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VOLUME:114 No.221, OCTOBER, 10th, 2017

HO US E & 16

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

INSIGHT: BAHAMAS POWER SOLUTION A MUST FOR RADICAL CHANGE

PAGES

US couple vanish on wedding flight

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE family of an American couple booked to honeymoon in the Bahamas last month have launched a social media campaign to find them after more than two weeks with no contact.

LeeAnn Burger, 23, said her uncle Forrest Sanco and his wife Donna, travelled from Florida on board a Cessna 150-N3214X en route to the Bahamas on September 25.

The pair never turned up for their Rum Cay honeymoon, and now Ms Burger is trying to raise $10,000 through a Go Fund Me campaign to

hire private crews and pilots to find them.

The native of Houston, Texas, claimed the pair landed in Grand Bahama on the same day, where they cleared customs and spent the night.

Ms Burger said the couple reportedly left Grand Bahama en route to Rum Cay on September 26 where they had rented a home for the week.

However, she said the pair never arrived, with last contact coming in North Eleuthera where the couple had stopped for fuel.

A Facebook page for the Rum Cay Community asked anyone with information about the Argyle, SEE PAGE THREE

THE IMF has urged the Government to slash the civil service wage bill by almost $70 million, as it slammed the Christie administration’s “lax spending controls” pregeneral election.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its full Article IV report on the Bahamas, revealed that the Government could save taxpayers more than $200 million annually through a combination of public service downsizing and pension reform, plus reduced subsidies to state-owned corporations.

It recommended reducing the civil service wage bill to 2015-2016 levels “at most”, arguing that this would result in savings equivalent to 0.8 per cent of Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP).

Highlighting just how bloated the public service became as the Christie administration removed all hiring constraints in its desperate bid for re-election, an IMF graphic showed that the civil service wage bill for the 2017-2018 fiscal year equals close 8.5 per cent of GDP - compared to a 7 per cent average for the 2005-2016 period.

DAVIS VOWS: I’LL CUT OFF HEADS TO SAVE PARTY

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter Sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

INTERIM Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis has vowed to “cut the heads off” anyone in the PLP who stands in the way of the party’s “growth and progress”.

Following a prayer breakfast on Saturday where he officially declared his candidacy for the party’s leadership, Mr Davis also responded to reports that former Prime Minister Perry Christie SEE PAGE SIX

BRANVILLE QUITS: I’M NO GOOD FOR DNA

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

‘CUT CIVIL SERVICE WAGE BILL BY $70M‘

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

HOME

BRANVILLE McCartney will officially step down as leader of the Democratic National Alliance on October 24th.

“I am not good for the party,” he told The Tribune on Friday.

Though the decision to resign is a “difficult one,” he would not rule out a future return to frontline politics, saying: “Never say never”.

FORREST Sanco and his wife Donna were reportedly last seen on September 26.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

NATIONAL LOTTERY ‘FRONT AND CENTRE’ PLP LINE UP TO ATTACK TURNQUEST

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SEE BUSINESS SECTION DIONISIO D’Aguilar

THE creation of a Bahamian national lottery is “front and centre” for the Gaming Minister, who yesterday warned web shops: “The status quo needs tweaking.”

Dionisio D’Aguilar declined to divulge details to Tribune

Business, but said he had “a few ideas” as to how a national lottery could be structured and developed in this nation.

“Bahamians are crying for that. That’s very much front and centre in my mind,” the Minister of Tourism responded, when asked by this newspaper whether a national lottery remained a possibility.

SEE BUSINESS SECTION

FAMILY SLAMS PMH AFTER RELATIVE DIES

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter Sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Princess Margaret because of the “lack of beds, lack of porters and lack of medicine.” The claims come two months after Health MinAFTER losing their ister Dr Duane Sands said matriarch to kidney failthe hospital is continuing to ure, distraught loved ones have significant challenges have complained about the with overcrowding and a “substandard” dialysis sershortage of beds. vices at Princess Margaret PRINCESS Margaret Hospital.

At the time, Dr Sands Hospital. said the situation is “embarrassing” and it is In an interview with The Tribune, a sad people have to stay in the hallways for family member, who wished to remain up to “three to four days” because “there is anonymous, described in detail the “hor- just nowhere to put them”. rors” his relative experienced at the SEE PAGE TWO

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

EXUMA & Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper yesterday accused Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest of pushing “partisan rhetoric” instead of answering real questions about the country’s economy.

Mr Cooper questioned the motivation behind Mr Turnquest’s decision to advise the country that the deficit for the 2016/2017 fiscal year was $695 million, and not $500 million as previously reported, without clarifying how SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Tuesday, October 10, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Family slams PMH after relative dies FROM PAGE ONE He said the problem will require deliberate structural change, which will not happen in the short-term.

“My relative was 66 and was diagnosed with kidney failure,” the relative told The Tribune.

“When she was admitted to PMH in August, there were no beds so she was placed on a gurney and put in the hallway of the ward.”

“Eventually we were told that someone had passed and so she was able to be placed on the bed but because she had diabetes

her kidneys had failed and she went on dialysis.

“There were times when she needed to be taken to dialysis but she could not be taken down because there were no porters available, or if there was a porter the machines in dialysis were inoperable.

“At one point,” said her family member, “her body took infection because she wasn’t able to go to dialysis and she needed medications for the infection, but PMH didn’t have the medication and we had to source the medication from Doctors Hospital for around $7,000.

“The staff at the hospital were very relaxed about the entire situation like they were accustomed to working in these terrible conditions.

“They don’t have sufficient staff capable of caring for persons on dialysis and the nurses don’t want to assist the porters,” the relative added, “if there is not a porter the patient won’t go down.

“This is not just my personal cry, others have the same cries,” he said.

He also said the nurses in the dialysis unit are overworked and frustrated, adding that if something “doesn’t happen very soon” more people will die from lack of resources.

“My family is still seeking questions from the coroners about what really had happened,” he said.

“Yes, she was on dialysis and had diabetes but sometimes if the family didn’t personally go and take her down, or knew a porter, she never went down into the dialysis unit.”

“The Public Hospital Authority,” he said, “must address the situation in the hospital.

“The dialysis unit is in need of enhancement and it costs lives because the machines and the people that are frustrated in that unit.”

In August, Dr Sands said in order to resolve the problems at the hospital, health officials have to complete the renovations at PMH, increase the hospital’s capacity, get patients in and out faster and take non-essential services out of PMH. In July, the Accident and Emergency Department at PMH experienced a series of challenges, forcing the hospital to relocate some patients to the South Beach Clinic and having other patients wait for more than 24 hours .

At the time, Dr Sands said that the “perfect storm” was caused by years of “dumb and inappropriate decisions”. He was referring to political decisions. “Honestly,” he added, “I am not sure when a solution to the “mess” will be found.

Calls placed to officials at PMH and the Public Hospitals Authority were unreturned up to press time.

THE AIR conditioning unit which we understand serves the dialysis unit at PMH gives an indication of the state of the equipment.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 10, 2017, PAGE 3

US COUPLE VANISH ON WEDDING FLIGHT FROM PAGE ONE Texas couple to contact the page. One of the comments on that post suggested the pair did leave North Eleuthera around 2:30pm, September 26.

In an interview with The Tribune Monday, Ms Burger said attempts to connect with Bahamian authorities proved fruitless, with any insight into the disappearance being provided by American authorities.

She said: “We’re trying, the best way we know how to determine what happened in this case.”

“As far as we are aware, they were going to the Bahamas for their honeymoon and the last place they made contact was in Eleuthera.

“We want to determine what happened to them there or after they left,” Ms Burger added.

She later indicated the family had lodged cases with both the United States Embassy in New Providence and Royal Bahamas Police Force last Friday.

Ms Burger said representatives from both agencies told her that they would “look into it.”

Both the RBPF and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said their agencies were exploring inquires on the matter up to press time Monday.

THE COUPLE travelled from Florida on board this Cessna 150-N3214X

‘I’m just praying they are found safe’ THE missing couple were heading to Rum Cay to rent a holiday home from Pat and Earl Lambert.

Their son Greg had been been dealing direct with Forrest Sanco.

“He contacted me a few months ago looking for a remote place for a wedding and honeymoon,” Greg told The Tribune.

“I told him how to get to Rum Cum, basically how to charter or fly. He told me that at one time he had been a pilot but had not flown for a number of years.

“He expressed an interest in flying down himself. He seemed to have some experience. He had purchased a plane and was going to get an instructor to give him lessons to bring him back upto speed.

“I said, ‘Take your time. This is not our busy season. I said most people

go in the winter because of the hurricane season.”

Greg continued: “A while later he got back in touch and said he had his pilot’s licence recertified and had the plane checked out.

Route “We talked about a route and he flew from Texas to Fort Pierce in Florida where most people flying to the Bahamas set off from.

“Later he landed in Fort Pierce and had a few repairs done to the plane, not major, just $160 worth.

“He was kind of vague about his plans saying he may head straight to Rum Cay or stay in Freeport a few days when he got there.

“The last time I spoke to him personally was on September 25 in the afternoon when he said , ‘I am headed

to Freeport and will figure out what I am going to do from there.

“I told him to take his time, not to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with.

He asked me my own route to Rum Cay and I told him he’d have to make a series of island stops as his plane would needed to be refulled enroute.

“After that I didn’t hear back from him. I started trying to contact him on the 26th to ask him what his plans were.

“The phone was going straight to voice mail. At that point I was a little annoyed as we had a guest coming who had not given a specific time of day for their arrival so we’d be looking out for them all the time.

“I was thinking he was just spending a few more days in Freeport.

“After five days was when I started to become a little concerned and started looking back through my records but still continually leaving him messages. I just wanted to know he was okay.

“Finally his family started looking and posted a message on the Rum Cay community page on Facebook.”

Contacted Someone on the island guessed who the couple were planning to rent from and contacted Greg who in turn rang Forrest Sanco’s niece in the US. Greg started making inquiries with people in Freeport and after much searching Greg was able to confirm Sanco flew from Freeport to North

PEDESTRIAN DIES AFTER TWO CAR COLLISION

THE scene of the crash on Friday.

MAN DIES AFTER CRASH IN ABACO

POLICE in Abaco are investigating a traffic accident which has left a 31-year-old man dead.

Reports are that around 5pm on Friday a man was driving in his Buick Regal vehicle on S.C. Bootle Highway near Treasure Cay when he lost control and crashed into a rock mound on the side of the road.

During the crash the man was thrown some 60 feet from his vehicle and landed on the Highway.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police investigations are ongoing.

LAST night police revealed another person had died after a collision between two cars on Tonique Williams Darling Highway.

Police said a pedestrian was killed as a result of the accident which occurred sometime after 9pm.

FIVE IN CUSTODY AFTER HIGH SPEED CHASE, SHOOT OUT WITH POLICE

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter Sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FIVE armed robbery suspects are in police custody following a high speed chase and shoot out with police early Sunday morning.

The drama unfolded shortly after 3am off Bernard Road.

According to reports, Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) officers were on routine patrol near Jean Street when they saw a Mitsubishi van driving with its lights off.

The officers tried to stop the occupants of the vehicle, but the driver refused and sped off.

The officers chased the suspects, forcing the vehicle to stop a few minutes later near a school in the area.

Three masked men with firearms got out of the van and fired several shots at the officers before fleeing into nearby bushes.

The officers returned fire but were unable to catch the suspects.

However, three men who remained in the vehicle were arrested. Two of the suspects who fled on foot were later captured in the area.

The officers conducted a search of the vehicle and

found several ski masks along with a number of housebreaking tools.

Police suspect the men to be responsible for a number of early morning armed robberies in New Providence.

Meanwhile, police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man early Saturday morning.

According to reports, shortly before 1am, the man was crossing the road near Washington Street, when a Nissan Skyline car hit him.

He was taken to hospital in critical condition, but died of his injuries late on Saturday night.

Police report that the driver of the car stayed at the scene and is assisting with investigations.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.

CORRECTION IN OUR Religion pages we incorrectly reported that Capt. Fernley Palmer was deceased. We are happy to report Capt. Palmer is very much alive and apologise for the error.

PHOTO: Terrel W Carey

Eleuthera on the 26th and was last seen around 2.30pm when he refuelled the aircraft and took off.

“If he was heading for Rum Cay he should have made it in about two hours,” said Greg.

“He did have a cell phone and GPS navigation.

“If he had followed the proper course on the GPS that would have taken him over the rest of the

Eleuthera chain, a bit of ocean then just to the east of Conception and then on to Rum Cay. “The area that needs to be searched most is Conception as that’s the only place to land and not been seen, unless of course he’s ditched in the ocean.

“I am just praying they are found safe but I am discouraged about how long it has been,” said Greg.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, October 10, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

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Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Nothing should be kept from the Bahamian people WE agree with a statement made by Dioniso D’Aguilar last year that CTFE was an “unsuitable investment for the Bahamas.” In fact, we would go so far as to say that no touristic investment — particularly with casinos attached and having the remotest connection with Macau — should be considered desirable for the Bahamas.

Since making that statement, Mr D’Aguilar, a former board member of Baha Mar, is now Minister of Tourism with the Gaming Board in his portfolio and an approved gaming licence for Baha Mar on his desk.

An application for this licence was presented to Mr Obie Wilchcombe, then Minister of Tourism, from Baha Mar’s prospective buyers, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) late last November. It included a list of operators that the Hong Kong based company wanted to employ for the hotel and casino.

Mr Wilchcombe announced that the Gaming Board had started its due diligence examination. Bahamians heard nothing more after that except that the company had purchased the required equipment before it had received its licence and was already hiring staff.

For Mr D’Aguilar it seemed obvious that the decision of approvals was a foregone conclusion, and that certain persons were just going through the motions to support that conclusion.

On April 5th this year — just seven days before Baha Mar’s “soft opening” – government announced that the resort had received its gaming approvals after “a comprehensive probity investigation.”

Within the past month we received a typed 37-page report, posted from Taiwan, giving a detailed account of the New World Group of companies, and its associates. It is an intricate spider’s web of long friendships investing into each other’s companies - an investigation that would take longer to probe than our gaming investigators seemed to have spent on the job.

It suggests that whoever went to Hong Kong from the Gaming Board to do “a comprehensive probity investigation” probably had an elegant cup of afternoon tea with the late founder, Cheng Yu Tung’s son, Henry, and Henry’s children, Adrian and Sonia, both Harvard graduates, smart and probably fine representatives of a flourishing enterprise. The founder died last September at the age of 91. Maybe our Bahamian team were so impressed by who they met that they returned congratulating themselves on a job ‘well done’.

Or maybe they weren’t– could it be remotely possible that these recently exposed handsome bonus payments were authorized to smooth the way? At the very least, the public is entitled to see what their “probative investigation” unearthed.

When word started to spread that CTFE could not get a gaming licence in international jurisdictions, former Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe tried to explain it away by likening it to Sir Sol Kerzner not being able to get a gaming licence in the US. The only problem was that his explanation was not true.

“We were licensed to operate casinos in the USA,” said Sir Sol, “and did

in fact operate the resorts international casino in Atlantic City for a couple of years in the late ‘90s as well as the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut and have never been denied a licence anywhere.”

Of course he also had a licence for the casino in Atlantis, Paradise Island.

The probable explanation for the Cheng’s claim that they have never had a gaming application rejected is probably because the application has never been made in their company’s name, the New World Group, but through their investment in STDM, which controls SJM holdings, a major casino company in which they have also invested, and which is headed by Stanley Ho a longtime friend of the late Mr Cheng Yu Tung. Confused? As well you might be, but this is only the beginning in this many tangled web of investments that now create the Cheng’s problems. And so our readers can imagine the depth of the due diligence mystery in which our investigating team from Nassau got completely lost.

Of course their long business association to the Ho family has been of no help. Earlier this year a Macau court released Alan Ho, nephew of former kingpin Stanley Ho, after holding him for 13 months, accused of facilitating a high-profile prostitution ring.

Ho, was a “former senior executive at Hotel Lisboa, owned by SJM Holdings, the listed arm of his uncle’s gaming empire.” He was arrested in January last year with five associates.

When the mystery thread is followed one runs into China’s anti-corruption campaign that is trying to stop the outward flow of funds from China through the casino junket industry in Macau – heavily infiltrated by the triad. The Macau government, where gambling is legal, now has to respond to demands from Beijing, where gambling is not legal, and try to diversify away from gaming and into tourism and leisure.

Apparently President Xi Jingping’s corruption crackdown and recent austerity drive has scared off many high rollers. Of course, this will upset the triad’s happy nesting ground, which will be on the lookout for greener pastures. China doesn’t want them, nor does the Bahamas.

We would recommend that the whole background of the Baha Mar casino approval be reinvestigated.

And if found wanting, be reconsidered. Also, all the information still sealed on this case in the court should be unsealed. Bahamians are entitled to know what is going on in their country.

If only the Christie government and its “sovereignty” red herring had not interfered with investor Sarkis Izmirlian invoking Chapter 11 of Delaware’s bankruptcy court, this small country would not now be exposed to an even greater threat to its future.

We’ve endured five long years of secret deals and backroom shenanigans with the Christie administration. That is why they were voted out.

This new government campaigned on the premise of openness and transparency, and they should live up to their promises.

There should be nothing that is kept from the Bahamian people.

Govt to be commended for assisting Dominica EDITOR, The Tribune.

I am happy to see that the strong Bahamian tradition of assisting its Caricom sister states in time of trouble continues.

The Minnis Administration’s offer of assistance to Dominican citizens left homeless following the passage of Hurricane Maria is in the same tradition in which in earlier times assistance

was offered to Haiti for example following the terrible 2010 earthquake.

At that time The Bahamas suspended repatriations of illegal Haitian immigrants and paroled all Haitians then held at the Detention Centre for a specified period of time.

In other years, Bahamian Governments, led by both the FNM and the PLP, have made financial donations to

Caricom countries following the passage of terrible storms and hurricanes and our electricity corporation has also sent teams of linesmen to assist with the restoration of electricity to islands following hurricanes. This is as it should be and the Government is to be commended for continuing this most honourable tradition.

BT

Douglas Manchester will offer our nation an opportunity EDITOR, The Tribune.

SOON, the United States Senate will likely confirm Douglas Manchester as the new United States Ambassador to the Bahamas. When this happens, Manchester will offer our nation an opportunity to move forward toward prosperity.

During Mr. Manchester’s confirmation hearing this August, American senators repeatedly raised concern over China’s economic and political colonization of the Bahamas. They pointed to China’s attempt to control our fisheries, a key source of our own economic freedom and destiny, and stated their strong opposition to China’s attempt to make us into a puppet state. Manchester agreed with the senators and emphatically stated that as ambassador he would stand up for our independence.

The message was clear and unmistakable: The United States wants to work with the Bahamas.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net Some naysayers and pessimists say, “What is the difference?” They think that the United States and China are both attempting to control our nation and that there is no daylight between them. Such thinking is not only false, but misguided.

Any person perpetuating the myth that America and China are the same is engaging in deception.

The United States seeks to engage in partnerships with countries it does business with, while China does not.

Instead, China seeks to own and colonize nations across the globe.

They do not care about the wellbeing of the nation they do “business” with and they most certainly don’t care about the nation’s people.

It is no different here in the Bahamas.

China’s involvement in the Bahamas has been a disaster.

Their involvement in Baha Mar has been an international embarrassment for our nation.

As a result of China’s actions, we have seen problems with unemployment, increased crime and corruption. If we continue to permit their colonization of the Bahamas, we will find ourselves completely subservient to the Chinese government.

Such an arrangement is one that does not benefit us.

However, there is cause for hope, as there is an alternative.

Mr. Manchester and America offer a viable alternative in partnership.

They can help us cast off the shackles of China’s colonization and empower the Bahamas to control its own destiny.

A TRUE BAHAMIAN Nassau, October 8, 2017.

LET THE POWERS THAT BE START AT HOME

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Despite our sometimes selfish ways, the average Bahamian has a big heart and is always ready to be our ‘brother’s keepers” so to speak. We have demonstrated this time and time again. In fact, The Bahamas, has long been a haven and a place of refuge for many of our foreign brothers and sisters. It is to be remembered that when Haiti was devastated by a major earthquake in 2010, The Bahamas and our people were among the first to offer them assistance and humanitarian supplies. There are numerous other nations in the region to whose aid we have rushed when necessary.

With this stark realization. clear and visible to all, I was taken aback and highly insulted by remarks attributed to assorted politicians and some of their erstwhile supporters in the “fake” media and on social platforms. Senior cabinet ministers, never known to publicly empathize with the unwashed masses, were to be seen wringing their corny hands and crying in parliament. One MP was seen hitting her desk repeatedly and mouthing ‘Oh Lord’ !

While all of this may be good for some of you, it was a spectacle of no mean order to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs, et al, talking about Christianity!

The FNM administration meant well, I am sure, with the proposed relief efforts to assist Dominica and her hard hit people. We feel their collective pain but for ministers in the government to appear to be personally attacking Bahamians whose views of these efforts differ from theirs is beyond the pale.

Dr. Duane Sands (FNM-Elizabeth), Minister of Health, claims that he was surprised by remarks against the efforts on social

media platforms. Jeffrey Lloyd (FNM-South Beach), Minister of Education, outdid himself when he spoke down to Bahamians who dared to question the half baked relief efforts. He ranted about who he is a Christian who walks the walk and not just talk the talk!

Our politicians are so full of it, especially, arrogance, that it is no longer funny. Were they suggesting that Bahamians do not have the right to ask our so-called leaders the hard questions? Were they suggesting that those who were not on the same hymn sheet as they, that we are less than infidels? There are tens of thousands of Bahamian-Haitian children who have been prevented from enrolling in our public school system due to inordinate requests for proper documentation. I have yet to hear Lloyd on this topic in a sensible manner.

Bahamian children are actually living within the confines of the PMH. Tens of thousands of real Bahamians are still waiting for hurricane relief since 2014. Tens of thousands more are on the list awaiting the availability of governmental sponsored housing. The Minister of Housing and the Environment is akin to a man lost in space. Not a single house has been completed or built under his watch, so far.

Charity begins at home, some say, and ends abroad. Well, let the powers that be start at home. The arrogance of power often goes to one’s head dead quick once elected and appointed. It is what it is. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H. BODIE, JR Nassau, October 6, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 10, 2017, PAGE 5

‘KING OF THE GRILL’

SAINT James Anglican Parish celebrated holiday Monday with its annual King of the Grill festival. There was plenty of tasty treats for those in attendance as well as a Junkanoo rushout by One Family to end the event on a high note.

PHOTOS: Terrel W Carey/Tribune staff

Facilities & Maintenance Manager Position Facilities & Maintenance Manager needed for permanent, rotational island position. This is a month on/month off position, working 7 days per week while on the island. Hours of work vary from day-to-day depending on daily requirements, but are at minimum 10-12 hours per day.

This is a salaried position, without overtime.

Hiring preference will be given to Bahamian applicants.

We are looking for an experienced, self-directed and self-motivated person to fill the following: The successful applicant will have minimum 8 years experience and must possess strong skill bases in 3406 generators, knowledge of control room operations, electronic competence in both high voltage and electronic switching, HVAC and be willing to multitask in preventative maintenance, operation and maintenance of all areas associated.

This includes: Boats, outboards, wave runners and other sporting equipment, golf carts, associated vehicles, 2/ equipment, extensive plumbing, operation and maintenance of heavy machinery, refrigeration and watermakers.

Must be proficient in Excel, or similar inventory program as required by management.

Applicant will be required to work hand-inhand with maintenance staff, training where required by management.

Must have experience dealaing with owners and guests while present on island, be poised, polished, professional, clean cut, no visible tattoos, non-smoker and of sober habits. References of experience in this area will be required without exception.

Resume must be accompanied by applicable certificates, written work references for positions held and associated contacts. A valid police report will also be required.

Interested persons should submit resume and written references by email to:

exumaislandjob@gmail.com

PAGE 6, Tuesday, October 10, 2017

DAVIS VOWS: I’LL CUT OFF HEADS TO SAVE PARTY FROM PAGE ONE

was not endorsing him as leader of the PLP. “I’m ignoring the shatter and focusing on getting the support of the stalwart councillors,” Mr Davis told The Tribune. “I don’t know what Mr Christie is doing, but from all accounts it looks like he is not getting involved, but you never know.”

Mr Davis and Exuma MP Chester Cooper have been touring Family Islands, courting delegates for support as an apparent team ahead of the organisation’s October convention.

In a recent post on Mr Davis’ Facebook page, a photo caption referred to support for a “DavisCooper” team as leader and deputy leader respectively.

Challenge Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin is the only PLP member so far to announce her intention to challenge Mr Davis for the PLP’s top post in October.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Davis said despite being a part of the “rejected PLP” he is still the right choice for leader because he is “old enough to appreciate the ethos and history of the party” but also “open enough to attract the younger and new membership”.

“The message I got from the voters’ rejection of us is that the party clearly needs to change. We have to change, we have to redefine the core values and make them relevant to today,” said Mr Davis.

“We have to do something with our vision, our image, our messaging. Those are things that we need to revisit and this is going to require a revamping of the way we do things. The current way we do things people are not impressed by it.”

At the prayer breakfast, Mr Davis told delegates that now is the time to renew and rebuild the PLP.

Renewal “Today is our season for renewal, a time to commit to our core values while we rebuild and renew the PLP. I ask you to support me as I choose the path leading me to be your servant and as I help guide our nation away from the troubles that have come our way,” he said.

“Our party needs your support and our nation needs prayers now more than ever before. In the coming days, weeks and months let us begin to ready ourselves for the journey ahead and get ready to rebuild and renew our great organization with compassion, common purpose and renewed zeal to fight for the betterment of the country. Let’s be brave, let’s stand strong, let us stand tall as we move into this new season of change and with Brave, change will come.”

Former Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe has said he will run for chairman of the party. Former State Minister for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez has also said he is considering running for that position as well. The PLP’s convention is set for October 22-25.

THE TRIBUNE

DAVIS: MONEY DOESN’T JUST WALK OUT OF THE TREASURY

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

INTERIM Progressive Liberal Party Leader Phillip “Brave” Davis yesterday called the Minnis administration’s inability to pinpoint $42m of $150m borrowed under the former Christie administration for hurricane repairs “the height of incompetence”.

“Money doesn’t just walk out of the treasury,” the Cat Island, San Salvador and Rum Cay MP told the Tribune on Monday.

Mr Davis was one of several PLP members to take issue with Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest claims that Minnis administration has been unable to track down the $42m.

Mr Turnquest last Thursday told parliamentarians just because the government has been unable to locate the money, it doesn’t mean the it was unaccounted for.

He stated in remarks: “I have often gotten the question from the media lately ‘What did Hurricane Irma cost?’ as if we can just automatically drop this number.

It’s not that easy, unfortunately. But we do have a team of experts doing the assessments and hope to have a justifiable estimate very soon.”

In response yesterday, Mr Davis accused the East Grand Bahama MP of intentionally misrepresenting

OPPOSITION leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis circumstances surrounding the money to “cast aspersions” on the former government.

“What is he saying?

It’s totally disingenuous and it must be due to not wanting to listen to their technical advisors that they have around them or just in an attempt to find ways to cast aspersions (on PLP),” Mr Davis told The Tribune.

“He’s throwing it out there so people can latch on to it and cast aspersions on the former government,” he added.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, former Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell speaking during a recent party conclave accused the Deputy Prime Minister of trying to further a “narrative” of “everyone in the PLP is a thief.”

Mr Mitchell, who also queried the Minnis administration’s latest 2016-2017 deficit projections, scoffed at what he called innuendoes offered up by Mr Turnquest.

He added that there is no place in the Public Treasury where a government employee or politician could “take a wheel-barrel” and “take the money out.”

Mr Mitchell said if he needed to, Mr Turnquest himself or employees of the Public Treasury and Ministry of Finance could clarify exactly where the $42m went.

He said: “I was saying to the Leader this morning, that it is remarkable to me that a man that is trained as a certified public accountant can come to government and can be a member of Parliament for five years and tell you he can’t find $42m what you set aside for hurricane relief.

Now, the interesting thing is in the way he said it. He said, ‘I’m not saying it’s missing, I’m just saying I can’t find it.’”

He added: “So, if you say it is not missing, then what are you telling it to us for? You are only telling us because you want to say that everyone in the PLP is a thief. That is why you are telling it to us, it is part of the narrative.”

Mr Mitchell claimed money borrowed under the guise of a hurricane relief fund never actually went into a separate fund, but rather was pooled into the

country’s consolidated fund to aid with the expenses of the country following the passage of Hurricane Matthew last year.

He continued: “It goes into the consolidated fund. One fund.”

“And all the money is spent.

All of it is accounted for. So don’t be so dumb and stupid that you say, let me go and see where the hurricane fund relief money is. There is no hurricane fund relief money, there is money for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

When the resolution was brought to Parliament last October, the former prime minister said the combined cost of the damage from both hurricanes was about $600m for Matthew and $200m for Joaquin. This equated 40 per cent of the national budget or nine per cent of GDP. Because of the huge cost associated with restoration and recovery in the wake of both hurricanes, then State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis stressed it was essential the government accessed the funds as it was not possible to finance the recovery efforts from the existing budget.

Mr Christie further explained officials from the Ministry of Finance had designed a two-tranche approach to dealing with the funds.

He said the funds were exclusively for the reconstruction effort.

PLP LINE UP TO ATTACK TURNQUEST FROM PAGE ONE

CHESTER Cooper

the Minnis administration

spent a whopping $381m in June alone. The shadow minister of Finance, in a statement circulated by the PLP Sunday, explained that the Opposition has been querying the variances between the Minnis administration’s initial deficit figures and those of the Central Bank of The Bahamas.

Mr Cooper said rather than give clarity on why the

government spent $381m and why that data is still not finalised in Central Bank reports, the Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest in his address to Parliament last Thursday sought only to push “partisan rhetoric” and pat himself on the back.

Mr Turnquest claimed the country’s deficit was adjusted because not all the bills incurred under the former PLP government were presented when he spoke on the matter during the 2016-2017 budget debate.

Mr Turnquest added that bills were still coming into the government when he gave a snapshot of the hefty bills with which the Minnis administration is faced.

In June, $381m in taxpayer dollars was spent for commitments dating as far back as January of this year, he said.

Seemingly unconvinced, Mr Cooper said the government hasn’t explained the specific nature of these bills and why the government decided to make these payments in full and not stagger them as is customary and from which ministries these payments originated.

Mr Cooper also contended the Minnis administration had “a lot of questions to answer” when referring to the country’s finances, insisting that in the interest of transparency and accountability, the minister of finance must reconcile and explain his new deficit figures.

He further questioned why the East Grand Bahama MP continues to “change by a wide margin” the country’s deficit and fiscal outlook every time he addresses the issues.

“If the proverbial “cupboard was bare” as he pronounced in May, where did the Minister find $381m during the month of June,” Mr Cooper questioned.

“While he is at it, perhaps the minister could indicate when, indeed, the year-end for the last fiscal year will finally be closed, as we are now in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.”

Mr Cooper said the government’s recent actions do not inspire confidence in the country and its economy.

Referring to the Opposition’s request, the Exuma and Ragged Island MP said: “The purpose of the request for information was not to do a political dance with the minister, but to make sure the government is being transparent with the public’s funds — the most basic of public expectations.”

“As shadow minister of finance, I have no time for political football and will make no attempt to explain

the minister’s numbers for him as the details are resident in the Ministry of Finance, to which I have not had access at any point,” the statement added.

“It is noteworthy that last month, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House requested, in writing, of the minister, an explanation for these variances; a request to which he has yet to respond.”

“In the interest of transparency, accountability and credibility, I urge him to comply promptly.”

“While he is at it, the minister must explain, in detail, what he means when he says that $42 million of the $150 million the government borrowed and placed in the consolidated fund last year for hurricane relief ‘cannot be found’.”

Mr Cooper said now is not the time for “nonsensical talk,” insisting the minister has a fiduciary duty to reconcile the government’s accounts.

“This is money the people of The Bahamas will have to pay back with interest,” he said.

“It is incredibly irresponsible to say the government cannot locate $42 million of the public’s money.

“However, to blithely say he has no idea where the money is, is shocking, unacceptable and the innuendo is again language unbecoming of a Minister of Finance.”

“It would be remiss of me not to point out that since the FNM took office, no significant foreign direct investments (FDI) has materialised and the government has presented no plan of any kind to spur life into the economy.

“I once more urge the government to focus attention on job creation, economic growth, FDI and domestic investment rather than continuing to look backwards.

Bahamians are hurting and await the government’s attention to creating opportunities and bringing relief to hurting families” “I again caution the minister, as I did during the budget exercise, that sensationalising and playing politics with the economy does not serve the national interest,” Mr Cooper said.

“There is an old and timely adage: ‘Loose lips sink ships.’ The elections are over, there is no question that the PLP lost and the people have entrusted the FNM to move the country forward.”

“The government must focus on bringing the country together and inspiring confidence in the economy.

The Minnis administration and the honourable minister should not continue to squander the goodwill of the Bahamian people.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 10, 2017, PAGE 7

DNA Leader Branville McCartney

BRANVILLE QUITS: I’M NO GOOD FOR DNA FROM PAGE ONE

HAITIAN migrants at HMBS Coral Harbour after they were apprehended in Bahamian waters on Friday.

(RBDF Photo by Leading Mechanic Al Rahming)

99 HAITIAN MIGRANTS APPREHENDED

ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force officers apprehended 99 Haitian migrants in waters off Ragged Island Friday night.

According to reports, HMBS Arthur D. Hanna spotted a Haitian sloop four miles southwest of the island. Officers searched the vessel and uncovered 70 men and 29 women,

who were brought to Nassau early Sunday morning for processing by Immigration authorities.

In July, Immigration Director William Pratt acknowledged that there has been an upswing in the apprehension of Haitian migrants; however, he noted that it was a seasonal trend due to favourable weather conditions.

In August, officials recorded the number of apprehended Haitian migrants to be more than 640 for the year.

Haitian nationals were the highest number of repatriations with 5,241 for 2016.

The figure represents a 65 percent increase over 2015’s total of 3,183.

‘RED-LETTER DAY’ FOR WEST END AS $2M COMMUNITY CLINIC OPENS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE opening of a newly renovated $2-million West End Community Clinic was “a red-letter day” for the residents of West End, who for the first time will now have access to trauma and 24-hour ambulance/EMS services in their community.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands attended the official commissioning ceremony and blessing of the community clinic on Friday.

There was an unveiling of the plaque by Dr Minnis, and Aleisha Thompson, the oldest resident of West End, cut the ribbon to open the modern state-of-the-art health facility.

The project was started under the Christie administration and was scheduled to open in April or May 2017, but it did not happen before the general election.

Upgrade Pakesia Parker Edgecombe, MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, commended former PLP MP of West Grand Bahama and Bimini Obie Wilchcombe for seeing the need to upgrade the clinic.

She said: “I am certain it will make a difference in the delivery of healthcare in this community.”

Mrs Edgecombe, who was one of many born at the West End clinic, recognized veteran health care providers Dr Romeo Fernandez and Nurse Anna Hall who served for many years at the small clinic.

A public clinic was first established on Grand Bahama in West End in 1959.

The renovated facility now comprises 6,348 sq ft, doubling the existing capacity.

Dr Sands revealed that the project cost the government $2,233,899.48.

He said the centre would offer primary, dental, trauma, and emergency medical services in West Grand Bahama.

“It has been said that some will reap and some will sow, and…it did indeed start with the previous administration; they started it, and we finished it,” he said.

The facility includes a trauma area, examining and treatment rooms, upgraded dental suites, a fully outfitted staff training room, on-call and 24-hour emergency medical services, and refurbished two-bedroom residences for nurses and health professionals.

Dr Sands added that a newly acquired portable digital x-ray machine would allow emergency medical patients off-site access to radiology service.

He stressed that a critical feature of the renovated clinic is the provision of an ambulance that will provide 24-hour EMS coverage.

“It marks the first time that a state of the art ambulance with trained emergency medical technicians will be stationed here,” he told residents.

PRIME Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, was in West End, Grand Bahama on Friday for the Commissioning of the West End Community Clinic. Shown from left are: Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister and MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini; K. Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis; and Minister of Health, Dr. Duane Sands. Seated is the oldest resident of West Grand Bahama, 99-year-old Aleisha Thompson. (BIS Photo/Lisa Davis) “What this means is that we will be able to improve response time for emergency calls for residents of WGB. “This health facility will meet health care needs of the communities of West Grand Bahama,” he said.

Prime Minister Minnis said that today’s opening is a red-letter day for West End. “The people have patiently waited for this day,” he said.

He stated that healthcare development, education, national security, and social safety are essential elements of national development that benefit individuals directly while enhancing the quality of life for all Bahamians and the future development of the nation. Dr Minnis noted that government is committed to implementing

innovative technology that will significantly change the delivery of healthcare across the country.

He stated that telehealth technology would be a game changer in public health care.

“In 2007, I was privileged as Minister of Health to launch first telemedicine pilot project in the country, linking the public health clinic in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, and the Princess Margaret Hospital emergency room,” he recalled.

“We are on the cusp of a revolution where telehealth technology is poised to enhance the delivery of primary care services, national emergency medical services, and radiology services to Bahamians and residents

throughout our archipelago,” Dr Minnis said.

The PM revealed that patients and clinicians in the family medicine programme in Grand Bahama made history as part of a short-term study on the representation of telehealth within the primary care environment.

He reported that patients were able to upload results of daily self-test blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol in real time.

“The test was administrated by each patient in homes using devices the patient is familiar with, without requiring a visit to the clinic or doctor’s office.

The results were evaluated and recorded by health care professionals.”

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DNA’s Deputy Leader Christopher Mortimer will become the party’s interim leader and a new deputy leader will be elected at the special October 24th meeting.

The DNA won fewer votes in the May 10th general election than it did in 2012, a fact that weighed on Mr McCartney.

He believes the election results were as much an outright rejection of the DNA under his leadership as it was a simple reflection of the powerful two-party dynamics in the country that gives little space to third parties.

“No doubt dynamics of the two party system is very strong and alive,” he said. “When we did our report, (pollsters) came back and said people just want to get rid of the PLP. Well, the bottom line is they wanted to get rid of the FNM in the previous election and they brought back the PLP; now they wanted to get rid of the PLP, but they went back to the FNM. I have a difficulty with that scenario in its entirety because if they really wanted to get rid of the PLP the DNA should have gotten some more votes. In this last election the PLP got more than 50,000 thousand votes and became the Official Opposition. Although they didn’t get a lot of seats, they still have a significant base.”

Mr McCartney believes his critics in rival parties succeeded in turning Bahamians against him.

Party “Other parties have done a good job politically of giving the impression that I’m someone I’m not,” he said, “arrogant, self-centred, power-hungry. Obviously that is the minds of Bahamians and a lot of that had to do with the party not succeeding in my mind. It’s a difficult position to take, but it’s a necessary one.”

“At this stage, there has been a rejection of me as leader of the DNA. I have to accept that. I think leading the party, I don’t think would be good at this stage in light of the recent election.”

Mr McCartney said he won’t take any formal role in the DNA, but will take “a backseat in the party.”

“I would assume the leader of the party will take on more of that visible role but I’m always here to comment and speak on and hopefully offer whatever assistance necessary for the betterment of the country. I want to see a good country and our Bahamian people safe and successful and prosperous.”

On re-entering frontline politics in the future, he said: “Never say never.

“We’ve seen why people should never say never but at this stage I’m taking a backseat. I’ve been the leader of the party for the past two elections. I’ve not been successful in the sense of a victory. We lost more ground, or more support in this election and as a leader the buck stops with me and I take full responsibility. I’ve done what I can at this stage and I have no doubt that Chris Mortimer will move the party further.”

“Of course this is a difficult decision,” he said of the personal impact of his resignation. “It’s very difficult. It’s not a decision I thought I would be making but I think the results of the election dictates that this was the right thing to do.”

In 2010, Mr McCartney resigned as State Minister of Immigration in the Ingraham Administration, saying that the “current political system (was) headed in the wrong direction.”

In March 2011 he resigned from the FNM and took steps to form the DNA. The DNA received more than 13,000 votes in the 2012 election. This year the party received 7,537 votes.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, October 10, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

DOMINICA AFTER IRMA:

PICTURED are stills from Bishop Gabriel Malzaire’s video showing scenes of hurricane devastation in Dominica. See the video in full on tribune242.com.

‘A NEVER ENDING SCENE OF DEVASTATION AND CHAOS’ Bishop Gabriel Malzaire of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Roseau, Dominica gave a firsthand account of the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Irma after he visited nine of the island’s 15 parishes, three of which were still inaccessible by road, on September 25.

“It is now just over two weeks since the passage of Hurricane Maria, two weeks of coping with the shock of the event. I am certain that many still wake up in the morning, wondering whether they had a bad dream, no she was a reality. We continue to feel deep sympathies for the families who lost loved ones as a result of the storm, especially those whose bodies have not yet been recovered.

“In a situation such as as ours it is very easy for one to question the theological implications of such an event to ask why a good

God would permit this.

Somehow we never seem to pose the question when it happens in Florida or in Haiti or the typhoon in India. Only when the situation comes home are we forced to consider them, hoping to find a levitate answer.

“It is evident that many people are traumatised as they walk the streets dazed by the never ending scene of devastation and chaos.

They hardly believe what has happened. Many have found the need to migrate

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to neighbouring islands and other countries for schooling. Some are simply moving away for fear of the prospects of a daunting future.

“For us who remain the need to get in rebuilding mode is urgent. We will need all the willpower we can muster as relief supplies come in and peoples psychological needs are satisfied. We can move to the next level of nation building. The lessons to be learned from Maria are more than meets the naked mind. What ever it is for each person, one thing remains true alone who has experienced Maria cannot be the same. It is another way of saying the worst that can happen to us as a people is not having learned anything from Maria. The need to work together looms high. The need to think of neighbour and not only self is a basic Christian principle. The old adage ‘United we stand , divided we fall’ certainly rings true in this situation more than ever before.

“To paraphrase the words of a well known contemporary hymn ‘ We as a

people can never lose hope, we will never lose our joy, we will continue to cling to our faith but most of all, we will never lose our praise.

Our God has brought us through the storm. He will lead us through the light’. With these words of encouragement we will move forward, knowing it

will be all right in the morning, with the unfailing help of God and the continuous support of all our friends near and far. With the rate of global man-made and natural disasters, it is easy to move to the next crisis

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but we need to remember and we will need you for a while. So stay with us and with the blessing go the Almighty God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of us and be with us forever. Amen.”

NEW YORK GIVES IN-STATE TUITION TO STUDENTS IMPACTED

BY HURRICANES ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will give in-state tuition rates to students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who were displaced by recent hurricanes.

The State University of New York Board of Trustees approved the initiative on Friday at the direction of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat.

SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall says the state’s higher education system has a responsibility to help those students whose ability to get an education was put at risk by the storms.

New York authorised in-state tuition for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Rates vary between the state’s public colleges and universities, but the typical in-state student can save roughly $10,000 a year.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 10, 2017, PAGE 9

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

insight@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017

Bahamas’ power solution is a must for radical change

U

p the hill and right back down again— that’s the story of Bahamian electric power during the five wasted, and expensive, years of PLP Government. Dr. Minnis’ new administration is now back at square one, with a clean slate for creating a brand-new energy policy, a crucial task he must soon address if he is to retain credibility.

After the usual 2012 election campaign promises for cheaper and more reliable electricity, it took until August 2013 for Prime Minister Christie to make a grandiloquent official announcement outlining his Government’s new approach. Bahamas Elec- $45,000 per month in salary tricity Corporation (BEC) and allowances for residwould be split into two com- ing in this “hardship post” panies, one for transmission, Monday through Friday— distribution, and sales to with time shaved off both remain wholly state-owned, ends to cover travel time to/ the other for generation, fro New York. for which private partners Whatever her failings, would be sought to take an Ms. Hill was surely corequity stake. He was advised rect in complaining that the by accountants KPMG and Christie Government never an American electric engi- provided the financing PS neering firm, doubtless needed to do its job propreceiving attractive consult- erly. Lengthy talks about a ing fees. $600 million “Rate ReducThis re-structuring proved tion Bond” scheduled for to be pie-in-the sky. By early this year came to nothJanuary 2014, Deputy PM ing. This would have paid Brave Davis admitted that off outstanding debt, funded no private firms had come part of a new 140 MW genforward to bid for the gen- erating plant at Clifton Bay, erating company and that and contributed working the split operation was being capital. “reconsidered”.

After some 16 months of procrastination, he revealed “Even with the in mid-2015 that a speciality most optimistic company from North Carolina called PowerSecure growth of solar (PS) had been retained, and power, there in January 2016 a definitive will remain agreement was signed for PS to manage our new Baha- a continuing mas Power & Light (BPL), demand for fossilnothing but a subsidiary of the old BEC. Our Govern- fueled electricity, ment then discovered to its which at present surprise that the minnow costs the average PS had been swallowed by giant US utility The South- consumer $0.27ern Company. (Strangely, 0.30 per KWH, customers’ bills are still on compared with the letterhead of BEC, not $0.08-0.10 in BPL.) PS retained a recruit- Florida, an obvious ing firm to find American Pamela Hill as competitive drag BPL chief executive, who on our economy.” arrived here in April 2016 to a polite but sceptical reception as she was not Mr. Christie’s manian electric engineer but a festo of August 2013 put a white-collar finance special- target of 30 percent of our ist. Neither PS nor Southern total demand being met was required to make any by “renewable energy” equity investment in our by 2030, but we are still dilapidated power plant; far from that level. Govinstead, the cash flow was ernment’s only positive all the other way — man- measure was a 2015 amendagement fees paid by ment to the Electricity Act, Government to PS, plus a authorizing private power cornucopia of salaries, living generators and allowing and traveling expenses, them to tie into the public even reimbursement of the grid and apply any excess recruiter’s fees! generation to increase the In her brief tenure of total supply. In our context barely more than a year, Ms. “renewable” means primarHill struggled to explain ily “solar”. Theoretically, continuing power cuts, we also have substantial and any rate reductions were so paltry as to escape capacity for wind farms notice by most consumers in the shallow waters off or were stop-gap election New Providence’s southern measures. By the time of coast, as is normal offshore this May’s general election, in Europe, but to date I am the management agreement still had not been presented to the House, and despite Brave Davis’ continual defence of the PS executive team, relations with Ms. Hill were clearly fraying.

The new Government was decisive once they demanded and read the terms of the agreement. In September Ms. Hill was sacked, and Minister of Work Desmond Bannister, with speed of action never seen in previous days, terminated PS, now to be run by an all-Bahamian Board. He disclosed the Government had paid over $9 million in fees and expenses, with possible expectation of further “performance” bonus up to $25 million. Bahamians simply could not stomach that the boss was receiving nearly

Richard Coulson

to produce during sunshine hours.

Mr. Holdom and other local experts promptly refuted this analysis, claiming that any grid-tied MW-scale plant would have reserve storage batteries and peak-load shaving to assure 24-hour operation.

A much cheaper major solar farm would be feasible for New Providence on a Crown Land site long-term leased by Government, and smaller ones for several of the high-demand Family Islands, while tiny island communities with only a scattering of users would be served be stand-alone retail units.

Even with the most optimistic growth of solar power, there will remain a continuing demand for fossil-fueled electricity, which at present costs the average consumer $0.27-0.30 per KWH, compared with $0.08-0.10 in Florida, an obvious competitive drag on our economy.

But the oil supply used by the present and contemplated generator systems at THE HEADQUARTERS with the original BEC sign.

Clifton Bay and Old Pond can be converted to cheaper The USA subsidized and more efficient LNG not aware of any reliable cost/benefit analysis; and standard of a 5-KW home imported and re-gasified schemes based on thermal power source costing here. sea-water differences, or $10,800 is still not attainOf course, this will not be wave or tidal action, are still able here, and is restricted cost- free. Government must too speculative for commer- by lack of banks or special- finally bite the bullet and cial consideration, although ized finance houses able decide how it will finance new technology could to provide term loans at the conversion costs, probchange the picture ably running into the low Fortunately, we already reasonable rates for an hundreds of millions. amortized saving over the have plenty of experience in Further, we cannot con“distributed” solar energy public consumer tariff. In tinue the slap-dash policies addition to the distributed facilities, that is, rooftop of many years ignoring generation on individual res- units, we still need com- maintenance expenses and idences, warehouses, hotels mercial-scale wind farms, to scheduled replacements, give savings from wholesale and office buildings. which eventually result Half a dozen local firms operation. in break-downs, cuts, and are licensed installers of One unfortunate legacy brown outs. these state-of-art systems. of the PS regime was its Although consumers see Government could per- analysis debunking the cona cost pf electricity on their form a major service by cept of a 40-MW utility-scale cutting the regulatory red- wind farm as impractical monthly bills, this figure tape that ties these firms, and economically unsustain- bears no relationship to the true economic cost of delaying approval time for able, needing to cover 155 power, as BPL and parent simple permits from days to acres at a capital cost of BEC have been continumonths.

A recent progressive step $140 million, and only able ally run at loss with costs was taken when the Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute (BTVI) arranged a joint venture with one of the leading firms, Alternative Power Supply, giving its 2000 students the expertise to expand into this business under the tutelage of Philip Holdom, a 27-year veteran installer of residential and commercial solar systems here and the US. While large systems are still primarily an option for mid-market and upscale budgets, the latest back-up technology makes reliable power available for virtually every Bahamian household.

The cost of new and better solar panels (duty-free in Bahamas), often from China, is steadily declining, but represents on average only about 20 percent of total costs, including cost of storage battery packs and installation expenses affected by local inflation and taxes

A NEW BPL sign replaced the old one at the company’s headquarters in February.

simply ignored, buried, and accumulated.

The best long-term solution for Nassau and the rest of the country will be to emphasise a hybrid power system.

We can leverage our growing expertise with renewable energy—primarily solar but always keeping alert for viable wind and other sources — as an endeavour for the private sector, while leaving Government free to shift our dependence on oil towards LNG with the best available financing options.

If new sources of longterm borrowing cannot be found to recapitalize the oil-fired power industry on a sound basis for the future, perhaps, as has been suggested, a foreign firm will have to be found as majority equity partner, buying the net assets for $1.00 and transferring existing debt to a special vehicle.

The Grand Bahama Power Company handles the combined functions of generation, transmission and distributions throughout the island, and is majority owned by the Canadian utility Emera Ltd. Unfortunately, it has been no more successful than BPL-BEC in bringing consumer billings down near the US level, but at least the Bahamian public owns a minority stake and receives a dividend yield of about 1.4 percent on a liquid investment .

Short of full equity ownership, a foreign firm could finance, build, and operate an LNG import and gasification system and enter into a typical Power Purchase Agreement with BPL to cover capital costs and allow a profit margin.

Without having every detail settled down pat, Dr. Minnis should have a broad hybrid-energy policy ready to announce by the end of the year.

PAGE 10 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSURING THE CARIBBEAN’S FUTURE World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

(The writer is the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the US and the OAS. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto)

the money from their own resources to rebuild and they might well find that an impossibility. Hurricanes don’t only destroy properties and take lives, they also create unemployment and increase poverty – something that those who deny Climate Change and Global Warming need to understand.

A government report on the US economy revealed that the hurricanes led to the first job losses since 2010. The labour market lost 33,000 jobs in September alone.

INSURERS and reinsurers are facing major losses in the wake of the damage done in the Caribbean and the United States by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

These losses will have a direct and immediate impact on insurance premiums across the entire Caribbean and the EastInsurers and re-insurern seaboard of the US. Higher building and ers will raise their rates flood insurance costs for certain in the coming coming on top of the costs weeks. Some might col- DAMAGE in Bimini after Hurricane Irma. of rebuilding damaged lapse under the burden properties will prove to of pay-outs from the hurmillion from Irma with might even decline coverbe too expensive to many ricanes. Those that survive more claims to come from age of certain properties home owners and pro- will increase premiums the ravages of Hurricane unless they are satisfied prietors of businesses. not only because they Maria. that they are built to withConsequently, even as have to recoup their losses And, Lloyd’s of London stand Category 5 plus reconstruction takes place but also because they insurer, Beazley, said hurricanes, which has in the several islands that have to cover the enlarged losses from Hurricanes become the new normal. were hammered by these risk posed by bigger and Harvey, Irma and Maria It should be fairly obviviolent storms, there will fiercer hurricanes. and a series of earth- ous that insurers and Global insurers and be many abandoned sites quakes in Mexico would re-insurers will take the for many years to come. reinsurers have already reduce its 2017 earnings view that the rewards of Persons who find the costs issued profit warnings. by about US$150 mil- providing insurance cover of new insurance too high For instance, Lloyd’s of lion. US property insurer might not be worth the might simply opt to col- London has announced Chubb Ltd. estimated risk, given the ferocity of lect insurance payments, that it expects net losses after-tax losses of up to hurricanes. if they were insured, and of US$4.5 billion from The only thing that Hurricanes Harvey and US$1.28 billion from Hurwalk away. ricanes Harvey and Irma, would persuade them to Those home owners Irma. Lloyd’s 80-plus with claims arising from take a different and more and other proprietors, syndicates are reported Hurricane Maria not yet favourable position is who were not insured or to have already paid out taken into account. the legislation and implemore than US$160 milwere under-insured, have So, insurance premi- mentation of codes that an even greater prob- lion in claims from Harvey ums will increase, and a require all buildings to lem. They have to find and more than US$240 few insurance companies adhere to high standards of resilience.

Governments throughout the Caribbean, including those that have been spared hurricanes in recent years, will now have to legislate new building codes and they will have to police their implementation with stringent penalties for builders who fail to meet them.

In this regard there is a lesson to be learned from Mexico City, where in the wake of repeated earthquakes over 30 years, the government legislated tighter building codes and better construction materials. Those building codes saved Mexico City from a worst disaster than it experienced last month.

But, less devastation would have occurred had enforcement of the codes not been deeply flawed and uneven.

So, the two lessons from the Mexico City

Rates

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

experience are that strong building codes are an absolute necessity and strict enforcement is also vital to save lives and protect property.

As hurricane-damaged

“Higher building and flood insurance costs coming on top of the costs of rebuilding damaged properties will prove to be too expensive to many home owners and proprietors of businesses.”

for catastrophe. Year after year, the region could be faced with a cluster of countries being decimated as has occurred this year. And, if that were to happen, the region could become uninsurable, leaving little or no opportunity for rebuilding and ruining economies irreparably.

All Caribbean countries are vulnerable, and any of them could be a victim. In this connection, the legislation, implementation and policing of stringent building codes designed for the greatest resilience has to become the benchmark for the entire region.

The time to legislate and implement that benchmark is now. Waiting for a disaster before taking these measures would be a huge mistake for which the entire Caribbean would pay dearly with few, if any countries or agencies, coming to their rescue.

All governments and their disaster preparedness organisations should begin spreading a message that resilient building across the length and breadth of their nations is essential. No person likes to expend money, particularly if no immediate benefit can be seen for the expenditure. But, regret for not spending to achieve a higher level of resistance would serve no purpose in the wake of another hurricane’s devastation.

Caribbean countries now begin the long and tortuous process of rebuilding, legislation of stronger building codes and enforcement of those codes are imperative not only to withstand the force of more powerful storms, but also to convince insurers and re-insurers to continue giving property owners adequate insurance coverage.

Caribbean countries, that have not suffered from hurricanes in recent years, ought to follow the same pattern.

Allowing rebuilding at Responses and previous standards that applied commentaries: www.sirpreviously is a prescription ronaldsanders.com

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 10, 2017, PAGE 11 ‘AT the dinner table I’m the outsider’: Rochelle Dean.

PHOTO: Terrel W. Carey/ Tribune Staff

Why can’t I talk about

weight?

By ROCHELLE DEAN

I

AM a 5’9 129lb well proportioned woman in my 30s but how is a woman who is considered the ‘normal’ body weight has become an outsider in a society where obesity has become the norm?

It’s very difficult to bring up the discussion of weight when you see a loved one or a friend’s weight headed in the wrong direction.

If you are like me, naturally you will want to help; but it’s hard to know how to help because weight, for most people, is such a touchy subject, especially in a society where obesity is what it is believed every Bahamian male finds appealing.

Whenever the discussion of weight comes up somehow body image is what is discussed as opposed to being healthy.

Telling someone they are too skinny is just as hurtful as telling someone they are too fat.

We are conditioned to not talk about obesity but revel in our obsession of what is socially acceptable.

Along with maintaining a healthy weight is the idea of self-worth; so automatically it’s a given that some obese people will want to flip the script and then somehow being thin makes one the subject of mockery.

Whenever, I try to discuss weight with my friends it becomes an unspoken taboo, especially around the lunch table or dinner table when they insist that, ‘meat is for man and bones are for dogs.’

Unhealthy This gives Bahamian women a sense of pride as they engulf themselves in fast food and unhealthy eating habits which support the notion that ‘fluffy girls’ are every man’s dream.

I can’t say I have ever seen Precious or Rebel Wilson on any Bahamian male’s wall as their poster child of lust. They are still infatuated and intrigued with Angelina Jolie.

When I want to discuss weight it somehow becomes that it’s me who has the problem, that I’m too skinny for those at

the table. It becomes very uncomfortable when you can’t express world views of body image and type, in a country with a soaring amount of its people suffering from obesity. It’s

“When I want to discuss weight it somehow becomes that it’s me who has the problem, that I’m too skinny for those at the table.

It becomes very uncomfortable when you can’t express world views of body image and type, in a country with a soaring amount of its people suffering from obesity.” really disheartening even discussing healthy alternatives or exercise regimens which are not welcome by friends or family.

At the dinner table I’m the outsider, treated as though there is something wrong with me for

being healthy. The focus is always on me for being skinny and their argument is just because I’m skinny doesn’t mean that I am healthy. As they’re saying this they stuff themselves with hamburgers while I opt for the Brussel sprouts The emotional roller coaster of the topic then becomes too much and we wonder why living healthy lives no longer has a significant place in our discussions?

Perhaps it’s because thin or well-proportioned women now rarely discuss weight and shy away from mentioning it; out of a sense of fear. They have become targets who are punished for maintaining a healthy body.

It’s like they are asking, ‘How dare the skinny chick even mention anything about weight loss, after all she could not possibly understand what an obese person endures?

Nor does she understand that her beign skinny is the tool that will be used not to feel bad about myself, but to attack her. She doesn’t need to be concerned about my weight, she should be concerned that I will make her not wanted.’

I want to discuss weight because I want healthy friends, family, colleagues and country. I don’t want to discuss body image; I want to discuss being healthy. Discussing weight comes with encouragement and means I am offering as well as receiving healthy alternatives that help someone to live a balanced life.

Journey I may not be a professional trainer or nutritionist but discussing weight is the beginning of the journey to these people who can build the self-esteem and transform the life of an obese person. The road to being healthy always starts with the initial conversation.

While many of us live our best obese lives in lala land, I live in the real world and in that world the reality is that I am not the outsider and obesity is a killer. It’s the #1 cause of diabetes, high cholesterol and other chronic diseases that lead to death.

As a skinny person when I discuss weight I am seen as mean or insensitive while the rest of the

world who are chronically obese get a free pass or a death sentence. No! I will not cat walk across the street when someone calls me boney and stares in anticipation of me falling when wearing heels.

Skinny shaming is very real. I live a life feeling very hurt and offended when someone tells me, “Eat! Food! Now! Please!” When did thin, which is the normative mainstream ideal become less culturally acceptable? When did discussing weight symbolise an attack on the person as opposed to the goal of reducing the results of being overweight? Shaming me for being skinny doesn’t detract from the fact that you are fat.

Those who hurl insults at me must think I am immune. If this isn’t a sign of complete clog of the arteries and one’s sensibility, tell me what is?

The reality is I am the outsider because we don’t want to discuss weight openly and live healthy lifestyles.

It’s a shame but the conversation has to start sometime.

• See Woman section starting on page B12.

LIVES LOST IN MEXICO QUAKE ‘COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED’

By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nearly two-thirds of the buildings that collapsed in Mexico City’s monstrous earthquake last month were built using a construction method that is now forbidden in seismic hotspots in the United States, Chile and New Zealand, according to new data compiled by a team of structural engineers at Stanford University.

The suspect building technique called flat slab — in which floors are supported only by concrete columns — caused 61 percent of the building collapses in last month’s magnitude 7.1 quake, which killed 369 people and blanketed tree-lined avenues in rubble.

Now, several prominent engineers say some of those structure failures could have been prevented and lives could have been saved had Mexico City officials only gone forward with a proposal to forbid that type of construction when they toughened building codes after the 1985 earthquake in Mexico’s capital.

“We have known for 30 years that this system killed lots of people, so why are we still using it?” asked Eduardo Miranda, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford and global expert on earthquake-resistant design who compiled the data obtained by The Associated Press. “The right decision after ‘85 would have been to completely ban this kind of construction. We could have saved lives.”

Fortunate Anahi Abadia and her husband were among the fortunate: they were in Home Depot when the earthquake hit, shaking the store so fiercely the structure screeched.

Minutes later, a text came in from their neighbour: The elegant apartment they had purchased only six months earlier had collapsed, rendering their new home a pile of crushed concrete.

Two women working in Abadia’s trendy apartment building died on

Sept. 19 when the structure collapsed after a corner column failed, and the flat-slab structure pancaked, Miranda said.

The concrete slabs used to build floors and ceilings can be cast to include some rebar for reinforcement, and give builders greater flexibility in room layout and allow for higher ceilings.

But in an earthquake, without reinforced concrete walls or lateral bracing to resist forces pushing structures sideways, buildings with that design can move too much. The columns, and connections between the slabs and columns, can easily break, prompting collapse, as was the case at a school where 26 people died, most of them children.

But at Abadia’s building, the construction method was only the start of the problems: The units were designed by an architect whose license lapsed, and approved in a borough where auditors previously found illegal construction occurred unchecked.

Experts concur that the devastation caused by last month’s

AN APARTMENT building that was partially destroyed during the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, on Emiliano Zapata Avenue in Mexico City. (AP) earthquake in the city of 8.9 million people could have been much worse had the building codes not been so strong, but it also has forced an uncomfortable conversation about their shortcomings. Now, as experts race to toughen standards to retrofit hundreds of damaged buildings, they are grappling with the reality that corruption has allowed hundreds of structures to be built outside the rules atop the soft soils of Mexico City’s ancient lakebed.

In the crisis following the 1985 quake, a group of academics, building officials and engineers drafted

emergency recommendations to strengthen Mexico City’s seismic codes, which were swiftly passed into law.

Some architects and builders were opposed to an outright ban on flat slab construction, said Miranda, who wrote reports that informed the committee.

“There were lots of builders and owners who were not going to be happy that you just stopped their construction,” said Miranda, who later served on Mexico’s code committee in the 1990s, and on committees funded by the U.S.