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THE VIEW FROM HAITI

AMBASSADOR ON IMMIGRATION - SEE INSIGHT

BUYING A HOME? PROPERTY GUIDE INSIDE

$315m lost in Baha Mar tax Economic blow caused by delay revealed in report

By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune News Editor tmthompson@tribunemedia.net IT is estimated that the government has lost $315m in tax revenue from the beleaguered Baha Mar resort due its opening delays and the court appointed receivership process, according to an economic impact report of the $3.5 billion property obtained by The Tribune.

Of this figure, the government has lost an estimated $25m in stamp conveyance at a rate of 10 per cent; more than $30m in casino taxes on winnings; $16m in business license fees; $33m in National Insurance Board contributions; $13m in departure tax; $114m in import duty and $81m in occupan-

cy tax/value added tax, among other losses.

The report also estimates that $451m in wages and salaries for direct and indirect workers has been lost, as well as a $48m loss in government utility payments and a gross domestic product (GDP) loss of $1.9m.

The report noted that more than 2,000 direct jobs were lost in 2015 due to the resort being placed into provisional liquidation and later receivership, adding that “the employment impact from (the) project once completed and fully operational (is) uncertain given slower ramp up resulting from delays and reputational damage.”

EYES ON THE FINAL AS SHAUNAE GOES FOR GOLD

SAVE The Bays Chairman Joseph Darville yesterday urged House of Assembly Speaker Dr Kendal Major to “call off efforts” to have certain members of the organisation held in contempt of Parliament.

In an open letter addressed to Dr Major, Mr Darville commended the Garden Hills MP on his perceived shift in stance on the matter. He said that

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

MEDICAL Association of the Bahamas President Dr Sy Coolidge Pierre has denied that the Trade Union Congress and the Bahamas Independent Provider Association has entered into a partnership to advance National Health Insurance discussions, calling the purported agreement “distasteful and deceptive.”

In a statement, Dr Pierre said that no major healthcare provider or stakeholders in the country had in any way or form signed on with any Independent Provider Association (IPA) as stated by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Bahamas Independent Providers Associaton (BIPA) in a joint press release last week.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

CATASTROPHIC FUND ‘TO ONLY HELP 25 TO 30 PEOPLE’ - SANDS

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net

LEADING surgeon and Free National Movement (FNM) Senator Dr Duane Sands said yesterday that “thousands of Bahamians will continue to die” under the government’s primary care phase of National Health Insurance.

In an interview with The Tribune, Dr Sands said the $24m the government plans to set aside to create a special fund for patients with catastrophic medical problems during the first phase of NHI is “not nearly enough” and will only help about “25 to 30” people.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

SEE PAGE SIX

DARVILLE: END CONTEMPT EFFORTS OVER LEAKED EMAILS

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

ENDORSEMENT FOR NHI IS SLAMMED AS ‘DECEPTIVE’

from the beginning, STB has held the position that the fundamental constitutional rights of its members were being violated by the actions of Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald.

Last Thursday during an appearance on the 96.9 FM talk show “Morning Blend,” Dr Major admitted that in hindsight, he should not have allowed the Marathon MP to read and table the private emails of the environmental group in March.

SEE PAGE NINE

MEN ARRESTED OVER SONG ARE RELEASED FROM CUSTODY

SHAUNAE MILLER, left, on her way to second place in yesterday’s 400m semi-final behind the United States’ Allyson Felix at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The finish earned her a spot in today’s final.

Photo: David J Phillip/AP

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE two men, who were arrested by police last week in connection with a song that makes negative comments about Prime Minister Perry Christie and his family, have been released from custody and plan to sue the government, The Tribune has learned.

In an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Navardo Saunders said he was arrested on Thursday afternoon and flown to New Providence from Grand Bahama after officers accused him of “threatening the prime minister” and attempting to “destabilise the government.”

SEE PAGE THREE

PAGE 2, Monday, August 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

SOME of the assembled 2016 National Bursary Scholar award recepients at the ceremony held to honour their achievements.

Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

Hailing Bahamian scholars

PRIME Minister Perry Christie speaking to the National Bursary Scholars award recepients at the Harry C Moore Library, in the College of the Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 15, 2016, PAGE 3

Charging anyone over a song would be ‘anti-democratic’

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE Grand Bahama Human Rights Association said yesterday that it would be “anti-democratic” to charge anyone in connection with the song that refers negatively to Prime Minister Perry Christie and his family.

In a statement, the GBHRA said that while the group finds the song in question to be “offensive and derogatory” the police should not interfere with matters of freedom of expression.

The comments came days after police arrested two men in connection with

their investigation into the controversial song after it went viral on social media last week. The men have since been released from police custody “pending the results of an investigation” Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander said on Sunday.

The two men have since told The Tribune that they had no involvement with the song.

“The lyrics of the song are indeed shocking, offensive and derogatory,” the GBHRA said.

“However, that is not enough to justify interference with the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Bahamas Constitution – much less

deprive the singers of their liberty.

“Once again, we warn the authorities that the world is watching. The commissioner of police must ask himself what sort of country the Bahamas would like to portray itself as to the international community. Do we really want to be classed among those dictatorships and authoritarian regimes that prosecute singers for their lyrics, writers for the words they use, or artists for the content of their work?

Does the Royal Bahamas Police Force really want to be seen as ‘the thought police’ who crack down on and punish those who exercise their constitutionally

guaranteed freedoms?”

The GBHRA also said the individuals mentioned in the song who feel they may have been “libelled or defamed” can seek redress through the civil court.

“While we fully condemn the sentiments expressed in the song, particularly the disparaging references to women and those with special needs, the GBRHA urges the authorities to recognise that individuals who may feel libelled or defamed have appropriate redress through the civil courts.

“Regarding the derogatory sentiments against certain groups in the song, it is appropriate for society to respond in outrage,

for activists to speak out in condemnation, for all of us to react in disgust. When commonly held standards of decency and propriety are challenged in modern

democratic societies, these must be reinforced by the tide of public opinion – not coerced through force and intimidation,” the statement said.

MEN ARRESTED OVER SONG ARE RELEASED FROM CUSTODY from page one

Mr Saunders said after being held for 36 hours and questioned by officers from the Cyber Crimes Unit, he was released without being charged.

He said he believes he was “targeted” and “victimised” because he frequently speaks out against the government on social media for “neglecting Grand Bahama”.

The other man, who also spoke with The Tribune, did not want to be named but confirmed that he was arrested in connection with the song and was also released without being charged. Both men maintain their innocence.

Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander, officer-in-charge of the Central Detective Unit, said the two men who were in police custody were released on Friday evening “pending further investigations”.

“On Thursday, I got a call from my pastor’s wife who told me that police were looking for me in connection with some threats I allegedly made against the prime minister,” Mr Saunders said. “I was shocked and lost because I knew I did not do anything.

“After that the police in Grand Bahama contacted me and said, ‘Come to the station or we are coming to get you.’ When I went there the officer-in-charge told me they knew I made the song and wrote the song and that it came from my computer because they tracked it to my IP address or something like that,” he said.

“I told them I had no knowledge of what they were talking about and the next thing I knew, they put me in a cell and then on a plane to New Providence to speak with someone from the Central Detec-

SUPERINTENDENT Clayton Fernander said the matter is under active investigation. tive Unit’s Cyber Crimes Division. I slept in a cell at Cable Beach police station that night and they took me to CDU in the morning where they put me in another cell for about two hours until a detective came to interview me.

“The detective kept saying they knew I wrote the song and the police are giving me a chance to confess, but I kept saying that it wasn’t me,” he said. “After a while, the detective said the voice on the song didn’t sound like me but he knew I knew who the guy was. I

told him I didn’t but he said he got information from Freeport that I was behind the song. They took my laptop and my cell phone and found nothing.

“So they let me go around 4pm but not before telling me that I need to go find out who was behind the song. They didn’t even pay for me to go back to Freeport, they just let me go and I had to find my own way back.”

Mr Saunders said he believes he was targeted because of the advocacy work that he does in Freeport

and he believes this was the government’s way of “sending me a message.

“They called me an enemy of the state. I was targeted and victimised. They didn’t charge me with anything, they just want me to stand down,” he said.

“They knew I had nothing to do with the song, I didn’t even hear it until they played it for me while in custody.

They called me an enemy of the state and told me if I lay low nothing like this would have happened. They tried to abuse me and put fear in me, but I am a free man today and I will make sure this does not happen to anyone else,” he said.

Mr Saunders said he is currently looking for a lawyer and plans to sue “and make the government accountable.”

On Friday, Chief Supt Fernander said the matter is under active investigation and “the chips will fall as they may” as the investigations progress.

The Free National Movement and the Democratic National Alliance have both condemned the song.

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PAGE 4, Monday, August 15, 2016

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US poles apart over global warming WASHINGTON (AP) — Tempers are rising in America, along with the temperatures.

Two decades ago, the issue of climate change wasn’t as contentious. The leading US Senate proponent of taking action on global warming was Republican John McCain. George W Bush wasn’t as zealous on the issue as his Democratic opponent for president in 2000, Al Gore, but he, too, talked of regulating carbon dioxide.

Then the Earth got even hotter, repeatedly breaking temperature records. But instead of drawing closer together, politicians polarised.

Democrats (and scientists) became more convinced that global warming was a real, man-made threat. But Republicans and Tea Party activists became more convinced that it was — to quote the repeated tweets of presidential nominee Donald Trump — a “hoax”.

When it comes to science, there’s more than climate that divides America’s leaders and people, such as evolution, vaccination and genetically modified food.

But nothing beats climate change for divisiveness.

“It’s more politically polarizing than abortion,” says Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Programme on Climate Change Communication. “It’s more politically polarising than gay marriage.”

Leiserowitz says his surveys show 17 per cent of Americans, the fastest-growing group, are alarmed by climate change and want action now, with another 28 per cent concerned but viewing it as a more distant threat. But there’s an often-vocal 10 per cent who are dismissive, rejecting the concept of warming and the science.

Sometimes dismissiveness and desire for action mix in one family.

Rick and Julie Joyner of Fort Mill, South Carolina, are founders of MorningStar ministries. Most of the people they associate with reject climate change.

Their 31-year-old daughter, Anna Jane, is a climate change activist.

As part of a documentary a few years ago, Anna Jane introduced Rick to scientists who made the case for climate change. It did not work. He labels himself more sceptical than before.

“They’re both stubborn and equally entrenched in their positions,” says Julie, who is often in the middle. “It doesn’t get ugly too often.”

TRIBALISM People in the 1960s “had faith in science, had hope in science. Most people thought science was responsible for improving their daily lives,” says Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences.

Now “we see partisan polarisation or ideological polarisation,” says Matthew Nisbet, a communications professor at Northeastern University. The split with science is most visible and strident when it comes to climate change because the nature of the global problem requires communal joint action, and “for conservatives that’s especially difficult to accept,” Nisbet says.

Climate change is more about tribalism, or who we identify with politically and socially, Nisbet and other experts say.

Liberals believe in global warming, conservatives don’t.

Dave Woodard, a Clemson University political science professor and GOP consultant, helped South Carolina Repub-

lican Bob Inglis run for the US House (successfully) and the Senate (unsuccessfully). They’d meet monthly at Inglis’ home for Bible study, and were in agreement that global warming wasn’t an issue and probably was not real.

After seeing the effects of warming first-hand in Antarctica and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Inglis changed his mind — and was overwhelmingly defeated in a GOP primary in 2010. Woodard helped run the campaign that beat him.

“I was seen as crossing to the other side, as helping the Al Gore tribe, and that could not be forgiven,” Inglis says.

Judy Curry, a Georgia Tech atmospheric scientist and self-described climate gadfly, has experienced ostracism from the other side. She repeatedly clashed with former colleagues after she publicly doubted the extent of global warming and criticized the way mainstream scientists operate. Now she says, no one will even look at her for other jobs in academia.

WHAT CHANGED In 1997, then-Vice President Gore helped broker an international treaty to reduce heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

“And at that moment” says Leiserowitz, “the two parties begin to divide. They begin to split and go farther and farther and farther apart until we reach today’s environment where climate change is now one of the most polarised issues in America.”

Consider lobster scientist Diane Cowan in Friendship, Maine, who expresses dismay.

“I am definitely bearing witness to climate change,” Cowan says. “I read about climate change. I knew sea level was rising but I saw it and, until it impacted me directly, I didn’t feel it the same way.”

Republican Jodi Crosson, a 55-year-old single mother and production and sales manager in Bexley, Ohio, thinks global warming is a serious problem because she’s felt the wrath of extreme weather and rising heat. But to her, it’s not quite as big an issue as the economy.

Scott Tiller, a 59-year-old underground coal miner in West Virginia, has seen mine after mine close, and says coal is getting a bad rap.

“I think we’ve been treated unfairly and kind of looked down upon as polluters,” Tiller says. “They say the climate is changing, but are we doing it? Or is it just a natural thing that the Earth does?”

BRIDGING DIFFERENCES Overwhelmingly, scientists who study the issue say it is man-made and a real problem. Using basic physics and chemistry and computer simulations, scientists have repeatedly calculated that most of the extra warming comes from humans, instead of nature. Dozens of scientific measurements show Earth is warming.

Since 1997, the world has warmed by 0.44 degrees (0.25 degrees Celsius).

Repeatedly explaining science and showing data doesn’t convince some people to change their core beliefs, experts say. So instead some climate activists and even scientists try to build bridges to communities that might doubt that the Earth is warming but are not utterly dismissive.

The more people connect on a human level, the more people can “overcome these tribal attitudes,” Anna Jane Joyner says. “We really do have a lot more in common than we think.”

By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer

The mote in our leaders’ eyes EDITOR, The Tribune, YOUR front page headline today is quite marvelous and comical. The Speaker of our House of Assembly, in admonishing the Supreme Court to “Mind its own Business”, seems quite oblivious to the self-admitted fact, that had HE MINDED HIS BUSINESS, the Court would not have had to

mind it for him.

Not to be outdone, the second headline has the Anglican Archdeacon Palacious, slamming Richard Lightbourn for his recent remarks, which would more than likely, not have been necessary, had the Church in The Bahamas paid just a little more attention than it has to Christ’s own teaching on adultery, and the pur-

pose of marriage in raising children.

Funny how we can see that speck of dust in our neighbour’s eye, but are unable to see the 4 x 4 timber in our own.

No need for any Christmas Carnival this year. Just read the news!

BRUCE G. RAINE Nassau, August 13, 2016.

End this madness EDITOR, The Tribune.

This is an open letter from Save The Bays chairman Joseph Darville to Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Dr. Kendal Major.

Dear Mr Speaker, We, the members and directors of Save The Bays (STB), would like to publicly offer our heartfelt thanks to you and communicate the overwhelming sense of relief we feel following your recent declaration that our private correspondence and financial information should have never been read and tabled in the House of Assembly.

It has been STB’s position from the start that our fundamental constitutional rights were violated by the actions by the MP for Marathon and others – a perspective with which, as you are aware, the Supreme Court of The Bahamas has concurred.

We are extremely heartened to know the Chair of the Honourable House of Assembly feels this unwarranted attack on private citizens was also a violation of best parliamentary practices and should not have been allowed take place.

STB could not agree more.

It is indeed lamentable, however, that the path to such rational consensus has been so long, turbulent and bitter. Members of the public, including leaders in the financial community, have quite rightly reacted with alarm and trepidation to the actions of the MP for Marathon and others, in particular the consistent threats to target STB members once again.

Meanwhile, and perhaps most worryingly, the violation of our privacy has caught the attention of the international media, with coverage including an editorial in a leading regional newspaper, a substantial article in the Financial Times (the most prominent and widely-read financial publication in existence) and, most recently, a withering critique entitled “The Bahamas owes Louis Bacon a serious apology,” on dealbreaker.com, rated as one of the top financial blogs in the world by Time Magazine. Several other well-known financial sites reposted this article. Links to the sources are attached below for your convenience.

It is our humble view, Mr Speaker, that this unfortunate debacle was totally unnecessary from the outset and we feel it is in the best interests of all concerned that it be brought to a peaceful, fair and sensible conclusion as soon as possible before any further dam-

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net age is done, either at home or abroad, to our good name as a country.

Far from being the unprecedented constitutional crisis that some MPs have claimed, the relationship between fundamental constitutional rights and parliamentary privilege is well-charted territory in the Commonwealth, with several judges establishing precedent in cases similar to that brought

by STB, though without resort to such hostility as we have seen here.

Nor is the issue new to The Bahamas, where in the case of The Attorney General vs. Lightbourn (1982), it was ruled that a sitting MP could not rely on the shield of parliamentary privilege to obscure a case of wrongdoing – exactly the argument we presented against the MP for Marathon in our recent constitutional challenge.

In short, STB has done nothing but follow established precedent and there is simply no reason why all concerned cannot agree to step away from the precipice and let calmer heads prevail.

Unfortunately, it seems that certain factions in Parliament would not favour a calming of tensions, but instead continue to push for an ever-heightened level of hostility and extreme rhetoric in the public sphere. In particular, the ongoing effort to have STB’s attorneys cited for “contempt of parliament” runs the risk of doing extreme and perhaps permanent damage to our international reputation.

The world is indeed watching, Mr Speaker, and we should do everything we can to avoid sending the message that The Bahamas is a place where citizens can be censured and even jailed for seeking to defend their rights through the courts as mandated by the constitution. Added to which, any such finding would only do untold further damage to the relationship between parliament and the judiciary.

We therefore respectfully request, in the interest of calming an unnecessarily inflamed situation that is extremely damaging to the national interest, that you call off the efforts to hold our legal team in contempt.

Please know, Mr. Speaker that it was never the intention of STB to become entangled in an altercation with either the executive or the Parliament of The Bahamas and we remain baffled as to how a private lawsuit, launched

against private individuals, led to a hostile attack on our members by sitting MPs. Much has been made of our application for an injunction to defend against further breaches of our right to privacy. You have been quoted in the press as asserting that the right of Parliament to govern itself should be respected and pointing to your ruling that no further private correspondence in the House.

Once again, we are in total agreement with your reasoning, Mr. Speaker. However, we would respectfully ask you to recall that your ruling was delivered only after our injunction application had been filed. Up until that point, MP Fitzgerald and others had been allowed to attack us at will and with total impunity. At the moment of filing, STB and our frightened, disheartened members had no indication whatsoever that the Chair intended to intervene and defend our rights. Indeed, all indications had pointed in the opposite direction.

We therefore submit that our actions were in no way intended to create the impression of a challenge to either parliamentary privilege or the authority of either the Chair. They were simply an attempt to defend ourselves when it seemed there was no one else willing to defend us.

While, as you have rightly noted, democracy is indeed a messy process, Mr. Speaker, we sincerely ask you to take into consideration that for us, the members and directors of Save The Bays, this ordeal has been much more than a formal exercise. Our members have been thrown into fear and anxiety, we have been denounced and victimized as a result of the unwarranted attacks against us. Our families, our children, have been harassed and taunted over the totally false claims made against us.

We respectfully invite you, Mr Speaker, to lead the way in bringing an end to this lunacy and ensuring calmer heads prevail before it is indeed too late.

Finally Mr Speaker, we hope that no offence is taken to the open nature of this letter; we thought it appropriate given your most welcome public comments regarding the tabling and reading of our correspondence.

We would be more than happy to meet with you to discuss any and all related matters at your convenience.

JOSEPH DARVILLE Chairman, Save The Bays Freeport, August 14, 2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 15, 2016, PAGE 5

Apartment to be used by medics as clinic renovated

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE their pleas, health practitioners in Andros have been told to offer services from an apartment complex as proposed renovations to the island’s clinic have stalled.

According to an operations report obtained by The Tribune, health officials on the island have been forced to work through circumstances that were originally presented as a provisional resolution to the substandard conditions reported at the Mangrove Cay Clinic.

The confidential document addressed to health officials in New Providence, specified that operations of the Mangrove Cay Clinic were temporarily trans-

ferred to the Bastian apartment complex on the island in February, after a team of contractors started electrical work and termite remediation at the facility.

About a week after the move, work at the clinic was stopped. To date it has not resumed.

The report claimed that in 2009, the clinic underwent extensive renovations, with electrical and plumbing repairs being carried out; termite and mould remediation efforts being sought; a new central air conditioning system and an upgraded cooling unit for the morgue were installed and roof repairs were sanctioned.

Also, between 2012 and 2013, the clinic’s roof underwent two separate repairs for severe leaks and mould growth, electrical

issues and air conditioning failures.

The operations report noted that the clinic continued to deteriorate despite the repairs and renovations.

“There was no ventilation, air conditioning or electricity in many parts of the building. All of this was constantly being reported to the authorities in Nassau,” the report said.

As if those problems were not enough, several issues have arisen with the temporary site.

According to sources familiar with the facility, the site is located in a potential flood zone and the external doors to all the rooms are French designed. The building itself is prone to flooding, The Tribune was told.

Additionally, the site isn’t equipped with a generator

to offset power outages, exposing vital medication and vaccines to irreparable damage.

The Tribune understands that officials are now housing bulk supplies at the original facility and smaller “batch” quantities at the makeshift compound and emergency supplies in sections of the nurses’ residence.

“The staff of the Mangrove Cay Community Clinic are committed and dedicated to the task of providing efficient, effective and up-to-date primary and emergency health care to our clients, both Bahamians and visitors.

To accomplish this task, we would like to function in a facility that is safe, healthy and well equipped,” the report said.

“We would like the op-

portunity to participate in educational programmes, workshops and seminars to increase our skills and competencies. A skilled and competent workforce is motivated and responsive to the health needs of the community; and to the education of the clients and patients who present to the clinic. These health care team members are keen to go above and beyond the call of duty in the performance of their roles in the department.

“We would like a budget that is reflective of the fiscal situation here in Mangrove Cay. Goods and services are more expensive on the Family Islands than in New Providence and our budget is simply inadequate to cover our expenses.

“We will continue to plan, develop, implement,

monitor and evaluate the delivery of our services to our clients and patients, and make adjustments as needed. Our vision continues to be ‘to provide continuous, accessible, affordable, promotive, preventative and curative health care services to the residents of and visitors to Mangrove Cay,’” the document added.

“It is hoped that at some time in the near future some communication will trickle down to the staff, who are working in less than ideal conditions and are hoping for some permanent solution to this situation,” said one official on the island.

Sources in Andros said they have not received any indication of when or if the issues at the Mangrove Cay Clinic will be resolved.

HAZARDOUS WASTE AT DUMP CAME FROM HOSPITAL

SOME of the medical waste at the landfill.

THE Public Hospitals Authority announced on Friday that it had completed its investigation into the improper disposal of biohazardous waste at the New Providence Landfill, and has introduced several measures at the Princess Margaret Hospital to mitigate against this infraction.

A statement released by the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) said the investigation determined that the refuse originated from PMH and was not prepared according to international guidelines. PHA also confirmed that investigators found that PMH documents were also found among the disposed refuse.

As a direct result of this infraction, PMH, along with Bahamas Waste assisted with remediation efforts by providing disinfectant chemicals, pressurised chemical dispersion canisters, personal protective equipment and technical advice regarding exposure management and decontamination of waste, PHA’s statement said.

“Subsequently, senior management of the Princess Margaret Hospital met with Renew Bahamas and an ex gratia offer of $10,000 was extended to Renew to cover cost associated with all remedial efforts to move and clean up the cited area.”

Renew Bahamas is the private company contracted to remedy the problems at the landfill.

“Later, the PHA was once again made aware of allegations which suggested that bio-hazardous waste origi-

nating at the Princess Margaret Hospital was illegally dumped at the landfill,” PHA’s statement added. “. . . On arrival at the area which was reportedly identified as the space where the bio-hazardous waste was dumped, there was no evidence of waste in the designated area. Additionally, the reported date of the second alleged infraction as reported by Renew, does not correspond with the documented service record provided by Bahamas Waste Management regarding the dates of collection during that period from the Princess Margaret Hospital.”

PHA added that PMH does not deposit waste directly at the landfill and that all waste is collected at a designated centralised point from the hospital.

“The hospital retains a contract with Bahamas Waste Management Limited for the collection and disposal of all bio-hazardous waste,” PHA’s statement added. “Bahamas Waste Management according to the PHA investiga-

tion is the only company on the island who would have the proper equipment and facility to treat and dispose of bio-hazardous waste.”

PHA said its investigation also revealed that the holding station at PMH “has been illegally used by entities to dispose of medical and bio-hazardous waste.”

PHA said it will pursue legal action against anyone found disposing waste at PMH and that enhanced security measures inclusive of CCTV are being implemented. PMH has also engaged a safety manager who now has direct oversight for the monitoring of refuse, in particular bio-hazardous waste.

PHA has also notified the Ministry of Health of its concerns with regards to the illegal dumping of biohazardous waste at PMH and “has urged that priority be given in collaborating

with other government entities in carrying out a more extensive investigation into this illegal practice.”

PHA also said that the “indiscriminate disposal” of any hospital record is a very serious concern.

“The PHA assures that when there is evidence to support that staff have engaged in this practice, the authority will not hesitate to enact the prescribed disciplinary action within the framework of PHA policies.”

PHA said public hospitals and clinics are moving to an electronic medical record system, which employs a paperless system to avoid related incidences and safeguards patient privacy.

In July, it was reported officials at the dump were trying to determine how untreated biohazardous waste, including AIDS and hepatitis waste, made it to the dump site.

PAGE 6, Monday, August 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

$315m lost in Baha Mar tax from page one

According to the document, the resort was expected to create more than 9,000 jobs, with 3,000 being direct employment at the property.

The study also revealed that an estimated 800,000 stop over visitors have been lost due to the resort’s opening delays, with each visitor expected to spend $576 per day.

The report takes into account estimated losses over an 18-month period.

Reacting to this revelation yesterday, Free National Movement Senator and former Attorney General Carl Bethel said the party would push for a Commission of Inquiry into Baha Mar if it wins the next election.

He said a large-scale investigation into the resort’s implosion is needed to

“name and shame” those responsible.

“I recommended that the FNM should, once we return to office, have a full Commission of Inquiry into this debacle,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “I think

The time you take to worry about peoples’ negative thoughts about you... you can be improving yourself more adequately...so that they can talk more!!!

~Betty Taylor ~

Original Author

that as you know by now, the estimated economic (losses) for this country are a disgrace, but putting aside project figures and numbers, the cost in human capital and lost expectations is equal distressing for this country.”

He said in view of this, there has to be a full accounting of what went wrong at the property.

He said the government’s apparent siding with Chinese entities involved in the project is an “affront to any principal of sovereignty”.

The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China is the resort’s secured creditor, while China Construction America (CCA) Bahamas is the property’s

general contractor.

“It is unacceptable that Bahamian people are suffering - something went wrong,” Mr Bethel said.

He did not give a timeframe when asked how soon a Commission of Inquiry would be appointed if the Official Opposition wins the next election.

“We don’t want to just throw together any patchwork operation,” he said.

“It’s a question of finding the very best people to assist the commission in their work. We’d be looking at a lot of contracts, status reports of the pace of the construction, room audits, so judgment can be made as to who did what.”

Baha Mar’s developer

Sarkis Izmirlian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in June 2015. The government vigorously opposed this process, saying it threatened The Bahamas’ sovereignty. The government instead petitioned the Supreme Court to place Baha Mar into liquidation.

Baha Mar’s bankruptcy cases for its Bahamian entities were later thrown out of the US court. The reason given was that the Bahamas government made it clear that the US court’s decision would not be recognised because of “sovereignty”.

Mr Bethel said he never bought into the Christie administration’s legal argument for opposing the bankruptcy process in Delaware.

“The government decided that it would intervene for its own reasons and in doing so they basically came to favour one side over the other and that’s why we are where we are.”

Mr Bethel said Prime Minister Perry Christie “damaged” his credibility on Baha Mar through his continued assertions over the past year that good news was on the horizon and that the resort would be open soon. “One thing a prime minister has to be is if he is not liked, not loved, at least he should be believed, he is not any of these things. He is a shadow of what he ought

to be and what the office should be. He is a nice man but he has put himself in a position that is untenable.

“He should do the honourable thing and go back to the people and step down.”

The report obtained by The Tribune also notes that other impacts of the resort’s receivership include “reputational damage for the Bahamas in light of project delay and handling of the situation” and “lost marketing spent on promoting the destination.”

In July, Mr Christie said he believes the EXIM Bank is prepared to present a possible buyer for the resort, as he declared a resolution to the Baha Mar debacle was “imminent”.

At the time, Mr Christie, while a guest on the “Ed Fields Live” show on Kiss FM, said the government is “closer than we’ve ever been before” on a resolution to the Baha Mar controversy, and that talks towards the same “have been taking place rapidly.”

Baha Mar was initially expected to open in December 2014 but has been delayed several times since then, something Baha Mar officials have blamed on CCA. The Supreme Court placed the property into receivership last October at the request of the EXIM Bank.

PAIR CHARGED WITH ARMED ROBBERY

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court on Friday charged with two counts of armed robbery.

Shavano Williams, 21, and Shaquille Farrington, 20, appeared before Magistrate Constance Delancy to be charged in connection with the incidents that allegedly occurred be-

tween July 25 and August 5.

The men were not required to enter a plea to the charges and the matter was adjourned to October 6 when a preliminary inquiry will be held. Williams and Farrington were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until then.

Williams also faced two other counts of armed robbery and several more charges associated with the

burglary of a house on August 8.

It is alleged that on July 28, Williams robbed a man of his Chevy Trailblazer vehicle, $10 cash and a cell phone.

On August 5, it is alleged that Williams robbed a woman of her cell phone, an iPod music device and her backpack.

He was not required to enter a plea to the charges.

Then on August 8, it is alleged that Williams

robbed a home in the Blue Hill Road area. For this incident the accused faced charges of housebreaking, receiving, assault, unlawful threats and damage to property.

Williams entered not guilty pleas to these charges, and claimed he was “violated” by officers while in custody.

He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until September 7.

the stories behind the news

insight@tribunemedi.net

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

Ambassador gives the Haitian view on changes in immigration

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

H

AITIAN Ambassador Jean Victor Geneus’ bold, and arguably calculated, assessment of the country’s rigid immigration policy last week shook out the rug on the social impact that the inflexible system has had on the country’s largest migrant community.

From its rushed roll-out nearly two years ago, to the persistent misconceptions of the process, the Haitian ambassador’s comments suggest that conditions for persons of Haitian descent have not improved, but worsened. And his decision to air those concerns with The Tribune and the wider public in the absence of any formal diplomatic talks with the government implies an undercurrent of frustration and growing impatience among Haitian officials towards the perceived systemic discrimination and exploitation of their people and their descendants.

“The two governments must work together to find a way to implement some agreements signed years ago, so far only the migration question seems to interest the Bahamian government,” Mr Geneus said.

“Haiti is interested in cultural exchange, trade, all activities that can get us closer because we are neighbours but it seems to me that we don’t know each other enough. The closest island to Haiti is only 88 km. We share some common history.”

He continued: “We have to do all we can to get closer to each other. Sometimes we are very concerned about what we interpret as discriminatory decisions against Haitians.”

It can’t be forgotten that Stephen Dillett, the first black man to sit in the House of Assembly, was Haitian. He was returned to the House in 1833 and remained there for 33 years. During that time he was also the island’s coroner and postmaster.

Fresh off a mission in Cuba, Mr Geneus has only been in this country for 10 months. A veteran politician, he has served in government as a Cabinet minister and held posts in Argentina, and such US cities as Boston and Chicago.

One salient observation has been the marked difference in how countries integrate migrant communities through the celebration of cultural diversity.

“We understand that here in the Bahamas there is the Haitian-Bahamian, and when they celebrate their cultural heritage Bahamians interpret it, see it as a threat to their culture. But in every country, like in the US, the Irish, Italian, the Greek, they celebrate their cultural heritage. I understand that the Bahamas has a population of less than half a

The Bahamas recently changed its approach to immigration including introducing a belonger’s permit. Haitian Ambassador Jean Victor Geneus spoke to The Tribune’s Ava Turnquest about those changes and how they are failing to tackle the immigration problem

“Haiti is interested in cultural exchange, trade, all activities that can get us closer because we are neighbours but it seems to me that we don’t know each other enough. The closest island to Haiti is only 88 km. We share some common history.” million, but I think the celebration of the Haitian heritage is a contribution to the diversity of culture.

“The government of the Bahamas should encourage this kind of celebration,” he said.

“There are other aspects of Haitian cultural heritage, it is not only flag day. Here in the Haitian-Bahamian community you have very talented people. I have

Haiti Ambassador Jean Victor Geneus.

met some of them, sometimes you don’t even realise that they have Haitian roots.”

Mr Geneus underscored that in Cuba there were persons of Haitian descent at all levels of society. He also pointed out that persons of Haitian descent served as elected officials in congress and municipal government in the United States.

“Definitely there is a lot to learn,” he said, “the Bahamas can learn a lot from Cuba. Cuba encourages cultural diversity and you have a lot of activities financed by the government of Cuba like they give cultural groups funding.

The Bahamian Haitians will pay attention to their cultural heritage and at the same time promoting Bahamian culture because the Bahamian Haitians will know more about Bahamian culture than Haitian culture. They will receive elements of Haitian culture from their parents while the Bahamian culture is day-today.”

Mr Geneus’ courtesy call to The Tribune is part of a national mandate from Haiti’s interim President Jocelerme Privert, who has directed the heads of diplomatic missions throughout the world to inform host countries of Haiti’s current situation.

Haiti staged its presidential elections in October last year; however, the results were scrapped after an audit revealed findings of significant fraud. It is unclear whether this political uncertainty emboldened Mr Geneus to significantly move the goal post from the lukewarm observations of his predecessors.

His sobering remarks were met by an equally measured response from Immigration and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, on whom the peculiar nature of the remarks was not lost.

In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Mitchell clarified several assertions made by Mr Geneus that he termed as “materially incorrect.” His response came the day after Ambassador Geneus said that the introduction of the belonger’s permit did not solve the immigration problem, pointing to a backlog of some 2,000 applicants waiting for the “restrictive” document.

Mr Mitchell clarified that there were 598 applications for these permits with 338 already processed.

Mr Geneus also claimed that persons applying for a belonger’s permit were required to leave the country to apply - which is only true for foreigners seeking a work permit.

Mr Mitchell said: “This morning (Wednesday) I asked the ambassador to attend a meeting with myself and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where I told the ambassador that I could not allow those alSee pg2

PAGE 2 MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

August 15, 2016, PAGE 8 Email: Monday, insight@tribunemedia.net

Haitian Ambassador hits out at country’s ‘rigid’ immigration policy From pg1 legations to stand. They are all materially incorrect.

“There is no requirement for people applying for the belonger’s permit to do so outside of the country. This policy applies to work permit applicants who are applying for the first time.

There is no policy of profiling of Haitians and the policy is not discriminatory toward Haitians. The policy is a generic policy which applies to all non-nationals.”

Mr Geneus’ uncertainty of the immigration policy is worrisome, and serves as a litmus test for the vast misconceptions of the policy that have been lasting throughout the region since its implementation.

On the matter of profiling, however; the two men will have to agree to disagree.

“It is not a perception,” Mr Geneus emphatically stated. “It is a reality because there have been recurrent actions of immigration officials even in public transportation. Definitely there is profiling because many times Bahamians have been arrested and then they find out that they are not Haitians, they are Bahamian.

“If the process is very complicated, and it takes years to regularise your situation, your status here in the country, and at the same time finding yourself in a position where anytime day or night you can be victim of a crackdown - this definitely has a psychological impact on you.”

He added: “The consequences are so tremendous that there are Haitians, they are afraid of sending their kids to school, afraid to bring their kids to the hospital for fear of being nabbed up by immigration officers and deported.”

Notwithstanding his noble charge, Mr Geneus’ remarks have a very layered context.

On Wednesday, Mr Mitchell added: “I also indicated that one would expect that in relations between friendly countries, no such statement should be made which takes the other by surprise.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised me that there is no record of a request for any meeting by the embassy on this matter since the ambassador’s tenure.”

“The consequences are so tremendous that there are Haitians, they are afraid of sending their kids to school, afraid to bring their kids to the hospital for fear of being nabbed up by immigration officers and deported.”

Mr Mitchell’s reaction to Mr Geneus’ unfettered remarks is reasonable. If not unprecedented, it is certainly curious for a diplomatic official to speak so liberally on such a contentious and divisive issue.

With Haiti’s presidential elections and the threat of even greater political instability looming overhead, Mr Geneus’ decision to suspend diplomatic courtesy is anything but benign given that the Bahamas is also readying itself for a contentious and fragile election cycle. With politics here historically being driven by a two-party system, the sustained implosion of the opposition Free National Movement has levelled the playing field considerably for a vulnerably and disenchanted electorate to be further split by third party and independent candidates. The power of the controversial Haitian-Bahamian vote will be at its peak, and while precarious to navigate for Bahamian politicians, it is not lost

on the community. Mr Geneus’ unflinching observations could be interpreted as a bold gut check to aspiring lawmakers that empty rhetoric and predatory campaigns, and scapegoating will be called out and rejected.

“Yes they (politicians) are aware (of voting power),” Mr Geneus said, “because I was recently at CARICOM in Guyana and I met a parliament member part of the delegation. He was telling me about the importance of the Bahamian Haitian vote and that he wanted to meet with me in the Bahamas. Also in Abaco where the population of Bahamian Haitians is high, the candidate should normally be interested in obtaining the Haitian vote or guaranteeing a percentage of this vote.”

He added: “It will be (important), because a few thousand votes can tip the balance.”

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EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016 PAGE 3

Where has fight in developing countries gone?

T

HE ease with which developed countries appoint heads of international and multi-national organisations (sometimes in the guise of an election) is not their achievement alone; it is also the fault of developing countries who let them.

Appointing heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has traditionally been accepted as the exclusive domain of governments of European countries; similarly choosing the head of the World Bank has been regarded as the preserve of the United States (US) government.

But, while these are the most blatant examples, powerful governments have used every means at their disposal to ensure that heads of every other international and multi-national organisation are persons who serve their purpose.

At the United Nations, the so-called election of the PRESIDENT Barack Obama with US appointee to the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, who is seeking a new term in the role.

Secretary-General is enno effort to change it. ma in 2012 is seeking a new tirely in the hands of the five Meanwhile, the devel- term. There will be no sericountries with veto powers, oped countries march on ous election; the US Presinamely the US, Britain, in advancement of their dent will decide whether France, Russia and China. interests through control Kim stays or is replaced by Developing countries have and direction of the IMF another American. If the no say. Any candidate and World Bank; by impos- US President choosing the whose career has shown ing rules on the rest of the World Bank head is Donany sign of independence; world through their own ald Trump, the bank will By SIR RONALD SANDERS of fidelity to principle; of organisations such as the become a very different incommitment to a world viOrganisation for Economic stitution less likely to serve sion, has been vetoed. The that person, by definition, are marginalised. The soli- Co-operation and Devel- “as a link between great Swedish Diplomat, Dag will be more a “Secretary”, darity and strength of the opment and the Financial powers and small ones, beHammarskjöld, who served than a “General”; someone 115 member-nations of the Action Task Force; and in tween economics and aid as UN Secretary-General content to do as little as pos- Non-aligned Movement ensuring that heads of in- work” which Kim says is his from 1953 until he was sible to lead the reform of (NAM) is a thing of the ternational and multi-na- ambition. In any event, the killed in a plane crash in the organisation that it des- past, although on 20 July tional organisations serve developing world will have 1961, was arguably the last perately needs. The rest of in a very little reported their purposes best, rather no say and the sign over the truly independent Secre- the world will have no real statement to the UN Se- than the interests of the entrance of the Bank, “Our tary-General. His personal say, and there is no vigorous curity Council, it said: “As membership as a whole. dream is a world free of ethos, “The principles of movement by developing we approach the process to Incidentally, also up for poverty”, may well remain a (the Charter of the United countries to demand an end appoint a new Secretary- selection next year is the dream and not a plan.

Nations) are, by far, greater to this byzantine process.

General for the Organiza- head of the World Bank.

A doctrine of an interthan the Organization in But, even in multi-nation- tion, NAM underlines its The present US appointee, national community based which they are embodied, al organisations in which no position as elaborated in Jim Yong Kim, appointed on the principle that selfand the aims which they are country has a formal veto, the Algiers ministerial dec- by President Barack Oba- interest and mutual interest to safeguard developing laration of May 2014, along are holier than ‘If the US President countries have with the central role of the the policies allowed their General Assembly in the choosing the of any single own interests process of selecting and nation or peo- World Bank to be expro- appointing the Secretaryple”, reflected head is Donald priated by vol- General, and expresses its his commituntarily par- support for efforts aimed at ment to all na- Trump, the bank ticipating in a reinforcing and strengthentions and made will become a new imperial- ing the role of the Assemhim unpopular very different ist system in bly in that regard”. Having with those who which indus- made the statement, matwould have institution less trialised na- ters ended there. had him bend likely to serve “as a tions procure Similarly, the 79-nation his knee to link between great their support, ACP Group, which has potheir will. or their si- tential as an economic barHence, in powers and small lence, through gaining agent for developthe present ones, between offers of aid ing countries, is weakened shenanigans or threats of by lack of financial support economics and to select a new sanctions. This and the absence of strong aid work” which Secretaryphenomenon political direction by the General to Kim says is his was particu- leaders who have not once replace the ambition.’ larly evident had a summit meeting to try incumbent in the willing to define the place of their Ban Ki-Moon, fragmentation nations in the world. whose term expires at the of the single African, CarIt is as if there is a self-imend of this year, only the 5 ibbean and Pacific (ACP) posed policy among develveto powers really matter. group into 6 regions to ne- oping countries of “going Two straw polls have been gotiate Economic Partner- along to get along” – a genheld by the 15 member- ship Agreements with the eral acceptance that they states of the Security Coun- European Union. Seven- are too disparate, too weak cil so far to reduce the num- ty-nine countries lost the and too locked-into the ber of ten aspirants. What strength of their unity, and consortium of industrialis not known is which of the they have paid a price. ised countries through their candidates have been “disThe lack of resistance international financial insticouraged” by one of five to the inequitable power tutions such as the IMF and veto nations. In any event, structure in the world, more the World Bank, to fight the UN will end-up with a than the exercise of influ- against the injustices of Secretary-General upon ence by a few, accounts for what amounts to economic whom the 5 can agree – and why developing countries imperialism. And, there is

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are interwoven continues to elude the world. And, in all this, with very few exceptions, the leaders of developing countries are not working together; not raising their voices in harmony; and not voting in unison.

The industrialised nations have free reign, by default.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own.

PAGE 4 MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

MINERS make their way past a dusty bus stop where campaign posters from recent municipal elections are starting to fade, in Marikana South Africa. Four years after South African police shot dead 34 mine workers driven to fury by poor living conditions, the British mining company Lonmin has failed to provide the homes it promised for several thousand workers, Amnesty International says.

Workers still in squalour as South Africa marks shootings

By CARA ANNA, Associated Press MINE worker Mziseni Zotyatha lives in a neat, one-room metal shack with plastic sheeting stretched above his bed to keep out the rain. He must go else-

where for running water and a toilet.

“I can’t come here with my wife and children and expect them to live with me like this,” says Zotyatha, 34, a father of three who works at the Marikana platinum mine owned by the British

firm Lonmin. “I work hard.

I deserve to stay in a better place.”

Four years after South African police shot dead 34 striking Marikana miners driven to fury by poor wages and living conditions, Lonmin has failed to pro-

vide the homes it promised for several thousand workers, says Amnesty International in a report published Monday.

Instead, Lonmin has built just three houses, says Amnesty.

About 13,500 employees “are still in need of formal accommodation,” Lonmin confirmed in an Aug. 1 letter to the rights group.

Squalid housing settlements without sewer systems or other basic services are a problem for mine workers across South Africa, whose economy was built on the mining industry and its black, often migrant, labor.

That such poor living conditions remain at the scene of the country’s deadliest strike in decades spotlights how little has improved since the 1994 end of apartheid, the system of racial discrimination.

Lonmin is in breach of its legal agreement with the South African government to improve housing at the mine, says the Amnesty report which asks why the government hasn’t enforced the deal or revoked Lonmin’s mining license.

“The challenges are huge,” a Lonmin spokeswoman, Sue Vey, said in an email to The Associated Press. “This is not an undertaking that any mining

company can do successfully on its own.”

A small white cross on a rocky hill marks the site where the striking Marikana miners were killed on Aug. 16, 2012. At a dusty bus stop nearby, campaign posters from recent municipal elections are starting to fade. “Spacious Homes,” one promises.

The miners walk daily between the platinum mine, ringed by razor wire, and their tiny houses pieced together from corrugated metal.

For decades, workers once lived in crowded, same-sex hostels that produced some of the most determined opposition to apartheid. Lonmin houses about 3,000 workers in renovated hostels, according to Amnesty. But that still leaves thousands of workers without adequate housing.

Some Marikana workers got tired of waiting for new homes and built their own.

The two-room metal shack of Ntutuzelo Vukani, 44, is held together with nails hammered through rusting bottle caps. The roof leaks. There’s an outdoor tap, a pit latrine toilet and electricity from an impromptu connection. Five people live there.

Hundreds of homes in the community, connected

by dirt paths, are in similar shape.

“We were promised homes, but things are still the same,” said Vukani in his native Xhosa language.

He said he came to Marikana to escape poverty but did not succeed. He wants a brick house with an indoor toilet and electricity, so he can live a “soft” life.

A government-appointed commission of inquiry that investigated the Marikana shootings found that Lonmin had contributed to the labor unrest by not addressing the housing shortage.

Amnesty International says the problem remains acute. It says Lonmin promised in 2006 to build 5,500 houses for workers but never did, building only three for show. South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources, which oversees such agreements, did not respond to a request for comment to Amnesty’s findings.

“The catastrophic events of August 2012 should have been a decisive wake-up call to Lonmin that it must address these truly appalling living conditions,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty’s southern Africa regional director. “The company’s failure to improve employees’ housing is baffling and irresponsible in the extreme.”

THIS WEEK IN The Tribune

TODAY

Insight - Haitian ambassador discusses the changes to immigration policy in The Bahamas with Ava Turnquest.

Business - The Bahamas Insurance Association says private management for a public insurer under NHI is ‘a meaningless distinction’.

Sports - Bahamian track and field athletes take centre stage at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Brent Stubbs reports from Brazil.

Plus the latest properties for sale and rent in the Home Buyers’ Guide.

TUESDAY Woman and Health weekly advice on taking care of your mind and body and women making waves in The Bahamas.

Plus

comment

from

Nicole Burrows and sporting mischief and mayhem with Inigo “Naughty” Zenicazelaya.

WEDNESDAY The Tribune’s Back To School guide, with profiles of graduates and star pupils.

Tribune Tech - a weekly look at what’s new in the world of technology.

Plus Larry Smith’s forthright Tough Call column.

THURSDAY Obituaries and Religion, a weekly review.

Young Man’s View trenchant opinion from Adrian Gibson on the hot topics in the country.

‘On da Hook’, a weekly look at fishing in The Bahamas.

FRIDAY

Weekend - a 28-page section devoted to the best in arts, music, fashion, food, books, entertainment, gardening, animal matters, fitness, history and interviews Sports - The Finish Line, a look at the local sports scene, by Brent Stubbs Plus A Comic’s View Naughty’s unique take on the week in the Bahamas

SATURDAY The Tribune’s Top 5: a special video review of the week’s top stories by Khrisna Virgil on www. tribune242.com Every day in The Tribune, news, business, sports and Classifieds Trader.

Plus breaking news and updates on your mobilefriendly tribune242.com

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 15, 2016, PAGE 7

POLICE officers on a scene on East street where officers shot a man.

Break-in suspect shot by police dies in hospital

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A MAN died in hospital Friday night hours after he was shot by police after stabbing and injuring two officers as they attempted to foil a home invasion on East Street north.

A woman, who lives at the house, was also injured in the incident and was taken to hospital.

Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander, officerin-charge of the Central Detective Unit, said around 12.15pm on Friday, officers responded to a home invasion in progress on East Street. Upon arrival, officers entered the house where they were attacked by a young man wielding a knife.

After sustaining some injuries, the officers shot the suspect.

The suspect was taken to hospital, but died Friday

night. The two officers also sought medical attention.

Speaking with reporters at the scene, Chief Supt Fernander praised the “quick response” by officers to the crime scene, and encouraged members of the public to continue to partner with police to allow them to capture “these few individuals who continue to wreak havoc in our communities.”

He also cautioned wouldbe criminals and suspects to avoid attacking the police, particularly while engaging in criminal activities.

“They’d better be in fear because we are trained and we will continue to go at them,” he said. “We are trained. If they attack the officers they have to protect themselves and also members of the public. They have to ensure that they are safe, that no injuries come to members of the public and themselves. So we are trained. Either they get shot, or they will die.”

POLICE at the scene on Friday.

$5M DRUG HAUL AT FREEPORT AS COCAINE FOUND IN CONTAINER

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FIVE million dollars of suspected cocaine was discovered at the Freeport Container Port on Friday the largest drug seizure this year in Grand Bahama.

According to police reports, law enforcement officers acting on information

went to the container port shortly before noon and searched a 20ft container.

Seven duffel bags of suspected cocaine, with an estimate weight of 253lbs, was found. The drugs were taken to the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) office.

No arrests were made and investigations are continuing.

PAGE 8, Monday, August 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

CATASTROPHIC FUND ‘TO ONLY HELP 25 TO 30 PEOPLE’ - SANDS from page one

He said while he fully supports the idea of NHI, it will be a “generation” before the country will begin to see the benefits of this initial phase.

Dr Sands said it is “disappointing” that 30 years after the discussion on universal healthcare began that “this is as far as we have come.”

He also urged the government to be “completely honest” with the public and let Bahamians know what will be covered and what will not be under NHI’s primary care phase.

“Bahamians are being asked to sign a blank cheque,” Dr Sands said.

“They are being told, no more cookouts, no more handouts, so people are assuming that if they have cancer it will be covered or if they have heart disease the government will cover the cost and that is not so.

“The government has

CONSULTANT Surgeon PHA Dr Duane Sands. not even defined how much money Duane Sands will get if I need surgery or how much Sancheska Brown will get if she needs sur-

gery. Is there a limit? Does everyone get 10, 15, 50, 100 thousand?”

“And when you do it like that, it opens up a huge op-

portunity for allegations of abuse. Who decides who gets help and how much money the person will get?

What is the difficulty of de-

fining this before the legislation is passed? So when Susie Smith needs heart surgery or expensive chemotherapy she is expecting NHI will help her. Let’s be honest and say ‘No, ma’am, not for another 10 or 20 years.’ So a number of Bahamians who believed NHI would have saved them or their loved ones will find out otherwise. While this plan will put us on the road to improved patient care, it will be a generation before we see the real benefit and thousands of Bahamians will continue to die.”

Dr Sands said the government currently spends $800 million on healthcare so $24 million is “nowhere near” what is needed to help those with catastrophic illnesses.

“We need to ask ourselves if we are willing to go further in debt for a plan we know nothing about at this time,” Dr Sands said.

“In 30 years, this is as far as we have come? If we

speak to insurance companies they will tell you $24m will take care of about 25 people and then what? Is it first come first served until the money runs out? This is not a plan, this needs to be explained.”

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Perry Christie said “a group of doctors,” not the government, will determine who receives access to the catastrophic fund based on “objective criteria.”

The primary healthcare coverage phase includes visits to your doctor, prevention services, diagnostics and medication through a primary care provider.

Primary care services will be provided to all persons registered at no cost at point of service and with no tax imposed, the government has said.

Primary care was supposed to be launched in April, however, it has been delayed with no new implementation date having been set.

Endorsement for NHI is slammed as ‘deceptive’ from page one

Dr Pierre said that members of the BIPA had recently met with the major healthcare providers and

were given a clear and unequivocal “no” answer to their proposal.

He said BIPA’s public

statement that the “major physician provider groups signaled their commitment and agreement” with the BIPA is an “outright untruth.”

Dr Pierre said he had personally spoken with the major providers and stakeholder groups and they have gone on record as saying that they have not agreed to sign on to any IPA agreement, including the one put forward by BIPA. He confirmed that some members of a few of the medical associations had agreed to look into the “viability” of an IPA, but he claimed that is as far as it went.

He said he has contacted the Consultant Physicians Staff Association, the Consultant Physician Group of the Princess Margaret Hospital, the Bahamas Association of Primary Care Physicians, the Bahamas Doctors Union, the Bahamas Dental Association, the Bahamas Physiotherapy Association, the Bahamas Medical Technologists Association, the Bahamas Association of Insurance Agents and Brokers, the Bahamas Insurance Association, the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association, the Bahamas Psychological Association and the Bahamas Chiropractic Association - all of which have denied signing on to the IPA. “If the BIPA has major provider and stakeholder groups definitely signed onto an agreement,” as they have claimed in their press release, “they should make it public as I fail to see where the 2,000 providers are located. Maybe they are located outside of the Bahamas,” suggested Dr Pierre.

He further questioned BIPA’s credibility, saying that if the organisation planned to be recognised as legitimate, it had to first provide answers to several questions.

“Who are the executives of the organisation?

What is the organisational structure? Is it a for-profit or non-profit organisation?

What are the fees to be paid to the organisation and by whom? When and where was the organisation incorporated?

“Is it a wholly Bahamian owned/operated organisation or does it have nonBahaman interests? That is, are we again going down the road of unproven foreign consultants? If there are foreign consultants, what is the remuneration scheme? Does the organisation have a track record of success or is this some hastily put together organisation to hijack the Bahamian healthcare sector? Does the BIPA have a client list proving a track record of success?”

Dr Pierre said the MAB – as the largest and officially recognised physicians association – refused to sign onto a BIPA agreement because it was not in the best interests of the Bahamian people, and could “potentially marginalise Bahamian physicians”.

‘Partnership’ Last week, the TUC and BIPA announced a partnership between the two factions seeking to make NHI a reality.

The IPA model suggested by the partnership supports the consolidation of the healthcare providers, the membership and the capital’s resources in a collective bargaining arrangement to meet economies of scale and to support health system strengthening.

The groups claimed the proposed IPA, through its alliances, would lend itself to public-private partnerships for services to be provided at lower cost without the government having the encumbrance of capital outlays.

As a result, the group said a number of secondary and tertiary care services, now cost prohibitive for many, can be accessed accordingly.

However, despite this notion, Dr Pierre noted that MAB, the country’s largest and officially recognised physicians association, has no intention of signing any agreement that could potentially marginalise Bahamian physicians and act against the best interest of the citizens and legal residents of The Bahamas.

Dr Pierre raised several observations surrounding the BIPA’s service definitions, questioning the organisation’s marginalisation plan, its proposed electronic record system, potential bankruptcy issues, contractual negotiations, services models, the way it defines its IPA and a host of its outlays.

He said for these reasons and more, the Medical Association of The Bahamas is totally against any IPA being the primary instrument through which NHI is funnelled to provide universal healthcare.

Dr Pierre said while there has been a lot of confusion in the past as to whether most Bahamian healthcare providers were against NHI, nothing could be further from the truth.

He noted that MAB has lobbied for a proper universal healthcare plan for more than 30 years.

He said the group has long advocated for a scheme that would give a properly managed NHI plan to The Bahamas without any “upheaval” to the current system.

Dr Pierre stated that the system would have to fully use the present infrastructure, limit government expenditure, and provide a mechanism whereby benefits can be easily added if fiscally sustainable.

Additionally, Dr Pierre said the system would not only have to keep providers, but offer a system that future Bahamian providers would be proud of and want to fully take part in.

Parliament is expected to conclude its debate over the NHI Bill today.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 15, 2016, PAGE 9

Darville: end contempt efforts over leaked emails from page one

However, Dr Major went on to suggest that the judiciary should not have the power to interfere with matters in Parliament and said “respectfully,” the court ought to mind its own business.

Mr Darville on Sunday said members of STB were “extremely heartened” to know that Dr Major felt the “unwarranted attack on private citizens was also a violation of best parliamentary practices.”

Mr Darville said it was “lamentable” that the path to such a conclusion took “so long” and became “turbulent and bitter.”

“It is our humble view, Mr Speaker, that this unfortunate debacle was totally unnecessary from the outset,” Mr Darville said.

He added that it would be in the best interest of all

ACTIVIST Joseph Darville. those involved that the matter be brought to a “peaceful, fair and sensible” conclusion before any further damage could be done to the reputation of the Bahamas.

Mr Darville said it was unfortunate that certain factions within Parliament would not favour a calming of tensions, but instead con-

tinue to push for an “everheightened level of hostility and extreme rhetoric in the public sphere.”

In particular, Mr Darville said the ongoing effort to have STB’s attorneys cited for “contempt of Parliament” runs the risk of doing extreme and perhaps permanent damage to the Bahamas’ international reputation.

The House of Assembly’s Committee on Privilege was appointed last week to investigate the matter and determine if anyone should be held in contempt.

“The world is indeed watching, Mr Speaker, and we should do everything we can to avoid sending the message that the Bahamas is a place where citizens can be censured and even jailed for seeking to defend their rights through the courts as mandated by the Constitution. Added to which, any such finding would only do

untold further damage to the relationship between Parliament and the judiciary.

“We therefore respectfully request, in the interest of calming an unnecessarily inflamed situation that is extremely damaging to the national interest, that you call off the efforts to hold our legal team in contempt.”

Mr Darville insisted that STB never sought to become “entangled” in any ordeal with Parliament and remains baffled as to how a lawsuit launched by the group against private individuals led to a hostile attack on STB members by sitting MPs. He said while much has been made of the group’s application for an injunction, the move was only made to defend against further “breaches” of the right to privacy for its members.

“You have been quoted

in the press as asserting that the right of Parliament to govern itself should be respected and pointing to your ruling that no further private correspondence in the House,” Mr Darville wrote.

“Once again, we are in total agreement with your reasoning, Mr Speaker.

However, we would respectfully ask you to recall that your ruling was delivered only after our injunction application had been filed.

“Up until that point, MP Fitzgerald and others had been allowed to attack us at will and with total impunity. At the moment of filing, STB and our frightened, disheartened members had no indication whatsoever that the chair intended to intervene and defend our rights. Indeed, all indications had pointed in the opposite direction.

“We therefore submit that our actions were in no

way intended to create the impression of a challenge to either parliamentary privilege or the authority of either the chair. They were simply an attempt to defend ourselves when it seemed there was no one else willing to defend us.”

Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles, earlier this month, declared that Mr Fitzgerald was not legally justified when he tabled STB’s private emails in the House of Assembly, and therefore could not be protected by parliamentary privilege.

Justice Charles ruled that the Marathon MP’s actions were an infringement of the constitutional rights of the applicants and ordered Mr Fitzgerald to pay $150,000 in damages for the breach.

The Office of the Attorney General has said that it would appeal the ruling and was granted a stay pending the appeal.

STILL NO NEW LEADS IN TWO-YEAR PROBE OF BRITISH MAN’S MURDER

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AFTER two years, there are still no new leads in the murder investigation of a British man who was shot to death in Grand Bahama, according to the island’s police chief.

Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour confirmed that the investigation is still open and that a reward of $30,000 is still being offered for information leading to the arrest of the persons responsible.

“It is an unfortunate situation,” Sr ACP Seymour said during a recent interview. “I want the public to know that in the case of murder, the investigation is never closed. We continue our investigations and continue to ask members of

public for their assistance.

“Every act of criminality that is perpetrated, someone other than the perpetrator knows something about it. These are the people we appeal to, to do their civic duty and bring information to the police to solve this matter. We know someone knows something about it,” he said.

Mr Edgar Dart, 56, along with several other relatives, was vacationing in Grand Bahama when three masked men broke into the family’s home around 7am on April 8, 2014. The culprits tied them up, robbed them, and shot Mr Dart.

The family wants closure and for the suspects to face justice. There are other families in Grand Bahama who also want justice for the murders of their loved ones.

There has been no ar-

rest as yet in connection with the shooting death of 47-year-old heavy equipment operator/businessman Sedrick Hepburn, who was killed while walking in the Fortune Bay Drive area two years ago.

Another unsolved case is that of American Anthony Welch, who was found brutally murdered in his Albacore Drive home in January 2014. Mr Welch, a 47-year-old former Mississippi investor, was discovered bound with duct tape and stabbed multiple times about the body.

Sr ACP Seymour said that it is unfortunate when persons who can help do not want to get involved and help the police.

Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to call the nearest police station or the Crime Stoppers tip line at 328-TIPS.

Advice on personal safety

I

NDIVIDUALS sometimes tend to take a lot for granted and let their guards down. Even though the odds of being victimised by crime while in public places are low, one’s personal safety is at risk anytime they go out.

For this reason, you must protect yourself. Remember, criminals often plan crimes and look for the right opportunity with the easiest victim on which to prey.

Your best defence is to plan ahead. Being safer doesn’t require changing your lifestyle, personality, wardrobe or to stop going out. On the other hand, it dictates that you use common sense along with tapping into your gut instinct.

Therefore the following crime prevention measures are provided, to increase your personal safety and security Safety Tips: Personal Safety • Always pay attention to your surroundings, and be aware of your environment.

• Consider socializing with others. There is safety in numbers.

• Know who you are socializing with • Let someone know who you are with and where you plan to go • Avoid walking alone in dark isolated areas –such as back parking lots and alleys • Keep your wallet or purse close to your body; remember to dress casual and comfortable.

• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash –use an ATM/Debit card when possible.

• Consider using ATM machines located in the malls or bank. Avoid using ATM machines located in isolated areas.

• Stay away from hot spots where senseless arguments or gun shots fired may occur.

• Choose a sober designated driver.

• Avoid wearing exces-

Police advice

By CORPORAL MAKELLE PINDER

sive valuable jewellery, such as heavy gold chains and bracelets • If you feel that you are being followed, drive to the nearest police station.

Protect Your Vehicle: • Lock your doors, and buckle up while driving • Beware of jewellery snatchers who may lurk on street corners • Park in well-lighted areas.

• Avoid parking in isolated areas.

• Never leave your motor running and unattended.

• Take all personal property out of your vehicle every time you leave. Hide property that you have to leave behind.

• Do not approach your car if suspicious people are nearby Secure Your Home: • While you are socialising, ensure that your home windows and doors have secondary locks.

• Keep landscaping trimmed back so that you can easily see around your property.

• Consider having a trusted neighbour or friend watch your home while you are away. Ask your neighbour to occasionally park their car in your driveway.

• Never open your door to strangers. Always find out who is on the other side of the door before answering. Never let people know you are home alone. People are watching and they know when you are at home alone.

Should you need more information on Personal Safety or if you have information pertaining to any

crime, please do not hesitate to contact the police at ‘919’ or Crime Stoppers at 328-tips (New Providence), 1-300-8476 (Family Island) or if you know of individuals who may be in need of counselling and emotional support please contact the Department of Social Services hotline number at 322-2763.

POSITION AVAILABLE A specialist international boutique law firm is looking for a graduate calibre secretary/ paralegal who has been working as a secretary /paralegal in either another law firm or other professional services environment for at least one year.

The role will be to provide secretarial and paralegal support to a corporate and commercial Litigation Principal and will include all diary management, dictation (correspondence and emails) managing payments and expenses, liaising with clients, and drafting engagement letters. You will also be fully trained to do certain paralegal duties including file opening and closing, carrying out Companies House searches and supporting on corporate transactions including the drafting of ancillary documents. In addition to the paralegal duties, you will also take on some general office management responsibilities and provide day to day assistance with the smooth running of a busy office.

This role is ideal for a law graduate with some secretarial experience or a secretary looking to take on more paralegal duties. It is essential that you are proactive, dynamic and flexible to help out with anything and everything. There will be extensive liaison with clients so you must also have exceptional communication and Microsoft Office Suite skills.

This is a great opportunity for someone to gain solid corporate legal experience in a well rounded position.

Someone who has previously worked as a corporate paralegal, a corporate administrator or someone with minimal legal experience would be considered.

Please note, this is a stand alone position in which you will work alongside the sole managing partner/principal .

Requirements: • Undergraduate degree • Prior secretarial, administrative and/or paralegal experience • Must have active secretarial litigation experience • Trust administration experience preferred • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite • Excellent command of the English language Contract type: Permanent Hours: Full Time If you’re interested in this role, please apply now and forward an up-to-date copy of your CV and current photo to: mrscott@scottlawbahamas.com Applicants which fail to include a current photo will automatically be removed from consideration.

PAGE 10, Monday, August 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

COUPLE FINED $3,500 OVER POSTING NUDE PHOTOGRAPHS

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

A MAGISTRATE fined a Filipino couple $3,500 each on Friday for their involvement in a criminal defamation case where it is alleged the two were responsible for posting sev-

eral nude images of the husband’s ex-girlfriend on Facebook.

Magistrate Samuel McKinney ruled that the husband and wife, who were found guilty of intentional libel last month, must pay the fines or face one year in prison.

Angelo Cayetano, 36,

and April Cayetano, 30, both of Mt Pleasant Village, opted to pay the fines in full.

According to court dockets, it was claimed that the pair unlawfully posted defamatory pictures of a 39-year-old woman intending to defame her.

In the pictures that were

removed from the social media site, the complainant, whose identity was withheld for her protection, is shown posing naked in a number of positions.

The woman alleged that Mr Cayetano tried to blackmail her into continuing an extramarital affair with him, which had occurred from 2011 to 2012, by threatening to release photos and a video he had

taken of her in compromising positions.

The complainant said Mr Cayetano gave her two weeks to change her mind on ending their affair. After she did not relent, the woman was informed by friends that they had seen naked pictures of her on Facebook.

One of the victim’s friends testified that Mrs Cayetano sent her the pho-

tographs.

Mrs Cayetano allegedly told the victim’s friend: “Your friend is a whore and she’s having a relationship with my husband.”

The Cayetanos maintained their innocence throughout their arraignment and trial.

Sergeant Philip Davis prosecuted and Tai Pinder appeared for the Cayetanos.

THE RED Cross launching its annual raffle at ScotiaBank in Rawson Square on Friday.

Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

RED CROSS LAUNCHES ANNUAL RAFFLE DRIVE

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 15, 2016, PAGE 11

FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION GREETED BY AMBASSADOR

ANTHONY Capron presents a wood carving to ambassador Huang Qinguo.

THE Bahamas China Friendship Association was invited to the residence of the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to The Bahamas Huang Qinguo for a courtesy call and dinner on August 10.

During the event, President of the Bahamas China Friendship Association Anthony Capron presented the ambassador with a wood carving of a mother turtle with her baby.

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FROM left: Senator Joseph Curry, president emeritus of the Bahamas China Friendship Association; Llonella Gilbert, public relations director; LaPaige Gardiner, secretary; Anthony Capron, president; Ambassador Huang Qinguo; Gena Gibbs, vice-president of the association; Kay-Kay Tong, assistant treasurer; Aaron Brice, treasurer and Lloyd Wong, trustee.

Photo: Lloyd Wong

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