Family Guardian’s BahamaHealth business, being selected as its operators.

Dr Sands yesterday also revealed that shortly after coming to office, he was presented with a contract drafted between the government of the Bahamas and Aetna; however, he didn’t sign it because of the new administration’s view that no foreign provider should be awarded a contract for local service.

“Having reviewed that decision, I don’t think we are minded to go with the approach of using a foreign provider for local services,” Dr Sands said.

He later added: “There was no contract signed. The decision had been made [by the former administration], the contract was drafted, it was gazetted, it was presented for signature; I did not sign it.”

Dr Sands also maintained the FNM government had not abandoned the “public insurer” idea, again pledging to re-work the scheme and re-introduce it in a more viable format.

told The Tribune the Minnis administration will push for the death penalty to be enforced in an effort to reduce the violent crime in the country.

He said the Free National Movement will use everything on the law books, including capital punishment, to make The Bahamas safe for “law-abiding citizens”.

However, he said a homicide rate of zero is “wishful thinking” no matter how many “measures the government puts in place”.

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames.