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VOLUME:115 No.195, SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2018

HO US E & 16 THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

BUSINESS: GOVT CUTBACKS ALERT OVER WEB SHOP TAX SHORTFALL PAGES

Teenagers die in power line tragedy

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net ONE day before the start of the new school year, two high school students were tragically killed in an early morning accident in Grand Bahama when they were fatally electrocuted moments after surviving a car crash.

The victims were students of Jack Hayward High School, aged 15 and 16.

The Tribune understands one of the victims was Perez Hepburn, 16. He was about to begin his last year of high school today, a relative posted on Facebook. The second victim was 15-yearold Jamall Cooper Jr. According to police reports, the accident occurred around 4am. The car, carrying six male passengers, hit a utility pole and the pole landed on a fence with downed live wires.

The occupants then got out of the vehicle and the two young men touched a fence with a live electrical wire. They died at the scene, police said.

Education Minister Jeff Lloyd paused during a press conference yesterday to offer condolences and prayers of support to the families of the students.

Jack Hayward High School also posted tributes on its Facebook page.

“Reports are that on Sunday, September 2, shortly after 4am, police were called to Settlers Way and Frobisher Drive where a black Ford Escape vehicle with six male passengers crashed into a utility pole,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement.

“The utility pole landed on a fence with downed live wires. The occupants

PURPLE REIGN

DAYS after the Minnis administration agreed to halt new web shop taxes after gaming house operators sued the government, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest blamed the former Christie administration for issues the government now faces with the industry and their increased taxes.

Mr Turnquest insisted

FOUR HELD IN $400K DRUG BUST POLICE arrested four men in connection with the seizure of nearly $400,000 worth of suspected marijuana found on board a boat in the Coral Harbour area.

The arrests took place shortly after 1am yesterday when Drug Enforcement Unit and Marine Support officers, acting on information, intercepted a white 20ft Boston Whaler boat while in waters one mile south of Coral Harbour.

Four men were on board.

Officers searched the boat and found 12 sacks with suspected marijuana. The men are expected to be formally charged later this week.

The drugs weighed 390lb and have an estimated value of $390,000.

Police also said they removed an illegal firearm from the streets on the weekend.

Shortly after 5pm on Saturday, DEU officers were on patrol on Dorsett Street in Fox Hill when they observed a man standing on the side of the street. He ran from officers and escaped.

Police searched the area where the male was standing and recovered a .45 millimetre pistol and three rounds of ammunition.

$8M INTERNET UPGRADE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SEE PAGE THREE

‘TAX ISSUES ALL STEM FROM PLP BLUNDERS’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

HOME

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

it was the Christie administration that spent recklessly and went against the overwhelming rejection from Bahamians to the legalisation of web shops.

This decision, he said yesterday, resulted in a handful of “handpicked favoured operators” to be granted licences without considering what that would mean for the industry and the country.

SEE PAGE FIVE

SHAUNAE QUEEN OF THE TRACK SHAUNAE Miller-Uibo crosses the finish line to win the women’s 200m final during the Diamond League Memorial Van Damme athletics event at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels on Friday.

For the full story of her Diamond win, see Sports section.

Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

DISNEY LAYS OUT LIGHTHOUSE POINT PLAN

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

DISNEY Cruise Lines has made a presentation to the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) regarding the company’s proposal to develop a destination at Lighthouse Point, Eleuthera.

This comes as activist groups, including reEarth and Bahamas National Trust, have increased calls for the government to protect Lighthouse Point from commercial development.

The meeting took place on Friday at Disney’s request, with Disney Cruise Line president Jeff Vahle in attendance.

Discussions included the project’s

proposed development and design, its economic and environmental impact on South Eleuthera, conservation objectives and public access.

BCCEC chief executive Edison Sumner confirmed the meeting to The Tribune yesterday, adding additional meetings with

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE 12

AN agreement was signed yesterday between the Ministry of Education and BTC to upgrade internet access in all government schools across the country.

As a result of the fiveyear contract, more than 100 schools will receive fibre optic technology - with a budget set for the first year of $8m.

BTC will also provide 2,500 tablets for teachers as well as pre-school and primary students.

Education Minister Jeff Lloyd celebrated the signing yesterday as a “propitious moment” during a press conference held at the Ministry of Education.

“We are very happy that the digital revolution in education begins today with this initiative with ourselves SEE PAGE THREE

INSIGHT DEPRESSION IS A DISEASE: IT WANTS TO KILL YOU

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Monday, September 3, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

PICTURES circulating on social media, above and below, reportedly showing people trying to tackle the blaze at Rum Cay All-Age School.

BLAZE HITS RUM CAY ALL-AGE SCHOOL A SUSPECTED electrical malfunction sparked a kitchen fire at the Rum Cay All-Age School on Saturday night making it unlikely that the school will be fit for students when they return to classes this week, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd said yesterday.

As a result, education officials are finalising alternate options for students.

“The establishment of education suffered a setback in Rum Cay last evening (Saturday) when the All-Age School there was hit by fire, which we are advised began in the kitchen as a result of some electrical malfunction,” Mr Lloyd said at a press conference yesterday. “We are further advised that the fire was contained to the kitchen area which spared the rest of building from being further damaged.”

The school was already set to open on Thursday, several days after the rest of the public schools.

Mr Lloyd said Jolton Johnson, administrator for San Salvador and Rum Cay, has advised that the school, while potentially operable, may not be suitable for occupation on that day.

“And other accommodations are now being finalised with the St Christopher Anglican Church and as well BTC building, both of which have been used in the past when misfortunes of this kind may have visited upon our sister island of Rum Cay,” Mr Lloyd said.

He said officials were getting frequent updates on the matter.

He said government officials will be out in full force visiting schools on opening day. “…The prime minister is slated to visit Exuma and San Salvador tomorrow (Monday) on his visit to the schools. All of our parliamentarians and members of this team will be out and about visiting our schools

here in New Providence.

And those leaders within our system throughout the Family Islands will be doing so in their respective districts.

“The prime minister has been…informed and updated and will continue to be updated as we get more information. I do believe that in a situation of this kind that an official investigation will be commenced by, I believe, the fire department. I am advised by the Honourable Desmond Bannister, minister of works, that a charter is being arranged for our own government investigation. And I’m sure that a member of the fire brigade will also be accompanying us along with the police to conduct their own investigation, provide a report to the Bahamian people.

When that report is available you will know.”

The Rum Cay All-Age School has eight students and one teacher.

HAITIAN CHARGED THREE WEEKS AFTER ENTERING COUNTRY

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A HAITIAN man who arrived by boat only three weeks ago on Grand Bahama was arraigned on Friday in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court charged with illegal entry into The Bahamas.

Wildi Gujean appeared before Magistrate Charlton Smith in Court Two. With the help of an interpreter, the charge was read to him in Creole, to which pleaded guilty.

According to the particulars, on Friday, August 31, while on routine patrol in the Freeport area, police

arrested Gujean after he was unable to show proof of his legal status. He was turned over to immigration authorities.

During checks at the Department of Immigration, there was no record of his legal status in the country and no record that he had entered The

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Bahamas legally.

“When did you come to The Bahamas?” Magistrate Smith asked Gujean.

Gujean, through an interpreter, replied that he came by boat to the country three weeks ago.

When asked where police had picked him up, an immigration officer told the

court that he did not know exactly where the arrest took place.

“I don’t have that information. The police were on routine patrol when they stopped and questioned him. He only came into our custody today (Friday), and we wanted to expedite the matter as quickly as

possible,” the officer said.

Magistrate Smith told the immigration officer that it is the department’s responsibility to get the information from police concerning illegal immigrants who officers take into custody.

He then ordered Gujean to pay a $300 fine or serve two months in prison.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 3, 2018, PAGE 3

Teenagers die in power line tragedy from page one reportedly came out of the vehicle, two of them touching a fence that had a live electrical wire and died at the scene.”

The statement noted the investigation is continuing. Police are also appealing to the public to adhere to traffic laws, slow down, especially on wet roads, and wear seat belts.

When asked if speed was a factor in the accident, Assistant Commissioner of Police Samuel Butler said a full determination has yet to be made. He confirmed the ages of the victims to be 15 and 16 years old.

Friends and relatives expressed shock at the teens’ sudden deaths. Many remembered them as good boys. One of the victims was said to be selected as deputy head boy for the upcoming school year and wanted to be a chef, a friend posted on social media.

One friend wrote on Facebook: “They became more than friends, they were my brothers. I don’t have much words to explain how I felt about these two guys. I didn’t even go to sleep early last night (Saturday) because I was waiting for them to come back home... But that sad part is I fell asleep and didn’t get to hear back. At 7 o’clock I couldn’t sleep, I wake up shaking for some reason, thinking I was sick then I pick up my phone and had a reason to be sick...I loved these two guys with all my heart, words can’t really explain. I don’t want you to rest in peace yet until I come so we can rest in peace together.”

Yesterday afternoon, the Jack Hayward High School Facebook page posted: “‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ Let us be strong and of good courage in this time of grief Wildcats.”

Mr Lloyd also addressed the tragedy yesterday during a press conference in New Providence.

“I would like to just take note with deep sadness and regret and with much condolences and empathy, sympathies, and prayers of support to the family of two of our students who met their untimely deaths this morning in Grand Bahama,” Mr Lloyd said.

“I, as minister, and our team are not yet equipped with all of the details surrounding this most unfortunate and tragic accident. However, we can confirm that an accident did occur earlier this morning and it resulted in the untimely loss of two of our members of our family as students in Grand Bahama.

“Of course, we wish to extend to their families our prayerful support and condolences in a time of despairing grief and to assure them that those prayers and support continue throughout the rest of this time of misfortune in their lives.”

JAMALL COOPER JR, aged 15.

MINISTER of Education Jeff Lloyd at yesterday’s contract signing between the Ministry of Education and BTC to improve internet access in schools.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

$8M INTERNET UPGRADE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS from page one

and our strategic partner, BTC,” he said.

“The very first step in this phase will be the installation of fibre optic infrastructure, that will be fully implemented in phases at all government schools, satellite offices, throughout our country, beginning today.

“This installation will ensure that each school is a fully computerised ‘smart school’,” he added.

He said this technology will be used to facilitate distance learning and enable students deprived of special teachers to receive the information in real time.

Mr Lloyd said the first phase of the initiative will improve the technical

infrastructure linking of all districts, public schools and satellite offices.

“These fibre optic cabling and other enhanced internet access services will be provided in ‘graduated stages’ throughout our system,” he said.

He promised that at the end of this academic year, June 2019, the system will have full internet access, a completely enhanced Wi-Fi network, a unified threat management security solution, and mobility solutions for tablets and other devices.

Twenty-seven schools will be upgraded in September and 28 schools in October.

He added all Family Island schools will be correspondently connected through these fibre optic networks.

The first five schools will

include SC McPherson, CV Bethel, Anatol Rodgers and CR Walker.

Mr Lloyd said the budget for this year for the programme, the ‘One Network Project,’ along with the computerisation of schools, is $8m. However, he said the actual amount spent this first year is expected to be $5-5.5m.

“And then on top of that…each year there will be a recurring cost added to your telecommunications bill. And, of course, if it’s somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1m a month, then it’s $12m a year. But that is incremental to whatever is now our telecommunications cost with BTC.”

PEREZ HEPBURN, aged 16.

PAGE 4, Monday, September 3, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

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Will McCain’s funeral be another nail in Trump’s coffin?

JOHN McCain may be judged by history to be a transcendent figure in late 20th Century American history.

Or not. In some ways, he was typical, even emblematic, of a social and political evolution away from meritocracy and toward nepotism. In other ways, he was an almost unimaginably stoical and heroic throwback to a revered frontier past.

Whether McCain and his selforchestrated funeral and memorials last week become a forgotten historical footnote or another nail in the political coffin of Donald Trump, it is worth taking a look back at the career and life of a man whom many will recall as simultaneously principled and flawed.

McCain was the son and grandson of US Navy admirals. As such, in the real world of elite privilege, he was virtually assured a place at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, one of America’s premier educational institutions.

Like the sons of other famous fathers, notably President George W Bush and Senator Al Gore, McCain found competing with his father difficult and he admittedly squandered a magnificent educational opportunity in college. McCain was widely reported to have often bragged about finishing almost at the very bottom of his college class.

Unlike Bush and Gore, though, McCain found himself in actual combat in the Vietnam War and spent over five years in a Hanoi prison as America’s most famous prisoner of war.

His emergence from the brutal horrors and isolation of that experience became a tale that was inspirational for many. Though his entry and success in Arizona politics seemed inevitable in hindsight, it was not either easy nor seamless. Nonetheless, he rose to contend in 2000 for the Republican presidential nomination and win it eight years later.

McCain’s choice of obscure Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate proved to be calamitous. Profoundly unqualified and unprepared for national responsibilities, Palin revealed her innocence and ignorance repeatedly during a campaign that produced the phenomenon of the election of a black American as US president.

During the past ten years, McCain was twice re-elected to the Senate, the

first time with the help of Palin in fending off a Tea Party primary challenge that he may otherwise not have survived. Sometimes a maverick but often a loyal Republican lieutenant, he suffered from ill health but persevered.

McCain was enrolled in the ranks of those who despise Trump in what appeared to be a gradual process spanning the past several years. The American president, who managed a medical draft deferment exempting him from inconvenient risk during the Vietnam era, callously and casually noted last year that he preferred veterans who had not been captured in explaining his antipathy toward McCain.

McCain, more about getting even than getting mad, responded at the time in measured fashion. But he may have had his revenge in casting a decisive vote against his party leadership in defeating a misguided 2017 Senate attempt to roll back or repeal the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature achievement that still offers the best chance to reform America’s expensive and inefficient health care system.

The senior Arizona senator also got in the last shot of his increasingly public skirmish with Trump by explicitly not inviting him to participate in the pageantry of his Washington funeral. There was a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral, the Episcopal edifice that sits on Washington’s highest ground and hosts the truly significant funeral services in the American capital. There was the lying in state in the capitol rotunda.

But nowhere to be seen was the current American president and member of McCain’s own political party. Former presidents Bush and Obama, who had defeated McCain in 2000 and 2008, were highly visible. In response, Trump reportedly played golf outside Washington at his own golf course during the funeral.

Recent polls continue to suggest Trump’s nasty and impetuous behaviour have finally turned the American electorate against him. While these are the same polls that so misled Hillary Clinton and many others only two years ago, the feeling is growing that America may finally be fed up with Trump. 60 percent of US voters now reportedly disapprove of him.

Maybe Trump’s defeat will be John McCain’s best revenge.

Government preparation EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Constitutional appointments of Government cannot be made light of - there always must be continuity and perception no one went to sleep.

In the case of Justice this is imperative for obvious reasons.

Again we find Prime Minister Minnis fiddling stalling - unable seemingly to make a decision for the appointment of a Chief Justice.

Lest we forget he and his Cabinet went through this process six months ago 180 days ago - would have considered maybe threefour candidates so surely - logically when having to fill the position so soon after an evaluation you go

to the Cabinet minutes and see who was the second favourite to be appointed six-months ago and simply re-interview that person again ensuring I have to suggest the candidate must provide a full medical report.

The statement of the mouth-piece of the Prime Minister, Ace ‘da-ice’ Newbold simply makes total inadequacy of the Cabinet that they are unable to do this very simple matter.

Chairpersons and ‘ethics’? We have to be shocked that the new Chair of BP&L after what has gone down and continues argues his position where his private business might have a pending proposal with BP&L for adoption.

Editor - ethics tell you at the least he should have declared this in his interview with Prime Minister - Cabinet and no way should he have been appointed. Mr Moxey, if this is true, please resign and save us further pain.

The Landfill - what is all the noise about? Who are the foreign experts behind this project? $130 million and the promoter confirms they have not raised the money? Surely in any RFP the candidate has to show they have the funding not a maybe? Yet another boo-boo of the Minister Government?

ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau, August 31, 2018.

Changing lanes of Nicki Kelly EDITOR, The Tribune.

NICKI Kelly is a doyenne of journalism in this country and over decades she has seen it all and reported on much of it.

Nowadays she writes between the lines giving her considered two cents worth on what’s happening in our country. Every so often though she misses a beat and strays far off the reservation.

Ms Kelly apparently has a bee in her bonnet about the FNM in general and the Prime Minister in particular. This is not to say that she carries (or carried) any water for the PLP and Perry Christie, only that her objectivity is sometimes missing in action.

But she is unrelentingly cynical about Hubert Minnis and never misses a chance to portray him as a boogey man stirring some nefarious caldron of mischief and/or incompetence A recent salvo involved the transfer of a public officer from one Ministry to another. The Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was reassigned to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

To Ms Kelly there was something fishy about the transfer and without applying her journalistic balance, she assumed that the Prime Minister moved her because some Haitian voodoo high priest told him to do so.

Around the same time, a Haitian diplomat had committed an egregious diplomatic faux pas by dipping his mouth into a domestic debate in full violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The Bahamas succeeded to this Convention on March 17, 1977, and Article 41 clearly states that a diplomat must respect the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net laws and regulations of the receiving country and that he has a duty not to interfere in the local affairs of that state.

When the Haitian diplomat put his foot wrong, the government instructed the Acting Permanent Secretary to call him on the carpet for a diplomatic dressing down which consisted mostly of her telling him that the Bahamas Government was “deeply concerned” by his behaviour. That’s diplomacy for “You went too far, stop it.”

The embarrassment for Haiti was not in what the PS said, but more in the public knowledge that one of their diplomats had essentially been told to pick a tamarind switch and come for a lashing.

But to Ms Kelly the government was being disingenuous. It was out of “spite and vindictiveness” (her words) that the PS was transferred.

Ms Kelly gave a backhand slap to the Ministry of Youth equating a posting there with being banished to Siberia. But any civil servant will tell you that being assigned to a low-budget but important Ministry with a small staff and an inexperienced Minister is a difficult assignment that requires all hands on deck, all the time.

Ms Kelly should drift out of the diplomatic fast lane because she appears to have lost her way. Ms Jackson’s transfer had nothing to do with our Haitian immigration problem, as she conjects. She ignored the assurance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the Haitian matter had nothing to do with the transfer.

Any diplomat who publicly

comments on our domestic politics would have been similarly scolded.

Ms Kelly tacitly accepts that the government had no choice but to call in the errant diplomat, but she just couldn’t help herself from dropping licks on Dr Minnis.

She labeled him “clueless” because, as she confessed, his government did the right thing. Only to her, it was the right thing for the wrong reason.

She got all up inside the PM’s head, accused him of being a near-sighted micro manager dragging us into repeated crises.

Ms Jackson was probably re-assigned because her skill-set was best needed at the Youth Ministry or for other considerations, but no administration gives reasons for re-assigning civil servants.

If there was no Haitian diplomatic blunder clouding the personnel shuffle, there is little doubt that Ms Kelly would have invented one and gone on to chide the PM for moving Ms. Jackson because he was trying to hide something.

Ms Kelly also took the wrong lane in July when her subject was Travis Robinson, the MP who voted against an increase of VAT in his party’s budget and paid a heavy price. She even saw in him prime ministerial timber and went on to blow smoke over his stand.

Then, swerving wildly into the right lane, she suggested that Mr Robinson might have taken the leadership route by explaining to his people why he supported the tax increase.

Conspiracy theorists of the world, you have a new member who should learn to drive between the lines.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, September 2, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 3, 2018, PAGE 5

Davis hits out at embarrassment of FNM after web shop stumble

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Minnis administration should be “embarrassed” by the halt of its increased taxes on web shops, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis insisted yesterday, adding it was “disgraceful” Bahamian businessmen have to be forced into the courts to determine their rights.

Mr Davis further contended the government had dropped the ball in adequately considering the concerns of web shop operators, when those of affluent Lyford Cay residents appeared to result in the government stepping away from increased taxes on foreign-owned undeveloped land in the Bahamas.

The government on Friday agreed to delay its sliding scale tax on web shops and its five percent stamp tax on web shop patrons, the latter of which

was to come into effect this past Saturday. Continuance of the taxes will depend on the outcome of a court hearing on October 5.

It came after operators filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking leave for judicial review on both taxes.

Having to argue their rights in court is not only proof there is “discrimination” at play, but evidence these taxes were not thought through properly, Mr Davis said.

“Whenever you have a government that continues to force its citizens to take it to court, you have to concern yourself about the mindset of that kind of government,” Mr Davis told The Tribune yesterday.

“It speaks to arrogance. It speaks to stubbornness. It speaks to an attitude of ‘my way or the highway’ – that is not the way to govern the country.

“The apparatus of the government is far superior to an individual or

individuals. It’s disgraceful for a government to force its citizens to take it to court for a citizen to be able to get his rights determined when it only requires a sitting down of the parties and an understanding and appreciation to derive a balanced outcome.

“For example, they seemed to have responded to one group of people. The Bahamian people screamed about the 12 percent value added tax. They went ahead with it. I don’t think that was fair.

“There were some cries out of Lyford Cay with their taxes. They appeared to have responded with that and the cries came from the web shop operators they don’t respond favourably. In that context, their response to this does appear to be discriminatory to some cries and ignore others without any sort of explanation.”

In early August, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest announced the

government would revert to the previous definition of owner-occupied properties which was in effect up until June of this year. This came after concerns from affluent Lyford Cay residents were published in The Tribune, saying the government’s increased property taxes would drive wealthy second homeowners out of the country and deter new ones from acquiring property here.

However, Mr Turnquest insisted the government’s decision was not a bid to appease irate Lyford Cay residents, but the result of weeks of consultation with industry stakeholders. He also insisted the change did not have any impact on projected tax income, and as such, could not be viewed as a reduction in the tax rate to any individual or group.

Mr Davis continued yesterday: “The question arises that our system requires that if you are going to tax an industry or kind of

business, one would have thought you would have a conversation with them, particularly when this is a young industry in the sense that it’s just been legalised and I think there are still some growing pains in the application of the legislative regime that been there.”

Under the sliding scale, those web shops earning up to $20m in revenue would be taxed at a rate of 20 percent and those falling between $20m and $40 would be taxed at a rate of 25 percent. Others earning between $40m and $60m were to be taxed at a rate of 30 percent while those in the range of $60m and $80m at a rate of 35 percent. Those between $80m and $100m were to be taxed at a rate of 40 percent and over $100m, at 50 percent.

Mr Davis said it appears the government may be too concerned with taxing one industry into the ground.

He said: “If that is the case they are approaching it in the wrong way

because where you might expect to get your revenue, you might not be getting it because you have to take into account what I call the elasticity of new taxes.

“People will curb their habits and businesses could change the manner in which they do business for us to minimise their tax liabilities. So this is not the way to say meet your revenue projections by deliberately taxing one segment of your economy to the point where you may run them out of business. If you shut them down you lose that revenue all together there has to be a balance because there will be unintended consequences.

“It shows the short-sightedness of the government.

It is very difficult to say what is intended. I am still trying to understand why they think they have to introduce these kinds of taxes. They still haven’t said what empirical data they have relied upon,” Mr Davis said.

the court is not comfortable and then the court will make a ruling that you may not be comfortable with rather than to have a ruling and rather than to have any injunction, we deemed it to be in the highest standards of judicial conduct and the conduct of council to grant an accommodation to allow the court to have the comfort of fully considering all of our arguments. So the court is able to make the best decision for the Bahamian people in these circumstance.”

He continued: “So we have agreed on a date to come back, pending that date, we’ve agreed that the tax would not be imposed

so that the court would not feel any pressure in terms of reaching a fair verdict on these issues. The important issues are the policy and they ought to be properly ventilated.”

In the meantime, all parties have been urged to have further discussions to see if any of the disputes can be narrowed, Mr Bethel said.

“If we do not have an agreement that brings an end to the litigation then we will fight the litigation on its merits and seek to prevent the judicial review from being commenced by court order. If that should fail then the 23-26 (of October)

are the dates adjourned for the fighting of the full judicial review application.”

Meanwhile, Mr Munroe has said because his clients are questioning the taxes, it is the right thing to have them set down.

He said: “To be clear the position of the Attorney Ggeneral is that we are wrong but a court would have to say whether he is right or we are right, but in the meantime it would not be fair to move on with things. The example is if you are supposed to hang and I say you shouldn’t hang but while you work you can’t go ahead and execute the person.”

‘TAX ISSUES ALL STEM FROM PLP BLUNDERS’ from page one

Bahamians voted against legalising numbers houses and creating a national lottery in 2013, but the following year the majority of Members of Parliament voted in favour of the Gaming Act, thus regulating web shops.

On Friday, the government agreed to halt a new sliding tax and the five percent stamp tax on web shop patrons. It came after gaming operators filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking judicial review of the taxes. Both are pending a court hearing on October 5. It is unclear how this development will affect government revenue projections.

“It was his administration’s reckless spending that put the country in the position where value added tax and other tax increases are necessary to begin correcting many of the disastrous programmes and policies that got us here and continues to pose risk to fiscal consolidation and stability of the public finances,” Mr Turnquest told The Tribune yesterday.

“It was his administration that went against the overwhelming wishes of and disrespected the vote of the Bahamian people with respect to gaming, and doubled down on that disrespect by choosing a handful of handpicked, favoured operators to be granted licences without considering what that would mean for the industry and the country.

“It was his administration that failed to put in place the safeguards and monitoring programmes to protect gamers as well as communities from the negative effects of the activity and it was his administration that failed to budget adequate financial resources to fill the gap in Family Island communities when these operators repatriate their profits to Nassau or elsewhere.”

CARL BETHEL, QC, Attorney General, outside Supreme Court on Friday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff Yesterday, Mr Davis blamed the government for not listening to the concerns of numbers bosses. He said the same could not be said for the treatment of Lyford Cay residents as the government agreed not to increase taxes for them, referring to a property tax issue.

In response the deputy prime minister said: “The government did not respond to Lyford Cay exclusively. As I have said over and repeatedly, this issue was first brought to my attention by a real estate agent in Abaco, where second home ownership is a significant part of the economy. Once it was raised, we quickly realised we had not contemplated that the residences that did not meet the six month requirement as per the amendment would automatically be considered commercial and thus not eligible for the real property tax cap which was not intended to be changed.

You might recall that it was the previous administration that instituted this cap and thus their criticism rings hollow.”

On Friday morning, attorneys Wayne Munroe and Alfred Sears, representing several web shops, appeared before Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles where they sought an injunction to block the patron tax, which was to come into effect on Saturday. One of the applications also extended to the sliding scale, which came into force on July 1.

Speaking following the court appearance, Attorney General Carl Bethel said this issue had more to do with the process by which the tax is implemented.

“The court itself was unable to proceed with a full hearing and we (the Attorney General’s Office) were certainly not in a position having only been served late yesterday (Thursday) evening to intelligently oppose the application for leave to bring judicial review proceedings,” Mr Bethel told reporters. “We intend to oppose the application should it come to that.

“And so the court has set the fifth of October as the date for that hearing. In the meanwhile we have been urged to have further discussions with the applicants to see if we can narrow any areas of dispute and we’ll do so.

“No injunction has been issued, but out of respect for the court and the difficulty the court was in, that the court could not intelligently and in a fair judicious way have dealt with a matter on the basis of such urgency, we have agreed that there would be an undertaking that the tax wouldn’t be imposed pending the hearing on the fifth of October. That is a courtesy that we extended to colleagues opposite also to the courts so that the court is able to effectively perform its function, bearing in mind that it would be unwise to defend your right of way at your peril when

PAGE 6, Monday, September 3, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

MINISTER of Education Jeff Lloyd speaking to the media during a tour of the Eva Hilton Primary School on Friday.

Photos: Derek Smith/BIS

Ready for the school bell

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd vowed all buildings, with the exception of two, at the Eva Hilton Primary School will be finished for the first day of school, which is today.

He also provided estimated dates of completion for the three Family Island schools whose openings have been delayed.

Mr Lloyd said Holmes Rock School in Grand Bahama and Staniel Cay School in the Exumas will be completed by January 2019, but Lowe Sound School in Andros will be

delayed until June 2019.

“Every other school in this country is going to open on September 3, 2018,” Mr Lloyd promised on Friday, adding the students of those Family Island schools “are going to be taken care of”.

He made these remarks as he led a media delegation on a tour of the Eva Hilton Primary School, which has 800 students and 29 classrooms.

Although construction was ongoing at the premises, Mr Lloyd told reporters: “Every building on these premises is going to be completed in time for school to open.”

The only exceptions

WORK ongoing at Eva Hilton Primary School. are the library and the estimated will be completed computer room, which in “two to three weeks”.

However, he promised the education minister

this construction “will not have anything to do with the operation of the school.

None whatsoever.”

School principal Jermaine Butler said those areas will be cordoned off from students, adding the incompletion of these rooms will not affect students’ learning, as both of these facilities are new to the school.

“We didn’t have a computer room, so that’s a luxury almost,” Mr Butler said.

“Necessary, but a luxury.

So it doesn’t bother us at all. And the library, of course. We haven’t had a standalone library ever. We can wait until they come online.”

When asked if the process is taking too long, Mr Butler said he could not speak to that, as he is not a contractor.

He noted: “I’ve been on this campus every single day. And I’ve seen the work, I’ve encouraged the work for one reason: my children need to be in their classrooms Monday morning, learning.”

Mr Butler added for future endeavours, he would suggest the use of private contractors who could assist in school maintenance year-round.

Mr Lloyd was also asked to respond to allegations that some

pre-schoolers were unable to attend private schools because government payments have not been made as yet.

The education minister said: “(The contracts) are in the process of being signed and monies don’t come until after the contracts are signed in any event. That will not interfere with our commitment to have this year 1,000 preschool students enrolled in a preschool, private or public.”

On August 20, Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson criticised government school tours that are done without the presence of union officials, saying this violates the parties’ agreement. Mrs Wilson said this creates a conflict.

On August 11, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Mr Lloyd toured schools. At the time, it was noted the Eva Hilton Primary School may not be ready for opening day.

When asked if the parties’ bargaining agreement stipulates that the union be invited on tours with government officials, Mr Lloyd said: “The legal authority for the management and administration of the school system in The Bahamas resides exclusively, it isn’t shared with anybody, in the Ministry of Education, the government of The Bahamas. We don’t have to ask nobody and we don’t have to consult with nobody to anything.”

However, he said the ministry is happy to work with the union, adding the union and the general public are welcome to visit school premises.

“Mrs Wilson and the unions have been engaged in all sphere of our administration and operation of the education system. So I don’t accept nothing in terms of us not participating in a collaborative way with anybody,” he added.

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THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

We come here for the real thing, not a plastic, vomitous Disney recreation PHOTO: BAREFOOT MARKETING

By ROBIN CARSON

A LETTER to all Bahamians, most particularly to the inhabitants of Eleuthera.

Hello. Most of you don’t know me. I have, however, endeavoured to know more of you on each of my numerous visits to this wonderful, idyllic, tiny little island in the sun. I write to you today concerning Disney’s purported plan to hew a cruise ship destination out of the wondrous natural, unspoilt lands of south Eleuthera known as Lighthouse Point.

I come from a business background, owning and operating a business successfully for 31 years in my home town of Camrose, Alberta. I say this not because I’m an authority on business but rather to identify the perspective I’m viewing this plan from, and the response that I hope you will adopt.

Let me start by giving Disney credit. Disney is very good at what they do.

Very good. If it’s one thing they know, if it’s one thing they do well is they understand what they are selling,

ROBIN Carson at Cupid’s Bay.

know who their customers or deepen their customers’ are and deliver it in a very experience that continue to well defined and compre- deepen and extend Disney’s hensive package. You see, very healthy corporate they don’t sell tickets to pocketbook. So, when rides. They don’t sell tick- Disney looks to (reportets for boat “vacations” edly) create a Pirates of the and they certainly don’t sell Caribbean enclave on the tickets to movies. They sell Lighthouse Point location, an experience. They sell the they aren’t purposefully awe and wonder of a man or evilly planning on masmade, highly engineered sacring acres of pristine experience, set up by mas- beach, land and water terful movies directed at just to be spiteful. They kids (or the kid in all of us), are doing it because the supported appetite of by synthetic ‘Experiencing the the public vacation loca- real Bahamas will to relive tions, and the movie not be found in undergirded or immerse by a magical Disney’s planned themselves in kingdom that development. It their fantasy is dubiously (including, no labelled “the will be found in doubt, Johnny happiest place the lives, hearts Depp) is so on earth”. strong. and homes of The expeDisney is rience, in Bahamians.’ simply seekparticular ing to give the cruise their customship vacation packages, ers what they want and are often themed re-enact- will pay handsomely for. ments of favourite movies At ANY cost! Their assurof theirs, reinforcing the ances of both jobs and positive “experience”. low environmental impact Disney, with the deep is nothing more than a pockets provided by a vora- courtesy required of a ciously enthusiastic viewing marauding foreign nation public desperate for an seizing upon a newly disescape from their everyday covered territory fit for life, look for ways to extend their needs.

However, here is where I want to engage you, here is where I want you to understand what I saw the first night I set foot on Eleuthera, what I still see today. That first day, that first night under the stars, that first meal at the restaurant I exploded with exclamation. I stopped literally in the middle of the road, smelling the air, feeling the soft breeze, gazing upon the myriad stars in the sky and I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. My wife had to physically pull me off the road, afraid that I would be hit by a car.

Afterwards, I went online on a Bahamian forum and asked this question: “Do you understand what you have here? I mean, I know you’ve lived here, possibly all your lives, but do you really know what you possess in your island, in your country?”

Here is the takeaway from my viewpoint, the one thing I want all Bahamians to know from a visitor’s perspective: You all, and your country must know the fact your customers, the ones who come back year after like myself, spend our money at local stores

and find genuine experiences with genuine people are coming here to buy “the experience”, just like Disney’s customers. Only, here’s the difference. We seek the experience born in the reality of nature, the beauty of a serene sunrise or a peaceful, soulful sunset. We do not seek the artificial, plastic experience of Disney’s vomitous recreations on your beautiful shores, carving lands and contouring seas to their will to please their customers and pry compensation from their tight little billfolds.

This catering of the daily deluge of their well protected and cordoned-off customers will have its equally catastrophic effects on the coral, fish and flora of the area. No, unlike that abomination, we seek the real experience, not the profane caricature.

We sit down at the local restaurants like Sunset Inn, Front Porch, Sammy’s, Ship to Shore, Northside.

We spend our money in the company of Bahamians because for many of us, that is the real value of The Bahamas. That is “The Real Bahamas”. Not what Disney puts out. What you all provide. From the heart.

Your island is the stage, indeed a most beautiful stage, that provides us the opportunity to experience the real value, the true currency of your country.

Don’t let Disney dictate what meagre portion of the vacation funds they are willing to allow their customers to find their way into the local economy, like crumbs from a King’s banquet, or perhaps I should say a Mouse’s feast.

One of my greatest memories is buying a full-day tour from an Eleuthera man and his wife’s tour company.

It happened to include about three hours at Lighthouse Point. It is a stunning area, a gorgeous view, an incredible experience. Do you know what I remember the most though?

The two hours I sat with the man, sharing experiences, finding out about his life, his struggle to provide and flourish on an island with limited resources.

Experiencing the real Bahamas will not be found in Disney’s planned development. It will be found in the lives, hearts and homes of Bahamians.

You proud and kind people of this beautiful land, I implore you to be the authors of your future, of the next and brightest chapter of your lives and your nation’s existence. Let your imprint, your ideas, and yes, your sustainable, low impact development be the ones to grace your shores. No one knows your land or cares for your nation as you do. This ship is yours to captain and I urge you to take the helm and steer your course.

Don’t let Disney and The Black Pearl commandeer you and plunder your riches. Please say no to Disney and likeminded developments that would seek to obliterate your natural landscape and carve it into a movie setting with resultant disastrous effects on your land, your seas and the tourist dollars already on your shores seeking what you naturally possess: a beautiful, only lightly developed island with happy, soulful people who are the true treasure of this land.

I encourage you to take action by writing your representative, emailing or phoning the Prime Minister’s office, and lend your name to the petition at https://www.change. org/p/dr-hon-hubert-alexander-minnis-save-lighthouse-point. Be a part of your future.

PAGE 8 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Try to understand, depression is a disease: it wants to kill you

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net DEPRESSION is an insidious disease free to strike whoever it likes at any age. Around us today, sitting near you in the office or beside you in the shop or hotel where you work, a colleague, a friend, may be silently battling with this illness which, in its most profound form, can be deadly. Most people who commit suicide are also clinically depressed.

Depression is currently ranked fourth among the ten leading causes of the global burden of disease, but it’s predicted that by 2020, it will have jumped to second place.

A Tribune reader last week wrote to us asking to help us turn the spotlight on the disease, bringing it out into the open where it can be discussed and, for those fighting alone, realise there are people out there ready to help.

Our reader’s plea came after a close friend of his took his own life. The nightmare of that life living with clinical depression was laid bare in a letter the friend wrote four years ago where you can see he literally fought a daily battle to stay alive. In the end, it was a battle he lost.

His letter read: I have suffered from clinical depression for over three decades. Depression is a disease, a disorder, the manifestation of something fundamentally wrong in the functioning of my brain. I can no more will myself out of depression than a diabetic can will his pancreas to produce more insulin.

As I recently told someone critical of Robin Williams’ suicide, judging someone

killed by depression makes as much sense as judging someone killed by cancer.

If depression is more insidious - and more misunderstood - than other disorders, it is because its core symptoms are mental and emotional. This can make it difficult to distinguish the person from the disease, as our thoughts and emotions define who we are. This confusing of the person with the disease is not confined to nonsufferers; when the depression is especially bad, I lose the ability to remind myself that this is not

me. That is when depression is dangerous; when it swamps the person inside to the extent that they believe the irrational, selfnegating thoughts are fully their own, rather than the diseased processes of a dysfunctional brain.

And there is something more to depression, which is hard to put into words adequately: it wants to kill you.

In the lowest lows, the darkest depths it makes you “understand” that you need to be dead. The necessity and inevitability of suicide becomes as self-evident as

one plus one equals two.

You find yourself wondering why you haven’t done it yet. What’s holding you back? What is this week’s lame excuse for continuing when the future holds only more pain and failure?

The difference between “feeling low” and clinical depression is the difference between a paper cut and a knife in your back. I have a high tolerance for physical pain, but “pain” hardly begins to describe what depression does to your mind. It swallows you and the universe whole, replacing every vaguely good thought or feeling with a rasping oily blackness that wants to blot you out of existence.

You don’t cope with depression so much as you build a repertoire of techniques for escaping from it, and they are all unhealthy: alcohol abuse, disconnecting from friends and loved ones, obsessing over the world’s many evils in an attempt to comfort yourself with the thought that others share your hell. I sleep to escape it. It has cost me jobs and relationships and more opportunities than I can count. Depression leaves wreckage in its wake, hurting more than just the sufferer, wounding innocent bystanders as it carries you along. Depression is a bastard.

I have been through every form of therapy and medication. One pill helps a little. Very little. Antidepressants are not “happy pills”; they are “painkillers”. Just as an aspirin may hold a headache or toothache at arm’s length for a while, anti-depressants (if you’re lucky) may help dull the edges. At least a little. At least for a while.

You take what you can get.

This is not an appeal for sympathy. It is a request to consider depression in a light you may have discounted in the past. I know other people suffer from conditions with a grace and courage few of us can imagine. But please don’t judge someone fighting for their life with this wicked disease. Whether we hide in a corner to try to cover it with a clown face, some small measure of understanding - and patience - couldn’t hurt.”

Dr Sean Knowles, physician at the Bahamas Public Hospitals Authority and registrar of The Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, told Insight there are no real hard statistics on the numbers of people here affected by depression nor the causes.

“The number one reason is that people are not really seeking the help they need,” he said.

“We can say there are clinically depressed people in The Bahamas, and in all stratospheres of society.

The World Health Organisation has also projected that depression is to be the number one illness by 2030, affecting persons all around the world - The Bahamas is no exception.”

He believes people who are depressed are sometimes afraid to speak out on their issues, possibly because of living the “stigma” of how “mental illness” is looked at in society.

“Persons have a mentality that if I go to seek help than I guess I am crazy or something is wrong with me, even though the brain is capable of having trauma or being affected just like the pancreas which leads to diabetes. Persons do

not respect mental health or issues with the brain like they would a medical issue,” said Dr Knowles.

Dr Knowles said a second reason he has found is due to confidentiality. On an island as small as New Providence, there are Bahamians who are seriously afraid of their private health information somehow being leaked.

“Persons feel as though their business is going to be discussed because our society is very small and people know people. Once I get persons in, I literally have to assure them the confidentiality aspect of it.

I make this clear that whatever they say to me stays within these four walls, they can rest assure it will not be repeated to anyone out there. I stress that because you have persons in high class positions such as politicians, bankers, lawyers and doctors who are battling with depression,” said Dr Knowles.

He said there are a number of safe avenues and options to consider when seeking help, from the private and public sectors. If persons are going through the public avenue for various reasons such as financial, one of the places Dr Knowles recommends is the Community, Council and Assessment Centre on Collins Avenue (CCAC). At The CCAC, the doctors and nursing team there would see the client and may even refer them to see a psychiatrist depending on the level of depression. They may also decide the person needs to be admitted into a facility, perhaps suggesting the client seek inpatient help at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.

Additional places that are for the most part are free in terms of the resources they offer, are: the Bahamas Crisis Centre, and the Christian Counselling Centre. Within the private sector, people should seek local physicians and psychiatrists.

What do you do in a situation where you may have a clinically depressed friend or family member? Dr Knowles said to always be aware help is available for these people before it gets to a point where they may have suicidal thoughts.

“You want to take the person seriously. If someone is saying to you they want to take their own life, listen to them. You may not know what to say but you don’t want to be judgmental or too ‘preachy’ either. That is going to really cause them to not respond in a positive manner. The main thing is to listen, empathise and if you find that you don’t want to leave them alone, you want to get them to a next level of help through a professional; either a physician or in A&E at Princess Margaret Hospital. Get them to one of the places I had mentioned if it is during the day,” said Dr Knowles.

Funeral Service Mavis Corrin Hall née Griffin, 81

of Treasure Cove, formerly of Current, Eleuthera, will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 4:00 p.m., at Ebenezer Methodist Church, East Shirley Street. Officiating will be the Rev. Milton Litghtbourne, assisted by Mr. Hartis Pinder. Interment will be in Current, Eleuthera on Saturday, September 8, 2018.

Left to cherish her memories are her daughter: Tiffany Hall Sweeting; son-in-law: Ramon Sweeting; brother: Brindley Griffin; nieces: Cathy and (Cardie) Newman, Sharon and (Phil) Carusi; nephew: Robert and (Linda) Griffin; grandnieces and nephews: Bernadette and (Kevin) Collins, Dwayne Newman, PJ, Sammy and Ocean Carusi, Jasmine and Joshua Griffin; great grandniece and nephews: Gabrielle and Aaron Cox Jr., Kyle and Kai Collins, and Dwayne Newman Jr.; a host of other relatives and friends and many others too numerous to mention.

Friends may pay their last respects at Butlers’ Funeral Homes & Crematorium at Ernest and York Streets on Wednesday September 5, 2018 from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. and at Ebenezer Methodist Church on Thursday September 6, 2018 from 3:00 p.m. until service time.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 PAGE 9

THE CARIBBEAN Court of Justice building in Trinidad.

The CCJ – A court for the people T

HROUGHOUT the 185-year history of the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council, it has never provided access for people of little means except for a few people on death row who received free legal service from British lawyers.

This stands in stark contrast to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) where, in the three years following its inception in 2005, civil appeals outnumbered criminal appeals by almost seven to one. About 15 percent of the civil cases filed in the CCJ were from people too poor to pay filing costs which the court waived, giving poor people unprecedented access to appeals.

These cases have included: a property dispute between two poor tenants, a public housing agency’s contractual obligation to a signatory’s next of kin, the admissibility of a police officer’s testimony in a case of child molestation, and a civil servant’s dismissal through the statutory abolishment of his appointment.

There have been others.

Importantly, these cases came from only four countries that had signed up to the CCJ as their final appellate court. They would have been much more numerous if all the people of Caricom had access to the CCJ. As a court of final appeal in criminal and civil matters, the CCJ is truly a people’s court.

An authoritative study, conducted by Andrew N Maharajh and published by Cornell University, analyses the costs involved in appealing to the Privy Council in contrast to the CCJ. The findings show overwhelmingly the CCJ is much more accessible to the less well-off than is the Privy Council, reinforcing the CCJ is as much a people’s court as it is a final arbiter for wealthy businessmen and governments.

For instance, the study finds “the cost of filing an appeal with the Privy Council is more than five times greater than filing an appeal with the CCJ. A comparison of other associated filing costs for both courts reveals a similar ratio”. Other big expenses are incurred to take a case to the Privy Council.

People making an appeal have to buy plane tickets for themselves and their local lawyer and find and hire an English licenced solicitor to prepare the case file; in some cases, they must also retain expensive British barristers.

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS Additionally, the cost of accommodation in London for the duration of the litigation has to be met. In any event, two sets of lawyer’s fees must be paid. According to the study, all of this produces a very expensive appeals process, estimated at an average minimum cost of $65,000. Clearly, outside the reach of any but the wealthy.

By contrast, overall costs of appeals to the CCJ are considerably cheaper.

There is no need for two separate sets of lawyers, a local law firm can appear before the CCJ; costs of travel to Trinidad, the seat of the court, are cheaper than to London; the CCJ is also a travelling court, therefore there might be no need for lawyers to travel.

Most importantly, the CCJ allows lawyers to appear from their homes or offices via its video conferencing facilities.

Additionally, the CCJ operates an e-filing system to receive and process all filings electronically, eliminating the cost for lawyers’ travel and accommodation and, thereby, the overall cost to the litigants.

If all Caricom states took advantage the CCJ as a final court of appeal, not only would wealthy people and governments have access to the court, but ordinary people, across the region, would enjoy considerably better access to justice than they do now. Social equality in the justice system would, at last, be served.

Significantly, all Caricom taxpayers have already paid for access to the more affordable CCJ. Every Caricom government has contributed from its tax revenues to the Trust Fund that independently finances the court. Therefore, currently, the people of eight Caricom countries, particularly the less well-off, are being denied access to an affordable justice system for which they have paid – it is a people-asset from which the people are blocked.

Interestingly, as an example, over the past 28 years, 1990 to 2018, only 37 appeals have been made to the Privy Council from Antigua and Barbuda, one of the countries that is still tied to the British

Privy Council. Of the 37 appeals, seven were criminal and 30 were civil. In the clear majority of civil cases, only big companies and the government were involved, precisely because only they can afford the costs involved in appeals to the Privy Council. Poor Antiguans and Barbudans, like their peers in other Caricom countries, simply cannot afford the costs.

By the same token, less well-off citizens, from the

four Caricom countries that Caribbean has been producare part of the CCJ appel- ing lawyers, expert in many late process, have utilised fields, for over a hundred the court which has facili- years. Those lawyers have tated the applications of the served in many capacities poorest even in civil cases. in the region and the world What then and have of the quality About 15 percent contributed of justice the enormously to CCJ delivers? of the civil cases international The judgments filed in the CCJ jurisprudence. of the court were from people The judges have been of the British widely and too poor to pay Privy Council internationfiling costs which also gave great ally acclaimed. the court waived, service to the They are all development available on giving poor people of law in Comthe court’s unprecedented monwealth website for access to appeals. countries and public scrubeyond for tiny. Each of which they are the Judges of the court is commended. But, they do highly respected by their not possess the infallibility peers in the global judicial with which they are decosystem. It should be recalled rated by those in our region the English-speaking who cling to them. Their

decisions have been repeatedly overruled by both the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights.

The judges of the CCJ are, at the very least, the equals of the British Privy Council. And, as the facts bear out, the CCJ is the Caribbean people’s court as much for the poor as the rich.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com.

The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS. He is also a senior fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Dare to dream your own destiny

By DR DESIREE COX, MD, PhD ‘EVERYBODY is a Genius,’ said Albert Einstein. ‘But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’

This week, millions of students all over the world will be returning to classes to receive an education that’s setting them up to spend their whole lives believing they are stupid.

No. This article is not an attack on the educational system. It’s about imagination and how to inspire learners make the right career choices based on their intellect, ability, aptitude and passion, regardless of your age. What does this have to with health, and the upcoming 2018 HEALinc Future Health Summit?

Everything.

Last week, in continuing our conversation strand about health, I talked about paying for health with the intention of continuing the conversation about translational medicine. But over the course of this week, I have been approached by so many adult learners, university students and parents with interests and career aspirations in the field of health and healthcare who have major questions about what and where to study, and how to translate their interests, aspirations and passions into well-paying

jobs. In short, they have questions about what’s on the horizon for the future of health and no place to go to find answers.

The answers to such questions begin with curiosity and imagination. Let me explain by way of a personal story.

I was 15 when I imagined myself at Oxford University. I was a student at Queen’s College High School in Nassau at the time and my best friend, an Indian girl name Deema – not her real name – had joined my school that year because her father had taken up a job as a doctor at Princess Margaret Hospital. Deema had lived all over the world and changed schools many times on account of her father’s job.

One day, around the time when high school students apply for college, we were studying for our exams together at her home and the conversation shifted to universities and careers.

Deema wanted to be an economist and work for the World Bank when she grew up. I wanted to be a doctor.

“First,” said Deema, “I’m going to study at Oxford University, then I’ll do my Masters at Cambridge.

After that, I’ll apply for a job at the World Bank.

Papa says you don’t need more than a Masters to

apply.”

“Oxford University?”

I asked. “Where’s that?”

When she showed me the brochure with students conversing with their professors in their gowns against a backdrop of Oxford spires, immaculate lawns and the promise that students would have the opportunity to learn and converse with the best minds in the world. I pictured myself among them.

Seven years later, thanks to the Rhodes Scholarship, I was a medical student at Oxford.

Destiny begins with imagination.

That was over 30 years ago. Since then, as Oliver Burkeman put it in 2009: “Without most of us quite noticing when it happened,

the web went from being a strange new curiosity to a background condition of everyday life.”

Technological advances and splitsecond access to all the information in the world makes it possible to connect with the best minds virtually, but there is no substitute for connecting with in-person conversation. The luminaries I have had the good fortune to be mentored by are people I met in person, and those relationships began with a conversation.

Information explosion via the internet creates unprecedented challenges for learners and educators: 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not yet been invented, according to a 2017 Institute for the Future (IFF) report on Emerging Technologies’ Impact on Society and Work in 2030. The lionshare of those new jobs will be in healthcare and health related fields.

Bottom line. People in-the-know will be able to create their own jobs.

People who rely on traditional educational systems alone will be left behind.

Take 14-year-old Tanmay Bakshi, for example.

Tanmay is an algorithmist, neural network architect,

and author – a job title he has created for himself. At 14, Tanmay is the youngest developer of IBM Watson.

Tanmay will be speaking at the 2018 HEALinc Future Health Summit, October 7-9. He has already spoken to more than 150,000 people live worldwide about programming and its value for society; and has trained more than 7,500 people of his initial goal of training 100,000 aspiring developers.

The best way to futureproof your career or make sure you are on the right track is through exposure to the best minds, entrepreneurs, investors and pioneers who are creating the future, now. The HEALinc Future Health Summit opens with remarks

by Dr Duane Sands, Minister of Health. Topics and speakers at the day one summit opening ceremony include Carol Sanford (contrarian speaker, educator and best-selling author), “Shifting MindSets in Paradigm-Shifting Times. Listening Beyond Ego: Curiosity, Openness and Opportunity”; Dr Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP (VP IBM), “Democratising the Future of Health: Technology, Equity and Population Health Intelligence”; Dr David Haase, MD (CMO, MaxWell Biosciences), “Maximising Wellness: Optimal Health and Human Thriving”; Dr Mark Penn, MD, PhD, FACC

(BBLS, CEO), “Innovation and Regenerative Medicine: Unique Opportunities for The Bahamas”; Chris McSwain (McSwain Consulting), “Health Benefits of Doing Meaningful Work in Changing Times”; and Tanmay Bakshi, “Inspiring the Next Generation of Leaders and Entrepreneurs in STEM and Future Health”.

Don’t miss out. Registration for special one-day passes for the summit opening ceremony are available online at www. healincfuturehealthsummit. com. For more information contact the summit organising team: USA/Canada (877) 426-5361; Bahamas (855) 826-1165; Worldwide (716) 442-3798.

• Dr Desirée Cox, MD, PhD (www.desireecox. com) is the founder and CEO of the 2018 Inaugural HEALinc Future Health Innovation Summit (www. healincfuturehealthsummit.com). She is the first Bahamian Rhodes Scholar and first female British Caribbean Rhodes Scholar, a medical doctor, creative artist and published author.

She has earned degrees from McGill, Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Her career achievements include honors by Oxford University and the British Medical Journal. In 2013, a 70-cent stamp bearing her photograph was issued by The Bahamas Government.

MAKE SAFETY FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN A TOP PRIORITY KIDS are on their way back to school so let’s make back to school safety a top priority.

Every day, thousands of children take to the streets to go to and from school.

Many kids may not understand or be able to use safety rules. Children do not have the same frame of reference for safety as adults. They may not “look before they leap,” which is why it is so important for families to supervise children and practice safety skills with them to make certain they really know and understand. The tips noted below will help prepare for a safer school year.

Drivers Be alert, slow down and avoid any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

• Do not talk or text while driving.

• Make sure everyone in the car buckles his or her seatbelt. Not only will it keep you safe, it is also the law.

• Exercise extra caution

Police advice

By SERGEANT NATHALIE RANGER

as you head out to work and be on the lookout for school kids.

• Pay special attention to the speed limit in school zones. Familiarise yourself with traffic laws.

• Do not park on sidewalks and obstruct visibility for both pedestrians and motorists.

• Do not drink and drive.

When driving in the rain • Slow down, take your time, turn your lights on and give other vehicles space.

• Driving in conditions that involve strong or heavy wind and rain may not seem like the most pressing safety concern for many drivers, but know that driving in any type of severe weather can significantly

increase your risk of a dangerous situation for you, your family and other drivers. Remember severe weather demands your undivided attention, so be sure to reduce any possible distractions by turning the radio down or turning off your phone to keep your attention fully on the road.

Tips for parents and guardians • Instruct your children to always stay in well-lit areas, never take shortcuts and never go into isolated areas.

• Teach them to stay aware of their surroundings and observe all traffic rules in place to more safely share the roads and sidewalks with others.

• If anyone bothers your

children or makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused, while going to or from school, teach your children to trust their feelings, immediately get away from that person, and tell you or another trusted adult.

• If an adult approaches your children for help or directions, remember grown-ups needing help should not ask children; they should ask other adults.

• Instruct your children to never accept money or gifts from anyone unless you have told them it is OK to accept in each instance.

• Always provide supervision for your young children to help ensure their safe arrival to and from school.

• Show your kids which way to walk to and from school • Teach your children about the tricks someone may try to use to confuse them or engage them in conversation.

• Ensure current and accurate emergency contact information is on file for your children at their school.

• If you, or another trusted family member or friend, need to pick up your children, make sure to follow the school’s departure procedures. These procedures need to include the school’s confirmation of your children’s departure with only those you authorise to pick them up.

• Teach your children if anyone tries to take them somewhere they should quickly get away and yell, “This person is trying to take me away” or “This person is not my father/ mother/guardian.”

• Teach your children if anyone follows them on foot to get away from that person as quickly as possible. If anyone follows them in a vehicle they should turn around, go in the other direction, and try to quickly get to a spot where a trusted adult may help them.

Advise them to be sure to tell you or another trusted adult what happened.

• Instruct your children to tell a trusted adult if they notice anyone they do not know or feel comfortable with hanging around them.

• In the event your children may be lost or injured, make sure they carry a contact card with your name and telephone numbers such as work and cellular.

This card should be hidden from plain view.

• Talk to your kids about the kind of friends they keep. Teach them how to deal with conflicts if faced

with them.

• Attend (PTA) meetings. Get to know all of your kids teachers.

Back to school safety tips for kids • If walking to school, use sidewalks where available.

In areas where there are no sidewalks, walk along the side of the road facing traffic.

• Avoid using headphones or other electronic devices that will distract you from traffic.

• While at your bus stop: do not run into traffic.

• Arrive to your bus stop early.

• Never walk behind the bus.

• Make sure you know which bus to catch.

• Make sure the bus comes to a complete stop before trying to enter or exit.

• When crossing the street observe traffic, watch for the signal from drivers to cross.

• Say ‘No’ if anyone you do not know or a person who makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused offers a ride. Do not accept a ride from anyone unless your parents have told you it is OK to do so in each instance.

• Quickly get away and yell, “This person is not my mother/father/guardian” if anyone tries to take you somewhere or is following you. If anyone tries to grab you, make a scene and every effort to get away by kicking, screaming, and resisting.

• Never leave school grounds before the regular school day ends. Always check with the office before leaving school early.

• Never take shortcuts or walk through alleys to get to or from school faster.

• Let your parents know about activities you participate in that may cause you to leave earlier or arrive home later.

• Remember to call your parents once you arrive home.

While at school, most teachers have their own rules for what goes on in their classroom but here are a few other things you should remember when you are in class: • If another student, even a friend asks you to do something you do not want to do, do not do it.

• If you get into an argument, talk it out, fighting will hurt you and probably get you in trouble. It may even give you a reputation as a bully.

• If anything bothers you or makes you feel weird, like a fight with a friend, a run-in

with a bully, or anything, talk to an adult you trust.

• Do not carry a gun, a knife, illegal drugs or any weapon to school. Possession of these items will lead to arrest and criminal charges.

Tips for teachers • Greet your students as they enter your classroom. Introduce yourself and make it a point to create small talk with your students over the first few weeks. This establishes trust and students often go the extra mile for teachers they trust.

• Establish and review classroom routines. Take some time to reflect on the previous school year and any changes that may need to take place within your classroom. Reflect on what worked and what did not, as well as why it did or did not work. You do not have to revamp it all, just polish it every year. Then model your expectations, starting on the first day. Students crave structure whether they will admit it or not!

• Focus on ways to create a safe environment for your students. This can be done through morning meetings where teachers and students greet each other and take time to share their thoughts as well as review a run-down of the day’s events. Create activities that promote students to take risks, and have a safe place for them to fall. After all, we often learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes.

• Use colleagues as a sounding board to get advice. Professional support is an important part of the learning process that will ensure success. Remember to use your planning time to complete your to-do list.

• If you notice any of your students return to school with a different behaviour and seems as if something is going on with them. Do not ignore the signs. Talk with that student and get help immediately.

To all citizens and residents Let us all do our part in making this a safer school year. If you see a child in danger or away from school during school hours and you feel that something is not right. Contact the relevant authorities right away. “It takes a village to raise a child”meaning, it takes an entire community to raise a child. A child has the best ability to become a healthy adult if the entire community takes an active role in contributing to the rearing of the child.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 3, 2018, PAGE 11

HELPING THEIR COMRADES IN MEDICAL FIGHT

MEMBERS of Woman Entry Two at the fundraiser for their comrades.

Photo: RBDF

THE members of Woman Entry Two of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force recently came together to hold a fundraiser to help pay for medical expenses for their comrades.

Chief Petty Officer Arlene Moss, Petty Officer Marianne Ferguson and Nova Cox were the recipients of donations raised during a cookout on July 14.

Making the presentations was Commander Michael Sweeting, Base Executive Officer, who spoke highly of the squad.

The all-female squad enlisted in the Defence Force on September 21, 1987, with a total of 34 individuals, with 14 members still serving.

Chief Petty Officer Raquel Forbes, coordinator for the fundraiser, commended officers, marines and the public for their contributions and support.

Commodore Tellis Bethel commended the women for their bold undertaking to help their comrades.

14 days in jail for hemp used to ease chest pains

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 21-YEAR-OLD man was charged with possession of dangerous drugs in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Richard John Fox appeared before Magistrate Charlton Smith in Court Two where he pleaded guilty to possession of Indian hemp. He also pleaded guilty to two traffic offences, stemming from an arrest warrant issued in April.

According to the particulars, the accused was arrested on August 29 in Freeport after police discovered a silver foil wrapped package

containing marijuana in his underwear.

Fox told the court the marijuana was for his personal use to smoke because he suffers from heart palpitations, chest pains and asthma.

He said smoking marijuana reduced his heart rate at nights and relieved his asthma symptoms.

When Magistrate Smith asked whether a doctor had prescribed the marijuana for him, Fox said it was his uncle who had suggested he smoke it to slow down his heart rate.

“Are you employed?” asked Magistrate Smith.

Fox said he was employed with a local sub-contractor as a fire watcher at the Grand Bahama Shipyard,

but said he had not worked in the past three months because of the slowdown in work at the shipyard.

Fox had no antecedents and promised he would not smoke marijuana anymore or get into any trouble.

Considering Fox’s age and the fact he has no prior criminal record, Magistrate Smith granted him a conditional discharge and ordered that he keep the peace for six months, attend drug counselling and take random drug testing at the Department of Rehabilitative Services.

He also ordered Fox to perform 150 hours of community service and compensate the public $250 for the exercise.

“If you comply with all of

these conditions, I will grant an absolute discharge,” the magistrate said. But if you fail, you will be subject to a $1,500 fine and six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services,” he said.

The matter was adjourned to January 21 for review.

On the traffic matters, Fox pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle with

dark tinted windows and driving an unlicenced motor vehicle.

According to the particulars, at about 7.20pm on April 3, 2018, at Freeport, the accused drove a grey Chevrolet Cavalier with dark tinted windows. He was also accused of driving the unlicenced vehicle on the same date and place.

Magistrate Smith asked Fox why he had not

attended court on the traffic matters in May. Fox replied he did not have any money at the time to pay for the fines as he was then unemployed.

Fox was ordered to pay a fine of $250 for driving an unlicenced motor vehicle; $75 for dark tinted windows and $75 for the warrant issued for his arrest. In default, Fox is to serve 14 days in prison.

PAGE 12, Monday, September 3, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Disney lays out Lighthouse Point plan

THE VIEW at Lighthouse Point.

Photo: Barefoot Marketing from page one

SAM DUNCOMBE, of reEarth.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

other stakeholders, including Bahamas National Trust and One Eleuthera Foundation, will be held in the near future.

Lighthouse Point is a privately owned 700-acre peninsula at the southern tip of Eleuthera. Its proposed sale has been the subject of much controversy in recent weeks.

Environmentalists have been outspoken in their disagreement with the matter.

During a press conference held on Friday, they called for the entire property to be protected from commercial development.

On Friday, the BCCEC released a statement

regarding the meeting.

“At Disney’s request, (the BCCEC) briefly met with Disney executives today (Friday) to receive a presentation regarding Disney’s proposed expansion in The Bahamas, namely a second managed destination at Lighthouse Point at the southern tip of Eleuthera,” it noted.

In addition to Mr Vahle, Disney Cruise Lines Vice President of Animals, Science and Environment Mark R Penning and Vice President of Public Affairs Kim Prunty were in attendance.

According to the statement, they presented Chamber directors with a preliminary overview of the company’s intentions.

“The meeting included discussions on the project’s design and development, the economic and environmental impact on South Eleuthera, public access, and conservation objectives,” the BCCEC noted.

The Chamber hopes to engage in “further dialogue” with Disney and other stakeholders in the Bahamas, “to learn more about their perspectives regarding Disney’s proposal for Lighthouse Point and welcomes requests for discussion,” the statement concluded.

Mr Sumner told The Tribune these other stakeholders include the BNT and One Eleuthera Foundation. He added no dates have been set for the meetings as yet, but the Chamber expects them to be held “over the next couple of weeks”. “It is important for us to hear all sides of the divide on this project, including the government,” Mr Sumner said.

“Since we have heard from Disney, then it is only reasonable for us to hear the others as well.”

In a statement released yesterday, BNT Deputy President Geoff Andrews said the organisation had also met with Disney.

“We recently met with Disney representatives, and while we appreciate the update they provided us regarding their plans, we at the BNT feel strongly that the best use of the Lighthouse Point area is as a national park – for all Bahamians, visitors and future generations to enjoy,” Mr Andrews said.

The BNT also described Lighthouse Point as “perhaps the most significant undeveloped area left on the island”.

Standing with residents and non-governmental organisations alike, the BNT said is it “(imploring) the government not to allow the modification of this area from its pristine condition to a mega cruise ship pier and private beach facility.”

On Thursday, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said although the property is privately owned, the government will not sanction the commercial development of the actual lighthouse site or the surrounding beach.

However, he said the debate is continuing as to whether the entire property will be deemed “off-limits” for commercial development or if the government will allow a portion of it to be developed.

During Friday’s press conference, representatives from the BNT, reEarth, and Waterkeepers Bahamas responded to Mr D’Aguilar’s comments.

Eric Carey, BNT executive director, said while he commends the minister’s statement, the property “is

larger than just some tiny little space” and the whole area should instead be preserved for more sustainable development and sustainable long-term jobs.

Mr Carey added environmentalists “do not accept” the idea that a cruise ship port could “co-exist” with what they are proposing.

“We don’t think that any type of unsustainable development, which is what the cruise ship concept is, is acceptable at the peninsula of the southern tip of Eleuthera,” Mr Carey said on Friday.

“And we’re encouraging government to reject the sale to any entity that does not guarantee…sustainable development.”

Mr Carey said sustainable alternatives for the site development include a research facility, small ecolodge, and a national park component. The jobs provided by these initiatives could rival the numbers of those provided by a cruise ship port, he added. “(The cruise line is) saying they can produce 100 jobs, 120 jobs. We know that that site directly could produce 120 jobs,” Mr Carey said.

Sam Duncombe, of reEarth Bahamas, suggested Disney share the existing port at Princess Cays, Eleuthera. Princess Cays is owned by Princess Cruises. Mrs Duncombe also called for the country to invest in more diverse development models.

“While we understand that The Bahamas has basically followed one mode of development for the past 50 years – foreign direct investment, it often comes with the high price of lack of transparency, degraded communities and environments,” she said.

“We cannot stress enough that a cruise port that decimates the environment, restricts access, and has a one-sided economic benefit, for the cruise ship company, is no longer a business model which benefits or sustains the Bahamian people or our fragile environment.”

Mrs Duncombe added the environmental organisation Mission Blue has added Lighthouse Point as one of its “hope spots”.

These are “special places that are critical to the health of the ocean — Earth’s blue heart”, Mrs Duncombe said.

She said local organisations which support the Saving Lighthouse Point movement include the BNT, reEarth, Save the Bays, Waterkeepers Bahamas, Bannerman Town, Millars, John Millars, Eleuthera Association, Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation, Earthcare, and Raising Awareness about the Bahamas Landfill.

TEMPORARY COURT CLOSURES AFTER CHIEF JUSTICE’S DEATH THE business of the country’s Supreme Court and Magistrates’ Court will be impacted this week due to scheduled events in light of the death of Chief Justice Stephen Isaacs.

The Office of the Judiciary announced in a notice at 1pm on Wednesday, September 5, the Supreme Court will close while

Magistrates’ Court will close at 3pm on Wednesday and 1pm on Thursday.

No matters will be heard in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The courts will also be closed all day Friday.

Supreme Court and Magistrates Courts will resume full business operations on Monday, September 10.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 3, 2018, PAGE 13

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PAGE 14, Monday, September 3, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

YEMEN AIR STRIKE ‘IS A WAR CRIME’ CAIRO Associated Press

AN air strike by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen that killed dozens of people last month is an “apparent war crime”, an international rights group said yesterday.

The report came days after UN human rights experts said all sides in the fighting may have been responsible for committing war crimes in the 3½-year conflict.

The coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government expressed regret on Saturday and pledged to hold accountable those found to be responsible for the airstrike, which hit a bus carrying children in a busy market in the northern province of Saada. At least 51 people, including 40 children, were killed, and 79 others, including 56 children, were wounded.

Human Rights Watch said the attack adds to the coalition’s “already gruesome track record of killing civilians at weddings, funerals, hospitals and schools in Yemen”.

The New York-based group said it spoke by phone to 14 witnesses, including nine children, who said that shortly before 8.30am on August 9, a bomb fell on the market in Dhahyan, a town north of Saada in Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen, 60km from the Saudi border.

The bomb landed a few meters from a bus packed with boys on an excursion organised by a mosque to visit the graves of men who had been killed in fighting, the group said. The bus was parked outside a grocery store where the driver had gone to buy water for the children, HRW said.

“I saw bodies torn into pieces, pieces of my friends. ... Many of my friends died,” the group quoted Ahmad Hanash, 14, as saying.

THE REV Jasper Williams Jr delivers the eulogy during the funeral service for Aretha Franklin at Greater Grace Temple, in Detroit.

Photo: Paul Sancya/AP

Pastor stands firm over saying black America losing ‘its soul’ ATLANTA Associated Press A FIERY, old-school pastor who is under fire for saying black America is losing “its soul” at Aretha Franklin’s funeral stands firm by his words with the hope critics can understand his perspective.

The Rev Jasper Williams Jr said yesterday he felt his sermon was appropriate at Franklin’s funeral on Friday in Detroit. He felt his timing was right, especially after other speakers spoke on the civil rights movement and President Donald Trump.

“I was trying to show that the movement now is moving and should move in a different direction,” he

said. “... What we need to do is create respect among ourselves. Aretha is the person with that song ‘R-ES-P-E-C-T’ that is laid out for us and what we need to be as a race within ourselves. We need to show each other that. We need to show each other respect.

That was the reason why I did it.”

Williams, the pastor of Salem Bible Church in Atlanta, said his words about black women being incapable of raising sons alone were taken out of context.

He described as “abortion after birth” the idea of children being raised without a “provider” father and a mother as the “nurturer”.

Many thought Williams took a shot at Franklin, who was a single mother of four boys. But the pastor said a household can become stronger with two parents rather than one.

“Here’s the root of what I’ve been talking about: In order to change America, we must change black America’s culture,” he said.

“We must do it through parenting. In order for the parenting to go forth, it has to be done in the home.

The home.”

Williams also received backlash for his thoughts about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Some called Williams’ eulogy a “disaster” as his speech caused an uproar

on social media and in the funeral crowd, including Stevie Wonder who yelled out “Black Lives Matter” after the pastor said “No, black lives do not matter” during his sermon.

“I think Stevie Wonder did not understand what I said,” Williams said. “I said blacks do not matter, because black lives cannot matter, will not matter, should not matter, must not matter until black people begin to respect their own lives. Then and only then will black lives matter.

That’s what I said, and again, and again, and again.

We need to have respect for each other. Once we start doing that, then we can begin to change.”

Some questioned why he was chosen to honor Franklin. The pastor, who eulogised Franklin’s father, minister and civil rights activist CL Franklin, 34 years ago, said he was appointed by the family to handle the eulogy at her funeral. The pastor said the last time he spoke with Aretha Franklin was a few months ago.

Williams was blasted on social media for misogyny, bigotry and the perpetuation of false science on race.

He blamed integration and the civil rights movement for ripping the heart out of black micro-economies that once relied on black-owned small businesses such as grocery stores, hotels and banks.

WHILE WASHINGTON MOURNS, PRESIDENT TRUMP GOLFS STERLING, Virginia Associated Press

FOR President Donald Trump, it was just like any other Saturday.

As political dignitaries gathered in Washington to memorialise Senator John McCain, the president tweeted familiar grievances and headed to the golf course.

McCain’s family had made clear the president was not welcome at the funeral for the six-term senator and decorated war veteran at the Washington National Cathedral. Seated in the pews were three former presidents, a host of lawmakers, and top officials from around the world.

Speakers at the service did not mention Trump by name but repeatedly drew contrasts between McCain’s record of service and the divisive politics of the day.

The White House did not answer questions about whether Trump played golf or if he watched the service from afar.

Dressed in a white polo shirt and baseball hat, Trump left the White House in the morning as the late senator’s daughter, Meghan McCain, delivered an emotional address that served as a direct rebuke of Trump and his policies.

The tributes still underway, the presidential motorcade whisked him to Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

Throughout the day, Trump tweeted gripes about trade talks with Canada and the Justice Department. By midafternoon he had not named McCain, who had been an infuriating foil in a long-running feud that did not end with the senator’s illness and death. Earlier in the week, Trump drew sharp rebukes for offering a terse statement about McCain’s death under pressure following two days of near-silence.

The feelings of many at the memorial were quite clear. Meghan McCain drew applause when she said, “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.”

As the memorial service unfolded, some Trump allies jumped to his defense. “@realDonaldTrump ran for @POTUS ONE time and WON! Some people will never recover from that,” tweeted Katrina Pierson, an adviser to Trump’s re-election campaign.

Trump has frequented his golf courses in Virginia, New Jersey and Florida throughout his presidency, though the White House often will not say if he plays.

Trump repeatedly blistered President Barack Obama during the 2016 campaign for golfing, telling cheering supporters that as president he’d be far too busy working for them.

“I’m not gonna have time to go play golf,” he would shout.

Trump’s visit to the course drew some direct commentary. When the president left his club in the midafternoon a small group of protesters greeted him. Their signs read “Lock Him Up” and “RIP John McCain, a hero.”

PAGE 16, Monday, September 3, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

A MAN’S body was found inside a car in Grand Bahama on Friday.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

MAN’S BODY FOUND IN CAR AT EIGHT MILE ROCK

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE body of a man was discovered inside a vehicle in Eight Mile Rock on Friday evening in what police suspect was a sudden death, police reported.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder reported

that shortly after 6pm, police were called to a residence on Bayshore Road in Hepburn Town where the lifeless body of a man was found in the vehicle.

She said foul play is not suspected at this time and police are awaiting the results of an autopsy report to determine the cause of death.

GRIEVING loved ones on the scene.