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We’re on edge of the cliff •BPL BOSS ADMITS: •NO COMPENSATION OUTAGES MAY DRAG ON FOR CONSUMERS •NEW PLANT WON’T OPEN UNTIL DEC 15

•HAS FIRM BROKEN LEGAL OBLIGATIONS?

BPL CEO Whitney Heastie yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

KHRISNA RUSSELL’S FULL REPORT - PAGE 5 PLUS: TRIBUNE BUSINESS

BAHA MAR RECEIVERS ‘SECRETLY GAVE SARKIS’ PAPERS TO CHINESE’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SARKIS Izmirlian has accused Baha Mar’s former receivers of violating a Bahamian Supreme Court Order by passing confidential legal documents to the project’s main contractor.

The $4.2bn mega resort’s original developer is alleging that the Deloitte & Touche

SARKIS IZMIRLIAN accountants who took possession of the property following his ousting “surreptitiously

delivered” papers crafted by his attorneys to China Construction America.

The allegations surfaced in court filings that reveal the extent of the two sides’ dispute over which documents will be admissible at the substantive trial over Mr Izmirlian’s claims against Baha Mar’s main contractor.

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COME ON MR BANNISTER, DO YOUR JOB

SEE PAGE SEVEN

PAGE 2, Monday, August 12, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

POLICE HUNTING FOR TWO SUSPECTS WHO STOLE CAR

WOMAN BLEEDS TO DEATH AFTER CUTTING ARM ON GLASS WINDOW

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN died in hospital after reportedly smashing a glass window, leaving her with serious injuries to her arm. Last night, police said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, which they have classified as a “sudden death”.

The Tribune understands the deceased woman is Zephenia Dean, 31. According to police, the woman

died in hospital on Saturday. “According to reports, shortly after 8pm (Saturday), a woman was at a residence Butterfly Close off Soldier Road, when she allegedly smashed the glass window to a home causing serious injuries to her arm,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement released last night.

“Paramedics transported the injured woman to hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.”

Investigations into the matter are ongoing.

DECEASED: Zephenia Dean

POLICE are looking for two suspects who stole a man’s car Friday night.

Shortly after 10pm, a man was on St Vincent Road when he was accosted by two men who robbed him of cash and grey Nissan Note, licence plate unknown.

This came a day after a woman had her car stolen.

According to police reports, shortly before midnight on Thursday, a woman was sitting in a car on Johnstone Avenue, Stapleton

Gardens, when she was approached by two men, one armed with a firearm.

The men robbed her of a green Toyota Passo, licence plate AJ4262. The car was later found on Celery Drive off Blue Hill Road.

Meanwhile, officers recovered an illegal firearm on Thursday night. Shortly after 11pm, officers conducted a search of an open lot on Mangrove Street, Nassau Village where they discovered a .380mm pistol.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 12, 2019, PAGE 3

NBA STAR HARDEN RIDES AROUND HANDING OUT CASH A FEW Bahamians are a little bit richer today after Houston Rockets basketball star James Harden handed out cash while sightseeing in Nassau on Saturday.

Instagram videos show the NBA star and some friends riding around Nassau on four-wheelers and handing out cash before stopping at a fish ramp, where they gifted a mother with a large sum

BASKETBALL star James Harden

of money. Former NBA player and Adidas marketing manager Troy Payne, who was with Mr Harden’s group, caught the unexpected moments on cell phone video and shared it to his Instagram Stories with the caption, “Classy move bro. Bro gave her $10k for her family.”

Mr Payne’s caption claimed the woman and her children were “fishing for food.”

“It’s a struggle out here,” the woman says on the video. “The struggle is real.

Thanks a lot.”

Mr Harden was also seen handing out cash to other people, including US $100 bills to a few young boys at the fish ramp.

According to sports website Rockets Wire, Mr Harden – who won the NBA’s 2018 MVP award – is in The Bahamas for training.

THE INSTAGRAM snap

Mother praises new probe into Italy deaths I don’t believe that their deaths were drowning and I don’t think it was accidental. It was intentional and I do believe it was a hate crime

THE FUNERAL service for Blair John, right Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net CATHLEEN Rahming, the mother of one of two Bahamian men who were found dead in Italy two months ago, is praising the Minnis administration’s probe into their mysterious deaths – which Mrs Rahming firmly believes was a hate crime.

“We need to know what really happened,” Mrs Rahming said. “Because I don’t believe that their deaths were drowning and I don’t think it was accidental. It was intentional and I do believe it was a hate crime.”

In an interview with The Tribune, Mrs Rahming discussed the government’s “necessary” independent investigation, the importance of Bahamians being made aware of dangerous circumstances abroad, and how her family is coping in the aftermath of her beloved son Dr Blair John’s death on what was his first trip to Europe.

She also described the Minnis administration and

especially Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield as being “very supportive”.

On Thursday, Attorney General Carl Bethel said the government is determined to leave “no stone unturned in finding out the truth of what happened” to Alrae Ramsey, 29, and John, 28, whose bodies were found in the Po River in Turin on June 4 and 5 respectively.

Mr Bethel added the government has also retained Italian attorneys as part of this process and is in communication with Italian authorities.

Regarding the probe, Mrs Rahming said: “I think it’s on time. I think it’s necessary because we need to know what really happened. It’s obvious that we don’t believe the story that came out of Italy, but we need to do what we need to do to get to the truth to find out what really happened.

“I am pleased to hear that the government is taking steps to get to the bottom of it. And we as a family and definitely as a nation, we need to know

WOMAN IN SERIOUS CONDITION AFTER SHE IS SHOT BY ACCIDENT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A GRAND Bahama woman is in hospital after a group of people were handling a gun that went off, wounding her in the chest.

According to police reports, the woman was shot in the chest shortly after midnight on Thursday. She was taken to Rand Memorial Hospital

in a private vehicle. Assistant Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder said that the shooting occurred at a business on Midshipman Road, where three adult males and two females allegedly were handling an illegal firearm when it reportedly discharged, hitting one of the women.

The victim, who has not been identified, is listed in serious but stable condition.

what happened. And their deaths should not have gone in vain. We need to make sure that this never happens again. Ever.”

While she has not been given a timeline for an outcome, Mrs Rahming said she believes the probe will help bring justice and closure.

According to some Italian news outlets, results of the autopsies conducted in Italy state drowning as the cause of death. Italian police ruled that the deaths were accidental stating it appeared the men fell into the river; however, family members have rejected these theories.

“It seems as if (Italian authorities) just want us to accept it,” Mrs Rahming said on Friday. “But it’s unacceptable knowing the character of our sons. It’s unacceptable.

“The question though is: what happened to all the footage? Where did they eat last? Their wallets were never recovered.

“They did not fall into that river wholesale,” Mrs Rahming continued. “You

could take a bucket of water and hold somebody’s head in that water and they could drown. However, that is murder.

“But God doesn’t sleep and He doesn’t slumber.

He allowed those bodies to float up so we could know where they were and to bring them back home and for the story to be told. I believe that.

“Definitely I believe it’s a hate crime. Because of the colour of their skin,” Mrs Rahming continued.

“We need to a do a better job at disseminating information for travellers.

Because if something were to happen here in the Bahamas in a heartbeat they putting a travel advisory.

So I think we need to be proactive.”

When asked if the government should put out a travel advisory for Turin specifically, Mrs Rahming replied: “That is their discretion.”

Months after the men’s bodies were found, relatives are still struggling to cope with the tragedy.

“It has been a very

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difficult position to be placed in,” Mrs Rahming said. “And learning to just take it one day at a time, it’s not easy. Every time I pass Blair’s bedroom and I look at his photos, I still get emotional. I know it’s a long process and only time can really heal it. He was a wonderful son.

“His death, it is a disappointment. And the tragedy of how the Italian authorities appear to want to – the story doesn’t add up.

“But our sons were – my son was excited about going to Europe because that’s a dream he always had.

“That was his first time in Europe. First time. And he was there because of that psychology conference.

Where only the brightest… ever get to speak.

“There had to be a level of focus and maturity and determination to get to

where (John and Ramsey) got. Alrae was one of the youngest diplomats the country has ever (put forth).

“They were basically brothers. And to die that way. C’mon man. We need to find out what happened and we need to pay attention. We need to do whatever we can to protect our future generations from this ever happening again.”

Ramsey, a foreign service officer on study leave in Vienna, was reportedly in Turin on a break. He and his friend, John, were staying at a bed and breakfast at Via la Loggia 2 in Turin.

John, a Saint Mary’s University graduate student, was there to attend a psychology conference.

Both men attended the same high school, Saint Augustine’s College in New Providence.

PAGE 4, Monday, August 12, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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No comfort over BPL’s failings IF THE public was hoping for reassurance from yesterday’s BPL press conference, there was little to be found.

The company’s CEO painted a nightmare scenario with BPL described as “on the edge every day” and no promises to be found over an end to the load shedding that has plagued the country.

It’s hard to imagine given the situation described why officials have been playing down the situation and saying that it isn’t a crisis. Plainly, it is.

Mr Heastie said: “There is no guarantee that there will not be load shedding.”

Those are words that would send a shiver down the spine of every Bahamian if we weren’t all sweating in the heat from the power being out.

People wanted fairly simple answers – how long do we have to put up with this? How has it come to this? What kind of compensation will people receive for a service not being provided?

None of those answers were provided satisfactorily.

The situation is this – BPL is not generating enough power to cover the peak demand, three generators are out of action with the age of the machinery being blamed, and no one will get compensated as BPL says there’s no money over and above its costs to provide it.

At the same time, questions asked about fires that wiped out one engine and damaged infrastructure at the Clifton Pier Power Plant last September were batted away, with still no sign of the report into that incident being publicly released.

In short, this was a collective shrug.

This is it. This is what we’ve got to put up with. And there’s no promises that other machines aren’t going to go out of service at any moment.

Mr Heastie went on to say that there would be no attempt to blame anyone for the current state of affairs. Well, why not? The nation is on its knees.

That seems like the kind of thing that demands an explanation, and for the blame to fall where it may.

Besides, his words about not issuing

blame didn’t even last the length of the press conference, with chairman Donovan Moxey saying decisions in the past that would have made a difference were not made, and the representative from engine maker Wartsila saying there hadn’t been an energy plan for nine years, putting the blame essentially on both the Ingraham and Christie administrations.

So here we are, with a power provider that can’t provide enough power, is “in the hole every month” financially and that can’t promise when the current situation will end.

If anyone tries to tell you this isn’t a crisis, ask them what a crisis looks like.

Two generators at Blue Hill are being repaired that could make up the power shortfall required. That’s our best hope.

After that, this team tells us that we have to cross our fingers and hope nothing breaks while we wait for the new engines.

That’s not good enough. Perhaps it is time for a Commission of Inquiry on the failings of BPL. This needs to look at the current situation – knowing the age of the equipment they were dealing with, could BPL have done more to plan to avoid the catastrophe we have faced? Now that we have found ourselves in this situation, could preparations have been made to rent more generators to cover the shortfall?

But we all know that the problems faced by BPL and its predecessor, BEC, go back years. Decades, even. Our recent coverage of newspapers from 50 years ago show BEC grappling with problems to supply the nation back then.

A Commission of Inquiry must examine the underinvestment that has left us with ancient, creaking machinery, and the decisions made that led us to where we are now. An official today said the past two administrations had no plan for energy infrastructure, a commission can show the truth of such claims, and let the Bahamian people know one thing above all else: the truth.

Let’s find out where the blame lies, and make sure there’s no room for this to happen again.

THE unemployment figures sound like very good news – but a closer look shows they aren’t quite as hopeful as at first glance.

The Department of Statistics say that the unemployment rate is down from 10.7 percent in November to 9.5 percent in May, an impressive-sounding difference of 1.2 percent.

Of course, though, the employment market can be very seasonal – the market in November can be very different from May. So let’s look back at May of last year, comparing like for like. That shows us a drop still, but from 10 percent to 9.5 percent.

The number of discouraged workers also fell by a remarkable 5.4 percent – last May that was at 7.3 percent in New Providence, so that’s quite a swing. The figures, however, come from a survey of 3,500 people so that large swing may represent a fairly small change in actual numbers in the survey.

In all, the statistics are positive – but not quite as remarkable when you look at the detail. Still, we should take it as encouraging, while at the same time remaining determined that almost one in ten being unemployed is too high for our nation, and for those Bahamians left struggling to find work.

Devil in the details

Words I would prefer not to hear EDITOR, The Tribune WHAT does URCA actually do? License Cable franchises - cellular systems - Radio and TV licenses - supposed to be now monitoring BP/L, but do we ever see URCA in action?

Take Cable licences… it seems the cable operators can play around with the packages, without any control of logic. As soon as

a particular channel in basic becomes popular, Cable put it into a higher cost package.

Are these not supposed to get approvals from URCA? Content of TV and Radio…certainly the use of certain words surely is controlled - not so a word that if used in other place, would be not only frowned on, but the Station is required to ensure it is not used again.

The Regulator would fine

the licensed party…not Bahamas. So what does URCA do? I am to understand URCA employees are well paid. Fancy job and naught to show? Seems so!

URCA, please get that very aggressive unnecessary word off the air every Monday through Friday.

T. ALBURY Nassau August 6, 2019

Why must we rely on gambling?

EDITOR, The Tribune GAMBLING - be it Web Shops, Lottery or what have you! Do we, the Government, have to rely on this social breaker to such a high extent?

Remind me pre-May, 2017, was the FNM in favour of legalizing web shops? No - they now smell the millions and want as much as they can squeeze, because there is an enormous political issue, in the well-being

of the licensed web shops.

Every five-years there is a General Election. Any major party needs $10-15 million to contest an election. As vulgar as that is, but that is the truth. Years past parties relied on the foreigners, the big players, but for sometime the web shop industry, has become the deep fountain for funding – financing elections.

I have my suspicions, as to the real reason why the FNM now are floating Lottery. It is

and I firmly believe, could be as to favour the local party or parties that might operate a lottery. By giving them the Lottery Licence, they will not finance potentially the PLP. About 10+years ago, a National Lottery was shown to possibly net $40m … today with the proliferation, my guess it would not exceed $15m. So why do it? Politics? Suspect so!

J.C. MURPHY, Nassau August 6, 2019

Spoiled kid who needs a sharp lesson EDITOR, The Tribune IN most international hostage taking situations, it is usually a local cretin who grabs hold of some unfortunate foreigner and demands a king’s ransom for their return. Exhibit A: the nefarious pirates of Somalia.

But in a “only in The Bahamas” moment, a foreign businessman demanded that the Government of the Bahamas give in to his anomalous public ultimatum or he will hold hostage the jobs of 60 local employees.

Our initial response must be delivered in the vernacular: “Dis fella done lost the lil bit a sense God gee him”.

Compass Point began life as an elite recording studio 42 years ago and attracted the global musical literati, including Bob Marley.

Condos were built nearby and for a while the whole campus blended in with the natural picture postcard seaside residential neighbourhood.

This was all the brainchild of music producer, Englishman Chris Blackwell who set up a company called Island Outposts.

Its 18 huts were crammed along a tiny spit of beach, leaving one to wonder just how in God’s name he was able to wrangle approvals from Town Planning and from the building inspectors at the Ministry of Works.

Some thought the lavender, teal and tangerine huts were an eclectic blend. The neighbours thought they were an eyesore.

It was tolerable when Blackwell owned it. He developed a reputation for premium boutique resorts that attracted celebrities and paparazzi, so the Ministry of Tourism went along with the programme.

The resort changed ownership and ended up in the hands of an American entrepreneur who was new to the hospitality industry and definitely lacked Blackwell’s magic touch.

Truth be told, Blackwell slipped when he transformed his recording studio

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net platform into a resort. It would have been better placed on a Family Island.

Who wants to sleep with a cacophony of sounds from passing cars, less than 10 feet from your pillow or enduring the blaring sound of competing discotheques that drone on into the early morning.

Supposedly, it became difficult to make a profit and so the American began experimenting with different business models.

Apparently, his latest concoction involves the total capitulation of the Government of the Bahamas to his every whim and fancy.

That is what led him to making threats of hostage-taking.

Already carrying racially tinged baggage from back home in the US state of Michigan, this massa boss thought he could try his hand at bullying an entire government.

Like a spoiled kid he attempted to embarrass the Government by taking out a full-page ad in the newspaper to issue an ultimatum: Do as I say, or 60 Bahamians get a pink slip.

It is probably patriotic to hope that those 60 workers would join the rest of their fellow Bahamians in singing to Mr. Leigh Rodney a raucous rendition of an old calypso: “Take your bundle and leave and go, don’t stay here no more”.

With today’s expanding tourism, it should not be hard for the Government to assist them in finding other, perhaps better, employment.

As a nation we must show respect to those foreign investors who put their capital to work in meaningful ways. Mr. Rodney has a reasonable expectation of an amiable environment for business.

What he has no right to do is bully us. There is a time and a place for everything. Just ask Peter Nygard. If no one in Cabinet lines up to kiss his

nether region, then he might want to reconsider his investment here.

Perhaps it is time that the building inspectors do a forensic audit of his property to ensure that everything is up to code. Perhaps Town Planning could relook at their zoning provisions to ensure that his commercial establishment is not encroaching on the residential environ.

And not just his neighbours are affected. A drive past the resort on the weekend is interrupted by massive traffic flow and parking problems. Should the fire chief look again at occupancy levels in their public spaces?

The Controller of Road Traffic might not be aware that tourist and local guests take their lives in their hands when they try to negotiate a simple crossing of the road from parking lot to the concealed entrance to Compass Point. There are no sidewalks and no margin for error by vehicle nor pedestrian.

Inquiring minds should focus on how Mr. Rodney manages to evade so many statutes (noise levels, crowding, traffic) and still stay in business.

So, because of his nauseating screed we must thank him for opening our eyes to possible misdemeanors at Compass Point that should be addressed by the authorities with all deliberate speed.

When issuing licences to public houses such as hotels, restaurants and bars, the Government has an obligation to ensure that the person involved in the management of the business is sufficiently competent and is a fit and proper person.

We need to treat Mr Rodney the same way any self-respecting Bahamian parent would treat a spoiled kid who dares embarrass his parents in public.

Somebody go pick a tamarind switch please.

THE GRADUATE Nassau August 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 12, 2019, PAGE 5

BAHAMAS POWER CRISIS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power and Light’s new $95m power plant will be complete by December 15, according to Edmund Phillips, Wärtsilä business development manager.

He said his company was originally eying an early fall finish, however Mr Phillips suggested that unexpected factors contributed to a later anticipated completion date.

Mr Phillips was asked by The Tribune to respond to recent speculation that the plant would not be complete until early 2020.

“Initially when we looked at the facility, as you know it’s a brown field facility in the sense that we’re not building a brand-new plant,” Mr Phillips said at a BPL press conference. “We are looking at what’s there and we are taking out the older engines and bringing in the new engines and so forth.

“So having said that, a project of this magnitude there are always unknowns so when we first looked at

NEW $95M POWER PLANT WILL BE READY BY DEC 15

the site we gave some estimates to BPL where we were saying early fall. Now we are already in it we have started the project and are well on our way with the project. The estimate now to complete this plant is December 15, 2019.”

Mr Phillips said he was extremely saddened to by the power reliability issues now being experienced in the country. He revealed yesterday that from as early as 2011, he has been submitting proposals to fix the issues.

“I just want the people of The Bahamas to know that I am extremely saddened by what I am seeing in here in The Bahamas today. I too I came here just recently for some vacation and I can tell you every single day we experienced some sort

of outage in the hotel so I really understand the pain and suffering that is being experienced right now in The Bahamas.

“What I have here are proposals made at different times to the different leaderships of the day. I have proposals here that I made in 2011.

“The proposals we made was simply to address the problems. The problems that’s being experienced nine years ago and we made proposals in 2011 and we made proposals 2012 and we made another one in 2015 because we saw what was happening the infrastructure was ageing.

“Every time I tried I was told I’m a foreigner and I don’t know what’s happening in The Bahamas. It’s ok we stuck to our guns

and Wärtsilä as a company supported this effort. We did not give up because we know as a company we can truly assist in fixing this problem and we can do that because we’ve done it in many other Caribbean islands.”

BPL chairman Donovan Moxey further clarified the cost and financing of the new plant at Clifton Pier’s Station A. He said $95m was redirected from capital works projects.

“That number describes civil works (and) everything that went into developing that power plant including the purchase of the engines.

That’s the cost to The Bahamians people,” Mr Moxey said. “Ninety-five million - that’s the cost that we are accountable for.”

According to the chairman, this would be the first phase of BPL’s generation turnaround strategy. Additionally, he said the power provider intends to do everything it can to deliver solar power to Ragged Island by December.

Mr Moxey said: “The Station A power plant is the largest single plant ever built in the history of the company, it will allow us the ability to address some of the generation issues mentioned earlier, as well as allow BPL to better prepare to serve its customers in summer 2020 and beyond.

“The completion of a second gas-to-power plant

by Shell North America will mark the completion of the second phase of our generation turnaround strategy, which will see another

EDMUND PHILLIPS, Business Development Manager at Wärtsilä.

90+ megawatts of highefficiency, low-emissions generation pumping power to the grid by mid-2021.”

Phase three of the turnaround for generation is the completion of the terminal facility for LNG regasification, which is expected to be fully operational by December 2021, Mr Moxey said.

BPL officials added that certain elements regarding the plant remained confidential due to a nondisclosure agreement signed by all parties.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power and Light CEO Whitney Heastie said the company sits “on the edge every day” and cannot guarantee there will be no further electricity cuts or when the nightmare will end.

According to the BPL chief yesterday, while BPL’s peak demand is 250 megawatts, there is only a total of 210mw available, creating a 40mw shortfall and no wiggle room.

Crippled by a decaying generation fleet, parts that can no longer be procured and manufacturers that have not responded to BPL’s requests for help, the situation is grim. Mr Heastie said this level of system failure now being experienced is one that could not have been anticipated.

Consumers have called for clear answers as to when the load shedding situation will improve and have questioned what the company will do to soften the blow of lives often disrupted by electricity cuts. However, Mr Heastie said BPL cannot afford any form of compensation, while apologising for the utility provider’s failure to give uninterrupted service.

BPL’s executives held a press conference and walk through of BPL’s Clifton Pier Plant yesterday. “We have three generators that are currently down at the Baillou Hills Power Plant.

That’s a total of 60mw and so we do need two of those three generators to be returned to service as I stated we anticipate getting two of them back that will close the shortfall,” Mr Heastie said when The Tribune asked for a timeline for an end to load shedding.

“The third one is a little less likely to return because of the failure that that generator has seen.

“The challenge we have is with an aging fleet. Last night over the course of the night we would have had four additional units gone down. There is no guarantee to sit here and guarantee that when those three units go back that another two won’t go down.

“So as long as we are in this situation where we have no wiggle room, no spare capacity, we are sitting on the edge every day.

We cannot guarantee that there will not be any load shedding.”

He continued: “BPL as a power utility is like every

BPL is on the edge of a cliff every day BPL CEO Whitney Heastie, right, and chairman Donovan Moxey yesterday.

other power utility in the world. It’s not like the other utilities that provide service. We bill only what we sell. If the metre is not turning obviously we do not bill.

There is pay per use and so we only charge for what is consumed by consumers.

“We do understand that there is an inconvenience factor. We are all experiencing that and what we say is yes we do understand that but let’s be clear BPL is in the hole every month. I think people need to understand that. Let me give you the number so we understand where we are and I think what people have been asking BPL to do is to forgive payment on bills.

Our monthly expenditures exceed $40m every month.

Thirty million dollars on average is fuel.

“That goes to Shell North America. That’s based on the price of fuel. That’s nobody in The Bahamas getting that money, that goes to Shell North America. Over $8m is spent on paying and running the business every day. Inclusive of that would be the vendors we are contracted to provide service with.

Another $2m is provided for interest on loans.”

“There is no room for BPL to not insist on its customers to pay,” he also said.

“The lack of funds in BPL is how we got to where we are today.”

Mr Heastie said the change of two BPL boards did not have any affect on the historic issues that plague the power provider.

He said the company was aware that consumers have now run out of patience.

“Our peak demand is 250mw. We have a total of 210mw available today, which includes the following: 105mw in Aggreko rental capacity, 35mw at Clifton Pier, and 70mw from Blue Hills.

“This equates to 210mw or 40mw short of what is required, hence the load shedding. We are working feverishly on returning two generators at Blue Hill Power Station that will make up this 40mw difference. However, we cannot guarantee that other units will not fail and return us to load shedding as we have no excess capacity.

“As we get deeper into the fall, the demand

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

will drop off as will the need for load shedding.

It is important to understand that BPL employees have been extremely supportive and working diligently during this entire ordeal. It would have been equally appreciated if the same level of support was received from engine manufacturers who have not been so responsive to our repeated requests for help.

“We are extremely aware that our consumers’ patience has long run out and that confidence in what we are telling you is low. But it is the truth.

It is an ugly truth that the inheritors of the truth must tell and that no amount of editorials, political bombast, and armchair quarterbacking can change.

“While our existing generation fleet has been in decay, load in New Providence has consistently grown with many new mega complexes. We are building a new 132mw plant, as seen today, but regretfully the acceleration of the decay has created a gap and resulted in the circumstances we are all experiencing,” Mr Heastie

said. He added there would be no attempt to blame anyone for the current state of affairs.

For his part BPL Chairman Donovan Moxey apologised but pointed to several things that contributed to the issues. He said: “The board of directors of Bahamas Power and Light is cognizant of the challenges faced by Bahamians due to prolonged load shedding and lingering problems with power generation. We know the problems it is causing for homes, and for businesses, for industry, and for families.

I want to again apologise to our customers and the Bahamian people for not providing the level of service that should be expected from a national electrical utility. We intend to do all we can as quickly as possible to resolve the issues that inhibit our ability to provide the quality of service all of our customers deserve.

“While Mr Heastie focused on generation and other critical operational issues, a different perspective on the challenges facing BPL is that as a company, we have been disadvantaged by decades of

nonalignment of strategic vision for the company and the needs of our growing customer base.

“As more housing developments were being constructed, more resorts and other foreign direct investments were courted and constructed, as the economy and the population has continued to grow, there should have been concurrent investments in increasing generation capacity to sufficient levels that would ensure the company’s ability to meet growing demand and sufficient headroom to allow for redundancy. That nonalignment is equally at play in our challenges, and perhaps more significant than the current shortfall in generation, in our view.

“The facts are plain: decisions that would have obviated the problems we face today were not made, and so we are here, challenged to fix these problems once and for all. But as a board, we are committed to doing exactly that, and not making excuses or placing blame,” Mr Moxey said.

Editorial View - Page 4

‘RECENT FIRE HAD NO DIRECT EFFECT ON LOAD SHEDDING’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A RECENT fire at Bahamas Power and Light’s Clifton Pier Plant has had no bearing on ongoing load shedding in New Providence.

According to BPL’s CEO Whitney Heastie, it was a minor incident with engine D8 13 that was rectified, with the unit put back online three hours later. The fire broke out on Friday and was

reported at 11.49pm. Mr Heastie said: “We did have an issue on D8 13. They were switching D8 13 over to diesel from heavy fuel oil to bring the unit down and so when they had switched over, obviously diesel being lighter than heavy fuel oil, the gasket did not hold tight and it started to leak right on the manifold that was hot.

“Fortunately folks quickly responded and was able to extinguish the fire. They were able to repair the issues and I think it

was three hours later they were able to get the generator back on the system and that’s one of the generators that you saw running today (Sunday) so there was no impairments to that unit as a result of that fire.” “(It had) no direct effect on load shedding,” he also said. “The seal was replaced on that unit.

That unit was one of the two you saw running in Station B today.”

While he confirmed this incident, Mr Heastie shot down questions about a report on a

police investigation into a series of fires that crippled infrastructure at BPL’s Clifton Pier Power Plant last year.

“We are here to talk about the current generation issues,” Mr Heastie said. “I am not going to address the fire issues. Let’s have a separate conference on the fires.

The loss of Station C is not the reason why we are here today.

We had 270 megawatts we had planned in our generation fleet to carry us through summer. It’s not as if we depended on Station C

to carry us through this summer.

That was not the case.”

The first fire broke out at the plant around 10.30pm Friday, September 7, 2018 and the second blaze erupted Sunday, September 9, 2018 shortly before 10pm.

Two more fires occurred over the course of the following week, one at the Clifton site, and the other at its Blue Hills location.

The first blaze wrought unprecedented damage to the Clifton Pier station, forcing a weeklong load shedding exercise in the capital.

PAGE 6, Monday, August 12, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

PM AT THE RUSH

PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis rushes with the Saxons Superstars at the 2019 Junkanoo Summer Festival at Arawak Cay on Saturday.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net FINANCE Minister Peter Turnquest said while the government is pleased the national unemployment rate has dropped to 9.5 percent, its goal is to drive numbers even lower by securing stronger and more broad based growth for the economy.

The ministry said this is the lowest unemployment rate in 10 years.

Department of Labour officials announced on Friday the improved unemployment rate, down 1.2 percent from the 10.7 percent rate of November 2018.

At the time of the survey in May, the rate in New Providence was 9.4 percent and Grand Bahama was 10.9 percent. Both islands showed unemployment decreases down from the previous rates of 11 percent and 11.9 percent respectively.

However, Abaco’s unemployment rate increased from 7.7 percent in November 2018 to 9.3 percent in May. According to senior statistician Cypreanna Winters, private sector employees drove employment gains. This category of the sector increased by 1.8 percent to 137,605 when compared with November.

The statistics were gathered from 3,500 people in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco.

Mr Turnquest, who is also deputy prime minister, said: “Bahamians can feel encouraged by this positive news that unemployment improved significantly. This strong jobs report is one of the most important indicators that the policies of the government are working for the Bahamian people.

Now that we have two years of employment data we can really assess the overall performance from 2017.”

He added that since May 2017 there had been a net increase in the number of employ by nearly 15,000, and a decline in the number

Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS

At 9.5%, jobless total at lowest level for 10 years, says Turnquest of persons in the vulnerable employment segment of the labour force of 1,625.

The fact that strong job growth took place even as the number of contractual and temporary jobs fell significantly is a sign that Bahamians are finding more permanent jobs, he said.

“While the government is pleased to see the unemployment numbers are trending down, it is the ambition of the government to accelerate growth and drive these numbers even lower. We are not resting on our laurels for one second. Our goal is to secure stronger and more broad-based growth for the Bahamian economy that will result in increased job opportunities and economic benefits for all Bahamians.

We will continue investing in small and medium-sized businesses as a key means of driving improvements in unemployment.”

Officials have said the employed labour force rose by 4,330 in May when compared to November 2018 and reached to about 215,000 persons.

On a year-over-year basis, employment grew by 6,635 people or 3.2 percent.

Additionally the number of discouraged workers in the country declined by two percent showing greater confidence in the economy among job seekers, Mr Turnquest said.

The improvements in Grand Bahama, in particular, were significant as the number of discouraged

FINANCE Minister Peter Turnquest workers fell by 5.4 percent, he added.

“In the November 2018 report, we observed a decrease in unemployment in Grand Bahama to 11.9 percent. In May 2019, the trend has continued, as unemployment in Grand Bahama dropped further to

10.9 percent. This is really positive news for Grand Bahama, which has been no stranger to economic hardship. To support the economic rebound, the government will continue efforts to stimulate new private sector investment. We want to see the success we

are having with job growth in Grand Bahama reproduced consistently across all of our Family Islands,” he added.

The hotel and restaurant sector experienced the greatest increase since May 2018, of 24 percent, while the community, social and

personal service industry, which includes the civil service, police service and domestic service continued to be the country’s largest employer accounting for 35 percent of the workforce.

Labour force statistics show that women were more likely than men to be unemployed. Men also dominated each of the nine industrial groups surveyed.

These included agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, financing, insurance and real estate, community, social and personal services.

“Although the unemployment rate dropped for women to 9.9 (percent) in May, we continue to see gender disparities in the unemployment numbers with women being more likely than men to be unemployed. In fact, despite their levels of educational attainment, unemployment is higher for women with a secondary or university education compared to men. On the other hand, men with no schooling or incomplete secondary education are employed at a lower rate than women.

Further investigation is needed to understand the different challenges experienced by men and women seeking employment, and the policies needed to address these challenges,” said Mr Turnquest.

Editorial View - Page 4

MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2019

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

M

UCH of what we understand about the world comes from the carrot and stick approach – do something good and get something good in return, or vice versa. From an early age, we were taught by our parents, teachers and other caregivers that good behaviour is rewarded and, conversely, poor behaviour is punished by some form of correction. Later, as we progressed through life, similarly, our productivity has always been linked to a merit-based system.

This is how most, if not all, of us understand the world to work. When we obtain jobs and enter the professional arena, the same holds true. When we perform well, we receive praise and accolades, and when we fall short of what is expected of us, well, we can expect to be the subject of criticism, or worse.

That being said, it is absolutely mindboggling to many that Public Works Minister Desmond Bannister continues to fail to meet the challenges he is tasked with in the Cabinet of the Government of The Bahamas. As minister with carriage over BPL, it is his responsibility to deal with the problem that continues to beset this country – and answer to the Bahamian people as a result.

It has been the exact definition of a tumultuous performance by any standard. Yet, the government refuses to deal with the situation, and Bannister needs to step up to the job at hand.

Bannister, who consistently refuses to admit the country is suffering from a full-fledged power crisis, continues to trivialise the misery being experienced by the Bahamian people.

When he isn’t ducking questions on BPL, he is sticking to scripted messaging offering praise to the BPL employees and shifting the goalposts on when there will be an end to this madness.

The consensus among citizens is that this has been the worst we’ve experienced in a very long time.

Add to that, the fear of a hurricane further impairing BPL’s inability to keep the lights on, and we could potentially have a country headed for catastrophe.

Although, according to BPL’s union boss, we’re already there.

“Listen, the most you could do is go to church every Sunday or go to prayer meeting and pray that we have a mild November, because believe me, if we have a hot November we going to be load shedding until December,” said Paul Maynard.

He continued: “They making noise telling you all about we are going to have those new units by October or November. Please, if they come in by December, they good. “… My opinion is unless God comes out of heaven and puts them together, and you know that isn’t going to happen, you will hope to see them in March.”

Just realising the gravity of Maynard’s statements knots the stomach and sends shudders up the spine.

Families with young children tormented through the night - sweating in the dark, suffocating heat, where a comfortable night’s rest is a luxury that only the few spending thousands of dollars to run their private generators is an absolute nightmare that many of us experience daily as the load shedding continues without end.

Businesses losing thousands of dollars every day unable to operate efficiently, and visitors who would have saved their money from over a year

Come on Mr Bannister, do your job ago planning a trip to The Bahamas have also been robbed of their vacation experience and are now making it known to other potential visitors in travel forums.

If this continues late into the autumn, this will be an unmitigated travesty.

To make matters worse, it honestly seems the government is merely waiting us out.

While as a people we will talk and complain, that rarely translates into any form of collective action.

Yet, we wonder why the government ignores our pleas when we lack unity on the issues that affects the majority of us.

Higher up the chain of command, Prime Minister Minnis has been characteristically hands off – hardly touching this issue.

Ironically enough, next month will mark a year since he gave his assurances to the Bahamian people that he had “absolute” faith in the Minister of Works. A year later and all that we have to glean from is the old adage – silence gives consent.

The prime minister refuses to make a comment on this issue. Unquestionably, this is upsetting for many of us, as we are beyond statements and press conferences. Immediate remedies are the only thing of interest at this point for the Bahamian people.

The time has come for Bannister to step up and get on with his job – or face the consequences.

This is the moment the Bahamian people expect Bannister to show why he has been chosen for the job he is in, and he must live up to it. He serves the Bahamian people, and he owes them answers about why BPL is in such a tragic state and when precisely we can expect an end to this nightmare.

We have been in the dark,

BPL’S HQ

in more ways than one, with the power corporation.

We have little to no official knowledge of what took place with the multitude of fires that occurred on New Providence, Abaco and Bimini. And unsurprisingly, there has been no publication of the report which Prime Minister Minnis said was commissioned to probe the firings of the BPL board last year.

Can you see a trend here?

And if Bannister doesn’t step up to the plate, then eyes turn to the prime minister.

Minnis, after a little over a year in his tenure as prime minister, decided to shuffle his Cabinet to allow ministers to have “exposure and experience” overseeing different ministries. However, the Bahamian people believed this was a result of what the public viewed as a poor fit with current Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Lanisha Rolle formerly having oversight of social services.

Although her replacement hasn’t quite been the gold standard in the case of Frankie Campbell, however, it still was emblematic of the prime minister’s recognition of a much-needed change in his administration.

Now, questions are being raised as the prime minister continues to ignore what is taking place at BPL. By the same token, the media is taking it too easy on the prime minister.

At each public appearance, he should be bombarded by a litany of questions surrounding BPL. Additionally, he should also be probed on Bannister’s refusal to speak to local media at the Nassau Guardian, as his personal feelings do not come before the justifiable frustrations of the Bahamian people.

Do you recall when Lanisha Rolle refused to speak to the media during her tenure as social services?

Shortly after, she was familiarising herself with another portfolio.

That should be a clarion call to Desmond Bannister. He has seen the stick being used when another minister was seen to have failed. He has seen up close the removal of the previous BPL board. It is time for him to act to ensure he doesn’t follow in those footsteps. More than that, it is time for him to act on behalf of the Bahamian people.

Just as we would

recognise Marvin Dames for a decline in crime, Dionisio D’Aguilar for our historic performance in tourism, the works minister must also be held to a standard.

Without a doubt, although the government has lost a lot of goodwill with the Bahamian people, Bannister’s poor management of BPL has surpassed all issues the electorate has with the

Minnis administration in becoming their Achilles heel. And every day the power shortages continue, Minnis closes the window on a possible re-election just a little bit more.

TICKETS: $50

for the 3 day conference.

Purchase online at: www.bahamas.cryptochicks.ca or at the gate. Price includes lunch. Seating is limited so reserve yours online in advance.

Contact Felix Stubbs locally at 424-6163 (felixstubbs@gmail.com) or Rhonda Eldridge at 646-733-6692 WhatsApp.

from page one

when the incident occurred.

He told The Tribune Frederick––also known as “Yam”––indeed had a gun.

“He hangs out on the blocks and sells his five dollar nickel bags,” he said. “He had a gun on him for true. They say at night guys might come for them so they carry guns for their protection. I’ve seen him with the gun and he always does have it when night comes. The police pull up on him. He got catch fair and square.

They saw the gun and they told him ‘stop.’ But he was trying to just get a little bit away from them because he know they would run after him. One officer said, ‘Sarge that’s (a) gun, gun fire?’ And the (sergeant) said ‘submit, submit’ but he didn’t submit and sarge said ‘fire.’”

The entire encounter, Keiddy said, happened in about ten seconds.

“He would never shoot at the police,” he added.

“He didn’t aim it at them.

He was trying to get away.

But he capable of shooting someone else with that gun.

He’s a bad boy and to me the police did good.”

Frederick’s father, Camelus Frederick, said his son’s daughter is now seven; his other child, a 19-yearold youth was killed in the United States several years ago.

Mr Pierre said his brother performed landscaping services throughout the Village Road and Bernard Road areas. His

brother could be a “good boy or a bad boy” depending on his mood and the circumstance, he said, adding that Frederick had served time in prison before.

“I don’t want say ‘aw he was a good guy,’ I don’t want to say that,” he said.

“I want to tell you the truth.

Sometimes he was quiet, sometimes, boy, I could tell you he had a bad side. He had the two sides. But since he lost his first son, I spoke to him and gave him advice, I say ‘if people think you

are a bad boy, you have to become a good boy because you’ve lost your first son.’

That’s why I told him, stay from the troubles. I told him you have to find something to do. At one point he was doing something at Baha Mar. Sometimes he went to Abaco to do construction. When you have kids, if something happen to you before, you ain’ suppose to let the kids hear about that and continue to do that. I told him, you have to change your life.”

Exuma and they fear the incident has disrupted their lives so much that they could lose their jobs.

These new allegations have revived questions of whether the government has prioritised the implementation of body cameras for police.

Mr Dames said a contract for the equipment was expected to be signed next month.

“We’re on schedule. Cabinet would have approved the body cams. We have funding for the body cams.

We’re in the process now of finalising the contracts between the parties - that

is the government and the vendor. “. . .I’m hoping that sometime next month we should be signing off on that.

“The other contracts, I think the dates have already been set for the CCTV contract and the Marco’s Alert contracts. We are now satisfied with where we are with the contracts - all parties have accepted the contracts to date and it’s just a matter of signing and I think the signing date for both the CCTV and the body cams have been set and we’re working.”

PAGE 8 MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2019 his brother had a weapon but did not draw it and aim it at officers. He said he was told officers fired eight shots. Frederick, he said, was struck in his head.

“I spoke to a police officer at a station in Fox Hill, they say they have no information to share with us,” he added.

One man who identified himself as “Keiddy” said he was present at the scene

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

‘Four years on and I’m still Beating charges are very concerning, says Dames waiting for police to apologise’ LEFT: Aaliyah Bain and Dejah Laing; above: Samuel Humes; right: Dejah Laing with the injuries she says were caused by a police officer,

from page one

This incident, Mr Dames said, is “very concerning”.

“We are where we are and we’ll continue to look at how we could improve the process and you can see when police officers or law enforcement officers do wrong the evidence is there to show,” Mr Dames said. “Then those persons are dealt with whether it’s before the courts or whether it’s done internally.

“The matter over the weekend is very concerning to me. I had the opportunity to speak to the commissioner as well as to see some of the social media postings of that. The commissioner moved very quickly.

“A team was dispatched to the island of Exuma and commenced investigations almost immediately and so we will see very shortly the end results of those investigations.”

He continued: “We’re not here to cover up for anybody and that will not be accepted, not in this force.

Police officers, law enforcement officers have taken an oath to protect the citizens of this country and those who visit and we expect that they live up to that oath.

“No one is above the law whether you are in uniform or whether you are in public life. Nobody is above the law and where it is found out at the end of the day that persons whether they are law enforcement officers or public officials are in breach of the law, they will be treated like anyone else and I can assure you of that.”

Mr Dames said while the vast majority of officers are law-abiding citizens, the RBPF has no reservations with ensuring those who abuse authority are held accountable.

“Again we have had officers who were placed before the courts. We would have

had officers who we would have placed before an internal tribunal and fired and in some instances demoted.

It all depends on the evidence and if the matter is egregious enough then one would expect that that person or that officer would be placed before the courts.

“So again the commissioner and I would have spoken to this matter at length over the weekend and he and his officers are taking this very seriously.

We will ensure that at the end of the day that justice prevails and so we all will be watching to see.”

Images of blood streaming from the gashed eyelid of one of the women who claim police abused her,

MARVIN DAMES

Dejah Laing, 19, were shared hundreds of times on social media over the weekend, attracting the anger of horrified users. The women and their families are now demanding that the officer responsible be fired.

Ms Laing, mother of an 18-month-old baby, was

travelling home from the Rolleville Homecoming Festival & Regatta around 4.30 on Sunday morning along with her two cousins, Aaliyah Bain, 20, and Samuel Humes, 26, when their day took a turn for the worst.

Mr Humes, the driver, said he was about to be ticketed when he told the senior officer his two cousins were in the car.

The women said they were initially taken to a police station cell, then to the clinic and then back to the station where they were interviewed, processed and allowed to leave without charge.

The trio were recently hired at Sandals Resort in

Editorial View - Page 4

Teaching Positions Available WE will see what happens with Mr Dames’ promise of “no cover up” in the case of the two girls allegedly beaten in Exuma.

ABOVE: The Tribune’s coverage of the story from last week.

Small private school seeks to employ experienced, innovative, and inspiring High School History and Primary French teachers effective September 2019.

Successful candidates must hold a degree in education, will ideally have a proven track record with relevant curriculum material, and a genuine desire to become involved in a programme aimed at inspiring and engaging our students beyond the classroom.

We are looking for exceptional, visionary, and adventurous teachers who genuinely want to make a difference.

Resumés should be sent to

teachingbahamas@gmail.com

REMEMBERING

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF

Sylvester “Sly” Roker Sunrise: February 5th, 1954 Sunset: July 17th, 2019 Age 66 years of Turks & Caicos Island, died at his residence on Wednesday, July 17th, 2019.

He was Pre-deceased by his: (Parents) Omelia Hall and Algernon Dean (Adopted Mother) Cisly Hamilton-Storr (Sisters) Margaret and Dorothy (Brothers) Stanley Roker, Shadrack (Daughter) Tiffany (Grand-son) Devane “DJ” Rollins, (Nephew) Clevison Forbes.

Left to cherish his precious memories are his Children: (Son’s) Peter, Jamal, Shamiko, Stephan, Ryan, Chris, Trevor, (Daughters) LaTina (Elbert Sr.), Shamon (Brent), Raeh (Don), Dale, Shanthea, Cianne, Serena (Devane), Anya; Grandchildren: Peter-River and Peyton Evans, Jamia and Janai Rodgers, Kameron and Devante Pinder, Zion Roker, Elbert Jr. and Aryanna Cooper, Tyrique, Tyeisha and Taijah Rodgers, Daniella Williams, Madison and David Marshall, Aaliyah and Reyanah; Sisters: Sataria Hall, Trudy Hall, Apostle Elaine Harris, Monica Pierre, Henrietta Higgs, Pricilla Dean; Adopted Sisters: Cindy Storr, Bernadette “Bunny” Storr, Glenda Storr; Adopted Brother: Charles Capron; Brothers: Sherlock Forbes, George, Algernon, James, Samuel, William and Arthur Dean; Sistersin-law: Blanche Forbes; Brothers-in-law: Apostle Clayton Harris, Davis Pierre, Eddie Higgs; Nieces: Bonnie Smith, Kawana Wilson, Shavette Glinton, Selina Pierre, Sierra, Alicia and Aniah Higgs, Kenya Jagger, Begetta and Zee Forbes; Nephews: Gordon Smith, Terrance Francis, Clyde Smith, Chris Hall, Kevin Wilson, Perized Adams, Jerry Holland, Joseph Pierre, Andrew and Andre Higgs, Sandeep Jagger, Darrel, Alonso and Sholino Forbes; A host of other relatives and friends including: The Evans, Rodgers, Cooper, Gina and Gloria Mortimer and Family, Sheila McKenzie and family, Christina Adderley and Family, Minaja Barrera, Obie Pindling and family, Barry Ward, Nehemiah Hield, Kendal Stubbs, Isaiah Taylor and Family, Nat Saunders, Ray Munnings and family, The Freeport Family the he grew up with, The family of the late Paul Melbourne, the family of the later Berkley Van Byrd, Firm Foundation Ministries International (TCI), The Bahamian Music Family; Special thanks: the staff of Restview Memorial Mortuary & Crematorium Limited, Nieces and Nephews and many others too numerous to mention.

Viewing will be held in the “Serenity Suite” at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Limited, Robinson and Soldier Roads on Monday, August 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and again on Tuesday, August 13th, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ON reading the complaint of the beating by the police of two women in Exuma last week and the promise by National Security Minister Marvin Dames that there would be no “cover up” if officers in the case were found guilty of wrong doing, a senior government employee reveals today that he is still awaiting the results of his own complaint against two junior police officers.

T

HAT was four years ago, and despite repeated requests, the police have remained silent.

The government official, himself a lawyer, said that in September 13, 2015 his wife, driving his car, was involved in an accident at the corner of Wulff and Baillou Hill Roads. On being notified, he went immediately to the scene and awaited the arrival of a Traffic Police Officer. As he stood on the pavement to watch he noticed the officer made no note of the position of the vehicles – “in fact he made no note at all” – although he had ordered the immediate removal of both cars.

The complainant said he became concerned, and as it was his vehicle driven by his wife, he “began to record the proceedings”.

The following is the exchange that took place between the complainant and the Constable. It was sent to Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Bethell.

“You ain’ trying to record the police, hey?” Constable 3494 asked.

“It is not an offence, sir,” I responded “What you mean, it ain’t an offence?” Constable 3494 questioned .

“I’m an attorney, it’s not an offence, sir,” I said.

“I ain care what you is.

Put down this phone or leave my scene, because you ain involve in this accident, right?” Constable 3494 said.

“I’m sorry, it’s my vehicle...” I said.

“It’s my vehicle, sir. It’s not an offence to record the police,” I repeated.

“Are you involved in this accident? Are you involved in this accident?” asked Constable 3494.

Apparently annoyed, the constable asked to see my identification. I was of the view that his apparent annoyance was not sufficient warrant to ask for my identification. I refused.

“Let me see some ID. Let me see some ID,” Constable 3494 demanded.

“It’s not an offence,” I assured him.

“Put up the phone, let me see some ID,” Constable 3494 again demanded.

“Would you like me to call the Commissioner of Police?” I asked.

“Let me see some ID,” the officer again demanded.

I again refused.

“No sir, no sir.” I responded.

“Let me see some ID,” he again demanded.

“No, sir. No, sir,” I again responded.

“No, sir. I’m not committing an offence and you have no right to call for my ID,” I stated. “No, sir. No, sir. No, sir. If you’d like me to call Superintendent Stubbs, I will call him.”

The constable then purported to make a call for assistance based on the spurious claim that I was “creating a disturbance”.

I cautioned him not to do that. I advised that I am employed by the Office of _______ and am fully aware of rights afforded me.

The constable again asked for my identification.

I refused.

At that moment, police vehicle 101, licence plate 265916 arrived with klaxon on. That vehicle was being driven by Corporal 2550.

“I tell this fellow I need to see some ID,” Constable 3494 spoke to Corporal 2550 who demanded that I “put the camera up”.

I refused whereupon he lunged toward me and attempted to take my phone. He, with the assistance of Constable 3736, accosted me, holding on to my right arm, twisting it behind my back and throwing me on to the trunk of the police vehicle. This action, linked to my refusal to “put the camera up” was an assault.

“Another police vehicle arrived. The Corporal driving that vehicle got out and advised Corporal 2550 to release me.

“Subsequently, Inspector Mitchell arrived upon the scene, followed by Superintendent Craig Stubbs. I wish to commend the latter for his handling of the matter.

I indicated that I was prepared to drop the matter upon receipt of an apology before the officers departed the scene.

“I received an equivocal apology, which I consider no apology, from Constable 3494. No apology was forthcoming from Corporal 2550 or Constable 3736.

Again, I am prepared

to drop the matter if the proper apologies are made, in writing, from the officers.

“If otherwise, you may consider this the initiation of a complaint against the three identified officers. Also, this is without prejudice to the seeking other remedies.

“Please be assured of my continued support for the Commissioner of Police, the Directorate of The Royal Bahamas Police Force and the fine men and women who serve thereunder,” the complainant said in closing his statement to the police on the incident.

That statement was dated September 13, 2015.

Having heard nothing about his complaint, the government official, wrote another letter on October 28, 2015. This one was also addressed to Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Bethell. It said: “Dear Sir, “Re: Conduct of Police Officers “I refer to incident of assault by three police officers on 11 September, 2015.

I spoke to you on that date, at which time you advised that you were aware of the incident. You further advised that I should make a report to you. This I did by email on Sunday, 13 September, 2015, at which time you acknowledged receipt, responded and advised of your intention to ‘revert’ to myself ‘at the earliest’.

“Again, on 13 October, 2015, I wrote to you by email.

“You have not favoured me with a reply in this matter.”

The complaining government official having then spoken to DCP Anthony Ferguson by phone, and having been assured by him of “investigation” of the matter, never heard from him again.

“He neither answered my phone calls nor responded to my emails,” said the complainant.

A year later – July 8, 2016 – he reminded Mr Ferguson: “I have phoned you several times, and have left messages on your voice mail. I have had no response.”

The complainant emphasised that he wanted the matter “resolved amicably,” seeking only a written apology from the officers involved.

That was four years ago and still no apology or explanation for the official silence.

We will see what happens with Mr Dames’ promise of “no cover up” in the case of the two girls allegedly beaten in Exuma.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

T

HE response to Haitians arriving in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries has been lamentable at best and contemptible at worst. They have been treated, for the most part, as pariahs particularly by the ignorant and bigoted.

Recently, in Guyana, the arrival of Haitians has been greeted with an hysteria that was evident in other parts of the region. Many alarmist remarks were made and reported in the media; among them that the Haitians would spread HIV/Aids and the practice of voodoo.

Those who so glibly claimed that Haitians would spread HIV/Aids obviously failed to recognise the disease is not non-communicable. HIV is spread primarily by unprotected sex (including anal and oral sex), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. HIV is not spread by air or water, mosquitoes, ticks or other insects, saliva, tears or sweat that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV, shaking hands, sharing toilets, sharing dishes, silverware or drinking glasses. Therefore, to contract HIV, there must be sexual relations with an infected person.

The scaremongers who make the claim about Haitians spreading HIV/Aids, are either ignorant of how the disease is spread, or simply regarded facts as an obstacle to their objectives.

Regarding the practice of voodoo, despite denigrating it, the purveyors appear to accord it greater powers than their own religions and practices. Yet there is no evidence, except in books of fiction and fanciful stories, that supports the capability of voodoo. Again, those who repeat these avowals are either ignorant of the facts or conveniently discard them in pursuit of their own purposes.

Beyond the science of these matters, the scaremongering about Haitians assumes that those who arrive in Caribbean countries fit into the narrative of disease-infected, devilworshippers. The reality is that they are no more than people who are fleeing very difficult economic circumstances in Haiti in search of opportunities.

Caribbean people from all countries should understand that motivation. At times of economic decline in their own countries, nationals of every Caribbean country, without exception, have sought economic refuge in the United States, Canada, Europe and even nearby Latin American and Caribbean countries. Guyanese particularly should empathise with prejudices against them because they suffered them for years in the Caribbean. For close to five decades, until recently when Guyana’s wealth in

INSIGHT

MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2019 PAGE 9

Caribbean contempt of Haitians is shameful oil and gas was unearthed, Guyanese were treated as unwelcome scoundrels with the worst possible labels ascribed to them, regardless of gender or race.

In any event, the only member state of CARICOM that should have a serious and legitimate concern about Haitian refugees is The Bahamas which has been the recipient of boatloads of Haitians, trying to escape conditions in their own country. Incidentally, this observation about The Bahamas in relation to Haitians should not obscure the fact that, while today it has to manage the Haitian refugee situation very carefully because it places a severe strain on its financial capacity and its economy, it has absorbed Haitians over many years – some of whom founded families that are now leading Bahamians.

Further, although it is a member of the Caribbean Community, the Bahamas, like Montserrat, was granted the right to opt out of certain of the requirements of the CARICOM Treaty, including freedom of movement of people.

In this sense, the Bahamas is not a full member of CARICOM and has no treaty obligation to allow freedom of entry of CARICOM nationals in any category Therefore, CARICOM countries, other than The Bahamas and Montserrat, but including Guyana, are legally bound to grant CARICOM nationals the right to remain for a period of six months provided they are not a security risk and they can demonstrate the ability not to become a charge upon the State during their stay. In principle, this right applies to Haitian nationals as well.

However, it should be noted the governments of two CARICOM countries, Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts-Nevis were allowed to reserve their positions because, over the last four decades, they have been the recipients of a disproportionately large number of CARICOM nationals and would be hard-pressed to accept any more who attempt to stay in the country illegally.

But to be clear, the right given to CARICOM nationals, including Haitians, to enter and remain for six months in another CARICOM country is not an

unfettered right as explained earlier. It is also not a right to remain in the country illegally. Therefore, Haitians, like all other CARICOM nationals, who stay beyond the six-month period are liable for deportation.

Regrettably, unscrupulous people in Haiti and elsewhere have deliberately twisted the rights accorded by the CARICOM Treaty, as adjudicated by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), to lure Haitians into believing they can arrive in and remain in CARICOM countries to live and work.

In this connection, Barbados became a target of this illegal operation after its government, in what clearly it thought was fair-mindedness, chose to remove the necessity for Haitians to apply to enter Barbados. After reported incidents of abuse, the government announced that it “was compelled” to reinstitute the requirement for Haitians to have visas.

The Haitian people are vulnerable.

They cannot be blamed for their shameless exploitation by bandits. They certainly do not deserve the prejudiced epithets that have been used to describe them by other Caribbean people.

The reality is that small CARICOM countries, already confronted with major economic challenges, cannot afford unchecked Haitian entry as refugees or to seek employment. After all, the unemployed of Haiti is estimated to be larger than the entire populations of all CARICOM countries combined.

It is against that reality that the entry of Haitians should be measured; it should not be judged by branding Haitians with false and unfair characterisations they do not deserve.

Anyone who knows Haiti would know the Haitians are a talented and creative people who struggle and survive despite terrible odds.

The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States. 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 entirely his own. Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

HAITIANS have been treated, for the most part, as pariahs particularly by the ignorant and bigoted.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT Common Law and Equity Division

2019 CLE/Qui/00266

BETWEEN IN THE MATTER of Quieting Titles Act, 1959 (Chapter 393 Statute Laws of The Bahamas, Revised Edition 2001) AND IN THE MATTER OF all that piece parcel or Lot of Land containing an area of forty-two thousand one hundred and thirty-five (42,135) square feet being the property of Jordan Memorial Baptist School situate on the Eastern side of Baillou Hill Road and approximately one hundred and fifty (150) feet South of Newbold Street in the Southern District of the Island of New Providence within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas which said Piece Parcel or Lot of Land is bounded on the North by various land owners and running thereon three hundred and thirteen and forty hundredth (313.40) feet on the East by various land owners and running thereon one hundred and thirty-one and eighty-eight hundredth (131.88) feet on the South partly by Lot number four (4) in the People Development Subdivision and partly by land occupied by The Bahamas Baptist Missionary & Educational Convention Incorporated and running thereon three hundred and twelve and twenty-five hundredth (312.25) feet on the West by Baillou Hill Road and running thereon one hundred and twenty-seven and zero two hundredth (127.02) feet in the Southern District of the Island of New Providence in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

AND IN THE MATTER OF all that piece parcel or Lot of Land containing an area of five thousand one hundred (5,001) square feet situate on the Eastern side of Baillou Hill Road and approximately two hundred and seventy-seven (277) feet South of Newbold Street in Southern District of the Island of New Providence within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas which said Piece Parcel or Lot of Land is bounded on the North by the old Jordan Memorial Baptist School ground and running thereon one hundred and twenty (120.00) feet on the East by Lot number four (4) and running thereon for forty-one and seventy hundredth (41.70) feet on the South by Lot number two (2) and running thereon for one hundred and twenty (120) feet on the West by Baillou Hill Road and running thereon forty-one and seventy hundredth (41.70) feet in the Southern District of the Island of New Providence in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

AND IN THE MATTER of the Petition of THE BAHAMAS BAPTIST MISSIONARY & EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION INCORPORATED under the Quieting Titles Act 1959.

NOTICE The Petition of THE BAHAMAS BAPTIST MISSIONARY & EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION INCORPORATED in respect to ALL THAT piece parcel or Lot of Land containing an area of forty-two thousand one hundred and thirty-five (42,135) square feet being the property of Jordan Memorial Baptist School situate on the Eastern side of Baillou Hill Road and approximately one hundred and fifty (150) feet South of Newbold Street in the Southern District of the Island of New Providence within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas which said Piece Parcel or Lot of Land is bounded on the North by various land owners and running thereon three hundred and thirteen and forty hundredth (313.40) feet on the East by various land owners and running thereon one hundred and thirty-one and eighty-eight hundredth (131.88) feet on the South partly by Lot number four (4) in the People Development Subdivision and partly by land occupied by The Bahamas Baptist Missionary & Educational Convention Incorporated and running thereon three hundred and twelve and twenty-five hundredth (312.25) feet on the West by Baillou Hill Road and running thereon one hundred and twenty-seven and zero two hundredth (127.02) feet and which said Piece Parcel or Lot of Land has such position boundaries markers and dimension shown on the said Plan filed coloured Pink.

AND in respect to ALL THAT piece parcel or Lot of Land containing an area of five thousand one hundred (5,001) square feet situate on the Eastern side of Baillou Hill Road and approximately two hundred and seventy-seven (277) feet South of Newbold Street in Southern District of the Island of New Providence within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas which said Piece Parcel or Lot of Land is bounded on the North by the old Jordan Memorial Baptist School ground and running thereon one hundred and twenty (120.00) feet on the East by Lot number four (4) and running thereon for forty-one and seventy hundredth (41.70) feet on the South by Lot number two (2) and running thereon for one hundred and twenty (120) feet on the West by Baillou Hill Road and running thereon forty-one and seventy hundredth (41.70) feet and which said piece parcel or Lot of Land has such position boundaries markers and dimension shown on the said Plan filed coloured Pink.

The Petitioner, THE BAHAMAS BAPTIST MISSIONARY & EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION INCORPORATED, claims to be the legal and beneficial owner in fee simple in possession of ALL THAT parcel or land hereinbefore described and the Petitioner has made application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under Section 3 of the Quieting Titles Act, 1959, to have its title to the said land investigated.

Copies of the filed Plan may be inspected during normal working hours at:a. The Registry of the Supreme Court, British American Building, Marlborough and George Streets, Nassau, N.P. Bahamas; or b. The Chambers of Kelphene Cunningham & Company, Norfolk House Ground Floor, Frederick Street, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person having a dower or right to dower or any adverse claim or claim not recognized in the Petition shall on or before the 30th day after the last day on which the advertisement appears in the papers, file in the Registry of the Supreme Court and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned a statement of such claim in the prescribed form and verified by the Affidavit to be filed therewith. Failure of any such person to file and serve a statement of such claim on or before the 30th day after the last day on which the advertisement appears in the papers will operate as a bar to such claim.

DATED this 11th day of July, A.D., 2019 KELPHENE CUNNINGHAM & COMPANY Chambers Norfolk House Frederick Street Nassau, Bahamas Attorneys for the Petitioner

PAGE 10, Monday, August 12, 2019

PLP unimpressed

by Bannister in dispute between Archer & Roach

OMAR ARCHER

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net “NOT acceptable” is how Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell has described Works Minister Desmond Bannister’s response to a dispute between Registrar of Contractors Omar Archer and Works Director Melanie Roach.

Last week, Mr Archer, a controversial political activist, accused Ms Roach of giving preferential treatment to certain unnamed contractors and called for her to be fired. He claimed if she is not removed, the Free National Movement would not win the next election.

When asked if there will be any consequences for Mr Archer for his attack, Mr Bannister instead defended Ms Roach.

THE TRIBUNE

“As minister with responsibility for public works, I have full confidence in the director of public works, Ms Melanie Roach,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “She is a skilled professional who has dedicated nearly 30 years of her life to public service.

During her watch as director of public works she has carried out the mandate of the government to expand and develop the public infrastructure of the country on behalf of the Bahamian people.”

Mr Mitchell criticised Mr Bannister’s response in a statement. “While one appreciates the support in personal terms for the director of works after an unseemly and thuggish attack by a subordinate employee of the Ministry of Works, the minister’s response is not acceptable,” Mr Mitchell said. “He

must do more to uphold the public service and its integrity. Surely what must follow is what disciplinary steps have been initiated to deal with a rogue employee who clearly does not understand his place in the system and how it works.

“There is in fact no need for the minister to make any statement in support of the director. Had the public service dismissed the errant employee, it would have been clear who the minister supported. Instead, we get this weak written defence from the minister which begs the question why the rogue public servant is able to act with impunity and without any threat of discipline.

“Who then is that employee’s protector that he knows he can get away with it and the minister will do nothing? What does the prime minister have to say,

since the minister is helpless to act?”

Mr Mitchell accused the Free National Movement of using “trolls and thugs to cheapen the public discourse” and now lack the “moral courage to repudiate their creations”.

“Under the FNM, the tail is wagging the dog and no one from the prime minister on down has the ethical standing not even to denounce a racist rant from the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (WSC) rouge board member. It could not have happened to a finer bunch. A pox on them.

They must in this instance enforce the rules of the public service.”

Mr Archer has had several run-ins with law enforcement over the years.

In 2017, he was convicted of threatening to harm a senior police officer. Two years earlier, he jumped

MELANIE ROACH from the second-story window of the Magistrates Court in an attempt to evade police.

In October 2018, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said he did not know what makes Mr Archer qualified to be the registrar of the Ministry of Works even as he insisted at the time the controversial figure must have met the standards of the ministry.

In light of his controversial past, Mr Newbold was asked if Mr Archer was the best, most qualified person in the

country for this new position. Mr Newbold said last year: “I’m not saying that at all. The Ministry of Works is saying this man, we think should be in this position.

Whatever those qualifications were or are, a decision was made that he was the best person to put in that role.”

His appointment, he added, is “something that would have come through the usual system. The specifics of how that happened, I presumed the position was available and he applied for it. About Omar Archer or qualifications for that registrar position, I don’t (know) but I’m sure whatever those qualifications are he must have met them. Nobody is going to be hired and not meet the qualifications for a specific job.”

However last night, Mr Bannister said Mr Archer is not employed by the Ministry of Works.

HUNDREDS STRANDED AS SAILING CANCELLED

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

HUNDREDS of frustrated Bahamians and tourists scheduled to sail on Friday to Grand Bahama and Bimini on the Balearia were stranded for more than 24 hours in Fort Lauderdale.

Balearia Bahamas Express, which provides fast ferry service between Florida, Grand Bahama and Bimini – cancelled its sailing to Freeport on Friday, stopping off only in Bimini to pick up passengers there for the sailing to Fort Lauderdale that evening.

Many of the stranded passengers in Florida had nowhere to stay, according to reports reaching The Tribune.

Nevardo Saunders, one of the stranded passengers, described the situation there as a “nightmare.”

He said that he was scheduled to return to Grand Bahama on Friday, but was told that the voyage was cancelled because the US Coast Guard was conducting an inspection of the vessel.

When he and other passengers returned to the port around 4am Saturday, they learned that Coast Guard officials were still conducting investigations and inspecting the vessel.

Mr Saunders said that they later saw crew members walking off the vessel.

“We don’t know what the Coast Guard told them or why they are off the ship,” he said in a Facebook live video on Saturday.

Mr Saunders said that passengers were scheduled to sail to Bimini and Grand Bahama.

Because passengers are not allowed to stay at the port over night, all of the passengers had to leave and get hotel accommodations,

and pay for car rental with money from their pockets.

He claimed that some passengers could not pay for accommodations or car rental, and complained the company did not offer to provide any accommodations to passengers for the inconvenience.

He also noted that many Bahamian passengers were concerned that meat products they had purchased and packed in the bins had spoiled.

“We have tons of Bahamians who want to get home, but are stuck in Florida with no food, and no money for accommodations, and no money for a car. So, it is just a bad situation, and Balearia is not working with the people,” he complained.

In a statement issued on the weekend, Balearia said the voyage from from Port Everglades to Bimini and Freeport was delayed due to “operational” reasons and apologised for the situation.

“All passengers affected by (the) delay/cancellation will receive a voucher for complimentary roundtrip transportation on Balearia Caribbean. This voucher will be valid for one year and can used for either Bimini or Freeport,” the company added.

Still, Mr Saunders said that the company’s handling of passengers in Freeport and Fort Lauderdale was “very unprofessional”.

“They are very unprofessional and uncooperative.

We have not spoken to a representative yet; they are not allowing us to have any conversation with them, and so Bahamians at this point just want to get home,” he said in his Facebook video.

“Although a lot of us come to Florida often,... we just want to get home.

A lot of us are angry, and depressed,” he said.

“The crew is not on board the ship and we have not been given any word on what is happening; no official has spoken to us as yet,” he claimed.

Mr Saunders noted that in addition to Bahamians wanting to get home, there were tourists who had travelled from as far as Germany, who were supposed to travel to Grand Bahama and Bimini.

“It’s been a nightmare for them, and this is the second day they have come (to the port) and Balearia has not delivered. They telling us they want to give us a free round trip ticket.”

He complained that the cruise company had not offered to provide any accommodations or food vouchers to passengers after being stranded in Florida.

“We are in another country where you have maxed out all your money and they are telling us we can’t even sleep here at the port,” he said.

While many Bahamians travel to Florida to shop, Mr Saunders said there were some who were ill and had travelled to see the doctor and some had gone to pick up their children from college.

“There are all sorts of heart wrenching stories of people who don’t know what to do next – whose clothes are on the bin, who have meat on their bins that may have spoiled that is wasted money, and Balearia does not want to take responsibility for it,” he said.

“We know things happen, but the way they have handled the situation is very unprofessional and disrespectful.”

The stranded passengers arrived at Freeport Saturday afternoon.

THE TRIBUNE

REMEMBERING SLY

A MEMORIAL service was held last Saturday for Bahamian entertainer, the late Sylvester ‘Sly’ Roker at the Balmoral Club Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Monday, August 12, 2019, PAGE 11

PAGE 12, Monday, August 12, 2019

By NICO SCAVELLA #Tribune Staff Reporter #nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE last known social interaction of South African Carla Van Eeden, who was found hanged in a hotel room in Atlantis, involved a “dispute” with an unknown couple over paying for drinks, Atlantis employees have testified.

Obadiah Charlton, an attendant at The Cove pool, and Lashunda Higgs, a cocktail server, both said during recent testimony Ms Van Eeden and the couple were at odds over who would pay for the latter’s round of shots.

And the woman in the couple allegedly bore some animosity towards Ms Van Eeden for not wanting to pay for her and her male partner’s drinks.

According to Ms Higgs and Mr Charlton, while Ms Van Eeden was steadfast about paying for her own drinks and not theirs, the couple—particularly the woman, somehow figured Ms Van Eeden would foot the bill.

The matter didn’t escalate, as when Ms Higgs

THE TRIBUNE

Woman had dispute over drinks bill before being found hanged in her room let the couple know that Ms Van Eeden specifically instructed her not to place their drinks on her tab, the girlfriend looked at Ms Van Eeden and simply said “okay”, and paid for her and her partner’s drinks.

However Ms Higgs said the word was laced with “displeasure”.

Still both Ms Higgs and Mr Charlton said during her time at The Cove’s pool, Ms Van Eeden gave off no signs of depression, and instead appeared to be “normal”.

Ms Higgs’ and Mr Charlton’s testimony came last week during an inquest into Ms Van Eeden’s death in room 3583 at

the Royal Towers at Atlantis in May 2018.

Ms Van Eeden was found hanging from a green and white cellphone lanyard around her neck, which was hanging from a garment hook on the back of the bathroom door. According to local pathologist Dr Kiko Bridgewater, the lanyard was “double-looped” loosely around her neck.

John Burhmaster, an American homicide detective retained by Atlantis to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ms Van Eeden’s death, previously testified about the young woman’s movements while at the Paradise Island mega resort.

According to the veteran detective, Ms Van Eeden arrived at the pool at 12.11pm on May 15, 2018.

While there, Mr Buhrmaster said she was served several cocktails, met an unknown couple and had a conversation with them.

The majority of the time Ms Van Eeden was at the pool she was on her cellphone, Mr Buhrmaster said.

At 4.38pm she left the pool alone with a drink in her hand. She arrived at her room at 5.11. According to Mr Buhrmaster, Ms Van Eeden appeared to be slightly impaired as she walked down the hall to her room. Nonetheless, he said from 5.11, no one was seen leaving or entering Ms Van Eeden’s room.

She was found hanged by Royal Towers Hotel manager Bennett Allen and Lisa Ferguson, a security supervisor days later in the early morning hours of May 17.

Taking the witness stand before Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez, Mr Charlton said when Ms Van Eeden arrived at the pool at 12.11pm on May 15, he assisted her in finding a seat, which took about two to three minutes. During that time, Mr Charlton said he struck up a brief conversation with the 25-year-old.

He said he asked if anyone else would be joining her at the pool, but she indicated that she was there by herself. Mr Charlton said he replied by stating that it was unusual for a woman to travel to such a resort by herself. In response to that, he said Ms Van Eeden told him she had just gone through a bad break-up with her boyfriend, and that she just wanted to “get away”.

According to the evidence previously led, Ms Van Eeden broke up with her ex-boyfriend Tom the month prior, and had also expressed some unhappiness in working on the yacht on which they both worked. However, Ms Van Eeden’s good friend Lauren Burke has testified that the break-up with Tom was not all that damaging, as the former couple continued to speak and were still friendly towards each other.

CARLA VAN EEDEN Ms Burke also conceded the break-up with Tom was one of the reasons Ms Van Eeden attributed to her unhappiness on the yacht, and suggested that it would have probably helped ease the break-up if she didn’t work and live with Tom and see him every day.

For his part, Mr Charlton said when Ms Van Eeden told him about her recent break-up, she was “heavily” engrossed with her cellphone.

As a result, he said he put two and two together and figured that she must have been talking to her ex-boyfriend. Thus, he said kept his distance and busied himself with greeting other guests as they came to the pool.

Mr Charlton said whenever Ms Van Eeden would come off the phone, he would check on her by asking if everything was okay. He said Ms Van Eeden would respond in the affirmative, and gave no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. Conversely, he said she seemed “normal” and didn’t come off as depressed, much less heartbroken.

Ms Higgs, when she took the witness stand, said she first noticed Ms Van Eeden at the Beach Bar. Ms Higgs, who works at the Sip Sip restaurant, said the young woman ordered drinks then sat at a table in her station.

Afterwards, Ms Higgs said Ms Van Eeden approached her and asked for a vodka and a club soda. She said Ms Van Eeden subsequently produced her room key and said she wanted to run a tab.

After processing the card, Ms Higgs said she got Ms Van Eeden’s drink and gave it to her. Afterwards, Ms Higgs said she went to check on other guests.

According to Ms Higgs, Ms Van Eeden was “quite quiet” and on her phone and texting “a lot” while at her station. Ms Higgs said she didn’t interact much with Ms Van Eeden, but said the deceased appeared to be “some normal person that came to the pool by herself”.

Ms Higgs said at some point, Ms Van Eeden met a couple, an African-American man and a woman who

appeared “mixed” race, that had also joined her station. She said that from her perspective, Ms Van Eeden was having a good time with the couple, and vice versa.

According to the evidence, Ms Higgs ultimately served Ms Van Eeden five mixed drinks that afternoon: Grey Goose vodka with either club soda or cranberry juice. The couple, meanwhile, purchased seven shots of Jameson Irish whiskey. However, Ms Higgs did not see if Ms Van Eeden had any of the whiskey shots.

After a while, Ms Van Eeden decided to wrap up her time at the pool. Ms Higgs said as she was closing out Ms Van Eeden’s tab, the young woman instructed her not to put the couple’s drinks on her bill. Ms Higgs said she complied with Ms Van Eeden’s instructions and subsequently moved on to closing out the couple’s tab. However, she said when she was about to do so, the woman in the couple interjected and said, referring to Ms Van Eeden: “Oh no, she’s got it. You can put it on her tab.”

Ms Higgs said she replied by saying she was instructed by Ms Van Eeden not to put their drinks on her tab, something she said “shocked” the other woman. After that, Ms Higgs said the woman looked at Ms Van Eeden, then turned to her, shrugged slightly and said: “Okay”.

Then, she paid for her and her partner’s drinks.

However, in response to a question by Crown prosecutor Anishka Missick, who is marshalling the evidence in the matter, Ms Higgs said based on her observation of the woman’s body language, and her knowing how women think, the woman’s “okay” actually meant: “You was drinking with me all day, I bought you drinks. What you mean you can’t buy one or two shots for me?”

According to the evidence, Ms Van Eeden left the pool about 30 minutes before the couple did.

Before she left, she thanked and hugged Ms Higgs.

To that end, Ms Higgs said she was “shocked” when she learned that Ms Van Eeden had died, allegedly as a result of suicide, as the young woman gave off no signs of internal distress.

“She just played everything so normal,” Ms Higgs said.

The same was true for Mr Charlton, who said the news of her death was shocking “because I didn’t think she would kill herself”.

The matter continues.

Teaching Positions Available Small private school seeks to employ experienced, innovative, and inspiring High School History and Primary French teachers effective September 2019.

Successful candidates must hold a degree in education, will ideally have a proven track record with relevant curriculum material, and a genuine desire to become involved in a programme aimed at inspiring and engaging our students beyond the classroom.

We are looking for exceptional, visionary, and adventurous teachers who genuinely want to make a difference.

Resumés should be sent to

teachingbahamas@gmail.com

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 12, 2019, PAGE 13

Crash landing Two men escape injury as private aircraft gets into trouble

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net ONE day after a private aircraft crash landed at Lynden Pindling International Airport, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar is underscoring the airport’s safety as well as the fact that it has “contingency plans” in place to swiftly tackle such matters.

Noting LPIA is currently down to one runway while its secondary runway is being resurfaced, Mr D’Aguilar estimated this will be the case until “sometime in November”.

Two men escaped injury during Saturday’s crash landing.

Shortly after 4.30pm, the private aircraft, en route from Pompano Beach, Florida to Nassau made an emergency landing at LPIA. Two pilots, one American and one Bahamian, were on board the Canadair Challenger twin jet (CL60) which veered off the runway. No injuries were reported.

In a statement released in the aftermath of the incident, LPIA noted “immediately upon receiving the call”, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), with airport rescue and firefighters also responding.

“Due to the runway excursion, aircraft operations were interrupted for approximately one hour and 30 minutes at LPIA with services resuming at 6pm,” the statement continued. “Throughout the duration of the incident, the airport facilities remained open.”

There were no flight cancellations.

Delvin Major, chief air

accident investigator, told The Tribune yesterday the matter is still under investigation.

When asked when a report will be released, he replied: “We still have to do some further investigation as to the pilot’s qualifications, the weather information.

“All that information we’ve requested but we haven’t received that as yet. So we won’t be able to say until we get all that information and sit down and actually analyse it to be able to come up with what the probable cause of it was.”

The Air Accident Investigation Department (AAID) noted in a post on its website that “weather at the time of the crash included heavy rain and thunderstorm clouds in the vicinity.”

Mr D’Aguilar also discussed the incident yesterday in an interview with The Tribune.

“Well the airport closed for approximately 90 minutes which was obviously for safety reasons,” he said.

“There was an aircraft that had landed and the landing had gone wrong, the plane had veered off the runway and so operations at LPIA were ceased for 90 minutes while an investigation was undertaken to ensure first of all the safety of the passengers onboard, to make sure that everything was all right.

“There were two passengers - two pilots - and they were fine. And then to ensure that the aircraft, where it had settled was in no way restricting, or to ensure that the aircraft was of a sufficient distance from the runway to allow for the safe use of that runway.

“So NAD, being the airport operator of LPIA,

came out and assessed the situation. And they determined that the aircraft had slid a sufficient distance from the runway, where safe operation of the runway could resume. So within 90 minutes of it closing, it was open again and flights were landing and taking off.

“When operations at the airport slowed quite considerably, NAD then came back out to the aircraft and I believe that they have removed the aircraft. Or are in the process of assessing how it is to be moved.

But that process is now underway.”

Mr D’Aguilar could not say what prompted this emergency landing. He said AAID will investigate this matter.

“I just know that the plane landed and something went wrong and it veered off the runway. So I don’t think it was - my initial belief is it had nothing to do with the operation of the airport. I just think that it probably had something to do with the way the aircraft was landed. But the (AAID) will give a final opinion on that.”

When asked to respond to concerns about the airport’s safety, the aviation minister replied: “This is not one thing to concern ourselves about.”

“In the terms of our guests we’re down to one runway. But NAD has put in place contingency plans for such eventualities happening. So for example a plane could get a flat tyre and get stuck on the runway. They have vehicles out there so we can tow them away. We had a plane that went off the runway and had to be craned out of position. So we have equipment in place for that.

“So NAD knows that it’s down to one runway

N O T I C E The Firm of

Dupuch & Turnquest has moved its Chambers in Nassau from 308 East Bay Street (Colina Building) to

LIBRERY HOUSE 82 Dowdeswell Street The Firm apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the relocation.

and that runway cannot be restricted for a considerable length of time. So equipment has been mobilised and put in place while runway (09/27) is being resurfaced and the main runway (14/32) has to be kept clear in order for obviously flights to come in and out of the country. So we all recognise that contingency plans are in place, as you saw yesterday (Saturday), to get the airport opened up

very, very quickly after such an accident.

“Now, had the accident been more significant or had a plane caught fire or something like that, obviously it would have taken a little bit longer to get that done but contingency plans are in place to get any debris that has come on the runway or any restriction to the runway to be removed as quickly as possible so that operations can resume.

“So contingency plans are in place, no worries about safety at all. The operation of the airport and air traffic control had nothing to do, I believe, although the report will still have to come in. I am advised that at this stage, it had nothing to do with what happened (Saturday).

“So, the airport in my humble opinion, continues to be as safe as it always was.”

PAGE 14, Monday, August 12, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

NORWAY: ALLEGED MOSQUE GUNMAN A SUSPECT IN STEPSISTER’S DEATH OSLO Associated Press A SHOOTING at a mosque in Norway is being investigated as an attempted terrorist attack and the alleged gunman also is a suspect in his younger stepsister’s slaying, police in the Norwegian capital said yesterday.

A man in his 20s was taken into custody after the shooting inside the Al-Noor Islamic Center that wounded one person, Oslo police said. Investigators so far think no one else was involved in Saturday’s violence at the mosque, located in the Oslo suburb of

Baerum. When officers went to the shooting suspect’s residence, they found the body of his 17-year-old stepsister, police said yesterday evening. The alleged mosque gunman was being investigated in her death, police said.

The Oslo Police department said forensic work at the mosque “confirms that several shots were fired, but the number of shots and the type of weapons are not yet established.”

The department said it was working with the Norwegian Police Security Service since the “investigation has given us a better overall understanding of

POLICE at the scene of a shooting inside a mosque outside Oslo.

the attack” at the mosque. “The fact that the aggressor entered a mosque armed and from the investigation so far has been found to have expressed hostile attitudes against immigrants has led the police to investigate this attack as an attempted act of terrorism,” the police department said in a statement.

Oslo Deputy Police Inspector Rune Skjold said that mosque shooting was being treated as an attempted terror attack in part because the investigation uncovered evidence of the man’s “right-wing extremist views” and alleged animosity toward immigrants.

TEAR GAS FIRED IN HONG KONG WITH NO END IN SIGHT TO PROTESTS

DEATH TOLL UP TO 93 IN INDIA FLOODS NEW DELHI Associated Press AT LEAST 93 people have been killed and more than 400,000 displaced in floods and mudslides following days of torrential rains in southern India.

In the worst-hit state of Kerala the death toll rose to 57 by Saturday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted. That was an increase from 42 deaths reported since August 8.

More than 165,000 people left their homes for relief camps.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that another 31 people have been killed in rain-related accidents in neighboring Karnataka and at least five others were reported dead in Tamil Nadu state.

Kerala suffered catastrophic floods a year ago when heavy downpours killed 223 people and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.

HONG KONG Associated Press

THE FLOODED Cauvery river near Srirangapatna in Mandya district, Karnataka state, India, yesterday.

Jail staff questioned after Epstein suicide NEW YORK Associated Press JAIL staff failed to follow protocols leading up to Jeffrey Epstein’s death, according to a report yesterday, deepening the fallout from what led to the highly connected financier’s apparent suicide.

Epstein should have been checked on by guards in his cell every 30 minutes, but that didn’t happen the night before his apparent suicide, a law enforcement official told the New York Times.

A law enforcement source also said he was alone in his cell on Saturday night after his cellmate was transferred. An official with knowledge of the investigation told the Times that the Justice Department was told Epstein would have a cellmate and be monitored by a guard every 30 minutes.

The mystery surrounding how he was able to kill himself in jail comes

JEFFREY EPSTEIN as investigators have been digging into allegations of sexual abuse and conspiracy against Epstein.

An additional federal investigation was launched after the Federal Bureau of Prison said Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at a high-security jail in Manhattan. He was later pronounced dead from an apparent suicide, the BOP said. His

abrupt death cuts short a criminal prosecution that could have pulled back the curtain on the inner workings of the high-flying financier with connections to celebrities and presidents, though prosecutors have vowed to continue investigating.

Epstein had been placed on suicide watch after he was found a little over two weeks ago with bruising on his neck, according to a person familiar with the matter who wasn’t authorised to discuss it publicly. But he was taken off the watch at the end of July and therefore wasn’t on it at the time of his death, the person said.

Attorney General William Barr, calling for an investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office, said he was “appalled” to learn of Epstein’s death while in federal custody.

“Mr Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” Barr said in a statement.

Epstein, 66, had been denied bail and faced up to 45 years behind bars on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges unsealed last month. He had pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial.

The federal investigation into the allegations remains ongoing, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.

He noted in a statement Saturday that the indictment against Epstein includes a conspiracy charge, suggesting others could face charges in the case.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote y in a scathing letter to Barr that “heads must roll” after the incident. “Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him,” Sasse wrote.

POLICE fired tear gas inside a train station and in several other Hong Kong neighborhoods yesterday where protesters occupied roads in another weekend of anti-government demonstrations.

Protesters hurled bricks at officers and ignored warnings to leave before tear gas was deployed in the Sham Shui Po area, police said, calling a march there an “unauthorised assembly.” Nearby, protesters wearing gas masks gathered outside a police station in Cheung Sha Wan, as officers wearing their own protective gear looked down at them from a tall wall around the station.

Tear gas was also deployed in central Hong Kong on both sides of Victoria Harbour, in the Tsim Sha Tsui area on the Kowloon side and in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

At one point protesters blocked the entrance to a plaza to prevent police from entering. At Tsim Sha Tsui police station, authorities said, one officer was taken to the hospital after he sustained burns on his legs from a petrol bomb thrown by a protester.

A train station in Kwai Fong filled with smoke after about a dozen police officers fired tear gas inside.

It was not clear how many protesters were inside the station at the time, but it has been rare for officers to fire tear gas indoors.

“We hope the world knows that Hong Kong is not the Hong Kong it used to be,” said one protester, Louisa Ho. “China is doing more and more to pressure Hong Kong, its people and its organizations.”

Hong Kong has seen nine weeks of protests, with no end in sight. The movement’s demands include the resignation of the Chinese territory’s leader, democratic elections, the release of those arrested in earlier protests and an investigation into police use of force against the protesters.

BIDEN STILL THE DEMOCRAT TO BEAT BUT RIVALS SEE WEAKNESS DES MOINES, Iowa Associated Press

IN A barn down a gravel road in Iowa, Joe Biden tore into President Donald Trump’s moral character, declaring in one of the fiercest speeches of his campaign that the words of the American president matter.

The next day, Biden’s own words tripped him up. He told an audience in Des Moines that poor children are “just as bright and just as talented as white kids,” before immediately clarifying his remarks.

The back-to-back episodes magnified the promise and the peril of Biden’s candidacy. Three months after announcing his White House bid, he remains atop early polling for Democratic candidates, buoyed by a long history with voters and a belief among many of them that his decades of experience best position him to defeat Trump. Those attributes appear to have helped the former vice president withstand weeks of attacks on his lengthy record in politics.

But Biden’s rivals remain confident that his fumbles, like the one in Iowa this week, eventually will catch up to him, undermining

JOE Biden meets supporters before speaking in Iowa his electability argument. “He has been durable,” said David Axelrod, a longtime political strategist for President Barack Obama. “The question is whether that durability is because we aren’t fully geared into the race or whether there are inherent strengths there.”

Biden’s team has been heartened by the consistency of his

early polling numbers, despite the push from fellow candidates to cast the 76-year-old as out of step with the Democratic Party on women’s health issues and race.

Nearly every survey, both nationally and in the early primary states, shows him leading the crowded primary field, with Sens.

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris following

behind but so far unable to find a way to surpass him.

“It’s because people know him. And they don’t know just his name,” said Jack Markell, the former Delaware governor and a Biden supporter. “If it were just name recognition, these polls may look different.”

Biden’s standing in the race is the subject of much debate within

the Democratic Party. Advisers to other campaigns contend that polling at this stage of the race is often fluid, reflecting little more than name recognition. Biden aides frequently note that Trump led polls throughout the summer of 2015 and never relinquished the top spot.

What is clear is that some of Biden’s rivals see an imperative to begin taking him on aggressively.

Sanders has walloped Biden repeatedly over health care, comparing the former vice president’s opposition to a “Medicare for All” system to Trump. Harris, as well as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, has hammered Biden over comments he made about working with segregationists during his early years in the Senate.

Biden initially appeared caught off guard by the ferocity of the attacks on his 40-plus-year record in politics, particularly Harris’ blistering critique in the first debate of his past opposition to federally mandated busing to combat segregated schools. Now advisers view that moment as a much needed jolt for the candidate, making clear to Biden that he would need to draw sharper distinctions with his Democratic rivals during the primary and not just focus his fire on Trump.

THE TRIBUNE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE new $6.5 million Fishing Hole Road causeway is just about complete, but some adjustments are being made in the area to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians accessing the fish market and vendor stalls on the north side.

Central Grand Bahama MP Iram Lewis, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Works, said that work at the causeway is “progressing well”.

“It is pretty much completed, but the issue we have is that the access road to the vendor stalls on the northern side is not acceptable,” he told The Tribune.

Mr Lewis said the government’s priority is to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians. “We have gone back to the relevant authorities asking them to make some adjustments,” he explained.

Flooding at Fishing Hole Road has been a longstanding issue for Grand Bahama residents.

The road, which runs between Hawksbill Creek, is sometimes impassable as a result of major storm surge during hurricanes, and high tide during severe weather conditions.

The causeway connects West Grand Bahama and Freeport.

All Bahamas

Monday, August 12, 2019, PAGE 15

Fishing Hole Road in Grand Bahama nearing completion Construction Company (ABC) was awarded the contract to build the new causeway and fish vendors market complex, situated just north of the causeway.

The intersection at the Fishing Hole Road causeway and the access road to the fish market and vendors complex, Mr Lewis said, is unsafe to vehicular traffic and pedestrians.

He said efforts are being made to rectify the issue.

“Once completed and the slope from the bridge is done properly we will open the bridge,” Mr Lewis said.

“It has been a long time coming and we want to thank the Grand Bahama public for their patience, and we thank God there has been no hurricanes or major storm surge.”

Mr Lewis said once the government gets a confirmation date from the contractor they will be able advise the public of an official opening day.

He noted the lower road on the south side of the new causeway - would remain as a service road that would be under the management of the Traffic Authority.

WELLS: TAXI ISSUES WILL BE RESOLVED

BY OCTOBER

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

TRANSPORT and Local Government Minister Renward Wells has “promised faithfully” that by October all issues surrounding the taxi-cab industry will be resolved, according to Bahamas Taxicab Union President Wesley Ferguson.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Ferguson said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis shared the same sentiments regarding the new deadline.

He said: “It’s taxi season where all taxi drivers go up for inspection and the SDs (rental car licence plates) so by October I think most of the issues that we have, including the moratorium and the changing of the taxi plate colour, that should be addressed, because the minister did tell me the commission is still (deliberating) on that and is going to make a decision soon.”

When asked if he was confident the deadline will be honoured, Mr Ferguson said he doesn’t have any confidence because so far, he’s only received promises.

“I don’t have any confidence,” he explained. “I’m just giving them an opportunity to make good on their promises before we turn the heat back on. When you have people making you promises and they’re the authority, you have to give the opportunity. Make good on their promises or make a fool of themselves and we are giving them the opportunity before we decide to (take other steps.) It’s just a matter of time, but I don’t have any confidence in them at all.”

Mr Ferguson noted the issues the industry faces today were created by some of the ministers of the government-appointed commission.

He said: “The commission

that was appointed, most of those people were past controllers and past ministers of transport and they had the opportunity to do what we are asking them to do now. Some of them are (included) in the commission . . .I don’t see how they are going to fix something that’s going to implicate them in a negative manner.

“Timing your feet sometimes you move too early, sometimes you move too late, but you must know when to speak and when to shut up. That is what we are exercising right now, constraint. The minister said the (commission) will make a decision soon so we will determine how soon is soon.”

In May, Mr Wells said the prime minister had formed a sub-committee of six ministers to tackle all issues surrounding the taxi industry. He added the government would move forward with plans to change the colour of taxi plates.

“One is a former road traffic controller as you all would know, one is the former minister, Mr Frankie Campbell, the other is the Minister of Tourism (Dionisio D’Aguilar), myself, one is former Minister of Transport Dion Foulkes and obviously the Attorney General (Carl Bethel) so we will be coming together so we can bring the requisite solution to the situation,” Mr Wells said of the group.

In January, scores of angry taxi drivers gathered in Rawson Square to protest what they consider poor treatment and working conditions as well as “unfair” competition from tour operators.

In June, taxi drivers and jitney drivers joined forces and threatened a “massive shutdown” if government didn’t take their concerns seriously.

“That road would be barricaded and only used for the transporting of heavy equipment and machinery,” Mr Lewis explained.

He stated that it would also serve as an alternative route to get across to the other side if something should ever happen to the bridge.

Ground was officially broken on the project in December 2015.

THE $6.5m road is just about complete.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn