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INJUNCTED Judge orders govt to halt all shanty town clearances

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net THE Supreme Court has ordered the government and utility providers to halt any planned service disconnections or evictions in shanty towns pending a judicial review of the Minnis administration’s policy to eradicate those communities.

Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson granted the interlocutory injunction blocking evictions and service disconnections just days ahead of the government’s August 10 deadline during a telephone conference with human rights attorney Fred

NEW DEAL FOR NEW MUMS

Smith, QC, and Attorney General Carl Bethel on Saturday.

Leave for judicial review - filed on behalf of 177 shanty town residents from both New Providence and Abaco, and non-profit group Respect Our Homes Ltd (ROHL) - was granted on Friday.

A date for trial has not yet been determined.

Shanty town residents are seeking to ventilate concerns the government’s “eradication policy” and subsequent evictions are unlawful, unconstitutional, and motivated by ethnic discrimination without clear title to land ownership.

SEE PAGE FIVE

PRISON officers thwarted an escape plot by two inmates at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services on Friday.

Two inmates had reportedly been attempting to cut a hole in the concrete ceiling above their cell over a period of time before they were caught.

Minister of National Security Marvin Dames yesterday said preliminary investigations did

not indicate the men were assisted by officers. He also declined to reveal the object used by inmates to damage the ceiling.

He told The Tribune the incident showed the critical need for modernisation and technological advancements at the facility, pointing to the possible introduction of CCTV. “It doesn’t appear that they had any help,” Mr Dames said.

“They were sharing (the) cell with another person SEE PAGE THREE

NURSE Sawyer and personal care assistant Moncur sanitising beds and scrubbing equipment in preparation for patients at Princess Margaret Hospital, where renovations of two wards are nearly complete. This weekend, the delivery unit in the maternity ward received a facelift - and officials want to make room in the ward to allow partners and spouses in the delivery room during childbirth. See page seven for more.

‘LEAVE OUR COAT OF ARMS ALONE’ THE Ministry of National Security has launched an investigation into the use of modified versions of the Bahamian Coat of Arms and motto by British designer India Hicks, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold told The Tribune on Friday.

The new designs serve as promotional material for an event for Ms Hicks’ eponymous lifestyle brand.

Brand ambassadors for the India Hicks company

THE BAHAMAS Coat of Arms, as designed by Dr Hervis Bain Jr. posted the images to social media.

These photos

It starts with you.™

AUTHORITIES have questioned a former Urban Renewal official as part of an ongoing investigation by the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Anti-Corruption Unit.

Officer-in-charge of the unit, Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle confirmed the former official had been interrogated.

However, ACP Rolle declined further comment citing the sensitivity of the matter.

The person was questioned on Thursday but released a short time later, The Tribune was told.

Anti-corruption investigators now have several other matters before them, SEE PAGE 13

sparked a major online backlash by the Bahamian public, with many decrying the designer for using the country’s national symbols for a private venture.

National Security Minister Marvin Dames confirmed to The Tribune the matter has been brought to the government’s attention and underscored there are “protocols and procedures” which must be followed before state symbols are used.

Ms Hicks, the granddaughter of Lord SEE PAGE TWO

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TWO men are dead following separate homicides in the capital and Grand Bahama over the weekend.

The incidents have taken the country’s murder count to 60 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

In the first incident, according to reports, police were called to Abner Street, Fox Hill after gunshots were heard coming from a residence shortly before 5am on Saturday.

Officers discovered an adult male lying on the floor of his home with apparent gunshot injuries to his body. Paramedics visited the scene but were unable to revive the victim. He was pronounced dead.

SEE PAGE NINE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

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GUARDS FOIL FOX HILL JAILBREAKERS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

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PAGE 2, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

‘Leave our Coat of Arms alone’ from page one Mountbatten of Burma, the last viceroy of India, was born in London. She is the daughter of Lady Pamela Mountbatten and interior designer David Hicks, and second cousin of Prince Charles, who is also her godfather. In 1981, she served as a bridesmaid at his wedding to the late Lady Diana Spencer.

Ms Hicks first visited Harbour Island, where her father had built a house on nearby Windemere Island, when she was about threeyears-old. Frequent visitors were Lord Mountbatten, Prince Charles and other

AN INDIA Hicks bag with a modified version of the coat of arms, as posted to social media. members of the Royal family. Ms Hicks still owns the home.

In 1981, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana chose Provender House on Windemere Island as their

secret honeymoon hideaway. It was a year later when photographers using telephoto lenses snapped shots of the young princess in a bikini on Windemere’s West Beach. The photos made news around the world, A resident of Harbour Island, Ms Hicks in an interview with The Telegraph published on July 7, said she has lived in The Bahamas for 25 years.

“Living here is a very mixed community, which I love,” she told The Telegraph. “Even though I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived in England, I don’t feel Bahamian.

I feel fundamentally

English. Really, I’m a global gipsy.”

Ms Hicks acknowledged the inspiration for the designs in a June 18 Facebook post.

“Every year we try to think up a meaningful theme for our ‘Great Get Together’, which is when many of us (India Hicks) ‘tribesters’ gather for a weekend of training and support and dancing and drinking,” she wrote.

“Only a bit of drinking mind you. This year, we are borrowing from the Bahamian crest: Forward Upward Onward Together. We particularly like the word together.

Yesterday I painted a version of it.”

One design, printed on a promotional bag for the company event, included many original elements of the Coat of Arms, including an escutcheon supported by a marlin and flamingo.

However, the original ship sailing beneath the sun is replaced by the Roman numerals MMXVIII. The words “Two Thousand Eighteen” are printed below the numerals.

The motto is printed verbatim at the base of the shield. Encircling the coat of arms are the words “Our Great Get Together”, written twice.

A photo of a bag featuring this logo was shared on Instagram by a brand ambassador for the India

Hicks company.

In the since-deleted post, the brand ambassador wrote, “Our arrival swag bag…yes, India designed that wonderful logo!”

The other version is more modified, stripping away most elements of the Coat of Arms except the shield. Instead of the sun, “2018” is written in the top half. The ship is replaced but the words “So Happy We Are All Here Together x India”. The national motto, again written verbatim, is instead flipped to the top of the shield.

The names of all those involved in the event are written around and inside the shield.

When asked about the matter on Friday, Mr Dames said his ministry views this as “very serious” and promised to report on the matter after all the information has been gathered.

“Obviously these are things you don’t often hear about everyday but we often get constant requests from persons about using the Coat of Arms and the Bahamas flag and some of them are people asking to use it for very ridiculous means and oftentimes it’s turned down,” Mr Dames said.

While acknowledging people often want to highlight their connection to The Bahamas in designs, Mr Dames noted, “there are protocols and

procedures which persons ought to take note of and adhere to.”

“And those persons who are in breach of the laws and regulations we have a responsibility to make them all account.”

He reminded the public not to “arbitrarily use international symbols.”

“There are clear laws and guidelines and regulations that outlines what the process is and how it ought to be followed before one decides to take an action.”

Attorney General Carl Bethel referred to Chapter 32 of the Flags and Coat of Arms Regulation Act, which states permission must be granted by the minister for any goods or articles “to which there has been applied the National Flag or the Coat of Arms, or any part of the design thereof.”

“Any person who breaches the law is liable to a fine of, in one case… of $250 or jail for three months, or to both jail and a fine. Or, in another case, up to $500 or a longer period in prison,” Mr Bethel said.

The designs sparked controversy on social media on Friday, with some accusing the designer of cultural appropriation.

The Coat of Arms of the Bahamas was designed

by Rev Dr Hervis L Bain, Jr, and was adopted on December 7, 1971.

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THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 3

MARIO NEWBOLD, left, outside court on Friday, and Alvin Morrison, right.

Photos: Tuesday, 7th AugustShawn 2018 Hanna/Tribune Staff

POLICE OFFICER ONE OF TWO MEN ON DRUG CHARGES

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer and another man were charged with possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply in separate matters

on Friday.

The police officer, Mario Newbold, was charged with one count of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply, and a one count of conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent

to supply.

It is alleged Newbold conspired with others to possess a quantity of dangerous drugs, namely cocaine, between July 30 and August 2.

He was allegedly found in possession of

a quantity of cocaine with intent to supply on August 2.

In the second matter, Alvin Morrison, of Elmer Close, was allegedly found in possession of Indian hemp with intent to supply on August 2.

Guards foil Fox Hill jailbreakers from page one who wasn’t involved but everyone is assisting police.

We’re happy we were able to expose this before they were able to get much further. Obviously, we will continue to look to see what we need to do to shore up.

“The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services is taking the appropriate steps.

“The officers were doing their rounds and discovered something wasn’t right in one of the cell areas and made a further check and found persons were attempting to cut a hole in a breached ceiling. And they were attempting to cut a hole over a period of time to I guess prepare for an escape.”

He added: “The good thing is officers were vigilant to determine something was not right.”

The hole was discovered in the ceiling of one of the cells in the male dormitory during a routine check shortly before 1pm.

The inmates are in police custody, according to a press release from the Ministry of National Security, which noted the men are expected to be formally charged in connection with the incident this week.

The BDCS has repaired the ceiling and accounted for all inmates, the statement added.

Yesterday, Mr Dames said the inmates were housed in the maximumsecurity area; however, he explained the sector was broken up into a number of different areas.

He continued: “You have an area where more serious inmates are, then another area where short-term to medium sentenced people are, and that is where this took place. These persons tried to cut a hole through a concrete in the ceiling.

Obviously, they were able to smuggle something in, it didn’t happen in one night.

“They dug, concealed, dug, concealed, but they weren’t able to do it wide enough to effect an escape.

Before that happened, they were exposed. Police came in and investigated, and they have identified two persons.

“The police have already made significant inroads and it seems as if these guys

were able to get their hands on something.”

The national security minister acknowledged the ageing facility presented an operational challenge but said the BDCS has employed the requisite due diligence.

“This is part of the challenge of manning any institution,” Mr Dames said, “and when you begin to look at the age of the institution you have to always take that into consideration. The good thing is the officers were good enough to thwart this. The department is doing their due diligence and checking all of the cells in that particular block.

“It’s an ageing structure.

They are checking all the cells and throughout maximum to ensure there are no areas of concern, and taking any additional measures to prevent this in future. This is one of the reasons why we’re looking at introducing technology into these areas like CCTV to ensure that we’re able to monitor them 24/7.

“The police have done some extensive work and it doesn’t appear at this time from their investigations that these two individuals would have received any additional help or support.”

Four inmates escaped the facility, then known as Her Majesty’s Prison, in 2006. Prison guard Corporal Dion Bowles was fatally stabbed during the escape and another guard, Kenneth Sweeting was injured.

One of the escapees, Neil Brown, was shot dead during his capture. Barry Parcoi and Forrester Bowe Jr were injured during the escape and quickly captured by authorities.

Corey Hepburn was caught two weeks later at Coral Harbour.

Bowe died in prison in 2014 before his trial and Parcoi entered a plea deal before the trial.

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THE TRIBUNE

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It’s the economy which could keep Trump in the White House AUGUST is political vacation time in North America and perhaps even more so in Europe. With the politicians out of time, commentators are able to devote some more attention to matters other than the increasingly seamy but nonetheless diverting circus that democratic politics has become.

In this political news vacuum, some analysts in New York and Washington have more latitude and website space to consider the American economy, and to share their thoughts. With the current Wall Street bull market in its ninth year, analysts can look sagacious, and indeed maybe prescient, to forecast the end of this market and the return of recession or worse. The New York Times and several other publications are looking at a strong American economy and wondering what might torpedo it.

It must first be said the US economy is rolling right along and there is little evidence that Donald Trump has done anything since taking office in January 2017 to sabotage that performance. In fact, if the American economy continues its expansion next year, its positive growth streak will reach a record ten straight years. The US economy added 157,000 jobs in July, of which a significant 37,000 were in the vital manufacturing sector.

It is little wonder Democrats on the prowl for votes in November are turning their focus to health care and not to the economy. If the Republicans can remember that “it’s the economy, stupid!” they may be tougher to beat in three months than many pundits think.

The US economy grew 4.1 percent in July, and the overall unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent. The American central bank regards a 4.5 percent figure as full employment.

Another good sign for the US - and for Republicans - is the unemployment rate for those without a high school degree has dropped to its lowest level of 5.1 percent in the 26 years since such statistics have been tracked. For reference, during the Great Recession in 2009, that same rate was 15.6 percent. This is especially good news for Trump and the Republicans because these undereducated workers are at the core of his and his party’s support.

Last week, the American Federal

Reserve Bank raised its forecast for the US economy from “solid” to “strong”.

The central bank is expected to raise the prime lending rate twice more this year, since the economy is evidently strong and inflation has risen to two percent annually.

There’s more good economic news in US Department of Labour figures that indicate there are now better job opportunities for American workers without college degrees, who represent a majority of the workforce. And the numbers of workers compelled to take part time jobs without many or any benefits such as health care has dropped to its lowest level since 2001.

As Trump’s economy sails merrily along, denying global warming, rewarding polluters, initiating dangerous trade disputes and largely ignoring social and economic justice, where are the mines that could blow it all up?

The Times identifies three possibilities. The first might be an inauspiciously timed Federal Reserve decision to raise interest rates just as the stimulus produced by Trump’s 2018 tax cuts starts to fade. That could occur as soon as 2020, but if the effects are not felt by voters until after that year’s election, Trump’s tax policy would be validated as the political masterstroke he intended it to be.

A second possibility is the bursting of the increasing American corporate debt bubble. With the tax cuts, low inflation and low interest rates, US corporate debt has now risen to 25 percent of GDP. Rising interest rates could make some of that debt insupportable, and businesses could fail.

Thirdly, Trump’s tariff wars could precipitate a global economic slowdown.

Even though exports only represent eight percent of GDP in the $20 trillion US economy, a slowdown overseas could reduce overall corporate confidence worldwide.

Management of the American political economy by James Baker, Ronald Reagan’s political right-hand man, was correctly celebrated. If Baker’s successors in this White House can figure out how to do as well, and can avoid the potential economic mines for another 27 months, Trump is going to be hard to beat.

My media life, for the record EDITOR, The Tribune.

MY independent contract with the Verizon Media Group, parent company of The Real Deal, radio and televised talk show, rated number one, has been terminated by management for cause, relative to the manner in which I would have conducted the same.

This, in my view, was a pure business decision by management, no more no less and I have absolutely no problems with the same.

In fact, I am relieved to be closing one chapter in my roller coaster life for yet another one.

I have been honoured and privileged to have been a dominant personality in media for more than ten exciting years. It was a stellar opportunity to get to know all of the movers and shakers within our wonderful nation.

By the same token, however, media attracts a whole heap of unnecessary antagonism; petty hatred and, of course, the attendant political bias and salacious gossip.

I will remain active in offering political; economic

and cultural commentary, as called for, but over the next six months I will concentrate on nation building efforts.

God willing, in January, 2019, I will resume my career in media and front line politics as a New Deal Progressive Liberal Party member and supporter.

The course on which our beloved Prime Minister and his erstwhile maladministration is taking us is unsustainable.

Public perception in The Bahamas is a dangerous and insidious phenomenon but that, like it or not, is what we are all about. Yes, it is true that more than 20 odd years ago, I would have been a user of mind altering drugs, crack cocaine and marijuana, included.

No, I am not at all too happy about my past but, I count it all joy, that I was able to overcome and move beyond the morass of my own making, with the help of The Holy Spirit. The experiences gained or lost were an eye opener.

Today, again thanks to The Holy Spirit, Who continues to work in my life, I am a born again Christian,

for which I make no apologies or excuses. It is what it is.

Yes, in media I would have mashed plenty of corns and stressed out even more egos but it is what it is. FNMs don’t appear to ‘like’ me and while I hosted The Real Deal a large majority of them steered clear because they could not stand the glare of public scrutiny much less, my in your face approach.

I am now loosed, so to speak, without corporate expectations and demands, and able to continue my efforts, unabated, to ensure that the New Deal PLP, under the dynamic and visionary leadership of the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, MP (PLP-Cat Island; Rum Cay & San Salvador). My personal ministry, International House of Prayer, will be launched during the month of August.

Good things come to those who wait. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE Jr Nassau, July 31, 2018.

Danger of unwise taxation EDITOR, The Tribune.

THERE is much written about the sanctity of a man’s home and in particular, that it is considered to be his castle and last refuge. One such poignant reference: “In 1763, British Prime Minister William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, also known as Pitt the Elder stated as follows: The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail - its roof may shake - the wind may blow through it - the storm may enter - the rain may enter - but the King of England cannot enter.”

And with that background it should be understood that one doesn’t lightly trifle with a person’s real estate. As in acquiring it, damaging it, or even taxing it. Bait and Switch is defined as a fraud and is unlawful to do in commerce. And by extension, I think that we (The Bahamas) must

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net be extremely careful in all matters of taxation, and in particular, when we arbitrarily change the basis upon which someone, who has paid money for something, has the terms of that holding changed to any significant extent.

If we went to the grocery shop and purchased our weekly supply of food and upon exiting the shop met the tax man, collecting a new tax on the groceries that we just bought, we would find that outrageous.

And the principle is no less outrageous, when the Government, to any significant and unusual degree, makes what might be considered Draconian changes to its tax rules, such as has recently been done with the previously stated definitions of residency and tax caps being struck down, by

the hand of the Minister of Finance.

One of the things that suffers, and has suffered with the Real Property Tax amendments, is the Government’s credibility, and thereby the country’s stability. What is perhaps more concerning is that the Minister of Finance is unlikely to have done this off his own bat, and will have had the concurrence of most, if not all, of the Cabinet.

These are the people who will be judged by any future foreign direct investor, thinking about bringing investment capital into this country. Can I trust them will be foremost in their mind.

I fear that there is a mindset in the Cabinet that believes that The Bahamas needs the money, and therefore the end justifies the means. We must get rid of that mindset. It is dangerous beyond measure.

BRUCE G.RAINE Nassau, August 4, 2018.

We want truth over generators EDITOR, The Tribune.

SERIOUS allegations have been thrown at BP&L over the process of the questioned RFP for the placement of Aggreko standby generators and we read today a statementcomments from the GM and we have to ask – which world is he living?

Not a single word as to the allegations that there are serious questions to potential mildly say unto words practice with regards to the standby RFP could be far worse and a stronger word would be approbate but here is the GM commenting and not a single

word referring to the process of the RFP and the serious, very serious, allegations. Why? Editor - why?

Cleaning the floor of the generation area at Clifton all that needs Mr Heastie is an order from the Manager of Generation…if engines are leaking remedy that, but don’t use pathetic excuses, please. The Bahamian consumer has paid far too much for electricity over the past 30 years with zero conscience of government or the management of BEC and its successor BP&L. Why is it now LNG is talked about and not previously?

Mr Heastie, chair

Osborne - the public as owners of BP&L need to know the truth - were the terms of the RFP for the replacement of the Aggreko generators compromised or not? Publish the advice to those who tendered.

Did BP&L obtain approval from URCA for the RFP and the content pre-publishing? Publish the letter of approval, please.

The public has paid far too many millions on BECBP&L for slick talk and posturing – it is truth time we demand transparency.

E BURROWS Nassau, August 2, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 5

A SHANTY Town resident talking to government officials as notices were handed out and stapled to homes.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

Judge orders govt to halt all shanty town clearances from page one An affidavit filed by ROHL director Stephanie St Fleur contends the challenges faced by people of Haitian descent since the 1950s have dramatically increased, most notably since November 2014 when new immigration and shanty town policies were introduced.

She notes land was leased in New Providence and Abaco for farming, and lease holders or farmers invited workers onto the land the majority of whom were immigrants from Haiti, who over the years established homes. Many of those workers became citizens, permanent residents, or married Bahamians, according to Ms St Fleur, who stated immigration issues are an integral part of this case.

The affidavit points to an explosion of population growth and the consequent need for more land for urban development. “(Shanty towns were) originally in predominantly far off rural areas which were far from sight and therefore far from mind,” it read.

“They were known to exist and tolerated. They were farmed. They had animals. However, as population in New Providence

grew, urban centres gradually approached unregulated communities, some of which have in the past been completely eradicated in the most brutal ways to make way for land urban developments for Bahamians.”

It is also stated the government’s audit of the Lands and Surveys Department will not be completed and made available to the public until December, and infers the government does not actually know whether the land in question is Crown land or not, or whether it is leased and on what terms.

The affidavit read: “In the limited time available, it has not been possible to adduce evidence that conclusively shows who the legal title holders are to the land, and who has other legal or other interest in the land.

“Those may be matters that are relevant to the grounds of challenge,” it continued, “but for the purposes of this affidavit it is sufficient to note that the applicants do not accept that all the land is Crown land and less so that the Crown has full unencumbered title to the land and an immediate right of possession to it.”

The affidavit read: “It may be that some land is leased and the occupiers are in occupation with the

TWO HAITIANS ARE ACCUSED OF BREACH OF IMMIGRATION ACT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO Haitians were charged last week in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court with breaching the Immigration Act. In the first case, Shella Cherilus Dossus, 36, appeared in Court One before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson on the charge of illegal landing.

Dossus claimed that she had entered the country legally. However, she was unable to prove it.

The Immigration Department informed the court that Dossus’ name could not be found in the

department’s border control system.

Dossus then pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted of illegal landing.

The magistrate ordered that she be deported to Haiti.

In the second matter, a 46-year-old Haitian, Sergio Nelson, appeared on Tuesday in Court Two before Magistrate Charlton Smith also on the charge of illegal landing.

Nelson pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay a fine of $300 or in default, serve one month in prison.

Nelson paid his fine and was turned over to the Department of Immigration for deportation.

tenant’s permission. It may be that some occupants were trespassers against the Crown who have acquired title by adverse possession.

These matters will require investigation. Some of the individual residents claim to have leases; others have not fully instructed Callenders and so will require further time and investigation.

The point of the present purposes is that there is no apparent right of the Crown to seek immediate possession of any of the land.”

Ms St Fleur underscored the stark contrast between the mission of the government’s Shanty Town Action Task Force, and the white paper published by the government on regeneration of Over-the-Hill areas, a district she posits shares a number of the same features as shanty towns. It was further noted the alternative housing recommended for evicted shanty town residents were “by and large in Over-the-Hill areas”.

The affidavit added: “Plainly the government would never go on record stating that it had one policy for Haitian communities and one for Bahamian communities but in the circumstances described above the applicant’s case is that the inference arises that there is such a discriminatory policy and that it underlay the decisions.”

FRED Smith QC with some shanty town residents.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Davis hits back at Wynn criticism

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION Leader Philip “Brave” Davis has dismissed criticism levelled by developer Paul Wynn on the Progressive Liberal Party’s efforts to persuade him to purchase the Grand Lucayan resort as “gratuitous”.

Amid the Minnis administration’s difficulty selling the property, the PLP repeatedly argued it left a solid deal in place with Mr Wynn before the 2017 election.

But in an interview with The Tribune last week, Mr Wynn said: “There was no deal with the prior government.”

“The deal was vague and nebulous,” he said, “and they were throwing a lot of money at me that was unconscionable. It’s prior to the election, need I say more? I don’t want to be that person.”

In a press statement on Thursday, Mr Davis said the comment “cast aspersions on the PLP administration”.

“The PLP rejects this unfortunate intrusion into our local politics by a foreign investor but asks the public not to be distracted by this unnecessary and irresponsible comment,” he said.

“The important point in Mr Wynn’s statement is that there was in fact a framework left in place by the

PLP Leader and Cat Island, San Salvador and Rum Cay MP Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.

During his national fiscal policies.

PLP. Clearly negotiations Mr Davis said: “What had to be continued. Since address in July 2017, Prime the election intervened in Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is also relevant is that the the process, it was left for said the government would prime minister and his minthe FNM administration to get the Grand Lucayan reo- ister of finance were going complete the negotiations. pened by the winter season. around saying the counThe FNM owes the Baha- Its target date long missed, try is broke and now they mian people an explanation the future of the hotel is say they are going to have as to why they were unable clouded in doubt. The gov- to buy a hotel which the to close the sale, particularly ernment has said it would developer Mr Wynn thinks where the last several months buy the hotel rather than let will cost more than $150m they were elevating the hopes it die. But that position has to complete. The PLP is of Grand Bahamians of an invited criticism in view of not the government. It is the government’s austere the FNM that must solve eminent closing of the sale.”

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff this problem. All they had before the property closed to do was build on the down in the wake of Hurriframework which we left in cane Matthew in 2016. place. Instead they stopped, With the hotel’s closure, reviewed and cancelled and Freeport has seen 59 perducked and dodged so that cent of its room inventory now we have complete col- taken out of stock. lapse with no light at the Mr Wynn said it would end of the tunnel.” be costly creating the conIt is believed that CK text in which the resort Property Holdings/Hutch- could thrive in Grand ison Whampoa, owner of Bahama, adding potential the Grand Lucayan, lost purchase of the hotel lacked between $15-$20m per year “economic feasibility”.

CORONER’S UNLAWFUL KILLING RULING ‘UP IN THE AIR’, SAYS BETHEL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Coroner’s Court ruling last week that a police officer unlawfully killed a man in 2013 is “up in the air”, Attorney General Carl Bethel said on Friday.

“I have not received any information from the Coroner’s Court,” he said. “There is nothing for us to act on until we have received a report or

recommendation from the Coroner’s Court.”

A jury unanimously ruled last week that Police Corporal Adrian Miller unlawfully killed 31-yearold Girred Clarke at a party on August 17, 2013.

Cpl Miller’s lawyer, Bjon Ferguson, has said the ruling will be appealed.

“I’m not sure what is going to happen now since he has given intention to appeal,” Mr Bethel said.

“The (law) allows any interested persons or the

attorney general to appeal a finding.”

National Security Minister Marvin Dames said on Friday the ruling will be closely examined.

“This is how it works,” he said. “We must have confidence in our system. The commissioner and those will look at the matter to see the impact of it and determine the next course of action. They will see how it applies to them and to the force, taking note that his attorney did note they

intend to file for an appeal of the matter.”

Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson would not say much about the matter when called on Friday. Telling The Tribune it will “be sent to the AG’s Office,” he said he maintains “utmost confidence” in the judicial system.

The Coroner’s Court does not determine criminal, civil or disciplinary liability; it ascertains facts surrounding a person’s death. When an inquest

is finished, the court must forward its findings to the attorney general who has the power to order that an inquest be re-opened, according to the Coroner’s Act. An appeal of a ruling to the Supreme Court must be filed within a month of the Coroner’s Court ruling.

The Supreme Court could confirm or set aside a finding, could substitute a finding that appears justified by the evidence, could order that the inquest be reopened or that a fresh one be held.

At an event hosted by his family and friends in 2013, Clarke had an argument with an uninvited guest and subsequently fired his weapon, according to testimony during the

inquest. Shortly afterwards, Cpl Miller and another officer responded to the matter, met Clarke and spoke to him.

One witness testified that Cpl Miller identified himself as a police officer to Clarke and requested that he stop his car. Other witnesses said they never heard Cpl Miller identify himself as a police or request that Clarke stop.

At some point during the encounter Clarke and Cpl Miller faced each other, it was testified; Clarke produced a weapon and shots were fired.

Ballistic evidence showed Cpl Miller fired his service weapon, a 9mm handgun, eight times while Clarke’s gun was fired twice.

Death Notice Leonard (Lenny) Lester Albury III, 50

a resident of Seaview Drive, Nassau, The Bahamas passed away August 1st, 2018.

He is survived by his Mother and Father, Patricia and Captain Lester Albury; two sisters, Patrice Lleida and Amanda Albury; one brother-in-law, Stephen Lleida; two nieces, Ashlyn and Amber Lleida and numerous cousins & friends.

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

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 7

Challenges ahead - but new-look hospital wards a sign of the future

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net MAJOR challenges to the operation of Princess Margaret Hospital still need to be overcome, Health Minister Duane Sands warned yesterday.

But to prove the situation is improving, Dr Sands pointed to key projects which are about to come to fruition which will deliver a radically improved situation for patients.

An indicator of that experience was on show yesterday when Dr Sands toured the hospital with journalists and saw the new revamped delivery unit within the maternity department which has undergone a major facelift led by senior staff within the department.

The new unit will provide a new experience for mums-to-be allowing many to have their partners with them during the birthing process.

On top of this revamp, Dr Sands said the health authority is closing in on completion of the renovation to two major wards.

At least one of these will to some degree respond to an ongoing bed shortage at the hospital and relieve some of the strain health officials experience in Accident and Emergency.

During a tour of the aging health facility yesterday, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said the Corey Newbold ward, which has been gutted since 2016, will soon be completed.

Once operational, 25 beds will be added to PMH’s bed count. This ward is housed in the same space as the former male chest ward.

This work cost officials somewhere around $900,000, hospital administrator Mary Walker confirmed yesterday.

It has not yet been decided whether the new ward will keep the same name.

“There is a problem with

THE new family delivery room, above, and, right, conditions at the hospital previously. overcrowding in Accident and Emergency,” Dr Sands explained to reporters yesterday. “This has been a perennial problem and what we have sought to do is to renovate areas in the hospital to accommodate that overflow.

“It has been a horrible inconvenience for patients and their families and so this is the first ward that is virtually, I’d say 99 percent, complete.”

So far, the beds have arrived in the country and there are only minor adjustments to be made.

This weekend, the delivery unit in the maternity ward also received a long overdue facelift with new flooring and paint among other things. It used to be gloomy and dark, but the area is now bright and fresh as a result of these minor touches.

Officials also want to

make room in the ward to allow partners and spouses in the delivery room during the birthing experience.

According to Dr Leon Dupuch, pictured below, PMH’s consultant obstetrician gynaecologist, this portion of the upgrades cost $25,000.

The money was raised through department funds collected over the years.

These funds would normally be used to send junior staff to conferences or given as donations for various nursing projects.

“We’ve redone the floor to make it a lot cleaner,” Dr Dupuch said. “We redid the nurses station to make it a little more bright and little more presentable.

“Apart from changing the ambience, we have changed the workings of the labour ward in terms of how it’s run. Usually there are two

STAFF at work cleaning the old wards.

He also said: “The big deal is a brand new maternal child health wing and a brand new emergency room and that wing will be the same magnitude as the Critical Care Block.

“Now when that was designed and conceived, that was already $140m. As you know based on what you’ve heard about the finances of the people of The Bahamas and the government of The Bahamas, we don’t have $140m laying around and so we have been actively in discussion with a number of groups interested in public private partnerships in order to get this done.”

The tour also provided a sobering view of how far PMH still has to go. Bathrooms still appear aged and give off a stench. Additionally, a number of areas remain in a state of disrepair since 2016. At the time, they were to be renovated but this was never complete due to the former ProgressiveLiberalPartygovernment

RENOVATIONS will ease bed shortages and improve conditions.

STAFF PRAISED OVER MATERNITY UNIT PHA deputy chairman Robert DupuchCarron yesterday applauded the efforts of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology staff for taking the initiative in carrying out the changes to the maternity unit.

“On behalf of the PHA chairman Julian Rolle and our board of directors, let me first say hats off to the OBGYN team, thank the PMH Administrator, Mary Walker, and members of her executive team for their invaluable assistance,” said Mr Dupuch-Carron. “Not only have you done a superb job - of which the OBGYN Dept should be very proud - but I am informed the renovations were completed in record time and on-budget; it’s safe to say Drs Dupuch & Griffith-Bowe, that your department has certainly thrown down one helluva challenge for the rest of us.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologise to the citizens of our nation and members of the PMH team who have been forced to obtain medical care and work in such appalling conditions. I have no explanation for the former board’s unconscionable neglect and inexplicable failure to repair the PMH roof and damage to many wards from a hurricane nearly three years ago. Despite the pleas of former managing director Herbert Brown, former PM Perry Christie’s administration blew $234m and executed $90m in contracts for Family Island clinics in the months and days before election and yet left the PMH in disrepair.

“Under Dr Sands and chairman Rolle, the PHA has already completed repairs

beds in each room but what we are trying to do as best we can, is put one bed in each of the rooms so that we can now invite the partners.

“You know when you go private, your husband can come in with you to have your baby but now we are trying to encourage that on the public ward here. We’re also trying to start an epidural service as well, which we’ve never been able to do here and that’s going to be easier to do here with the single beds because with the two beds in each room obviously it got a little crowded.

“Now unfortunately in some of the rooms we are going to have two beds just because of some of the numbers coming through but we are going to try our best to have a couple of the rooms to do that,” Dr Dupuch said.

Other major improvements are in the pipeline, Dr Sands said.

“We’ve outgrown Accident and Emergency,” the health minister said.

“Matter of fact, we outgrew it 20 years ago. In the meantime, we got to keep soldiering on because there is not a day that people don’t need A&E care.

“So the first order of business is expand it to improve it to give it a face lift to improve the staffing and equipment, but all of that in preparation for what’s coming with the brand new block and then the private services redevelopment is another project because the engine for revenue for PMH and PHA ought to be private services.”

to most of the roof and executed the final contract. New beds have arrived for the Corey Newbold ward; the A&E project is in final stages of assembling the bid documents prior to a tender for the construction.

“Renovations and shielding for the rooms which will house two new x-ray machines is nearing completion and those machines are already on island. A new CAT scanner is scheduled to be on island next month.

“Next up... renovations to the children’s ward which I hope will include a lovely playroom area.

“After that, it’s all hands on deck in order to raise the private endowment and strategic fundraising which will be vital in order to execute Dr Sands’ ambitious vision of a new children’s/women/A&E tower – managed by a global institution as a Centre for Excellence in the Caribbean - honouring the legacy of all those ‘Little Warriors” whose lives have been cut unnecessarily short before they’ve had a chance to begin.

“Ambitious? Without a doubt! Could we fall flat on our faces? Yes! Without a leader (Dr Sands/Julian Rolle), a unified vision and passion to transform healthcare in our nation; all we are is a new band playing the same old tired tunes!

“I come from The People’s Station, 100JAMZ, Where Hit Music lives!! We ain’t into nuttin’ like dat! I submit that so long as we are united in a single purpose; then the sky’s the limit.”

beginning numerous health projects across the country, Dr Sands said.

“Back in 2016, a number of areas would have been taken out of commission ostensibly for renovations.

We would have seen beautiful pictures of how things were going to look. So male surgical was gutted, children’s ward was gutted subsequent to Hurricane Matthew and then the male chest ward.

“Altogether, 100 beds were taken out of commission,” he said.

“Then simultaneously you would note a number of projects were started all over the country in Eleuthera, in Cat Island, in Rum Cay and San Salvador in Grand Bahama and on and on without knowing where the money would come from and then every single one of these projects were halted.

“On top of that, then you’ve got arrears of millions of dollars to vendors for medication for services for supplies and all those vendors say ‘hey if you don’t pay me we are going to stop providing you with the goods and services that we normally provide’ and so what we have been trying to do is limp along and get all of these things back on stream.”

As for a timeline for completion, Dr Sands said: “You got to have the money to do it.”

PAGE 8, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

A mission to tell the story of a stolen people A

FEW weeks ago, one of the most renowned PanAfricanists in the world graced our shores. He is so well known, not only for his booming voice and strong delivery, but also for the hard-hitting messages he brings which aim to empower people with the knowledge he feels would liberate them from mental slavery.

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide intellectual movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all peoples of African descent. It holds that African peoples, both on the continent and in the Diaspora, share a common history as well as a common destiny. It is based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social and political progress and aims to “unify and uplift” people of African descent.

The Bahamas is home to a population which is comprised of more than 80 percent of the people being of African descent.

For this reason, Dr Umar Johnson was invited by Christopher Davis and Tamara Scavella of African Glory (Ebube) to come and speak and inspire and uplift the growing number of PanAfricanists in the country.

I thought it fitting to tell the story of Umar while celebrating the Emancipation Day holiday. I also honoured Africa during my wedding ceremony this weekend. All too often, we are happy for a holiday, but we don’t put any significance on why we observe the holiday – especially Emancipation Day. Hopefully this column helps to spark an interest in readers to discover more about their African roots and connect to the motherland in order to understand themselves better.

For Umar, it seems becoming one of the most wanted speakers on the

VISITING the Pompey museum.

Face to Face

By FELICITY INGRAHAM-DARVILLE

subject of African people worldwide was a calling placed on him from childhood. In the fourth grade, he had a teacher named Mrs Greene who taught an African American history class, and made it exciting for him to learn about the great people who paved the way for him. Meade Elementary in Pennsylvania (where he was born) would host black history oratorical contests which Umar won in the fourth and fifth grades.

Umar shared: “I recently ran into my classmate Johnathan Grant who said, ‘I am not surprised!

You were into that (PanAfricanism) in elementary school’. I said what? He said you were talking ‘black talk’ from the fourth grade.

I didn’t even know. I knew I was learning it but I didn’t know that I was about that life already. But according to his recollection I was.”

History may have been boring to some, but the young Umar was always fascinated to learn about people like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman and so many others. One particular history maker moved him to the core when he found out he was related to him – Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, (1818–1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman.

After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New

York, gaining notoriety for his oratory skills and his incisive anti-slavery writings. It seems the late great Frederick passed on his spirit to Umar, who continues in the work of his ancestor.

Finding this out as an adolescent though, was one of the most compelling moments of his life: “My father took me to a family reunion in Baltimore. We were walking in the back of this church and there was all this Frederick Douglass stuff – everything. His Bible, his clothes, even his cigar. I had learned so much about Frederick Douglass in Mrs Greene’s history class. I asked why all his stuff was here. My father answered in a very nonchalant way: ‘Because you’re related to him’. That gave me an even greater sense of obligation; the rest was history.”

Umar grew up with his mother and father as one of their 11 children in Philadelphia on the northern side of the city in what he calls “a typical inner city”.

His parents were married for a time and he considers himself to have had a “traditional upbringing”.

But he learned independence quickly when in the 8th grade, he went to boarding school - called a residential school back then.

He told me he has always been a thinker and a reader. He attributes his current status to the many elders that poured wisdom into his life from an early age and spoke greatness over him, including his aunts and uncles, elders in the community, teachers and the like.

“My grandmother would say I am an old soul; she would say I am a very plain guy because I don’t really party,” he said, sombrely, adding his grandmother passed away in April at the age of 80.

“I just like to sit and watch and learn and it doesn’t take a lot to keep my interest. I was very blessed to receive a lot of encouragement and insight from the elders. That intensified after I graduated from undergrad and joined the UNIA (United Negro

FROM left, former Deputy Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, Dr Umar Johnson, Davis’ son and founder of “African Glory” Christopher Davis, and co-founder Tamara “Lyrics” Scavella.

Improvement Association founded by the Rt Hon Marcus Mosiah Garvey) in Philadelphia. Most of the members were elders and I was constantly baptised in their wisdom.”

“Those lessons I learned, both good and bad, directly and indirectly helped to prepare me for what I would later experience once my rise - for lack of a better word - in African consciousness began,” he said, adding that he was one of the youngest members of the UNIA in his state.

Through this opportunity of being actively involved in the UNIA, his first Africa tour came about.

As a member, he was at an exoneration programme for Marcus Garvey, led by Dr Julius Garvey, when he was encouraged to travel to Africa to help inspire the many branches throughout the continent. He saved up and paid his own way as Minister of Education for the UNIA, but he was greeted by and taken care of by the UNIA members he met every step of the way and considers it a spiritually uplifting and life changing experience.

He travelled on July 1, 2005, and spent a month on tour, starting off in Ethiopia. He touched South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and other places, reaching all four regions of the continent. But while at Gory Island, Senegal - where Africans were captured, enslaved and taken in ships to the western world - he had a spiritual experience that still marvels him to this day, where he could hear the screams and the cries of those who suffered.

He got answers about that experience when he returned to the USA and visited the Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina. There, Chief Oleitan named me after

DR Umar Johnson speaking at the University of The Bahamas and, left, his book Psycho-Academmic Holocaust.

Ogun “Ifatunde” – about 40 people a week. As the Yoruba god of an educator, an assistant iron, metal, pure vice principal and then prinpower, strength, cipal, I had the opportunity energy, perseverance to impact hundreds of kids daily – and their parents and persistence.

“Chief Oleitan is would come to me and tell the priest you see me of the positive changes in the Nat Turner in their children.”

He eventually left the movie “Birth of a Nation” by Nate educational system because Parker,” Umar he felt principals were not given the authority explained.

“Nat Turner’s to run their own schools. mother brings Nat to this He continued his work of chief. The ladies are drum- defending the poor, disenming and dancing and he franchised and continuing gives Nat a reading. That to fight for proper educawas a very surreal experi- tion for African Americans ence for me because I was when he made two media there watching it and I am appearances that set him on like, I know this voice! I his current path as a world looked and said - that’s renown speaker and motichief! And it was so sur- vator on the subject of Pan real because I was born Africanism. There was a on the date that the Nat Chicago public television Turner war began - August interview in September of 21, 1974, and Chief Oleitan 2010 followed by a lecture gave me my first reading in Harlem, New York, that and I am watching him on October, where he brought TV giving Nat Turner his tapes of the September first reading. It was just a interview in Chicago.

“In 48 hours of that movie but it was very surreal for me. Nat Turner interview in Harlem, I was is surreal for me because literally known around the the first time I visited the world,” he said.

I went from seeing only Nat Turner land was 11/11/ 2011. I later found out area codes 215 and 610 on my that Nat Turner was actu- caller ID to getting calls from ally hanged at that spot on Africa, Australia, London, 11/11/1831. I think he and the Caribbean and every I are related on some level, state in America. It was overmaybe not biologically but whelming but in a positive on some sort of a spiritual way. By 2011, I was doing a radio or television interlevel.”

His connection with the view almost daily. I believe it ancestors runs even more was destiny because I didn’t deeply – George Washing- expect it to come.”

Umar has two main ton Bailey, the first black public school teacher in objectives. He is detereasternshore Maryland mined to open his own and cousin of Frederick school and to do something Douglass is his great-grand- on the African continent father three times removed. with regards to African It seems a love for educa- liberation. While touring tion runs deep in his veins. The Bahamas last month, Umar spent eight years he spoke at the Univerat Millersville Univer- sity of The Bahamas and International sity in Pennsylvania – five Akhepran years as an undergrad School in Fox Hill. He and three years as a gradu- felt a spiritual cleansing ate, earning a Master’s and rejuvenation when he degree in psychology and swam in the salt waters in political science. He then Cat Island and San Salvaattended the Philadelphia dor, describing the pristine College of Osteopathic conditions that he wishes Medicine where he earned to return to when he continues the writing of his his doctorate.

“Unapologetically “I always wanted to be a book, psychologist from I was a African”.

“The Bahamas trip was a kid,” Umar recalls.

“I am a helper, like my memorable one for me,” he mom. I always wanted said in Face to Face.

“I will never forget it. to put smiles on people’s faces. As a therapist, we The salt water bath was would clock about 40 clini- good spiritually. It’s a place cal hours a week, which where you can go for quiet means we only got to help and deep soul searching.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 9

Two dead in holiday shootings from page one

However, he died of his injuries around 4am yesterday.

Later, in Grand Bahama, While police have not a man was shot at around released the victims’ 9pm on Saturday. identities, they appealed Police said the victim had to members of the public left a business on Logwood to come forward with Road and was about to get information that might into his vehicle when two lead to solving these armed men shot him in his murders. body.

According to persons He was taken to the on the island, the Grand Rand Memorial Hospi- Bahama victim is believed tal and detained in critical to be Henry Johnson, also condition. known as “Little Henry” of

Freeport.

This comes as overall crime and homicides in the country are said to be down considerably.

According to Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson last week, investigators recorded 54 homicides from January to June. Comparatively in the first half of last year, there were 73 murders.

Rapes are also down, he said.

“Let’s look at homicides

that are the most feared crime in society and rightly so because nothing is more fearful than having a gun pointed in your face or being injured or losing a family member by such a heinous act,” Commissioner Ferguson said during a press conference last week.

“Last year, between January and June there were 73 homicides. This year while we had some challenge, homicides show signs

of reduction at 54.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are very far from where we would like to be but we cannot be ungrateful as it is a start and we are confident that as we continue to work together we should see reduction.

Unfortunately, we have persons who lay in wait for persons late at night or very early in the morning to kill them. They are evil people and so we urge friends and family

members to encourage those persons you may know with the propensity to carry out such actions to cease and desist.

“The policeman is not prepared to go outside of his mandate, which is to preserve the peace, the prevention, protection and apprehension of offenders and to maintain law and order. I am satisfied that we are making every effort to do just that,” the commissioner said.

POLICE HUNT FOR MISSING GIRL, 14 POLICE are looking for 14-year-old Patrianna McKenzie who has been reported missing.

The girl’s last known address was in Gamble Heights in New Providence.

Patrianna is 5’4”, has a medium brown complexion and a slim build.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or 502-9992.

YOUR

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

PAGE 10, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

THE GREAT-grandchildren of the oldest woman (104 years old) in Fox Hill, Gwendolyn Clarke, pictured during Emancipation Day celebrations in Fox Hill.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

ANTONIO WILLIAMS, of Looney Tunes Ice Cream and Coffee Concession Cart, during Fox Hill Emancipation Day celebrations.

FOX HILL HAS ITS DAY

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 11

RAFFLE SUPPORTS THE

Red Cross BUSINESSWOMAN Nancy Kelly launched the Bahamas Red Cross raffle last Friday at Kelly’s, at the Mall at Marathon. The event seeks to raise funds with a host of prizes on offer.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

SECURITIES COMMISSION OF THE BAHAMAS

PUBLIC NOTICE

No. 3 of 2018 3 August 2018

RE: Arrest of Matthias Krull

This NOTICE is issued by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (“the Commission”) pursuant to its authority under Section 13 (j) of the Securities Industry Act, 2011 (“the SIA”) to, inter alia, “publish notices, guidelines, bulletins, and policies describing the views of the Commission regarding the interpretation, application, or enforcement of securities laws.”

This is to advise the public that the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (“the Commission”) is aware of the recent arrest in Miami, of banker, Mr. Matthias Krull, and the allegations outlined in the USA criminal indictment related thereto as well as speculation and reports circulating in various media.

The Commission noted that the matter potentially references regulated entities in The Bahamas and therefore the Commission is investigating the matter and has also contacted the Central Bank of The Bahamas, in this regard. While the Commission will appropriately address any issues that may arise within its regulatory scope, the Commission is prohibited by section 28 of the Securities Industry Act, 2011, from divulging any details of any investigation and/or examination and therefore will not comment any further, at this time.

Any inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to the Commission at:

3rd Floor Charlotte House Shirley and Charlotte Streets P.O. Box N‐8347 Nassau, The Bahamas Email: info@scb.gov.bs Telephone: 1‐(242) 397‐4100 (Nassau) 1‐(242)‐225‐8171 (Family Island toll free) 1‐(360)‐450‐0981 (International)

PAGE 12, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Star student hopes red tape won’t halt his dream

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net FOR six years, seventeen-year-old Johnson Davilma lived in a home without electricity and running water.

His financial situation was exacerbated when his single mother became unemployed, leaving the teen barely able to afford bus fare.

Despite having to study in darkness, going many days without lunch money, and oftentimes having to suffer the humiliation of ironing his uniform at other people’s homes, for the class of 2018, Johnson became head boy and valedictorian of Doris Johnson Senior High School, and salutatorian of the Northern New Providence Secondary School District.

During the first term of his senior year, Johnson made a 4.0 grade-pointaverage, a 3.89 in the final term, and a cumulative GPA of 3.76.

His dream is to study actuarial science and mathematics abroad, then return to The Bahamas and pursue a career as an actuary.

Johnson has been accepted into multiple American tertiary institutions, including Florida Memorial University, Fisk University, and Philander Smith College, and been offered partial scholarships to two of these schools.

However, in order to make his dream a reality, Johnson requires additional funding.

Unfortunately, his status as the child of Haitian immigrants means that he does not meet the criteria for receiving Bahamian government scholarships.

And as a 17-year-old, he is a full year too young to apply for Bahamian citizenship.

In an interview with The Tribune, Johnson discussed the obstacles he has overcome and the peculiar type of struggle students face when they realise their hard work does not trump the circumstances of their birth.

Johnson was born in New Providence and raised in the Englerston constituency by an immigrant mother of Haitian descent. Johnson said from a young age he was teased for not being Bahamian — a phenomenon that was “confusing” for him because The Bahamas is all he knows.

“It’s kind of confusing actually because growing up here I’ve never left Nassau and the fact that I am considered a foreigner despite never leaving here is kind of baffling,” he said.

By the end of primary school, Johnson began to experience more struggles due to his socio-economic status.

“While in the 6th grade, a series of events led to me and my family having to live without electricity or water,” Johnson said.

“This lasted for about

JOHNSON DAVILMA, who has overcome difficulties to become head boy and valedictorian - and who now aims to study abroad if he can find funding. five to almost six years.

This resulted in me having to complete homework assignments, projects and studying in the dark.

“We suffered great humiliation as a result of us having to iron for school at other people’s houses and on the stove and me having to study late at people’s houses oftentimes.

“Because we sometimes had to depend on the help of others, they would often use this against us.”

However, Johnson’s goal at the time was to excel in his BJC examinations. This strengthened him to “endure the mistreatments”.

According to Johnson, he received seven As and one B in those exams.

Although he had been teased since primary school about his Haitian background, it was not until Johnson was about to enter senior high school that he realised his status would prevent him from receiving scholarships — despite his academic achievements.

“While graduating the ninth grade, I was informed that I was denied scholarships as a result of my status.

“Therefore, I made it my goal that in senior high, I would try to be the best in everything and prove that status or circumstances (do) not determine success.”

Struggle He added that in addition to no electricity or water, his mother also became unemployed around this time. This made finances available to Johnson even tighter.

“This resulted in me spending the majority of my time in high school without lunch money, simply scrapping for only $2 so that I may catch the bus to and from school.

“Despite these circumstances and through the grace of God, I continued to work hard and was able to receive As in the both the English language and

mathematics BGCSEs in the 11th grade, receive a 4.0 during my first term in the 12th grade and given the opportunity to be the head boy of Doris Johnson.”

Johnson said that for the most part, he had an “excellent experience” in school, and received much encouragement and support.

However, he said there were still moments when his heritage made people view his achievements in a negative light.

“The only difficulty I had, the only discouraging part about it was some persons actually were offended of the idea of having a ‘foreigner’, as they would say, being the head of their school.

“There was actually an occasion (when I walked past a classroom) and a teacher was scolding the students for allowing a foreigner to come into their school and do better than them and to be the head of their school.

“It made me feel upset because I (worked) hard for it, so I don’t see why me being a ‘foreigner’ would make somebody offended of the idea.”

Johnson added that “it never ceased to baffle” him that he is considered a foreigner in the country in which he was born and which he has never left.

“Despite all of these obstacles, it’s still one of my dreams to go to university in the upcoming fall semester with these partial scholarships that I have,” he said.

He added that he is just hoping that he can find help — even if it doesn’t come from the government — that will allow him to be able to pay off the remaining financial requirements for university.

Johnson also expressed the hope that the day will come when other students in his predicament will not face such barriers.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 13

SCHEME GIVES BTVI STUDENTS A CHANCE TO STUDY IN CANADA

FROM left, seated, Bobbye Bethel, Rashad Maycock and Mario Bethel Jr, with, standing, BTVI president Dr Robert W Robertson and dean of student affairs Raquel Bethel.

Cops quiz Grand Bahama Urban Renewal official

from page one

this newspaper was also informed.

Shortly after assuming office, the Minnis administration announced that Urban Renewal was one among many areas of government where a forensic audit would be conducted.

In response, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he had “no concern about anything that they could find” regarding Urban Renewal.

“We all have ways of doing things and if they

want to make a story about the way we might have done something, we equally can make a story about how they want to do things,” Mr Davis, former minister of works and deputy prime minister, said last year.

“But I think they will find that there is nothing untoward that went on in the finances of the country and I think there is a subtle admission of that already.

But until such time as they come back and say what it is that they find objectionable or whatever, I’ll await their findings.”

Urban Renewal fell under Mr Davis’ portfolio during the Christie administration.

Several cases investigated

by Anti-Corruption Unit have been brought before the courts.

Among these are separate matters involving former Progressive Liberal Party Cabinet ministers Kenred Dorsett and Shane Gibson along with former PLP Senator Frank Smith respectively. The allegations against Smith are related to his tenure as chairman of the Public Hospitals Authority.

MARIJUANA WORTH $20,000 SEIZED NEARLY $20,000 worth of suspected marijuana was seized during a police search of a home off Fox Dale Road, police said.

Shortly after 3pm on Saturday, Drug Enforcement

Unit officers conducted a search of a home on Mosquito Drive and recovered two five gallon buckets, which contained 25 packages of suspected marijuana.

A male resident of the home was taken into custody and is expected to be formally charged this week.

The drugs weighed 18lbs and had a street value of $18,000.

MEETINGS AVAILABLE WITH PRIME MINISTER PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis will be holding a number of open office sessions during the Parliamentary recess.

Starting on Wednesday,

and running each Wednesday through September 12, the Prime Minister will be available for four hours, from 9am–noon.

Individuals seeking an appointment are asked to call the Office of the Prime Minister on 702-5500.

Meetings will be limited to ten minutes.

BAHAMAS Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) students are being given the chance to further their studies in Canada.

Bobbye Bethel, Rashad Maycock and Mario Bethel Jr are being afforded the opportunity through the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program scholarship.

Rashad, an office assistant student, will be headed to the College of the Rockies and Mario, who is studying information technology, will be an exchange student at Fanshawe College. Both will spend the fall semester at the Canadian institutions.

Electronics Engineering student Bobbye Bethel will experience Canada’s winter when she spends a semester at Fanshawe College from January.

The scholarships, granted by the Canadian government, provide Latin America and Caribbean students with short-term exchange opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The exchange requires students to return to BTVI to complete their studies.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING A progressive company is looking for a Vice President of Marketing. This position will be responsible for the strategy, tactics and programs to create interest, demand and recognition for the company’s products through the use of PR, Product Marketing, Creative Services, Advertising, Strategic Relationships, Direct, Event, Channel, Digital and Online Marketing.

The ideal candidate must be well rounded in all aspects of marketing and sales methodology to both vertical and consumer customers. Extensive knowledge of technical markets, pricing models, consumer packaging, channels of distribution, technology trends, customer buying patterns, budgeting, public and investor relations, advertising, statistics and analysis, P&L background, direct marketing, telemarketing, planning skills, database marketing, competitive strategies, event marketing, channel marketing, merchandising, product marketing, product management, team management, presentation, sales and strong training skills during high growth stages.

Core Responsibilities include:• Product management, pricing and business performance management for a company’s major lines of business; • Product life cycle management which includes all aspects of service development and evolution of the product; • Manages operating and expense budgets effectively to maximize

profitability and minimize impacts on corporate costs; • Ensures all activities exemplify the corporate image and brand of the company; • Creates a highly effective team fluent in current industry trends, technology changes and market conditions; • Ensures products adhere to applicable policies, practices, regulations, and privacy requirements; • Product portfolio which includes revenue, subscribers, market, share and churn targets • Portfolio plan development and business performance of products including profitability, expense management, and inventory management; • Provides inputs into the forecasting process and ongoing forecasting updates; • Identifies emerging areas of focus and high quality ideas in consultation with product marketing, technology, operations and senior management; • Leads cross-functional multi-disciplined teams in the research, evaluation, system design, requirement definition and process development for service delivery; • Negotiates, establishes and maximizes third party relationships that deliver advantageous results and protect the company’s interests; • Ensures that the company’s products and pricing are positioned competitively through proactive monitoring and research of the marketplace and competitors; • Spearheads timely tactics to counter competitive threats; • Ensures channels to market are supported and effectively maintained by providing sales aids, value propositions, product information and sales

training for all marketing-related initiatives; • Drives marketing activity to ensure alignment with marketing plans, and gains the understanding and commitment of stakeholders; • Provides marketing leadership, direction and coaching to inspire, motivate and enable a positive and productive work environment for direct reports

and cross-functional teams; • Create key performance metrics to measure customer experience and brand awareness, capturing customer behavior, analysis of results, and

development of cross-departmental recommendations.

Required Skills, Experience & Qualifications • A Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Branding or related field; • Ten (10) plus years’ experience in a senior marketing role; • Demonstrated experience and leadership in managing comprehensive strategic; marketing, communications, media relations, and marketing

programs to advance an organization’s mission and goals; • Superior management skills with the ability to influence and engage direct and indirect reports and peers; • Ability to manage influence through persuasion, negotiation, and consensus building; • Combined background of post-sale and sales experience an asset; • Strong empathy for customers AND passion for revenue and growth; • Analytical and process-oriented mindset; • Excellent communicator with superior verbal, written, interpersonal, technical and presentation skills; • Ability to think critically and problem solve in a fast-paced environment.

Qualified applicants should submit Resumes on or before, August 15, 2018 electronically to the following email address: careers242@coralwave.com with Subject: Vice President Marketing.

PAGE 14, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

MANAFORT WITNESS TELLS JURY OF JOINT CRIMES ALEXANDRIA, Virginia Associated Press

THE government’s star witness in the financial fraud trial of Paul Manafort testified yesterday that he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the former Trump campaign chairman — and told jurors that he and Manafort committed crimes together.

Rick Gates, described by witnesses as Manafort’s “right-hand man”, calmly related his criminal conduct as prosecutors looked to provide jurors with damning testimony from a co-conspirator they say carried out an elaborate offshore tax-evasion and fraud scheme on behalf of his former boss.

Gates, who is expected to continue testifying for several hours today, pleaded guilty this year to two felony charges and agreed to cooperate in Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Gates told jurors that he siphoned off the money without Manafort’s knowledge by filing false expense reports. He also admitted to concealing millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts on Manafort’s behalf and to falsifying documents to help his former boss obtain millions of dollars more in bank loans.

“We didn’t report the income or the foreign bank accounts,” Gates told jurors, noting that he knew he and Manafort were committing crimes each time.

Under questioning from prosecutors, Gates read off the names of more than a dozen shell companies he and Manafort set up in Cyprus, St Vincent and the Grenadines and the United Kingdom to stash the proceeds of Ukrainian political consulting work.

O’DONNELL JOINS MUSICAL TRUMP PROTEST WASHINGTON Associated Press ROSIE O’Donnell and cast members from some of Broadway’s biggest musicals have led a sing-along protest against President Donald Trump outside the White House.

O’Donnell spoke to protesters, some clutching signs with the word “Treason” spelled out, before the group broke into a rendition of “America the Beautiful” last night.

The actress told the crowd it was important to make sure their voices were heard so that Trump would know that they were not going away.

The group also sang a rousing version of “A Brand New Day” from “The Wiz”.

WILDFIRE IS CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST EVER LAKEPORT, California Associated Press TWIN Northern California blazes fueled by dry vegetation and hot, windy weather grew yesterday to become the largest wildfire in state history, becoming the norm as climate change makes the fire season longer and more severe.

The two fires burning a few miles apart and known as the Mendocino Complex are being treated as one incident. It has scorched 283,800 acres (443.4 square miles or 1,148.4 square kilometers), fire officials said Monday.

The fires, north of San Francisco, have burned 75 homes and is only 30 percent contained.

The size of the fires surpasses a blaze last December in Southern California that burned 281,893 acres (440.5 square miles or 1,140.8 kilometers).

SIGNS of smoke cover the apartment complex where an allegedly armed drone crashed, causing a fire, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday.

Six held after drone attack on Maduro CARACAS, Venezuela Associated Press INVESTIGATORS hunting for assailants behind a failed attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro with explosives-laden drones have raided hotels and seized vehicles while grilling six suspects for details of the plot.

Venezuela’s socialist government alleged on Sunday that the detained suspects conspired with others in Miami and the capital of neighboring Colombia, though they offered no specific evidence. Opposition leaders criticised Maduro for broadly singling out his political opponents, and they warned that he might

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO use the attack to further suppress his critics.

The attack came as Venezuela is reeling from an economic and humanitarian crisis and Maduro has

grown increasingly isolated.

Foreign nations, including the United States, are slapping economic sanctions on a growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials and decrying his government as an autocratic regime.

Maduro and his allies called the attack direct proof that an international plot to overthrow his socialist administration exists, while also saying that the military’s response shows he still has the loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers.

But analysts said the images broadcast live on television when the attack struck during a Maduro speech on Saturday evening made him appear vulnerable.

“Seeing trained soldiers fleeing in apparent panic and disarray before an explosion strongly contrasts with the idea of monolithic control and loyalty of security forces that Maduro prides himself on,” the New York-based Torino Capital investment firm said.

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, appearing on state television Sunday, said the attackers were trying to wipe out Venezuela’s entire top leadership along with Maduro.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said two drones, each packed with a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of C-4 plastic explosive, were flown toward Maduro, his wife and other top leaders

as the president spoke to hundreds of troops during an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard. One of the drones was intended to explode above Maduro and the other was to detonate directly in front of him, Reverol said.

The military managed to knock one of the drones off course electronically and the other craft crashed into an apartment building two blocks away, Reverol said.

“We have six terrorists and assassins detained,” he said.

Reverol said two of those arrested had previous runins with the government, although he did not give their names.

RAID REVEALS TALE OF GUNS, EXORCISM AND A MISSING CHILD ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico Associated Press A RAID on a New Mexico desert compound turned up 11 children wearing rags and living in filth, and also broke open a bizarre tale of guns, exorcism, and a search for a missing young boy who suffers from seizures and is nowhere to be found.

The boy’s father was among five people arrested after the raid near the border with Colorado, and documents made public in a court filing yesterday said the father told the boy’s mother before fleeing Georgia that he wanted to perform an exorcism on the child because he believed he was possessed by the devil.

Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said deputies arrested the father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and four other adults on child abuse charges after finding the 11 children inside a filthy makeshift compound in the tiny community of Amalia littered with “odorous trash” and lacking clean water.

Wahhaj’s son, Abdulghani, who was three when he disappeared last December, was not among the children found, but Hogrefe said authorities have reason to believe the boy was at the compound several weeks ago.

Hogrefe’s deputies are searching for the child, along with the FBI and Georgia authorities in Clayton County, where officials say the boy was living before his father took him around December 1, 2017.

The boy’s mother told

A “no trespassing” sign outside the location where people camped near Amalia, New Mexico. Photo: Jesse Moya/The Taos News via AP authorities the boy suffers from seizures, cannot walk to due to severe medical issues, and requires constant attention.

She told police in December that Wahhaj had taken the boy for a trip to a park and never returned.

Clayton County police said in a missing persons bulletin that Wahhaj and his son were last seen Dec. 13 in Alabama, traveling with five other children and two adults.

Georgia authorities said Wahhaj was traveling through Chilton County on December 13 with seven children and another adult when their car overturned.

Wahhaj told police the group was traveling from Georgia to New Mexico to go camping.

The trooper who wrote the report said he found no camping equipment in or near the vehicle but that Wahhaj was in possession of three handguns, two rifles, a bag of ammunition, and a bulletproof vest.

It was not immediately known Monday whether Wahhaj and the others charged in the child abuse case in New Mexico — another man and three women believed to be the mother of the 11 children — had retained attorneys.

The public defender’s office in Taos County did not immediately return telephone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The Taos County sheriff identified the women facing charges as Jany Leveille,

38-year-old Hujrah Wahhaj, and 35-year-old Subhannah Wahha. They were arrested in the town of Taos and booked into jail.

A message that people were starving, believed sent by someone inside the compound, led to the discovery of the children ranging in age from one to 15. They were removed from the compound and turned over to state child-welfare workers.

The search at the compound came amid a two-month investigation in collaboration with Clayton County authorities and the FBI, according to Hogrefe.

He said FBI agents surveilled the area a few weeks ago but did not find probable cause to search the property.

That changed when Georgia detectives forwarded a message to Hogrefe’s office that initially had been sent to a third party, saying: “We are starving and need food and water.”

What authorities found was what Hogrefe called “the saddest living conditions and poverty” he has seen in 30 years on the job.

Other than a few potatoes and a box of rice, there was little food in the compound, which Hogrefe said consisted of a small travel trailer buried in the ground and covered by plastic with no water, plumbing and electricity.

Hogrefe said the adults and children had no shoes, wore dirty rags for clothing and “looked like Third World country refugees”.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018, PAGE 15

One in eight without a job as Grand Bahama still struggles

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH economic activity has increased on Grand Bahama as a result of new businesses that have opened, many people are still unemployed as the island’s jobless rate remains one of the highest in the country.

According to the latest figures, the unemployment rate stands at 12.4 percent. The situation is very discouraging particularly for many young people who are unable to find employment.

Young Briel Clarke says she is considering relocating to Abaco, where there are more job opportunities.

“The job situation here is bad,” said Ms Clarke, who graduated two years ago from high school.

“It’s just no jobs in Grand Bahama.”

Ms Clarke said that she has been job hunting, but has got no calls back from places she applied for work.

“Some people will take your information and still don’t hire you even when you have the qualifications.

I have my BJCs, BGCSEs, and my high school diploma, and they still won’t give me a chance,” she told The Tribune.

Ms Clarke said that getting a job in Grand Bahama depends not on what you know, but who you know.

She said that she is seriously considering moving to another Family Island.

“I feel like relocating; there are plenty opportunities in Abaco, and I have family over there that I could stay with,” she said.

Her mother, who did not want to be identified, said that the situation in

THE GRAND LUCAYAN RESORT Grand Bahama is getting worse.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson last week reported that statistics showed an increase in employment and improvement in economic activity on the island.

He noted that the results of the recently released preliminary Labour Force Survey 2018 reveal that for the period November 2017 to May 2018, the number of persons employed has increased in Grand Bahama by some 725, and increased by 1,805 employed for the

period May 2017 to May 2018.

“While these numbers are encouraging, the unemployment rate according to the survey has remained the same as that of May 2017 at 12.4 percent. We must continue to work to reduce this number,” Mr Thompson said last week.

Grand Bahamians continue to await the sale of the Grand Lucayan property, where some 1,000 jobs have been lost since its closure in October 2016 due to hurricane damage. The tourism sector has also been severely affected.

An unemployed Sandra Smith is hoping that the job situation in Grand Bahama improves soon.

“They (the government) say they will sell the hotel, so we got to be optimistic and see what will come out of it,” she said.

However, Ms Smith thinks that more attention is being given to Nassau than Freeport.

“Because everybody lives in Nassau, they building up in Nassau. People say things in Freeport is bad because there are no jobs, nothing here to do.

“If you can’t work at Burger King, Wendy’s or Kentucky, you wouldn’t work nowhere; and that still ain’t enough money for people to pay their bills,” Ms Smith said.

Her sister, Samantha Smith, believes that young people cannot find employment at many jobs because too many older people are remaining on the job.

“The problem is that some of these older persons have been on these jobs for years and they are not leaving, and they ain’t giving us young people a chance. I hope things turn around in Grand Bahama for the young generation,”

she said.

The sisters said that more opportunities for jobs are on the islands of Abaco, Bimini, and Exuma.

The three women said the employment situation is very discouraging for young people, especially those recent high school graduates.

Several businesses have opened in Grand Bahama since the Minnis administration came to office, including Windriver Tobacco Manufacturing Company, Carnival Ocean Medallion Project, Goombayland Go-Cart and Skating Rink, GIBC digital, Fowlco Logistics Company and Omni Financial creating new jobs, according to Minister Thompson in a statement released last week.

Last week, Mr Thompson also noted that government expects to see immediate employment opportunities from other projects on the island including Quality Services Limited at the PharmaChem expansion, the Pelican Bay renovation project, the opening of a Home Fabrics location, among others.

PAGE 16, Tuesday, August 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

ACTIVIST WANTS MP TO INTERVENE OVER COURT MOULD

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL activist the Rev Glenroy Bethel believes the severe mould issue at the courthouse building in Grand Bahama poses a danger to both staff and the public and is calling on

Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine to ensure the situation is addressed.

Workers staged a sitout two weeks ago at the Garnet Levarity Justice Centre to protest unsafe and unhealthy working conditions because of severe mould at the facility.

The courthouse, which

is located in the Pineridge constituency, has been plagued with ongoing roof issues which are believed to be the cause of the recurring mould issue.

Although the government has commenced mould remediation at the building and workers are undergoing medical

assessments, the Families for Justice founder said the 57 staff members should be relocated immediately.

He claims the type of mould at the courthouse is the same “deadly mould” that occurred at the Immigration Department in the C A Smith Building which was shut down for two

weeks for a major sanitising exercise.

“The suspected deadly mould is known as black mould; this type of mould affects that nervous system in human beings and can cause death, if not treated in time,” claimed Rev Bethel.

Rev Bethel said independent testing should be conducted to satisfy the safety and peace of mind of the staff and the community at large.

The deputy registrar had an independent test for mould conducted after the Department of Environmental Health Services had conducted its own testing on the building, but staff felt that DEHS downplayed the results.

“We call on the MP to lead this charge to ensure that the public and staff receive the highest level of safety in their work environment and community,” Rev Bethel stated.

“There is a concern that staff and members of the public are still in danger at the courts, and it is our view that the staff should be relocated immediately.

“This type of mould also appeared at the Immigration Department here in Freeport, and they had to shut it down for two weeks.

PINERIDGE MP Frederick McAlpine.

So there is a real concern, not only from our organisation but also from court staff members,” Rev Bethel said.

He stated that John Frazier, consultant to the Bahamas Public Services Union, had informed Families for Justice that medical assessments had started, and that some 15 staff members already had been tested.

“We as an organisation are of the view that the results of all 57 staff members of the court should be made public and that test results be made available to the MP for Pineridge,” he said.

Attempts to reach Mr McAlpine for comment were unsuccessful up to press time.

THE REV GLENROY BETHEL