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MORE THAN 100K NOW VACCINATED ...but confirmation of 20 more deaths shows COVID fight not over

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Ministry of Health confirmed 20 additional COVID-19 deaths on the weekend, bringing the total to 557 to date.

The spike in deaths comes as COVID-19 hospitalisations declined and as the Bahamas reached a new vaccination milestone, with 104,380 people now fully vaccinated, according to the Ministry of Health.

Yesterday, infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes cautioned that despite declining numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the positive vaccination trend, it is too early to say the country is nearing the end of the third wave.

Sixty-seven new COVID19 cases were recorded on Friday and 46 were recorded on Saturday, pushing the confirmed coronavirus case count to 21,312.

NATIONAL TASK FORCE CHIEF DEFENDS FOOD AID

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SUSAN Larson, head of the National Food Assistance Task Force formed under the Minnis administration, has defended the programme after Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe questioned the nearly $800k weekly bill.

Last week, Mr Wilchcombe said his ministry is moving quickly to put

BACK TO HAITI

SEE PAGE FOUR

in place a new food programme.

In a letter to the editor, Mrs Larson said zone leaders for the programme included the Bahamas Feeding Network, the Grand Bahama Food Assistance Committee, Hands for Hunger, IDEA Relief, Lend a Hand Bahamas, One Eleuthera Foundation, and, during 2020, the Bahamas Red Cross.

SEE PAGE THREE

HAITIAN migrants boarding a Bahamas Air flight in Inagua to transport them back to their home country. More than 500 migrants were repatriated on Friday. See PAGE FIVE for the full story.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

SENATORS REVEALED AHEAD OF SWEARING-IN CEREMONY

NYGARD YES TO EXTRADITION ON US SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES

GOVERNOR General Sir Cornelius Smith is expected to officially swear in 14 senators at a private ceremony today.

CANADIAN fashion mogul Peter Nygard has consented to be extradited to the United States to face charges related to sex

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has chosen LaShell Adderley, Barry Griffin, Tyrell Young, James Turner-Rolle, Kirkland Russell, Roland Duncombe and Quinton Lightbourne SEE PAGE THREE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

trafficking and racketeering, a court heard on Friday.

The revelation was made during a hearing before Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

PM URGED US COURT TO DROP ADRIAN FOX CASE INSIGHT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has urged a US judge to end the federal authorities’ pursuit of Island Luck’s co-founder, writing: “I strongly advocate termination of proceedings against Mr Adrian Fox.” Mr Davis, in letter from August 10, before his election victory, to Judge Denise Cote, hailed Mr

ADRIAN FOX Fox’s role as a key player in efforts to legalise the Bahamian web shop sector, which he described as “an industry that long plagued our nation’s underground”.

The letter was filed on

Friday as one of many character references urging a light, non-custodial sentence on Mr Fox over the role he played in a human smuggling operation more than a decade ago.

Mr Fox’s plea deal, which omits mention of the human smuggling offences he was initially charged with, sees him pleading guilty to one count of helping to operate a vessel in US waters “in a grossly negligent manner”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

THE HAITI PROBLEM IS ABOUT MORE THAN MIGRANTS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Monday, October 4, 2021

NO CONTACT FROM US OVER MURDER FUGITIVE

THE TRIBUNE ASSISTANT Superintendent of Police Audley Peters said Friday that the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in a homicide case in the United States, is not a matter for Bahamian authorities.

Mr Peters, the police press liaison officer, was contacted on the matter after reports circulated that Laundrie, a man wanted for questioning in the case of Gabby Petito, his dead girlfriend – was seen in The Bahamas.

Though authorities have not explicitly connected Laundrie to Petito’s death, they are looking for him, in part as a response to a federal arrest warrant accusing him of illegally using

BRIAN LAUNDRIE another person’s debit card.

In an article published by The Sun in the US it was alleged that Mr Laundrie could be in The Bahamas.

Contacted Friday about the report, ASP Peters told The Tribune: “That’s not a matter in our jurisdiction. So, it’s not for us to make any comment.

People are speculating as to where he is and they

don’t have any facts.”

ASP Peters further noted that there have been no contacts from US officials regarding Mr Laundrie allegedly being in the country.

Mr Laundrie is considered a person of interest in the case of his fiancee Gabby Petito, 22. The couple went on a crosscountry trip in America.

However, eyebrows were raised when Mr Laundrie returned without Ms Petito.

Her family reported her missing on September 11 and a few days later human remains were found in a national park in Wyoming. The FBI reportedly confirmed the remains belonged to the missing woman.

SHOT DEAD OUTSIDE HIS WORKPLACE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was shot dead outside of his place of work on Friday morning.

The death marked the country’s sixth homicide in a six day period.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Audley Peters said officers were alerted to a shooting at a business at Robinson Road shortly after 8am.

“Upon arrival of our first responders, they met a male

just in front of a business establishment door unresponsive,” he told reporters on the scene. “Upon examining the body, we found multiple wounds that appeared to be gunshots.

Emergency Medical Services were summoned and after their examinations of the body, it was pronounced lifeless.”

ASP Peters said the deceased victim was in his early 20s. He also said preliminary investigations revealed that he was an employee of Muffler World, a car repair shop.

According to the police press liaison officer, the victim was entering the shop when a single gunman approached him and fired multiple shots into his body. ASP Peters said witnesses claimed the suspect fled to the back of the shop after the shooting.

However, he said police are still searching for the perpetrator and appealed to the public for assistance.

Friday’s murder came after a man was shot dead on Windsor Lane on Wednesday night. The day before, police were called to the same community after a man was fatally wounded following a shooting incident. The incidents followed a deadly Sunday in which three homicides occurred.

ASP Peters was unable to

say if the recent homicides were related. However, speaking generally on the latest killings, he said the main concern for police is the proliferation of firearms.

“We are concerned, and the concern is simply that individuals have to report to police persons who are in possession of firearms.

Again, somebody knows who this individual is who is in this possession of firearm and did not say anything,” he said.

“We couldn’t act on it because we didn’t have the information and so our concern is members of the public who have knowledge of these firearms to report them to us. Whether it be a girlfriend, mother, sister or brother, no one keeps things in isolation. Some always says something to someone. That’s human behaviour and again, we can’t stop appealing to members of the public to furnish us with the information so that we can act.

“We are concerned about the violent crime and in particular the murder that’s been occurring in recent days.

However, we need the public assistance in tackling it.”

Anyone with information about this incident or any other crime matters is asked to call police at 5029991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477).

POLICE OFFICER STABLE AFTER AIRPORT SHOOTING

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer is in stable condition after being shot while on duty at Lynden Pindling International Airport on Saturday.

Police reported in a release that they have taken a male suspect into custody, but a second suspect is being sought in connection with this matter.

“Preliminary information is that shortly after 5pm, a police officer while on duty at the Lynden Pindling International Airport was shot while assisting a business establishment with a deposit,” said the release.

“As the officer arrived at the deposit site, he was approached by a gunman who shot him before making his escape. The officer who was conscious following the encounter, was transported to the hospital where he received medical attention.”

When asked where it is believed the second suspect escaped, police press liaison officer Assistant Superintendent of Police Audley Peters told The Tribune police believe he fled in the area of Cowpen Road.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477).

NO INJURIES IN GAS STATION FIRE SMOKE billowed from a fuel pump at an Esso Service Station causing great concern among customers and passersby Thursday afternoon.

The incident at the gas station at Prince Charles Drive and Fox Hill Road was captured in a viral video making the rounds on social media. Superintendent Kenrick Morris, director of Fire Services, told The Tribune on Friday that firefighters received a

call at around 5.45pm.

He said: “The fire department received reports of a fuel pump fire. There were no injuries and as a result the fire department responded with two appliances.

However, they met the fire already extinguished.”

Superintendent Morris said only one pump was involved.

The cause of the small fire is not yet known and an investigation is ongoing.

GIRL MISSING FOR TWO WEEKS GRAND Bahama police are searching for a 15-yearold Freeport girl who has been missing for almost two weeks.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle reported that Mariah Culmer, of Malibu Drive, was last seen around 8.30pm on September 21. She was wearing a red shirt and short blue jeans. Her hair was arranged in a ponytail. The teen is slim, is of brown complexion and has brown eyes.

Anyone with information

MARIAH CULMER that can assist the police in locating Mariah is asked to call Central Investigation Department at 242-3503109 or the nearest police station.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, October 4, 2021, PAGE 3

SENATORS REVEALED AHEAD OF SWEARING-IN CEREMONY from page one

as the Progressive Liberal Party’s senators. Among these, Mr Young, Mr Turner-Rolle and Mr Duncombe were PLP candidates in the recent election.

Randy Rolle, Darren Pickstock and Dr Ericia Hepburn will also be appointed to the Senate according to Article 39 (4) of the constitution which requires that the prime minister consult the leader of the official opposition on the appointments.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has chosen former Foreign

Affairs Minister Darren Henfield, former Pinewood MP Ruben Rahming, Seabreeze candidate Maxine Seymour and Viana Gardiner, the outgoing head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, as FNM senators.

Mrs Gardiner’s appointment has been controversial in the FNM since news of the move broke, with some in the party saying she lacks strong ties to the FNM. It is not clear if she is a member of the FNM. The 14 senators will join Attorney General Ryan Pinder and Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis who were appointed

to the Senate last month.

The Senate appointments will come before the official opening of Parliament on Wednesday when the Governor General will read the Speech from The Throne which outlines the priorities and objectives of the new session.

This comes as a document circulated on social media over the weekend purporting to be the official list of statutory boards and committee appointments.

Yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister released a statement saying the document is not official and branded it “fake”.

PARLIAMENT REOPENING TO BE AT BAHA MAR GOVERNMENT has announced that for various reasons parliament will be reopened indoors on Wednesday, October 6, at the Baha Mar Convention Centre.

Government’s Steering Committee recommended that this year’s reopening should move indoors because of the current inclement weather, the active demolition of the

nearby Churchill Building, and space, and seating limitations in the square due to COVID-19’s social distancing protocols .

“Owing to the previously stated rationale,” said the government, “we are satisfied that this decision will allow for the execution of the event in a manner that is representative of the opening of the House of Assembly.

“We are further satisfied that all COVID-19 health and safety protocols will be executed to standard.

“The Government of the Bahamas,” said the statement, “is ready to get to work and we invite all Bahamians to follow the proceedings on television, radio or by live stream and hear first hand the legislative priorities of the Davis-led administration.”

“At the appropriate time official notice of the appointments will be

gazetted and made public,” the OPM said.

The purported list, seen

by The Tribune, includes a number of new as well as familiar faces.

Water union leaders admit PLP links

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net AFTER being accused of creating political mischief over a list of promotions at the Water and Sewerage Corporation, the heads of both unions representing staff have come out and admitted their ties to the Progressive Liberal Party.

During the days leading up to the general election a number of staff at WSC received promotions. Their letters were dated September 1. In another letter dated September 23 and again signed by general manager, Elwood Donaldson, the promotions were rescinded. The promotions prompted criticism from Dwayne Woods, president of the Bahamas Utilities Service and Allied Workers Union, and Montgomery Miller, president of Water and Sewerage Management Union, who denounced the list as being politically motivated. They also said the promotions did not follow the proper process.

Recently, several WSC union members contacted The Tribune expressing their disgust at their promotions being rescinded and called the union presidents political operatives.

One of the union members said: “I work hard and I do not talk politics on this job so no one can say I am an FNM and that’s why I got promoted. This really saddens me and I know the union presidents are just

DWAYNE Woods in Long Island, where he admits he campaigned against FNM MP Adrian Gibson. chairman of have to suffer for it.” being pushing their politi- executive The union members who cal agenda. This is against Water and Sewerage in Donaldson and the former 2016,” the union member spoke to The Tribune all chairman and I want it to said. “He was Montgomery had the same story except stop because this is hurting Ferguson then and later one who was even more changed his name to Miller. upset saying that since Mr the staff.”

The union member He is the brother of Leslia Woods became union presiclaimed the younger Mr Miller. Woods was down dent, not one staff member Miller was hired by his on Long Island campaign- was promoted. The recent father, former WSC chair- ing for the PLP and hoping promotions, according to man Leslie Miller, however with every fibre of his being the second union member, the union leader denied that Adrian Gibson was were a welcomed change. voted out. They are con“Not one person was prothis.

“Miller was hired by nected and pushing their moted under Mr Woods,” his father who was the political agenda and we the second union member

said. “This was our chance.

Finally someone noticing our work and what did they do? They agreed to have our promotions taken back because of their political agenda.”

Last week, Mr Miller had expressed disagreement with Long Island MP-elect Adrian Gibson performing the role of executive chairman, citing that the Water and Sewerage Act does not call for such a title, but instead the position of chairman which is directly connected to the board of directors and not the day operations of the corporation.

The Tribune contacted both Mr Miller and Mr Woods and they both confirmed their political ties.

“Yes I am his son,” Mr Miller said admitting he is the son of former PLP Cabinet minister Leslie Miller.

“There is no question or dispute about that. Secondly, he did not hire me.

He met me at the corporation. He is known for being chairman at BPL. Now it is true that he did serve for a very brief period as chairman of Water and Sewerage while I was there, but the record would reflect clearly that I was there before he came there.

“I returned (to WSC) in February 2016 and I think he would have come months after. I can’t remember exactly when he would have been appointed. I was there before him. I am absolutely not politically motivated.

What I would have said to you is of substance and not partisanship.”

Leslie Miller was appointed to his former post at WSC in January 2016.

Mr Woods did not shy away from allegations that he campaigned against Mr Gibson in Long Island.

“That is a fact,” Mr Woods said. “I was there in Long Island campaigning against him. We demonstrated against the chairman for four and a half years and it fell on deaf ears with the minister and his party. So it left us no alternative but to campaign them out of governance.

“I am not running from that. That is a fact. Anytime governments don’t listen, unions have to bring them down. Demonstrations didn’t work, so then (we) campaigned them out.

That’s how you move them.

If that was not done, this union wouldn’t have relief today. That is my position.

“We complained to that government and they said Adrian Gibson is the best thing since sliced bread. We proved over and over that he was toxic for this environment and they failed to listen. So we went to another level.”

Mr Woods took issue with complaints from members that he has not achieved promotion for them in years. He showed The Tribune letters dated June 12, 2018, and August 30, 2020, where he petitioned the then Minister of Works Desmond Bannister and Cheryl Hanna, WSC assistant general manager, to carry out promotion exercises within the corporation.

NATIONAL TASK FORCE CHIEF DEFENDS FOOD AID

from page one

“What the NGOs do not deserve is politically motivated sideswipes,” she said. “It is always tempting to use the shock value of a big number for political gain. But when that maneuver threatens to negatively impact the integrity of the NGOs I worked alongside of, I feel compelled to speak out.

“The weekly spend of the programme during 2021 was slightly more than $768,000. The money goes quickly when you divide it by the 18,000 households requiring assistance this year. Throughout the past 19 months, the NGOs worked tirelessly to valueengineer its food parcels to a much higher amount through local donations, discounts, leveraged purchasing with local vendors, and the incredible engagement of volunteers.

“The math is straightforward: with a weekly budget of $768,000 the breakdown per household unit was $42.66 which included nonfood expenses. Another hallmark of the task force was the commitment to keep administrative costs at eight to nine percent in New Providence, 10-12 percent in the Family Islands generally, and 20 percent in Abaco—where most of the infrastructure was lost during Hurricane Dorian.

Recognising that every dollar would make a difference to a family in need, the task force’s decision to keep as much money as possible in actual food assistance was unanimous.

“In the context of government operations, these overhead numbers are

unheard of. They are one of the great advantages of public private partnerships as the implied savings can create a large opportunity for leveraging the benefits of the programme for the wider good.

“In New Providence weekly food parcels were valued at approximately $38 for a household of four persons. Imagine, if you will, the humility that comes when distributing or accepting such a meager parcel for an entire household.

Each of us certainly wished we could give more. As chairman, I often received anguished calls from NGO zone leaders asking, ‘how can we do more?’ Together we would devise ways to provide additional emergency support. “The task force was bolstered continuously by expressions of deep gratitude from persons in need. Text messages and voicemails moved many of us to tears and steeled our resolve to carry on.

“In many areas and for many people, food parcels were the only practical option and canned goods were often a necessity as recipients did not have refrigerators or even electricity and therefore no means to preserve perishable food. Some beneficiaries physically could not get to distribution centres, and, in those cases, the parcels were delivered.”

Mrs Larson said the food programme, which was started in the spring of 2020, was a $54 million investment that “will be remembered as the largest and most successful social aid programme in our nation’s history.” She said at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, about 57,000

households had registered for assistance.

“In scope and scale, the task force is the largest Bahamian public private partnership ever crafted. It has elevated awareness of what can be achieved when the government embraces the private sector as a willing and able partner, and, in return, the private sector contributes its experience and know-how for the greater good. It has cemented the role such partnerships should play in national development as our country moves forward,” she said.

Last week, Mr Wilchcombe suggested the food costs in the programme could be lowered as he questioned some of the choices taken.

“So as far as the food programme is concerned, it comes to an end and then we have to absorb the individuals,” he said. “I just don’t understand why we’re spending 800 plus thousand dollars a week. I have a difficulty with that and they’re buying through a second hand while it makes more sense to have warehouses of food and cause for the distribution and we can buy them directly from the manufacturers or the producers of the factories.

“Why are we spending an incredible amount of money going through second and third parties when it’s causing the state so much and still not getting as many people the food as I’d like them to have?

“Seventeen thousand we’re told were fed, my thinking is you have much more than that who are suffering and so we have to find a better way to do it.”

• See letters, page six

PAGE 4, Monday, October 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

More than 100k now vaccinated from page one

“In the last few weeks the number of cases reported is declining,” Dr Forbes said yesterday. “However, what I will tell you is that the testing has declined. When we look at the health data we look at several indicators. Test taking behaviours affect a number of positive cases and there are biases and things that will affect test taking. A holiday weekend would. If there is very big activity, test taking behaviour may change.

In those weeks where the numbers were declining, testing went down. So that’s why it’s important to look at other variables, deaths, hospitalisations and the

percent testing positive for the virus.

“The percent testing positive is still on an upward trend and still much higher than where we need it to be. We want it to be under five percent. When you have a high test positivity of upward of 20 percent that is informative and means there is still a lot of COVID-19 out there.

“What is positive is when hospitalisation starts to go down, when that trend continues to bear out, that’s an indicator that things are improving.

“We have to keep an eye on the epidemic curve. At the very end of last week there was a very small increase; it’s still too early to say the wave is being

flattened or is behind us,” she said.

Dr Forbes said data collected at Princess Margaret Hospital continues to show that the vast majority of people being admitted or dying from COVID-19 are not vaccinated. She said as of the end of September, 95 percent of COVID-19 deaths were unvaccinated people, about four percent were partially vaccinated and one percent - about four people were fully vaccinated.

The fully vaccinated deaths include people who are severely immunocompromised, she said.

The deaths confirmed on Friday include a 72-yearold male Abaco resident who died on October 14, 2020; a 74-year-old Bimini

man who died on March 30, 2021; a 44-year-old Abaco man who died on May 16; a 49- year-old Bimini man who died on July 21; a 50-year-old Andros woman who died August 1; a 57-year-old Andros man who died on August 17; a 62-year-old Abaco man who died on August 19; and an 87-year-old Exuma man who died on August 20.

The other deaths include a 74-year-old Exuma man who died on August 20; a 52-year-old Abaco woman who died on August 25; a 63-year-old Exuma man who died on August 31; a 79-year-old Eleuthera woman who died on September 16; an 80-year-old New Providence man who died on September 16;

a 42-year-old Eleuthera woman who died on September 16; a 96-year-old Andros man who died on September 20; a 36-year-old New Providence man who died on September 28th; a 59-year-old New Providence woman who died on September 30; and a 70-year-old Eleuthera woman who died on September 30.

The deaths recorded on Saturday include an 80-year-old New Providence woman and an 85-year-old Cat Island man, both of whom died on September 16.

Health officials said 66 deaths are currently under investigation, with 33 deaths recently added to this category.

Ed Fields, co-chair of

Merceline Dahl-Regis revealed that three unvaccinated healthcare workers were hospitalised with the virus at the time. She encouraged healthcare workers to get vaccinated.

“We know now that there is no scientific merit to claims that the vaccine is unsafe. It is the responsible role of health professionals to become vaccinated and not to put themselves in jeopardy nor infect their families and loved ones. I implore all to take the COVID-19 vaccine,” Dr Dahl-Regis said in August.

That same month Family Island physician Dr Charles Edward Wildgoose III lost a short battle to COVID19. Dr Wildgoose was not vaccinated.

After the figures were revealed, two unions representing healthcare workers — CPSA and the Bahamas Nurses Union — questioned the data.

“We have never had a problem at all in individuals getting vaccinated,” BNU President Amancha

Williams said in a previous interview. “Vaccinations, at the end of the day, should be a choice. Everyone has a choice in taking it.

“How can they say only 50 percent of the healthcare workers are vaccinated when persons went off to the States to get vaccinated? So we don’t see that as a true picture. I think it’s more. They went to the States to get vaccinated because they wanted choices for their families.

“The union encourages nurses with comorbidities and difficulties to go into counselling and find out from their doctors in order to make the right choice.

If it is, then get vaccinated because we don’t want you to die.”

For his part, Dr John Dillett, vice president of the CPSA, was doubtful of the figure given in August.

“We know that they have cited those statistics some months ago so we have to query as to whether or not that is accurate,” Dr Dillett said previously. “We would be appreciative if they

provide the sources of this data for public consumption so that we can truly understand and see if that is still the case. I feel it has changed significantly over the past months.

“As a union, we do support our members in taking the vaccine. We do acknowledge that it is a personal decision and each individual has to make that decision with family and their personal physicians giving advice. In the health community, certainly the majority of health officials and medical and clinical staff do support the vaccine.”

CPSA president Dr Sabriquet Pinder-Butler.

‘70%’ OF DOCTORS VACCINATED

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AT least 70 percent of doctors in the Consultant Physicians Staff Association have been vaccinated against COVID-19, CPSA President Dr Sabriquet Pinder-Butler said yesterday.

“CPSA members have been doing very well with vaccinations from a while back,” she explained yesterday. “Our members, the majority, have been vaccinated at least a month past.

“A lot of our members, most of them had the shot even before there was the Pfizer (option available locally).”

In August, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said only about 50 percent of the country’s healthcare workers were vaccinated at the time, which officials said was cause for concern.

That same month, National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee Chairperson Dr

the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, highlighted the rising vaccination numbers yesterday.

“From the 100 dose per day sites in the Family Islands to the 900+ dose per day super site in Grand Bahama…every dose counts,” he said.

“Our efforts are paying dividends. This achievement did not come easy but together we made it happen. There is still quite a bit of road ahead of us but my request of you today is to please take a moment and enjoy this milestone.”

As of October 2, 127 people were in hospital with the disease, a decrease of 12 percent from the day before.

OPM WELCOMES FITZGERALD THE Office of the Prime Minister has issued a statement about the appointment of former Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald as a senior policy advisor, saying the office is pleased that Mr Fitzgerald is joining the team.

“As we finish a very busy two weeks in office, we continue to build a team capable of addressing the country’s significant challenges,” the statement noted on Friday.

“Jerome Fitzgerald was a very effective minister of education and we’re pleased he will be joining the team at the Office of the Prime Minister. Our team is determined to implement the policies outlined in our Blueprint for Change, even while we manage the multiple crises facing our country.”

Last week, The Tribune reported that — in a now deleted tweet — the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit announced that Mr Fitzgerald is the new senior policy advisor and head of the PMDU. When contacted for comment last week, OPM said the appointment had not yet been finalised.

The appointment was expected to draw criticism because of the controversy that ensnared Mr Fitzgerald’s career near the end of the last Christie administration.

At the time, Mr Fitzgerald confirmed that he sought contracts from Baha Mar for his family’s business after The Tribune exclusively revealed that he requested

Store Hours:

brokerage, trucking and limousine contracts worth millions. Critics claim that he breached the Manual of Cabinet and Ministry Procedure, which states that a minister must not “solicit or accept any benefits advantage or promise of future advantage whether for himself, his immediate family or any business concern or trust with which he is associated from persons who are in, or seek to be in, any contractual or special relationship with the government.”

Shortly before the 2017 general election, The Tribune published emails showing that Mr Fitzgerald advocated on behalf of Bahamas Cargo & Logistics, a company he said was formed by his father years ago.

Alleged PLP corruption was a prominent theme of the Free National Movement’s 2017 general election campaign and the Minnis-led party seized on the revelations about Mr Fitzgerald while making its pitch to Bahamians. The FNM won that election by a landslide and Mr Fitzgerald lost his reelection bid to the Marathon constituency.

In February 2019, Mr Fitzgerald announced an end to his political career, telling PLP members at a meeting for aspiring candidates in Marathon that he would not seek a nomination. He said his political career had been “active and exciting, rewarding and painful, dynamic and challenging, but most of all…gratifying.”

Mr Fitzgerald would not comment when contacted yesterday.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, October 4, 2021, PAGE 5

Minister has concerns over $17m drone system

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe says he has concerns about the $17m drone system project his predecessor executed.

He spoke to reporters in Inagua on Friday as more than 500 migrants were repatriated to Haiti.

Former Minister of National Security Marvin Dames led the execution of a contract with Californiabased Swift Systems for a drone programme that he said should lead to “record level” crime reduction.

Asked about the matter in Inagua, Mr Munroe said: “A technology that’s on the horizon and would be very useful if we had it at this time certainly is the long range drone capacity. I did have a briefing on that together with our coastal radar that would permit us to put in place a blockade, a cordon perhaps with the deployment of fewer vessels.

“What I am prepared to say at this moment is that I have some concerns about the – from what I

SOME of the migrants awaiting a flight from Inagua.

Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff security forces, firstly we control when it is around need to know if it is safe security personnel. So for because we have a respon- myself I have to be very sibility for the safety of concerned about the safety persons within the secu- of any equipment that we rity forces. We need to be are giving security forces. certain that other people While they signed up to put around them are safe. I’ve their lives on the line for had a report that two of the us it is our responsibility drones, because we have not to call for them to do drones in country that were it unnecessarily and willyMINISTER of National Security operated by police, crashed; nilly and that is something Wayne Munroe. fortunately in uninhabited I am supposed to receive was briefed – identity of the forest areas but certainly if further briefings on, read successful bidder, the for- a drone could crash in an further papers and if the malisation and conclusion uninhabited forest area it provider is able to allay of the actual contract and could crash in a populated all my fears by delivering quality products at the the actual products being area.

“Certainly if it runs out time they agree to deliver delivered.

“Any product, any tech- of control in an uninhab- them and so that’s still a nology we give to our ited area it could run out of work in progress.”

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he is biased towards the law – not to his former clients or clients of his firm whose grievances with the government may intersect with his new role.

He spoke to reporters in Inagua on Friday after announcing on Thursday that Corrections Commissioner Charles Murphy has been placed on administrative leave and will be replaced by Acting Commissioner Doan Cleare. Mr Cleare has been ordered to return to the prison along with Bernadette Murray, another deputy commissioner who had been sidelined by the previous administration.

As clients of Mr Munroe’s firm, Mr Cleare and Mrs Murray sued the Minnis administration in

2019, alleging they were forced to take vacation leave to facilitate the promotion of Mr Murphy, their deputy. They also alleged that Mr Murphy actively campaigned for the Free National Movement during the 2017 general election.

Mr Munroe spoke to The Tribune at length about the lawsuit and related matters around the time the suit was filed.

Asked about the possible appearance of bias towards his former clients, Mr Munroe told reporters: “The law is the law.

My bias is towards the law.

There is nothing I can do in a case that actually affects a case that I had carriage off. For instance, to answer the question frontally, I can’t appoint a new commissioner of corrections because that’s not a power that resides in a minister. I yesterday (Thursday) didn’t appoint any deputy commissioner of corrections.

Mr Munroe also read a joint statement in Inagua from him and Immigration Minister Keith Bell in which they reiterated the Davis administration’s commitment to defending the sovereignty of the Bahamas against an influx of migrants. Mr Munroe and Mr Bell toured areas where migrants are being kept.

“We have expedited the reparation process so that the migrants who are currently here can be processed and returned to their country in record time,” Mr Munroe said. “Resources deployed for the benefit of this operation include the HMBS Rolly Gray, HMBS Lingum Vitae, HMBS Lawrence Major, an RBDF safe boat, RBDF air support, and their respective crews.

The officers of the Department of Immigration have contributed their efforts to the safe detainment of migrants and the Royal Bahamas Police force has provided a safe boat, as well as the support of its officers.

The United States Coast Guard has provided the support of five USCG Cutters, three helicopters and fixed wing support.”

To protect the country’s borders, the RBDF executed Operation Blue Thump, a maritime blockade strategy with several layers, according to Captain Glenn McPhee, commanding officer of the RBDF’s southern command.

He said: “The first layer of the operation is the southern border, complete blocking of the southern border; the second layer is the Central Bahamas, ensuring that by any chance something slips through the first layer we are able to capture them in the second layer; to date, we have interdicted or apprehended in excess of 1,000 irregular or illegal migrants coming to our shores. This was a result of Operation Blue Thumb in collaboration with all of our regional and international partners.”

Mr Bell confirmed that one apprehended migrant has died. Officials, however, gave no further details on the death, with basic details about the person and their death remaining unclear.

The migrants were transported on several Bahamasair charter flights on Friday.

Interfering with the liberty of a subject is serious business. Anything that impacts it being done incorrectly must be investigated. If for instance the matter escalates, you will find there will not be any internal investigation and there likely may have to be an independent investigation for someone who will render a report that will then be acted on.”

Mr Munroe emphasised his personal responsibility as minister when asked how he will handle matters where cases connected to his professional past intersect with his new public role.

“Some authority given to ministers are personal and so to use the example yesterday, by I think Section 3 or 4 of the Correctional Services Act I am responsible for the general running of the correctional institution, not personally, but that fact makes me personally liable if I do not discharge my duty and so that is something that proceeds in a particular fashion,” he said.

“The permanent

secretary, the undersecretary, the deputy permanent secretary are all there to give me advice, there is a manual that we conduct ourselves by and I act on that advice generally.

You cannot do anything that favours your personal interest because a conflict of interest means you have an interest to the public to discharge your public duty and you have a personal interest and when they may be in opposition then you have a conflict of interest, so there are steps that you take to ascertain that and there are steps that you take to act on that. The example I give is that people believe that if I represent Rashad Rolle in one case I can never sue him. That’s not correct. I can actually be representing you in one case and suing you in a completely different case of a different client. The only difference is I have to disclose to the person who wants me to sue you that you know I represent Rashad in another case and if they are content with that then that’s fine.”

MUNROE DENIES BIAS OVER CORRECTIONS COMMISSIONER MOVE

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They are substantive office holders.”

In suspending Mr Murphy, Mr Munroe cited the case of Prescott Smith, a prominent Progressive Liberal Party supporter from Andros who was being kept at the prison in a possible breach of a Supreme Court order by Justice Loren Klein. Mr Smith reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 in prison and was quarantined in a cell with three other people, prompting the decision to send the commissioner on administrative leave.

“The reality is if there is a case where there may be liability on me, up to criminal liability for gross negligence (or) manslaughter because prison officers are wards of the state, if you don’t act in a way that’s responsible and you start your duty and someone dies or is seriously injured you are criminally responsible, the minister, the commissioner,” Mr Munroe said.

“And so the reality is yesterday (Thursday) nobody lost their jobs, nobody got

promoted, no litigation was settled, no litigation was impacted. It is as simple as there is an allegation that I am in contempt of court, that the commissioner of corrections is (allegedly) in contempt of court for not immediately obeying the order of Justice Klein.

That is a matter that has to be investigated. That’s the reality of it.

“We know that the gentleman that wasn’t released is infected with SARS COV2. I was told in my briefing that when you go into the prison you are quarantined and isolated. I discovered that that event happens with four people in a cell. When we visited the correctional institute yesterday (Thursday) one of the men who was in the cell with the gentlemen appeared symptomatic and will be checked for SARS COV2 infection. I hope and pray that he is not infected with SARS COV2 because there would have to be further investigations. Fooling around with people’s liberty is serious business.

PAGE 6, Monday, October 4, 2021

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100,000 vaccinations is no small feat THE fight against COVID-19 received mixed news over the weekend.

The good news was breaking through the 100,000 total for the number of people who are now fully vaccinated.

That total now stands at 104,380, with around another 20,000 having received one dose of the vaccine.

The bad news was that we’re far from over the third wave of the pandemic yet - with another 20 deaths from the virus confirmed in the latest data.

The number of cases being reported has dropped - but so has the testing.

As infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes points out: “In those weeks where the numbers were declining, testing went down. So that’s why it’s important to look at other variables, deaths, hospitalisations, and the percent testing positive for the virus.

“The percent testing positive is still on an upward trend and still much higher than where we need it to be. We want it to be under five percent. When you have a high test positivity of upward of 20 percent that is informative and means there is still a lot of COVID-19 out there.”

Still a lot out there. Remember those words as you go about your business.

But that silver lining is the number who are vaccinated. Add to that the number who have recovered from COVID-19, a total of 19,172 according to the latest data, and we are moving slowly but steadily towards a point where herd immunity might be reached.

That number will be even higher, of course, because of the number of people who had COVID-19 but never experienced any symptoms - as many as 35 percent of those infected may never experience symptoms, according to a

group of US doctors in August.

One of the regular promises by the PLP was that there would be free testing for COVID-19 - which, if implemented, will hopefully help to alert those with no symptoms and help limit the spread.

Of course, the number of reported cases will likely rise too - but as Dr Forbes says, we have to look at all the statistics, including that percentage rate of positive cases.

So where does that leave us?

It leaves us with a vaccination effort that must continue, and must keep pressing on.

The news last month that the US will require all adult foreign visitors to show full COVID-19 vaccination status has doubtless provided an incentive for some Bahamians to go and get their jabs - but there are plenty more staying right here at home who need to be convinced.

A look at the continuing increases in deaths ought to be convincing for others, or the reports of the hospital stretched beyond its capacity to help - but we’ve seen that for a while now, and still some won’t get the vaccine.

Businesses too are having discussions over how to deal with unvaccinated staff - as the debate last week over whether unvaccinated Atlantis workers would have to start paying for their weekly tests has shown.

There is a long way still to go in this battle - and many tough decisions along the way.

But for the moment, let us salute those who have helped us reach that 100,000 total. The nurses giving the jabs, those transporting the vaccines and those encouraging others to play their part and to get the jab. It’s no small landmark - you should all be proud.

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

THE TRIBUNE

Open letter on food aid EDITOR, The Tribune.

LAST Friday, October 1, the work of the Food Assistance Task Force came to a formal end. For seventy weeks without interruption, and all the while in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic, food security for tens of thousands of Bahamian households was assured.

Constituted in the Spring of 2020, the public private partnership was a $54m investment by the Minnis administration and likely will be remembered as the largest and most successful social aid programme in our nation’s history.

In scope and scale, the Task Force is the largest Bahamian public private partnership ever crafted. It has elevated awareness of what can be achieved when the government embraces the private sector as a willing and able partner, and, in return, the private sector contributes its experience and know-how for the greater good. It has cemented the role such partnerships should play in national development as our country moves forward.

The Bahamian public deserves to know the facts about the Task Force. Paramount is the extraordinary contribution the participating NGOs made. In fact, the success of the food assistance programme rests squarely on their shoulders.

While the term hero is often overused, the Task Force’s zone leaders truly earned that accolade as their efforts were nothing short of heroic. At the peak of the pandemic in 2020 57,000 households had registered for assistance. The zone leaders’ dedication to helping the most vulnerable among us day in and day out often meant the needs of people they did not know took daily precedence over their own families and loved ones — sometimes, over their own health and wellness. That dedication continued for seventy weeks, over holidays, throughout lockdowns, in the face of great uncertainty, and around the clock.

In this age of great cynicism, political silliness, and wide-spread negativity, it was singularly uplifting for me to work alongside these dedicated and indefatigable front-line workers. They are a source of profound inspiration for me. I admire them deeply and I encourage Bahamians everywhere to thank them for what they did.

They averted a national crisis, and the nation owes them a great debt of gratitude.

The Task Force’s zone leaders were Bahamas Feeding Network, the Grand Bahama Food Assistance Committee, Hands for Hunger, IDEA Relief, Lend a Hand Bahamas, One Eleuthera Foundation, and, during 2020, the Bahamas Red Cross. These NGOs will require the ongoing support of the private sector in the weeks and months to come because the need for food assistance is still real. Moreso, they are deserving of support in the months and years to come because they embody all that is good about the Bahamian NGO community. Their contributions to national development cannot be overstated.

I would be remiss if I didn’t call deserving attention to the thousands of hours of work by dedicated volunteers associated with these NGOs. Their contributions, especially during the height of 2020’s need, were truly invaluable and should be widely acknowledged.

What the NGOs do not deserve is politically motivated sideswipes. It is always tempting to use the shock value of a big number for political gain. But when that manoeuvre threatens to negatively impact the integrity of the NGOs I worked alongside of, I feel compelled to speak out.

The weekly spend of the programme during 2021 was slightly more than $768,000. The money goes quickly when you divide it by the 18,000 households requiring assistance

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net this year. Throughout the past nineteen months, the NGOs worked tirelessly to value-engineer its food parcels to a much higher amount through local donations, discounts, leveraged purchasing with local vendors, and the incredible engagement of volunteers.

The math is straightforward: with a weekly budget of $768,000 the breakdown per household unit was $42.66 which included nonfood expenses. Another hallmark of the Task Force was the commitment to keep administrative costs at 8-9% in New Providence, 10-12% in the Family Islands generally, and 20% in Abaco (where most of the infrastructure was lost during Hurricane Dorian).

Recognising that every dollar would make a difference to a family in need, the Task Force’s decision to keep as much money as possible in actual food assistance was unanimous.

In the context of government operations, these overhead numbers are unheard of. They are one of the great advantages of public private partnerships as the implied savings can create a large opportunity for leveraging the benefits of the programme for the wider good.

In New Providence weekly food parcels were valued at approximately $38 for a household of four persons.

Imagine, if you will, the humility that comes when distributing or accepting such a meager parcel for an entire household. Each of us certainly wished we could give more. As chairman, I often received anguished calls from NGO zone leaders asking, “how can we do more?”

Together we would devise ways to provide additional emergency support. The Task Force was bolstered continuously by expressions of deep gratitude from persons in need. Text messages and voicemails moved many of us to tears and steeled our resolve to carry on.

In many areas and for many people, food parcels were the only practical option and canned goods were often a necessity as recipients did not have refrigerators or even electricity and therefore no means to preserve perishable food. Some beneficiaries physically could not get to distribution centres, and, in those cases, the parcels were delivered.

Abaco suffered the most catastrophic of Dorian’s damage and for much of 2020 its grocery stores were still recovering and struggling to reopen. During that period, parcels were the only option for food assistance in our northernmost islands.

An enormous logistical distribution programme was developed to receive shipped in goods, break them down and then package them up, and distribute them weekly across mainland Abaco and all its surrounding cays.

The Task Force also used vouchers. In Eleuthera, for example, vouchers sourced through grocery stores in various settlements proved to be the most efficient way of “distributing” assistance throughout the 100-mile-long island.

Similarly in Grand Bahama, vouchers were the most cost-effective means of assistance. But the need was so great, and the Task Force’s budget so relatively limited that the GB Committee was pushed to devise a means of alternating weeks of assistance, effectively helping twice as many people as the budget was designed to do.

Warehousing food for a centralised pantry concept was considered by the Task Force in its formative weeks.

The Task Force considered this to be extremely resource intensive, requiring huge outlays of cash and then ongoing administrative costs that would diminish the pure investment in food. Given the urgency, the unknown duration of the programme, and the enormous

administrative infrastructure this concept would require, the Task Force did not consider it to be a viable option.

The Task Force has always understood that vouchers are known to preserve dignity and freedom of choice.

It is not possible to pack the same value into a voucher that is spent in the retail environment as a food parcel created in a discounted, wholesale environment.

Still, vouchers can also stimulate micro-economies when purchased from within a community. A practice developed overtime within zone leaders in New Providence of reducing the value and contents of the food parcel and supplementing it with a voucher for meat. This was well received.

One of the great strengths of the programme is it never attempted to reinvent the wheel. Rather, the strengths of existing structures were tapped into — the knowhow and extensive networks of NGOs. NGOs answer to Boards of Directors, usually monthly, who demand transparency and accountability. Additionally, the Task Force pledged to remain nimble, to critique its own methods weekly, and to change course if circumstances on the ground warranted. A significant point in case, Abaco food assistance became 100% vouchers in the last phase of the programme.

One of the long-term objectives of any national emergency food assistance programme should be to not exist. In Abaco, IDEA Relief eventually employed persons who had been receiving food assistance, securing the manpower needed for the enormous weekly distribution undertaking. The One Eleuthera Foundation first employed previous beneficiaries to clean community roadsides.

Then, building on the principles of “teach a man to fish”, they implemented a course in cooperative farming, taught participants best farming practices for a wide range of vegetables, phased growing so produce would not enter the market simultaneously, and supported the new farmers throughout.

In the densely populated Nassau City Zone, Lend a Hand assisted beneficiaries create resumes and find jobs.

They also offered stipends to young men who assisted with unpacking shipments and repacking the food parcels.

This modest programme helped to restore dignity and reduce conditions that propel people into crime.

In our weekly virtual meetings, I often told my NGO colleagues that as Chairman I felt as if I was “herding cats”. Everyone would laugh.

Each NGO was fiercely independent and their close association with the communities in which they worked gave them a unique perspective that demanded attention, response, and support. Amidst the danger and logistical challenges of the COVID crisis, each remained so committed to the cause that I was constantly humbled by their dedication. Each is proudly Bahamian and represents the very best of the nation.

My work with the Task Force’s NGO zone leaders filled me with hope. In an unprecedented time, they designed the largest-scale humanitarian aid programme our country has known and implemented it, not flawlessly but certainly with distinction. While the Task Force has finished its work on the ground, the need for food assistance remains. To address this, there is much that can be learned from our mistakes and successes that should be considered moving forward.

We welcome opportunities to contribute to defining that way forward.

I know I speak for each of the NGOs when I say it was a great honour to serve our beloved country in a time of such need.

SUSAN HOLOWESKO LARSON Chairman, National Food Assistance Task Force

THE TRIBUNE

NYGARD AGREES TO EXTRADITION ON US SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES from page one Scott Farlinger, a lawyer for the attorney general of Canada, told the court that Nygard signed a consent form on Thursday agreeing to be extradited in the US, which was later confirmed

by Nygard’s attorney Brian Greenspan.

However, the crown attorney explained that Nygard’s consent does not signal an end of the extradition process as the justice minister still has to decide whether he should be handed over to US authorities. Therefore, Nygard will not be immediately transferred to the US. During Friday’s hearing, Mr Greenspan told the court that despite Nygard’s consent to extradition, he still “unequivocally” maintains his innocence.

The defence attorney also clarified to the court that the consent form was signed based on one single charge of sex trafficking.

“The other allegations in the United States are not subject to this traditional filter, are not subject to the screening process, are not subject to challenge before the court at this time,” Mr Greenspan told the court on Friday.

“Only the single count upon which with some reluctance that we agreed based on the very low threshold of evidence necessary to justify committal of extradition, that threshold has been met in the record of the case and is sufficient to require or agree to the consent committal on that one count.

“The next phase, the surrender phase — which

is ministerial — there will be submissions made to the minister. There will be extensive submissions made in which both fairness in our respectful submission will dictate the limitation of the surrender to the one charge upon which he delegated the international assistance group to proceed and that is on the basis on the one offence.”

Nygard was charged in December 2020 with sex trafficking and racketeering offences that arose out of what lawyers called “a decades-long pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims in the United States, the Bahamas and Canada, among other locations.”

Since then, Nygard, 80, has been imprisoned in Headingley Correctional Centre in Canada. Despite several attempts, he has failed to secure bail.

During Friday’s hearing, Nygard, who appeared in court virtually, acknowledged signing the extradition consent form on Thursday and also confirmed that he was aware of what he had consented to.

Chief Justice Joyal told Nygard he cannot be transferred to the United States for at least 30 days, but can appeal the order. Nygard was also told he has the right to apply for bail pending the federal justice minister’s decision on extradition.

According to international reports, Nygard’s request for extradition came as police in Toronto announced plans to charge him with multiple counts of sexual assault.

The incidents are alleged to have occurred in the late 1980s and mid-2000s.

MAN ACCUSED OF HOUSEBREAKING

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A 40-YEAR-OLD Freeport man was charged on Thursday with housebreaking, stealing, assault and causing damage.

Errol Miller Jr, of Midshipman Road, appeared before Magistrate Simone Brown on two counts of housebreaking and stealing, one count of assault with a deadly instrument, two counts of stealing, and one

count of causing damage.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was granted $7,000 bail with eight suretors.

Miller was also ordered to be fitted with an ankle monitoring bracelet, and to report at Central Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday before 6pm. If bail is not met, he will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

The case was adjourned to November 11.

Monday, October 4, 2021, PAGE 7

‘High demand for travel’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper says there is high demand among travellers to visit The Bahamas.

He said this coupled with steady forward bookings sparked optimism among tourism officials of better performance in the months to come when asked about holiday bookings.

He shared the news on Friday after a tour of Sterling Commons and the Hurricane Hole project.

“There is a very significantly high demand for The Bahamas as a tourist destination.

(The) director general has assured me that the trends that we are seeing (are) very positive for the future

in speaking with some hotel properties and owners and managers.

“They are likewise optimistic about what they’re seeing over the next few weeks,” he told reporters.

“I’m advised that we have steady forward bookings, and we are optimistic about the next few months and the numbers in terms of stopovers in particular that will come.”

The pandemic has dealt a blow to the country’s tourism industry and the minister indicated the priority is to return the tourist numbers to pre-COVID levels. However, Mr Cooper said proper COVID-19 protocol adherence is important. “(I) think it’s important to acknowledge that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic and it’s necessary and

important that we do all that we can as individuals, as employees, as business owners to ensure that we continue to follow the protocols to help to contain COVID.” Meanwhile, the minister addressed Atlantis’ controversial plan to require all unvaccinated staff to pay for weekly COVID-19 tests.

Minister of Labour and Immigration Keith Bell said last week that the resort agreed to hold off on implementing the policy.

Mr Cooper noted a meeting with the resort’s senior executives and highlighted the difficulties the pandemic posed on business.

“I think it’s an issue between employer and employee,” he said. “There are some concerns about employees paying, etc. We

have a meeting with the senior executives of Atlantis. I can tell you that there have been some adjustments in the policy. I don’t want to be the one to make those announcements, but suffice it to say we look forward to working handin-hand with our major partners in the tourism industry.

“We will be having active discussions with the key players, including Atlantis over the course of the next few weeks. The pandemic has been a very difficult time for business especially in the tourism space and called for adjustments in policy and I am delighted that we are engaged already, and we’ll work hand-in-hand to continue to advance tourism in our country. It’s important.”

BAHAMAS SHOWCASES ATTRACTIONS AT DUBAI EXPO THE Bahamas Pavillion is on showcase at Expo 2020 in Dubai after the event opened on Friday.

The team, comprising Non-Resident Ambassador for The United Arab Emirates Tony Joudi, Michael Diggiss, Janet Johnson, Val Pintard-Flax, Nameiko Miller and Kishan Munroe, met up with logistics director, Ashraf Badwan, who has been working tirelessly on the ground in Dubai to bring this project to fruition.

“A first participation in a World’s Fair for our nation, the two storey pavilion traces The Bahamas’ rich cultural history, explores its sustainability-driven future and highlights our nature’s playground with all its mystery, ferocity and beauty,” a press release from Bahamas Pavillion said. “Visitors will explore exciting & interactive displays, designed

THE EXPO 2020 Dubai installation team of Val-Pintard-Flax and Michael Diggiss at work putting the finishing touches together. by our talented team of Val Flax, Nameiko Miller and Kishan Munroe; see an actual Bahamian sloop, loaned courtesy of Baha Mar; paintings and sculptures by our local artists & artisans and have the opportunity to purchase souvenirs in our retail area.

“One of the major thrusts of our participation

in Expo 2020 is to drive international business opportunities. There is a huge potential for international investment in the Bahamas, which will be facilitated by our embassy for business on the second floor of the Pavillion.

“This World’s Fair event has attracted participation from 192 countries and is

expected to host over 10 million international visitors during its six month run.

“For the first time ever, The Bahamas will be taking part in a World’s Fair event, putting our nation firmly on the global stage.

“Millions watched the live-streamed official opening, which featured international artists, including among others, Andrea Bocelli, Angelique Kidjo, Andra Day and Lang Lang.

Set in the huge Al Wasl projection dome, the largest in the world, the mind-blowing technology set the stage for what is sure to be the experience of a lifetime, not only for the projected 20 million visitors but also for the Bahamas Pavillion team.”

For more info visit www. bahamaspavillion.com.

Expo 2020 Dubai runs until March 31, 2022.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

Haiti problem is about more than migrants

By MALCOLM STRACHAN A FAMILIAR problem has dominated headlines in the past week in The Bahamas – the issue of Haitian migrants being detained as they pass through our waters.

New Labour and Immigration Minister Keith Bell talked of the need for a detention facility in Inagua amid a surge of Haitian migrants being detained.

The numbers being detained sounded startling at first. One sloop stopped off at Ragged Island had 137 migrants on board, elsewhere another 292 Haitians were found in Ragged Island the previous week, and then 415 were found on Flamingo Cay. In total, Mr Bell said more than 1,000 Haitians had been taken into custody in The Bahamas over the past several days.

On Friday, 516 Haitians were repatriated using Bahamasair charter flights.

It is easy to get drawn into the outrage over illegal migration. Many feel it is a challenge to the nation’s sovereignty and that it must be dealt with strongly.

Taking a look at the bigger picture, however, shows it is clearly not an issue of The Bahamas vs Haiti, but a regional problem.

Those 415 migrants found on Flamingo Cay were spotted on the same day that 509 Haitians were flown back to their country from a migrant camp in Texas, part of a group of more than 3,400 Haitians repatriated from the US border with Mexico.

A significant number of the Haitians we are detaining are not looking to reach New Providence or Grand Bahama or Abaco, but rather the United States.

We are catching them en route.

Many of the Haitians who have been detained trying to enter the US are coming up through Mexico, where there are an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 Haitian migrants, and there are many other countries dealing with an influx, either settling in those countries or passing through while heading to the US. Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez last week told The Miami Herald: “It’s a regional problem that needs to be tackled.”

He had just held a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise concerns over the migration crisis.

In June, Guyana’s Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, said:

SOME of the migrants detained by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force recently.

“They enter Guyana and they do not remain here.

Very few leave through the channels they came.

These people are being smuggled.”

That’s one part of the problem that doesn’t get highlighted enough – this is a business for those doing the smuggling.

Criminals are exploiting those trying to get away from Haiti in order to make money.

More than that, we do not recognise enough that while dealing with migration is a problem for us, it is in truth a symptom of the problems Haiti faces.

These people are fleeing Haiti for a reason – and we are treating the symptoms not the problem itself.

Haiti has recently had to deal with an earthquake – and the political turmoil of the nation that has included the assassination of its president.

Doctors Without Borders shut down its hospital in Marissant, which it had operated for 15 years, after a heavily armed gang seized control of the neighbourhood in June.

The main road in Martissant connects the Haitian capital with the south of the country. The gang wanted control. They surrounded the neighbourhood

INTERNALLY displaced people due to gang violence shelter in the Center Sportif of Carrefour, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Families with young children have been sleeping on concrete floors of the gymnasium since mid-June, with only a sheet serving as a bed and their scant belongings stuffed into bags nearby.

Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP in a well-planned occupa- police did not ask, did not tion, and were firing on the say a word, did not make a difference, just evicted us police station.

Head of the mission and then took matches and there, Seidina Ousseni, gasoline and burned our last week described the houses one by one,” Faite situation on the ground of said.

Justin Pierre June, 31, a Port-au-Prince as “urban law student who arrived in warfare”.

Ousseni said: “Residents Port-au-Prince on a depororganise themselves to tee flight from the US, defend their neighbour- said: “This is not the right hoods and when they are moment to deport us to not capable of doing it, Haiti. Haiti is not ready to they have to abandon the receive deportees because its situation place.” is chaotic.

Two ‘We do not trust This country weeks after is in a politithe Martis- any government, cal, social, sant attack, we do not trust the security and gunmen laid police. We only have economic siege to an ourselves ... to be crisis, we encampare surment called honest, we arrived by La Piste, a at a point where this rounded gangs from neighbourhood of deaf neighbourhood can all sides. We should have and disabled only be defended been allowed Haitians by our weapons.’ to apply relocated to become there by the International Red Cross refugees” His sentiments were secafter the 2010 earthquake.

This time it was the police onded by Philipo Grandi, leading an assault, accord- the United Nations High ing to residents and a Commissioner for Refugees, who questioned United Nations account.

Joseph Dieu Faite, 56, the US “mass expulsions individuals...without a blind leader of the dis- of placed residents of La Piste, screening for protection said the attack was police needs.” Grandi said that retaliation against civilians international law forbids living in a gang-controlled the return of individuals to a country in such dangerous neighbourhood.

“There were some chaos.

Meanwhile, gangs control gangsters there, I have to acknowledge that, but the the streets and the ports.

Jean Baptiste Nevelson, 49, a spokesperson for the Bel Air neighbourhood, said: “We do not trust any government, we do not trust the police. We only have ourselves ... to be honest, we arrived at a point where this neighbourhood can only be defended by our weapons.”

He links the violence to poverty and politics. “The state does not provide, we have no water, no schools, no electricity, no jobs. Many people used to go sell in the market and now they have been cut off by our enemies and cannot get there, so they stay here jobless. They are hungry.”

No jobs. No food. No water. No schools. No hope.

Is it any wonder so many are turning their backs on the nation and trying to find a future elsewhere?

It doesn’t matter how many patrol boats we send to sea, or how many detention camps we fill.

Until Haiti has a solution for its own internal strife, migrants are going to keep taking their chances.

So we can talk tough on immigration and that will appeal to some who don’t see the bigger picture. If we want to solve this, it’s the bigger picture that needs addressed. Let’s hear the talk about dealing with that if anyone wants to be serious about this crisis.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021 PAGE 9

In sickness and in health THE universal thread that connects each and every human being is the need to be heard, wanted, trusted and appreciated.

Many people search their entire lives to find their proverbial soulmate – that one true love that makes them feel safe and wanted. Young girls start planning their wedding long before they even have a mate. They picture the day in their head, the dress, their loved ones cheering them on. On that day they’re a real-life princess and it’s the reason the wedding industry is a multi-billion-dollar market, raking in over 55 billion dollars annually in the US alone. But not all fairytales end in happily ever after and few marriages endure without challenges.

I first met the patient described in this week’s report in August 2017. He was referred by his family doctor for a diabetic foot evaluation and treatment of numbness in both feet.

At the time his blood sugar measured 304mg/dl (normal range for diabetics over age 20 is 70 to 130mg/ dl before a meal and less than 180mg/dl one-two hours after a meal). He was retired, had diabetes for 20+ years and was insulin dependent. His past surgical history was significant for a knee tendon repair, he had no drug allergies and at 62 years of age he was otherwise very healthy. He was prescribed therapy and oral medication and eventually his symptoms resolved.

Four years later, however, he returned to the office for treatment of a large midfoot ulceration. The wound was infected but there was no bone involvement, determined via X-ray analysis.

The patient was nonetheless referred to the hospital for blood work and IV antibiotics because he reported a recent history of night sweats, chills and fever so sepsis (symptomatic of infection) was suspected.

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

DR MAGNUS EKEDEDE He unfortunately checked himself out of the hospital shortly thereafter against medical advice because he felt like he was being neglected. A few days later, while at home, he was found by a neighbour lying on the ground having suffered an ischemic stroke.

From that point until today, his ex-wife has been by his side, assuming responsibility for his care.

The two fell in love in the early 80s and were sure they would be together forever from their first date at a local popular restaurant. They married shortly after she got pregnant with their only child, a daughter.

Sadly, when he should have

been the happiest in his life, her husband became verbally abusive and the couple divorced after she found out about his extramarital affairs and the multiple children born of his indiscretions.

They were estranged for many years, but for the sake of their daughter she ultimately decided to make peace with what had happened and their relationship became more amicable. After his stroke, with no other family around to provide the care he needed, he was threatened with the prospect of being placed in a government care facility. The patient’s mental health suffered and

the stress caused his blood sugar and pressure levels to become critically elevated.

Unable to walk, bathe or feed himself, his ex-wife stepped in and paid for him to have a nurse. It was gut-wrenching to see him go from one day walking without issue to the following day having to be lifted out of the car and into a wheelchair; unable to speak or stop expectorate from dribbling down the side of his mouth. Regular attendance with his therapist and primary physician, however, allowed him to regain strength on his left affected side. Within two months his speech became audible and clear and he was ambulating without assistance. Now every time I see his ex-wife, tending to my patient’s bills and ensuring he is clothed and fed, I am reminded of the endless compassion that exists within us all.

A stroke (or cerebrovascular accident) occurs when the blood supply to the brain is either interrupted or reduced. This is considered a medical emergency and prompt treatment is crucial because brain cells deprived of both oxygen and nutrients begin to die within minutes. Signs and symptoms may include a slurred speech, blurred vision, a sudden, severe

headache and unilateral facial paralysis that may extend to the arm or leg.

Dr Magnus Ekedede, one of the most intellectually prolific physicians of his generation, is a vastly gifted neurosurgeon. He has treated an innumerable number of Bahamians afflicted by this condition, including my own father.

Since then, I’ve developed a great admiration for him as a physician and mentor with a deep respect that’s grown immensely over the years.

With regards to strokes, Dr Magnus (as he is known

by Bahamians) asserts that a multi-dimensional treatment regimen involving medical treatment, surgical treatment and aggressive rehab must be employed for a successful outcome to be achieved. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychological evaluation are a must. He stresses the harsh reality of the expenses. In the US, the cost of treatment for a patient who has suffered from a stroke can range from $250,000 at minimum to well over a million dollars. Multiple sessions are required to get a patient back to premorbid conditions where they are able to regain strength, mobility and clear

communication. Here in The Bahamas, this patient population is treated with equal measure and facility for a fraction of the cost. Dr Magnus accordingly hopes that more Bahamians will devote better attention to controlling their blood pressure because it’s so much easier to stop a stroke from happening than to repair the damage it inflicts.

The secret to aging gracefully is balance; balance in stress levels, sleep, diet and exercise. If more Bahamians were capable of doing things in moderation and had the discipline required to consistently live a healthy lifestyle, I believe that the health of our nation would improve dramatically. But until then, steady as she goes, one patient at a time – upward, onward, forward, together.

• Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the Deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-Vice-chairman. He is the recipient of over 15 global awards and certifications and has treated royalty, billionaires, celebrities, Oscar winning actors, Grammy winning singers, world-renowned super models, professional athletes, ambassadors and both local and international politicians.

Memorial Service For Retired Assistant Commissioner of Corrections

Raymond Lemond Wesley Gray, 66

A resident of East Wind Subdivision and formerly of McKanns, Long Island, will be held at Mount Nebo Baptist Church, Marshall Road on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. Officiating will be Rev. Dr. Charles E. Rolle, Chief Apostle Leon Wallace & Father Chester Burton.

Interment will follow at Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive.

Left to mourn and cherish his memories are, Wife: Barbara MoseleyGray; Sons: Anwar Gray & Canute Graham; Daughters: Tamika Bastian, Latisha Gray & Vivia Graham; Brothers: Sinclair ‘Tony’ Gray, Delvin Gray (Deceased) and Charles Gray; Daughter-in-law: Michelle Graham; Grandchildren: Adrian Gibson Jr., Ashanti & Ashlei Ferguson, Alexis, Ava &Amaia Graham; Brothers-in-law: Rudolph (Carl) Moseley, Calvert Moseley & Anthony Lawson; Sisters-in-Law: Maria Moseley-Henry (Ralph Henry), Delly Moseley, Dorsea LawsonDaniel (John Daniel), Jean Moseley-Culmer (Rory Culmer), Lorna Moseley-Grant (Livingston Grant), Vernique Moseley-Cardoza (Delroy Cardoza) & Melissa Moseley; Aunts: Alice Miller & Children; Uncles: Holly Gray (Angie Gray). Numerous Beloved Nieces & Nephews; Cousins: Wrights of Grand Bahama, Grays, Millers, Turnquest, Knowles, Edgecombe’s, Coopers and Foxs from McKann’s, Long Island, Family in the United States of America. Friends: Commissioner of Corrections Charles Murphy, Retired Assistant Commissioners: Neville Adderley & Family, Andrew Rolle & Family, Raymond Julian and family, Arthur Morris & Family, Stevenson Smith & Family, Wilfred Ferguson & Family, Denis Gilbert & Family, & Milton Hanna & Family, Retired Deputy Superintendent Charles Rolle & Family, Chief Officer Ashton Turnquest & Family, Retired Chief Officer Peter Taylor & Family, Principal Officer Lander Cartwright & Family, Retired Sergeant Preston McKenzie & Family, Retired Corporal Colin Puckerin & Family, Principal Corrections Officer Archie Fowler & Family, Principal Officer John Thompson and family, Former Educational Officer Anita Dillet, Sherry Rolle, Millicent Puckerin, Neighbors Sergeant 2529 Raymond Johnson & Mrs. Yvonne Johnson, and Pam Russell & Pemrae, Mr. & Mrs. John Huyler, Members of Social Outreach at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Fr. Crosley Walkine, Fr. Chester Burton, and St. Matthew’s Anglican Church Family, The Director, Principal, Teachers and Staff of Catholic Schools, The Moseley Family headed

by Rudolph ‘Carl’ Moseley Sr., Management & Staff of The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, Management & Staff of Original Patties Bakery Ltd., and a host of other relatives and friends. Special thank you to his Medical Team led by Dr. Don Deveaux, Dr. Sheena Smith-Wallace, the Doctors and Staff at Oaktree Medical, Dr. Fredrick Smith & the Dialysis Team at Princess Margaret Hospital, Nurses & Staff of Private Surgical, Princess Margaret Hospital, Nurses & Staff at Doctor’s Hospital, Dr. Colleen FitzCharles.

Friends may pay their last respects at Demeritte’s Funeral Home, Market Street, from 10-5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

There’s no such thing as ‘turns’ for Commonwealth Secretary-General THE announcement by the President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta that his government has nominated the country’s energy minister, Monica Juma, for the post of Commonwealth Secretary-General, has re-opened the contention surrounding “turns” to hold the post.

However, there is no such thing as “turns” in the rules of the Commonwealth.

And, the concept of “turns” has never been used as a criterion for proposing candidates for the job.

“Turns” is a contrivance utilised by governments of countries in regions of the world that have not held the post. But, the job of Secretary-General has always been open to any Commonwealth citizen qualified for the consideration by Heads of Government. Below, I set out the Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth from the inception of the job; the countries from which they came; the candidates who challenged them to demonstrate that “turns” is a stratagem of recent vintage which, if slavishly followed, would deprive the Commonwealth of the best talents to carry out the vital duties of Secretary-General.

In 1965, when the Heads of Government elected the Canadian Arnold Smith as Secretary-General, there were five other contenders from Australia, New Zealand, Sierra Leone and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

In 1975 and again in 1980, Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal of Guyana was elected unopposed, but he was unsuccessfully challenged by an Indian in 1985. In 1990, Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria was elected, having fended off a strong contender in Malcolm Fraser of Australia, but term limits were then limited to two; he

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

was re-elected in 1995 when the period of a term was reduced from five to four years.

In 2000, the New Zealander, Don McKinnon, was elected but he had to fight off a challenge from Farook Sobhan of Bangladesh.

In 2008, the Indian, Kamalesh Sharma, was elected but faced a strong challenge from Michael Frendo of Malta.

In 2014, the contenders were Baroness Scotland nominated by Dominica and promoted by Britain where she had been Attorney-General and continues to be a member of the British House of Lords; Mmasekgoa MasireMwamba of Botswana and me from Antigua and Barbuda.

The Secretary-General therefore has come from: Canada, Guyana, Nigeria, New Zealand, India, Dominica. In terms of regions and the contrivance of “turns”, this translates into: Canada, Caribbean, Africa, Pacific, Asia, Caribbean. But if “turns” were really the criterion, after India (Asia), it should not have been the Caribbean’s “turn”; it should have been the turn of Europe (either Cyprus or Malta) and if Europe gaveup its “turn”, it should have gone to Canada at which point the cycle should have been re-started.

However, the reality is that there is no such criterion as “turns” for the job of Commonwealth Secretary-General. And if there is, then the Caribbean

jumped its turn in 2015, and it should now definitely be the turn of either Malta or Cyprus before returning to Canada. If not Europe and North America are being denied the chance of nominating candidates for the post. The idea of regional “turns” is limiting and self-defeating.

Some countries in the Caribbean are insisting that it is the Caribbean’s “turn” to hold the post for two terms (eight years).

Therefore, even though English Baroness Patricia Scotland was elected, ostensibly as coming from the Caribbean because she was born in Dominica which she left at the age of two, for the term 2016 to 2020, it is contended by her Caribbean supporters that she is entitled to a second term, running from April 2020 to 2024.

The story gets complicated because, the Baroness’ elected-term officially ended in April 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Commonwealth Heads of Government could not meet to consider candidates for the term 2020 to 2024.

Consequently, the Baroness was allowed to remain in the post until such time as the election could be held. She has, therefore, not only served the term for which she was elected by a majority of one vote with several abstentions, she has also segued into a further year and six months, so far, into an unelected term.

This period has not been

uncontroversial.

In February 2020, Boris Johnson, who has been serving as Chair of the Commonwealth since 2019 when he was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, stated in a letter to all Commonwealth Heads of Government that a majority of them had indicated to him rejection of a plan “to offer Lady Scotland another four years in office”.

The leaders agreed only to a short threemonth extension of her contract which ended on March 31, 2020.

As it turned out, the Heads of Government meeting, slated for Rwanda in June 2020, was postponed twice, first to June 2021 and now to later this year.

The Government of Kenya now feels that, in so far as it believes “turns” exist, the Caribbean has had its turn, and now it is Africa’s turn.

Significantly, African countries did not support the British Baroness at the

African votes went to MasireMwamba.

In reality, the notion of “turns” was never a criterion for the job, and persons are only elected for one term at a time.

The criterion for the job was – and should be – a Commonwealth citizen with a proven track record of knowledge and experience of Commonwealth affairs; a deep commitment to its values; a vision of the role it can play in effectively serving the interests of each of its 54 states, especially its 32 small members; and advancing the Commonwealth as a force for good in global affairs.

There should be a contest for the post, and outstanding candidates from anywhere in the Commonwealth should contend without restriction.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.

He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.

MONICA Juma and, top, Baroness Scotland.

2015 election in Malta; they stood solidly behind the Botswana candidate, Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, in the second round of voting. I was eliminated in the first round because promised

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, October 4, 2021, PAGE 11

Photographer and Press Club founder dies TRIBUTES have been paid to photographer Vincent Vaughan, who has died aged 74.

Mr Vaughan was one of the founding members of the Bahamas Press Club, and served as its treasurer.

He died on Saturday in Dublin, Georgia, in the US. The Bahamas Press Club said Mr Vaughan will “never be forgotten”.

Club president Anthony Capron said: “It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Vincent Vaughn.

He will be especially missed by the executives of the Bahamas Press Club 2014, for which he served with distinction as treasurer.

“A professional photographer of note, Vincent’s

VINCENT VAUGHAN

work has graced the pages of Bahamian newspapers and magazines since the 1970s. Over the years, he has recorded thousands of weddings, portraits, and memorabilia for Bahamian families, and visitors to this country.

“He will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace, Vincent.”

Mr Vaughan is survived by his children: Ericka Collins, son-in-law (Nick Collins), Darryl Vaughan, Kimberly Vaughan, daughter-in law (Keishan Vaughan); grandchildren Isiah Harrison, Alex Harrison, Elijah St Phard, Caleb Vaughan, Charleigh Vaughan; great-grand daughter Erin Harrison; brothers, George, Albert and Levin Sample, and cousin, Norman Satchell.

Mr Vaughan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on March 8, 1947.

He attended West Philadelphia High School, studied for and passed the Pennsylvania State Real Estate examination, and received the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Salesmen License in1967.

He moved to Nassau in 1969, and, over the years, he worked as a photographer at Andrew Aitken. His work was also published in the Nassau Guardian, The Tribune, and international publications.

For the US Embassy in Nassau, he covered many assignments photographing former ambassadors William Bernstein Schwartz Jr, Lev E Dobriansky, Carol Boyd Hallet, Chic Hecht, and Sidney Williams.

‘WE NEED TO BUILD A RESEARCH CULTURE’ AN educator has called on new Minister of Education, Technical and Vocational Training Glenys Hanna-Martin and Minister of State Zane Lightbourne, to develop a “research culture” in the country.

Dr Patrice Juliet Pinder, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) educator and researcher said that research papers should be created by Bahamians and should focus on key areas to assist with the national development of the country.

She says students at the University of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Agriculture

& Marine Science Institute and other institutions of learning in the country should be actively participating in national development by assisting scientific studies and documenting of data that could revolutionise the way we live.

A culture of constant research, she says, would transform education in The Bahamas, and subsequently other aspects of life.

She said: “As an educator and research scientist, I am deeply concerned about the serious state of education in The Bahamas, and I have been concerned for quite

some time.”

She highlighted “the yearly dismal performance” of students on the standardised BJC and BGCSE examinations. She advises reforming the curriculum, which she says is hampered by the overall lack of a culture of research; especially at the K–12 and university levels.

“We have all learned from the COVID-19 health crisis that ‘empirical data’ is critically important to help us to make better-informed decisions. Well, empirical data can help us to make better-informed decisions in many areas in our society

including education.

“For example, simple classroom-based (action) research, which seems to be non-existent here in The Bahamas, can be conducted by teachers and instructors at all levels of the Bahamian education system, and data obtained from this type of simple research can play an important role in helping to better inform effective teaching strategies and methodologies, which can ultimately lead to an improvement in students’ test scores.”

Dr Pinder said she hoped the new ministerial team would be “open to advice and suggestions from those of us who are world-class experts within the field of education”.

She added: “In the 21st century, research is critical to any university being seen and ranked among the elite universities in the world. Most universities seek out faculty members with research agendas and publishing records that can advance them. Where are we on this? I am happy that I found research success, but I had to do it under an Asian University and not with my Bahamian university... These areas of concern are all ‘food for thought’ being offered to the new ministers.”

Dr Pinder has been listed on the first-ever AD

DR PATRICE JULIET PINDER Scientific Index of World Scientists and Universities, one of 51 research scientists from the Ton Duc Thang University (Asia) to be named to the list.

She added: “If I can help to advance the top world ranked Ton Duc Thang University, the country of Vietnam, and the continent of Asia, I am sure I can help to advance my Bahamas.

Thus, my final advice to the new leadership would be to have faith and belief in the competencies of qualified

Bahamian experts regardless of gender or race. In my opinion, there should not continuously be a need for foreign consultants when you have your own Bahamian experts that are continuously denied opportunities to prove themselves in their own country, but are advancing other countries and continents around the world. It is time we truly operated as one unified country and people who are desirous of advancing each other.”

PAGE 12, Monday, October 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

EIGHT DIE AS PLANE HITS BUILDING

FIREFIGHTERS at the site of a plane crash, in San Donato Milanese suburb of Milan, Italy, yesterday.

Photo: Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP

A SMALL, single-engine plane carrying six passengers and a crew of two crashed yesterday into a vacant two-storey office building in a Milan suburb, and authorities said all eight people aboard died.

Investigators opened a probe into what caused the private plane to crash shortly after takeoff from Milan’s Linate Airport en route to Olbia Airport on the Italian island of Sardinia.

A thick column of dark smoke rose from the crash site and was visible for kilometers. Several parked cars nearby went up in flames.

Firefighters tweeted that no one else but those on board involved in the early afternoon crash near a subway station in San Donato Milanese.

Puerto Ricans fume over power supply problems SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Associated Press NOT a single hurricane has hit Puerto Rico this year, but hundreds of thousands of people in the US territory feel like they’re living in the aftermath of a major storm: Students do homework by the light of dying cellphones, people who depend on insulin or respiratory therapies struggle to find power sources and the elderly are fleeing sweltering homes amid record high temperatures.

Power outages across the island have surged in recent weeks, with some lasting several days. Officials have blamed everything from

seaweed to mechanical failures as the government calls the situation a “crass failure” that urgently needs to be fixed.

The daily outages are snarling traffic, frying costly appliances, forcing doctors to cancel appointments, causing restaurants, shopping malls and schools to temporarily close and even prompting one university to suspend classes and another to declare a moratorium on exams.

“This is hell,” said Iris Santiago, a 48-year-old with chronic health conditions who often joins her elderly neighbors outside when their apartment building goes dark and the humid

heat soars into the 90s Fahrenheit.

“Like any Puerto Rican, I live in a constant state of anxiety because the power goes out every day,” she said. “Not everyone has family they can run to and go into a home with a generator.”

Santiago recently endured three days without power and had to throw out the eggs, chicken and milk that spoiled in her refrigerator. She said power surges also caused hundreds of dollars of damage to her air conditioner and refrigerator.

Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, which is responsible for the

generation of electricity, and Luma, a private company that handles transmission and distribution of power, have blamed mechanical failures at various plants involving components such as boilers and condensers. In one recent incident, seaweed clogged filters and a narrow pipe.

Luma also has implemented selective blackouts in recent weeks that have affected a majority of its 1.5 million clients, saying demand is exceeding supply.

Luma took over transmission and distribution in June. Puerto Rico’s governor said the company had pledged to reduce power

interruptions by 30 percent and the length of outages by 40 percent.

The island’s Electric Power Authority has long struggled with mismanagement, corruption and, more recently, bankruptcy.

In September 2016, a fire at a power plant sparked an island-wide blackout. A year later, Hurricane Maria hit as a Category 4 storm, shredding the aging power grid and leaving some customers up to a year without power.

Emergency repairs were done, but reconstruction work to strengthen the grid has yet to start.

“We’re on the verge of a collapse,” said Juan Alicea, a former executive director

of the authority.

He said three main factors are to blame: Officials halted maintenance of generation units under the erroneous belief they would soon be replaced. Scores of experienced employees have retired. And investment to replace aging infrastructure has dwindled.

Puerto Rico’s power generation units are on average 45 years old, twice those of the US mainland,.

Luma has said it expects to spend $3.85 billion to revamp the transmission and distribution system and company CEO Wayne Stensby said Luma has made significant progress in stabilising it.

MAJOR OIL SPILL FOULS CALIFORNIA BEACHES HUNTINGTON BEACH, California Associated Press

ONE of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled yesterday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

At least 126,000 gallons (98,420 liters) of oil spilled into the waters off Orange County, according to a statement from the city of Huntington Beach.

“The spill has significantly affected Huntington

Beach, with substantial ecological impacts occurring at the beach and at the Huntington Beach Wetlands,” the statement said.

The oil created a mileswide sheen in the ocean and washed ashore in sticky, black globules along with dead birds and fish. Crews led by the US Coast Guard deployed skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion into the wetlands and the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

The closure stretched from the Huntington Beach Pier nearly four miles south to the Santa Ana River

Private Graveside Service for

Virginia Baker, 91

of Williams Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, who died on Thursday 30th September, 2021 at Doctors Hospital, Shirley Street, Nassau, will be held at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Cemetery, Shirley Street on Tuesday 5th October, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

Father Anselm Russell and Deacon Keith Roberts will officiate.

Arragements Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

jetty amid summerlike weather that would have brought beachgoers to the wide strand for volleyball, swimming and surfing.

Officials canceled the final day of the annual Pacific Air Show that typically draws thousands of spectators to Huntington Beach, a city of about 199,000 residents about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The show featured flyovers by the US Navy Blue Angels and the US Air Force Thunderbirds.

The oil slick originated from a broken pipeline connected to an offshore oil platform known as Elly, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said on Twitter.

Foley said Newport Beach Mayor Brad Avery told her that he encountered the oil slick while in a boat traveling back to the mainland from Santa Catalina Island. “He saw dolphins swimming thru the oil,” Foley tweeted.

The Huntington Beach statement early Sunday said “while the leak has not been completely stopped, preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site”, with additional repairs planned.

The spill comes three decades after a massive oil leak hit the same stretch of Orange County coast. On February 7, 1990, the oil tanker American Trader ran over its anchor off Huntington Beach, spilling nearly 417,000 gallons of crude. Fish and about 3,400 birds were killed.

In 2015, a ruptured pipeline north of Santa Barbara sent 143,000 gallons of crude oil gushing onto Refugio State Beach.

At a news conference Saturday night, Orange County officials expressed concern about the environmental impacts of the spill and hoped crews could stop the oil before it flowed into sensitive wetlands.

“We’ve been working with our federal, state and county partners to mitigate the impact that could be a potential ecological disaster,” Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said.