09132019 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

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Sands Beer dries up for six months

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

B

AHAMIANS will be unable to drink Sands Beer and its fellow beverages for six months after its Freeportbased producer “took a hell of a hit” from Hurricane Dorian’s storm surge.

Jimmy Sands, the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company’s founder, yesterday told Tribune Business that the manufacturer/distributor was likely to “be out of commission” for

• Freeport brewery takes ‘hell of a hit’ from Dorian • Founder: ‘I cannot sugarcoat’ millions in damage • Will ‘do my damnedest’ to retain 60 employees half a year after four feet of flood water penetrated its buildings and destroyed all its electrical machinery, finished product and ingredients in inventory.

Revealing that it was impossible to “sugarcoat” the damage, which is “substantial” and likely to run into the millions of dollars, BAHAMIAN BREWERY FREEPORT FACTORY

SEE PAGE 5

Dorian infrastructure rebuild to cost ‘billions and billions’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister last night predicted it will cost “billions and billions” to rebuild Abaco and east Grand Bahama’s infrastructure after the “awesome challenge” laid down by Hurricane Dorian.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told Tribune Business that “the figures are huge” although he declined to provide details ahead of further Cabinet discussions on reconstruction efforts in the category five storm’s aftermath.

Disclosing that Melanie Roach, director of public works, and her staff were “looking at everything very comprehensively” when it came to restoring public infrastructure in the storm-ravaged islands, Mr Bannister said his

• Minister warns that ‘figures are huge’ • BPL faces replacing 3,000 light poles • Storm lays down ‘awesome challenge’

DESMOND BANNISTER ministry was in the process of “making submissions to Cabinet” on the extra financing and resources required by itself and the state-owned utilities.

He revealed that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) faces the prospect of having

Dorian likely to wipe out 2019 GDP growth

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net HURRICANE Dorian’s “considerable hit to GDP” will likely cause the Bahamian economy to contract in 2019, a former finance minister saying: “We took a real beating squarely on the chin.”

James Smith, who held the post during the 2002-2007 Christie administration, told Tribune Business that rising unemployment and the sharp drop-off in commercial activity in the storm’s

JAMES SMITH wake will inevitably have “a tremendous dampening effect” on this year’s projected 1.8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

While foreign direct

SEE PAGE 3

Aliv open to BTC rebuilding request on Abaco towers

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ALIV’S top executive yesterday indicated it will respond favourably to its main competitor’s request to share mobile infrastructure in Abaco as part of postDorian restoration.

Damian Blackburn told Tribune Business that the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) co-location request would not impact “a massive number of sites” given that the two mobile rivals already share facilities in Abaco and other islands.

He spoke after Garfield “Garry” Sinclair, BTC’s chief executive, expressed hope at yesterday’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) briefing that the competitors would be able to co-operate such that they avoided “putting up a bunch of towers” of their own in restoring services following the category five storm.

“Of course we will is the answer,” Mr Blackburn responded, when asked by Tribune Business whether Aliv would agree to BTC’s request. “It’s in everybody’s interest. The main benefit is

SEE PAGE 6

to replace 3,000 electricity poles going northwards from Marsh Harbour towards Cooper’s Town, and said the government was assessing whether the utility’s transmission and distribution rebuild should “take another format”.

This likely alludes to placing electricity cables underground as opposed to the previous overhead lines, in a bid to protect them from destruction in future storms, as Mr Bannister warned The Bahamas against adopting a “rebuild as a matter of course” approach to Dorian restoration.

Conceding that Family Island development has

suffered from a “lack of planning, lack of inspection and lack of code enforcement”, the minister said policy reviews and decisions now needed to be made on building code strengthening and designating where Bahamians can build.

“We’re looking at the figures now, and the figures are huge. Quite frankly, Mr Hartnell, it’s going to be billions and billions of dollars,” Mr Bannister told Tribune Business of the likely infrastructure rebuilding costs in Abaco and east Grand Bahama. We’re actually looking to make

SEE PAGE 4

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URCA proposes up to 90% cut in call terminate fees

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net REGULATORS are proposing up to 90 percent “interim” cuts to a selection of call termination charges levied by the major Bahamian communications carriers, it was revealed yesterday.

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), unveiling proposed changes to the mobile and fixed-line call termination rates levied by the likes of Aliv, Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), said its suggestions would only apply until itself and the industry agreed more “costoriented” charges.

Four different services will be impacted by the URCAproposed changes to call termination charges, which are fees levied by communications carriers for accepting calls originating on a rival’s network that are made to their own customers and terminate on their own system.

The cuts are to be phased in over a three-year period.

Same-island fixed-line call termination fees will be reduced from the current 0.75 cents per minute to 0.53 cents in the first year, a 30 percent reduction, with URCA proposing that they ultimately fall to 0.08 cents per minute in the third year - a 90 percent cut.

Domestic mobile call termination fees, which presently stand at 2.48 cents per minute, would drop by 24 percent to 1.89 cents per minute in the first year, eventually falling to 0.72 cents in the third year.

The latter figure represents a 71 percent reduction on the present tariff, and URCA has similar proposals

for SMS text messaging and inbound international mobile call terminations. It is proposing that these tariffs, which are currently 1.4 cents and 4.61 cents per minute, be cut by 39 percent and 71 percent, respectively, by year three.

URCA explained that it was imposing the interim termination rates due to “the time elapsed” between when they were last reviewed, “and the likelihood that prevailing rates are unlikely to be representative of the current and forward-looking costs of providing termination services”.

It added that both Aliv and Cable Bahamas, which owns the controlling 48.25 percent stake in the mobile operator, had urged URCA last year to review call termination rates “to ensure they reflect efficiently-incurred costs” - and the regulator is now obliging.

URCA, in its consultation document, says the call termination charges levied by BTC, Aliv/Cable Bahamas and Internet Protocol Services International (IPSI), should be based on the Long Run Incremental Cost (LRIC) of providing these services.

“This is the forwardlooking cost that operators incur in order to provide the services,” URCA said.

“Cost-reflective rates are desirable as they ensure that operators can recover the costs involved with the provision of the service, but not over-recover costs.

“Over-recovery of costs would likely lead to higher prices for consumers on other networks as competitors increase their retail prices to cover the increased net cost of termination, whereas under-recovery

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PAGE 2, Friday, September 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

BTC RESTORES KEY MARSH HARBOUR SITE THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday said it had completed “one of our priorities” by restoring twoway mobile services from its Marsh Harbour airport site.

Garfield “Garry” Sinclair, BTC’s chief executive, said: “The Marsh Harbour airport site was one of our priority areas for this week.

Since Sunday we began testing, and were able get

two-way calls as of yesterday. Our technical teams on the ground will continue working to provide services to more of the populated areas of Abaco.”

Mobile services extend to the government complex and immediate areas surrounding Marsh Harbour airport. Mr Sinclair, together with a BTC team, visited both Marsh Harbour and Grand Bahama to assess the

restoration progress and meet with staff on the ground.

“Our services are fully operational in South Abaco, including Sandy Point, Cherokee Sound and Casuarina, and we have not had any issues in the South at all,” Mr Sinclair added.

BTC is providing free wi-fi at several locations including Culmerville Plaza, Christ the King and Church of the Ascension

BTC’s restoration team in Marsh Harbour, Abaco: From left: Betzalel Kenigsztein, chief operating officer for Liberty Latin America and chairman of the Board of Directors; Kirkwood Ferguson, senior technical manager; Garry Sinclair, BTC chief executive; Jermaine Ferguson, director; Ian Knowles, senior technical manager; Balan Nair, chief executive, Liberty Latin America; and Andre Foster, BTC’s director of technical operations. in Grand Bahama, as well as at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gym and at the Fox Hill Community Centre in New Providence.

The communications carrier will also be providing additional wi-fi spots across Grand Bahama. Mobile services have been restored to several areas including Freeport, Lewis Yard, Coral

Reef Estates, Chesapeake, Our Lucaya, South Bahamia West, Midshipman Road, West End, Eight Mile Rock, Taino Beach, Our Lucaya Hotel, The Container Port and Bootle Bay West.

Besides its network restoration efforts, BTC has evacuated more than 160 staff and their families from Abaco and Grand Bahama

to New Providence. The company has also provided more than 55,000 pounds of immediate relief supplies, and has donated generators to the emergency room doctors at the Rand Memorial Hospital. The Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation has pledged $500,000 towards relief and restoration efforts.

Banks told: Bahamas still ‘open for business’ A Cabinet minister has pledged that The Bahamas remains “open for business” despite the devastation inflicted on Abaco and Grand Bahama almost two weeks ago by Hurricane Dorian.

Elsworth Johnson, minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, told the Association of International Bank & Trust Companies’ (AIBT) Nassau Conference: “Like the recent hurricane, The Bahamas financial services industry has weathered many storms but we will stand.

“Today is no different. We are, indeed, going through an evolution; not only for the financial services industry but also for the country’s economic future. One that gives us the opportunity to chart our own course and shape our own future. Thus your theme is most appropriate.”

Mr Johnson said his ministry was embarking on several initiatives with the AIBT and the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) in a bid to ensure the industry’s sustainability.

He added that steady progress was being made in

improving the “ease of doing business” in The Bahamas, but the process takes time. “Things are improving in technology, and there are governmentwide initiatives across all departments to streamline processes, increase efficiency and alleviate red tape,” Mr Johnson said.

The minister added that changes have been made to legislation concerning Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, money laundering and terrorist financing.

Mr Johnson said Immigration matters are also being addressed. He explained that the Ministry of Financial Services, recognising

ELSWORTH Johnson speaking at the Association of International Bank & Trust (AIBT) Companies conference on Wednesday at the Baha Mar Convention Centre.

Photos: Derek Smith/BIS the importance of a modern, progressive Immigration framework for the growth of the financial services sector, has developed a new tax residency programme.

“It is anticipated that this programme will serve as a gateway to more permanent residence options for high net worth individuals and investors,” Mr Johnson said.

He added that the government will continue to seek new business for the country via promotional tours and conferences, which have been scheduled through to the end of 2019.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 3

CONTRACTORS CHIEF CALLS FOR ‘IMMEDIATE CODE REVAMP’

By YOURI KEMP THE Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday called for the country’s building codes to be “immediately revamped” as Dorian had shown they are “no longer adequate”.

Michael Pratt told Tribune Business that despite The Bahamas having “perhaps the strongest codes in the region” it could never have predicted it would face the ferocity of a storm such as Dorian.

“Our building codes need to be immediately revamped,” the BCA chief argued. “They are clearly no longer adequate, considering the strength of the storms we have been experiencing over the course of the last several years.

“We know we have good building codes for our region, and perhaps the strongest codes in the region, but we never anticipated a storm like

Dorian. We need to revamp our codes from the bottom up, and also try to lower the overall cost of our homes at the same time from a financial point of view, and also from the overall cost of our properties.”

The Bahamas Building Code was last changed in 1997 to require properties to be able to withstand 150 mile per hour winds, up from the previous 120 mile per hour stipulation. However, Dorian’s sustained category five winds were pegged at 185 miles per hour, with gusts to 220 mile per hour, far in excess of the code’s protections.

“Our habits with regard to land costs, and also with additional insurance charges on mortgages, make building strong homes too expensive,” Mr Pratt said. “It’s mandatory for persons to have insurance on our homes when they have mortgages, but the cost of insurance for homes is too high so many

persons opt-out when - and if - they can.

“We also need to look at how we build our home foundations. Do we need to make it mandatory to add piles under homes, and if some homes in Abaco and Grand Bahama did have them, how deep exactly were the piles?”

Mr Pratt continued: “We also need to examine the materials we’re using for homes. For example, should we make it mandatory to add shear walls for these homes? In addition to that, add solid walls designed with concrete and rebar, or what we call reinforcement steel, in order to sustain higher winds?

“Should we also consider adding standing seam roofs, or metal roofs? Also, [should we] make it mandatory for homes to have high impact windows, and should we encourage a national reexamination on whether or not those that currently have high impact windows

CHURCH STARTS DORIAN JOB FINDER PROGRAMME

By YOURI KEMP THE New Providence Community Church (NPCC) has started a job placement initiative to help find work for Hurricane Dorian victims temporarily housed at New Providence shelters.

Walter Ferguson, the initiative’s co-ordinator, told Tribune Business it had already enjoyed some success within its first week by placing three people who were in the emergency shelter at the Kendall Isaacs gymnasium with Musha Cay, the private island in the Exumas that is owned by world-famous illusionist, David Copperfield.

Mr Ferguson said this epitomised what the initiative is trying to achieve, adding that the trio “will receive free housing, free food and a paycheck”. He emphasised: “That’s what they need.”

The co-ordinator is now talking to other businesses pledging similar help, after the New Providence Community Church realised that Dorian victims need help in not only finding work but housing.

Mr Ferguson expressed concerns that those impacted by the category

Dorian likely to wipe out 2019 GDP growth FROM PAGE ONE investment (FDI) levels have always rebounded in the aftermath of previous major hurricanes, Mr Smith said Dorian’s ferocity and storm surges might force The Bahamas to “go back to the drawing board” when it came to construction design and location, the robustness of building materials, and where critical infrastructure was placed.

And, in the wake of the damage and oil spill at the South Riding Point terminal, the ex-Central Bank governor added that international assistance may be required to determine whether the storage tanks at that facility and BORCO were able to withstand the strongest hurricane winds.

Mr Smith said the sheer scale of Dorian’s devastation on Abaco and Grand Bahama would almost inevitably wipe out any growth prospects for The Bahamas in 2019 and cause the economy to contract.

“It has to be negative,” he told Tribune Business.

“Without going into details, the entire labour force in those islands, the second and third largest islands in the country, won’t be working for a very long time.

“Not to mention that from the revenue side businesses won’t be selling anything to anybody. I think the combined population of Grand Bahama and Abaco is about 70,000. Our labour force that is working is about 210,000 to 215,000, so about 35,000 people will not be working for months or more, perhaps even longer.”

“That’s just on the business

five storm could easily become stuck in hurricane shelters for an extended period of time, and that food supplies will ultimately be insufficient to sustain them given the demand from the storm-hit islands.

“The food stored will not be enough to last the people in the shelters,” he said. “In fact, we only have enough food on hand in our storage facilities to feed ten people for the year. We can only really pull these people up with jobs and housing support.”

Mr Ferguson is visiting the various New Providence shelters, particularly the Kendall Isaacs gymnasium, in order to pre-screen potential job candidates - particularly those ready to take work now and move out of the shelters.

He added that he has another three jobs lined up to be matched with potential applicants, and Mr Ferguson said he wants to “encourage as many companies as possible to include temporary housing support when thinking about choosing to hire someone from the temporary shelters”.

“No one can live in Abaco any more the way it is, and it may take

anywhere from six months to a year before the government can arrange for even a subdivision to be built that can house persons held up at the hurricane shelters around New Providence,” Mr Ferguson said. “People in shelters have a new normal, and need special and focused help.

“We want people to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, but this is clearly not realistic at this time, and this is an extraordinary circumstance that calls for us to help people more intensively than we have before.”

Mr Ferguson suggested that the government provide incentives to spur businesses to help more persons in these shelters. He said he wants to place 20 to 30 persons in jobs before the end of the month, and keep going until everyone in the shelters who wants to be employed and receive housing support receives this.

Mr Ferguson added that he has been working closely with the Department of Social Services, which is helping him hand out the New Providence Community Church’s basic pre-screening job application.

side,” Mr Smith continued.

“It’s [Dorian] going to compress GDP considerably. You can’t net it off against aid as it’s not part of GDP. Insurance will not be coming for a long time.

“It’s going to be a considerable hit to GDP - the size of the economic shock, and taking out a considerable part of the productive apparatus in Grand Bahama and Abaco. You have to add to that the cancellations in those areas among visitors who made arrangements to come between now and the end of the year, and next year.

“It’s going to have a tremendous dampening impact on growth. We have to rebuild infrastructure to get back to some level of output. We took a real beating squarely on the chin this time.”

Abaco’s total labour force stood at 14,255 at year-end 2018, with some 13,155 of that number employed, while the numbers for Grand Bahama were 32,710 with 28,810 having jobs. With both islands, and Abaco in particular, depopulating in Dorian’s wake and business/ commercial activity virtually non-existent in the worst-hit areas, hundreds if not thousands are likely to become unemployed.

Mr Smith, meanwhile, queried whether Bahamas-based oil storage facilities are “up to standard” following the damage and spillage at South Riding Point that caused a near-environmental disaster.

“That’s another area that has to be looked at very carefully,” he told Tribune Business. “We probably need some international assistance to look at that entire area, as it could have long-term implications for that entire region.”

The former finance minister said FDI, which The Bahamas relies on heavily to drive economic growth and

job creation, had a history of bouncing back in the aftermath of major storms that dealt a serious blow to this country.

“What might need to happen at this stage is to seriously look at the type of structure built in The Bahamas and its ability to withstand 200 mile per hour winds,” Mr Smith said. “It might mean different types of design and materials, circular buildings, buildings that are stronger and more environmentally friendly, and are built on stilts.

“I’m sure the technical people will be putting their heads together and go back to the drawing board on specific types of construction in The Bahamas.”

have them installed properly? Persons not having their high impact windows installed properly came up as a recurring issue in previous assessments post-hurricane.”

Mr Pratt said he felt the whole construction industry should be re-taught how to add materials such as piles.

“Looking forward to the restoration and repair efforts of homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco, we should also be considering if there is anything that would cause mold infestation and other things that can weaken the structure

of homes,” the BCA chief added.

“We need a complete education of our construction workforce, as well as homeowners along with banks, so people could get the best homes possible. We need to step up the game and design smart homes so we can withstand the forces of a hurricane.

“Of course all of this would incur costs, but we should encourage consumers to think rationally.

Instead of building a 3,000 square foot house without adequate protection, build a 2,000 square foot home

with the proper hurricane and catastrophic protection.

Cost is a factor, but we have to change our mentality towards this.”

Mr Pratt said the Bahamian construction industry also needed to be properly regulated. Asked about the status of the Construction Contractors Act, he added: “The Contractors Board mandated in the Act has not been set up, and the Bill is not being enforced at all. This storm could be a chance to ultimately improve the standards of the services we give our industry.”

PAGE 4, Friday, September 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Dorian infrastructure rebuild to cost ‘billions and billions’ FROM PAGE ONE certain submissions to the government with respect to the manner in which we proceed...

“We’re looking to make submissions with respect to the work we have to do at the Ministry, the work we have to do at the Water & Sewerage Corporation, and the work we have to do at Bahamas Power & Light.

All of them. We have to put them all before the government and see what may cost.”

He added that the Ministry of Works had “some idea

of what that may cost” in terms of the clean-up phase, which will be followed by repairs and restoration to critical infrastructure - much of which is likely to have been uninsured.

Roads, docks, bridges, airports, healthcare, water and electricity systems are just some of the essentials that have to be revived, and Mr Bannister said: “Anything you could think of we’re going to have to deal with. I can say this: The director of works has been looking at everything very comprehensively.

“We have some idea of the costs, but I can’t say

what those are as these are matters that have to go before Cabinet, and it would be wrong for me to publicly discuss anything I intend to take to Cabinet.” The latest Cabinet meeting was held last night.

Hurricane Dorian struck at a time when the government has been restraining capital spending on infrastructure projects to help it rein in the fiscal deficit and meet the targets set out in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The devastating storm has likely dealt a fatal blow to that strategy, and exacerbated an existing

infrastructure deficit that was branded “unquantifiable” when Mr Bannister spoke to Tribune Business in June 2019.

He revealed then that the Ministry of Works’ $93.736m capital works budget for 2019-2020 was $100m less than desired, with the former sum some $27m below the prior year’s allocation.

And, with $53.512m of the $93.736m earmarked for projects already underway, there was less than $40m available to tackle further physical infrastructure needs that are replicated across virtually every island in The Bahamas.

Dorian is likely to force a sky-high increase in such allocations, especially since the cash-strapped, lossmaking Water & Sewerage Corporation and BPL will simply be unable to finance the restoration needs from their own resources.

Mr Bannister conceded as much, telling Tribune Business yesterday: “As you know, the government currently subsidises Water & Sewerage. The rates you pay for water are grossly under the actual costs.

Whatever challenges we have with water are going to have to be covered by the government.”

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While the European Union (EU) had provided some financial assistance for the water and telecommunications recovery, the minister added that the government would still have to make “some critical investment in water” - especially on Abaco.

As for BPL, Mr Bannister said the timing of the $450m-$550m rate reduction bond issue that will refinance BPL may not align with the need for Abaco’s immediate energy system rebuild. As a result, the capital raise was unlikely to occur in time to finance Dorian restoration.

“We are more of that mind,” he added. “With BPL, we have to make some policy decisions and that is also before Cabinet as to where we go with that.”

While BPL represented “the lowest hanging fruit” for Abaco’s restoration “going south from Wilson City”, as the electricity grid in that area was least damaged, Mr Bannister said the government was assessing other options for elsewhere on the island.

“Going north through Marsh Harbour to Cooper’s Town is a bigger challenge,” Mr Bannister told Tribune Business. “BPL has some 3,000 poles there that have to be replaced or some decision taken as to whether the infrastructure takes another format.

“We have estimated pricing on the different types of options we have, and will determine as to how funding will be provided.” This appears to indicate that the government is considering whether to place BPL’s grid infrastructure underground to better protect it from future hurricanes, although

Mr Bannister declined to comment further.

“It’s going to be an awesome challenge,” he told Tribune Business of Dorian restoration. “One of the things we are looking at, I can tell you, is proper planning. What has happened in the Family Islands generally is there’s been a lack of planning, lack of inspections and lack of code enforcement.

“Our [building] code was last revised in 1997, and prior to that required protection from 120 mile per hour winds. Now it’s up to 150 miles per hour. A policy decision has to be made with respect to wind speed, with respect to flood plains, and with respect to water levels.

There are a number of challenges we have to look at with moving ahead and planning.

“What I’m saying is this cannot just be rebuilding as a matter of course. There has to be planning in the process, significant inspections, and there has to be enforcement. The Ministry of Works is busy looking at these aspects.”

Mr Bannister said he was unable to predict how long infrastructure rebuilding in the Dorian-ravaged areas will take. Pointing to the logistical difficulties facing the recovery efforts, he said an immediate problem facing BPL and Water & Sewerage repair crews was a lack of suitable accommodation in both east Grand Bahama and Abaco.

“The whole process is not a process that should be rushed,” he added. “We have to restore to Bahamians the dignity of life and dignity of accommodation as quickly as possible, but it’s not an overnight process.”

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PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The public is hereby advised that I, NOAH BRYSEN CLARKE RUSSELL of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas, intend to change my name by Deed Poll to NOAH BRYSEN FRANKLYN RUSSELL. If there are any objections to the change of name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of this publication notice.

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QUARTZ PTC LTD. Registration No. IBC 203145 B

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THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 5

Sands Beer dries up for six months FROM PAGE ONE Mr Sands pledged to “do my damnedest” and “everything in my power” to retain his 60 brewery staff and keep them employed.

Voicing optimism that the Sands producer will be able to rebuild, he conceded that recovery will “be a long haul” but said himself, fellow shareholders and management “had nothing before” when they launched the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company just 12 years ago.

Mr Sands added that the brewery had been constructed some six-anda-half feet above ground level to prevent flooding associated with hurricanes, but it was no match for “the perfect storm” that Dorian proved to be.

“We took a hell of a hit, with three-and-a-half to four feet of water through the brewery,” he told Tribune Business. “That hi-tech machinery doesn’t go together well with four feet of sea water so, as a result, we’re going to be out of commission for some time.

“I think we’ll be out, me speaking as a layman, at least six months. A lot of the machines are out. They’re only good for crawfish now.

There was a tremendous amount of electrical equipment and all that takes time to put back together. I wish I could sugarcoat it another way but that’s how it is. It’s terrible. It was a disaster.”

Mr Sands said the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company was “very fortunate” to have been fully insured, and he had been informed by loss adjusters that they were supposed to visit the property today to conduct a damage assessment and begin the claims process.

“I’m damn lucky to have insurance,” he added, “but when you have this sort of thing it far exceeds the claim. We took another very big hit in inventory. All the pallets toppled down all over the place because of the water.

“It is all over the ground; finished product, imported goods. Everything came down, whether rum, gin, whiskey and finished product. With four feet of water inside a warehouse, things don’t stand up any more.

The boxes at the bottom

became wet and couldn’t stand up, and the pallets came crashing down.

“We had three people at the brewery during Dorian.

The first half of the storm, I said: ‘Man, we’ve dodged a bullet’. The second half of the storm, when I called in, they said: ‘Jimmy, the water’s inside the place’.

We have a bar upstairs, and they took refuge in the bar,” Mr Sands continued.

“We raised that whole brewery six-and-a-half feet, put a tremendous amount of fill in there in anticipation of this sort of thing happening, but this was the perfect storm. It was far greater than anyone every anticipated.”

Besides the brewery’s machinery and warehoused product, Dorian’s floodwaters have also knocked out its reverse osmosis plant and key inventory ingredients such as hops, sugar and yeast. Salvage and cleanup efforts were underway at the property yesterday, while its technical advisers from Hamburg, Germany, have already arrived to assess and inspect the damaged machinery.

Mr Sands promised to to everything to retain the brewery’s current 60-strong workforce, telling Tribune Business: “I’m going to do my damnedest to keep them on because they’re a good crew and there is a lot of work to do here. I’ll do everything in my power to keep them on because they’re a good bunch of people.”

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company’s Dorian-related woes also extent to Abaco, where the category five storm’s winds and storm surges wiped out the company’s sole retail store on the island. “To put it bluntly, there’s nothing left,” Mr Sands confirmed.

Yet he remains determined to rebuild despite the devastation, adding that the support of the wider community and the government was key to a rebuilding process he and fellow shareholders are already committed to.

“If everybody pitches in I feel confident it can be done,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business. “It’s going to be a long, hard road, but I feel confident it can be done. We’ve come this far already when we had nothing before, and at least we

have something to build it back on.

“It’s not our first walk in the park. This is going to be a hard one, but we’ll get the job done. We just have to start again. You know what my dad told me many years ago? He said; ‘Son, anyone can quit, but it takes a good person to go ahead.

I remember that many, many times.

“My dad was a strong guy. I just hope I have a little piece of what he had.

He came up the hard way, and I don’t want to do that, but I don’t have a choice. It will be a tough one but we’ll make it. We have to start again, rebuild and go again.

We cannot give up. It’s a part of the community.”

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company has carved out a strong niche in this nation’s liquor manufacturing, distribution and retail market since its founding in 2007.

It has been able to establish itself despite having to contend with the competitive challenge posed

by BISX-listed Commonwealth Brewery, which is backed by 75 percent majority owner, Heineken, the global beverage giant.

Besides its Sands Beer staple, the Grand Bahama-based brewery also produces brands such as Sands Light, Strong Back Stout, High Rock Lager, Bush Crack Beer, Triple B Malt and Sands Passion Radler. It recently moved to an expanded three-acre warehouse and office complex in Nassau’s Airport Industrial Park to serve its continued growth on New Providence.

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company scored a major victory in 2015 when it won the Bahamian distribution contract for Budweiser and all brands produced

by Anheuser-Busch from Commonwealth Brewery.

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NOTICE To Our Valued Customers: Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited is committed to providing assistance to persons impacted by Hurricane Dorian, particularly our valued customers from Abaco and Grand Bahama, who experienced direct impact from this devastating storm.

Our branch in Freeport (Grand Bahama) is open. Our branch in Marsh Harbour (Abaco) is closed until further notice.

To ensure that our customers from these islands — who have relocated elsewhere — continue to receive the level of care, attention and service to which they are accustomed, Fidelity has instituted a special Customer Assistance Program that is being led by the following persons:

Marsh Harbour (Abaco) Customers Tennessee Bowe Office: 1 (242) 356-7764 ext. 3906 Mobile: 357-6589 tennessee.bowe@fidelitybahamas.com Shenell Gibson Office: 1 (242) 356-7764 ext. 5016 Mobile: 823-7619 shenell.gibson@fidelitybahamas.com

Freeport (Grand Bahama) Customers Bridget Forbes Office: 1 (242) 356-7764 ext. 5010 Mobile: 422-0315 Mobile: 451-7066 Mobile: 828-9761 bridget.forbes@fidelitybahamas.com Bengena LaFleur Office: 1 (242) 356-7764 ext. 6008 Mobile: 808-4010 Mobile: 818-9760 bengena.lafleur@fidelitybahamas.com Kandi Wright Office: 1 (242) 356-7765 ext. 6020 Direct: 397-4538 Mobile: 806-2046 kandi.wright@fidelitybahamas.com

PAGE 6, Friday, September 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

URCA proposes up to 90% cut in call terminate fees FROM PAGE ONE of costs may undermine incentives to invest. It could further result in competitive distortions.”

Unveiling a “benchmarking” exercise it has conducted to compare call termination costs in The Bahamas with other nations, URCA said those for same-island

fixed line calls were higher than for all countries in the sample with the exception of the Cayman Islands.

“It is clear that the prevailing intra-island rate in

The Bahamas is significantly higher than all other jurisdictions within the sample, with the exception of the Cayman Islands, with the current rate in The Bahamas exceeding all three sample averages by 44 percent to 90 percent,” the regulator charged.

“Similarly, mobile call termination rates in The Bahamas are also relatively high at around three times the average pure LRICbased rate in the sample.”

It acknowledged, though, that “the picture is less clear” for SMS text messaging, although “it is clear that rates in The Bahamas are above those in several other jurisdictions within the

benchmarking sample”.

Still, URCA concluded that there was a case for its intervention, stating: “Despite this variance in SMS termination rates, it is clear that, overall, across the three services the prevailing fixed and mobile termination rates in The Bahamas are above those observed, on average, across the benchmarking sample.

“This suggests that, unless there are exogenous factors which would reasonably cause LRIC for these services to be significantly higher in The Bahamas than in the other benchmark countries, termination rates in The Bahamas are

likely, currently, to be above the incremental costs of providing such services in The Bahamas.”

Emphasising that its proposed rates were intended to “start the transition” to cost-efficient rates, the regulator added: “In the absence of URCA making an interim adjustment to rates, the difference between LRIC-based rates and existing rates in The Bahamas is likely to grow.

“URCA considers that this is problematic because setting rates above incremental costs is inefficient, and these costs are also likely to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.”

Aliv open to BTC rebuilding request on Abaco towers

DAMIAN BLACKBURN FROM PAGE ONE speed. We were co-locating on some towers in Abaco and Grand Bahama, and there’s going to be a need to rebuild some of them.

“Given what Garry said this morning, I expect BTC to request some from us and we may need to agree to jointly rebuild. It’s not a massive number of sites; I expect it to be a handful. Hopefully we’ll make a joint statement when we work out more details.”

Mr Blackburn told Tribune Business that Aliv “didn’t lose any tower structures

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

THURSDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,169.31 | CHG: 0.11 | %CHG: 0.01 | YTD: 59.86 | YTD%: 2.84 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 20.91 7.00 5.92 2.60 2.00 5.47 11.75 6.17 4.64 12.40 2.81 2.64 10.00 7.35 15.60 9.30 3.65 14.20

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 4.90 4.46 1.00 0.19 2.00 9.17 6.15 3.60 6.75 2.35 1.75 7.51 6.10 12.10 6.20 3.01 13.00

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

52WK HI 2.25 4.31 2.06 191.61 158.55 1.63 1.77 1.71 1.17 7.89 9.35 6.80 11.39 12.15 10.63 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.56 1.68 1.65 1.09 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

LAST CLOSE 4.10 17.43 6.00 5.92 2.46 1.80 5.14 11.06 6.16 4.07 7.50 2.98 2.64 10.36 7.00 15.55 9.20 3.35 14.20

CLOSE 4.10 17.43 6.00 5.92 2.46 1.80 4.70 11.06 6.16 4.07 7.50 3.07 2.64 10.37 7.00 15.55 9.20 3.35 14.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.44 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

VOLUME

42,280

500

VOLUME

NAV 2.25 4.31 2.06 191.61 158.33 1.63 1.77 1.71 1.17 7.89 9.35 6.80 11.39 12.15 10.63 9.92 8.68 11.38

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 1.760 0.369 0.070 0.000 -0.438 0.722 0.449 0.184 0.140 0.102 0.467 0.000 0.728 0.816 0.939 0.203 0.631

DIV$ 0.160 1.260 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.068 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 17.2 18.7 N/M 16.0 N/M N/M -10.7 15.3 13.7 22.1 53.6 30.1 5.7 N/M 9.6 19.1 9.8 16.5 22.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 3.90% 7.23% 0.00% 4.22% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 6.51% 3.57% 2.95% 0.00% 2.21% 2.27% 3.16% 3.43% 3.47% 2.17% 3.58% 4.30% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD%12 MTH% 2.15% 3.88% 1.61% 4.11% 1.53% 2.74% 3.85% 6.28% 7.12% 2.08% 1.91% 4.55% 1.45% 4.30% 1.67% 4.21% 4.75% 7.44% 5.53% 8.48% 8.12% 12.28% 3.03% 4.85% 9.83% 0.60% 3.92% 3.72% 2.47% 3.16% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%

NAV Date 31-Jul-2019 31-Jul-2019 26-Jul-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-Jul-2019 31-Jul-2019 31-Jul-2019 31-Jul-2019 31-Jul-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

GARRY SINCLAIR

at all” on Abaco or Grand Bahama despite the ferocity of Dorian’s category five winds and extensive storm surge.

“All our tower structures in Abaco and Grand Bahama stood up strong,” he added.

“Yesterday I spoke to someone who represents the GSM Association, who was offering us assistance, and had been involved in lots of previous events.

“When I told him that the network worked throughout a category five hurricane in Freeport he couldn’t believe it. We had good design, good preparation, but at the end of the day if anyone says you don’t need a good dose of luck mixed in with

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that they’re not telling the truth. We’ve been extremely fortunate.”

Mr Blackburn told yesterday’s NEMA briefing that Aliv had restored coverage on its networks where “80 percent of the population live and work” on Grand Bahama and Abaco in Dorian’s aftermath, describing this as “an unprecedented effort”.

He added that both BTC and Aliv had met yesterday and made “progress” towards reaching an agreement on the terms of the national roaming arrangement that regulators had requested they implement so that each other’s customers could use their networks free of charge.

BTC wants mobile and voice data to be free on Abaco and Grand Bahama for a period of 30 days, but Aliv’s position is that this need only be for 14 days.

BTC, meanwhile, said it has suspended its voluntary separation (VSEP) initiative in Dorian’s aftermath.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE International Business Companies Act No.45 of 2000

OEDF INVESTMENT FUND LTD. (the “Company”)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of OEDF INVESTMENT FUND LTD. has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was the 21st day of August, 2019.

Luciane Ribeiro Moreno Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE International Business Companies Act No.45 of 2000

FFC Investments Fund Ltd. (the “Company”)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of FFC Investments Fund Ltd. has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was the 4th day of September, 2019.

Luciane Ribeiro Moreno Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 7

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SENATE Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky, arrives for a news conference following a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. Fights over abortion and President Donald Trump’s US-Mexico border wall have thrown Senate efforts to advance $1.4tn worth of agency spending bills into disarray, threatening one of Washington’s few bipartisan accomplishments this year.

Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP

GOP rejects cuts to wall funding, Dems threaten filibuster WASHINGTON Associated Press A REPUBLICAN-controlled Senate committee yesterday rejected Democratic attempts to cut President Donald Trump’s latest border wall request and prevent him from again funding the project without congressional approval.

Democrats threatened to filibuster a Pentagon spending bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee lined up behind Trump in party-line votes giving preliminary, tentative approval to Trump’s latest $5bn wall request and blocking a Democratic attempt to prevent Trump from transferring additional Pentagon funds to build the border barrier. The votes came as the panel approved an almost $700bn funding bill for the Defense Department.

The votes came amid tensions on the committee, which is responsible for $1.4tn worth of agency funding bills reacquired to fill in the details of this summer’s budget and debt deal. That deal reversed cuts that were aimed at the Pentagon and domestic programmes, while increasing the government’s borrowing cap so it would not default on its payments and Treasury notes.

The committee chairman, Sen Richard Shelby, R-Ala, had hoped to approve two other bills, a $55bn foreign aid measure and a $178bn health and education funding measure that’s the largest domestic spending bill.

But Republicans stood to lose abortion-related votes that would have aligned those measures with companion bills passed by the Democratic-controlled House, so Shelby postponed the votes.

Democrats complained that Shelby, following the lead of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, was shortchanging the popular health and education measure to fund Trump’s $5bn request for his border wall.

They also were furious about Trump’s moves to raid $3.6bn in military base construction projects to pay for 11 additional border fence segments totaling 175 miles in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Republicans on the panel such as Roy Blunt of Missouri, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are poised to again join Democrats in a separate effort to reverse Trump’s $3.6bn manoeuvre, but Trump can simply veto the measure.

But Republicans voted down proposals by the committee’s top Democrat, Sen Patrick Leahy of Vermont, to block Trump from repeating the maneuver in the future. They also defeated a Democratic

proposal to shift $3.6bn from Trump’s latest border wall request — he’s asked for $5bn more — to other domestic accounts.

Those moves led Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to threaten a Democratic filibuster unless Republicans offer concessions now on the wall money.

“What happens in the next few days and weeks will determine whether we can proceed with a bipartisan appropriations process this fall or not,” Schumer said.

Despite some tensions on the committee, both sides said they would work to keep the bills on track.

McConnell promised the end results will be fair.

“In the end, the Democratic majority in the House should be able to protect what your priorities are,” McConnell said, addressing the Democratic side of the committee.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, criticised the Senate developments, as well as Trump’s recent moves to raid military construction projects for schools and day care centers, to pay for the border fence.

“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the children will pay for the president’s wall,” Pelosi said. “This is some kind of an ego wall for the president.”

The issues that caused Shelby to cancel votes on the health and education and foreign aid bills included an amendment by Sen Patty Murray, D-Wash, to overturn a Trump executive order that takes away federal family planning money from organisations such as Planned Parenthood that counsel women about their abortion options.

Planned Parenthood announced last month that it would stop accepting that money rather than comply with an administration edict to abide by the abortion counseling ban.

Murray’s amendment probably would have passed the committee, where two pro-abortion rights Republicans would likely have sided with her.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, also could have prevailed in a similar abortion-related matter on the foreign aid bill.

Shelby said the Democratic amendments would have derailed the two bills.

“I am determined to keep the budget agreement intact and the appropriations process on track,” Shelby said. “Therefore, where we are able to advance appropriations bills consistent with the budget agreement, we will do so. Where we cannot, we will not. It’s that simple.”

The committee has a history of smoothing over its differences in the interest of passing legislation, and both sides want to

press on and work out the challenges. For instance, the panel unanimously approved a $49bn measure for the Energy Department, nuclear weapons programs and water projects.

Congressional negotiations will eventually work toward a compromise that can pass both chambers.