PAGE 2, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
‘I pledge to work hard to from page one speech before a crowd of jubilant supporters gathered at the New Bight, Cat Island airport last night. He spoke shortly after he was re-elected as the member of Parliament for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador — an area he has represented since 2002. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, Mr Davis will now steer the country through a tumultuous period of mounting debt, double digit unemployment numbers and stagnant economic growth. “It is time to face our challenges and face them head on,” he said. “You voted for a new day, a new beginning.” He thanked those who voted for him, and for those who didn’t, he promised to
win them over. because you were afraid of Striking a cord of unity, being exposed to the virus; he said: “To those who the protocols for protecting voted PLP today – I prom- voters were only published ise to work hard to justify at the last minute. your faith in “But I want us. To those ‘But I want to to say tonight who voted – whether you for a different say tonight – voted PLP or party today whether you for another – I pledge to party, whether voted PLP or for you came out work hard to overcome your another party, to vote or you doubts. weren’t able whether you “Many of to vote—our you didn’t vote came out to vote government at all today – or you weren’t will serve all because the able to vote — Bahamians.” snap election Although the took you by our government full election surprise and will serve all results were you weren’t Bahamians.’ not known up able to registo press time, ter on time, or with the Parbecause transferring from liamentary Registration one constituency to another Department promising was deliberately made too finalised results by tonight, difficult for you. Many SEE NEXT PAGE of you didn’t vote today
THE NEW Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Philip “Brave” Davis, celebrating after the party’s victory was confirmed, with Dr Hubert Minnis conceding to Mr Davis in a telephone call.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 3
overcome your doubts’ from previous page outgoing Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis conceded defeat to Mr Davis around 8.50pm. Aides to Mr Davis, who was surrounded by PLP supporters at the Fountain Bay Resort, hushed the excited crowd as the two political rivals spoke. The 70-year-old enjoyed a joke with Dr Minnis during the cordial three minute call. The crowd burst into cheers and music began to blare from speakers after Mr Davis informed supporters of Dr Minnis’ concession. Buoyed by reports from their field workers, PLP insiders were extremely confident of victory well before polls officially closed, with some already discussing the challenges and opportunities the party will face in government before the first poll closures. Once news of the party’s win broke in New Providence, party supporters rushed to PLP headquarters on Farrington Road in celebration. Supporters also held motorcades, with some dancing in the streets despite the rainy weather. Mr Davis later told reporters he was elated by the result and the efforts of his team. He said he will not “waste time” getting down to business and selecting Cabinet ministers. He said he planned to consider Cabinet posts last night. “We will be hitting the road from day one,” he said. The partial unofficial
PLP celebrations begin in earnest as the news comes through that the party has won the election. results shows that the PLP appeared to decisively win the election as Bahamians continued the trend of voting against the incumbent party, setting Mr Davis
on path to become the fifth prime minister in the country’s history. Mr Davis, whose rags to riches story featured prominently in the PLP’s
campaign, will ascend to the role of prime minister after spending five years as deputy prime minister between 2012 and 2017. Last night he called his win
Photos: PLP an “improbable journey.” “If you had seen me as a small child, running around and playing here in Cat Island, you might not have thought ‘now there is
a future prime minister.’ I would never have dared to dream such a thing myself! But we never know what God has in store for us,” he said.
THE NEW Prime Minister, Philip “Brave” Davis, alongside his wife, Ann Marie, family members and supporters at last night’s victory speech.
PLP supporters ready for a win outside Centreville Primary School polling station earlier in the day.
Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
PAGE 4, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
CELEBRATIONS under way last night at the PLP headquarters. Photo: Earyel Bowleg
LESLIA Brice greeting voters at the Sadie Curtis Primary School polling division yesterday and, above, supporters at the polls.
Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 13
FNM and PLP supporters outside polling stations yesterday. from previous page officers. That’s unacceptable. You can’t have that and it’s bothersome especially when you have international observers who are here viewing the process. We want them to see that we’re civil and can conduct free and fair elections and that’s what it ought to be about.” At Thelma Gibson Primary School, in the Elizabeth constituency, the line that formed before 8am quickly moved once constituents were allowed to wait at their polling divisions. They waited patiently while socially distanced. “It wasn’t bad at all. It was quick and simple. I was in and out in probably like 15, 20 minutes,” said voter Wayne Taylor. “They had everything spaced out correctly. Personally, I didn’t have any issues with it. Everything was okay from my end.” Voter Ashton Stubbs also commented on the quickness of the process as well. He said: “The process was really smooth, the lines moved quickly and the process was really organised. Good social distancing in place. “At the polling divisions, they had chairs that separated persons from one another. Social distancing was enforced and so it was a
Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
really good process. Really organised.” However, when asked about satisfaction with the protocols being followed, former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands said he had some concerns. “You know as you look around some people are following the protocols other people are not. In the rooms, I believe that protocols are quite safe,” he explained. “You know if you recall when you went in they would’ve had you sanitise and they had to sanitise your thumb, sanitise your pencil and so on and so forth. So from that point of view I think it’s safe. The number of people in the room is not great, but this many people in the same place we gotta be worried.” The scenes at the polls paled by comparison to the thousands of people that queued for the advanced poll last week. JoBeth Coleby-Davis, the PLP’s candidate for Elizabeth, noted yesterday was a “complete contrast to how disorganised the advanced poll was.” A few polls closed late yesterday, with voting extended at several locations. Reporting by Tanya Smith-Cartwright, Leandra Rolle and Earyel Bowleg.
A COUPLE after casting their votes at the St Andrews School polling division.
LESLIA Brice throws up the PLP sign at the Sadie Curtis Primary School Polling division. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
A COUPLE after casting their votes at the St Andrews School Polling division. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 5
From a humble start to leader of the nation By Cara Hunt
IT is a new day in The Bahamas as attorney Philip ‘Brave’ Davis has risen from humble beginnings to lead the Progressive Liberal Party to a massive landslide victory in yesterday’s general election. The new Prime Minister took advantage of the frustrations of Bahamians in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic convincing them to “Ride the Wave with Brave.” Mr Davis grew up from humble beginnings in Cat Island where he attended the Old Bight All School, before moving to Nassau to attend Eastern Senior High School and St John’s College. “My grandfather could not read or write,” he has said. “He and my grandmother were subsistence farmers on Cat Island. And my father and mother left at the age of 13, barely literate. “For most of my young life, I lived in Rolle Avenue. So, when I talk about our Over-the-Hill communities, I know what I’m talking about. No ‘silver spoon’ for me. I have worked and lived
among you my entire life. “I know what it is to go to work, mixing mortar in the heat of the day, hoping and praying to get an honest pay at the end of the day. I know what it is like to have one good pants and busted shoes. “When I see a child walking in the road because he doesn’t have any money for the bus, I’ve been that child. I know what he’s thinking. I know what his parents are dreaming about. And I know the barriers that are standing in his way – and I want to knock down those barriers, give him a chance that education afforded me. I want all Bahamians to live lives of dignity and purpose, not just the ones born to wealth or privilege.” Mr Davis was called to the Bahamas Bar in 1975 and was a partner in the law firm of Christie Ingraham and Co. With his victory yesterday, he is the third partner to become Prime Minister following on the heels of Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie. He became Mr Christie’s deputy leader in November 2009 and served as the nation’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development from 2012 to 2017.
He was first elected the Member of Parliament for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador in 2002 and was once again returned to that seat yesterday. In 2017, he was appointed Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition defeating Glenys Hanna Martin at the party’s National Convention that year. While he counts his efforts to improve the quality of homes in the Family Islands as his primary achievement as Minister of Works, he has also faced scandal with allegations of conflict of interest, including the BAMSI fire. There were also questions regarding his ties with former Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard, who is facing extradition from Canada on federal sex trafficking charges in the US. However, he has stated as a father and grandfather he was appalled by the allegations. Mr Davis says the incoming PLP government is ready with new energy, and new ideas. With the pandemic still raging and the economic challenges the country still faces, he and his cabinet certainly have their work cut out for them.
THUMBS up for a new leader as voters cast their ballot yesterday.
NEW Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis addressing the nation last night in this image from video.
Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
Death Notice For
Ernel Rollington Heastie, 86
of Marathon Estates and formerly of Spring Point, Acklins died at his residence on Friday, September 10th, 2021.
Memories of his life journey will be forever in the hearts of his sons: Ernel Heastie II and Roscoe Heastie; daughters: Judith Heastie, Valderine Heastie, Daphne Harrison, Sonia Malcom, Bernadette Heastie and Lauren Heastie; sister: Cynthia Heastie; grandchildren: Cordero Heastie, Krystina Lockhart, Christopher McKinney, Ryan, Rayne, Ross & Pierrica Heastie, Dayne & Daley Harrison, Richea Heastie, Raegan Jones, Jennifer McCartney, Tiffany Williams and Jason Jones and other relatives and friends. ZANE LIGHTBOURNE, who won the race in Yamacraw, pictured at the St Andrew’s School polling division yesterday.
Arrangements for the funeral service are being finalized and details will be announced at a future date.
PAGE 6, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
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A new day indeed, as Minnis pays price IT’S hard to imagine. Just four years ago the FNM swept to power with a huge majority giving it licence to do as it wished for the benefit of the country. All that stood against them was an Opposition of just four MPs – Philip “Brave” Davis and his three colleagues – the only survivors of the electoral rout. How radical would Dr Hubert Minnis be in the coming years? There were promises made during the campaign that excited the voters, but were they really interested in them or was the PLP’s humiliation more the response of an electorate - of all shades - sick to the back teeth of how Prime Minister Perry Christie and his party had behaved in office. The Minnis administration started off with several high profile prosecutions stemming from the PLP’s time in office. Neither succeeded. Then came Oban - a disastrous plan to allow the American company to build a huge refinery on Grand Bahama. The Tribune quickly exposed the shabby credentials of the men behind the project – one described as an international logistics expert when in fact his last job was as a used car salesman. By the time an Oban official was caught signing another Oban executive’s name on the filmed Heads of Agreement ceremony, the deal was dead. You could forgive Minnis and his men of making a newbie mistake but it should never have happened if they’d simply done their homework. So we waited for the big ideas, the campaign trail promises to be delivered to change the FNM story to the good but there was very little to get excited by. Minnis resorted at the end of his first year in office to turn the guns on illegal Haitian migrants, ordering them to return home “by Christmas”. Increasing the VAT rate to 12 percent was a kick in the teeth for many businesses and families. They were starting to feel it wasn’t the people’s time after all. We rolled on ‘til September 2019 when Dorian raced in – and in destroying Abaco and large swathes of Grand Bahama, Minnis’ hopes of an easy ride through to 2022 were over. Maybe yesterday the results would have been different if the government’s response had been as massive as it should have been. Then there was a list of promises not
kept, from term limits for Prime Ministers to regulating campaign finance, and time was starting to run out. The PLP was gaining ground, but not through its arguments in the Assembly – at one point marked by the number of times Brave led his band out of the House. And then COVID. It is hard to point to any country, anywhere and say they have done a great job since the pandemic broke on the world. The United Kingdom – probably the most vaccinated nation by percentage of population – got there with an appalling number of deaths. Minnis tried, following his experts’ advice, drawing on his own medical experience and the need to keep the nation safe while not killing its economy. It was – and remains – an impossibly hard balancing act especially when there is such huge reluctance to take the now available vaccines. To keep things going, keep food getting to those who needed it, he borrowed funds from abroad at unprecedented levels. Then suddenly there was talk of an election which, eventually, he called early. That itself ran counter to his earlier promises, with a campaign pledge for fixed election dates now broken. “Brave” and his party were suddenly back in a real fight with loads of ammunition to throw at Minnis – some deserved, others just the normal bluster of an election season. For a public tired of COVID, many still out of work, it was the examination of the FNM over the last four years not what “Brave” was offering which sent us running back in the opposite direction from the one voters took just a few years ago. Now “Brave” has his hands on the wheel and it will be fascinating to see how he drives this administration. The Tribune, genuinely, wishes him luck because it is in our and everyone’s interests for the government – any government – to serve the people well. If we see a misstep we’ll call it out. If we see a policy that’s progressive, we’ll support it. That’s our job. But please, Mr Davis, hit the ground running. You know the mistakes the Christie administration made and those of this now departed FNM administration so you should know what to avoid. We pray you do serve us well.
DR Hubert Minnis with FNM supporters yesterday.
Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
Minnis staying on to lead FNM in opposition from page one His statement was preceded by widespread predictions that the FNM had lost the election to the PLP by a wide margin. An air of silence and disappointment cloaked the now opposition party’s headquarters on Mackey Street last night, evidenced by virtually no supporters gathered there. But over on Farrington Road and other portions of the island, PLPs were in celebratory mode over the fact that their leader— a man who has been in front line politics since 2002 and was
once deputy prime minister under a previous PLP government — had now been elevated as leader of the country. Ultimately, Dr Minnis’ universal food programme for school children among other last minute campaign promises were not enough to clinch victory. “Tonight I spoke with leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Philip Davis and offered my congratulations to him and his party on their victory at the polls,” Dr Minnis, who retained his Killarney seat, said in a statement issued by the party. “I will lead the Free
jamaaltheartist@gmail.com
DR Hubert Minnis speaking to the press yesterday after voting.
National Movement into the House as the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition,” that statement continued. “The Bahamas has a proud democratic tradition. The people decide who serves as government. “Our party presented its vision for the future to Bahamians from the northern islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, all the way to the southern islands of MICAL. The people determined that they preferred the Progressive Liberal Party. My party and I accept that result. We are proud of our record over the past four-plus years.” SEE NEXT PAGE
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 7
EMPTY seats at the Free National Movement headquarters last night - void of supporters, candidates and ministers as results were tallied.
Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
DR Hubert Minnis arriving to cast his vote at New Providence Community Centre yesterday. from previous page Dr Minnis said his party’s term in office was marked by immense challenges. Despite this, he said there were numerous accomplishments for the betterment of Bahamians. “During our term we faced the most difficult times in Bahamian history. In September 2019, Abaco, the Abaco Cays and Grand Bahama were struck by the strongest storm to hit The Bahamas. Hurricane Dorian was one of the strongest storms recorded on our planet. It caused generational destruction to our northern islands. Six months later, we were in the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout each crisis my government worked hard to assist the Bahamian people. On the northern islands we have had to rebuild roads, water systems, schools, docks, bridges and other critical infrastructure. “In the pandemic, we provided tens of millions of dollars per month in food and unemployment benefits to citizens, along with tax credits to businesses. We fought hard to secure more than half a million doses of three of the best vaccines in the world. “The FNM has a proud legacy. We have governed The Bahamas over four terms. Our philosophy is to use the resources of government to provide
opportunity to those who have historically been without. “That is why we invested in free pre-school, providing early education to thousands of children. That is why we invested in free tertiary education at the University of The Bahamas and BTVI,” he said. “That is why we created the Over-the-Hill initiative to benefit people in grassroots communities with tax concessions and development assistance. That is why we invested record amounts in Family Island infrastructure. “That is why we created the Small Business Development Centre, extending millions of dollars to help Bahamians realise their dreams. Our belief in the Bahamian people was also evidenced in the manifesto we ran on in this election. We pledged a universal school meals programme, expanded access to after school programmes, $250 million to Bahamian small businesses over five years, expanded access to Crown land, support for the arts and agriculture and fisheries, along with many more policies for the people.” Dr Minnis said while the FNM did not win this time, the next generation of FNMs should stay firm to the party’s ideals. “Always put the people first, and be honest in government. The people have asked us to be the
DR Hubert Minnis arriving to cast his vote yesterday.
opposition. We will ensure the people’s resources are spent properly. We will ensure there is accountability. We will oppose when necessary. We will agree when the government’s plans are in the best interests of the people.” He thanked his wife Patricia, his family for their support and the officers and members of the FNM. Further, he expressed gratitude to Bahamians for his time being as prime minister. “You are a strong, hardworking and resilient people. Hurricane Dorian did not break you. The pandemic has not broken you. “You trust in the God who has brought us this far. Trust that He will bring us further to brighter times. Again, thank you. And may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” Dr Minnis said. Shortly after he voted in the Killarney constituency earlier yesterday, Dr Minnis said he thought his party did a remarkable job. He also responded to criticism that this election was called at the wrong time. “I would only say when is the best time?” Dr Minnis said at New Providence Community Centre on Blake Road. “Canada called an election. (The) United States had an election. Jamaica had an election. Bermuda had an election, and a host of other countries had an election. The question that one should ask, let’s assume that we had waited until May, and we were still in the pandemic. Do you think the opposition would have allowed us to delay it until we came out of the pandemic? “We say we need an extra six months to come out of the pandemic, you think they would? So, when is the right time?” Asked whether he had concerns about low voter turnout, Dr Minnis said he was of the view that Bahamians were very anxious to vote as it was their constitutional right. He said he anticipated that more than 90 percent of the electorate would turn out to vote.
MICROPHONES but no one to speak at the Free National Movement HQ last night.
Minnis term was dogged by disaster By CARA HUNT AFTER a four-year term plagued by devastating hurricanes and a global pandemic, Dr Hubert Minnis was unable to convince the Bahamian people to re-elect him. Dr Minnis was the country’s first non-attorney or career politician to be elected prime minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. He handily won the 2017 general election defeating former Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Progressive Liberal Party. That election saw Mr Christie lose his seat in the Centreville (formerly Farm Road) constituency, which he had represented for more than 40 years. Dr Minnis rose from humble beginnings, born in Bain Town to Rosalie North, a struggling seamstress, and Randolph Minnis, the proprietor of the well-known Minnis Service Station on Market Street. Growing up Dr Minnis attended Our Lady’s Primary School, Western Junior and St Augustine’s College – he also worked a number of jobs growing up to help his family afford his tuition, including selling
newspapers, shining shoes and working as a tailor. His hard work paid off as he became the first member of his family to attend college, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota and then a medical degree from the University of the West Indies. After becoming a MRCOG (Member of Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) from London in 1985, Dr Minnis returned to Nassau and practised at the Princess Margaret Hospital. During his 22-year career, he delivered more than 5,000 babies, the largest being 14lbs at birth. He has also served as a former president of the Medical Association of the Bahamas, a member of the Medical Council, the chairman of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas, and an associate lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr Minnis entered politics in 2007 running in the Killarney constituency. At that time, he said that he had accomplished most of what he wanted to in medicine. “Everything in life is about timing. I want to continue to be of service,
but now just in a different capacity,” he said. After he won his seat as Killarney’s member of Parliament in 2007, Dr Minnis was named minister of health, a position he held throughout the FNM’s term between 2007 and 2012. He led the party to victory in 2017 following internal party conflicts, including two leadership challenges. However, the Minnis administration encountered problem after problem, including the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Dorian and, of course, the COVID19 pandemic. Dr Minnis was heavily criticised by the opposition for the government’s response to both issues. He himself admitted that the government “fell short over Dorian relief efforts.” “No party should ever take the support of any constituency for granted,” he said at a recent rally in Grand Bahama. It was advice that would prove true considering the crushing defeat his government received yesterday. While he was re-elected to the House of Assembly for Killarney, he was unable to secure his government’s victory.
PAGE 8, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
VOTING in West Grand Bahama yesterday.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
Host of top ministers swept out of office By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net A MAJOR upset at the polls yesterday has left many Free National Movement Cabinet ministers without a seat in Parliament as The Bahamas ushers in a new Progressive Liberal Party government. Although the full results were not known yesterday, only a handful of FNM members of Parliament retained their seats. The ministers of health, tourism, environment, foreign affairs, national security, disaster relief and education were all voted out of their various constituencies according to the unofficial results available up to press time. Former Minister of Agriculture Michael Pintard was projected to retain his seat in Marco City while former Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Iram Lewis was projected to retain his seat in Central Grand Bahama. In East Grand Bahama, former Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson was the projected winner while outgoing Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis also retained his Killarney seat. The results are a far cry from the FNM’s landslide win in 2017 when it secured 35 seats in Parliament. Shortly before 9pm yesterday, it was evident that the PLP would be the next government of The Bahamas. Around that time, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield conceded to Kirk Cornish as the new holder of the North Abaco seat in Parliament. Abaco has expressed serious dissatisfaction with
OUT: Dr Duane Sands lost his seat in Elizabeth. the Minnis administration over the handling of Hurricane Dorian and have sent a strong message by the rejection of Mr Henfield at the polls. “It was an honour to serve,” Mr Henfield said. “Never in my life did I imagine serving my home in the House of Assembly and you all made that a reality. You have (given) me an opportunity to show why Abaco is the most resilient place on earth. You’ve shown me so much love and unwavering support. You all are still my family. I appreciate you. I thank you and I love you. “Congratulations to the incoming member of Parliament Kirk Cornish. You’ve ran a fine race and today will be the start of your service to a great constituency. I make a commitment to do my endeavour best to assist you in any way possible. To all my family, friends and supports, this is not the end. There is still more work to be done and I will ensure that we still do it together, hand in hand, you and me.” Despite coming under
heavy attack from the PLP over contracts issued by the Water and Sewerage Corporation during his tenure as executive chairman, Adrian Gibson regained his seat in Long Island. Speaking to The Tribune, he said, “I am super excited. I want to thank the people of Long Island for their support and for sticking with me. I commit to continue to fight hard in their interest and the matters that concern them and to redouble my efforts to fulfill my pledge to make and keep Long Island great while securing a brighter future for Long Island.” The Tribune also spoke to former Minister of Immigration and Investments Elsworth Johnson, who lost his seat in Yamacraw. He said now is the time for the FNM to regroup. “In The Bahamas I am grateful to God that we have a mature democracy that’s peaceful and that governments can have a regard to what is happening around the world,” Mr Johnson said. “I commend
DARREN Henfield with supporters at Central Primary School in this picture posted to his Facebook. Mr Lightbourne on his victory and I thank God that I had an opportunity to serve. The FNM will regroup. Again I am grateful to God that I had the honour to serve the Bahamian people. On behalf of my friends and family, I would like to thank all the people who supported me. I am grateful for all the encouragement and prayers.” Former Elizabeth MP Dr Duane Sands, who resigned as minister of health last year, also lost his seat in Parliament to the PLP’s Jobeth Coleby-Davis. Incoming Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the PLP’s celebration will not be long as there is
VOTERS in Yamacraw, where Elsworth Johnson has been ousted as MP and replaced by Zane Lightbourne.
lots of work to be done. “I am humbled and I am overjoyed by the support love shown to me by the people of Exuma and Ragged Island,” Mr Cooper said. “We’ve never stopped working. We kept on going after the last general elections. I believe that hard work has been rewarded and recognised by the people of Exuma and Ragged Island. “I am thankful to my campaign team. They have all worked in a superb manner. I am thankful to my wife and family. I am looking forward to participating in the new government. I am very excited about
shaping policy and working along with the new team to advance our country. We have great plans and now we will executive. “The celebrations will be short lived given that we have a very serious crisis in our country. We will get to work swiftly on the many problems that confront the country including the economic and health crisis. Tomorrow is a new phase. We have successfully kicked Minnis out of office and now the hard work begins to reshape our country.” Observers will watch the FNM to see what direction the now former governing party will take after yesterday’s loss.
Photo: Earyel Bowleg/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 9
MEMBERS of the Democratic National Alliance team, led by Arinthia Komolafe, on polling day.
Photo: Tanya Smith-Cartwright
DNA fails to win one seat at the polls By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE Democratic National Alliance yesterday congratulated the Progressive Liberal Party on its victory after failing to win any seats at the polls for a third election. In a statement last night, the third party congratulated incoming Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis as the new leader of the nation. “Today, the Bahamian people spoke loud and clear. In spite of what is being described as a historic low voter turnout, the majority of Bahamians that voted have selected their new leaders,” the DNA said. “I extend congratulations and well wishes to the Honourable Philip ‘Brave’ Davis who is expected to be sworn in as the next prime minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. I also extend congratulations to all the candidates that were both successful and unsuccessful in the general elections. It is always a noble and sacrificial endeavor to offer one’s self in service to (their) country.” The DNA also thanked all of the candidates that represented them for their
hard work, perseverance as well as the commitment they had to their respective campaigns and the country. “Our democracy is deepened when we have a smooth transition of power from one administration to another,” the statement continued. “I am proud to be a part of a nation that values and guards its democracy. The general elections are now over and the task of unifying the nation must commence in earnest. We must all work together to build a better Bahamas for our children and children’s children. May God continue to bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.” Last night, Coalition of Independents leader Lincoln Bain also congratulated the candidates of his newly formed party for being a part of history. Despite the COI’s failure to win a seat, he insisted the party has “planted a seed’’ that will spark the beginning of a “new era” for the nation. In several constituencies, the COI outperformed the DNA. “I want to congratulate every one of you who have been a part of making history,” he stated in a video posted on his Facebook page. “Six months ago, this organisation was formed... and we have made history.
DEMOCRATIC National Alliance leader Arinthia Komolafe, far right, on advanced polling day. Photos: Donovan Moxey/Tribune Staff No organisation has been able to form, organise (and) roll out in such a quick time. “Some people said that we lost the election (but) we didn’t lose, we won. We did not win at the polls, but we transformed the conversation of an entire nation. We have changed the trajectory of an entire nation; we have transformed the thinking and mindset of
PLP supporters after casting thier ballot at the St Andrews School Polling division.
OFFICERS welcoming voters at the Centerville Primary School Polling Station.
The Bahamas. And so, I want to congratulate all of
you who sacrificed to make this happen. It was a good
political move and the only move of the established parties to call a snap election because they saw that this movement was growing so fast and they had to move before it took root.” Mr Bain insisted the COI has forced the more established political parties to alter their manifestos and respond to everything the party has said and done. “What we have done is we have planted a seed. I always tell people that you don’t plant seeds, you plant trees and it leads to forests. And we’ve planted a seed in the hearts and minds of all of the Bahamian people. “...Tonight they could not block us out because we were clearly there. We made our presence known. Something has begun, a new era has been sparked. For all of you out there who are wondering where do we go from here, nothing has changed. “We continue on this mission, nothing worth having happens fast.”
PAGE 10, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Kwasi Thompson keeps seat in GB
KWASI Thompson speaking at a recent FNM rally. By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net KWASI Thompson thanked supporters after he was elected as the new member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama. He was grateful to the residents of the constituency for their support and has pledged to continue to serve and fight with a passion on behalf of the people. He also thanked his campaign workers for their hard work. The Free National Movement lost significant ground in this election after previously winning all five of the island’s seats in 2017. Unofficial results pegged the Progressive Liberal Party’s Ginger Moxey as the incoming representative for Pineridge and former Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe as the incoming representative for West Grand Bahama and Bimini. However the official results were not known up to press time.
“I want to first of all give God thanks for all of the persons in East Grand Bahama who supported me,” the Free National Movement member said. “I want to say it was a humbling experience to have so many persons in East Grand Bahama give us their support. I want to thank my team who did a tremendous job; they worked tirelessly in a very short period of time to bring the result we got.” Mr Thompson also thanked the people of Grand Bahama for their continued support of the Free National Movement. “I want to also thank all the people of Grand Bahama for their support and for allowing me to serve as their minister of state for Grand Bahama, finance and digitisation. I think the focus has to continue to be on the people of Grand Bahama. “I said prior to the election that whoever wins come September 17, the
VOTERS in West Grand Bahama yesterday.
same challenges that were there on the 16th will continue to remain there on the 17th. So, the focus still has to be one solving the problems of Grand Bahamians.” Mr Thompson said they will continue to represent the people of Grand Bahama “I am not sure how many seats we got, but Grand Bahama supported the FNM. We may not have retained the government, but Grand Bahama supported the FNM, and we are very grateful for the support they gave us, and we will continue to represent the people of Grand Bahama.” He also said: “I believe all candidates and members of Parliament who continue to retain their seat had a passion for the people, and that passion has not changed and they will continue to serve. That is what I expect of all of my colleagues in the FNM , and we will continue to serve the people of Grand Bahama.”
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 11
GB election turnout slow but steady By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net VOTER turnout on Grand Bahama was a bit slow but steady at the various polling stations on the island, particularly during the first half of the day. There was a lull between the hours of 10am and noon when voters began to trickle in one by one. Returning officers reported that while more people turned out early at 8am, the crowds were not as large as they had anticipated. “We had a little crowd this morning, but nothing much,” reported returning officer Cristian Palacious, administrator for East Grand Bahama. “After that, persons were coming in one at a time and it was not as crowded as anticipated.” Ms Palacious said there was slow voter turnout at the Maurice Moore Primary, Walter Parker
VOTERS in West Grand Bahama yesterday. Primary and Freeport PriWhile there, The Tribune mary Schools, and in East spoke with voter Michael Hinley who said the process End. According to voters, the was easy and fast. “It was very simple; I process went smoothly and quickly. Social distancing, parked outside, came down hand sanitising, and mask and voted,” he said. “There was one person in front of wearing were enforced. At the Freeport Primary me, so I was in and out in School, there were several five minutes.” Mr Hinley believes it is polling divisions for East important to have a say in Grand Bahama. who governs the country. “It is always important to vote and have a voice in the community, and in who leads the nation and governs us, and steers us in the right direction,” he said. “Grand Bahama needs leadership, which is what it needs; Grand Bahama is always left to the wayside,” Mr Hinley said. Although the wait time was longer for Bradley Neymour, he said the voting process was smooth. “It went pretty smooth,” he said. “I came out after 9.30am and it took about 25 to 30 minutes; I came to vote just to make my voice be heard and to exercise my constitutional rights.” A couple who only gave their first names, Cornell and Carnisha, came to vote dressed in the colours of the various political parties. They wanted to send a message to Bahamians, they said. “I came out in all the colours to show the people it is not all about a particular party,” Cornell said. “You could pick one party, but at the end of the day, we all are still one (people).” Asked why he felt it was important to vote he said: “It was important to come A WEST Grand Bahama voter flashes a PLP sign as they wait. out and make a change.”
VOTERS at polling division nine at Freeport Primary School yesterday. Photo: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff Carnisha said what they are demonstrating is unity. “It is about unity. We do not want to be divided at the end of the day because everyone can make their choices. You make your choice …but we have to still realise we are one people.” She thinks that young people are going to make a difference in this election. “Our voice normally doesn’t be heard and now we are making a big change in this election,” she said. Jack Hayward Senior High School served as polling divisions for Marco City and Pineridge.
The returning officer for Marco City Ivan Butler reported a good turnout early in the morning but said it slowed significantly around noon. He anticipated that it would pick up later in the afternoon. “It started out a bit hectic this morning, and the crowd died down around noon. It is slow at this point, and many voters are not turned out as yet. At 8am, most took advantage and voted early because there is usually a rush in the afternoon, so we anticipate a crowd later this afternoon,” he said.
Observers from the Organization of American States were on the ground at Jack Hayward Senior High School to observe and monitor the process. Marco City constituent Patrick Ferguson said he came out early to vote to avoid the long lines in the afternoon. “The process was very quick, and I came out because I know as the day goes on it will get busier,” he said. In Pineridge and Central Grand Bahama, voters were trickling in. They also reported that a smooth process.
Graveside Service for LEANEZA BAIN-POPLE, 86 of Symonette Street, Chippingham, will be held on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021, at Lakeview Memorial Gardens & Mausoleum, John F. Kennedy Drive. Officiating will be Bishop Carrington S. Pinder, assisted by other members of the Gospel. Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, masks and physical distancing are required. Graveside attendance is limited to thirty (30) persons. Leaneza is preceded in death by her Husband: Ednal People; Children: Walter Fox and Letitia Whyms; Grandchild: Sotario Ferreira; Parents: Harcourt Bain and Clothilda Russell.
VOTERS in West Grand Bahama yesterday.
Photos: Vandyke Hepburn
Left to cherish her life are her Children: Brenda Fox, Martin Fox (Bernadette), Eltoy Lockhart (Brent), Lucine Lindsay (Stephen), Charmaine Pople, Sancha Pinder (Oscar) and Erica Ferreira (Romauld); Grandchildren: Pedro Fox (Shena), Marcia Williams (Marc), Kevin Fisher and Tia Fisher, Mickalon Bullard, Carlinda Whyms (James), Annalisa Knowles (Marvin Sr.), Christof Fox, Germaine, Gerard, and Cohen Fox (Krystyn), Kishmar Major (Keith), Sharmatie, Lashan and Brandon Lockhart, Brittany Lindsay, Kenray Marsh (Todney), Perry and Kira Pople, Paige, Oscar Jr. and Breanna Pinder, Shaniqua Curry (Antonio), Danielle, Edward, and Diana Ferreira; Great grandchildren: Pedro Jr. and Jeremy Fox, Marc Williams Jr., Kevanya Fisher, Makhi Kemp, Tiendrick Nairn, Mickarlos Bethel, Mickoby Williams, Torieano Knowles, Daran Whyms, Shaquille and Shaquea Adderley, Malik and Aminah Davis, Marvin Jr., Ashley & Amy Knowles, Annabella Fox, Kenaz, Kaiya, Keisanna, Kenray, Keith Jr. and Kazar Major, Shiloh Higgs, Amore Fowler, Leander Pinder, Johnathan and Dallas Marsh, Kylie and Dylan Dean, Antonio, and Azander Curry; Great Great grandchildren: Torieano Jr., Tieon, Angel and Teiano Knowles, Kareese Logan, King and KaRhea Rolle, Channin Sweeting and Majesty McQuay; Brother: George Bain (Donna); Brother-In-law: Emil Pople (Mildred); Nephews: Alexander (Barbara), Clyde and Alexander Bain; Nieces: Barbara Carroll, Francis, Marlene, Vanessa, Vernice and Sherice Bain; Godchild: Kenneth Pinder; Patrice Rahming & Family, Desaree Pinder & Family, Gertrude Russell & Family, Willamary Willis & Family, Whitleen Penn & Family, Rob McKinney & Family, Amanda Colebrooke, Patricia Carey, Marina Pople, Louise Pople & family, Judy Fisher, Elsaida Porter, Hazel Chipman & Family, Dorothy Curry & Family, Thelma Rolle, Lillian Adderley, The Johnson, Pinder, Fawkes, Watson & Cooper Families of Symonette Street, The Pinder Family of Sandy Point, Bateman Bain, Marguerite Williams, Lynn Blake, Darlene Maycock, Ernestine Lightbourne, Monique Hepburn, Richard Walker, Joe Bodie, Sandra Bodie, Marilyn Kemp, Jennifer Walkins, Violet Roberts, Monique Storr, Romeo Archer, Lenore Roberts, Lionel Fox, April Martin, Wilson Bain, Alfred Sears, Della Kelly, Vaughn and Lottie Rolle, Anton and Krista Dean, Bishop Carrington Pinder, St. John’s Native Baptist Church Family, The Chippingham, Sandy Point and Crossing Rocks Communities, her Caregivers: Yvonne Cooper and Shawnae Ramdas and other family and friends too numerous to mention. May Her Soul Rest in Peace! Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street, on Tuesday September 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
PAGE 12, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
SMOOTH PROCESS REPORTED AT POLLING STATIONS VOTERS at various polling stations across New Providence reported a smooth process yesterday, a far cry from the chaotic and overly crowded scenes at last week’s advanced poll. Some observers expressed concern about low voter turnout as some polling stations did not appear to have large crowds and people reported about being able to vote in minutes instead of waiting for an extended period. At several sites, there were by far more Progressive Liberal Party supporters adorned in party colours than any other party and for the most part they seemed to be more confident of a win than the others. The Tribune tried to speak to a man after he voted in Mount Moriah, but he was not in the mood to stop for an interview. “I just did what I had to do,” he shouted over his shoulder. “I don’t like the media so I’m not talking, but Minnis has to go.” At a polling station in Killarney, voters bunched up together with absolutely no social distancing. Voters moved in the entrance gate and came out in record times offering no smiles and no indication as to how they voted. The Tribune spoke with William Smith as he completed voting in Killarney. “Yes ma’am I’ve noticed the eeriness out here,” Mr Smith said. “It’s definitely different. This reminds me of 2012 when Ingraham was voted out and resigned that night. It was the same look on the voter’s faces …. As for me, I voted differently
A VOTER gives the thumbs up after voting at Gambier Primary Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff this time. I won’t say how I voted, but it’s a first for me. God help us all. I think either way this Bahamas is in trouble.” At the Carmichael constituency, there was a set up with stalls bearing the logos and insignias of all political parties. Those stalls had food, t-shirts, masks, and soft drinks to offer to anyone who desired them. Voter Danny Roker said, “It’s a new day! We’ve given the FNM a chance in the last administration and see what we got there. We got tricked, bamboozled, fooled and they lied to us. I think ‘Brave’ Davis is a good man and I believe he will do right by the Bahamian people. It’s a new day!” Priscilla Murphy had just
voted. She said Desmond Bannister is her man of business. “The reason why I support Desmond Bannister and the FNM totally, they are caring people, people who listen to your concerns and people who see The Bahamas moving into a new direction,” she said. “Even though the PLP is saying a new direction, I don’t see them being good directors for this country. When you look at all the things the FNM has done in the last four years there’s no way I could have voted for anyone else but M. Bannister. So my heart is with the FNM. The FNM empowers people but the PLP does not empower people.” Not all was quiet yesterday however.
A VOTER after casting his vote at the Thelma Gibson Primary School polling division. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff In terms of concerns, the Meanwhile, a heated remind my team that we Progressive Liberal Party argument erupted at Gov- have to set examples. It’s all said an issue with a ballot ernment High School about respect. It’s all about was raised at a Yamacraw yesterday morning after how you’re perceived,” Mr polling station and it was the FNM’s Mount Moriah Dames said. seeking to have the matter candidate Marvin Dames “The campaigning is addressed. accused Progressive Liberal over. People should have “Please note that in Party supporters of cam- already made up their Yamacraw a voter was paigning at the polling site. minds and it’s now up to given a ballot with a mark In an interview with The them to exercise their conon it,” the PLP said. “The Tribune, Mr Dames called stitutional rights. I was very voter noticed the mark and the move “unacceptable”. concerned when I showed asked for another ballot. He said he was concerned up here this morning when The legal team is having when he saw the PLP you have the candidate voting suspended to have supporters allegedly “inter- along with the attorney and all ballots checked.” fering” with voters on the a group of others interferline. ing with the voters on the “One of the concerns I line. have and my team, we were “That’s a no no so I in place at our office around reported it to the police 3:45 this morning and so as well as the returning we went through a series SEE NEXT PAGE of briefings and so I always
Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
COALITION of Independents candidate for Elizabeth Cara Ellis at the Thelma Gibson Primary School polling division. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
JOBETH COLEBY DAVIS, Valentine Grimes and Dr Duane Sands at the Thelma Gibson Primary School polling division. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
BISHOP Neil Ellis votes at HO Nash Junior High. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
VOTERS at the Sadie Curtis Primary School Polling division.
PAGE 14, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Minnis calls accusations over Gibson mudslinging B y KHRISN A RUS SELL Tne rib u Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net OUTGOING Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis deflected to the Progressive Liberal Party’s campaign style in the face of questions about his failure to publicly address allegations against Adrian Gibson and his handling of certain contracts in his capacity as Water and Sewerage Corporation chairman. Last month, Mr Gibson denied accusations that he facilitated the awarding of no bid contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to a company alleged to be owned by people he knew. Last week during a rally, Dr Minnis fully endorsed Mr Gibson despite the looming questions concerning the situation. Asked about it yesterday as people cast their vote, Dr Minnis chalked it up to “mudslinging” by the PLP.
“The opposition has nothing to campaign on, so they campaigned on pure mudslinging,” Dr Minnis said after voting in Killarney with his wife. “We campaigned on policies and the way forward. They have accused me of many manner of things. I would not even tell you who were in their war room and pushing out all sorts of things, but we were focused. “We were focused on making life better for the Bahamian populace and focused on policies that we think will advance The Bahamas forward.” During a recent rally in Long Island, Dr Minnis said: “The whole country knows that Long Island rollin’ red with the FNM and Adrian Gibson. We want you to send Adrian Gibson back to the people’s House. Adrian has done an excellent job for you and a good job for you and a good job for the country. He is a hard worker, who
has accomplished so much for Long Island during this term in office. I hear Brave is dead mad with your MP.” Mr Gibson has faced scrutiny over the award of hundreds of thousands of WSC contracts to Elite Maintenance Incorporated Ltd, a company whose director is the woman with the same name as Mr Gibson’s fiancee. Mr Gibson has said the woman was a lawyer acting on behalf of Elite Maintenance and that she eventually severed ties with the company. He has not said whether he disclosed existing relationships with the directors of the company that secured the contracts to WSC’s board of directors. WSC general manager Elwood Donaldson has said at least three bids were submitted for the contracts in question and that after the bids were reviewed, a recommendation by the board of directors was made.
ADRIAN Gibson pictured in a Facebook post in which he declared his victory in Long Island in the 2021 election.
PINDER SAYS FNM SUPPORTERS HARASSED AT POLL SITES By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
FNM candidate for Fox Hill John Pinder, pictured previously.
FREE National Movement Fox Hill candidate John Pinder claimed his supporters were “harassed” at polling sites yesterday. While at Sandilands Primary School, he alleged the Progressive Liberal Party supporters were the only persons engaging in this behaviour. “People who are in red T-shirts they’re coming…saying even though they got a red t-shirt (they still) trying to hand them a yellow bag,” he told The Tribune. He pointed to a man at the school’s gate who he accused of campaigning. “Clearly he could be there if he’s an agent but he don’t have the right to be campaigning. He supposed to be observing, not campaigning. At the end of the day, the chips will fall where they may.” Later yesterday, Mr Pinder said the issue was resolved but gave further details about what he said took place. “(They) would stop people in red shirts and say ‘Look here, why don’t you take this yellow bag,” he said. “After I heard it the third time, I got involved. I went to the police then the presiding officer was involved. “I told the guys that were standing they couldn’t (campaign at) the polling station. They had to move away from the polling station. They moved away.” Across the street from the school was Fred Mitchell, Progressive Liberal Party chairman and candidate for the area. When asked about the former director of labour’s claims, Mr Mitchell said: “I wouldn’t comment on (what) John Pinder has to say.”
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 15
PLP in large numbers outside Garvin Tynes Primary School.
Unions ‘not surprised’ by result - and hoping grievances will be addressed By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE leaders of the country’s top labour unions said they are not surprised by the Progressive Liberal Party’s victory in yesterday’s election and are hopeful that their various grievances can be adequately addressed under the new administration. Shortly after the PLP was announced as the nation’s new government, Bahamas Public Services Union President Kimsley Ferguson told The Tribune his group was “optimistic” that the incoming administration would “hold true to their word” in addressing their concerns. Earlier this month, dozens of BPSU members demonstrated outside Princess Margaret Hospital citing unfair promotion practices, outstanding industrial agreements and other unresolved grievances. Mr Ferguson said while the union has had issues under a PLP administration in the past, the government’s most recent campaign slogan indicates that it is “a new day,” which suggests that the incoming administration will “apply themselves differently from the previous PLP administrations in being honourable individuals and addressing the outstanding concerns of the workers of this country”. “First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate the PLP on winning the general election. The Bahamas Public Services Union wants to say to them a battle well fought,” he said. “We are hopeful that the incoming prime minister and his Cabinet will seek to address the concerns in relation to the workers of the country as opposed to the former government that appeared not to be very labour friendly. “And so again, we want to say congratulations to the Honourable Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, the prime ministerelect and we expect that we will be given an audience with the new team airing the various concerns that we do have so that the way forward can be chartered and we can report back to
our membership and give them some ray of hope in relation to a situation that had looked so dismal.” Montgomery Miller, the president of the Water and Sewerage Management Union also said he was grateful for the outcome of the election. In the past, he has highlighted a myriad of concerns his members have had with the affairs at the Water and Sewerage Corporation including cases where managers have allegedly been dismissed wrongfully, employees’ salaries were withheld wrongfully and people were transferred without any justification. “Based on the experience we’ve had, we’re thankful to get a change in government,” he told this newspaper. “We would have had some engagement with certain members of the PLP and they met with the Trade Union Congress which is the umbrella union under which we fall. They made certain overtures with respect to the memorandum of understanding between labour and the unions. So we’re hopeful that they will honour that and for certain we expect that we will have much better dialogue because we had zero dialogue, nothing constructive with this past administration.” Bahamas Electrical Workers Union President Kyle Wilson also referenced the memorandum of understanding signed by the PLP when he spoke to The Tribune. “In that document they would have laid out avenues through which issues can be resolved peacefully,” he explained. “So I am looking forward to a peaceful outcome to the outstanding issues that still remain in BPL union wise “. Over the past four years, BEWU members have staged several protests citing disrespect of the union and poorly handled negotiations of their industrial agreement. In view of this fact, Mr Wilson said he was not surprised by the election results. “Based on the feedback from workers throughout the country, industrial unrest,
SUPPORTERS of both parties greet arriving voters at the Thelma Gibson Primary School polling division. Photo: Tanya Smith-Cartwright
EAGERLY waiting at the Thelma Gibson Primary School polling division. Photo: Tanya Smith-Cartwright
LONG lines continue at St. Andrews International School polling division.
Photo:Earyel Bowleg
KILLARNEY constituents await their chance to cast their vote. Photo: TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT
some of the initiatives that the former government would have taken that would have seemed antiunion and based on the sentiment within BPL itself, it’s not a shocking surprise to be honest,” he stated. Likewise, Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson has not been shy in voicing the concerns of educators across the country. Yesterday, she doubled down on previous comments calling on government officials to complete the union’s new industrial agreement. “As stated the Bahamas Union of Teachers expects and demands that whichever party was successful we expect the agreement to be completed,” she said. She added: “The new government has branded themselves as a labour friendly government, so we expect to have improved communication; industrial goodwill; inclusion in policy decisions and a workable plan for education.” Mrs Wilson said the BUT must be engaged as an important stakeholder. She also said they expect education officials to respect the union and to adhere to the agreements, rules and regulations. “There definitely must be a new day in the Ministry and Department of Education. The Bahamas Union of Teachers is prepared to work with the government to ensure that public education is a priority and that our nation’s children will be the beneficiaries of a quality education system. Teachers are an integral part of the public education system and we look forward to playing our role. Again, congratulations to the incoming Prime Minister Honourable Philip Brave Davis and his team.”
PAGE 16, Friday, September 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
GRAND BAHAMA MAN GUNNED DOWN AS HE ARRIVED AT HIS HOME
THE SCENE of a shooting in Eight Mile Rock yesterday. A GRAND Bahama man is dead after he was shot as he arrived home yesterday. Police said they received
a report shortly before 5pm of a shooting incident on Bayshore Road in Eight Mile Rock.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn An initial investigation revealed a woman was at her home when saw her husband arrive on the residence’s
surveillance camera. Police said the man was approached by an unknown masked male armed with a
firearm who shot him about the body. EMS personnel transported the victim to Rand Memorial Hospital
where he was pronounced dead. An investigation is ongoing.
13 more dead from 19,914 274 COVID B y KHRI S NA R U S S ELL Tribune Ch ief Repo rter krussel l@ tri bunemedia.net
THIRTEEN new COVID-19 deaths were recorded, pushing The Bahamas’ virus fatality count to 482. The deaths were contained in the Ministry of Health’s September 15 dashboard. The ministry said three deaths occurred on September 8. The victims are two women ages 87 and 63 along with a 55-year-old
man. They were all residents of New Providence. On September 7, women ages 67 and 50 died as a result of COVID-19. Five deaths were recorded on September 6. The victims, also residents of New Providence included women ages, 99, 73, 67, and two men ages 37 and 63. There were also two deaths on September 5 – a 50-year-old woman and a man, 71. And on September 4, a 57-year-old woman died. Along with these deaths,
119 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, the ministry said. New Providence carried the lion’s share of the cases with 93. There were 13 in Eleuthera, seven in Grand Bahama, three in Abaco and once each in Bimini and Cat Cay, Andros and the Berry Islands. The new cases mean The Bahamas now has 19,914 confirmed virus cases. Hospital admissions have also decreased. Officials said there are 167 people in the hospital.
TOTAL CASES
TOTAL DEATHS
NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES
NEWLY CONFIRMED DEATHS
WEDNESDAY
119 CASES
TOTAL TESTS
HOSPITALISED
NEW PROVIDENCE 93 GRAND BAHAMA 7 ELEUTHERA 13 ABACO 3 BIMINI & CAT CAY 1 BERRY ISLANDS 1 ANDROS 1
140,306 167
• A 57-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 4. • A 71-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 5. • A 50-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 5. • A 67-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 6. • A 73-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 6. • A 37-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 6. • A 99-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 6. • A 63-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 6. • A 67-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 7. • A 50-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 7. • A 55-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 8. • A 63-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 8. • AN 87-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 8.
CASES IN ICU
22
RECOVERED
17,620
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 17
A HELICOPTER drops water on the KNP Complex Fire burning along Generals Highway in Sequoia National Park, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. The blaze is burning near the Giant Forest, home to more than 2,000 giant sequoias. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California wildfires threaten famous trees THREE RIVERS, California Associated Press
FIREFIGHTERS wrapped the base of the world’s largest tree in a fire-resistant blanket as they tried to save a famous grove of gigantic old-growth sequoias from wildfires burning yesterday in California’s rugged Sierra Nevada. The colossal General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest, some of the other sequoias, the Giant Forest Museum and other buildings were wrapped as protection against the possibility of intense flames,
fire spokeswoman Rebecca Paterson said. The aluminum wrapping can withstand intensive heat for short periods. Federal officials say they have been using the material for several years throughout the US West to protect sensitive structures from flames. Homes near Lake Tahoe that were wrapped in protective material survived while others nearby were destroyed. The Colony Fire, one of two burning in Sequoia National Park, was expected to reach the Giant Forest, a grove of 2,000 sequoias, at some point Thursday. It comes after a wildfire killed thousands of sequoias, some as tall as
high-rises and thousands of years old, in the region last year. The General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world by volume, at 52,508 cubic feet, according to the National Park Service. It towers 275 feet high and has a circumference of 103 feet at ground level. Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks Superintendent Clay Jordan stressed the importance of protecting the massive trees from high-intensity fire during a morning briefing for firefighters. A 50-year history of using prescribed burns — fires set on purpose to remove other types of trees and vegetation that would otherwise
feed wildfires — in the parks’ sequoia groves was expected to help the giant trees survive by lessening the impact if flames reach them. A “robust fire history of prescribed fire in that area is reason for optimism,” Paterson said. “Hopefully, the Giant Forest will emerge from this unscathed.” Giant sequoias are adapted to fire, which can help them thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that allow young sequoias to grow. But the extraordinary intensity of fires — fueled by climate change — can overwhelm the trees. That happened last year when the Castle Fire killed
what studies estimate were 7,500 to 10,600 large sequoias, according to the National Park Service. A historic drought and heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight in the American West. Scientists say climate change has made the region much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. A national interagency fire management team took command of efforts to fight the 11.5-squaremile (30-square-kilometer) ParadiseFireandthe3-squaremile (8-square-kilometer) Colony Fire, which was
closest to the grove. Operations to burn away vegetation and other fuel that could feed the flames were planned for that area. The fires forced the evacuation of the park this week, and parts of the town of Three Rivers outside the main entrance remained evacuated Thursday. A bulldozer was cutting a line between the fire and the community. To the south, a fire on the Tule River Indian Reservation and in Giant Sequoia National Monument grew significantly overnight to more than 6 square miles (15 square kilometers), and crews had no containment of it, a Sequoia National Forest statement said.
BIDEN ANGERS FRANCE AND EU WITH NEW INITIATIVE WASHINGTON Associated Press
PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s decision to form a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain to counter China is angering France and the European Union. They’re feeling left out and seeing it as a return to the Trump era. The security initiative, unveiled this week, appears to have brought Biden’s summer of love with Europe to an abrupt end. AUKUS, which notably excludes France and the European Union, is just the latest in a series of steps, from Afghanistan to east Asia, that have taken Europe aback. After promising European leaders that “America is back” and that multilateral diplomacy would guide US foreign policy, Biden has alienated numerous allies with a go-it-alone approach on key issues. France’s foreign minister expressed “total incomprehension” at the recent move, which he called a “stab in the back,” and the EU’s foreign policy chief complained that Europe had not been consulted. France will lose a nearly $100 billion deal to build diesel submarines for Australia under the terms of the initiative, which will see the US and Britain help Canberra construct nuclearpowered ones. As such, French anger on a purely a commercial level would be understandable, particularly because France, since Britain’s handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, is the only European nation to have significant territorial possessions or a permanent military presence in the Pacific. But French and European Union officials went further, saying the agreement calls into question the entire cooperative effort to blunt China’s growing influence and underscores
the European Union more broadly with unilateral decisions ranging from Afghanistan to east Asia. And, while Europe cheered when Biden pledged to return to nuclear negotiations with Iran and revive Israeli-Palestinian peace OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES: talks, both efforts remainRESPONSIBILITIES: OVERALL The Internal Auditor will be responsible for establishing an internal audit program stalled nine months into his to ensure the safety and soundness of the internal control environment and the administration. accuracy theresponsible accounting records and financial reports. The Internal Auditor is The Internal Auditor willofbe for establishing an internal audit program to ensu The seeds of discontent responsible to submit an annual internal audit program to the Board of Directors, may have beenand sownsoundness in the of the internal controlSenior environment and and the Regulators. accuracy ofAdditionally, the accounting Supervisory Committee, Management, the spring but they began to Internal Auditor is to present monthly written reports to the Supervisory Committee financial reports. The Internal Auditor is responsible to submit an annual internal audit pr bloom in July over Biden’s on audits conducted and on the status of the audit program. Board of Directors, Supervisory Committee, Senior Management, and Regulators. Add acquiescence to a Russiato-Germany gas pipeline Internal AuditorSPECIFIC is to present monthly written reports to the Supervisory Committee on aud RESPONSIBILITIES: that will bypass Poland and aon the status of the audit program. and Ukraine, and month • Manage the credit union’s audit function to ensure compliance with all regulatory later in August with the policies and procedures to safeguard the credit union’s assets. chaotic US SPECIFIC withdrawal RESPONSIBILITIES: • Determine whether operating policies and procedures are adequate to measure from Afghanistan that left and control the economical efficient use of resources. • Develop and implement new procedures to enhance the internal audit process. Europe scrambling to keep procedures all credit union departments and • expressed Manage the• Conduct credit regular union’saudit audit functionand toactivities ensureforcompliance with all regulatory up after it had processes. reservations about the procedures to safeguard the credit union’s assets. • Upon completion of the various audits, prepare examination reports (for senior pullout. management and Supervisory that state are findings and make • Determine whether operating policiesCommittee) and procedures adequate toimprovement measure and Then just this week, recommendations. economical efficient use of resources. Biden enraged France and • Develop a system that ensures that there is a timely and accurate reporting as the European •Union with and required by theRegulators. Develop implement new procedures to enhance the internal audit process. • Track and report on issues or recommendations from external Auditors, Regulators, his announcement that the Conduct regular audit procedures and activities for all credit union departments and pr and Examiners. US would join• post-Brexit • Conduct the information data and users and Upon in completion of examinations the various ofaudits, preparesystems’ examination reports (forrecommend senior man Britain and • Australia change where necessary to ensure output is accurate. a new Indo-Pacific secuSupervisory Committee) that state findings and make improvement recommendations. • Coordinate and conduct investigations of suspected and/or actual fraud against the rity initiative aimed at credit union. • Develop a system that ensures that there is a timely and accurate reporting as req countering China’s increas• Conduct investigations or special audits at the request of management and/or the ing aggressivenessRegulators. in the Supervisory Committee. • Review trackor departmental risk assessments to determine if areas of concernan region. • Track and report onand issues recommendations from external Auditors, Regulators, are being addressed on a timely basis. Unsurprisingly, China • Conduct examinations information systems’ data and users and recommend • Keep abreastofofthe changes or new developments in regulatory requirements, general c reacted angrily, accusing the accounting principles and audit techniques. necessary to ensure output is accurate. US and its English-speaking partners of • embarking Coordinate and conduct investigations of suspected and/or actual fraud against the cre QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: on a project that will desta• Conduct investigations or special audits at the request of management and/or the bilise the Pacific to the Candidates must: Committee. detriment of global secuPossess a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration rity. But, the reactions from and•track • Review departmental risk assessments toobtained determine if areas concern areasbei • Possess experience as would normally be in three (3) tooffive (5) years Paris and Brussels were an Internal Auditor in a financial institution. on a timely basis. equally severe. Both com• Demonstrate an understanding of internal audit theory, auditing standards and • Keep abreast of changes or new developments in regulatory requirements, genera plained they were not only auditing techniques. excluded from the principles deal but and • Have a strong knowledge of rules, regulations, policies and procedures pertaining audit techniques. to the credit union industry not consulted on it. • Be a self-starter with initiative and enthusiasm. The White House and • Possess excellent organizational, communication and research skills. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Secretary of State Antony • Be dedicated to meeting deadlines. Blinken say France had • Be detailed oriented and prepared to work long hours when necessary. been informed of the must: • Be computer literate and proficient in all Microsoft Office applications (especially Candidates decision before it was Excel). announced on Wednes• Possess good interpersonal skills. • Demonstrate investigative, analytical, problem-solving, andAdministration organizational skills. day, although it was a bachelor’s • Possess degree in Accounting, Finance or Business • Demonstrate ability to maintain a high level of integrity and confidentiality not exactly • clearPossess when. experience as would normally be obtained in three (3) to fiveplayer, (5) years an Int • Demonstrate an ability to work independently and as a team whileas using Blinken said Thursday discretion in making sound judgment in problem solving. a financial institution. there had been inconversations with •the Demonstrate French an understanding of internal audit theory, auditing standards and auditing about it within the past Qualified candidates should submit C.V. via email to: info@biccu.org on or before 24 to 48 hours, suggesting September 30th, 2021 there had not been an indepth consultation.
POSITION AVAILABLE POSITION AVAILABLE INTERNAL AUDITOR INTERNAL AUDITOR
PRESIDENT Joe Biden speaking yesterday. the importance of languishing plans to boost Europe’s own defense and security capabilities. Some have compared Biden’s recent actions to those of his predecessor, Donald Trump, under Trump’s “America First” doctrine. That’s surprising for a president steeped in international affairs who ran for the White House vowing to mend shaken ties with allies and restore US credibility on the world stage. Although it’s impossible to predict if any damage will be lasting, the short-term impact seems to have rekindled European suspicions of American intentions — with potential implications for Biden’s broader aim to unite democracies against authoritarianism, focused primarily on China and Russia. Just three months ago, on his first visit to the continent as president, Biden was hailed as a hero by European counterparts eager to move beyond the trans-Atlantic tensions of the Trump years. But that palpable sense of relief has now faded for many, and its one clear winner, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is on her way out. Since June, Biden has infuriated America’s oldest ally, France, left Poland and Ukraine questioning the US commitment to their security and upset
PAGE 18, Friday, September 17, 2021
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Idaho rations health care amid massive COVID surge BOISE, Idaho Associated Press IDAHO public health leaders yesterday expanded health care rationing statewide amid a massive increase in the number of coronavirus patients requiring hospitalisation. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare made the announcement after St. Luke’s Health System, Idaho’s largest hospital network, on Wednesday asked state health leaders to allow “crisis standards of care” because the increase in COVID-19 patients has exhausted the state’s medical resources. Idaho is one of the least vaccinated US states, with only about 40 percent of its residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Only Wyoming and West Virginia have lower vaccination rates. Crisis care standards mean that scarce resources such as ICU beds will be allotted to the patients most likely to survive. Other patients will be treated with less effective methods or, in dire cases, given pain relief and other palliative care. Yesterday’s move came a week after Idaho officials started allowing health care rationing at hospitals in northern parts of the state. “The situation is dire – we don’t have enough resources to adequately treat the patients in our hospitals, whether you are there for COVID-19 or a heart attack or because of a car accident,” Idaho Department of Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said in statement. He urged people to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor settings. “Our hospitals and healthcare systems need our help. The best way to end crisis standards of care is for more people to get vaccinated. It dramatically reduces your chances of having to go to the hospital if you do get sick from COVID-19,” Jeppesen said. One in every 201 Idaho residents tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The mostly rural state ranks 12th in the US for newly confirmed cases per capita. More than 1,300 new coronavirus cases were reported to the state on Wednesday, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Hospitalisations have skyrocketed. On Monday, the most recent data available from the state showed that 678 people were hospitalised statewide with coronavirus.
A NURSE holds the hand of a COVID-19 patient in the Medical Intensive care unit at St Luke’s Boise Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds has stayed mostly flat for the last two weeks at 70 people each day — suggesting the state may have reached the limit of its ability to treat ICU patients. Though all of the state’s hospitals can now ration health care resources as needed, some might not need to take that step. Each hospital will decide how to implement the crisis standards of care in its own facility, public health officials said. Kootenai Health in the city of Coeur d’Alene was the first hospital in the state to officially enter crisis standards of care last week. At the time, Chief of Staff Dr Robert Scoggins said some patients were being treated in a conference center that had been converted into a field hospital. Others received treatment in hallways or in converted emergency room lobbies. Urgent and elective surgeries are on hold across much of the state. On Wednesday, nearly 92 percent of all of the
COVID-19 patients in St Luke’s hospitals were unvaccinated. Sixty one of the hospital’s 78 ICU patients had COVID-19. St Luke’s physicians have pleaded with Idaho residents for months to get vaccinated and take steps to slow the spread of coronavirus, warning that hospitals beds were quickly running out. Public health officials have warned Idaho residents for weeks to take extra care to ensure they don’t end up in hospitals. Last week, Jeppesen said residents should take their medications as prescribed, wear seatbelts and reconsider participating in any activities such as cycling that could lead to injuries. The health care crisis isn’t just impacting hospitals — primary care physicians and medical equipment suppliers are also struggling to cope with the crush of coronavirus-related demand. One major medical supplier, Norco Medical, said demand for oxygen tanks and related equipment has increased, sometimes forcing the company to send patients home with
fewer cylinders than they would normally provide. High-flow oxygen equipment — normally used in hospital or hospice care settings — is also being more frequently requested for athome patients, said Norco President Elias Margonis. “It seems like they’re discharging aggressively to free up beds for new patients coming into the hospitals,” Margonis said. “What that means is we’ve seen an uptick of the athome liter flow rate of oxygen.” Margonis spent much of his morning on the phone with public health leaders and hospitals, trying to determine how the crisis standards of care will change the way patients are discharged from hospitals. Already, the company has seen an increase in customers seeking specialty oxygen equipment that flows at a rate of 8, 12 or 20 liters per minute rather than the standard 4 or 5 liters per minute, he said. “When someone goes home, we bring their bed, we bring their wheelchair, we bring their cannula,
their oxygen,” Margonis said. “This is where we’re saying, it’s important that you can’t just discharge the problem, even if the patient is on the mend and on the way to getting healthy. To recover, they need the right support.” Primary Health Medical Group, Idaho’s largest independent primary care and urgent care system, late last month was forced to shorten operating hours because its waiting rooms were so packed with patients that staffers were staying hours past closing in order to see them all. Meanwhile, the company was dealing with higherthan-normal numbers of staffers out sick because they had been exposed to coronavirus in the community or had symptoms and were awaiting tests. Vaccination provides strong protection against becoming seriously ill with coronavirus, but the highly contagious delta variant can still cause “breakthrough” cases in vaccinated people. As case numbers continued to increase, three of Primary Health Medical
Photo: Kyle Gree/AP Group’s 21 clinics in southwestern Idaho have had to stop operating on weekends, said CEO Dr David Peterman. Now the medical group is also preparing to monitor its patients who are released earlier than they normally would be from the hospital after emergencies, Peterman said. “We will see more visits with patients that are avoiding the emergency room and patients who are sicker and need more care,” Peterman said. “We are setting up a system right now to make sure over this weekend that we are immediately notified if one of our patients is discharged early from the hospital so we can make sure those patients are OK.” Resources have been exhausted across the medical system, Peterman said. “This is heart-wrenching. I’ve practiced medicine in southwest Idaho for 40 years and I have never seen anything like this,” he said. “I feel for the doctors and the nurses and the staff in the hospital who are making very difficult decisions.”
RIKERS ISLAND JAIL SPIRALS INTO CHAOS AMID PANDEMIC NEW YORK Associated Press
A SPATE of inmate deaths. Cellblocks unguarded. Staggering staffing shortages caused by AWOL guards. Detainees deprived of food and medical care. New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, troubled by years of neglect, has spiraled into turmoil during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not just inmates and advocates saying that. City officials, including the mayor, admit there are serious problems. One jail watchdog called it “a complete breakdown in the operation of the jails”. “In our office’s 50 years of monitoring the city jails, this is one of the most dangerous times we’ve seen,” said Mary Lynne Werlwas, a lawyer and the director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society. At one point during the summer, more than one-third of the city’s jail guards — about 3,050 of 8,500 — were on sick leave or medically unfit to work with inmates, according to the agency that runs the city’s jails, the Department
IN this 2011 photo, a corrections official watches inmates file out of a prison bakery at Rikers Island jail in New York. of Correction. Some guards have been missing shifts without any explanation. The growing crisis, brought to light in recent weeks by advocates, news reports and a federal monitor who wrote of “grave concerns” with the city’s jails, has sent officials scrambling for remedies amid plans to close Rikers by 2026. Mayor Bill de Blasio this week unveiled reforms that include requiring absent guards to get a doctor’s note if they’re out for more than a day, speeding inmate intake procedures and fixing infrastructure
problems like broken cell doors. On Wednesday, the city started suspending jail guards for 30 days without pay if they refused to come to work. Last week, the city said the staffing situation was so dire it was enlisting a telemarketing company to entice recently retired correctional officers to return to work. Advocates, lawmakers and even the union for jail guards say the measures aren’t enough to fix a system where 10 inmates have died this year, at least five in suspected suicides. Advocates want inmates
released immediately. Some say Rikers should be closed right away. Lawmakers who toured Rikers complex this week said it’s filthy and inhumane, with overflowing toilets and floors covered in dead cockroaches, feces and rotting food. State Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas said inmates told her they felt like they were being treated like slaves and animals. The union, meanwhile, has said that hiring more guards is the answer and that suspensions will leave remaining officers working “triple and quadruple shifts with no meals and no rest”. “The mayor cannot discipline his way out of this staffing crisis that he caused by refusing to hire a single correction officer for nearly three years, even as the inmate population doubled,” said Benny Boscio Jr, the president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association. In actuality, the city’s jail population has risen by about 58 percent, topping 6,000 inmates at the end of last week after falling below 3,900 inmates as bail reforms took effect, arrests slowed and some inmates were sent home early in the
pandemic. In addition, city jail Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said Monday that the city has authorised the hiring of at least 200 correctional officers. De Blasio has blamed virus-related court backlogs for the increases and called on judges to use supervised release instead of jail for people accused of nonviolent offenses. He wants the state’s prison system to transfer sentenced inmates from Rikers within five days and joined advocates and lawmakers in calling on Gov Kathy Hochul to sign a bill overhauling the parole system. Most of the city’s jail inmates are being held for trial or on parole violations. Problems at Rikers aren’t new. The Associated Press and other news organisations have reported on past concerns including violence, deaths, sexual assaults and mistreatment of mentally ill inmates. “It’s taken a really long time to mess this place up. It has been decades of neglect out here,” said Schiraldi, the jail commissioner since June. “I call it the junk drawer of the criminal justice system.” Inmates have wallowed for days at a single intake unit without basic medical
attention, like having their blood sugar checked, and unable to make phone calls to relatives, lawmakers and advocates said. Inmates have lashed out at guards and each other. In July, an inmate tossed feces at a jail captain. In August, an inmate slashed a guard. In March, in what was supposed to be a secure and closely watched mental health observation unit, authorities said an inmate managed to kill himself. “These conditions are not just responding to the crisis of the pandemic that hit the jails 17 months ago,” said Werlwas. “This is a severe and remarkable decline in the very most basic security and operations of our jails.” The jail’s federal monitor, Steve J Martin, said in a letter to US District Judge Laura Swain in August that worsening conditions in the city’s jails — rising violence, self-harm, death and use of force by guards — were tied directly to a spike in “excessive and unchecked staff absences” dating to April. Guards who did show up said they were forced to work double and triple shifts, leading the union to sue the city over what it called “inhumane” working conditions.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 17, 2021, PAGE 19
NO RED FLAGS, SAY OBSERVERS
OAS officials visit the Queen’s College polling station. THE chief of the Organisation of American States’ Electoral Observation Mission said he has not noticed any red flags in the voting process as Bahamians cast their votes yesterday.
The group will make recommendations after the election. Denis Antoine made the comments while speaking to reporters following the EOM’s tour of polling
US PRAISES ELECTION
THE US Embassy in Nassau congratulated Bahamians for successfully exercising their democratic rights and participating in yesterday’s general election. “The embassy deployed a team of six observers to monitor the elections; overall we observed a peaceful and orderly election at the majority of polling stations, in spite of the many challenges of the ongoing pandemic,” the US Embassy said in a press release yesterday. “The United States was part of a broad independent observation effort that included the Organization of American States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth, and other members of the Diplomatic Corps. “Elections are one of the primary ways to ensure citizens participate in a democracy. We applaud the efforts of the Bahamian government, the Parliamentary Registration Department, civil society, the candidates, and above all the voting public of The Bahamas for strengthening their democratic institutions. “The United States looks forward to continuing its work with the government and people of The Bahamas to strengthen our enduring partnership for the good of both of our peoples.”
Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff stations across the capital. After the international group of observers canvassed the Queen’s College polling station, Mr Antoine said it appeared as if the voting process was “going smoothly” based on their observations. “I think things are quiet,” he said. “We’re continuing to observe and monitor the process to see how it’s going and then we will make our assessment and make further recommendations.” Mr Antoine said he was also pleased with the health and safety protocols being enforced at the various polling stations to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 amid the virus’ most recent surge in the country. “The COVID-19 (pandemic) presents a challenge and we are encouraging everyone to adhere to the protocols of the Ministry of Health and the electoral authorities,” he said. “It is a very challenging time and we do hope that everyone looks out for themselves
and others. So we are hoping that it continues to go smoothly. We have seen evidence of persons taking care with masks and sanitising and we ask that that continues.” The EOM chief said he and his team would continue to observe until the voting process ended. He said at that time, they will make their observations and recommendations known. “This (effort) is in solidarity to the member states of the Organisation of American States,” he said. “We’re looking to ensure that we come and we participate by observing and we would make critical and very accurate assessments of the process and at the end of this process, we would present our report with recommendations for improvement. “The timeline (for the report) comes after the election,” he also said. “We have to wait until the process is over. We cannot
predict when and what date we can give at this moment.” When The Tribune visited the polling station at Queen’s College, the site was relatively quiet, with no long lines or notable crowd sizes. When asked to share his experience at the polls, one voter described the process as “seamless”. “There were probably four people in front of me when I got there and they were all spaced out six feet apart,” he said. “It was a constant flow and I didn’t see any big crowds. People were constantly walking from the parking lot to the polls and back, but there was no congregation. There’s no big crowds, so it was a lot smoother than the last election.” Another voter also said while he was initially hesitant to come out to mark his ballot because of the current COVID-19 surge, he was pleasantly surprised at the organisation at the
QC polling station. “I was a little concerned that it might have been out of control but everyone was very professional and careful to take safeguards and precautions, so everything worked out well,” he said. A group of Commonwealth election observers, headed by former Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding, also arrived in the country several days ago to observe the election.. This is the second time the Commonwealth observed the Bahamian election — the first was in May 2017. The Commonwealth observers will issue an interim statement on its preliminary findings tomorrow. A final report will be prepared and submitted to the Commonwealth secretary-general, and subsequently shared with relevant stakeholders and made publicly available. The group will depart the country by September 23.
PAGE 20, Friday, September 17, 2021
LINES at the St. Andrews School Polling division.
THE TRIBUNE
Photo: Donavan McIntosh
LINES at St. John’s School Mt Moriah.
Photo: Khrisna Russell
h
r ballot. Photo: Donavan McIntos s School Polling division to cast thei rew And St. the at ing arriv ers SCORES of PLP support
CONSTITUENTS wait patiently to cast their vote at St. John’s School Mt. Moriah. Photo: Khrisna Russell
AN FNM supporter at the St. Andrews School Polling division
VOTERS gather at the St. Anne’s polling division to cast their vote. A NUMBER of supporters show their party colours at St. Andrew’s International School polling division for the Yamacraw Constituency. Photo:Earyel Bowleg
LONG lines persist while voters wait at St. John’s School Mt. Moriah.
VOTERS gather at Thelma Gibson Primary School polling division for the Elizabeth Constituency. Photo:Earyel Bowleg
Photo: Khrisna Russell