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ONE DEAD, ONE HURT AS SHOTS FIRED AT HOME

ONE man was killed and another injured last night as gunshots were fired at a home.

The shooting - which led to the 69th homicide of the year, according to The Trubune’s records - was in Hillside Park, off Bernard Road.

Reportedly, shortly after 10pm, several males were at a home when unknown attackers opened fire from outside.

SEE PAGE TEN

PM says choice of purchaser is ‘bank’s decision’

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net  PRIME Minister Perry Christie hinted yesterday that the government does not yet know who the prospective buyer for the stalled $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort is.

In fact, while appearing as a guest on ZNS Radio’s “Darold Miller Live� Monday morning, Mr Christie said it is the “bank’s decision� - referring to the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) - to whom Baha Mar is sold and then the government will completely vet the purchaser to ensure they have the “means and

fitness� to own property in the Bahamas and operate a casino.

Last week, Mr Christie announced that construction on the stalled Baha Mar resort is expected to resume in September in a move to have the project open no later than the end of the 2016/2017 winter season. “We have done our very best to protect the interest of all employees who worked and suffered and be able to return to them their due rights and the contractors and sub contractors,� Mr Christie said yesterday.

SEE PAGE THREE

CHRISTIE NOT CONCERNED

BY SEARS LEADERSHIP BID

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net  PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday he is “not at all� concerned about former Attorney General Alfred Sears’ bid to challenge him for the leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

In fact, Mr Christie said “his record� and his “value� would ensure his reelection at the party’s convention in November.

Appearing as a guest on radio talk show “Darold Miller Live� with host

Darold Miller, Mr Christie laughed off speculation that he may be ousted as leader of the PLP by the Fort Charlotte candidate because of voter frustration with the current administration. “No, I am not concerned,� Mr Christie said. “What I have done for the people of The Bahamas and what I have done for the Progressive Liberal Party and its supporters, will enable them to see the value, my value as prime minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.�

SEE PAGE SIX

27-YEAR-OLD Ashley McKenzie outside court yesterday.

Photo: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

WOMAN ACCUSED OF STABBING HER BOYFRIEND TO DEATH FACES COURT

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN and a woman were separately arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with two recent killings in the capital.

Ashley McKenzie, 27, faced a murder charge for the August 24 killing of Andrew Mackey.

48 HOURS OF RAIN

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net RESIDENTS in the northwest and central Bahamas can expect light to moderate rainfall over the next 48 hours as the country continues to experience “tropical moisture� from the outer bands of a departing tropical depression, a senior meteorological official said yesterday.

SEE PAGE 11

Magistrate Constance Delancy informed her that she would have to apply for pre-trial release at the Supreme Court.

Shortly after midnight on the day in question, police were called to a house on Ida Street that was the scene of a fatal stabbing.

Initial reports from police said a woman alleged that she stabbed her boyfriend during an argument.

McKenzie, who was in tears during her arraignment, was informed that her case would be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court on October 20.

She was also told that she would not be allowed to enter a plea to the allegation at this time.

Attorney Lennox Coleby represents the accused.

Christopher McQueen, 22, was also arraigned be-

WITNESS SAYS SHE SAW KNIFE HANDED OVER BEFORE KILLING

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net A JURY yesterday heard a girlfriend’s account to police of how her boyfriend’s shoving match with Adonai Wilson escalated a day later when the 18-year-old murder accused allegedly handed his cousin a knife that had been in his pocket

before Wilson was stabbed.

The 12-member panel hearing evidence relating to the December 9, 2015 killing of 16-year-old Wilson returned to the Supreme Court having been excused on Friday for lengthy legal discussions between the Crown and defence counsel.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SIX

fore Magistrate Delancy facing a murder charge for the August 23 death of Martin Nixon.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 11pm off Blue Hill Road South, Nixon was involved in an argument with another man in front of a home that led to him being shot.

SEE PAGE TEN

FNM TO REVIEW JUNKANOO CARNIVAL

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net  FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest said should the FNM be elected to office following the 2017 general election, the party would “definitely� review the benefits attached to Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival.

SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Tuesday, August 30, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

A WATERSIDE view of The Pointe development in downtown Nassau taken last week from the waterside and showing the progress being made on the project. Compared to artists’ impressions of the finished development, work is still in its early stages, with the garage at the western end of the property now unveiled. The whole structure is to be extended forward into the harbour. It is expected that The Pointe, which has been billed as a $250m investment on the five-six acre site adjacent to the British Colonial Hilton, will be completed in 2017.

Photo: Ronald G Lightbourn

THE POINTE PROJECT AS IT TAKES SHAPE

THE POINTE as seen from the land side.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

BAD WEATHER DELAYS MOORING REPAIR INCLEMENT weather has halted efforts to repair a damaged mooring in Nassau Harbour which has been malfunctioning for four months after a boat collided with it.

Port officials confirmed that reports that an issue with the mooring’s wiring has resulted in several faults in the device’s lighting mechanism. One person who commutes by boat

from Paradise Island said they had reported the issue to Harbour Control.

Captain Cyril Roker, Acting Port Controller, indicated that a replacement device has already been financed and acquired; however, weather issues have limited the department’s ability to install the updated mechanisms.

“We have the buoy on

the dock and everything is ready to go this week. If weather permits, we will have the matter fully resolved by week’s end,” Capt Roker said.

The Tribune was informed of the faulty mooring last week by boaters who claimed that issues had existed with the device since early May and that it posed a threat to navigational safety.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 30, 2016, PAGE 3

Miller revelations ‘show need for Baha Mar clarity’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest said yesterday that Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller’s recent comments about a purported payout guideline for Bahamian creditors owed by Baha Mar is an example of why the Christie administration must be more forthcoming with details of the new deal to remobilise the resort.

Prime Minister Perry Christie said last week that Baha Mar’s Bahamian creditors and contractors will be paid a significant portion, if not all, of the money owed to them.

However, in an interview with The Tribune on Sunday, Mr Miller said he has been informed that some creditors may end up with only about 50 per cent of what is owed to them.

“I understand that those (owed) up to a half a million will get full pay and after that you will have to negotiate and hopefully you’ll get 50 per cent,” Mr Miller, whose company Sunburst Paints is also owed money

by Baha Mar, said. “That’s what I am told.”

Government officials did not respond yesterday to The Tribune’s request for confirmation on Mr Miller’s claim; nor could members of a recently formed committee designed to handle the claims of creditors and employees and give payouts to them.

Contacted yesterday, committee member and former State Minister for Finance James Smith said the group’s first meeting was to be held yesterday evening to determine the way forward.

“I have nothing in terms of how this will operate and I don’t know how much

money they’re dealing with,” Mr Smith said.

It’s unclear how many of Baha Mar’s Bahamian creditors are owed more than half a million dollars.

When Baha Mar filed for bankruptcy in a Delaware court last year, documents filed indicated that some Bahamian companies were owed more than half a million ,included Yates-Osprey Joint Venture, ($5,281,681), Cable Bahamas ($1,435,631), Cable Beach Resort Association ($1,219,372) and Island Site Development ($1,153,050).

Mr Miller’s statement, nonetheless, highlights the fact that significant details about the terms of the agreement struck between the government and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) remain unknown.

“There is a vast gulf between what Leslie Miller said and what the prime minister certainly implied,” Mr Turnquest said when contacted yesterday. “The reality is everyone expects to be made whole. But if the government is going to make a deal with the offender, then I would assume that every vendor that is aggrieved will be rightly annoyed.”

Mr Turnquest also said a parliamentary debate is required before the government could take certain actions with respect to an agreement with CEXIM. This, he said, includes matters related to debt forgiveness.

Last week, Mr Christie said CEXIM agreed to repay “some” of the debt owed to government entities.

Mr Turnquest questioned whether some of the money that would otherwise be repaid in full to the govern-

ment will be paid to employees in the form of severance, accrued vacation pay, unpaid salaries and the like.

“I was under the impression that when employees were severed everyone was paid off,” he said. “I’m not sure what this whole salary thing is about. It is imperative that we know what it is government has agreed to.

If the government is going to be chipping in money,

K PETER TURNQUEST either through forgiveness people’s benefits and not of past debts or land grants the government’s assets.” or actual contributions, we In April 2016, Baha Mar have a right to know and developer Sarkis Izmirlian it ought to be something made an offer to CEXIM, brought to Parliament and stressing that his team had debated. It’s not the prime the best chance of getting minister’s money; it’s not the resort open. Although the PLP’s money. It’s the the details of Mr Izmirlian’s people of The Bahamas’ offer were not revealed, a money. We have every right letter sent to the president to know what is being con- of CEXIM said his deal ceded on their behalf since would ensure that the bank it’s about the Bahamian did not take a discount on

its debt and would ensure payments to unsecured creditors.

In view of Mr Miller’s comments on Sunday, one source close to Baha Mar questioned why the government did not push for the bank to accept Mr Izmirlian’s deal, which the source said would have guaranteed full payments to Bahamian creditors and contractors.

BAHA MAR BUYER ‘NOT YET KNOWN’ from page one

“We have made provisions to help them and those Bahamians that invested millions to develop their franchises and stores and restaurants. We are trying to keep in touch with all the affected persons so they are aware of the stages we are going through.

“We can tell you we have reached an agreement, the agreement will benefit every single Bahamian involved, that is the intention. We have been able to take into consideration the interest of all Bahamians and negotiate a final solution and quite frankly the solution will ultimately be known to the public as it will be known to all parties concerned.

“There will be full and frank disclosure. There was never an intention to have the (court) documents sealed. The government has to be the beneficiary of the decision of the bank because the bank stands to lose a substantial sum of money and it is the bank’s decision to whom they sell.

“That is a company with the capacity to meet the price that the bank has established. The government will then approve that purchaser. That purchaser will own and operate a casino and the government must determine the fitness of the group to be able to own property in The Bahamas and to administer the property, particularly when it comes to casinos.

“We will have investigators who will do everything they can to ensure that the recommendation we have to approve is based on a very, very, very full investigation of the applicant and its business affairs worldwide.”

Last Monday, after a two-month review process that involved meeting with leading government fig-

ures in the capital, international credit rating agency Moody’s announced that it had downgraded The Bahamas’ credit rating by one notch mainly because of the country’s “low mediumterm growth” prospects and limited fiscal space compared to similar countries.

Moody’s previously opened the door to the possibility of downgrading the country’s sovereign credit worthiness by “one or more notches,” with a two-notch slash taking the country’s rating to “junk” status.

However, yesterday Mr Christie said he hopes the news of an agreement and eventual opening of Baha Mar, will “result in a new review” of The Bahamas’ economy.

“We are therefore very hopeful and optimistic that the announcement and the following action that we will take to recommence construction and completion and opening of Baha Mar will result in a new evaluation in the economy of The Bahamas and positive impact that will flow to the economy by both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s,” the prime minister said.

While remaining tightlipped on which “worldclass hotel and casino operator” would purchase the Cable Beach development and the concessions granted in exchange for arriving at a deal, last Monday Mr Christie said that an agreement had been reached between the government and CEXIM. Under the terms of the agreement, Bahamian contractors still owed money will receive a significant portion, if not all, of their claims, while thousands of former Baha Mar employees will receive outstanding amounts due to them, he said.

On Sunday, the government expressed “hope” that the claims of former Bahamian workers at Baha Mar will be settled by the end of

next month, with all other claims to be dealt with by year-end.

In a statement, the Christie administration also revealed the establishment of a stakeholder committee to administer creditor claims; however, there was no information given on how the process would be conducted, its timeline, or the amount of funding allocated for claims.

Baha Mar was first sched-

uled for a December 2014 opening, but was delayed to March 2015 and then to May 2015.

The property was placed into receivership last October.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, August 30, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

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Quake deals blow to Italy’s art treasures ROME (AP) — Within hours of last week’s devastating earthquake in central Italy, members of the national police squad of art experts were already exploring the mounds of rubble in several medieval hill towns.

They have photographed hundreds of centuries-old churches with missing roofs, torn-away frescoes or gaping holes where stained glass once filtered sunlight. The quake and several powerful aftershocks dealt the latest blow to Italy’s long-deteriorating abundance of art and architecture.

Even without nature’s fury, monumental fountains, churches and ancient Roman ruins were already vulnerable to car exhaust fumes, vandalism and other human-inflicted damage.

Italy’s most urgent priorities are to ensure shelter for those needing a safe roof after Wednesday’s temblor and to keep digging for any more victims’ bodies. But the stricken region’s cultural heritage of medieval paintings, sculptures, bell towers and other monuments is vitally entwined with the inhabitants’ daily lives and intrinsic to Italy’s international reputation as a treasure trove of art.

No artworks with the cachet of a Leonardo, Michelangelo or Giotto are among those lost in the quake. But art historians stress that local art of whatever pedigree helps to explain the cultural and artistic contexts that inspired the great masters.

And just as importantly, local pride over this artistic heritage in churches or piazzas binds these centuries-old towns to their past.

“The icons of these towns are dear to the hearts of the locals,” said Cristiana Collu, who trained as a medieval art historian and was recently named director of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome. “Life is precious, but it’s also precious because of these memories” of the artistic past, Collu said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Quickly and methodically documenting the damage helps culture officials determine which basilicas or bell towers are beyond repair and must be razed for safety’s sake, and which are candidates for Italy’s internationally recognized trailblazers in art restoration.

Hardest hit was the medieval town of Amatrice, where collapsing houses claimed 229 of the nearly 300 lives taken in the quake.

At the town’s St Francis Basilica, a round window is now a hole. Heavy painting frames have crashed to the floor.

The fate of the paintings cannot be determined until debris is cleared, which could take weeks or months.

Amatrice’s medieval bell tower has resisted collapse, although its huge bell dropped a few yards from its hook. With

the clock’s hands stopped at 3:36am — the precise time of the quake — the tower instantly became a symbol of Amatrice’s will to be reborn.

Italy has long experience in repairing the artistic destruction wrought by natural disasters.

When a 1997 quake sent Giotto’s frescoes raining down in tiny fragments from the vaulted ceiling of the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, restorers painstakingly pieced together much of the masterpiece.

In 1966, a corps of global volunteers dubbed the “angels of the mud” rescued countless Florence artworks from Arno River floods.

The medieval hill towns that dot the countryside help to make Italy a magnet for tourists. Even the tiniest hamlet is home to priceless artwork — perhaps a 600-year-old crucifix in one, religiousthemed frescoes in another.

Art historian Alia Englen spent the better part of three years studying every monument and church in Amatrice, aided by the retired director of the town’s museum who perished in the quake. In an interview with La Stampa daily, Englen said Amatrice’s 115 churches contained around 3,500 artistically significant pieces.

Museum director Collu said that not rebuilding the towns would be a “cancellation, a removal of the past”.

Italy chronically underspends on caring for its immense array of artworks, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque palazzi and ancient Roman ruins and often turns to corporate sponsors to help fund restorations. But these sponsors, ranging from Italian fashion houses to Japanese textile companies, typically favour associations with the most internationally prestigious monuments, such as Rome’s Colosseum or Trevi Fountain.

Following the quake, Italy’s culture minister announced that all revenue from ticket sales at national museums and galleries Sunday would be earmarked for reconstruction projects. Visitors with experience of post-quake recovery elsewhere say Italy needs to mobilize global donations.

Jane Stafford, a New Zealander visiting a Rome art gallery, recalled how effective public appeals overseas helped the New Zealand city of Christchurch get back in order following its 2011 quake.

“The whole world helped,” she said, suggesting that Italy should launch a social media-driven donation drive.

“The villages could maybe appeal to the world. I could be sitting at my computer in Auckland and sending money,” Stafford said.

By Frances D’Emilio of the Associated Press

Support Sears EDITOR, The Tribune.

To the PLP Delegates: SHAKE, rattle and roll, the signature dance move of Perry Gladstone Christie. Is that what it takes for you to hold on to a man for three terms, why the country you live in makes no significant improvements?

Ok yes he appointed you and you showed your support by being behind him for all those years. Ask yourselves what would change for the country with him as leader for a next term in office?

Don’t you have children and grandchildren, and that you should care for their future?

You now have a man that has demonstrated his abilities to get things done. A man of integrity and values, a man whom you know you can trust, a worker for the people, with vision and yes guts, a man in Alfred Sears, a PLP, you all know him quite well. The Bahamas knows him quite well. Is it not time to head in a new

dynamic direction?

Are you of the belief of Hubert Alexander ingraham, that only he and Perry Christie can lead this country?

Wake up PLP delegates, the dance is over, you have paid your dues to the dance, you have not reaped anything significant for the future of The Bahamas from the dance. Let’s put an end to all the dancing we see around town and put someone who can allow us as Bahamians to flourish with new growth and leadership.

Let’s make The Bahamas the smallest, most beautiful country in the world again.

We have been given someone you all know can help us accomplish this.

Don’t push him on the side, he has the GUTS as is said earlier to stand up to what he sees is needed, unlike the others standing on the side knowing full well all is not right.

Reward him for doing the right thing and not waiting on the sidelines for pieces to fall off the table.

You have the country in your hands, be strong, do what is right, elect Alfred Sears as your leader to carry you into the next general election. What is left for Perry Christie to promise going into the next election to sway the voters. There are plenty broken promises still on the table, people are hurting, there is plenty of talk around town of the failures of the PLP and in your own hearts you know it.

Wake up and be true to yourselves about reality of what is needed. Can anyone of you honestly say Alfred Sears doesn’t deserve the chance or doesn’t have the ability to get it right. I know you all agree, give the man the chance, Perry Christie has had three chances already and the results...you know the answer in your own hearts.

Let’s look at who this country needs: Alfred Sears.

CONCERNED CITIZEN Nassau, August 25, 2016.

Sick and tired of promises EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM not a lawyer, or an outstanding businessman, I am a simple Bahamian trying to wrap my head around the roller coaster ride that has been the Baha Mar fiasco.

Putting aside the numerous proclamations of potential positives from the PM which have left a sour taste in my mouth more than a lot of the news we have had to endure as a country ie downgrades, resort layoffs, cancelled investments, crime, education stats, oil spills, cover-ups and the list goes on, I am left dumbfounded at what I can only perceive to be further blatant insults to the collective intelligences of the Bahamian people.

Here we have a prime minister who, it would appear might have not only facilitated in the stalling of this resort’s development, he has repeatedly promised positive news which has got the hopes of many up, only to be let down again and again when they do not come to fruition.

We have a prime minister who appears to have displayed an unprecedented contempt for the livelihood of thousands of Bahamians from all walks of life; the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net contractors, business owners, artists, bartenders, valets, bus boys, lifeguards, waitresses, managers, and chefs all of whom along with countless others have names, families, faces and dreams.

The disappointment extends beyond those directly affected to all of us actively participating in the development of this country. I am not a supporter of anchor projects of this magnitude, but when one has no say you must make the best of the situation.

Now, not only do I and many others have no say, but there is no situation to make the best of! An empty shoddily built hotel scars the western end of this island, and all we have to digest are promises for a bright future yet again from a prime minister whose word is as binding as tissue paper thin thread.

I’m sorry, Mr Christie, but not only do I not believe you, I am further frustrated by your sealing of the agreements of this deal you have struck at the 11th hour with a bank that has proven to not care about the welfare

of my brothers and sisters.

This deal reeks of friends, family and loved ones, it reeks of what appears to be shady under the table dealings, and it reeks of government official greed in the face of hurting Bahamian households all over the nation.

Were we as a people to organise in the face of this disastrous series of events you would have a lot more to worry about than the legacy of your shuffle, yet you know better than most that the passive approach to governance will permit you to carry on smartly. I, however, refuse to keep quiet, and although I am a simple outsider I am sickened and disappointed at the levels you and your cabinet appear to be willing to stoop to to look out for yourselves ahead of the needs of the people that elected you to serve.

I remain hopeful for a scenario out west that actually benefits Bahamians in a meaningful way, but until we know what you have agreed to on our behalf, I am forced yet again to hang on to your promises, of which I am so sick and tired.

Web shops EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE government has released regulations concerning web shops and I wish to share with you a few of them, along with some information I have researched in Abaco: 1) Distance between web shops from church, schools and residences to be within 100 feet. When I was younger I could have kicked a soccer ball almost that distance. Shame, Mr Minister.

Come one Christian Council, what actions will you take?

2) I can take you to two web shops in Marsh Harbour within 100 feet of two churches.

3) The annual turnover in

the web shops gaming section exceeds $700,000,000.

This sum is equal to more than 30 per cent of the 2016/17 national budget.

I find it difficult to accept the sum, as it calculates to $2,000 per head of population (350,000 from 2010 census). This must be incorrect? Certainly frightening.

4) There are 28 web shops in Abaco and growing. Too late for the moratorium, Mr Minister.

5) Where does this money come from? Who benefits from the majority of it?

I have been informed that less than 10 per cent goes to treasury.

6) There is no VAT on gaming, but it applies to school supplies (very cur-

SHEEP RUNNER Nassau, August 29, 2016.

rent).

Now to a few questions: a) Who will oversee that the regulations are enforced: Number of web shops, licensing, opening times, underage, etc? b) Will local government have a say or will it be like at present, where licenses are approved in Nassau?

And so my fellow Bahamians, here is some information and questions for you to digest.

Will you read and to sleep or stand and demand changes to some of the regulations? The decision is yours.

For what it’s worth.

PATRICK J BETHEL Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

August 29, 2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 30, 2016, PAGE 5

Roberts: Izmirlian has no credibility

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts yesterday criticised Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s developer, accusing him of having “absolutely no credibility” and insisting that he could not be trusted on matters related to the shuttered $3.5bn West Bay Street resort.

Mr Roberts also castigated FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis, saying his position on the Baha Mar issue, specifically the Supreme Court’s sealing of the documents relating to the new deal to open the resort, disqualified him from serious consideration to lead the country. He said this was a “slap in the face” to the country’s judiciary.

And regarding FNM Senator Carl Bethel’s statement that the Official Opposition would consider launching a Commission of Inquiry into the Christie administration’s handling of Baha Mar, Mr Roberts said this was as “useless as tits on a bull.”

Mr Roberts’ tirade did not stop there. He also chided Superwash laundromat chain President Dionisio D’Aguilar, who is also a former Baha Mar director. He said Mr D’Aguilar’s actions continued to show disrespect to Bahamians.

Mr Roberts’ comments came the day after Mr Izmirlian criticised the appointment of China Construction America (CCA) executive Tiger Wu to a committee that will oversee payments to Baha Mar creditors.

In a statement released hours after the government announced the formation of the committee on Sunday, Mr Izmirlian’s company BMD Holdings alleged that Mr Wu has “engaged in documented questionable behaviour,” adding that it was CCA that created the situation that led to Baha Mar’s troubles. CCA is Baha Mar’s general contractor.

“Sarkis Izmirlian, Dionisio D’Auguilar and Hubert Minnis are three people who continue to disrespect Bahamians with their duplicity on

Baha Mar and therefore have absolutely no credibility and cannot be trusted on this matter,” Mr Roberts said during a press conference yesterday at the PLP’s headquarters on Farrington Road.

“Sarkis, who brought the China EXIM Bank and China Construction of America (CCA) to the Bahamas as his partners in the Baha Mar deal, unceremoniously betrayed them and the government and people of the Bahamas on June 29, 2015 when he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. The records that Sarkis’ legal team filed in Delaware showed that he had been planning this dastardly move at least as early as February 2015. This means that even while the prime minister, at Sarkis’ request, was asking EXIM and the highest levels in China to fund the completion of the deal, the very same Sarkis was pursuing Chapter 11.

Who could ever trust him again?”

Mr Roberts asserted that Mr Izmirlian was duplicitous because he promised that he was in good financial standing to carry the weight of Baha Mar, but documents showed that he was far from this.

“Let’s lift the lid on what Sarkis’ legal team filed in Delaware to see the facts.

The declaration of Thomas Dunlap (former Baha Mar president) filed on June 29, 2015 in Delaware admitted to obtaining debtor in possession (DIP) financing of up to $80m from a company owned by Sarkis. Dunlap said that ‘any form of post petition financing on an unsecured basis would plainly have been unobtainable.’ That’s right – plainly unobtainable. And of the $80m DIP financing, the Delaware Court approved $30m and Sarkis’ company funded less than $15m. That’s right less than $15m and not the $80m he was touting around Nassau in the media. This kind of business dealing is duplicitous and misleading, especially when thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars owed to creditors hang in the balance.

“Sarkis knew at all material times that the bank’s

debt was secured for $2.3 billion and that CCA also had secured debt behind the bank. So, realistically the only people who could sensibly finish the project were the bank, or CCA or Sarkis. But Sarkis put up less $15 million – not the estimated $600 million required to finish and open the project.

“Sarkis’ own filings in Delaware made it clear that Sarkis had no funding to complete and open the project,” Mr Roberts added.

“In the middle of this is the hapless Dr Hubert Minnis who lacks a mind of his own and who apparently takes his cue from talk shows and social media. Not only did he support the Delaware bankruptcy filing, but how else can one explain his temerity in accusing the government of breaking the law by selling citizenship?

“This is not legally possible. Further, the Bahamas Supreme Court reviewed and approved the terms and conditions of the resumption of the project therefore by inference, Dr Minnis has unwittingly regarded the Supreme Court with utter contempt by suggesting that this national institution was a part of a criminal conspiracy. He provides no evidence – he simply repeats what he heard on the talk shows and in social media without the benefit of sensible reasoning. This alone disqualifies him from serious consideration to lead this country,” Mr Roberts said.

Mr Roberts said the FNM’s focus on these sealed court documents was no more than a distraction because the party was shocked that Prime Minister Perry Christie was able to get all Baha Mar’s stakeholders to reach an agreement to open the resort.

Last night, BMD Holdings responded to Mr Roberts’ criticism.

“The statement by the PLP’s chairman is not worth dignifying with any comment,” BMD Holdings said. “CCA’s behaviour on Baha Mar speaks for itself.

The government of the Bahamas’ actions and pronouncements on Baha Mar, particularly since July 2015, speak for themselves.”

READERS WARY OVER BAHA MAR PLEDGE READERS commenting on tribune242.com weren’t convinced by the government’s “hope” that the claims of former Bahamian workers at Baha Mar will be settled by the end of next month.

Well_mudda_take_sic said: “In these types of situations where the Chinese know they have the upper hand over a corrupt but weak government like the Christie-led PLP government, they don’t dole out a single dollar unless they know they will get at least a $1.50 back in return. For the Chinese it’s now all about recovering losses and not earning money by working for it the old fashion way.”

There was this comment from Watcher: “‘Hope’ what a way to run a country!! How about if they use crystal balls while they’re at it, or maybe those unpaid local contractors can read The Tribune’s horoscope section to estimate when their families will be fed

next. For pity’s sake, Mr Christie, have you not done enough to us - isn’t it time to go?”

The news that Bank of the Bahamas had suffered another $24m loss for its 2016 financial year also got a lively reaction online.

Commenting again, Watcher voiced these concerns: “If, as looks likely, only NIB and the Public Treasury will prop up BOB via its next funding call, then in effect we the general public are keeping this cesspool afloat. Our future pensions and other health benefits (including Christie’s disastrous universal health scheme) will now be under severe pressure to deliver to present and future claim-

ants, because I very much doubt that BOB will ever pay back its debts.”

Banker said: “BoB is essentially bankrupt. Laws are being broken to keep it open. In any other jurisdiction, it would have been wound up years ago. How can the Bahamas maintain any semblance of banking trust when political cronies have bled a bank dry, and the Central Bank looks the other way when it comes to legal capital requirements, and on top of that, BISX won’t let the shareholders get out? This is not a level playing field.”

Baha10 had this suggestion: “Central Bank needs to determine if BoB is actually already insolvent and, if so, petition for its liquidation in an effort to protect what limited assets remain and recommend a formal Commission of Enquiry be conducted.”

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

PRIME Minister Perry Christie and Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian pictured during the construction of Baha Mar. Yesterday, PLP chairman Bradley Roberts insisted that the developer could not be trusted on matters relating to the stalled resort.

Bank of The Bahamas Launching $40,000,000 Rights Offering Bank of The Bahamas (BOB) has announced the launch of a $40,000,000 Rights Offering to its existing common shareholders, which opens Monday 29 August 2016 and closes 5 September, 2016.

Shareholders of record date 31st July 2016 will have the opportunity to increase their shares in BOB. For every 1.44 (one point four four) shares held at the Record Date, they will have the right to purchase one additional share at the attractive price of $2.70 per share.

Dr. Richard Demeritte, Chairman of Bank of The Bahamas, spoke to the purpose and value of the new offering.

“Bank of The Bahamas is first and foremost a Bahamian Bank, owned

by Bahamians. The Bank’s 4000 shareholders, who range across the economic spectrum, have been well-rewarded for investing in BOB. Since its initial public offering in 1994, investors have been paid about $50 million in dividends, which is a more than respectable rate of return. Given the support of this history, those adding to their holdings in the Bank can do so with confidence,” Dr. Demeritte said.

“It is important to note that BOB is aggressively pursuing two main avenues in going forward. We are assuring Bahamians of the solidity of the Bank’s capitalization and continuing to strengthen our services to Bahamians across the archipelago.”

Dr. Demeritte added.

The Bank has appointed Leno Corporate Services Limited to manage the offering. Sean K. Longley, Leno’s President & Chief Executive Officer, expressed pleasure at the appointment. “Our investment team is very pleased that Bank of The Bahamas has entrusted a share offering of this magnitude to Leno’s management. It is very much in keeping with our mission as a Bahamian-owned and operated financial services company. LENO Corporate Services was formed in 2010 to assist Bahamians to gain knowledge of the opportunities offered by the financial markets and to accumulate and grow their wealth for all of their financial goals. We view the Bank of The Bahamas Rights Offering as very much in keeping with this mission. As we always say ‘Bahamians Need This.’

‘Bahamians Deserve This.’

‘We Can Do This.’”

Mr. Longley added “In our six years of existence we have proven our abilities and integrity with a satisfied client base who can attest to this. We fully intend to increase public confidence by applying the same successful strategies to the BOB offering,” Mr Longley said.

Mr Longley advises that the Prospectus and the Subscription Forms may be obtained on the Bank of The Bahamas website www.bankbahamas. com and at www. lenocorporate.com. The subscription forms may also be obtained from all Bank of The Bahamas branches.

Bank of The Bahamas is a fully Bahamian-owned and operated entity, born out of the Bahamas Government’s acquisition, in September 1994, of a Canadian bank, domiciled in this country. The Government eventually sold 20 percent of its Shareholding or 2,000,000 Shares to the Bahamian public. In October 1995 the Government offered a further 3,000,000 Shares of the Bank to the Bahamian public.

Both times, the offerings were welcomed by the Bahamian public and subscribed well over the expected target.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, August 30, 2016

FNM TO REVIEW JUNKANOO CARNIVAL

from page one While he did not specifically say that the FNM would cancel the event, he told The Tribune that as it stands, the evidence of its success “doesn’t seem to lend itself to further support” from the FNM. He further questioned how much less did the government spend on the second instalment of Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, while insisting that the country could not afford to continue to waste millions of taxpayer dollars on an event that does not support the continuity of The Bahamas’ cultural identity. The event was held more three months

ago from May 5 to 7 in Nassau and in Grand Bahama from April 15-16.

The East Grand Bahama MP was responding to Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe who confirmed to The Tribune on Sunday that the government spent “much less” on this year’s event. However, he declined to reveal whether the annual festival, in its second year, managed to “break even”.

Mr Turnquest asked: “How much is less and does it matter? Did we make money or did we piss away millions again?”

“How long does it take to produce one report? Carnival was held more than three months ago, which

also brings me to ask where is the previous one and why hasn’t it been released?

“At the end of the day either they are trying to massage the numbers to make it appear to be something else or they aren’t equipped to do one report. Just present the report.”

Asked whether the FNM would move to cancel carnival festivities should the party defeat the governing Progressive Liberal Party in 2017, Mr Turnquest said the party is on record as saying they would only support culturally rich initiatives.

“We will definitely look at whether it was a lucrative exercise culturally and economically. So far the evidence doesn’t seem to be lending itself to further sup-

port from us. But certainly we would support a culturally rich festival.”

In an interview with The Tribune on Sunday, Mr Wilchcombe pushed back against concerns that the government was trying to bury the event’s economic impact report, which was completed last month, but has not been released.

According to the minister, the Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) has already briefed Prime Minister Perry Christie on the report.

He explained that officials were still putting the finishing touches on their presentation to the media.

“We can’t bury a report,” he said, “it will not be buried.

It did much better than last year in terms of the production - we maintained the same high quality production.

“We spent much less than we did last year. I’m not going to get into all of that because it should really come from the commission and it would be against protocol.”

Mr Wilchcombe added: “They want to ensure that all the t’s are crossed and i’s dotted. They have briefed the prime minister, myself and the minister responsible for sports. They intend to make a formal presentation to the media, and it’s very detailed and so they want to make sure all questions can be answered because there was so much involved, all the entertainers, logistics.

THE TRIBUNE

“It is absolutely not being buried.”

Last year, the BNFC released its report on July 28 – just under three months since the Nassau festival closed on May 9.

The government spent $11.3m - $2.3m over budget - on the inaugural festival, which attracted about 115,000 spectators or participants, employed 7,208 people and benefited 880 small and medium enterprises.

It “gained” $8.3m in combined direct and tax revenues, with the latter providing $6.7m of that sum.

The direct revenue, which totalled $1.6m, largely came from ticket sales and cash sponsorships, organisers said.

Witness says she saw knife handed over before killing from page one

When proceedings continued at 2pm yesterday against the 18-year-old accused, whose identity has been withheld because he was charged as a juvenile, Justice Bernard Turner read into evidence a statement given to police by a teen girl who prosecutors have been unable to bring to court to give sworn testimony.

The judge had allowed

prosecutor Kristan Stubbs’ application for an investigator to read the unavailable witness’ statement into the record.

An amendment to the Evidence Act in 2012 gave judges the discretion to allow the statements of witnesses who are dead, cannot be found, or are too sick to testify into evidence.

However, this action means that the 18-year-old accused, and his lawyer Murrio Ducille, are unable to cross-examine the teen

Death Notice

Emily Janet Parks, 77 of Gleniston Gardens, Nassau, The Bahamas, died at Doctors Hospital, Collins Avenue, Nassau, on Wednesday, 24th August, 2016.

She was predeceased by her husband, Rudolph Roy Parks.

She is survived by her son, Richard Parks; her daughter, Julie Parks; daughter-in-law, Mary Albury-Parks; her granddaughters, Gina Pinder and Christina McIntosh; great grandsons, Ethan, Levi and Isaac; brother, Michael Lowe; brother-in-law, Scott Lowe; sisters, Eleanor Bethel, Retta Lowe, Myrtie Lowe and Cheryl Lowe; sister-in-law, Annie Lowe; grandsons-in-law, Jamal McIntosh and Todd Pinder; nieces, Donna Patterson, Lisa Sawyer, Wendy Sims, Rebekah Tedeschi, Rhoda Albury, Kara Rogers, Erika Murray, Jessica Cooke, Jennifer Cooke, Linda Coker, Allison Crutchsield and Joy Ash; nephews, Todd Lowe, Stuart Lowe, William Nylund, David Parks and Greg Parks and many other relatives and friends.

A funeral service for Mrs. Parks will be held at Calvary Bible Church, Collins Avenue, Nassau, on Saturday, 3rd September, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

Interment will follow in Ebenezer Methodist Cemetery, East Shirley Street, Nassau.

In lieu of flowers the family has asked that donations be sent to The Gideons International, P.O. Box S.S. 6285, Nassau or to the Christian Counselling Centre, P.O. S.S. 6106, Nassau in memory of Mrs. Emily Janet Parks.

Arrangements Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

to verify the contents of the statement.

Police had taken the statement from the teen girl the day of the fatal stabbing.

The girl allegedly identified herself to police as a student of Doris Johnson Senior High School and the 18-year-old’s girlfriend.

“I have been in a relationship with him for the past three months,” the statement began.

“There is a male student by the name of Adonai Wilson who is also in the 12th grade at Doris Johnson. He is friends with him (the accused). On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 around 10.30am while on a break time at school, I witnessed both males get into a pushing match. It looked like they were going to get into a fight because I saw him (the accused) push Adonai but Adonai keep saying to him ‘push me again, push me again I ain’t no punk.’

“Adonai’s girlfriend, who is also a 12th grade student at Doris Johnson, stood between them to separate the fight. The school bell rang and that stopped the fight from starting because everyone went back to class. I assumed everything was over until today Wednesday, December 9, 2015. It was sometime after 12.30pm today we finished exams and attended a 12th grade meeting in the pavilion at the back of the school.”

The teen told police she was unsure of what time the meeting ended but after it concluded, she met up with a friend and began walk-

ing towards Prince Charles Drive.

“I saw him (the accused) walking in front of me with a few of his friends. I called him to get him to stop, which he did. As I got close to him, I walked down from the sidewalk into the road and I bumped into his right side. I felt a sharp poke to my right leg and it came from his (the accused’s) pants pocket. I looked at his right pants pocket and I saw a silver blade poking out of his pocket,” the girl’s statement said.

“I asked him why he had this knife in his pocket and what he was going to do with it. He pulled the knife out of his pocket and I saw that it was a black handle, long silver blade kitchen knife in his hand. He turned the knife over and put it back in his pocket this time with the black handle hanging out.”

The accused allegedly told her: “These ‘n*****’ done gang my cousin, I ain’t ga let them gang my cousin.”

They then walked to Popeyes restaurant but found it to be overcrowded and went east to catch a bus to go to Wendy’s.

On the way to their new destination, the accused met up with his 17-yearold cousin who was an 11th grade student at their school.

The accused, she told police, handed his cousin the knife when they both then went to opposite sides of the street.

She said shortly afterwards she noticed her boyfriend, the accused, and

Adonai “throwing punches at each other but it appeared (the accused) was losing.”

“They probably weren’t fighting for a minute when I saw (his cousin) come running towards them with the same silver blade black handle knife (the accused) had given him in his hands. I watched as (the cousin) raise the knife and he stabbed at Adonai. Then another male I know who used to attend Doris Johnson ran up and he also began punching at Adonai.”

“At this time, I saw (the cousin) raise the knife again and this time as he stabbed at Adonai, he stabbed him to his back,” the jury heard.

The teen girl told police that she watched the victim run across the road to Blanco Bleach but did not know where the accused and his cousin went.

When she crossed the road as well, she saw Wilson on the ground bleeding heavily.

She and a group of persons remained there until police came.

The jury heard the statement of another female student whose tale of December 9, 2015 began at Popeyes Restaurant.

The girl, who identified herself to police as a friend of the then girlfriend of the accused, said the line at the fast-food joint was long and the three left, heading east.

The accused walked ahead with a group of persons while she and his girlfriend followed behind.

She noticed a commo-

tion at the Superwash laundromat and noticed a fight between the accused and Wilson.

She ran towards the area where they were fighting and saw a teen, who she witnessed being given a knife by the accused when they were walking from Popeyes, run to and stab Wilson twice in the back before fleeing towards Fox Hill.

She then saw Wilson run across the street towards Blanco Bleach where he collapsed, while his friends followed behind.

The jury heard that the teen girl called 911 and while they waited for medical help to arrive, a friend of Wilson called out to the bleeding teen with no response.

Last Thursday, two teens – aged 17 and 15 – who were also on trial for the murder of Wilson, changed their pleas.

The 17-year-old pleaded not guilty to murder, but admitted guilt to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He received a sentence of nine years after the judge took into account his time spent on remand and the fact that he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Meanwhile, the 15-yearold pleaded not guilty to murder, but admitted to attempting to cause harm. He was given a sentence of six months to be served at the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys.

The 18-year-old accused, who remains on trial, maintains he did not intentionally or unlawfully cause Wilson’s death.

CHRISTIE NOT CONCERNED BY SEARS LEADERSHIP BID from page one

Earlier this month, Mr Sears announced his intention to challenge Mr Christie for the PLP’s top post, meaning that Mr Christie will face the first challenge to his leadership since National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage and attorney Paul Moss faced him in 2009.

For months, Mr Sears has been laying the groundwork for a leadership run,

having recently released a list of proposals he intends to champion if he becomes leader of the PLP. He spent recent months canvassing the country to make an assessment as to whether it would be wise to run for leader. Mr Sears, recently ratified as the PLP’s election candidate for Ft Charlotte, pledged to run a “clean” race, one without personal attacks.

Mr Christie stirred controversy when he said he seeks to remain leader of

the PLP to provide stability to the party and because young members in government have urged him to continue on. The comments, which were made while he was a guest on the “Ed Fields Live” show on Kiss FM in July, sparked an immense backlash.

While Mr Christie did not name the government members that endorsed him, only a few sitting MPs have expressed public support for his continued leadership: Minister of

Education Jerome Fitzgerald, Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Dion Smith and Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe.

They have all suggested that Mr Sears would find it difficult to rally support among sitting PLP parliamentarians.

In response, Mr Sears said there was no barrier for him to be elected as leader of the PLP and argued that his leadership bid was the most practical and stable choice for the party.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 30, 2016, PAGE 7

Tripartite Council co-chair says talks before job losses welcome

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE National Tripartite Council’s co-chairman said yesterday that he has no problem making it mandatory for employers to formally consult the government before making employees redundant.

Peter Goudie’s statements came in the wake of Sandals’ recent decision to make more than 600 hundred of its employees redundant until repairs around the resort have been completed.

The resort’s decision prompted Labour Minister

Shane Gibson to call on the council to support the government’s recommendation to update this country’s redundancy laws to ensure that employers must give the government proper notice of their redundancy plans and have formal consultations with the government before commencing such plans.

Mr Gibson has repeatedly expressed frustration with what he has suggested is the council’s unwillingness to address the matter.

But Mr Goudie, one of the leading business representatives on the council and co-chairman of the group with Robert Far-

quharson, the director of labour, said yesterday: “I don’t have any problem with dialogue before doing something important.

That’s the whole point of the tripartite council.

“As for companies coming to the government, I’m not sure I’m against that.

Why not explore the best ways of doing something before doing it? That’s just dialogue and a look at what’s best for the country. The only problem is if you’re going to make a whole bunch of people redundant, you could get a lot of problems at work if you give too much notice. You don’t want people to get up-

set because they might do something you don’t want them to do.”

Nonetheless, Mr Goudie suggested that examination within the council of the country’s redundancy laws don’t primarily concern the issue of mandating consultation between employers and the government but rather the issue of how much severance pay is given to employees made redundant.

“What Gibson and the government were looking at was to raise the payments of the severance ceiling,” he said. “Right now there are matches to 12 years of employment. The government

wanted that to be increased to 30 years. We would be concerned about that because it relates to the ease of doing business and the cost of doing business in the Bahamas.”

As for Sandals Royal Bahamian and its decision to make hundreds of its employees redundant, Mr Goudie said he wants to gain a greater understanding of the issue before commenting on it.

A meeting of the tripartite council to discuss the matter will be held on Thursday, he said.

The council came into force last year.

It is intended to foster a

more harmonious relationship between the government, labour unions and businesses.

The existence of the council is nonetheless a barrier to the government’s ability to unilaterally alter labour related laws.

According to the National Tripartite Council Act, the minister of labour must communicate the government’s policy concerning labour and industrial relations to the council and upon receiving such information, the council must consider the merits of the policy and decide whether or not to accept the recommendation.

all 600 employees because they were all wrongfully terminated,” he said.

Mr Ferguson alleged that the move to terminate workers on August 15 was an illegal act, as the term redundancy only addressed positions that no longer existed.

He claimed that Sandals’ move to host a job fair just days after terminating vir-

tually all its employees stands as proof that the jobs still exist.

“You can’t fire 600 people on the grounds of redundant positions and then in the same stretch of the arm, move to fill those same redundant positions. That defeats the claim. If that is the case, then we ought to know the true reason these persons were removed from their posts,” he added.

Mr Ferguson said the resort’s history of award-winning service proves further that former employees gave their all to the brand.

“Over the last decade, these same employees have pushed Sandals to numerous awards. So truthfully, what was the issue? How does the resort look to justify removing all of these employees?

“There is a meeting with the attorney general on Wednesday and another with the prime minister on Friday, and there will be no relenting until all the 600

employees are allowed to return to their posts.”

In 2011, the BHMAWU secured a ruling by the Privy Council in London that it be recognised as the bargaining agent for Sandals Royal Bahamian employees.

Despite this, however, Sandals has refused to negotiate with BHMAWU, union officials have said.

In its announcement that it would be carrying out an estimated $4m in necessary repairs, Sandals said it would make more than 600 employees redundant. Resort officials have said they had no choice other than to close the resort while the repairs are being carried out.

Labour Minister Shane Gibson has said he believed Sandals’ actions were an attack on the BMAWU. Last week, the resort moved to fill the vacancies left as a result of the mass redundancy exercise with a four-day job fair.

‘ONLY ACCEPTABLE RESOLUTION IS GIVING STAFF BACK THEIR JOBS’

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

TRADE Union Congress President Obie Ferguson said the only resolution he is willing to accept in the ongoing Sandals labour dispute is the reinstatement of all the former employees made redundant earlier this month.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Ferguson said that TUC officials have participated in a series of meetings with senior government officials, all geared towards the “rightful rehiring of every Sandals employee wrongfully dismissed.”

The attorney, who has operated as the lead negotiator for the displaced workers, said the TUC has remained on message from the onset of this matter.

“A union does exist to negotiate and work on behalf of these workers and Sandals should work in good

faith toward this union body,” he said.

Referring to the Bahamas Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU), the union that has been fighting to be recognised by Sandals as the bargaining agent for employees, Mr Ferguson put forward a strong rebuke of the actions of the resort in this dispute.

“We have laws in this land. We have a government whose sole job it is to manage and articulate those laws. In this case the operators of this resort have found a way to trample over our laws and by-pass rules and regulations of our government. We cannot allow this matter to play out any other way, this has to end with the reinstatement of

ABANDONED HOMES NEAR TREATMENT PLANT Your Say

By SHUFFEL HEPBURN IN THE basin that surrounds the Chesapeake Waste Water Treatment Plant sit ten residences and two incomplete structures, all mostly duplexes.

Two of these residences have been abandoned by the owners. At the very top (north) of the basin sits the most expensive and technologically-advanced school in Grand Bahama and, perhaps, The Bahamas. Two of the residences have been abandoned by the owners.

Resident A, in which the occupant lives alone, sits to the north west of the plant and gets the full brunt of the odours emanating from it during the summer when the breezes are predominantly from the south and south east. She has been chronically ill for some time and has made many trips to the hospital in the ambulance; she was in hospital as recently as ten days ago.

Moving clockwise, we skip residence B (which is north east of the plant) and come to C, the residence that is just a few hundred feet from the plant. The husband who lived in Residence C was lost this summer. He came down with the flu and it developed into full blown bronchitis that left him hospitalised for a week. He spent five weeks at home convalescing, then returned to work.

A couple of weeks later he was diagnosed with fluid in the lungs. On a Sunday not too long after, he was rushed to the hospital with breathing problems and an hour later he was pronounced dead. The wife in residence C is now battling a serious illness that, according to Wikipedia, may have been caused by ‘living in a toxic environment’.

Residence D, sitting directly across the street from C, has at least one family member who sufers from some kind of respiratory issues from time to time.

Residence E, which is at the very entrance to the sewage plant, has been abandoned by its owners for a few years. These residents were the first to complain about the sewage plant via letters to the Department of Environmental Health and

the Grand Bahama Utility Company (GBUC), operators of the waste treatment plant. They got no result from either.

Moving northwards, we come to residence F. The wife in this residence came down with the flu shortly after the deceased resident in residence C came down with the flu. This similarily developed into bronchitis and she was hospitalised for two weeks. Her family is now working to get her body strong again. A family member who rented from her and lived on the other side of her duplex died suddenly several months ago of an undisclosed illness; it is possible that his death is related to years of living in the mouth of a sewage plant.

Continuing to move northwards along Midshipman Road we come to residence G, which is reportedly up for sale. The residents in this duplex have suffered long from sewage odours and have had enough.

Next we have resident H, who abandoned his residence this summer after learning of the death of resident C. He has vowed never to return to the area as long as the sewage plant is operational. He reported having the flu more often since the sewage plant moved into the basin, prior to which he said he hardly ever suffered.

The last residence on this side of the basin, residence I, has at least one occupant who has reported that at “least twice a year she has to be rushed to the hospital with breathing problems and has to be hooked up to a respirator”. This is consistent with the fact that living near a sewage plant causes respiratory problems. She moved into her home before the sewage plant was built and reported that she never had this problem before.

Going back to the entrance to the sewage plant and moving to the south across Midshipman Road and behind the bushes sits residence J. The owner had a debilitating illness for which she is continuing to receive therapy and is progressing well. There are two other members of her residence who have been diagnosed with illness, one of

which has been critical. It is a mystery to resident J why all of this has happened all at the same time.

Finally, we have Lucaya International School (LIS) to the extreme north of the basin. A state-of-the-art educational facility that takes children from kindergarten all the way to College level.

Shortly after the sewage plant was built, a number of students at LIS came down with giardia, a ‘hepatitis like’ illness. This was reported to the GBUC, who at first denied it was anything related to the sewage plant.

One physician insisted that it was their problem, and that they should fix it. The company then relented and came back reporting that they had fixed the problem, never explaining what the cause was.

What if we have a similar occurrence today? Is the GBUC willing to take responsibility for this?

What about the Zika virus epidemic that has appeared recently in our land? Some 80 persons in the Bahamas have been checked for the Zika virus according to the Minister of Health. Four have been found to be positive. Can the teachers feel safe working at that school with boat loads of sewage sitting in open tanks just to the east of the school?

Should parents turn a blind eye and say nothing is going to happen?

The pond near the school is an area that attracts mosquitoes. Can students and teachers feel that they are safe from this dreaded, untreatable disease? Every time a student or teacher is bitten by a mosquitos in that area there will be cause for concern.

The residents of Chesapeake living in this basin all have a similar concern. We have long felt that the sewage plant is too close to our residences. We continue to voice our disgust with the Grand Bahama Port Authority, parent company of the GBUC, over their lack of respect and concern for our health.

Shuffel Hepburn is a resident of Chesapeake, Grand Bahama. These are his findings having surveyed local residents about living near the water treatment plant.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Baha Mar secrecy is a test of faith too far

THE TRIBUNE

A

FTER the dramatic press conference, at which Prime Minister Perry Christie sat flanked by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) gang of 16, the Bahamian public was later advised that, in spite of their need to know the details of the Baha Mar deal, given the far-reaching, negative impact it has had since its first delayed opening, the documents would be sealed to public inquiry and scrutiny for commercial reasons.

Releasing ‘‘key information” over the next few days does not equate to giving no details, but I suspect the giving of details was never Christie’s intention. As was and should be expected, Christie and his posse received immediate and intense backlash from the media and the public.

As was and should also be expected, Christie then took the opportunity at one of his speaking engagements that had nothing to do with Baha Mar to lash out at the backlash he’d received for what was now viewed as his ‘secrecy’ where Baha Mar is concerned.

Why Christie does this I do not know. I can’t remember a time when a good and strong leader found it necessary to defend himself as Christie did … as Christie so often does. But it makes no sense.

For one, why seek to defend himself at all? If your position were defensible, it would be respected and therefore there would be no need to defend it.

Moreover, why defend himself repeatedly? On and on he goes in a style he has perfected, with 60 words when six will do. It only makes it look worse than it is and makes it appear that you are uncertain about the decisions you’ve made ... that there is a level of insecurity in the decision making process you employ.

Furthermore, why defend himself repeatedly in this inappropriate forum? I’m sure at least a handful of the organisers and attendees there did not bargain on Christie going so far off topic. Or maybe they did; maybe, when you invite the PM to speak, you should expect him to ramble indefinitely and incoherently.

Christie says: ‘‘People got to believe I’m stupid.” Well, ‘people’ think you must be if but for one reason. You continue to take us down this path of Foreign Direct Investment in hotels/re-

PRIME Minister Perry Christie flanked by members of his party during the national address on Baha Mar. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ing amounts, “significant” tify your decisions.

“We live in a country parts, “possibly” all, “sizeMaynard Gibson says the where we openly profess able” payments. And this, “entire situation teaches the our faith and this shows that says Allyson Maynard- country the importance of faith pays off.”

Gibson, are lots of details. faith”.

“God was in the midst of Bahamians, learn to read “Everybody believed and this, trust me.” through the was praying No thank you. We will

By NICOLE BURROWS crap.

And ‘Ain’t that just that God not trust you, nor will we don’t seek like an oppressive would take “trust the Prime Minister” sorts/casinos/marinas/golf until 1am ... but we don’t the kind of us through as you’ve suggested. We leader? Ain’t that courses, which always take care if you’re up until 1am. confidence all of this won’t trust any of you ever more from than they give We don’t care if you’re up Maynardjust like the PLP? and lift the again, so enjoy your spoils to the Bahamian people. I for 48 hours straight, if Gibson refers Throw ‘‘God’ up burden and while it lasts because row would say that is stupid de- that’s what it took to get us to in her hoobvious pain day will come in short order fined. out of the mess you got us lier than thou in it to sanctify it, that many and what you see now will in. Don’t try to ingratiate us comments. because your hyper have been be the last you see of the hristie also says he over your mistake. How ut- Ain’t that just expecting.” inside of public office once religious people questions the ‘fit- terly insulting. like an op“He (God) you are removed from it. ness to serve’ of And your record can pressive lead- won’t argue with had the In any case, consider some people in public life, never be set straight. Even er? Ain’t that it if you say it must Prime Min- what Maynard Gibson’s because they are, according when it is it won’t be. In the just like the ister, whose defence of Perry Christie is to him, naive, and because eyes of Bahamians, you as PLP? Throw be ‘of God’. And focus was all about. She defends the they think he’s wrong and leader, as government, are ‘‘God’ up in it how lame is it that only on how amazing Baha Mar deal beunjustified in facilitating beyond redemption. to sanctify it, you have no other do we be cause said deal falls to her the sealing of the Baha Mar Whether sealing Baha because your sure we can to assist with negotiation defence for your documents from the public. Mar’s documents is legally hyper reliassure that and legal considerations.

Well, if such is the case, allowable or preferential, gious people actions that you Bahamians If it sucks as hard as we then I guess we’re equal you know exactly what is won’t argue have to lean on came out of all suspect it does (I really then, because we have been at stake and why the Ba- with it if you this as un- wanted to write something questioning your fitness to hamian people urge full say it must be biblical and religious skewed as else there), then it would serve for quite some time disclosure. Why not at least ‘of God’. And manipulation possible.” call into question Maynard now ... and, might I add, show the people something how lame is to justify your “Thank Gibson’s own abilities and your record of fitness to of consequence so they can it that you God he has authority. She would never decisions.’ serve, as indicated by your try to believe in you again if have no other been fo- allow that to happen, would poor decisions and stub- they so desired? defence for cused and she? bornness, is worse than Your press release was your actions that you have assiduous in fighting for E-mail nburrows@ ours. filled with words like to lean on biblical and re- Bahamians and nothing has tribunemedia.net, Facebook You tell us that you’re up ‘‘some” of the outstand- ligious manipulation to jus- changed now.” and Twitter @SoPolitiCole

C

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 30, 2016, PAGE 9

Miller: Unions preventing quality utility supplies

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday said union demands have “priced the government out of the business” of supplying quality utility services throughout The Bahamas.

Mr Miller, chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) and former executive chairman of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), said the government is unable to give quality utility service due to the “outrageous demands placed on the back of the government” by unions attached to public corporations.

Mr Miller, who is often considered an anti-unionist politician, insisted that the “get all we can” mindset of unions has developed a culture in which quality service isn’t valued; instead workers are only focused on “pinching the government when they can for more money”.

He said the government could spend less reselling supplies bought from auxiliary sources to consumers, as is the cases throughout the Family Islands.

Mr Miller’s comments came as residents in Eleuthera continue to express their frustration over the quality of water service on that island.

Residents have alleged that they were now subjected to five-hour intervals of water supplies.

Disruption to the water supply has been a recurring problem for much of the past year in Eleuthera.

General Electric (GE), the private company that provides the island with running water, has reported a number of issues with its

supply.

Earlier this month, Central Eleuthera MP Damian Gomez indicated that the island’s water plant had not been maintained and this has affected the supply levels of the plant.

Responding to the concern over issues in Eleuthera, Mr Miller said he had communicated with representatives from GE, and had received confirmation that the company had purchased several “important components” that would aid in its efforts to improve water supplies on that island.

When asked why the government wasn’t moving to gain control of supplying the island with water instead of leaving it up to GE, Mr Miller scoffed and suggested that the government couldn’t offer a supply at that price due to overhead expenses.

“At the end of the day, they aren’t the best, but we have no other option in this case. GE provides water at a rate that is affordable. The government can’t do that,” he said. “We don’t want to go this route, but we have to. It is cheaper to buy water being supplied by an independent company because they aren’t burdened by the foolishness that comes with these unions.

“A lot of people are going to bash me for saying this, but it has to be said. When the government owns and manages these utility companies we have to spend more money paying workers who are demanding the world for poor service.

When we have given into these demands, it’s hard to find the money to improve services.

“It’s truly sad that we have to rely on foreigners to produce such a valuable

LESLIE Miller pictured with his family at his ratification to run again for the PLP recently. resource, but look at the facts, when the government owned and operated these utilities, there was a lot of inefficiency - they went into disarray. This was the case because we had the unions on our backs calling for bonuses, higher overtime wages, higher wages in general, more overtime - all sorts of things. But when we would ask them something about the service, they’d go quiet and deaf.”

Successive governments have worked to solve the cash-strapped nature of a few of the country’s public

BCP SUSPENDS ELECTION BID TO RE-EVALUATE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A FRINGE political party has announced the “indefinite” suspension of its national campaign, with its leader citing the party’s need to “evaluate” its “viability in the campaign for the governance of the nation” in the lead-up to the next general election.

Ali McIntosh, “chief servant leader” of the Bahamas Constitution Party (BCP), said the party’s determination to suspend and withdraw the party’s national campaign is not one of “cowardice” but one that gives the nation “an opportunity to determine whether the voice of a BCP agenda brings value to the table regarding the building of the nation going forward.”

She also said the decision will allow for the BCP to determine if there is sufficient desire among the people for change to a higher standard of leadership and whether or not Bahamians

“are indeed ready for a political agenda based on a more accountable system that makes the people responsible for their own political determination.”

Ms McIntosh said this “sabbatical” includes the party’s suspension of all of its national addresses, appearances on radio talk shows, and the issuance of press releases on national issues.

However, she said, all of the party’s candidates will maintain a “limited presence” on the ground in their local constituencies, which will continue until the BCP makes “a full decision to return to the active campaign or make a determination to withdraw fully from the 2017 campaign.”

However, Ms McIntosh seemed to take umbrage at the current political climate in the Bahamas, suggesting that it has hampered the BCP’s attempts to promote its own national campaign.

“It is very important to note that when an agenda is based on a philosophy advocating good governance

in the capacity of servant leadership, as the BCP campaign does, it is necessary to have a political system based on the rule of law, and a commitment to stable democratic principles and fair play,” she said in a statement.

“The BCP determination to educate the populace on values necessary for good governance and national leadership seems of little benefit, because the current environment has degenerated, where the people are far more concerned with microwave solutions and fast food nutritional politics,” she added.

She concluded her statement by saying: “This action which we do now take is certainly not one of cowardice, but an exercise in wisdom and preservation for the lives of a worthy battalion, who have been under heavy enemy fire, without back up for a long period. This is by no means the end, but a pause and reflect moment – the reset button.”

utility providers over the last decade.

A majority stake in BTC - 51 per cent - was sold to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) in 2011 under the previous Ingraham administration.

Earlier this year, American company PowerSecure was contracted to manage BEC - resulting in the reorganisation of the corporation under the operations of the new Bahamas Power & Light Company Ltd (BPL).

In both instances, the unions attached took issue

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

with the incoming management teams over job security and severance packages.

“Look at the dynamics of those agreements, unions were up in arms over conditions. But what was on the bottom-line, those companies were not efficient,” Mr Miller said.

The Tall Pines MP said while the sale of BTC and the management agreement for BEC hasn’t resulted in improved service, as in the case with the service agreement with WSC, the cost efficiency for the companies has improved.

“The legacy debt at WSC is now at $40m, it’s hard to get rid of that with the current inefficiency going on within the company. We have to do more to make these corporations efficient.

We can’t sustain operations where people just want to get paid for a poor work ethic.”

He added: “We apologise for the issue in Eleuthera but we are working with the company there to resolve the issue there. GE has given us their word that they are working to resolve the matter.”

PAGE 10, Tuesday, August 30, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Trial over 2010 killing is delayed once more

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net THE start of the trial of three men accused of a murder that occurred six years ago has been delayed by an ongoing case.

Lynden Prosper, 26, D’Angelo Adderley, 26, and Denard Davis, 25, were scheduled to stand trial before Justice Bernard Turner yesterday.

However, the judge is still presiding over another trial concerning the fatal stabbing of a Doris Johnson Senior High School student.

The witnesses to give evidence in the case of Prosper, Adderley and Davis were instructed to return to the Supreme Court on

Tuesday for further instructions.

The three men deny the murder and attempted murder charges they face for the November 3, 2010 killing of Sheria Curry and attempted murder of her 10-yearold son. Shanko Smith.

On the day in question, Curry, a Step Street resident, and her son were sitting with a group of people outside their home when the incident occurred.

Curry was shot in the head and her son in the leg.

The 40-year-old died at the scene.

Davis and Prosper have retained lawyers Murrio Ducille and Ian Cargill to defend them. Adderley is represented by Stanley Rolle.

ONE DEAD, ONE HURT AS SHOTS FIRED AT HOME from page one

One man died at the scene, with another transported to hospital.

The second victim is reported to be in stable condition.

Police last night said that investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with any information is urged to call police on 919 or Crime Stoppers on 328-TIPS. • Police also last night appealed for help in finding a missing 15-year-old girl.

Marisha Meadows, of Tracks Lane, New Providence, was reported missing yesterday.

She is slim, about 5ft 2in, and has a medium brown complexion.

MARISHA MEADOWS • Police yesterday arrested a man in connection with armed robbery. Officers detained the suspect yesterday morning at about 11am. He was wanted over the robbery of a woman several weeks ago, and is being questioned in relation to other armed robberies.

22-year-old Christopher McQueen, who has also been accused of murder in a separate incident.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF STABBING HER BOYFRIEND TO DEATH FACES COURT from page one He was rushed to the hospital, but died of his injuries early the next morning.

When the magistrate asked the accused if he understood the charge, he said he did not.

When McQueen began to give an apparent explanation of alleged events, he was told by the magistrate to speak with his lawyer Tai Pinder.

She further stressed to him that he would not be required to enter a plea to

the allegations until he is formally arraigned in the Supreme Court.

He was told that when he returns to Magistrate’s Court on October 20, he would be presented with a voluntary bill of indictment transferring the matter to the higher court for trial.

McQueen, due to the nature of the charge, was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services without bail.

However, he was advised of his right to make an application for a bond in the Supreme Court.

FREEPORT WORKER FACES COURT OVER $2M DRUG HAUL

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A FREEPORT Container Port employee was flown to New Providence and arraigned in connection with a drug seizure of $2m worth of cocaine discovered at the Container Port about two weeks ago in Grand Bahama.

Tavares Moss, 29, of Bartlette Hill, Eight Mile Rock, was charged with conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to

supply and conspiracy to import dangerous drugs.

According to initial reports, Bahamian authorities went to the Container Port on August 18 and searched a 40ft container and discovered three duffle bags of cocaine, with an estimated weight of 120lbs.

Moss was not required to enter a plea to the charges, as they are indictable offences.

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 30, 2016, PAGE 11

DRIVERS tackling the floodwaters yesterday as rain filled up the streets in New Providence.

Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER TWO DAYS from page one

Basil Dean, deputy director of the Department of Meteorology, said the islands of the northwest Bahamas and a “small portion” of the central Bahamas will experience varying degrees of rainfall through Wednesday evening as Tropical Depression Nine, formerly tropical disturbance 99L, makes its way towards the northeastern Gulf Coast of the United States.

Mr Dean said officials expect “normal summer conditions” to return by Thursday. The islands he said would be affected until that time are Grand Bahama, Abaco, Bimini, the Berry Islands, New Providence, Eleuthera, Andros and the upper Exuma Cays.

Mr Dean also said officials are looking at another system in the Atlantic Ocean, but said it would be a “few days” before that system poses any problems for the Bahamas. He said by week’s end the country “could have something

headed our way”.

Mr Dean’s comments came after international weather outlets said there will be a risk of flooding, downpours and gusty thunderstorms early this week in the western Bahamas and central and western Cuba as Tropical Depression Nine, which developed just south of Florida on Sunday, swirls near the Florida Keys.

According to AccuWeather.com, the heaviest storms could bring damaging wind gusts, power outages and rough seas, as well as the potential for a couple of tornadoes and waterspouts.

AccuWeather.com also said the system, albeit “poorly organised”, could become a tropical storm as it turns northward then northeastward over the Gulf of Mexico this week.

When contacted yesterday for an update on the tropical depression and weather associated with it, Mr Dean said: “(Tropical Depression) Nine is out of our way, that’s moving in the Gulf, but we’re still experiencing some tropi-

cal moisture as a result of the outer bands, and some of this weather will remain with us through to Wednesday.

“So you can anticipate some light to moderate rains - pretty much what we were getting (Monday) continuing into (today). And

by Wednesday evening, Wednesday night we should start to return to normal summer conditions.”

When asked if there were any other systems that concerned met officials, Mr Dean said: “No, but we’re looking at something else out there in the Atlantic.

But it will be a few days before it poses any problem for us. So it looks as by the end of the week’s cycle we could have something headed our way.”

According to international reports, Tropical Depression Nine was centred about 195 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida as of 5pm yesterday. The system was reportedly moving west near 9mph.

Maximum sustained winds were near 35mph with some strengthening expected during the next two days,

officials have said.

For the first time in nearly three years, the Atlantic basin has three tropical cyclones active at the same time, with Tropical Depression Eight to the east of North Carolina and Hurricane Gaston in the Atlantic Ocean.

Gaston, which became the first major hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic season over the weekend, is reportedly gathering strength as it moves northwestward in the central Atlantic, but forecasters have said it poses no threat to land. The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) says Gaston reformed as a hurricane on Saturday night.

As of yesterday, Gaston had maximum sustained winds of 120mph and was located about 575 miles east south east of Bermuda, moving northwest at about 1mph.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the centre, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.

Forecasters have said that Gaston is drifting and could weaken a little.

SPLASHING through the rain yesterday.

LOBSTER FISHERMEN PRAISE RBDF FOR PROTECTION AGAINST POACHERS INCREASED protection of Bahamian waters from poachers by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) has “played an instrumental role” in helping to make what many fishermen are saying is the best lobster season for 20 years.

Clay Sweeting, Deputy Chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), yesterday highlighted the “positive effects of well patrolled waters” and offered hope that the industry can rebound from years of neglect.

In a statement, Mr Sweeting said: “God has indeed blessed the Great Bahama Banks this season with an

abundance of lobster; however the RBDF has also played an instrumental role in protecting the banks against local and foreign poachers.”

Mr Sweeting said many fishermen had asked him to convey their thanks to the Government as well as to the Acting RBDF Commodore, Captain Tellis Bethel, for a job well done. “Some fishermen have stated that whatever they are doing, tell them to keep doing it,” the statement said.

“In March, 2014, the Government took a major step in the right direction, with the expansion of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force’s patrol fleet and the devel-

opment of three shore-side docking facilities. North Eleuthera fishermen were delighted that the government was prepared to spend north of $232m on this initiative, which will not only strengthen the patrol capabilities of the RBDF, but also play a major role in the protection Bahamian waters and fisherman from illegal poachers.

“The fishing industry plays an important role in supporting thousands of Bahamians throughout our archipelago of islands, including Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, Abaco, Long Island, Exuma, Andros and many others. For many years, we as a community

and country of fishermen have fought for the protection of our borders We have witnessed firsthand the explosion of illegal poaching during the off-season by foreign vessels, most noticeably from the Dominican Republic. Our once full circle economies have been adversely affected, leading to home foreclosures and struggling businesses.”

Earlier this month, Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) vice-president Keith Carroll told The Tribune that the crawfish season was “looking promising” and credited this to Defence Force patrols during the offseason.

The BCFA has long

voiced concerns over poaching by foreign fishermen, primarily Dominicans, particularly during the closed period. However Mr Caroll believes that the addition of new vessels to the Defence Force’s fleet has helped to put a dent in the poaching practice. Last month, RBDF marines were involved in a shootout and subsequent high-speed chase with suspected Dominican poachers in the Cay Lobos area.

“I really think that because of the work the Defence Force, especially what they were doing when the season was closed, has helped local fishermen, especially the boats down south. Based on what I’m

hearing, the boats that usually have trouble to the south, they are reporting that things are way better than last year and it’s a result of the Defence Force beefing up their patrols.

The fishermen are grateful for that,” said Mr Carroll.

“Things are looking promising, especially for the guys from Long Island whose boats were on land after the hurricane and had no work since October.

They seem to be doing well.

What I’m hearing right now is that the fishermen are doing way better than previous years.”

The crawfish season opened on August 1 and runs to March 31, 2017.