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VOLUME:115 No.192, AUGUST 29TH, 2018

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

ALICIA WALLACE: WHAT MUST A WOMAN DO TO PROVE HER WORTH?

Lucayan - we’ll hit a home run D’Aguilar confident hotel buyout won’t prove a mistake

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE $65m Grand Lucayan deal “is not a cataclysmic event” for the Government’s finances, a Cabinet minister argued yesterday, insisting: “We think we’ve hit a home run.”

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that the purchase price paled into insignificance when compared to the $2.636bn spending by the Minnis administration for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

Defending the hotel acquisition from critics, Mr D’Aguilar said it was only paying $30m of the purchase price this fiscal year - a sum that was just $5m greater than what it had originally allocated to support the failed Wynn Group purchase.

The Minister admitted the Government is “taking a risk” through its intervention, and “history will judge” whether it “hits a home run” - as it believes - or “strikes out” as critics such as Fred Smith, the Freeport-based QC, anticipate.

THREE Family Island schools will have delayed openings, with no definite date for when repairs will be completed, press secretary Anthony Newbold revealed yesterday.

These are the Holmes Rock school in Grand Bahama, Lowe Sound School in Andros and Staniel Cay School in the Exumas.

MINISTER of Health Dr Duane Sands yesterday pointed to a dramatic decrease in the number of conch poisoning cases with just one reported last week.

Dr Sands said there had been no established link between the outbreak that swelled to some 54 clinical conch poisoning cases earlier this month and work being carried out at Malcolm Park near Potter’s Cay Dock.

“Go ahead and enjoy scorch conch or conch salad, but just make sure you wash it in water,” Dr Sands said.

SEE PAGE THREE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

The repairs for schools in New Providence such as Eva Hilton and AF Adderley are expected to continue through the first few months of the term, but the schools will open on time, Mr Newbold said.

On Monday, Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell castigated the Minnis administration for the way it has handled school repairs.

SEE PAGE SIX

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

POLICING STEPPED UP FOR PUPILS’ NEW TERM

FAMILY ISLAND SCHOOLS: THREE AREN’T READY

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

POISONED CONCH - JUST ONE CASE LAST WEEK

JAMMIN’ IN DA NAME OF KALIK PARTICIPANTS in the Junkanoo Jam taking part of the 30th anniversary celebrations for Kalik, one of a series of events being held this year to mark the company’s three decades in business. See Friday’s Weekend section for more.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

HURRICANE READINESS SCORES JUST 17%

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas is just 17 percent prepared to cope with major disasters, an Inter-American Development Bank report highlighting its “low progress”.

The bank rated The Bahamas’ readiness as weak in virtually all aspects of disaster preparation, management and response.

Its assessment, conducted last year, found the nation had made “very limited progress” in disaster recovery planning and needed extra financial protection to reduce “its fiscal vulnerability against the occurrence of disasters”.

The Bahamas received 12 percent and 13 percent scores in these two areas, respectively, and just six percent for “risk identification and knowledge”. It

earned 15 percent for its disaster risk management governance framework, and performed best on “risk reduction” and “disaster preparedness” with 22 percent and 37 percent, respectively.

The results show a general progress level of 17.44 percent, which places the country in the low range of advance, the report revealed.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

NATIONAL Security minister Marvin Dames yesterday said the public can expect to see police stationed at schools and an increased police presence in and around school zones.

This comes as public schools prepare to open next week.

He told The Tribune there was no defined period for this initiative but that it would be an ongoing effort.

He could not confirm the number of officers attached to this programme.

SEE PAGE THREE

‘BUILD YOUR OWN HOME’ - ONLY NINE QUALIFIED

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE Department of Housing has received about 60 applications for its serviced lot initiative but only nine have qualified, Housing and Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira said yesterday.

Mr Ferreira was disappointed that many Bahamians, particularly those who can have salary deductions, have been seduced by predatory lending at commercial SEE PAGE FIVE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Summer SLAM for a better Bahamas THE eighth Summer SLAM, FOCUS – a programme of the Lyford Cay Foundations – engaged 169 students this summer in grades five to nine in creating solutions aimed at building a better Bahamas.

Summer SLAM took place from June 22 – August 3 on the campus of University of The Bahamas.

College readiness and access are at the core of this tuition-free programme that selects 36 students in grade four each year for a rigorous and exciting eight-year journey to prepare them for college. FOCUS students commit to pursuing their education dreams by attending FOCUS on 15 Saturdays every school year and for a full 30 days of Summer SLAM. The intense summer programming proved to be a time of growth and learning for both students and their dedicated teaching interns, who consist mainly of education majors from University of The Bahamas.

While the arts, sports, field trips and other holistic learning activities are incorporated into Summer SLAM, summer learning truly comes alive for FOCUS students through project-based learning hinged on driving questions.

Programme coordinator for grades five to nine, Tiffany Bain-Saunders believes that project-based learning is what sets

FOCUS apart from other experiences.

“In Summer SLAM, students have the opportunity to take the lead and actively participate in their own learning process while solving real-world problems,” she said. “The projects are not just student-centred but student-driven.”

Cherise Walker, mother of FOCUS Class of 2023 student Cherish Walker, a rising 8th grader at S C McPherson Junior High, credits FOCUS with helping her daughter to dream.

“Every year since Cherish was in grade four, she’s been excited about FOCUS and always wondering what there is to learn next.

Whether it’s learning about global warming and the environment or learning about transportation like she is now, she just gets excited,” Ms Walker said.

“I find that FOCUS keeps her motivated in school. She dreams of dancing and because of FOCUS she talks about attending Julliard for college.”

In addition to students in grades five to nine, 84 students in grades 10-12 also continued with On Course to College, the second phase of FOCUS which transitions from project based learning to more individualised summer learning experiences such as volunteer leadership and work experiences.

YOUNGSTERS taking part in this year’s Summer SLAM event, organised by the Lyford Cay Foundations.

SEEKING YOUNG ARTISTS FROM 50 YEARS AGO

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

THE Mexican government is inviting the four Bahamians who participated in the 1968 Global Children’s Painting Festival to be part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the event.

Artwork from four Queen’s College students was selected to represent The Bahamas in the festival. The students were Harvey Roberts, Robert Wong, Debbie Lucas, and Jimmy Lauderdale.

The individuals are asked to contact the Mexican Consulate.

“The government of Mexico has launched the project, ‘A World of Friendship — 50 Years Later’ to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event and would welcome the participation of the

children – now adults – who participated in the 1968 festival,” a press release from the Embassy of Mexico in Jamaica said.

“The consulate is therefore seeking to locate such individuals to extend an invitation to share their experiences through interviews and to recognise their contribution to the cultural programme of the 1968 Olympic Games.”

The 1968 festival “invited children from around the globe to share their feelings and perspectives on friendship through paintings and drawings,” the press release said.

The art’s theme was ‘A World of Friendship’. Over 1,800 pieces from 80 countries were sent to Mexico, including four from the Bahamas.

The festival was one of 20 cultural events Mexico launched to celebrate its hosting of the 1968 Olympic Games.

PICTURES by, clockwise from above, Debbie Lucas, Robert Wong, Harvey Roberts and Jimmy Lauderdale.

The artwork represented “a borderless place” where different artistic voices combined to “produce a song of hope” that “overcame the barrier of language,” the

press release added.

Mexico also hosted various exhibitions, including one in San Salvador. A monument was erected in Long Bay, San Salvador to commemorate this.

• Those who participated in the festival are asked to contact the Consulate of Mexico at 242-601-9325, by email at mexicanconsulate.bah@

bristol.bs, or Morgan Adderley at The Tribune at madderley@ tribunemedia. net. Informationon‘AWorld of Friendship – 50 Years later’ can be found by visiting www.mexico68.org/en/ painting/history.html.

CONTRACTOR WHO USED MARIJUANA FOR ANXIETY FINED $750

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE lawyer for a 27-year-old contractor battling anxiety yesterday told a magistrate his client uses marijuana to self-medicate.

Stefan Hall, of Fox Hill, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney and admitted he had planned to smoke the quantity of drugs found in his possession on August 24, “to relieve stress”.

His attorney, Bjorn Ferguson, told the court the

demands of his client’s profession often triggers his anxiety, for which he took marijuana.

According to court dockets, Hall, while with another man, was discovered in possession of the drugs.

Prosecutors indicated the two men, while

travelling in the area of South Beach, were stopped by police and searched.

As a result of that search, a quantity of drugs was discovered on the floor mat of the vehicle and the two were taken into custody.

Mr Ferguson told Magistrate McKinney his client has sought medical treatment for the condition, but to no avail.

He pleaded to the court for a conditional discharge, insisting his client is a productive young man, making positive contributions to

the country.

Accepting the plea, Magistrate McKinney fined Hall $750 for the offence, $400 of which had to be paid before he could be released from custody.

Charges against Hall’s passenger were not pursued by prosecutors.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 29, 2018, PAGE 3

from page one

to patrols.

Outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Dames also commented on the school shootings that have occurred at an alarming rate in the United States and subsequent policy changes in certain states that allow teachers to carry firearms.

The Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act allows states to authorise certain individuals to carry firearms on school grounds. According to reports, the states of Texas, Utah, Wyoming, and South Dakota allow staff members to carry guns on school grounds, with restrictions.

“If you see what’s taking place in US, I pray and hope it will never get that way here. Just recently in some schools within the US, teachers now are being allowed to carry firearms, which is a concern for many parents who are afraid it may escalate into something worse,” Mr Dames said.

“We hope not to get to that point, we have to be very proactive. We have to work from within, meaning the school is just a microcosm or reflection of the entire community. It means now we must all step up, that is parents, guardians, community members.”

Policing stepped up for pupils’ new term “We hope to enhance the initiatives that were in place,” Mr Dames told reporters outside of Cabinet.

“We’ll do that through increased visibility, more use of resources, greater presence within the school zones from officers on foot patrols to traffic officers.

“As you would know, we have acquired recently - the police force that is - some state-of-the-art speed guns… We intend to increase our CCTV visibility in these communities and we hope to capture these schools as well within those zones.

“You will see a greater presence, no doubt, of police officers and through our National Neighbourhood Watch Council, which is a community based programme through the neighbourhood watch crime groups.

“We hope to focus on schools and to focus on parks and other areas where our young kids assemble,” Mr Dames said.

“We are beginning now to hone in and fine-tune a lot of the initiatives that we would have introduced and that would have been in existence that were reaping

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames. policing was first introduced some results.”

Last term, police were in 2002, and re-implestationed at most govern- mented in 2012 by the ment high schools in the former Progressive Liberal capital, according to Assis- Party administration.

When implemented in tant Commissioner of 2012, it was explained an Police Stephen Dean.

The school-based inspector will have direct

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff responsibility for the assign- relevant school. ment of officers within each Mr Dames confirmed division. divisional commandThe school-based police ers have been tasked officer would have a with ensuring officers reporting relationship with are assigned to cover the the inspector of his division schools in their respecand the principal of the tive areas - in addition

POISONED CONCH - JUST ONE CASE LAST WEEK from page one

“We do not have any conclusive nexus between what is happening at Malcolm Park and what is happening with the bloom of vibrio.

“While we pay attention to all the things that are happening we don’t believe there is a connection between excavation works in the harbour and what’s happening with the vibrio.”

Agriculture and Marine

Resources Minister Michael Pintard had previously suggested several factors at the Potter’s Cay Dock could be creating an environment for the bacteria which leads to conch poisoning to thrive.

He pointed to issues with

THREE ARRESTED IN ABACO OVER MARIJUANA AND CASH SEIZURE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THREE men were arrested in Abaco earlier this week after they were allegedly caught with cash and what is suspected to be marijuana.

According to ASP Terecita Pinder, shortly after 5pm on Monday officers went to an area of Forest

Drive, Murphy Town where they searched a caravan, which had no licence plate.

Two packages of suspected marijuana and a quantity of cash were found.

As a result, three male occupants were arrested and taken into custody.

In Grand Bahama, officers searched a residence in Freeport and arrested a man after illegal ammunition was discovered.

According to reports, shortly before 9pm on Monday officers of the Rapid Response Unit, acting on information, executed a search warrant at a residence on Bruce Avenue.

During a search of the house, .45 ammunition was found and a male resident at the residence was arrested and taken into police custody.

MAN INJURED IN STREET SHOOTING A MAN is in hospital after being shot while driving on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The incident occurred shortly after 1pm, when two men were driving on Florida Court off Robinson Road. The men noticed another man standing on the side of the street, armed with a firearm.

The gunman opened fire in their direction, hitting one of the men before running away. The victim was taken to hospital and is listed in stable condition.

Police also said residents of Wild Tamarind Drive were victims of a home invasion on Tuesday morning.

Shortly after 9am, three men armed with knives, entered a home on Wild Tamarind Drive, held residents up and robbed them of a watch, tennis shoes and an assortment of tools before escaping.

Another armed robbery occurred shortly after 9am on Tuesday. Police said a man armed with a firearm, entered a business on Ross Corner, held employees at bay and robbed the establishment of cash, before getting into a blue Honda vehicle and speeding away.

Investigations into these incidents are continuing.

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a nearby water treatment facility and ongoing dredging in the area.

However, Water and Sewerage Corporation executive chairman Adrian Gibson told The Tribune at the time that a number of

tests were conducted with results that free the corporation of any culpability.

As for the outbreak of gastrointestinal illness at Sandals Royal Bahamian all-inclusive resort, Dr Sands said the total number

of guests staying at the property had dropped to just over 200 people.

The total number of cases had fallen to just one or two, he said, adding that no patients presented with the full syndrome.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, August 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Will McCain be last Republican to address climate change in Senate?

“HE was just doing his job.”

When I asked a longtime staffer to Sen John McCain why the senator battled to address climate change in the early 2000s, that was his answer.

A simple answer, but one essential to understanding how McCain led those early efforts to combat the challenge when no one else would step forward.

Although others had brought climate change as an issue to the Senate, McCain, a Republican, and democratic Sen Joseph Lieberman were the first to bring climate legislation that aimed to reduce emissions. That attempt was their bipartisan 2003 Climate Stewardship Act. As Lieberman’s counsel for the environment, I helped write this legislation.

In 2000, McCain was the chair of the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science and Transportation, which had jurisdiction over the US Global Climate Research Program. That programme, established in 1990, aimed to assist “the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict and respond to humaninduced and natural processes of global change.”

McCain wanted to oversee the program’s activities and began a series of hearings on it. He sought out and gained insights from institutions he trusted in the hearings — including the US Navy, McCain’s former professional home and a hub of defining research at the time to learn more about climate science.

Armed with knowledge of the science, McCain proceeded to “do his job” to take on the challenge posed by climate change.

The hearings he called sparked conversations that led him to develop and co-sponsor, with Lieberman, the first legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by industries across the economy.

The legislation attempted to institute a market-based program to reduce emissions from electricity, manufacturing and transportation sectors of the economy. Those sectors represented 85 percent of US emissions that at that time contributed to climate change.

This legislative step was particularly difficult for McCain as a Republican.

Climate change legislation was, and remains, a tough political challenge as it requires regulating the sources of energy that underlie so much of our economy.

In 2000, the only recorded vote in the US Senate on climate change was a 1997 resolution that passed unanimously.

It was an effort to stop the US from agreeing to what lawmakers believed to be unfavorable terms in the Kyoto Protocol.

Many key Republican constituencies were at the time particularly resistant to any form of greenhouse gas regulation.

As the senators began to pull together their proposal, building support for the bill required concessions to the political needs of certain senators. But for McCain, who had a history of bipartisan problem-solving, the only prodding he needed was the scientific evidence and his responsibility to respond to it.

Sens McCain and Lieberman decided that the best way to change the politics of the issue was to force senators to become educated and accountable for their positions.

To do this, they drew on a political strategy that had worked before for them with their bipartisan campaign finance bill. They directed their staff to develop legislation in consultation with all political players and bring it to a vote as soon as possible. The support of a range of interests meant that politicians could more easily support the bill, and the quick vote was designed to force the senators to take a position.

The opportunity for a vote arose in mid-2003 as the Senate turned to comprehensive energy legislation. And in that effort, McCain’s tactical skill and resolve were on display.

The 2003 Senate debate about energy policy was the first major legislation that Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, managed. It represented an

important effort to secure the new leader’s authority over his colleagues.

But it did not go well. The bill floundered on the floor. In order to get it passed, Frist engaged in legislative maneuvering that including asking for a rare thing, the Senate’s unanimous vote, or “consent”, to replace the energy legislation with the previous year’s bill that had passed the Senate. It was a legislative “Hail Mary”.

There are few moments of true political leverage in the Senate like a “must pass” request for unanimous consent.

The only way for Frist to achieve it was for all 100 senators to sign off. That meant each senator had the power to stop the bill.

McCain recognised this moment of political leverage and seized it to advance the 2003 climate change legislation. He and Lieberman would say no to Frist’s request for unanimous consent, unless Frist would allow a vote on their bill.

After I informed the Senate leadership that McCain and Lieberman might have an objection, I sprinted to the staff phones and called McCain’s office – a Republican was better for holding a bill being managed by a Republican.

Within minutes, McCain was on the floor of the Senate, demanding that his climate bill be scheduled for a vote before anything could move forward.

His request was granted, and Sen. Frist promised an up-or-down vote on the bill before the end of the year.

By resisting the political pressure from his own majority leader, Sen McCain demonstrated his political spine. And in doing so, he showed his tactical skill, negotiating a commitment for a recorded vote on the final passage of the climate bill.

One hundred senators would have to publicly state their position on climate change.

Three months later, McCain and Lieberman brought their legislation to the floor and secured 43 votes in favor, plus the pledge of support from absent Sen. John Edwards.

It was a loss, but still important as the first step in the McCain-Lieberman strategy to get lawmakers to declare where they stood on climate change.

Forty-four senators were now on the record favoring the bill, and the remaining 56 could be held politically accountable. And it was a far cry from the 95-0 vote count against the Kyoto climate change treaty from 1997 that stood previously as a litmus test on the issue.

Despite its failure to pass, the McCain-Lieberman bill breathed life into legislative efforts to respond to climate change.

The momentum for climate legislation built through the decade, with the development of the 2005 and 2007 Climate Stewardship Innovation Acts, neither of which passed. The 2008 presidential race was significant in that both candidates, Sens. McCain and Obama, supported serious climate change measures.

With President Obama’s election, it looked like 2009 marked the moment the nation would finally address climate change concretely. But a combination of political polarization, leadership failures and economic recession conspired to frustrate the climate legislation of 2009-2010.

Since the 2010 midterm elections, climate legislation has not re-emerged.

As a result, we now have arrived at a point not unlike 2001, with political paralysis on Capitol Hill on the issue of climate change. Right now, there is no clear legislative leader who, like McCain, will step up and tackle such a politically risky problem. Perhaps we’ll get the chance to see another bipartisan leader emerge.

This article was originally published on The Conversation at http:// theconversation.com/will-johnmccain-be-the-last-republican-leaderin-the-senate-to-address-climatechange-102221.

Tim Profeta, Duke University

BPL saga concerns EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE ongoing saga of BP&L raises some primary issues - a Board is appointed by Government - a Board if asked to ‘resign’ is required to resign no questions asked and no exemptions. So why hasn’t the whole Board resigned?

PM Minnis said walking from The Senate yesterday that the Governor General would be appointing the new Board…how can you if two members of the current Board have not complied with the wish of the Minister responsible?

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net A Chair of any Board is ultimately responsible for the failures and successes - Ms Osborne cannot take only the alleged successes she failed as the Chair in implementing Government policy. Please she must not be reappointed - if she is then. it is my opinion that there should be a judicial inquiry.

The union spokesperson Paul Maynard - incredible as I am sure he has

read the numerous letters to the newspapers and has seen the serious allegations against the process of the now infamous RFP for the Aggreko generators - does therefore Mr Maynard support the process? One must ask has he made himself aware of the said serious allegations of non-compliance of the process and the primary issue between URCA and BP&L which apparently is a breach of the Electricity Act, 2015?

H HUTCHINSON Nassau, August 17, 2018.

Blatant discrimination EDITOR, The Tribune.

IN reading the recent articles related to the change of the BPL Board, and as a woman in the workplace, the complaints of the Chairwoman resonate like a scratched record that continually repeats itself and I can no longer remain silent.

As women in the workplace, we have all experienced the debilitation of the discrimination that women receive in leadership positions. Many of us find ways to blend in and go with the flow to get things done, but those of us that unapologetically focus on the task at hand, more often than not, meet with great resistance. A hard and fast belief in our society is that men should lead, and

even those of us that think we have no opinion on this, subconsciously tend to lean in that direction. As a result, women get less support and greater criticism when they have leadership roles.

Because this is indeed the norm in our society, it was easily recognised when described by the former Chairwoman of the BPL Board, and I find this blatant display of discrimination against Ms Osbourne appalling. The Minister has indicated that in their tenure the Board achieved good results and he was unable to cite a reason to dismiss them. From the undisputed reports given, board members that had viewpoints that opposed the Chair were given support by the Minister instead

of allowing the democratic process to decide such matters. This biased interference does not serve the Bahamian public.

The buck stops here. We have too often sat quietly as these disservices have been perpetrated and refuse to continue to just stand by and watch.

I therefore call on all Bahamians to let your voices be heard. Let’s stand together to ensure that transparency and good governance is not side-tracked by slighted egos and political interference. Give our boards their mandates and then judge them on their performance…not their sex.

FRAN DILLET Nassau, August 23, 2018.

The VAT gamble EDITOR, The Tribune.

MAY 2017 brought a lot of hope but the subsequent 12-16 months that hope has been converted to anxiety - anxiety in that does Government really understand the complexities of governance?

Bahamians are no longer ignorant - we can respond in an educated fashion almost instantly but clearly government seemingly cannot.

The statement from PM Minnis as to the

position of the IMF and our national finances is incredible – frightening and in global circles must be very disturbing.

The Bahamas became a member of the World Bank in August 1973 just a few weeks after Independence - the IMF visits Nassau annually and in detail looks at our fiscal and financial situation and “recommends”. All governments hope for a good quarterly report.

To try to muse the advice given to Haiti by

the IMF to support the 12% VAT simply defies understanding.

The Minnis gamble is that by taxing the economy by 5% we must have a GDP growth over the next three years must aggregate more than 5%.

China GDP growth is six plus percent…a whopping gamble.

Fail VAT will be 15-18% if not higher…

W THOMPSON Nassau, July 17, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 29, 2018, PAGE 5

Miller: I wouldn’t have gotten away with Moxey admission

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AS he railed against newly appointed Bahamas Power and Light Chairman Donovan Moxey, former Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller questioned whether the rules have changed for the Minnis administration, adding BPL is in a “ridiculous” situation.

“They would have killed me,” Mr Miller, BPL’s former executive chairman told The Tribune yesterday, as he referred to Mr Moxey’s admission on Monday that he saw nothing wrong with the power provider’s board potentially awarding his software company – CBI Mobile - a contract as long as he recused himself from discussions and a final decision.

He also said he had a fiduciary responsibility to CBI Mobile’s stakeholders when he was asked why he would not just remove his company from potential consideration.

In this case, Robert Myers, principal of the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), said Mr Moxey removing himself from the decisionmaking process would not do enough to improve the optics surrounding potential conflict of interest. He added the new chairman needed to make a decision on whether he preferred to serve his own interests or that of BPL.

FORMER Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller.

“I find this whole situHaving such a seat at BPL would give him an ation with BPL to be so unfair advantage over his disingenuous and distresscompetitors, Mr Myers ing because what I’m not hearing is that they are insisted.

Yesterday, The Nassau going to bring down the Guardian revealed Mr cost of electricity and lessen Moxey lobbied several the burden on the average times in emails just months Bahamian and the hotel ago for BPL to contract sector and business comCBI Mobile to use the bill munity,” Mr Miller told this payment app he created newspaper when he was contacted yesterday.

MobileAssist.

“You have this guy saying During a press conference on Monday, Mr Moxey I am the chairman of BPL would not give an undertak- and I still could sell them ing that his company would my app. When I was at not vie for future BPL con- BPL I never sold them one tracts while he sat as chair, gallon of paint from Sunand when questioned fur- burst (a company he owns) ther he said he could not which was the government speak for his entire board policy that they patronise or shareholders, and would locally made products. not do so.

“But I know they would

have killed me. Could you imagine me getting security services at my home on BEC’s (ticket)? Could you image that? Or imagine me going to the barber and charging it to BPL? “I just find the whole thing so ridiculous. Where is the concern for the Bahamian people? Where is the concern for taking the burden off our backs?”

He was referring to revelations BPL’s board approved the installation of a new home security system for ex-chair Darnell Osborne and had also paid for make-up services for Mrs Osborne and others in connection with a BPLrelated photo shoot.

Mr Miller continued: “It’s

like nothing matters and the rules have changed. It’s like the Bahamas has become a place run like a company and whatever we want to do we can do the hell with you. (They would have you believe) whatever the previous board did under the PLP was unethical, but with this government everything they do is ethical.”

Situations like these have left a bad taste in the mouths of small business owners who would ordinarily seek government contracts, Mr Myers said yesterday.

He said: “You can’t act in the best interest of your own company and act in the best interest of the board you chair and have insight into the inner workings of potentially other competitors to your company. That is just bad business because you’re going to have conflicts.

“And by the way a competitor of his company may also be vying for the business from BPL. How does that look? Because now you’ve got the chairman of a board of a competing company that has insight and sway in a matter.

“So even if you recuse yourself it’s the optics of it. I just think it’s bad practise.”

Regarding Mr Moxey’s responsibility to his shareholders, Mr Myers said: “But then he needs to make the decision to represent his business or if he’s going to move into this world (where

he is BPL board chairman) he’s got to disconnect.

“I am not saying that he can’t do it, because there are cases where people are on boards and their companies are awarded contracts, but special conditions prevail in those instances and they aren’t allowed to see any of the information.

They are recused from the process, but I am just saying if he wants the cleanest possible solution you should have no conflicts of interest.

“The cleanest thing is there be no ties with no conflicts of interest.”

Mr Moxey has maintained that no deal was ever reached with the BPL to use his app, adding there was not one currently in place. His view is that there is nothing wrong with his involvement in both companies as long as he recused himself from any board discussions on the matter.

Deputy BPL chairman Stephen Holowesko shared the same view saying Mr Moxey should not have to put aside his company for a hypothetical contract with the company.

When asked about the prime minister’s thoughts on the matter yesterday, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said Dr Hubert Minnis is more concerned with BPL providing consistent and reliable electricity and that the dayto-day events are left to those who work there and the board of directors.

‘BUILD YOUR OWN HOME’ TWO ACCUSED OF SEX - ONLY NINE QUALIFIED ATTACKS ON GIRLS from page one

banks and could not qualify for a mortgage.

He said government was not considering dropping prices below $15,000, which he said was at cost.

Some six weeks since the initiative was launched, he urged Bahamians to get their “financial house” in order as the lots on offer represented a once-in-alifetime opportunity to purchase land in New Providence at low rates.

Mr Ferreira said: “We’ve really had a lot of interest so far we’ve received, the Department of Housing has received about 60 applications – regrettably only nine of them qualify.

We say to the Bahamian public, this is one of those one-in-a-lifetime opportunities, we urge you to put your financial house in order so you can take advantage of this.

“Never before in the history of our country has land been made available at these kind of prices under $20,000, 15,000, 18,000 – with that much built in equity this can actually make a change and a difference in your life.

“The requirements are actually quite liberal because you’re dealing

with the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation,” he continued. “There is no bank, there is no financial entity more flexible with the Bahamian public than the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation. The fact of the matter is consumer debt and predatory lending by some of the other commercial banks, it’s a huge issue and a lot of Bahamians have been seduced into loans that are unnecessary, particularly Bahamians who can have salary deductions.”

The Department of Housing launched its serviced lot initiative at Sunset Close off Carmichael Road, called the Sunset Close Subdivision Extension, on July 12.

Those lots are priced at $15,000, but Mr Ferreira said the price for other lots will depend on the cost to install infrastructural services.

He said engineering drawings and works for the Lionel Davis lots on Romer Street in Fox Hill will start soon, with the Carmichael Village project still in its design phase.

Lionel Davis Estates is expected to provide an additional ten serviced lots, and phase one of the Carmichael Village project will contain 150 serviced lots.

Outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Ferreira pointed to the challenge of shoddy workmanship as a major factor behind the government’s decision to get out of home construction and simply offer serviced lots.

“Shoddy workmanship,” he said, “that is like the number one concern even today 10 to 15 years after homes have been constructed the government still has the responsibility of going back and repairing these homes because of the contractual relationship is between the homeowner and the government.

The homeowner in many instances has abdicated even simple repairs like fixing a leaking pipe under the sink to the government.

“So the government is saying look we will provide you with this lot, it’s worth between $80,000 to $100,000 so you automatically get $80,000 to $60,000 worth of equity, and then you have that contractual relationship between yourself and the contractor of your choice.”

He added: “We’re taking ourselves out of the equation, the Department of Housing is repairing homes that were constructed many, many years ago and it’s an unfair burden to the Bahamian taxpayer.”

THREE YEARS IN JAIL FOR GUN OFFENCE

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

A 20-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to three years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services yesterday in connection with the seizure of a firearm and three rounds of ammunition, allegedly used to commit a serious offence.

Teniro Minnis, 20, initially stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on Monday facing one count each of armed robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

He was not required to enter a plea to a charge of armed robbery, but did enter guilty pleas to the firearm offences.

The court heard that on Wednesday, August 22, Minnis accosted a motorist in Miller’s Heights and escaped with that person’s vehicle.

Subsequently, police apprehended him and while under caution, he admitted to possessing a firearm and agreed to direct police to its location.

Minnis took police to a property in the area of Wood’s Alley and directed them to a piece of sheet metal under which a .9mm Taurus pistol, containing three rounds, was discovered.

Prior to his sentencing, Minnis told the court he’s had a lengthy history of drug use and needed as much help as the court could offer.

He said despite his age,

he has been a serious drug user for the past three years.

He told the court that an extended prison sentence could only lead him to a more complex life of crime; a life he said he wanted to avoid.

Ultimately, Magistrate McKinney sentenced Minnis to three years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and one year for the possession of ammunition.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

Minnis has seven days in which to appeal the sentence.

He will appear in court again on October 22 for presentation of a voluntary bill of indictment in connection with the armed robbery offence.

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were yesterday arraigned on separate charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with young girls, one being charged with the offences against two dependents.

Ramal Colebrooke, 32, of Great Habour Cay, Berry Islands, stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a dependent, related to attacks on two girls.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between Thursday, January 1, 2015 and Saturday, August 18, 2018.

According to court dockets, it is alleged that Colebrooke between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2016, while at Great Harbour Cay raped an eight-year-old girl, who was

classified as a dependent at the time of the offence.

It is also alleged that Colebrooke, sometime between August 1, 2018, and August 18, 2018, while at Great Harbour Cay raped a ten-year-old girl, who was also classified as a dependent at the time of the offence.

Colebrooke was not required to enter a plea to the charges and the case was adjourned to October 24 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) until that time or until he is successful in securing bail from the Supreme Court.

In a separate matter, Costa Pierre, 22, of Black Village, stood before Chief Magistrate FergusonPratt charged with one count of unlawful sexual

intercourse.

It is alleged that Pierre on Monday, June 18, 2018, had unlawful sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.

He was not required to enter a plea to the charge and the case was adjourned to October 11 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Bail was also denied and he was remanded to BDCS until that time or until he is successful in securing bail from the Supreme Court.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 6, Wednesday, August 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Symonette: Sick teen not stateless

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION Minister Brent Symonette yesterday denied recent reports identifying a sick teen as stateless, insisting people born in the country to Haitian parentage were entitled to register as Haitian citizens.

“They are not stateless,” he told reporters outside of Cabinet.

“Don’t muddy the water with second and third generation. A lot of times that doesn’t apply. So we have to be very careful when we use the word stateless because it has a very defined meaning.”

According to the Haitian constitution (Article 11), “any person born of a Haitian father or Haitian mother who are themselves native-born Haitians and have never renounced their nationality possesses Haitian nationality at the time of birth.”

However, it is under dispute whether the entitlement is extended to second or third generation descendants whose parents were not themselves nativeborn Haitians.

In an interview with The Tribune, a representative from the United Nation’s Refugee Agency, UNHCR, explained that the nationality a person is “entitled to” does not affect their status as stateless.

“It’s also important to understand the question of whether or not

a person is stateless, is not forward looking, or backward looking,” said Deneisha Moss-Balboni, UNHCR assistant protection officer.

“It is a question that must be answered in the present.

So the question is – what nationality does the person currently hold? Not what nationality they held. Or what nationality they are entitled to. If no country considers the individual a national, the person is stateless.”

The Tribune contacted Mrs Moss-Balboni earlier this month for clarity on statelessness in its reporting on the plight of sick teenager Taranique Thurston, who has been unable to travel outside the country for medical treatment due to her lack of status.

Taranique’s mother was naturalised as a Bahamian citizen after Taranique was born. Her father is Bahamian. Her parents are not married to each other.

She was issued a certificate of identity by The Bahamas government, listing her as a Haitian national earlier this month.

However, her mother Ginette Caty - who was reportedly born in The Bahamas to a Mexican mother and Haitian father - told The Tribune previous attempts to register her daughter as a Haitian citizen had been unsuccessful.

Mrs Moss-Balboni spoke generally about the issue of statelessness in The Bahamas, telling The Tribune the agency did not have enough

details about the government’s classification of children of Haitian descent.

However, she noted the agency was aware of some of the prevalent issues including a lack of documentation and gaps in Bahamian citizenship laws, which may increase the risk of statelessness.

“Insofar as the nationality laws in The Bahamas,” Mrs Balboni-Moss said, “I believe it is clear how Bahamian citizenship is acquired. However it must be noted that there are a number of gaps in Bahamian citizenship laws that can give rise to statelessness, specifically arising due to gender discrimination in the citizenship provisions.”

She continued: “For example, Bahamian men do not automatically confer nationality on their children born in The Bahamas, if the child is born out of wedlock. So, unless the mother of the child is Bahamian, the child will not automatically acquire Bahamian citizenship at birth.

“This is problematic because now the child is entirely dependent on acquiring nationality from his/her non-Bahamian mother, which may not be possible. The mother in this scenario may also face restrictions on conferring her nationality, or the mother herself may be stateless.

Mrs Balboni-Moss added: “This is why UNHCR urges states to ensure their laws do not create situations of statelessness,

and why UNHCR urges states to implement safeguards to prevent against statelessness.”

Yesterday, Mr Symonette stressed reporters contact the Haitian Embassy to get “the other side of the story”.

However, the embassy had not previously responded to information requests placed by The Tribune over several months.

Yesterday, the Haitian Embassy replied to an email request sent earlier this month, stating: “The embassy acknowledges your email requesting an interview in reference to the matters impacting Haitian migrants and their children.

The embassy informs you that it is not able to accommodate you right now and will contact you at the appropriate time.”

Yesterday, Mr Symonette also called for a tempered approach to immigration backlogs that have seen applicants wait 15 and 20 years for citizenship.

He reiterated there was only a constitutional entitlement to apply for citizenship for persons born in the country to foreign nationals, not to receive it.

He underscored in a number of cases immigration officials have tried to contact applicants but could not find them, or there were insufficient documents.

“Whilst I understand persons have difficulties, we are working with it,” he said, noting the citizenship committee established in

TARANIQUE THURSTON March had approved up to The department also 400 applications of persons plans to launch a website born in the country. that will allow applicants On Monday, Tribune to follow up on their Insight reported on the application. judicial review application “I would appreciate perof a Bahamas-born woman sons contacting me and who has waited some five I will try and assist,” he years for a decision on her said, “before I have to read application. about it in the national The woman said she and press, which is not the way her legal counsel had vis- to go. ited the department on a “Immigration is doing the weekly basis. best they can, immigration Yesterday, Mr Symon- officers are challenged and ette issued a challenge to we will try and do the best any applicant who had we can.” been waiting more than ten Mr Symonette also told years for a determination reporters outside Cabinet on their citizenship applica- the department is set to tion, to email him with their move to a paperless system name, telephone number, on September 10 after a and a copy of the last letter slight setback. they received from the He said the fee increase department. for work permits has not He advised those appli- slowed down applications, cants to contact him at his adding he had approved personal email address: some 500 work permits for brentsymonette54@coralHaitian nationals over the wave.com. past three days.

FAMILY ISLAND SCHOOLS: THREE AREN’T READY from page one

Education director Marcellus Taylor yesterday responded to Mr Mitchell’s statement, elaborating on the process and suggesting school maintenance be conducted year-round, as opposed to the “flawed model” of conducting repairs solely during the eight-week summer period.

“Generally speaking, schools are going to be open,” Mr Newbold said.

“In San Salvador, all the works there are complete, just waiting for the occupancy certificate. At Eva Hilton here in Oakes Field, the computer lab will be completed at the end of September as will the Pavilion. The library (is) scheduled to be completed at the end of October.

“CH Reeves is complete.

Thelma Gibson complete except for some electrical works, which will not stop these schools from opening.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis inspecting government schools in New Providence earlier this month.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff There is still some work to They’re not complete as when they’re going to be be done at AF Adderley, yet. We don’t have a defi- open because they need to but that school should also nite date on when they will complete them. They don’t be complete. But the work have a definite date for open. those to be open.”

“Now the Holmes Rock is going well there.”

When asked by reportMr Newbold noted those school in Grand Bahama, the Lowe Sound school in ers about a timeline, Mr students have been reloAndros, and Staniel Cay Newbold said “there is no cated to other institutions, in Exumas, those schools’ timeline” and added: “They where they will remain until works (are) still in progress. don’t have a specific time the works are completed.

The press secretary also said there is “no significant teacher shortage to speak of”.

Regarding teachers, Mr Taylor said the Department of Education is “confident” schools are staffed sufficiently to be able to open. He added plans are in place to ensure safety in the schools where repairs are ongoing.

Referencing Mr Mitchell’s comments that school repairs did not start until August 23, Mr Taylor said the construction at Eva Hilton specifically began around the time of the Easter break.

However, Mr Taylor admitted: “It does appear that contracts were issued late and it does appear that the time left for certain contracts to be initiated is very short.

“I think in general we have to move away from the maintenance all coming in the six to eight-week period in the summer.”

He elaborated that government processes such

as tendering and vetting, while necessary, are time-consuming.

“And so just trying to wait for this eight-week period is kind of not a sustainable approach. And so I think what we really need to look at is how we engage in a year-round process of doing some of this maintenance and upkeep,” Mr Taylor said.

“This systematic, annual ritual of talking about getting schools ready and trying to do everything in eight weeks is in itself almost a flawed model. And all governments have used it.”

Mr Taylor said while there may be a lot of repairs, most of them are “minor” and can be taken care of on weekends.

“So, you could probably do them spread across the year so that there isn’t this big mad rush or it isn’t this thing where it’s like a clock ticking away if you don’t get it done today,” he said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 29, 2018, PAGE 7

Sands hails progress on nursing concerns

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Duane Sands said yesterday his ministry has made significant headway on nursing concerns, particularly on outstanding payments.

However, it remains unclear whether its most contentious point of dispute over changes to the nurses’ shift system has been resolved.

Sources close to the matter said the union has one more meeting with Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in hopes of settling outstanding issues.

Dr Sands said: “I believe there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction in terms of the arrears. There are still some outstanding payments that have not yet been made, but certainly with pay day this month, we believe that things will be a bit better.

“I would hate to be premature and to say that we expect that the nursing leadership will be happy or satisfied.

“What I can say is my ministry, my permanent secretary and her team have done all in their power to ensure that the ministry has done what it’s supposed to do.”

The Ministry of Health

had previously said all outstanding payment matters related to the union have been addressed. The nurses had raised 14 issues that have been “amicably resolved,” according to a ministry press release earlier this month.

Yesterday, Dr Sands said he could not confirm the total amount owed to nurses, adding instructions sent by his ministry to the Treasury Department don’t automatically effect payment.

“It really depends what has actually made it on to the pay sheet for August and I wouldn’t have that information,” he said.

“When we send instructions or clearance over to the Treasury from our Finance Department, it doesn’t necessarily mean that what we send over is going to be on that pay sheet. That’s a decision that’s entirely at the discretion of the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, so we have to wait and see.

“The nurses’ union would have met in office with the permanent secretary. We have made significant headway in the appointment of the recently graduated registered nurses, certainly at the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) and we

are just about concluded with the appointments of the new registered nurses at the Department of Public Health.”

Yesterday, Bahamas Nurses Union President Amancha Williams declined comment.

The PHA says the move to implement a change in nurses’ shift from ‘four-on/ four-off’ to ‘five-on/twooff’, would increase the number of nurses on duty, reduce the number of hours nurses could work in a day and reduce prospects for accidents and errors. Some government officials also privately acknowledged to The Tribune the move would cut down overtime pay for nurses.

The BNU has claimed the shift will cause burnout.

The nurses took a strike vote on June 7 but the Department of Labour declared that poll null and void, saying ballots were not delivered to Inagua, Mayaguana and San Salvador. Scoffing at this, the BNU has noted those three islands have two nurses each whereas 377 nurses around the country voted in favour of a strike.

Earlier this month, Ms Williams said the union won’t consider holding another strike vote until Dr Minnis has reported back to them.

READERS REACT TO WHALE DEATH AFTER a live pilot whale was cut open and left to die in Abaco by someone suspected to be looking for ambergris – a substance found in some whales and used in making perfume – angry readers gave their reaction on tribune242. com.

DDK said: “Ignorant greed was a terrible motivation for this crime. Big thanks to the folk who attempted to save the poor creature. Hope a reward might help capture the perp to be prosecuted.”

BahamaRed had this to say: “This is sick and sad . . .

Killed a defenseless animal for nothing. People of this world are so cruel . . . all around.”

OriginalBey asked: “You see a stranded whale and the first thing that occurs to you is, how can I make money from this?”

Patpaul1951 said: “This is the society that we are living in – ‘FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE’” SP posted this comment: “This is the saddest news for the years. I hope the perpetrators are found and charged to the fullest.”

Tribune Business reported that the Grand Lucayan’s new chairman Michael Scott had blasted Hutchison Whampoa’s “lack of co-operation” for threatening to delay the creation and release of a full sales prospectus for the resort.

Observerinlondon had this to say on the issue:

“Interesting . . . Doing the DD after deciding to plop down $65,000,000. You might want to think about that next time you buy a whale. Obviously off to a good start.”

The_Oracle said: “The administrative stagnation in Freeport will bog this down just as it has everything else. Hutch is operating at the Port Authority pace.”

And Birdiestrachan had this to say: “Mr Scott and his band of merry mouths should have had all of this information a long time ago, even before they made the down payment. Scott is again looking for something or someone to blame when this foolishness blows up in their faces.”

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

MINISTER of Heath Dr Duane Sands.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

What must a woman do to convince people of her worth?

THE BPL debacle has been interesting to watch.

Every day, another layer is peeled back, exposing not only what has transpired behind the scenes, but the motivations of individuals.

The dismissal of former chair Darnell Osborne is being questioned for many reasons.

Was there a personality conflict? Were there issues of impropriety? Is there a hidden agenda? Without all of the information and evidence to support or refute claims made, our conclusions depend on our trust in the sources and the personal experiences that shape our perspectives. As a woman who almost always opts not to wear make-up, I have been paying attention to the conversation about make-up and who should pay for it.

Mad about make-up?

Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister spurred a conversation about make-up and company financial responsibility with his accusation that Osborne billed personal make-up services to BPL. It was later reported the invoice in question was for make-up application for 15 people as a part of a public relations project including the revamping of the BPL website.

Why would this be a focus for Bannister and why would he choose to highlight it, of all things?

Aside from pettiness and

By Alicia Wallace

desperate attempts to redeem himself, he certainly intended to highlight Osborne’s gender and use it against her. It is the easiest way to bring a person down — feminise them.

Women in leadership do not have an easy time, judged differently than men in the same roles with comparable backgrounds and capabilities. Many people only ever envision men when they think about power or leadership. Many do not believe women should take on certain roles or earn over a certain amount. There are assumptions about the ability to make decisions and manage others that are solely based on gender norms. To bring attention to the $750 makeup bill is to remind the public of Osborne’s gender and use it as a weapon against her. To mischaracterise the description of services invoiced is to deceive and brew distrust.

In addition to the negative effects of Bannister’s claim, this creates the opportunity to have a discussion about women and work — a feminist issue.

No matter the company,

position, or compensation, there are specific expectations of women in the workplace that have nothing to do with the performance of our duties as contractually agreed.

Women — architects of productivity Women are expected to perform acts of service and, in particular, acts of domesticity. In the small offices and stores where both men and women work — whether verbally assigned to it or taking note of others’ disinterest or refusal to do it — women do the extra work of cleaning and organising. Think about the small businesses you encountered in your professional career. Where there was no cleaning staff, who did what? Who swept and mopped the floor? Who threw the mould-covered food out of the fridge? Who noticed the strange smell in the bathroom and made it go away?

Beyond cleaning, women become stand-in parents to the ailing staff members, people with wardrobe malfunctions and those who bring personal problems to work and need a good old

DARNELL OSBORNE, former chair of BPL problem-solving session to clear their minds. We are the go-to people for emotional labour. This work, uncompensated and largely unnoticed, keeps companies running. It enables people to work.

Everyone knows nolunch-Larry is difficult to work with when he has not eaten and someone needs to share theirs with him.

‘Kennedy’ cannot focus on anything until every relationship problem has been divulged and a course of action decided. The boss raises hell when there are fingerprints all over the display case and no one can work for the 30 minutes of ranting. Women are taking care of all of this - and without thanks.

In fact, this service frequently draws criticism.

Co-workers complain we talk too much, draw too many people to our desks, spend a lot of time on tasks outside of our portfolios and are always too tired to work overtime. The reason for all of this is obvious, but only if you pay attention to what is happening in the workplace and who is making it happen.

What’s in your compensation package?

The kerfuffle in response to the idea a woman executive might have expensed make-up services is not surprising. We are especially sensitive about money, how it is being spent and how financial decisions affect us as consumers and citizens. In addition, we are generally not aware of the non-salary benefits that are sometimes a part of the compensation package. We sometimes talk about health insurance, pension plans and vacation, but moving costs, cell phone allowance or reimbursement, wardrobe allowance, childcare assistance, training

opportunities and flexitime rarely come up. We think of many of them as exclusive to expats, but they can be and have been negotiated before.

Jobs cost money Make-up is difficult to discuss for many reasons, not the least of which being the competing ideas that it is a luxury and it is a necessity. One of the laziest attacks on women living in poverty, for example, is their spending on beauty products. If you do not have much money, the seemingly dominant idea is that you not deserve to have your hair done, polish your nails, or wear make-up. What if your job requires it?

Company policy may not blatantly state that makeup is a requirement, but it is impressed upon employees in various ways. Have you ever seen a female bank teller at work without make-up? Flight attendant?

How many sales people in jewellery stores in down town Nassau are make-up free at work?

Airlines are notorious for sexist policies at 30,000 feet. Many require women on staff to wear make-up and high heels.

Some go as far as to describe the cut of acceptable footwear, stating how much of the foot should be exposed. They have weight maximums and some only allow women to wear pants under very specific circumstances. Given the requirements, it only makes sense for airlines — and companies with similar sexist policies — to include a make-up allowance in the compensation package.

What if we were as concerned about women’s wellbeing in the workplace as we are about women’s appearance and the cost of the required — explicitly or implicitly — beauty

enhancement products and services?

When women dare to lead Osborne’s job was not easy. It would not have been easy for a man, but had to be infinitely difficult for a woman, almost always deemed incapable or unqualified. Women are called “emotional” in the attempt to disqualify us by suggesting instability and an inherent inability to think critically and make decisions. We are called delicate and weak when it is convenient. The moment a women goes after or takes on a position of leadership, she becomes “biggity” and is demonised. She is heartless, “too hurry”, and does not know her place.

If a woman in leadership has to engage, not only with a board and staff, but with the general public, she is expected to soften her look.

This is supposed to bring balance to the brutishness that obviously pushed her to her position of power.

She needs to remind the public of her femininity.

She needs to have her hair done regularly, have makeup professionally applied, make wardrobe decisions that distract from her height if she is tall and weight if she is bigger-bodied, smile as much as possible and be generally aesthetically pleasing. If she looks the way society dictates, she might be easier to listen to, right?

Who is supposed to bear this cost? Women are rarely employees the way men often are just employees.

Women are rarely executive directors, chairs, magistrates, attorney generals, or candidates for the leadership of a political party the way men are exactly what they call themselves and claim. Women are their gender first, and everything else follows, usually weakened by their womanhood. Women do not get a pass for being overtly feminine and attending to the aesthetic preferences of society, nor do we keep the focus on our accomplishments when we eschew the traditional and the expected.

Make-up or not, paid by the company or not, there does not seem to be much women can do to convince the public of our worth.

We do not talk enough about issues of gender in the workplace — including differences in policies and expectations — and how it impacts the way we work, and we certainly do not talk about the compensation we are entitled to, but rarely receive.

Negotiation skills — also an issue of gender — must a part of it, but misogyny is definitely at work. There isn’t enough concealer in the world to cover that up.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 29, 2018, PAGE 9

Experts assemble for UN-hosted meeting on ‘killer robots’ future GENEVA Associated Press

EXPERTS from scores of countries are meeting to discuss ways to define and deal with “killer robots” — futuristic weapons systems that could conduct war without human intervention.

The week-long gathering that opened on Monday is the second at UN offices in Geneva this year to focus on such lethal autonomous weapons systems and to explore possibilities for regulating them, among other issues.

In theory, fully autonomous, computer-controlled weapons don’t exist yet, UN officials say. The debate is still in its infancy, and the experts have at times grappled with basic definitions.

The United States has argued that it’s premature to establish a definition of such systems, much less regulate them.

Some top advocacy groups say governments and militaries should be prevented from developing such systems, which have sparked fears and led some critics to envisage

PETER ASARO, left, of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, and Jody Williams, of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, speak to reporters at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. Experts from scores of countries are meeting to discuss ways to define and deal with “killer robots”, futuristic weapons systems that could conduct war without human intervention.

Photo: Jamey Keaten/AP harrowing scenarios about their use.

As the meeting got underway, Amnesty International urged countries to work toward a ban.

Killer robots are “no longer the stuff of science fiction”, Rasha Abdul Rahim, an artificial intelligence researcher for the human rights organisation,

said. Rahim warned that technological advances are outpacing international law.

Part of the trouble for activists, however, is that the UN-backed conference that convened the meeting works by consensus. A single participating country — like a big military power — therefore could scuttle efforts to reach an

international ban.

Amandeep Gill, who is chairing the meeting and a former Indian ambassador to the UN-backed Conference on Disarmament, said progress is being made. He summarised three general camps of countries: One seeks a formal, legal ban on such weapons; another wants a

political, but non-binding agreement; and a third wants no changes at all.

“We are coming closer to an agreement on what should be the guiding principles — guiding the behaviour of states and guiding the development and deployment of such systems around the world,” Gill told reporters on Monday. “And this is not an insignificant outcome.”

At a news conference hosted by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams said the group wanted “meaningful human control” when it comes to the use of military weapons and negotiations toward a ban on computer-controlled weapons systems.

“There is a lot of movement within the governments: We’re up to 26 now that have called for a ban,” said Williams, who won the 1997 Nobel for her work against land mines.

“Logic would dictate — at least in my thinking — that there would be a mandate toward negotiating a binding instrument, and that’s what we’re pushing for here this week.”

Uber heads in new direction with Toyota on self-driving cars SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press UBER is teaming up with Toyota to build self-driving cars for its ride-hailing service after its efforts to do it alone were derailed by a fatal collision and allegations of high-tech theft.

Toyota, based in Japan, is also investing $500m in Uber as part of the alliance announced on Monday.

The deal aims to combine the best features from the two companies’ work on autonomous technology into cars that will be picking up Uber’s customers by 2021.

By the time that happens, Uber hopes to have completed an initial public offering of stock that will enrich a list of early investors that now includes Toyota. Those investors have been pouring billions of dollars into Uber’s revolutionary ride-hailing service that still hasn’t proven it can make money since its inception nearly a decade ago.

Uber is counting on selfdriving cars to help it turn the financial corner by reducing the need to pay human drivers who arrive to pick up passengers in private vehicles summoned through a smartphone app.

By expanding into autonomous vehicles, Uber also hopes to ward off a looming competitive threat from another early investor, Google and its self-driving car spin-off Waymo, which is poised to launch its own ride-hailing service in Arizona before the end of this year.

“Our goal is to deploy the world’s safest self-driving cars on the Uber network, and this agreement is another significant step towards making that a reality,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Meanwhile, Toyota is trying to evolve from a pure automobile maker into a “mobility company”, as are many of its industry peers, including General Motors and Ford in the US. That crusade has prodded decades-old automakers such as Toyota and GM to invest in and partner with technology companies working on self-driving cars while also opening up their own research hubs in Silicon Valley.

Besides allowing them to lean on each other’s respective strengths, Toyota’s deal with San Francisco-based Uber also will help the two companies spread out the cost of designing and building the complex systems,

THE HEADQUARTERS of Uber in San Francisco. which use computers, cameras, radar and laser sensors to guide the self-driving vehicles.

Uber is turning to Toyota for help in autonomous vehicles five months after one of its self-driving cars ran over and killed a pedestrian crossing a dark street in Tempe, Arizona.

The March 18 crash prompted Uber to temporarily suspend its work on its self-driving car programme while conducting a safety evaluation.

Authorities determined the sensors on Uber’s selfdriving car sensors spotted

the pedestrian, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, but the vehicle’s automatic-braking function had been disabled in favour of a human backup driver.

Tempe police said the driver was distracted and streaming a television show before the crash.

Uber had little choice but to find a self-driving car partner after the collision that killed Herzberg, said Navigant Research analyst Sam Abuelsamid.

“It’s going to be tough for them to build consumer trust in whatever it is they’re developing,” he

Photo: Eric Risberg/AP said. “I think that people will have a lot more trust in Toyota to do this the right way, to take due care and make sure everything is properly tested and evaluated.”

Uber’s expansion into self-driving cars suffered another setback last year after Waymo accused it of stealing its technology in an elaborate scheme. The case went through one week of a high-profile trial before Uber agreed to pay Waymo $245m in stock to settle the allegations without acknowledging wrongdoing.

• LEAVE it to Tony Hawk to mix a decades-old skateboarding trick with the latest in virtual reality technology.

The 50-year-old skateboarding pioneer and entrepreneur is dragging his 360-degree loop ramp out of storage and giving a handful of young skaters the chance to try to nail the near-impossible trick on a live virtual reality broadcast Sunday from his San Diego County headquarters.

There’s no prize money or trophy for any skater who successfully completes The Loop, which Hawk first did 20 years ago.

“No, it’s more sort of a badge of honour in the skate world,” Hawk said.

Hawk will be rampside to provide commentary and coaching while Corbin Harris does play-by-play for Tony Hawk’s Loop Challenge.

The only way to watch will be in virtual reality.

Fans can download the free NextVR app from the stores associated with Oculus Go, PlayStation VR, HTC VIVE Pro, HTC VIVE, Windows Mixed Reality, Gear VR, and Google Daydream. A virtual reality headset is required.

This is the first foray into action sports for leading VR broadcast platform NextVR, based in Newport Beach. NextVR will place eight VR cameras along The Loop for the 3D stereoscopic broadcast. Fans will be fully immersed when they’re placed at the drop-in and at the peak of the loop.

Hawk first became intrigued by the trick in the 1970s when he read a magazine article about a skater who tried — and failed — to ride a 360-degree loop.

Hawk said he knew it was possible and made several attempts to determine the perfect design. Hawk became the first skater to nail it in 1998 while filming a video in a bullring in neighbouring Tijuana, Mexico.

Hawk said only about 15 skaters have successfully completed The Loop, which requires a perfect balance of momentum, speed and gravity.

• A PIECE of computer history that helped launch a trillion dollar company is hitting the auction block.

A fully functioning Apple-1 being auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction in September is one of only 60 or so remaining of the original 200 that were designed and built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 and 1977.

It was restored to its original, operational state by Apple expert Corey Cohen.

The system was operated without fault for approximately eight hours in a test.

It even includes the original keyboard from the 1970s.

It shows the humble beginnings of Cupertino, California-based Apple, which recently became the world’s first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 tn.

The Apple 1 originally sold for about $666. It could get $300,000 or more at auction.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, August 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

SEATED, from left, Lenette King, Office of the Attorney General; Joel Lewis - acting undersecretary, Ministry of Transport & Local Government; Dr Nicolette Bethel, University of The Bahamas; Ernestine Fernander - Department of Local Government; Karen Dorsette - Office of the Attorney General; (standing) Gadville McDonald - National Training Agency; Leron Neely - Ministry of Finance; Khyrstle Rutherford-Ferguson - Chamber of Commerce; Roderick Pinder - Bahamas Association of Local Government Authorities; Brenda Colebrooke - Acting Deputy Director of Local Government; Errol Bethel - Former Parliamentary Commissioner; Dwight Strachan - Guardian Radio; Senator Ranard Henfield - chairman.

Photos: BIS and NAC/Barefoot Marketing)

DO YOU WANT LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR NEW PROVIDENCE? THE government is conducting widespread consultation on the implementation of local government in New Providence.

A national advisory committee was launched in April, according to a press statement, which explained the Minnis administration was hoping to build upon the successes of the Family Island system established in 1996.

The committee is chaired by Senator Ranard

Henfield.

The consultations target a wide cross-section of New Providence residents to gauge the needs of the local populace and to gain insights from them to assist in the implementation of their desired structure.

Mr Henfield said: “Introducing a strong system of local government would empower New Providence residents to resolve a lot of our local issues from alleviating traffic congestion,

deterring traffic violations, eliminating neighbourhood ‘bush’ mechanics.

“I believe that empowering communities through local government would significantly decrease the nuisances and pollution from residents burning trash in communities and dumping unwanted appliances on vacant lots.

Additionally, empowered communities would be able to address issues such as animal and animal cruelty around the island.”

He added: “We live in a country with innovative, intelligent and proud Bahamians who, while eager to assist in community and national development, are limited to vying for Parliament to contribute to the development of our communities and country at large. I think it’s time we encourage leadership at various levels of society and government.”

The committee is now it its second stage of the project and expects to deliver its recommendations to Cabinet later this year.

The list of persons the committee hopes to meet over the next few weeks include MPs, government ministers, permanent secretaries, Family Island councillors and administrators, major third parties and a few others with institutional knowledge.

“We would love to sit with the permanent secretaries, MPs, Family Island councilors and administrators,” Mr Henfield said. “We know that they hold the key to advancing democracy by empowering communities in New Providence.”

According to the statement, the committee itself reflects a diversity of residents including: Dr Nicolette Bethel of the University of The Bahamas, Valentino ‘Scrooge’ Brown of the Hay Street Community Movement, Dr Nicola Virgil-Rolle of the National Development Plan, Ed Fields of the Downtown Nassau Partnership, Roderick Pinder of the Bahamas Association of Local Government Authorities and many other noteworthy residents.

As part of its consultation, the NAC engaged Bahamian agencies in

MEMBERS of the National Advisory Committee in discussion.

July to consult various residents from the 24 communities around the capital, inclusive of civil society organisations, the business community, the media and community leaders to gather their input.

“Consultation with the public about what they want in local government in New Providence is critical,” said NAC member Matt Albury, of the Organisation for Responsible Governance.

“The goal of local government is to give citizens greater opportunity to express their ideas and concerns about their communities. This is an effort of empowerment and civic engagement, seeking input through an open and honest dialogue can provide an insight into what is really important to the people.”

Participants in the NAC’s consultation exercises were generally open to the idea of local government implementation for New Providence. They were eager to offer suggestions on issues which ranked

high on their list of community concerns – better area planning, education, waste management and even community safety.

Those polled also offered their opinions on specific caveats designed to make a local government system more accountable and weighed in on how such initiatives could be funded without adding to the overall tax burden of Bahamians as well.

Another NAC member, well-known morning talkradio personality Dwight Strachan said: “This is one of the most important issues facing the future development of the entire Bahamas, not just New Providence.

“True local government, with elected representatives fully empowered to address community challenges without having to appeal to (and wait for) central government for matters like fixing traffic lights or potholes, traffic flow and zoning, or garbage collection and recycling programmes (is needed).”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 29, 2018, PAGE 11

Cancer screening in Grand Bahama

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

CANCER awareness group Us TOO and the Cancer Society of the Bahamas is aiming to screen 800 men on Grand Bahama at its annual free prostate cancer screening event next month.

Some 700 men participated last year, and this year they are hoping to reach more men and bring awareness to the disease.

The free screening is available to all men and will take place September 7 and 8 at the Pearce Plaza Government Clinic on Coral Road, Freeport.

Us TOO has held free screening for the past eight years, and their target goal is to screen 800 men on Grand Bahama, which has one of the highest cancer rates in the country.

As September is designated Prostate Cancer Month, the organisation will hold a number of events to raise awareness, including a town meeting on Friday, August 31, at the Bahamas Public Services Union Hall at 7pm.

Dr Robin Roberts, Us TOO Grand Bahama consulting urologist, will be the guest speaker.

Don Mitchell, chairman of Us TOO and a survivor of prostate cancer, said that screening is very important because early detection is key. If diagnosed early, prostate cancer can be 100 percent treatable. The screening on Friday, September 7, will occur from 5pm to 9pm, and registration

starts at 3.30pm. On Saturday, September 8, from 9am to 5pm, and registration starts 8.30pm.

He said: “We are seeing too many men come to us when the prostate is in the advanced stages, and that is not necessary because it is easy to detect and treat if detected early, and we are urging men to come and get screened.”

Us TOO Grand Bahama, which received its charter in 2010 from Us TOO International, was awarded the Edward C Kap Award for their screening initiative in Grand Bahama, and subsequent study that was done through Dr Roberts, Mr Mitchell, and the Rand Memorial Hospital prostate cancer screening which was made public worldwide.

“Screening for men in Grand Bahama is earthshattering, and it is a breakthrough for us to do this at virtually no cost to the men,” said Mr Mitchell, who also attributed the success of the initiative to partners such as the Cancer Society, the medical community and volunteers and corporate Grand Bahama for donations.

In addition to prostate screening, he noted that the RMH Healthy Lifestyle Unit would be on hand to conduct other health screenings.

“We try to incorporate as much as we can in the screening,” Mr Mitchell said. “And we try not to ask the men for more than $10, and many of them give far more, but some cannot give

at all, and we do not want to turn those men away, or anyone away. We do not sit in judgment of anyone. We try to take care of it through donations from corporate Grand Bahama.”

Cody Dean, a stage four prostate cancer survivor who was diagnosed in 2014, is encouraging men, especially young ones, to get screening. “Dr Roberts did a biopsy to see if I had cancer and I had stage four cancer, but I did treatment, and I am a survivor,” he said.

Dr Alfred Brathwaite, the medical advisor for Us Too Grand Bahama, said that men with a family history of prostate cancer should get screened at age 35, and at age 40 for those with no family history, and every year thereafter.

He stressed that prostate cancer could be successfully treated if detected early.

“Cancer in any part of the body tends to follow a similar pattern. So, within the prostate, the cancer will grow as it grows anywhere else it might have started. It may take over the entire gland, but even prior to doing that it tends to spread. The first spread tends to be local to lymph nodes that are near the prostate. But after that and more significant, and because the treatment tends not to be as effective if detected earlier, cancer spreads to another part of the body.

And particularly in men, when it spreads to other organs, particularly the bone, it is a dreadful disease and success in treatment is much more difficult to achieve,” he said.

14-YEAR-OLD GIRL MISSING POLICE are looking for a 14-year-old girl reported missing by her family.

Inez Francious, pictured, of Carib Road, is 5”, has a slim build and a dark brown complexion.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS.

‘The Bahamas’ own street philosopher’

PAGE 12, Wednesday, August 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

PUERTO RICO HURRICANE DEATH TOLL NOW 2,975

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Associated Press PUERTO Rico’s governor raised the US territory’s official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975 yesterday after an independent study found that the number of people who succumbed in the desperate, sweltering aftermath had been severely undercounted.

The new estimate of nearly 3,000 dead in the six months after Maria devastated the island in September 2017 and knocked out the entire electrical grid was made by researchers with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

“We never anticipated a scenario of zero communication, zero energy, zero highway access,” Gov Ricardo Rossello told reporters. “I think the lesson is to anticipate the worst. Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, in hindsight, things could’ve been handled differently.”

He said he is creating a commission to study the hurricane response, and a registry of people vulnerable to the next hurricane, such as the elderly, the bedridden and kidney dialysis patients.

Rossello acknowledged Puerto Rico remains vulnerable to another major storm. He said the government has improved its communication systems and established a network to distribute food and medicine, but he noted that there are still 60,000 homes without a proper roof.

ARETHA Franklin’s coffin lies at Charles H Wright Museum of African American History during a public visitation in Detroit, yesterday.

Photo: Paul Sancya/AP

Franklin fans show R.E.S.P.E.C.T DETROIT Associated Press THE regal presence Aretha Franklin exuded in life was captured at her viewing yesterday, with the late Queen of Soul in a gold-plated casket dressed completely in red, including high-heeled pumps, proving, as one person put it, that she was a “diva to the end”.

As Franklin’s powerful vocals from classic gospel performances were piped through the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer laid on view, wearing earrings, red lipstick and red nail polish,

and her hair was cut short.

Her dress — with its ornamental elements and sheer netting fabric — was reminiscent of an outfit she would wear onstage and “something she would have selected for herself,” said her niece, Sabrina Owens,.

Mourners poured into the museum to pay their final respects to Franklin, who died on August 16 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76. The two-day viewing was part of a week of commemorations for the legend, who will be laid to rest on Friday.

The Wright Museum board member Kelly Major Green said: “What we wanted to do is be reflective of the Queen. It’s beautiful.

She’s beautiful.”

Fans strolled by the casket, some in tears; one woman blew a kiss to Franklin, who was surrounded by massive arrangements of roses of different hues.

Tammy Gibson, 49, of Chicago said she arrived about 5.30am. She came alone but made fast friends with others who sang and reminisced.

Growing up, Gibson said she heard Franklin’s music “playing all the time” by her parents, who “told me to go to bed — it’s an adult party”.

Outside the museum, she said: “I know people are sad, but it’s just celebrating — people dancing and singing her music.”

Owens said she began planning for this week’s festivities earlier this year.

“After all she gave to the world, I felt we needed to give her an appropriate send-off that would match her legacy,” she said. “She loved the city of Detroit and the city of Detroit loved her.”

The roses that surround the casket, Owens said, reflected her love for the flower and her propensity to send arrangements “in grand fashion”.

Franklin was dressed in red symbolic of her membership in the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

The setting for the viewings could not be more fitting, according to Paula

Marie Seniors, an associate professor of Africana studies at Virginia Tech.

“I think it’s incredibly significant — she is being honored almost like a queen at one of the most important black museums in the United States,” said Seniors.

The Queen of Soul, Seniors said, was “a singer of the universe.” Yet she added that Franklin also was “so unapologetically black — she was so proud of being a black woman.”

Owens said the museum has held services for many dignitaries, most famously Rosa Parks: “It was important that Aretha take her place next to them and lie in state there.”

TEXAS POLICEMAN GUILTY OF KILLING BLACK TEEN DALLAS Associated Press A WHITE police officer was convicted of murder Tuesday for fatally shooting an unarmed, black 15-yearold boy while firing into a car packed with teenagers in suburban Dallas, marking a rare guilty verdict in a police shooting case.

Dallas County jurors were not swayed by Roy Oliver’s claim that he feared for his partner’s life when he fired into the vehicle as it drove away from a large house party. The gunfire killed Jordan Edwards, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Oliver was fired days after the incident.

Gasps echoed around the courtroom as the verdict was read. Edwards’ relatives sobbed and hugged prosecutors, and waved their hands in the air and proclaimed “Thank you, Jesus!” after the jury left.

His father, Odell Edwards, briefly spoke outside the courtroom before heading back in to begin listening to the sentencing phase of the trial. He said he was thankful for the jury’s decision and felt like jumping for joy but was able to retrain himself.

“I just want to say I’m happy, very happy,” he said, adding that it’s “been a long time” since he felt that way.

Oliver and his partner were responding to a report

of underage drinking at a house party when the shooting occurred in April 2017.

Oliver testified that he opened fire after seeing the car move toward his partner, but his partner told jurors he didn’t fear for his life.

It’s extremely rare for police officers to be tried and convicted of murder for shootings that occurred while they were on duty. Not including Oliver, only five non-federal police officers had been convicted of murder — and four of those were overturned — since 2005.

Oliver also was found not guilty on two lesser charges Tuesday stemming from the shooting: aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. Jurors deliberated over two days before reaching the verdict.

“This was a long fought battle,” said Daryl Washington, an attorney representing Edwards’ family in a civil lawsuit they’ve filed in his death. “We are just happy ... that Roy Oliver is gonna have to do his time for taking Jordan’s life. What he did on that night should have never happened.”

In closing arguments, defense attorneys told the jury they needed to evaluate the circumstances from Oliver’s viewpoint and from what the former officer knew at the time. But prosecutors described Oliver as out of control and looking for a reason to kill.

UK PM PLEDGES AFRICA INVESTMENT JOHANNESBURG Associated Press DANCING with schoolkids and meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, British Prime Minister Theresa May launched her threenation African tour on Tuesday by pledging to make Britain the biggest investor in Africa from the developed world.

With Britain due to leave the European Union in March 2019, May is seeking to bolster Britain’s ties with other regions around the world, notably Africa. As part of that strategy, May is visiting three of Africa’s largest economies — South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

May used her visit to Cape Town to announce her government’s first post-Brexit trade pact.

She confirmed that Britain intends to carry over the EU’s current partnership with six southern African countries — Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique.

She also announced that the British government would invest £4bn ($5.1bn) in African economies.

“By 2022, I want the UK to be the G7’s number one investor in Africa, with Britain’s private sector companies taking the lead in investing the billions that will see Africa’s economies grow by trillions,” said May.