08202019 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2019

$4.80 Sky employees ‘must do what they have to do’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SKY Bahamas’ principal yesterday said the airline’s staff “have to do what they have to do”, with its near-two month grounding pushing him towards legal action against industry regulator.

Captain Randy Butler told Tribune Business he would seek to bring “some relief” to staff who have been unpaid since July 15, after a group of employees were said to have filed a trade dispute with the Department of Labour seeking what Sky Bahamas owes to them.

Confirming that the debt is owed, Captain Butler said he was simply unable to pay staff salaries or any other regular operating expenses due to the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) ordering that Sky Bahamas cease commercial flights from July 8 due to issues over its Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

“The fact is I haven’t paid them and I have to pay them,” he told Tribune Business. “The fact is that pay day came on July 15 and we were grounded on July 8. That basically stopped our operation and dried up the funding we had.

“We had to finance alternative flights for people who were booked to travel with us, we had to deal with charter companies, and I had to use my personal credit card to keep the business going at that time. That was important, because if we kept going I could pay the people.

“The staff have been a really good group of people, and most of them I’d like to continue to work with, but these people have to do what they have to do and I hope to get some relief to them before anything else comes up.”

Sky Bahamas’ travails could likely not have occurred at a worse time for many of the 63 staff employed when it was grounded due to the rapid approach of Back-to-School expenses. Tribune Business sources revealed several employees have attempted to access their pension fund monies - so far without success.

Captain Butler, meanwhile, told Tribune Business he still had “access to my office” despite the posting of a notice over the weekend that said Sky Bahamas had been evicted

SEE PAGE 5

$4.95

$4.74

‘No abandonment’ of joining the WTO

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE government was yesterday said to have told private sector executives it has “not abandoned the policy of acceding” to full membership in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Darron Pickstock, who heads the Chamber of Commerce’s trade and investment division, told Tribune Business that Elsworth Johnson, the newly-appointed minister with responsibility for overseeing the WTO accession process, had informed the businesses community that the government had temporarily paused to “assess where we are”.

He added that the minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration had also confirmed recently to chamber executives that the government was planning to “ramp up” WTO-related education efforts targeted

• Govt ‘assessing where we are’ • And seeking to ‘ramp up’ education • Urged not to leave accession ‘open ended’ at both the private sector and wider society.

Mr Johnson last month confirmed that the June 2020 accession target for The Bahamas was “purely aspirational”, and not set in stone, and Mr Pickstock yesterday agreed that it would have been “a Herculean task” to meet that timeline given the amount of outstanding preparation work this nation needs to complete.

However, he suggested that The Bahamas should set a new date for concluding the process as leaving it “open ended” threatened a loss of momentum on reforms that were critical to improving this nation’s economic competitiveness regardless of whether it became a full WTO member or not.

SEE PAGE 3

DARRON S PICKSTOCK

BPL crisis ‘torturous’ for key retail season

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BACK-TO-SCHOOL retailers face being stuck with excess inventory, and lost sales opportunities, as a result of Nassau’s energy crisis, the Chamber of Commerce’s top executive warned yesterday.

Jeffrey Beckles told Tribune Business that Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) ongoing woes are disrupting the second busiest shopping season of the year for many retailers, with the corresponding drop in sales and profits leaving many with reduced financial resources to carry them through the quieter months until Christmas.

Revealing that the chamber had yesterday made several proposals to the government on how it could tackle BPL’s immediate generation shortfall, Mr Beckles said the private sector was desperately

• Inventory, sales loss fear on Back-to-School • Chamber chief brands situation ‘treacherous’ • Private sector needs ‘hope it can hold on to’

JEFFREY BECKLES seeking “any signs of hope they can hold on to” that the frequent threefour hour load shedding and blackouts will soon becomes history.

He described the situation as “treacherous” for many in the business community, especially those lacking back-up generator

power supply, and said consumers as well as businesses needed to know that BPL will be able to maintain its existing assets until the 132 megawatts (MW) in new generation capacity comes online.

“Nothing else matters right now,” Mr Beckles told this newspaper of BPL’s woes. “The business community is taking it on the chin. The truth of the matter is it’s very hard. It’s very challenging for many businesses on all levels.

“It’s really been torturous for the business community, and the business community right now is looking for any sign of positive hope that they can hold on to.

It’s not only lost revenue and damaged equipment; it’s also lost opportunity. It’s

been treacherous for us. It’s across the board; whether you’re a shoemaker, renting out to Airbnb guests or a clothing store.”

The chamber chief executive added that the power outages, which are longer and more frequent than they have ever been, could not have occurred at a worse time for clothing and footwear retailers, plus the likes of seamstresses and shoe repairers, all of whom rely heavily on the current Backto-School shopping season.

“It’s impacting all of us at Back-to-School time when inventory is high, sales expectations are very high, but you cannot run your business,” Mr Beckles told Tribune Business.

SEE PAGE 4

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GARRY SINCLAIR

BTC and unions ‘in much better situation today’

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) relationship with its two trade unions is “in a much more progressive place today” than it was a fortnight ago, its chief executive asserted yesterday.

Garfield “Garry” Sinclair, speaking on the sidelines of an education conclave, said the carrier was now in “a positive place” with the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) and Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union (BCPMU) following “all the heat and light” that has occurred in recent weeks.

He added that BTC had finally obtained both unions’ “sign-off” on the latest employee voluntary separation (VSEP) exercise that the company has just launched, and said he would be “communicating relentlessly” with the worker representatives to cement stronger ties with the carrier.

“One of the things I am determined to do is forge a real partnership with our unions,” Mr Sinclair said.

“I want to change the narrative around unions and union representation completely. I want to prove that, working with unions, we can make our business the best operator in the region, the best in class. That’s not the narrative today.

“I have assured my unions and, frankly, they have agreed that we can work together to change that narrative and prove to my competitors - who are not unionised - that working with unions can make you the best operator and is not a detractor. I have had a bit of a challenge in getting that message through.

We have had our differences of opinion. We are going through a transformation. It’s fraught with risk and anxiety, as are most transformations.”

Mr Sinclair continued: “After all of the heat and

SEE PAGE 5

Cable ‘faced dark future’ without $333M US sale

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

CABLE Bahamas was “staring a very dark future in the face” until it stunned the capital markets by revealing its $332.5m US exit, a prominent businessman said yesterday.

Sir Franklyn Wilson, who first made public his concerns about the BISX-listed communications provider’s financial health three years ago, told Tribune Business that the returns from selling its Summit Broadband unit were “truly, truly amazing”.

Arguing that there was “legitimate concern” over Cable Bahamas’ future prior to the deal’s announcement, Sir Franklyn said this highlighted why the company’s move is “so significant”.

He added that “nowhere in this world did I ever dream” such proceeds would be realised from

• Sir Franklyn: Deal ‘truly, truly amazing’ • ‘Nowhere did I ever dream’ of this price • Debt, losses gave ‘lot to be worried about’ selling the Florida business, and suggested that even Cable Bahamas’ Board and management were “themselves pleasantly surprised” at securing a purchase price almost three-and-a-half times the $100m paid for the four entities that were amalgamated into Summit Broadband.

“Isn’t that a huge deal for Cable Bahamas?” Sir Franklyn said. “This is truly, truly amazing. Truly, truly amazing. The first factor is that the sales price is $333m. That doesn’t happen in The Bahamas involving a Bahamian company as the lead investor. That’s not a common occurrence.”

SIR FRANKLYN WILSON

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Tuesday, August 20, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Bahamian Brewery expands in Nassau THE BAHAMIAN Brewery and beverage company has expanded to a new warehouse with 30,00 square feet of space.

A move that helps the company to position itself to increase its product volumes, access to more brands for its customers and allow the staff to service its growing customer base. Photos: Ronnie Archer/ Barefoot Marketing

T

HE Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company has moved to an expanded three-acre warehouse and office complex in Nassau’s Airport Industrial Park to serve its continued growth.

The brewer and distributor of Sands Beer, and brands such as Bush Crack, High Rock lager, Strong Back stout, Triple B malt and Sands Passion Radler, said yesterday that the new 30,000 square foot warehouse will enable it to increase product volumes, carry more inventory and better serve customers.

The facility has a refrigerated drive-in zone to accommodate the company’s wide selection of wine and tobacco products.

Completion of its construction has enabled Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company to hire six extra staff members for the warehouse.

“The larger warehouse is really a dream,” said manager Bryan Thurston.

“Having the space to carry more inventory will allow us to better meet our customers’ demands in both the breadth of products they order and delivery time.”

Bahamian contractors performed the refurbishment, including TMC Engineering, which replaced the roof with its Star Building quality metal product. The new site also houses the Nassau corporate office.

Spread across nearly three acres of land, the new warehouse is in close proximity to the fast-growing western New Providence community. The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company intends to service this expansion with a ninth Jimmy’s Wines and Spirits location, which is set to open in late summer.

“Since the very beginning, our mission has been to provide our customers with great products and experiences. Thanks to the support of our loyal customers over the last 10-plus years, we have been able to outgrow our current premises and need larger facilities,” said Gary Sands, the company’s general manager. “With this expansion, we hope to improve the quality of service we can give them in return.”

GARY SANDS Despite the distribution centre’s relocation from Nassau Street, the ‘Bottle Return Depot’ will remain at that location, acting as the hub for the company’s recycling initiative. The operational hours for the depot are Monday through Friday from 8 am to noon.

“We are glad to keep that connection to the community alive as it demonstrates our core value of being ‘Truly Bahamian’. We truly appreciate your support and would like to extend a sincere thank you on behalf of the Bahamian Brewery Family,” said Nathanial Middleton, manager of the Nassau Street operation.

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company currently collects about 50 percent of the beer bottles it sells, but expects this percentage to increase. The bottle buy-back program was expanded to Abaco in July in a bid to reduce waste going to the landfill, create micro-economies, and offer customers a better price.

When the company opened its flagship retail store in Grand Bahama, Jimmy’s Wines and Spirits, it was primarily designed to take its brands to its customers and help promote sales. Jimmy’s now boasts eight distribution centers in New Providence, North Eleuthera, Freeport, and Marsh Harbour.

Along with the locallyproduced beer, Jimmy’s is the distributor for Anheuser-Busch and Philip Morris International products, as well as brands such as Tito’s vodka, Macallan whiskey, and Jackson Family Wines.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 20, 2019, PAGE 3

BTC CHIEF: VSEP OFFER ‘COMPELLING’

‘No abandonment’ of joining the WTO FROM PAGE ONE

GARFIELD SINCLAIR, BTC’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE.

BTC HEADQUARTERS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) chief executive yesterday said it has put a “compelling” voluntary separation offer on the table for staff wishing to exit the company.

Garfield “Garry” Sinclair, its chief executive, speaking on the sidelines of an education conclave, said that once the voluntary separation exercise “is behind us” the carrier will be poised for “real rapid growth”.

“A lot of colleagues are on leave this time of year,” he said. “Colleagues are getting up to speed now on what the requirements are, what their options are and, right now, the number of people who have already applied is what it is. I’m not going to reveal that, but I would say that we consulted widely before we introduced the packages.

“We believe what we have on the table with our packages, colleagues will find compelling if they are minded to move on to some other phase of their lives.”

Mr Sinclair stressed that the VSEP exercise is “completely voluntary”. “It’s for colleagues to accept or reject,” he added. “We’re going through the consultation process now. We’ve provided counselling, obviously, on building work skills; getting people to

understand what life could be like outside of BTC. “There is much more to come. We are taking every precaution. We are being as sensitive as we possibly can in executing this plan. We believe that at the end of the day, once this is behind us, it will set BTC up for some real rapid growth.”

Mr Sinclair said staff will be given as much time as they need to make an informed decision, but added: “We hope to have it wrapped up end of this month or early September.”

He declined to predict how many BTC workers will exit, but added: “For planning purposes you have to have some number in order to effectively plan so that once the dust settles and the smoke clears we are going to be ready to drive our business forward.” BTC currently has 520 full-time staff and around 180 contractors.

Dino Rolle, the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU), told Tribune Business yesterday: “While the union would love to see improvement in the VSEP we do understand and stress to our members that the exercise is a voluntary one, and the decision is for them to decide whether to apply for separation or continue in the company’s employ.”

Ricardo Thompson, the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union (BCPMU), could not be reached for comment.

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Mr Pickstock, indicating that the private sector had received some of the WTO direction it had been seeking, disclosed: “The chamber did meet, along with its executives, with the minister and he reiterated that the government had not abandoned their policy of acceding to the WTO. They are just assessing where we are to decide the way forward.

“He did confirm there’s no abandonment and, while they’re going to be moving ahead, they’re looking to ramp up and do more consultation and public education as to what this means for The Bahamas. There have been a lot of cries from various pockets of society that they don’t know what WTO’s about, and what it means for them.

“My take from the meeting is that there focus is going to be on education, but they have not abandoned the policy to accede to the WTO. Education is important, and I know the previous minister was putting together a plan to do some education on what WTO is about.”

Describing the meeting and its contents as “refreshing”, Mr Pickstock added that the chamber would seek to work with the government on its proposed educational initiatives. He also encouraged Bahamians and individual businesses to equip themselves with knowledge of the

WTO and the rules-based trading regimes it oversees.

Brent Symonette, Mr Johnson’s ministerial predecessor, told this newspaper in late 2017 that the Minnis administration had taken a policy decision to complete The Bahamas’ now-18 year bid to become a full WTO member, and was seeking to complete the negotiation process by December 2019.

This would have allowed the country’s accession to be ratified at the next full WTO meeting in June 2020, but Mr Johnson previously told this newspaper that such a timeline may now be impossible to hit.

He indicated that The Bahamas would proceed with the accession process at a “pace” best suited to this country’s needs, but his comments to the Chamber are the first unambiguous confirmation that there has been no policy reversal by the Minnis administration.

Mr Pickstock yesterday conceded that hitting the June 2020 date would be “a Herculean task” given the amount of legal and regulatory reforms, procedural changes, and public and private education that remain outstanding to prepare The Bahamas for the impact of full WTO membership.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, and they would have to keep coming back to the business community with offers and responses to offers, and then go back to the WTO and put out our position,” Mr Pickstock added.

The Bahamas still has to implement numerous legislative reforms, such as overhauling its intellectual property rights regime, plus enacting competition legislation and creating a watchdog to oversee this.

Other changes require perfecting a “rules of origin” regime; implementing sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and creating a National Investment Act to translate existing policy into statute.

WTO member states are still reviewing this nation’s legislative and investment regime, and seeking clarification on how they work, before The Bahamas began full negotiations with them.

And, besides its domestic agenda, The Bahamas also has to negotiate which import tariff rates it will lower - and by how much - and which industries will be opened to foreign competition with the WTO working party overseeing talks on its accession.

The Working Party consists of member states who have an interest in trading with The Bahamas. These include the likes of the US, Canada, the European Union (EU), China, the UK, members of CARICOM and, possibly, Latin American nations such as Brazil.

Yet while June 2020 may not be a hard date for completing The Bahamas’ accession, Mr Pickstock warned against leaving an “open ended” process that has left many other nations wondering whether

this nation is truly serious about completing an 18-year negotiation.

“I think it’s always good to strive towards something as opposed to leaving it openended,” he told Tribune Business. “I don’t have an issue with striving towards a date. If you need to adjust, fine.

“I think that once you are committed to a date that sometimes dictates the pace at which you move. That would be my reasoning for sticking to a date so we can work towards what needs to be done.”

Mr Pickstock also confirmed that Mr Johnson had reassured chamber members that the government will continue to push forward with reform efforts to improve the ease, and lower the cost, of doing business in The Bahamas regardless of whether this nation became a full WTO member.

“From the chamber’s standpoint we support and encourage the push to make the reforms the country needs,” he told Tribune Business. “That becomes so very much important when we’re looking to improve the economy.

“We’ve heard it time and time again; people speaking to the ease of doing business and indicating it’s not easy to do business. Admittedly the government has made some improvements, but there is much more to be done with regard to the ease of doing business.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, August 20, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Cable ‘faced dark future’ without $333M US sale FROM PAGE ONE “Cable Bahamas, outside of this deal, it was difficult to see just from a pure analysis of the financials how that company was not staring a very dark future in the face. The level of debt and losses, if you just did a clinical analysis of the numbers, that was a matter of grave concern.”

Cable Bahamas has come under increasing pressure from some shareholders, especially small retail investors, over the suspension of dividend payments and two consecutive years of $50mplus comprehensive losses.

Besides the loss of investment returns and scale of the “red ink” over the past four financial years, shareholders had also started to fret over the $442m in longterm debt that the company was carrying on its balance sheet at end-March 2019.

Sir Franklyn yesterday said Cable Bahamas’ woes had threatened to create “major public policy implications” given that the company’s largest equity shareholder is the National Insurance Board (NIB), the national social security system, which holds a 21.6 percent stake.

The Arawak Homes chairman added that NIB was also a major investor in Cable Bahamas’ near $250m preference share debt, and said: “One of my reasons for staying close to that was the implications for public policy and NIB - if Cable Bahamas floundered to the point where its future [was questionable] - would be difficult to under-state”.

Praising Franklyn Butler, his godson and Cable Bahamas chief executive, “for pulling this thing off”, Sir Franklyn also hailed Ross

BPL crisis ‘torturous’ for key retail season FROM PAGE ONE

McDonald, the company’s chairman, and other advisers, board and management members for securing the Summit Broadband sale.

“It’s clear that since Ross became chairman there that the culture of Cable Bahamas has changed,” Sir Franklyn added. “If you look at Cable Bahamas’ old annual reports there seemed to be more emphasis on glitz and spin than credible analysis.

“I think this is a very significant day for the capital markets in The Bahamas because of the size of the deal, the significance of the company, the players involved, and what it says for when a company is run properly. It’s a wonderful story. This is a magnificent day for the country. I don’t see any negative in this.

“Everyone involved deserves the highest possible commendation. I’ve said to Ross McDonald and Franklyn Butler that Cable Bahamas will become a wonderful case study for students at the University of The Bahamas going forward.”

Sir Franklyn has harboured long-standing concerns over Cable Bahamas’ welfare. Tribune Business revealed in 2016 that he had even circulated a “discussion paper” to capital markets participants

outlining his issues with the company’s financial position, and expressing concerns about various aspects of its operations.

In particular, the Sunshine Holdings chairman detailed fears that the BISX-listed communications provider was over-leveraged and had taken on too much debt via preference share issues that had raised over $200m in debt capital.

Similar worries have been on the minds of many Cable Bahamas shareholders in subsequent years, with the company’s total long-term debt at end-March 2019 consisting of $286.306m in preference shares and $155.861m in bank debt.

Proceeds from the Summit Broadband sale will almost inevitably be used to now pay down this debt burden.

“Throughout my concerns I was always involved with the leadership at Cable Bahamas, and all knew of my concerns,” Sir Franklyn said yesterday. “I sought to express them in a nonadversarial way, and I’m thankful they regarded it as constructive.

“There was no doubt when you looked at the numbers that there was a lot to be concerned about.

That’s what makes this more significant... The timing could not be better.

Without this the future of Cable Bahamas would be a matter of legitimate concern.

“In fact, nowhere in this world did I ever dream this would happen. I have reason to believe the management themselves were pleasantly surprised. This speaks to the professional way they went about it and established value.”

Franklyn Butler, Cable Bahamas chief executive, told Tribune Business on Monday that the “fantastic deal” involving Summit Broadband will “unlock real value” for Cable Bahamas shareholders less than six years after it entered the Florida market.

With “just over” $200m invested in that overseas expansion, comprising capital expenditure and the $100m purchase price for the four entities that were ultimately combined to form Summit Broadband, the BISX-listed communications provider is effectively eyeing a nine-figure profit between $100m-$130m on the deal.

The Summit Broadband sale to Grain Management, a US-based private equity firm specialising in the communications industry, will effectively give Cable Bahamas a financial “war chest” with which to secure its future and lay the platform for further growth and development once the deal closes in the 2019 fourth quarter.

Sir Franklyn, though, warned other Bahamian companies about seeking to emulate Cable Bahamas’ example by engaging in overseas expansion of their own. “I would caution locals to be careful about ‘me too’,” he told Tribune Business.

“The fact this has happened does not mean it is easy to achieve. It’s a very difficult thing. It does provide some useful lessons that, if things are done with an appropriate degree of sophistication and meet world standards, certain things are possible. I don’t want people to think this is easy.”

“It’s a moment in time which businesses need to capitalise on, the peak hours, and that’s right now. September is right around the corner. This is now prime season in The Bahamas.

“When it’s over people are back to school, and businesses will be stuck with inventory, damaged equipment, lost opportunities. The total value of that is extremely high and very real,” he continued.

“When you start to calculate that in real time, real money, those opportunity costs go very high.

We need to be able to hold on to something, and that’s the hope a solution is right there.”

Mr Beckles added that the severity of New Providence’s energy supply shortfall, and its impact on both the private sector and general population, meant Bahamians needed to hear from the political leaders rather than BPL’s Board and management.

This has begun, belatedly, with press releases from the Prime Minister’s Office and Dr Hubert Minnis’ weekend visit to BPL’s Clifton Pier and Blue Hills power stations. The prime minister has conceded the situation is at “crisis” point, with several months remaining until 132 MW in new generation capacity becomes available, but no solution has yet been unveiled publicly.

Mr Beckles said the chamber had yesterday sent a series of proposals and recommendations to the government on how it could alleviate the present predicament, although he declined to provide details on the grounds that the Minnis administration was unlikely to have studied them yet.

“We’re going to continue to push and advocate,” he confirmed. “I think we’ve made some very valid representations to the policymakers. We know the new plant is coming on in stages, but we also need to know the existing equipment will be maintained until to prevent a repeat of these rolling black-outs.”

Whitney Heastie, BPL’s chief executive, has admitted that the utility had given itself a wafer-thin margin to meet New Providence’s 250 MW peak summer demand

with only 270-280 MW of generation available.

While he argued that the extent of the failure at the Blue Hills power plant, which resulted in three generation units being lost simultaneously, could not have been predicted, Mr Heastie also admitted that some of BPL’s aged infrastructure is 60 years-old - a factor that suggested regular maintenance/repairs would be required.

Mr Heastie confessed that BPL knew it was “walking a tightrope” for summer 2019, which many observers will interpret as an admission that BPL failed to adequately plan for summer demand and all possible scenarios.

With the loss of 70 MW in generation capacity at Blue Hills, the BPL chief executive admitted that the utility only currently has 210 MW of generation capacity to meet 250 MW peak demand in the Bahamian capital.

He also admitted that BPL’s “decaying” generation fleet contains equipment more than 60 years old where parts cannot be procured and have to be obtained exclusively from manufacturers - thereby making engine breakdowns and off-line maintenance a near 100 percent certainty.

The poor state of BPL’s generation fleet is highlighted by the fact some 37.5 percent of the 280 MW summer generation capacity is comprised of rental units from Aggreko, with Mr Heastie admitting the energy monopoly is “on the edge, on the cliff” virtually every day.

Immediate solutions have so far been in precious little supply. The government has only been able to point to nine MW in additional rental generation from Aggreko, coupled with the arrival of a specialist six-man team from Philadelphia to help restore BPL’s broken down engines, as signs of progress prior to the installation of the utility’s 132 MW from Wartsila.

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THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 20, 2019, PAGE 5

BTC and unions Sky employees ‘must do what they have to do’ ‘in much better situation today’ FROM PAGE ONE

FROM PAGE ONE light that’s occurred around this issue for a couple of weeks or so, I would say we are in a positive place.

We have managed to secure two industrial agreements that had been outstanding for two years.

“We consulted with them on the VSEP, and finally got their sign-off on moving ahead. I am cautiously optimistic on where we are, but certainly we are in a lot more progressive place today than a couple of weeks ago, and my job is to keep communicating relentlessly to build on this relationship.”

BTC was placed at the centre of a firestorm last month after controversial comments by Balan Nair, chief executive of Liberty Latin America, BTC’s ultimate parent, that questioned the productivity and work ethic of Bahamian employees in comparison to their Jamaican counterparts. BTC and Liberty have argued that those comments were “taken out of context”, and reflected Mr Nair’s experience on visiting the BTC Mall at Marathon retail store.

Mr Sinclair said yesterday the company is “moving forward”, and added: “It does not depend on this VSEP. We are still the biggest mobile provider in The Bahamas. We still have 70 per cent share. We are the standard of telecoms in the region, and we have to work on maintaining that standard in a competitive environment and we are doing that.”

“We obviously have to adjust our operating model. We used to be about a $330m revenue business. That’s down to $220m to $225m today. You lose $100m worth of revenue, you have to adjust the operating model. Those adjustments are tough but we are going through them and are in a much better place today.

“If the July results are anything to speak of it’s clear we are turning the corner in terms of attrition of subscribers, and actually starting to grow this business again. I’m really encouraged. Nothing is dependent on this VSEP at all, but we have to keep doing our best to optimise this model we are going to use to compete in the 21st century.”

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PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, MELBOURNE PENN of P. O. Box N-537, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to MELBOURNE SMITH. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

by its landlord and directed all inquiries to two Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien attorneys, Roy Sweeting and Giahna Soles-Hunt.

“Effective Saturday, August 17, 2019, the previous tenant of these premises, Sky Bahamas Airlines, has been evicted and the premises have been secured and reoccupied by the owner, AOG Maintenance Company. The contents of the premises are presently destrained for rent,” the notice said.

“Access to, and entry upon these premises for any reason by any person is forbidden save with the express permission of AOG Maintenance Company...

Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” However, Captain Butler said yesterday: “That didn’t stop me.”

Although hopes that Sky Bahamas can be revived appear to be fading, its principal told this newspaper that he is “not going to lie down” even though the airline appears some way from obtaining a renewed AOC - the permit that allows it to carry fare-paying passengers.

Captain Charles Beneby, the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority’s director-general, in an August 9 letter to Sky Bahamas’ attorneys said there were “two

CAPT RANDY BUTLER unresolved findings” stemming from the regulator’s August 1 inspection of the airline’s facilities to ensure it had addressed all outstanding “safety concerns”.

He explained that the Authority was “not satisfied” that the person nominated as Sky Bahamas’ safety officer had shown the necessary qualifications to meet the responsibilities demanded by that post, and that it would not approve them.

“I wish to stress that the Authority cannot issue an Air Operator Certificate until your client until its nominee for the safety management position has been approved by the authority,” Captain Beneby wrote to Tamica Colebrook at Bowe Partners & Associates.

Captain Butler disputed the authority’s assertions that his nominee was unqualified, but in an August 14, 2019, letter seems to have put himself

forward as the safety manager. This drew a sharp response from Captain Beneby two days’ later, who said the Sky Bahamas principal could not hold this position while being the airline’s accountable manager at the same time.

“I might add that Captain Butler would be well aware of that,” he said sharply.

The other Authority concern, detailed in its August 9 letter, centred around the fact that Sky Bahamas’ operations manual was “not in full compliance to satisfactorily address the authority’s findings”.

Captain Butler told Tribune Business that the authority has yet to specify what the deficiencies are, although it said it was prepared to issue the AOC provided the weaknesses were addressed within 30 days.

Captain Beneby, though, said the regulator had also received a Supreme Court order, dated July 23, where Justice Diane Stewart required Sky Bahamas to “cease all operations at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and vacate property leased to it” by the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) within 14 days.

That relates to the dispute between Sky Bahamas and NAD over a six-figure sum in passenger facility user fees and security fees allegedly owed to the

latter by the airline. However, Tribune Business has seen a subsequent August 8 letter, written by Tara Archer-Glasgow of Higgs & Johnson on NAD’s behalf, which gives Sky Bahamas 90 days to vacate by November 6.

Still, Captain Beneby told Sky Bahamas’ attorneys’ one day later that the NAD dispute meant he had to ask Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, about “the current state of your client’s air transport licence prior to issuance of an AOC to your client”.

That licence is issued by a different body, the Air Transport Advisory Board, which warned Sky Bahamas on June 13, 2019, that “there can be no guarantee of an expeditious and/ or favourable consideration” of the airline’s licence renewal after Captain Butler declined to brief it “on matters relative to your current operations”.

Accusing the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority of “moving the goal posts”, Captain Butler yesterday said it was “pushing me and pulling me to go to court” over the AOC issue. “That’s the only way to get relief, and we have sufficient evidence to show bias and the level of political interference,” he added.

Such claims have already been rejected by Captain Beneby.

Top US CEOs rethink the meaning of shareholder value

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN Associated Press THE “shareholder comes first” has for years been the mantra of the Business Roundtable, a group that represents the most powerful CEOs in America and their thinking.

A new principles on the role of a corporation released Monday implies a foundational shift, putting shareholders on more equal footing with others that have an interest in a corporation to some degree — a group that includes workers, suppliers, customers and, essentially, society at large.

“We know that many Americans are struggling.

Too often hard work is not rewarded, and not enough is being done for workers to adjust to the rapid pace of change in the economy.

If companies fail to recognise that the success of our system is dependent on inclusive long-term growth, many will raise legitimate questions about the role of large employers in our society,” the statement reads.

It’s an implicit recognition that corporations have a larger responsibility than a return on investment and also that more Americans are living under duress today. Wage gains have been nonexistent to moderate for years. Economic research as well as government data point to an era in which Americans must do more for less.

“The American dream is alive, but fraying,” Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan who also chairs the Business Roundtable, said in a prepared statement.

A Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis analysis found that corporate profits have far outpaced employee compensation since the early 2000s.

“This new statement better reflects the way corporations can and should

JPMORGAN Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before the House Financial Services Committee during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. A group of influential CEOs, which included Dimon, is changing its view on corporations, saying it’s no longer just about shareholders. The Business Roundtable said yesterday that its new statement on “the purpose of a corporation” emphasises that all stakeholders are important, which includes workers, suppliers, customers and the communities their businesses are in.

Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP operate today,” said Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. “It affirms the essential role corporations can play in improving our society when CEOs are truly committed to meeting the needs of all stakeholders.”

The statement is not a directive. Rather, it is a shared understanding of among CEOs of companies that employ more than 15 million people with a collective $7tn in annual revenue.

Ken-Hou Lin, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has studied corporations’ treatment of employees and shareholders, called the statement symbolically meaningful but said it was unclear whether it would have much impact.

It’s easier for companies to quantify success through shareholder value, or stock prices, Lin noted, than to document an adherence to other values. If the CEOs who signed the statement pledged something more specific at their companies, it could be more constructive, he said.

“For example, Jamie Dimon can remove all the forced arbitration clauses to

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that TARYN SORIYA MARIA NURSE of P.O. Box N-3940, 60 Kildeer Drive, New Providence, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of August, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

serve the customers, raise tellers’ wages or lower fees on their products,” Lin wrote in an email. “I will be surprised if companies do start to act differently.”

In the meantime, many American workers have said they don’t feel much like beneficiaries of what is now the longest expansion on record because the kinds of jobs they once enjoyed — permanent positions, with stability, bonuses, pensions, benefits and opportunities to move up — are now rarer.

The Business Roundtable’s principle of purpose has historically been rooted in the words of economist Milton Friedman, who argued the sole purpose of a corporation was to maximise shareholder value.

The group in the past has fought anti-trust legislation, backed favorable tax cuts and successfully lobbied to dilute restrictions on executive compensation.

The language of its mission statement has been tweaked over the years, sometimes distancing itself from Friedman during times of economic instability.

During a recession in the early 1990s, the statement said corporations were

meant to “serve both their shareholders and society as a whole”.

In the recovery years following the Great Recession, the group said it was up to corporations to responsibly “deal with its employees, customers, suppliers and other constituencies in a fair and equitable manner”.

However, the statement released yesterday goes further than stances the group has taken in the past, seemingly acknowledging the growing momentum to find a solution to financial inequality in the US as it worsens.

Inequality has become a national narrative in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Democratic presidential candidates have pushed for a seat on corporate boards chosen by employees and tying stock buybacks, which benefits investors, to employee pay at that company.

The push to rethink the role of corporations in society has not come exclusively from the political arena. This time, there is pressure from Wall Street power brokers as well.

In April, the renowned hedge fund manager Ray Dalio stunned Wall Street with an extended essay in which he wrote, “everything must evolve or die. This is now true for capitalism.”

“It’s producing self-reinforcing spirals up for the haves and down for the have-nots,” Dalio wrote.

“This is creating widening income/wealth/opportunity gaps that pose existential threats to the United States because these gaps are bringing about damaging domestic and international conflicts and weakening America’s condition.”

How much sway a mission statement from the Business Roundtable will have cannot be measured, but economic pressure on corporations, workers and consumers may grow more intense in the near future.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, August 20, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES DRIVE A BROAD RALLY ON WALL STREET

By ALEX VEIGA Associated Press

TECHNOLOGY companies powered a rally on Wall Street yesterday that gave the market its third straight gain.

The surge in tech stocks followed a decision by the US to give Chinese telecom giant Huawei another 90 days to buy equipment from American suppliers.

Chipmakers including Qualcomm, Intel and Micron, all rose.

The decision to give Huawei more time to buy goods from US companies appeared to put investors eager for any signs of progress in the trade war between the US and China in a buying mood.

The buying went well beyond technology, with communication services stocks, health care companies and retailers notching solid gains. Financial stocks also rose as bond prices headed lower, sending yields higher. Energy stocks climbed following a 2.4% increase in US crude oil prices.

“Today is an up day because we have some better news on China,” said Kate Warne, chief investment strategist at Edward Jones.

“There’s likely to be many of these 1% higher, 1% lower days, as investors search for a longer-term direction. And that’s what we don’t have yet.”

The S&P 500 climbed 34.97 points, or 1.2%, to 2,923.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 249.78 points, or 1%, to 26,135.79. The index briefly gained 336 points.

The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, rose 106.82 points, or 1.3%, to 8,002.81.

Smaller company stocks also had a good day. The Russell 2000 index gained 15.21 points, or 1%, to 1,508.85.

Major stock indexes in Europe also finished solidly higher.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

MONDAY, 19 AUGUST 2019

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,132.66 | CHG: 0.03 | %CHG: 0.00 | YTD: 23.21 | YTD%: 1.10 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.00 5.92 2.60 2.00 2.75 11.75 6.17 4.64 12.50 2.81 2.64 10.00 7.10 15.60 9.30 3.75 14.20

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 4.90 4.02 1.00 0.19 2.00 9.17 6.15 3.54 8.53 2.35 1.75 7.51 6.10 11.70 6.20 3.01 13.00

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

52WK HI 2.25 4.29 2.06 191.61 158.55 1.62 1.76 1.70 1.15 7.72 8.97 6.77 11.25 12.14 10.63 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.56 1.68 1.64 1.08 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

LAST CLOSE 4.19 17.43 6.00 5.92 2.46 1.80 2.18 11.05 6.16 4.07 9.02 2.99 2.64 10.43 7.00 15.45 9.24 3.30 14.20

CLOSE 4.19 17.43 6.00 5.92 2.46 1.80 2.18 11.05 6.16 4.07 9.02 2.97 2.64 10.49 7.00 15.45 9.24 3.30 14.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.02 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

VOLUME

62,959

860 30,000

35

VOLUME

NAV 2.25 4.29 2.06 191.61 158.33 1.62 1.76 1.70 1.15 7.72 8.97 6.77 11.25 12.14 10.57 9.92 8.68 11.38

EPS$ 0.240 0.932 1.760 0.323 0.098 0.000 -0.438 0.722 0.480 0.184 0.627 0.102 0.467 0.000 0.611 0.816 0.939 0.203 0.631

DIV$ 0.160 1.260 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.068 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610

P/E 17.5 18.7 N/M 18.3 N/M N/M -5.0 15.3 12.8 22.1 14.4 29.1 5.7 N/M 11.5 18.9 9.8 16.3 22.5

YIELD 3.82% 7.23% 0.00% 4.22% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 6.52% 3.57% 2.95% 0.00% 2.29% 2.27% 3.13% 3.43% 3.50% 2.16% 3.64% 4.30%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD%12 1.86% 1.25% 1.35% 3.85% 7.12% 1.57% 0.99% 1.32% 3.22% 3.25% 3.82% 2.59% 8.44% 3.87% 1.84% -0.71% 7.40% 10.20%

MTH% 3.97% 4.23% 2.73% 6.28% 2.08% 4.58% 4.25% 4.12% 5.64% 6.65% 8.36% 4.81% 0.78% 4.17% 2.29% 0.16% 2.70% 1.30%

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

NAV Date 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

Despite their recent gains, US stock indexes are on track to finish the month with losses. The market has been highly volatile all month as investors try to parse conflicting signals on the US economy and determine whether a recession is on the horizon. A key concern is that the escalating and costly trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies will hamper growth around the globe.

Last week, many stock indexes around the world struck their lowest levels this year, before a late rally suggested some calm was returning to the markets in what is a traditionally lowvolume time of the year.

Analysts say the concerns that drove last week’s sell-off could resurface at any time.

“Investors just need to be prepared for a lot swings up and down as markets move,” Warne said.

The market’s moves yesterday suggested investors’ anxiety took a back seat to optimism over the US’ decision on Huawei, at least for a day.

This could be seen in the bond market, where yields rose. That’s a reversal from much of August, when yields mostly fell as investors sought out the safety of government bonds as the US-China conflict escalated. Yesterday, the yield on the ten-year Treasury note climbed to 1.61% from 1.54% late Friday.

The rise in bond yields helped drive financial stocks higher. Wells Fargo added 1.9% and Citigroup rose 1.3%.

Investors are weighing how much of an impact the trade conflict between Washington and Beijing will have on global economies, some of which are already showing signs of slowing.

Earlier this month, Trump announced plans to extend tariffs across virtually all Chinese imports, many of them consumer products that were exempt from early rounds of tariffs. The tariffs have been delayed, but ultimately will raise costs for US companies bringing goods in from China.

Huawei has become part of the trade war, with the White House showing a willingness to use sanctions against the company

as a bargaining chip. The US government blacklisted Huawei in May, deeming it a national security risk, meaning US firms aren’t allowed to sell the company technology without government approval.

Investors greeted the Trump administration’s decision to extend a limited reprieve on US sales to Huawei as a positive sign.

Nvidia jumped 7%, Qualcomm added 2.2%, Micron Technology gained 3.4% and Intel picked up 1.6%.

Apple rose 1.9% on news that CEO Tim Cook met with President Trump over the weekend and discussed how US tariffs on goods imported from China are making it tougher for the iPhone maker to compete with rival Samsung.

Apple has manufacturing facilities in China, while Samsung builds its products mainly in South Korea.

“I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I’m thinking about it,” Trump told reporters.

Big department store chains also rose yesterday, recovering some of the ground lost last week after Macy’s slashed its profit forecast for the year. Nordstrom gained 3.1% and Gap added 4.4%. Macy’s rose 0.9%.

This week offers investors a couple of opportunities to gauge the Federal Reserve’s willingness to cut interest rates further.

The central bank is releasing the minutes from its last meeting of policymakers tomorrow. Two days later, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver a speech at the central bank’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Investors are hoping the Fed will continue to cut interest rates to shore up economic growth. The Fed lowered interest rates by a quarter-point at its last meeting. It was the first time it lowered rates in a decade.

In two tweets yesterday, President Donald Trump called on the Fed to cut interest rates by at least a full percentage point “over a fairly short period of time,” saying that such an action would make the US economy even better and would also “greatly and quickly” enhance the global economy.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that FENIDE DOUTILIEN of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of August, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that GLENDISHA PIERRE of Garden Hills #2, New Providence, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of August, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that TANYA ENADA JOSEPH of Off Bacardi Road, New Providence, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of August, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.