09092026 BUSINESS

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Wednesday, september 9, 2026

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manager denies Bahama Rock: 69 furloughed Fund regulator’s allegations workers no ‘bargaining chip’ of fraud, dishonesty

BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMA Rock yesterday denied it is using employees “as a bargaining chip” over the proposed Freeport Harbour expansion as it confirmed the temporary lay-off of 69 staff for a 60-day period starting on Monday, September 21.

The Grand Bahama-based aggregate miner, in a statement to Tribune Business, said it plans to “cease production” of aggregate and limestone next Friday, September 18, with business and construction industry executives warning the move could deprive contractors throughout The Bahamas of vital materials and, ultimately, spark a rise in local building costs if operations do not resume.

Bahama Rock said its decision was sparked by the “realities” that the firm’s existing source of aggregate and limestone is now “depleted” and unable to sustain commercially viable operations long-term. This has been compounded by uncertainties over whether it will receive the necessary government permits and approvals to access a fresh supply source through acquiring the 515-acre former Bahamas Cement Company property.

The extraction of aggregate and limestone from this site, if given the go-ahead, will also eventually facilitate Freeport Harbour’s near-270 acre expansion and increase its - and the island’s - value as an economic asset by creating a new turning basin and “deep-water berths”.

However, Bahama Rock’s proposal is facing significant opposition from residents in Eight Mile Rock and

Aggregate miner in 60day halt amid Bahamas Cement wait

Construction price hikes, supply fears on key materials loss

‘without reservation’

GB Chamber president warns may impact ‘entire Bahamas’

Holdun Family Office pledges to ‘meet’ and answer claims in full in court But won’t ‘stand in way’ of windingup petition as already agreed to exit ‘Parts company’ with Securities Commission’ on route to destination

BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMAS-BASED fifth-generation family office, whose roots trace back to Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) longest-serving president, yesterday vehemently denied “without reservation” the Securities Commission’s allegations that “fraud” or “dishonesty” were committed by itself or any representatives.

Holdun Family Office (Bahamas), which is facing a winding-up petition from the Bahamian regulator to place it in Supreme Court-supervised liquidation, in a series of e-mailed replies to Tribune Business questions pledged to “meet” and “answer the allegations in full” during court hearings while pointing out that all the claims

FREEPORT HARBOUR EXPANSION RENDERING other nearby communities, who have voiced concerns about the potential environmental, noise and other impacts plus expressed fears about the effects the mining’s blasting will have on their homes and business properties. Several complained the company and government have failed to address concerns that previous blasting caused cracks to appear in their buildings.

Activist groups such as Preserving Paradise have also made clear their opposition, while Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs and Immigration, in an August 7, 2026,

statement asserted that the Government does “not support the proposed expansion of the Bahama Rock operation”. However, Bahama Rock rejected suggestions it is offering Grand Bahama and the wider economy “a choice between project approval and employee job losses”.

“That characterisation is simply incorrect,” the company, which is owned by Martin Marietta, the multinational aggregates, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete supplier, said. “Rather, it is a matter of responsibly communicating the

QUARRYING - See Page B2

Better explanation is urged for debt-deficit ‘disconnect’

BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

OLD BAHAMA BAY

THE GOVERNMENT needs to better explain the gulf between the $1bn increase in the national debt during the 2025-2026 Budget year and its $121.2m fiscal deficit, a senior banker said yesterday, branding it a “significant disconnect” between the two.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, responding to the Central

Bank’s recent revelations on the debt increase, told Tribune Business that there were nevertheless “a couple of very plausible explanations” that the Government can offer to explain the difference between the two key fiscal indicators.

One, he said, could be that the Government was holding borrowed funds as cash, or investing them in US money market funds and other securities instruments, which means they would not show up as expenditure in the

Resort’s owners urged to act against Gov’t, police officers

Environmental activists hail SpaceX landing end

BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A SECURITY contractor for Old Bahama Bay’s owners has recommended they file formal complaints with the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s (RBPF) internal affairs unit, and launch legal action against the Government, over “unauthorised interventions” by senior officers over the resort’s repossession.

Elwood Lundy, a paralegal and officer with Candid Security, the firm hired by LRAOBB and Resorts Holdings to seize control of the West End resort from Island Ventures & Resort Company (IVRC), a management firm formed by its condo owners in the wake of Ginn’s 2011 demise, alleged that police officers with the rank of chief superintendent, assistant superintendent and inspector had “facilitated trespass, property damage and contempt of Supreme Court” orders.

His August 7, 2026, report for Michael Scott KC, the attorney for Old Bahama Bay’s two corporate owners, alleges that the chief

ENVIRONMENTAL advocates yesterday hailed SpaceX’s decision to end its Falcon 9 booster landing programme in The Bahamas, arguing that these should never have been approved and that it highlights the need for greater transparency in the permitting process.

Joseph Darville, of Save the Bays and Waterkeepers Bahamas, said he was “extremely happy” the programme had ended, arguing that The Bahamas’ limited land mass and globally important marine environment make projects carrying the potential for major environmental impacts too great a risk.

“It brought a tremendous joy to my heart to hear that they did cancel it. It was something that we should never, ever, have enter-

CONTROL - See Page B5

are currently “untested” and not proven.

However Holdun, which is based at the Albany Financial Centre in south-western New Providence, said it will not contest the winding-up petition nor “stand in the way” of appointing the liquidators nominated by the Securities Commission when the matter is eventually heard by the Supreme Court. It added that this is because it had informed the regulator several months ago that it planned to exit its licensed wealth management business and surrender its licence and registration.

As a result, Holdun Family Office (Bahamas) said itself and the Securities Commission are in agreement over the final destination - its exit from a financial services niche that required it to be licensed

REBUTTAL - See Page B4

deficit/surplus calall and what they culations because are being used for, the money has so as to prevent yet to be spent. any concealment This would not of government be picked up by liabilities. the Government’s Acknowledging modified cash basis that the difference of accounting, between the debt Mr Bowe told increase and deficit GOWON BOWE this newspaper for the ten months that another explaof 2025-2026 nation could be requires further the Government’s increas- explanation, the Fidelity Bank ing use of special purpose (Bahamas) chief said: “It’s not vehicles (SPVs). While such a bit of a disconnect; there’s a entities are not problematic significant disconnect… in and of themselves, he called “If I had an increase in for greater transparency over debt of $1bn, and a deficit of SPVs through publication of a listing that identifies them FISCAL - See Page B4

tained,” said Mr Darville.

JOE DARVILLE The initiative was initially promoted as an opportunity for space tourism and technology in The Bahamas, with up to 20 Falcon-9 booster landings planned in Bahamian waters.

The first landing took place in Exuma Sound in February 2025, followed by a second in February 2026.

Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Darville said The Bahamas has an abundance of ocean but relatively little land on which its population lives, meaning the country cannot afford to expose its communities or marine environment to unnecessary risks.

“With space exploration, you cannot be guaranteed 100

ROCKET - See Page B6

PAGE 2, Wednesday, September 9, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Study reveals Bahamas suffers coral cover drop THE Bahamas has suffered a gradual decline in coral cover throughout the 21st century, a study has revealed, finding that increased global and ocean warming are giving reefs less time to recover.

The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) report, billed as the largest-ever global assessment of coral reef conditions, revealed a relative 9.5 percent decline in average global hard coral cover compared to the 19802009 average benchmark.

The report, ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2025’, said the greatest losses following mass bleaching events driven by marine heatwaves. It added that these bleaching events are becoming more frequent and intense as the Earth’s climate warms, leaving reefs with less time to recover.

However, despite the global decline, several

regions showed that reefs can recover when local threats are managed effectively. The study found reducing pressures related to overfishing, coastal development, water pollution, run-off and coral predation can strengthen reef resilience and improve the prospects for recovery following bleaching.

“This report provides the most comprehensive assessment to-date of the status of the world’s coral reefs, and the message is clear: Governments must act with urgency to implement evidence-based policy and management. The strongest pathway to safeguard coral reefs is rapid emissions reductions, effective action on local pressures and sustained long-term monitoring so action is targeted where it matters most,” said Dr Manuel González Rivero, the report’s lead author.

The MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Foundation, which contributed to the report, said its Bahamas-based Super Coral Reefs Programme combines coral restoration, marine science education and public engagement at its Marine Conservation Centre at Ocean Cay. The Foundation provided funding alongside other donors to the latest GCRMN report, and supplied a case study showcasing the programme’s research partnerships, monitoring, coral restoration and coral disease treatment.

“We are proud to have contributed to this extraordinary global scientific effort,” said Daniela Picco, the MSC Foundation’s executive director. “Coral reefs are sending us a clear message: These vital ecosystems are under increasing pressure worldwide.

“Yet the report also shows that, where local

Financial provider unveils its top Bahamas executive A MULTI-jurisdiction financial services provider yesterday announced it has appointed Toni Bonzon as managing director of its Bahamas office.

Suntera Global, which offers fund, corporate and private wealth services, said in a statement that Mr Bonzon will have responsibility for running all Bahamian operations and driving new business opportunities, leading a team that offers solutions for global clients with a particular focus on Latin America.

It added that Mr Bonzon, who has a near-two decade carreer in international financial services after joining the industry in 2007, has extensive experience in compliance, trust relationship management, fiduciary services, business development and cross-border structuring.

He has worked at a number of major private banking institutions in Switzerland and, more recently, held senior client relationship and business development roles

at Trident Trust Group in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Miami. During that time, he established contacts and relationships with private clients and intermediaries across Latin America, the Caribbean and the US. Mr Bonzon said: “I’m delighted to join Suntera at such an exciting stage of its international growth.

With over 15 years of experience in the international fiduciary industry, including six years in the BVI and more recently three

Labour chief hopeful Bahama Rock ‘turns around’ and brings staff back QUARRYING - from page B1 realities facing Bahama Rock, its employees, customers and the broader Bahamian community.

“Bahama Rock has, for an extended period, been transparent and consistent in stating a simple fact: The company’s existing limestone reserves are finite and are being depleted. To that end, Bahama Rock has communicated candidly with the Government while pursuing various alternatives to extend diminishing reserves.

“The Bahamas Cement Company property has the potential to provide access to adjacent limestone reserves to enable the continuation of operations, preserve existing employment and sustain the economic activity generated by the business that is vital for The Bahamas’ long-term prosperity.”

Besides the direct impact from its 84-strong workforce, and investment and spending in Grand Bahama’s economy, Bahama Rock reiterated that the supply of vital aggregates for the Bahamian construction industry and multiple resort and real estate-based developments in this nation is now also under threat if it does not receive the environmental and other approvals for a project that will create a new product source.

“The significance of this project extends well beyond Bahama Rock.

The company’s aggregates have, for decades, been a vital source of construction materials supporting infrastructure investment, residential development, tourism projects, commercial construction and economic growth throughout The Bahamas,” Bahama Rock said.

“Ensuring a reliable, long-term supply of these

materials is important not only for the company’s employees and customers, but for the continued development and competitiveness of Grand Bahama and the nation as a whole.”

Ralph Hebpurn, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president, yesterday backed Bahama Rock’s position by confirming to Tribune Business that “the entire Bahamas” - especially its construction and development sectors - will be impacted if the temporary halt to production becomes a long-term shutdown. Asserting that the Chamber is “not dismissing” residents’ concerns about the project, he added that the overall economic fall-out must be considered too.

Disclosing that he and Chamber executives met with Bahama Rock last week, and toured its plant, Mr Hepburn said the two sides had reviewed the fact that the company was “coming to the end of life for the current property, plus assessed its plans for “moving forward and how dependent they are on being able to access Bahamas Cement Company’s old property.

“Bahama Rock provided the majority if not all the material to build Baha Mar,” the GB Chamber president said.

“Bahama Rock provides a lot of material for marinas throughout The Bahamas such as boulders. It provides material for construction in The Bahamas and other industries. It’s not only Grand Bahama that will be affected. It will affect the entire Bahamas.

“All the different types that are used - fill, sand, pea rock, what we call gravel they provide all of that for the entire Bahamas. Unless we can find some place in The Bahamas to extract and find our own limestone material in The Bahamas,

we will have to start importing. Importing will add costs, transportation costs.

All that stuff. It’s not that we are dismissing the concerns of residents, but we need to look at it in totality and how Bahama Rock’s operation really impacts the Bahamian economy.”

Mr Hepburn added that the negative economic fallout will go far beyond the loss of 84 jobs if Bahama Rock’s present temporary production pause becomes a long-term shutdown. “A lot of persons might look at it as 80 persons out of 20,000 in Grand Bahama,” he said.

“But that’s 80 families whose spending is affected.

It means 80 households not paying utility bills.

The utility customer base is further shrunk, which brings pressure for rate increases. That’s education, medical, government taxes. They support grocery stores. Directly it’s 84, but indirectly the impact flows through the entire Bahamas.”

Glennett Fowler, founder and group president of Heroic Group, which includes Heroic Concrete & Concrete Products, told Tribune Business that Bahama Rock’s predicament has created supply chain uncertainty for companies such as her’s and threatens to increase building costs just as a “significant increase” in construction business looms in 2027.

“It’s uncertainty right now,” she said. “We try to stockpile and prepare, but you don’t want to overdo that because you have weather considerations.

Construction is going to see a significant increase in 2027 from all indications, so hopefully we can have alternative solutions or this is resolved in some amicable way. This is an environmental discussion as well as an economic one.”

ELKHORN Coral in The Bahamas. stressors are managed effectively, reefs can recover.

This is why we strongly believe in the importance of investing in research and monitoring, which helps inform restoration locally.

The choices we make locally today can have a global impact on the future of these vital ecosystems.”

Although coral reefs cover only 0.2 percent of the ocean floor, they are home to more than 25 percent of all marine species. They support the livelihoods, food security and well-being of about one billion people, and provide ecosystem services estimated to be worth up

Photo:MSC Foundation to $9.9trn annually. Coral reefs also protect coastlines and contain bioactive compounds that contribute to medical and pharmaceutical research.

The GCRMN report showed the Caribbean has suffered a strong decline in coral cover, especially after strong marine heatwaves and disease outbreaks. The rapid spread and mortality from Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) has driven severe coral loss across the regions.

Other impacts include increasingly intense hurricanes that damage the coral, pressures from coastal development with

increased pollution, unsustainable fishing, increasing sargassum and invasive species. The Bahamas was found to have generally lower coral cover, which remained through the 1990s, followed by a gradual decline through the 2000s and 2010s.

The 2025 GCRMN assessment drew on 40 years of global data, including 21.1m observations from 36,886 reef sites – more than ten times the number included in the 2020 report.

The data were collated by more than 600 partners across many reef monitoring networks.

years in Miami, I’m excited to bring my international experience to Suntera and help strengthen its presence across Latin America.

“I look forward to working with colleagues across the group, building strong relationships with clients, intermediaries, professional advisers, and connecting them with our corporate, private wealth and fiduciary solutions.”

David Hudson, Suntera Global, added: “Our office in The Bahamas plays a critical role as part of our Caribbean and wider Americas team, bringing first class corporate and private wealth services to our global client base.

“With that in mind, I’m really pleased to welcome

Toni, whose industry expertise and considerable multi-jurisdictional experience will be pivotal in driving further growth in the jurisdiction and delivering exceptional solutions for clients.”

Mr Bonzon holds a degree in business administration, as well as the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) diploma in international trust management and STEP professional postgraduate diploma in private wealth advice.

Suntera Global also offers company and trust administration, as well as outsourced compliance, accounting and tax services. It employs more than 550 specialists supporting a global client base from offices in The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, India, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg, Singapore, the UK and the US.

Confirming that she and Heroic have been aware of the situation, Ms Fowler added: “Understandably, any prolonged disruption in the availability of locally-sourced aggregate could have implications beyond any one company. Aggregate and limestone are fundamental inputs for concrete, block manufacturing and construction generally, so reliable and competitively priced access to these materials is important to the industry.

“From Heroic’s perspective, we are assessing the potential operational and supply chain implications, and the alternatives available, should the disruption extend beyond the temporary period indicated. One of the broader concerns would be cost.

“If local supply becomes constrained and producers are required to source or import greater quantities of raw materials from elsewhere, the additional material, freight, handling and logistics costs could ultimately increase production costs for concrete and blocks and, by extension, impact the overall cost of construction.”

Ms Fowler, though, cautioned that it “would be premature to quantify” the impact, “or speculate on the possibility”, of Bahama Rock closing permanently.

“Our immediate focus at Heroic is ensuring continuity of supply for our customers and managing any potential cost pressures as responsibly as possible,” she said.

“More broadly, however, this highlights the importance of ensuring Grand Bahama has resilient sources of critical construction materials and a regulatory environment that balances responsible development with the need to keep major industries operating and Bahamians employed.”

Tribune Business understands that the 60-day lay-offs, or furloughs, apply only to Bahama Rock’s 69 hourly employees and not its entire workforce.

Aggregates production will cease on September 18, and the lay-offs take effect from the following Monday after the weekend, due to the conundrum created by depletion of current resources combined with uncertainty over whether the Government and its regulatory agencies will approve access to a new materials source.

Amid the production suspension, due to an inability to generate the required volumes, it is understood that Bahama Rock plans to review its operations and assess other possible business opportunities and partnerships that could sustain its business - including a potential restart.

“This matter is not about choosing between jobs and the environment. It is about working together to reach a mutually beneficial project resolution that ensures continued employment, community prosperity, future investment and the long-term availability of construction materials that are essential to building and maintaining The Bahamas,” Bahama Rock said in its statement.

“Any suggestion that Bahama Rock would use the livelihoods of its employees as a bargaining chip is wholly inconsistent with the facts and mischaracterises the company’s position. The simple fact of the matter is the existing Bahama Rock property is nearing the exhaustion of its currently permitted aggregate reserves.

“As was stated in Bahama Rock’s notice to the Ministry of Labour, the recently-announced temporary lay-off of hourly employees reflects this reality and gives the company some time to assess how to best manage the impending shutdown. Bahama Rock is currently scheduled to cease production on September 18, 2026.”

Howard Thompson, the Government’s director of labour, confirmed yesterday to Tribune Business that Bahama Rock had informed it of its plans.

“As far as the Department of Labour is concerned, they’ve complied with the statutory requirements,” he said.

“They would have advised the Ministry of Labour of the set of circumstances they find themselves in, the amount of affected employees and duration of the temporary lay-offs. My Department will monitor this closely, but there are any number of opportunities available to workers in those categories of workers.

“We are hopeful that Bahama Rock will turn around and bring back those staff, but there are tremendous opportunities for workers in these fields.

Their skills are transferable - crane operators, welders, utility room personnel, heavy duty equipment operators.”

Bahama Rock, meanwhile, said it has not given up hope that the required permits, such as cerrtificates of environmental clearance (CECs) from the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), will eventually emerge.

“Bahama Rock respects the environmental review process and supports a thorough, science-based application evaluation,” it added. “The company remains committed to complying with all applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements while continuing to provide stable, well-paid jobs and benefits, support local economic activity, and supply construction materials that are fundamental to the country’s growth and development.

“We remain hopeful that decisions regarding the project will be based on the facts, the application’s merits and the long-term interests of the people, economy and infrastructure needs of The Bahamas and Grand Bahama. The company stands ready to continue working constructively with all stakeholders to achieve that outcome.”

TONI BONZON

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, PAGE 3

Bahama Rock opponents challenge construction hit

BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net OPPONENTS of Bahama Rock’s proposed Freeport Harbour expansion yesterday challenged the warning that its planned September 18 temporary production halt means this nation will face an unavoidable shortage of construction aggregate.

Preserving Paradise, a group opposing the project, said that while the situation facing 69 furloughed Bahama Rock workers requires immediate attention, the company’s impending shutdown should not determine the outcome of the environmental review for its proposed acquisition, then excavation, of the former Bahamas Cement Company (BCC) property.

“The company’s scheduled production stoppage does not, on its own, establish that the country faces an unavoidable aggregate shortage,” Preserving Paradise said, calling for an “urgent, independently verified assessment” of

whether other producers in Grand Bahama and elsewhere in The Bahamas can meet the domestic demand currently supplied by Bahama Rock.

The group said the assessment should examine available quantities, product suitability, delivery times and delivered prices, while distinguishing between domestic deliveries and export volumes when considering the project’s claimed national supply implications.

“Neither the exhaustion of all limestone nor the availability of further lawful extraction should be assumed,” Preserving Paradise said, adding that Bahama Rock’s statement refers specifically to the exhaustion of its “currently permitted reserves”.

The group is also asking for an updated account of Bahama Rock’s remaining permitted and recoverable material, available stockpiles and the basis for the company’s September 18 production forecast.

Bahama Rock said yesterday its existing limestone reserves are finite and are being depleted,

with production currently scheduled to cease on September 18. “The simple fact of the matter is the existing Bahama Rock property is nearing the exhaustion of its currently permitted aggregate reserves,” the company said.

It added that the temporary layoffs of hourly employees announced recently “reflects this reality and gives the company some time to assess how to best manage the impending shutdown”.

Bahama Rock said the Bahamas Cement Company property “has the potential to provide access to adjacent limestone reserves to enable the continuation of operations, preserve existing employment and sustain the economic activity generated by the business”.

The company rejected suggestions it was using the livelihoods of its workers as leverage to secure approval for the expansion. “Any suggestion that Bahama Rock would use the livelihoods of its employees as a bargaining chip is wholly inconsistent with the facts and mischaracterises the company’s position,” it said.

Teachers put ‘tennis back’ in house’ on five-year deal

BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS Union of Teachers (BUT) president yesterday told members to “put your tennis back in the house” after the union reached a deal with the Government, ending the immediate threat of industrial action that had been hanging over the education sector.

The remarks came just days after BUT members were placed on industrial action alert following their rejection of the Government’s latest financial counter-proposal, with the union warning that teachers were prepared to take further action if outstanding issues were not resolved.

But, after emerging from a round of negotiations at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, Mrs Wilson said the outstanding financial matters had been settled and the union had

completed its negotiations for a five-year deal.

“So, members, you can put your tennis back in the house, your umbrellas back in the house. We’ve gotten what it is that you sent us for,” said Mrs Wilson.

The agreement includes a maximum teacher salary of $54,000, lump-sum payments of $700 in year three and $750 in year five, and hardship allowances for teachers who relocated to the Family Islands. Southern island teachers will receive an extra $2,500, while northern island teachers will receive $1,800.

Mrs Wilson said the union had also succeeded in securing hardship allowances for islands that had previously been left out.

“The outstanding financial matters that we had were all addressed. We’ve signed off on them, and so now we have teachers who will get the maximum salary scale of $54,000,” she said.

“We were wrangling over a lump sum payment in year

BELINDA WILSON three, a lump sum payment in year five. We were able to agree to both of them.

“We had some of our islands that were left off from hardship allowances, so we were able to get those in. So we are very pleased today that we have completed our negotiations.”

The agreement will cover five years, from July 1, 2025, to 2030, with Mrs Wilson stressing either party can return to the negotiating table within three years.

“We’ll just have the document cleaned up, and in a few days we should be able to sign off,” she said.

“And we did agree to the five-year agreement, with

Bahama Rock also stressed that the issue extends beyond the company and its workforce, arguing that its aggregates have for decades supported infrastructure investment, residential development, tourism projects, commercial construction and wider economic activity.

“Ensuring a reliable, long-term supply of these materials is important not only for the company’s employees and customers, but for the continued development and competitiveness of Grand Bahama and the nation as a whole,” the company said.

Preserving Paradise agreed that the workers affected by the shutdown need immediate attention, but said their livelihoods and the approval of the proposed expansion should not be treated as the same question.

The group called on Bahama Rock and relevant labour authorities to establish a clear employee support and transition plan, including the anticipated duration of temporary lay-offs, benefits, recall arrangements,

redeployment or training opportunities and the consequences if the stoppage becomes permanent.

“Workers deserve timely, clear information about their employment, income, benefits and prospects for recall,” the group said.

It added that employees should be told whether approval of the project would actually permit an immediate restart of production or whether preparatory works could create a further interruption.

The September 18 production halt has added urgency to a project that has already generated significant public concern in Grand Bahama.

Bahama Rock’s proposal involves the excavation of roughly 270 acres of the former Bahamas Cement Company property as part of a broader Freeport Harbour expansion. The company has argued that the project would allow it to access additional limestone while supporting a wider harbour development, including turning basins and berths.

The proposal has been presented as a means of securing Bahama Rock’s future operations and 84 jobs, while also providing infrastructure and economic benefits to Grand Bahama.

Residents, however, raised concerns at a July

public consultation over the potential impacts of the project, including blasting, dust, flooding, property damage, groundwater and environmental impacts.

Preserving Paradise has subsequently filed objections challenging elements of the project’s environmental evidence and the adequacy of the assessment and consultation process.

The group is now also asking regulators to determine whether a qualified independent operator could lawfully and commercially continue any remaining extraction in Bahama Rock’s existing Area 3, separately from the proposed Bahamas Cement Company excavation.

“This requires current reserve information, confirmation of ownership and operating rights, and a clear account of applicable approvals and environmental responsibilities,” Preserving Paradise said.

It stressed that it was not claiming that replacement supply or an Area 3 successor is already available, but that those options should be investigated before the Bahamas Cement Company expansion is presented as indispensable to national construction supply.

“Temporary supply arrangements, alternative

REVIEW - See Page B6

a caveat that either party can come back to the negotiation table within three years.”

Mrs Wilson said the BUT had been working for almost a year to secure what she described as the best industrial agreement for its members.

“We’ve gotten what it is that you sent us for, and we want to thank the Government and our negotiating team for the hard work that we have done for almost one year now to ensure that we got the best industrial agreement,” she said.

Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of education, science and technology. confirmed that the agreement concluded the negotiations.

“I’m happy to report that as a result of those discussions, we have agreement with the Bahamas Union of Teachers. That concludes the negotiation, and we now can confirm that we are working harmoniously together to drive the revolution in education that I’ve been speaking about,” said Mr Cooper. “This is a positive outcome. It’s a great day for education.”

Boutique seeking a

Retail Manager

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who is a Strong Team Leader, Sales Driven, Energetic, Guest Focused, Accountable, Organized, Results Oriented, Bilingual a must (Spanish proficient) Liaison between Bahamas operations and the corporate office based in Mexico Key Responsibilities • Manage the daily operations of the retail department.

• Lead, motivate and supervise the retail sales team.

• Drive sales performance and achieve established revenue targets.

• Deliver exceptional guest service and create a fun, engaging shopping experience.

• Maintain strong product knowledge and ensure team members are properly trained.

• Oversee inventory levels, stock replenishment and merchandise controls.

• Maintain attractive visual merchandising and product displays.

• Monitor POS transactions, cash-handling procedures and daily sales reporting.

• Assist with reducing inventory shrinkage and implementing loss-prevention controls.

• Manage employee scheduling, attendance and productivity.

• Conduct regular inventory counts and assist with investigating discrepancies.

• Identify opportunities to increase sales through promotions, upselling and merchandising strategies.

• Ensure company policies, grooming standards and operational procedures are consistently followed.

• Partner with Operations and Human Resources on staffing, training, performance and employee relations matters.

Qualifications • Previous retail management or supervisory experience required.

• Strong sales and customer-service background.

• Proven ability to lead and motivate a team.

• Experience with inventory management and POS systems.

• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume tourism and hospitality environment.

• Flexible availability, including weekends, holidays and peak operational periods.

hr.bahamas@grupoandersons.com telephone: 242-323-1777/8

PAGE 4, Wednesday, September 9, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Provider aiming to refocus on private investment core legacy REBUTTAL - from page B1 and regulated. It added that the only differences were over the route and how to get there, with the regulator moving for a court-supervised winding-up and the provider seeking an “orderly” voluntary process that would not consume court time or costs.

Holdun Family Office (Bahamas), in a separate statement sent to this newspaper, said that after exiting and closing its licensed wealth management business it plans to focus on its core business and legacy roots of family office services and private investment activities. It is unclear, though, whether this plan faces potential headwinds from the Securities Commission’s active petition for a court-supervised liquidation.

The Bahamian capital markets and investments fund regulator, in justifying its action, alleged Holdun Family Office (Bahamas) had been “highly negligent” in managing investor assets. It also claimed that its investigation allegedly revealed the financial

services provider was valuing investment funds it managed “based on assets that did not exist”.

Other allegations levied by the Securities Commission are that Holdun charged clients “unjustifiable” fees for the investment funds it managed while also using investor assets to make loans to a company owned by one of its directors who was unnamed.

The move for court-supervised liquidation came after three investment funds managed by Holdun - the Holdun Income Fund, Holdun Innovation & Technology Fund and Holdun Opportunity Fund - were themselves all subjected to separate winding-up proceedings over the past 18 months. The latter two are in court-supervised liquidation in The Bahamas.

The Securities Commission, noting that none of the three funds have been able to repay investors what they are owed due “to their deteriorated financial position and illiquidity”, is further alleging that the liquidators for both the Holdun Innovation & Technology Fund and Holdun Opportunity

Fund have made “prima facie findings of apparent fraud”.

Holdun, in its reply to Tribune Business, said: “Where the company parts company with the Commission is on a number of the factual allegations advanced in support of the petition… The company denies the allegations.

“What can be stated at the outset, and clearly, is that there was no fraud and there was no dishonesty by the company, by its chief executive [Brendan Holt Dunn] or by anyone acting for the company. Any suggestion otherwise is rejected without qualification and without reservation.

“The company will answer the allegations in full, before the court, in the proper form and on the evidence. That is where they belong and that is where they will be met.” Holdun added that it should be “crystal clear that these remain untested allegations at this stage, that the company challenges them, and that no court of law has determined any of them”.

While no further details were provided in its filings,

Banker cites SPVs as possible factor in debt-deficit difference FISCAL - from page B1 around $120m, I would probably spend two to three pages explaining why that’s the case so persons understand how borrowings are being utilised and have an understanding of the true net debt position of the country.

“It shouldn’t be so complex that we confuse ourselves. Keep it simple stupid. For the Government’s accounting, let’s keep it as simple as possible and not get into exotic [instruments] in the Government sector.”

Mr Bowe said the Government may have kept a significant portion of its recent borrowings as cash in the bank, or elected to invest it in bonds and other securities, resulting in it failing to appear in its deficit numbers due to the absence of accrual-based accounting. As a result, while The Bahamas’ national debt may be rising, spending is not taking place.

“There should be a very swift and quick answer to identify what are your bank balances and money market holdings, and what are they being held in support of?” he added. Mr Bowe noted

that the growing popularity of SPVs with the Government could also provide an answer for the debt-deficit gap.

“The Government of The Bahamas, for the better part of ten years, has been creating these vehicles for the purpose of buying buildings, creating a sovereign wealth fund and the like, and there may be funds going into those vehicles,” the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive added.

“Because we don’t have accrual-based accounting, we don’t have a register of assets like we would in the private sector reporting entities. We should have a complete listing of SPV loans and investments in them so we have a very understanding these SPVs are not for the purpose of concealment but because” they are responsible for holding real estate, managing projects and other uses.

Mr Bowe said it would be “a problem” if the Government uses SPVs to prevent the “accumulation of obligations not showing up in a timely manner”. Noting that the law requires the audited financial statements and annual reports of stateowned enterprises (SOEs)

to be tabled in the House of Assembly, he suggested that the so-called SPVs be subjected to similar reporting requirements so Bahamians have a “complete picture” of the Government’s financial position.

The 8.8 percent yearover-year increase in The Bahamas’ national debt to $13.17bn is likely to fuel questions about the extent of pre-election spending, as well as the seeming disconnect between the size of the debt surge and seemingly much-lower annual GFS deficit. The latter, which is supposed to measure the net increase in the Government’s debt, as well as by how much its spending exceeds tax/revenue income, stood at only $121.2m at end-April.

The more than $1bn jump in the national debt came despite a slight drop in the Government’s direct liabilities during the three months to end-June 2026. “For the quarter ended-June 2026, the direct charge on the Government fell by $7.1m (0.1 percent) to $12.466bn while, on an annual basis, it grew by $697m (5.9 percent),” the Central Bank confirmed.

the Securities Commission’s winding-up petition claims that, as a result, Holdun’s management are “no longer fit and proper” to carry on financial services business or “manage client assets prudently”.

However, Holdun pledged to Tribune Business that it is “co-operating fully with the liquidators” of its former investment funds and will do so for as long as necessary.

And, in a separate release, it added that it had told the Securities Commission back in March 2026 of its plans to exit the licensed wealth management business and surrender its licence. “The company’s immediate objective is a clean and orderly conclusion of the licensed business under the supervision of the court, with the liquidators given every co-operation they ask for,” Holdun said.

Mr Dunn, in a statement, said Holdun had taken the decision to close this aspect of its business before the Securities Commission launched its regulatory action. “Leaving the licensed business was our own decision, “The Government’s contingent liabilities increased by $358.7m over the review quarter, and by $373.5m year-on-year, to $703.4m.

Consequently, the national debt, inclusive of contingent liabilities, rose by $351.6m (2.7 percent) over the three-month period, and by $1.071bn (8.8 percent) on an annual basis, to $13.17bn as at end-June 2026.

“As a ratio to GDP, the direct charge decreased by 0.2 percentage points on a yearly basis to 70.7 percent at end-June. However, the national debt-to-GDP ratio increased to an estimated 74.7 percent from 72.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025.” The latter indicator was also ahead of the 74.2 percent national debt-to-GDP ratio at the 2024 mid-point, while total public sector debt - having fallen from 76.6 percent to 75.2 percent at the half-way mark in 2025 - is now back up to 77.3 percent of GDP. Much of the contingent liability increase is related to the borrowings that the Government guaranteed for its $280m Grand Bahama Power Company acquisition and working capital, plus its liquefied natural gas (LNG) energy reforms and Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) in the months leading up to the general election.

However, the Central Bank report will

taken well before any of this began, and we are not standing in the way of an orderly conclusion. Our primary concern is that our clients are properly looked after and that the people who worked with us are treated fairly,” he added.

Earlier, he had described the move as an “evolution of our business strategy”, adding: “This allows us to focus our resources on the private investment activities that have always been at the core of our family office. Above all, our priority remains our clients, and we sincerely thank them for the trust they have placed in us over the years.”

Holdun, too, had earlier said the licensed wealth management business - of which the three investment funds that are in liquidation are part - was just one element of its overall operations. It added that the exit, and winding-up, of this segment “will not materially affect the Holdun family’s wider investment activities or long-term strategic focus”, and it will continue to pursue private investment opportunities internationally.

Holdun traces its origins back to the late Sir Herbert Samuel Holt, a Canadian industrialist, engineer and financier who, in 1908, became the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) president and chief executive, becoming the longest-serving

person to hold that office through a 26-year tenure that lasted until 1934.

Subsequently, in response to Tribune Business questions, Holdun said: “What is being wound up is a licensed Bahamian company. The company held a regulated licence that is no longer needed, a decision to give it up was already made, and the Commission was told so before any regulatory step was taken. That is the whole of it.

“The decision to leave the licensed wealth management business was the company’s own. It was taken on a commercial assessment and communicated to the Securities Commission earlier this year, in advance of any regulatory step.

“The timing of the conclusion is now a matter for the Supreme Court and, once appointed, for the official liquidators. Matters affecting employees of the licensed entity will fall to the official liquidators in the same way, and it would not be right for the company to pre-empt them.”

Bahamian accountant James Gomez and Noreen Taylor, managing partner and partner at Ecovis Bahamas, respectively, have been proposed as Holdun Family Office (Bahamas) liquidators. They must now be approved by the Supreme Court.

likely reignite Opposition questions as to why the Government’s direct net debt has increased by almost $700m when the fiscal deficit at end-April 2026 - with just two months left in the fiscal year - was shown as $121.2m. And the re-elected Davis administration, as late as end-June 2026, was forecasting a $32.7m Budget surplus for 2025-2026, albeit reduced by some $42.7m or more than 50 percent from the original $75.5m target.

The surplus, if achieved, should mean the national and direct government debt decreases rather than goes up by a much higher amount. The Opposition has already charged that the Davis administration has been using the National Investment Fund to hide the scale of government borrowing and debt, placing borrowed funds into this rather than the Consolidated Fund, which enables it to treat these monies as equity rather than debt.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, PAGE 5

Officers accused of ‘unauthorised interventions’ in battle for control CONTROL - from page B1 superintendent responded “f*** you and carry your a**” when one of his colleagues challenged the officer - and four Security and Intelligence Branch policemen - in aiding 27 former IVRC employees to purportedly trespass and enter the repossessed property without permission.

Mr Lundy’s report, which has been filed as evidence with the Supreme Court, claims that the entrance of these former staff members resulted in “newly-installed locks” being broken and doors smashed. It has emerged amid the ongoing battle for control of Old Bahama Bay, with IVRC, its affiliates and three of the associations representing the resort’s condo owners seeking Supreme Court injunctions that would reinstate the former’s control of the resort and oust its owners.

Detailing events during the often-chaotic, but ultimately successful, bid by LRA-OBB and Resorts Holdings to regain control of the resort over August 4-5, Mr Lundy detailed numerous alleged legal breaches that were purportedly facilitated by Royal Bahamas Police Force officers over the two-day period. Besides the chief superintendent, he recommended that complaints be filed with the RBPF’s internal affairs against three other officers for alleged “abuse of office”.

These were identified as assistant superintendent Darcy Williams, Inspector Outten and Police Constable Mott. And Mr Lundy also suggested that LRA-OBB, which stands for Lubert Adler-Old Bahama Bay, the former being the investment bank that initially financed the Ginn project, and Resorts Holdings also launch a civil legal claim against the Attorney General and the Government for alleged “civil trespass, tortious interference and misfeasance in public office” over the officers’ actions.

“This investigative report provides a comprehensive account of the enforcement of property possession at Old Bahama Bay Resort & Marina between August 4–6, 2026,” Mr Lundy wrote.

“It documents a series of unauthorised police interventions that facilitated trespass, property damage and contempt of Supreme Court directives.

“The report establishes the lawful authority of Candid Security as the contracted agent of LRAOBB, outlines statutory and constitutional breaches by police officers, and analyses vicarious liability under Bahamian law. Supported by jurisprudential precedents and statutory references, the findings recommend escalation to RBPF Internal Affairs, criminal charges against trespassers, and civil proceedings against the Attorney General for trespass and misfeasance.”

Describing the breaches as serious, and requiring “immediate legal redress to safeguard property rights and uphold judicial authority”, Mr Lundy said he was part of a near-20 person convoy that seized back control at Old Bahama Bay in the early hours of August 4, 2026.

Besides 16 security officers, also present were Cleveland Duncombe, Candid Security’s chief executive; Don Churchill, head of the management company that has taken over the resort’s operations, and former superintendent of police, Wendall Clarke, who is now an attorney. Upon arrival, they set up security posts and barricades around Old Bahama Bay as new locks were installed on the main lobby doors, fuel dock and associated facilities, warehouse and head office, and water plant.

However, confrontations with former IVRC employees and police officers began in early afternoon.

“Police Inspector Outten approached [security] officer Lundy at the eastern barricaded entrance, stating assistant superintendent Darcy Williams instructed him to grant access to Charles Barr, or T.C,, a former employee of IVRC,” Mr Lundy wrote.

“Officer Lundy warned Inspector Outten that permitting former personnel on to the premises violated the active Supreme Court ruling and standing orders.

Inspector Outten stated: ‘You Lundy, you do what you have to do, and I do what I have to do. I am the police. You’re just a civilian security’.

“Inspector Outten physically escorted Mr Barr, aka T.C., past the legally erected barricade, onto the property of LRA-OBB without their consent or lawful authority and express permission, placed him inside the security officer booth, closed the door and walked away.”

A further incident allegedly took place just one hour later. “Police Constable Mott, claiming that he was acting on orders from assistant superintendent Darcy Williams, called IVRC former security officer Mr Frith on to the property of LRA-OBB without their consent or lawful authority and express permission,” Mr Lundy reported.

“Officer Lundy issued a formal verbal warning to PC Mott. PC Mott responded: ‘My man, I ain’t here to argue with you. We done finish with that. You done say what you had to say.

Right?’ PC Mott personally escorted Charles Frith into the security booth on the property of LRA-OBB without their consent or lawful authority and express permission.”

The most serious clash, according to Mr Lundy, occurred at mid-morning on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, when the chief superintendent and four Security and Intelligence Branch

(SIB) officers arrived at Old Bahama Bay. The chief superintendent allegedly “escorted former IVRC general manager, James Culmer, and 26 former IVRC employees past the barricades on to the private land of LRA-OBB without any consent or lawful authority and express permission”.

“Wendall Clarke, who was present, confronted the chief superintendent on-site regarding the breach,” Mr Lundy said. “ The chief superintendent responded unprofessionally: ‘F*** you and carry your a**’ before the dialogue de-escalated.

[He] and the SIB contingent illegally escorted James Culmer and the 26 individuals to the main office, subsequently leaving them unsupervised on private land.”

Mr Lundy alleged he ignored demands by the SIB officers to stop video recording him as he was “performing lawful duties on private land”. He further claimed: “Immediately following the departure of the SIB officers, the 27 individuals who had been escorted past the perimeter unlawfully allegedly broke the newly installed locks and damaged the new doors installed on August 4 at the main lobby, fuelling dock office, central warehouse and water plant.”

The involvement of senior police and SIB officers in the battle for control at Old Bahama Bay which, for the moment, has seen LRAOBB and Resorts Holdings oust IVRC although this may be subject to change depending on the Supreme Court’s verdict, is likely to raise questions over whether government figures may have prompted their intervention.

Old Bahama Bay’s owners have always taken the position that, because IVRC has no lease agreement with them, it is not a tenant and has no leasehold or any other interest in the resort’s property. Thus no eviction notice or Supreme Court possession order is required for LRA-OBB and Resort Holdings, and their managing agent, Reunion Cay, to reclaim operational and management control.

They have argued that IVRC, which the latter is contesting, only possesses a Bare Licence agreement which was first agreed in May 2019, then renewed on January 31, 2021. As a result, they claim IVRC are just “bare occupiers” with no legal rights to Old Bahama Bay, and the licence terms permit LRA-OBB and Resorts Holding to move in and retake possession if the management firm fails to vacate upon being told to do so. It was given such notice on March 26, 2025, but failed to depart.

Mr Lundy, in his August 7, 2026, report urged Old Bahama Bay’s owners to “escalate to immediately reporting to RBPF inspection/Internal Affairs branch

and seek legal review regarding trespass and contempt, breach of judicial directives and professional misconduct, accompanied by emergency Supreme Court injunctive relief”.

He added that Bahamian law does not give police officers power to give one side physical possession of a property, or resolve such disputes - which are typically civil, not criminal matters without a Supreme Court writ of possession.

The police’s role in such disputes is largely confined to preventing a breach of

the peace, and Mr Lundy alleged that the officers’ conduct at Old Bahama Bay breaches the regulations under the Police Act Disciplinary Regulations.

And, asserting that Bahamian law makes the Government responsible and “liable in tort” for the wrongful actions of police officers, Mr Lundy added: “Because the officers of the Security and Intelligence Branch (SIB) facilitated entry on to the LRA-OBB property without an enforcement writ or lawful authority, their

actions fall within the scope of tortious liability attributable to the Crown.

“The subsequent destruction of locks and doors by the escorted individuals was a foreseeable consequence of the unlawful entry….

Thus, both the direct unlawful acts of the officers and the consequential property damage by the escorted individuals are actionable against the Crown, establishing joint vicarious liability.”

PAGE 6, Wednesday, September 9, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Rocket landings expose need for much greater transparency ROCKET - from page B1 percent that it’s going to be safe,” he said. “We are a very small island state.”

Mr Darville argued that climate change, sea level rise and increasing temperatures made it even more important for The Bahamas to protect its territory from activities that could create additional environmental risks.

“We don’t need another catastrophe in our territory to blast away some of our people, portions of our islands, and particularly our marine species,” he said.

Mr Darville said the Government should establish that similar booster landing operations would not be permitted in the future. “I

think it should be recorded for infinity that this will never be allowed in our territory. Plain and simple, that must be established,” he said.

He also questioned the original argument that the programme would contribute meaningfully to the country’s tourism product.

“That space tourism, that’s absolutely ridiculous.

How is that going to assist with tourism in The Bahamas? That was just a play game that I don’t think held any water to it at all,” said Mr Darville.

Dr Ancilleno Davis, owner and chief scientist at Science and Perspective, said he was also satisfied the programme had ended but argued that the bigger issue was whether The

Bahamas’ environmental approval process is sufficiently transparent.

“I’m fine that they stopped it. I wish the whole process had been more transparent,” said Dr Davis.

He added that communities often do not know about proposed projects or approvals until months after the process has begun, pointing specifically to the SpaceX application.

“The time delays for us to see what’s going on — some of these things are approved and no one knows about the approvals, or that they even have a proposal in front of them, for months.

And in relation to SpaceX, it was 11 months. So that’s almost a year. That is not reasonable at all,” he said.

Dr Davis also criticised the notice given to residents and marine users ahead of the first SpaceX landing, noting residents were given less than two weeks to learn that they could not use their boats or enter a large area affected by the landing operation.

“That’s super unreasonable,” he said. Dr Davis added that The Bahamas also lacks a sufficiently-comprehensive environmental baseline against which the potential effects of major projects can be measured.

“We just don’t know the areas that are going to be impacted, and we don’t have a good environmental baseline,” said Dr Davis.

He called for the Department of Environmental SPECIALISTS Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York.

Photo:Yuki Iwamura/AP

Oil prices keep rising and weigh on Wall Street

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer U.S. stocks fell Tuesday in their return to trading from a three-day weekend after the latest fighting in the war with Iran pushed oil prices higher.

The S&P 500 sank 0.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 628 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.3%.

They felt pressure from rising oil prices after a barrel of Brent crude briefly climbed as high as $99.46. It later settled at $97.92, up 0.9%, to continue its run from roughly $72 in early July as increased fighting in the Middle East keeps the global flow of oil constricted.

More expensive oil has worsened worries about the high inflation weighing on people and companies across the country, which gives extra heft to a couple reports coming later this week. On Thursday, the U.S. government will release its August report for inflation at the wholesale level, which economists expect will show an acceleration to 5.4% from 4.7% in July.

The more closely watched report on inflation that

U.S. consumers are feeling will arrive on Friday. That update will show how much more people are paying for groceries, clothes and other costs of living than a year earlier, and economists expect it eased a bit to 3.3% from July’s 3.4% inflation rate. That, though, remains well above the 2% target that the Federal Reserve has set as its goal.

This week’s updates on inflation will be the last before the Fed meets next week to decide whether to cut, raise or hold interest rates steady. The traditional move for the Fed when inflation is high is to raise its main interest rate. That in turn would filter out into the rest of the bond market, make it more expensive for companies and people to borrow, slow the overall economy, undercut prices for investments and hopefully rein in inflation.

But President Donald Trump has been lobbying for lower interest rates instead, which could give the economy — and inflation — an extra kick. The Fed’s new chairman, Kevin Warsh, has meanwhile said he wants to give financial markets fewer clues about what the Fed plans to do

with interest rates in the short term.

That all has traders betting on a nearly 60% probability the Fed will raise its federal funds rate at the conclusion of its next meeting on Sept. 16, according to data from CME Group.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.79% from 4.78% and is near its highest level since the autumn of 2023.

Higher Treasury yields put more pressure on companies to grow their profits in order to lift their stock prices.

On Wall Street, Boston Scientific fell 5.9% after saying that a network outage earlier this summer caused by a cybersecurity incident means it’s unlikely to meet forecasts for sales and profit for the third quarter and for the fully year of 2026. It expects to make back some of the revenue as it continues to ramp operations globally, fulfill customer orders and reduce remaining backlogs, but it doesn’t yet know the full impacts.

Shares of Novartis that trade in the United States tumbled 13.9% after the Swiss pharmaceutical com-

pany gave a discouraging update on a study of a therapy for people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1, a neuromuscular disease.

Qualcomm helped limit the market’s losses after rising 3.2%. It announced a deal to collaborate with Amazon on large-scale AI data centers. The deal also gives Amazon the right to acquire up to 25 million of Qualcomm’s shares at $161.26 per share.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 1.7% under the weight of losses for major exporters, which were hurt by the continued rise for the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar.

A stronger yen erodes the value of sales made in U.S. dollars when Toyota Motor, Panasonic Holdings and other exporters translate them back into the Japanese currency. The Bank of Japan is also scheduled to meet next week on interest rates, and speculation is climbing that it could raise interest rates, which could further strengthen the yen.

In China, indexes fell 0.4% in Hong Kong and rose 0.2% in Shanghai after the world’s second-largest economy said its exports jumped 25% year-on-year in August, driven by strong demand for autos and high tech items.

Planning and Protection (DEPP) to work with local communities, researchers, educators and students to collect environmental data that could be used to assess future developments.

“DEPP needs to partner, I think, with local communities, researchers, educators and students to collect data on the environment, so that they could have something to compare to what these incoming developers or environmental impactors would have to say,” he said.

Dr Davis also challenged the accuracy of information he said was contained in the SpaceX environmental impact assessment (EIA) concerning marine research in The Bahamas.

“In the SpaceX EIA, for example, they said that

there were no researchers doing marine mammal research in The Bahamas.

That’s false. That’s categorically false,” he added.

Dr Davis said greater public access to environmental documents was also needed, arguing that Bahamians should be able to see the full record of environmental assessments and management plans for proposed developments.

“I think finally you need a complete record that’s accessible to the Bahamian public,” Dr Davis said. “The EIAs that are on the DEPP website, there are fewer EIAs, EMPs, etc. on the DEPP website than what I have on Science and Perspective, and that’s really sad. Bahamians should be able to see all of those.”

Group urges review of existing site’s capacity REVIEW - from page B3 sources, feasible operating adjustments, and worker transition opportunities should be tested for cost, timing, environmental consequences and practical availability,” the group said.

The environmental questions surrounding the project also remain unresolved.

Preserving Paradise pointed to the Flood Potential Assessment contained in the October 2024 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which it said concluded that the harbour expansion, as then planned, may increase flood risk and recommended mitigation measures, an integrated approach to flood management, monitoring and community engagement.

The group acknowledged that the finding does not establish that particular properties will flood because of the project, but said it requires a clear explanation of how the identified risks would be addressed, who would fund and maintain mitigation measures and what risk would remain.

Bahama Rock said it respects the environmental review process and supports a “thorough, science-based application evaluation”, while committing to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements.

“This matter is not about choosing between jobs and the environment,” the company said. “It is about working together to reach a mutually beneficial project resolution that ensures continued employment, community prosperity, future investment and the long-term availability of construction materials that are essential to building and maintaining The Bahamas.”

Preserving Paradise said it remains opposed to the proposed Bahamas Cement Company excavation while material environmental questions remain unresolved.

“We take the company’s announcement seriously,” the group said. “Our response is to call for immediate support for affected workers, reliable information for the public, and a fully reasoned decision on the proposed excavation.”

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CLEMIA SYLVIA LAFRANCE of Faith Avenue, North, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 9th day of September, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that I ROBENSON GUILLAUME of General Delivery, Queen’s Highway, Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 9th day of September, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that DELLAN BROWN of #1 Coral Drive, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 9th day of September, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that I CALISNET AUGUSTIN of Jubilee Gardens, New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 9th day of September, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that I ELAINE LIBERIS-JOSEPH of Millenium Garden, New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 2nd day of September, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that I JOEMAL CYRIL of Fellowship Way, Nassau, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 9th day of September, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, PAGE 7

Trump moves to bar Canadian products from US contracts as Canada’s retaliatory tariffs take effect

By ROB GILLIES and PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press U.S. President Donald Trump moved Tuesday to shut Canadian products out of large, long-term U.S. government contracts as Canada’s retaliatory tariffs took effect and Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to speed efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States.

Trump directed the U.S. General Services Administration to declare Canadian products ineligible for those contracts until Canada allows “full and fair reciprocity” for American products.

Earlier on Tuesday, Carney said Canada’s strategy was about becoming more independent. “It’s about ensuring that no country can hold us hostage. And that we can live how we want to live.”

Canada is exploring ties with the European Union that could stop just short of membership, a Canadian official familiar with the discussions said.

Options could include expanding existing agreements, negotiating a new treaty or creating other forms of cooperation. The official said Canada is already consulting provinces, territories and labor

groups about what a deeper relationship with the EU could look like, but no model has been chosen.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks publicly.

Carney is due in Strasbourg, France, next week, where he will attend European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address Sept. 16 and address the European Parliament the following day.

The rupture has upended one of the world’s closest relationships. The countries have deeply integrated economies and close defense and security ties, but Trump has imposed a series of tariffs on Canadian goods despite negotiating and repeatedly praising the North American trade agreement during his first term. Many of those tariffs violate the pact.

Canada looks beyond the US Carney acknowledged the trade actions would cause short-term pain but said they would push Canada to move faster on investment, infrastructure and trade diversification.

“It was easy business, but it meant we relied too much

US hits remaining parts of Iran’s aviation sector with sanctions in latest move to isolate Tehran

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press THE Trump administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on additional elements of Iran’s aviation industry, targeting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers in its new push to isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.

The latest actions are part of the Trump administration’s Operation Economic Outcast campaign that is aimed at severing “critical financial lifelines” for the already heavily sanctioned Iranian government.

Hours later, the U.S. military struck multiple Iranian tankers in response to more attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

It is all part of a twopronged economic and military approach by President Donald Trump as he struggles to bring an end to a more than six-month-old war with Tehran.

The new penalties target the remaining facets of Tehran’s already beleaguered aviation ecosystem, which has been under layered U.S., United Nations and European restrictions and sanctions dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press release.

The Trump administration accused the 36 entities targeted this week of supporting the Islamic Republic’s efforts to use its aviation sector to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo. The moves will subject foreign firms and governments that do business with the targeted entities to sanctions themselves, including a freeze on any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called out the longstanding U.S. sanctions campaign against Iran, saying that the fallout “has been disastrous for America, including its standing worldwide.”

“After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s “novel” solution is…more sanctions.

Seriously?”

Araghchi wrote Tuesday afternoon.

The administration also claimed that private entities based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Malaysia have provided parts and logistics services to Iran’s Mahan Air. The major airline, which flies from Tehran to a few dozen destinations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, has been subject to U.S. counterterrorism sanctions since 2019 for its support for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which the State Department has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

The airline was first targeted by the U.S. under the Obama administration in 2011, when it accused Mahan Air of being used to send weapons to Iranian

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PRIME Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists as he arrives at the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa, Canada, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.

Photo:Justin Tang/The Canadian Press/AP

on one economic partner,” he said. “That time is over.”

More than 70% of Canadian exports still go to the United States, underscoring the scale of Carney’s push to diversify trade. He said Canada’s exports to other countries are rising sharply and are on track to double over the next decade.

Canada retaliates as Trump responds.

Carney defended the retaliation, saying Canada could not let American goods enter tariff-free while Canadian companies face U.S. tariffs Canada was not seeking to escalate the confrontation, he said, but the tariffs were necessary to protect Canadian workers.

Carney said the larger problem was what Washington had sought in the failed negotiations.

“The most fundamental issue is that the cumulative U.S. demands revealed that they wanted us to become even more reliant on them, not less,” he said. “In too many areas, they wanted dependency, not a true economic partnership.”

The prime minister said Washington sought limits on French-language and cultural protections, influence over future trade deals and terms that would weaken the auto, steel and forestry sectors.

How the trade war ends could carry consequences far beyond Canada, testing

whether a smaller U.S. ally can resist Trump’s economic pressure without being forced to yield.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Canadian official said Ottawa did not intend to change course regardless of whether Trump responded with nothing or what the official called a “nuclear response.” The government’s strategy will remain focused on building more at home and diversifying trade abroad, the official said.

The tariffs hit hundreds of American products, including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics and farm equipment, at rates of 15%, 25% or 50%. They cover about $20 billion in American goods, roughly 6% of the $333.6 billion the United States exported to Canada last year.

Since Canada-U.S. trade talks collapsed Aug. 21, Trump and his administration have imposed additional tariffs and issued a series of threats and attacks portraying Canada as weak and dependent.

Trump’s trade war and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have fueled anger across the

proxies in Lebanon and Yemen.

But analysts describe Tuesday’s actions as the most comprehensive U.S. attempt to completely halt the country’s civil aviation sector and could eventually become a devastating aerial blockade.

“Before, it was the targeting of specific companies

and individuals; now it’s just a blanket sanction on the entire aviation sector,” Farzin Nadimi, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, said.

“I think it will definitely be the most effective campaign and could result in the cessation of international flights into Iran.”

But Nadimi also warned that if the Treasury operation is not coupled with a public relations campaign to warn the Iranian people from using these airlines, it could risk dangerous or even deadly incidents. Most of Iran’s remaining commercial aircraft are decades old and have not received proper

country. Canadians have sharply cut travel to the United States and boycotted U.S. goods, moves Carney praised as signs of national resolve.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said the province will install new signs at U.S. border crossings reading: “Welcome to British Columbia, Canada. Strong, proud and will NEVER be the 51st state. Sorry!”

“While our kindness is one of our greatest strengths, you should never, ever mistake that kindness for weakness,” Eby said.

upgrades or inspections due to sanctions. Last week, the U.S. announced penalties against Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, a Turkish bank, which it accused of being established to enable Iran’s efforts to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where they could then be converted to cash and gold.

Neither side is rushing back to the table Gabriel Brunet, a spokesman for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said officials from both countries remain in contact even though formal talks have not resumed.

Former U.S. trade official Wendy Cutler said Carney’s public approval rating, now topping 70%, gives him little reason to restart talks.

“Clearly, at this point each side does not want to look too anxious to reengage in fear of looking weak,” she said.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, September 9, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Arrow-words are like crosswords, but the clues a inside squares on the grid. Write your answ blank squares in the direction indicated by t Solution

WORDSEARCH JUDGE PARKER

CARPE DIEM

MARVIN BLONDIE

K S V Q H X F L N V D V N P D T X Z M U X Y C E D C M N S O A I C F H A E N M C A Q I W L D M Z V P H P Q B M T H E L T T L E R Z V M O O H A L J C M N L O B R S W M U T O R F D I I B A W V A M S T A O L F M U S I O P T S R H P E X C T E M X U G E A Q G F Z D T L M M N W V K U S L S E O G E L O T B A C N T N J H G R H E D R M R P A E B J O S K Y D R A I L Z A P Y G S I E N I R O L H C V

WORDS RELATED TO SWIMMING

Find all the terms listed below in the g Solution tomorrow ARMBANDS ● CHLORINE ● COSTU DEEP END ● DIVING BOARD ● FLOA GOGGLES ● HAT ● HOT TUB ● LAN LIDO ● LIFEGUARD ● RAIL ● SAUN SHOWER ● STEPS ● SWIMMERS ● TO

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

YESTERDAY’S QUICK CROSSWORD Across: 1 Keep, 8 Intoxicate, 9 Increase, 10 Iran, 12 Vision, 14 Drowsy, 15 Pamper, 17 Boyish, 18 Zero, 19 Comedian, 21 Accentuate, 22 Prey .

Down: 2 Emancipate, 3 Pier, 4 Attain, 5 Expend, 6 Acrimony, 7 Keen, 11 Assistance, 13 Improved, 16 Recite, 17 Bemoan, 18 Zeal, 20 Deep.

CALVIN & HOBBES

DENNIS THE MENACE

WORDSEARCH

S T A R T I N G B L O C K P E G B M H I S H O T P U S C O D E R E R D X J C K T A N T H U R D L E S R D A R U W I D G O L I Y F E R Y R E G P N F D Z F I C T A E X H G D C M B Y N A E L L S J B D N F G T I T R E I U U J Z X A M T S H P R M B M E A H Z S N H L I P I O P R M V A T B L O S T A D I U M R E M N I N T U U P P S J M U L M N S O H X U T C U B C T I E S L S R E K A M E C A P N R

TARGET

THE ALPHAPUZZL

GEARWHEEL alee eagle earl gale GEARWHEEL glare glee hale harl heal healer heel herl lager large leer rale real reel regal regale wale weal whale whaler wheel

Across: Emporium, Annual, Quinsy, Tension, Legal, Vain, R Lie, Ooze, Ghost, Petrify, Cort Neuron, Deckhand.

Down: Lifespan, Mauve, Rostr Resolve, Fond, Trilogy, Mane, Legwork, Jubilee, Stern (clue) Linguist.

CRYPTOQUOTE AXYDLBAAXR is L O N G F E L L O W One letter stands for another. In this example, A is used for the three L’s, X for the 2 O’s, etc. Single letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of words are all hints. Each day the code letters are different.

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Sudoku Answer

MICRO CROSSWORD

CHALLENGER

Yesterday’s Answers