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Volume: 118 No.221, October 13, 2021

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‘PEOPLE ARE DYING IN DROVES’ - SANDS Former minister says change our policy or accept frequent deaths

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AS people continue to die in “droves” painting an “ugly” picture of The Bahamas’ COVID-19 fatality rate, a senior physician says there continues to be a disconnect between the public’s perception of the virus’ implications and the challenges it has caused in healthcare.

Former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands told The Tribune yesterday it is now time for Bahamians to either prepare to accept frequent deaths or welcome a dramatic change in policy and behaviour.

He spoke to The Tribune the day after the Ministry of Health in its October 10 dashboard confirmed the COVID-19 death toll at 605.

Forty-eight virus related deaths were reported in data released by the Ministry of Health between October 3 and October 10.

Dr Sands said the situation as it stands has outpaced the volume of available resources in the public healthcare system.

“I see a dramatic disconnect between what is happening in the clinical arena and what the public’s perception seems to be,” Dr Sands said.

SEE PAGE THREE

‘WE HAVE ENOUGH SECOND DOSES UNTIL SHIPMENT’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Michael Darville said yesterday that officials believe the country has enough vaccine supplies to ensure that Bahamians can receive their second doses without disruption until the next shipment of vaccines arrives early next month.

Speaking to reporters before yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Dr Darville said the country should receive some 57,000 vaccine doses in the first week of November.

The arrival of additional vaccines was also promised by a Pan American Health Organisation representative during the organisation’s weekly webinar last week.

SEE PAGE FOUR

ALICIA WALLACE: FASHION PARADE AND DRESS CODE POLICE

- SEE PAGE EIGHT

‘NO PROPER SEARCH AND RESCUE FOR RASHARD’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE family of 30-yearold Rashard Cooper who went missing last week in Abaco is not satisfied with the police investigation and claims that a proper search and rescue was never carried out by authorities that fateful day.

Vanessa Lewis and Ashenique Lewis travelled from New Providence to Abaco last Friday after learning news that their loved one went missing last Wednesday.

SEE PAGE TWO

ROSA’S FINAL WORDS: PLEASE PRAY FOR US ROSA Bastian died from COVID-19 after being airlifted from Andros, while her mother remains in hospital fighting the disease. In a breathless final voice note to friends and family, Ms Bastian said: “My mom and I are COVID-19 positive. We’re doing our best, but we could always use some prayers. So please pray for us. Thank you so much.” Ms Bastian died on Friday. See PAGE THREE for the full story.

PSYCHIATRIC TEST FOR MAN AFTER STATUE SMASHED

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 37-YEAR-OLD man accused of trespassing on Government House property and partially damaging a Christopher Columbus statue has been remanded pending a psychiatric evaluation.

Shervandaze Smith appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with causing $2,000 worth of

THE DAMAGED statue of Columbus. damage to the monument.

The statue’s right leg was

destroyed with a sledgehammer on October 9.

Police were dispatched to the scene around 1.20pm.

When they arrived, they arrested a man who they said was caught in the act of damaging the statue.

Yesterday, it appeared Smith was willing to enter a plea to the damage and trespassing charges. However, his mother, who was present during the hearing, asked

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SEVEN

FIVE SHIPS IS A MILESTONE AFTER COVID

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

NASSAU Cruise Port will today host five vessels for the first time since COVID-19 struck in March 2020, with top executive Michael Maura asserting: “We’re on the road to recovery.”

Two Royal Caribbean vessels, and one each from Carnival, Disney and MSC will bring close to 10,000 passengers today.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY SWISS UNVEIL VR TOUR OF THE UNIVERSE

- SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

‘No proper search and rescue for Rashard’ from page one

RASHARD COOPER, who was last seen on a jet ski in the area of Dundas Point, Abaco.

According to police reports, Mr Cooper was last seen on a jet ski in the area of Dundas Point, Abaco.

Ashenique said they spoke with two friends her uncle was last seen with on the day he went missing around 6.45pm.

She was told that Mr Cooper and the two friends were at Brown’s Bay dock riding a jet ski.

“One of the friends had

purchased a new jet ski and they were all testing it.

They said he was the last one to go on the jet ski and it stalled out and Rashard tied the jet ski to a little cay,” she said.

Ashenique said she was initially told that the jet ski had run out of gas, and was later told that the battery had died.

The two friends, she said, told her that they told Mr Cooper they were going to get a boat to rescue him.

“The two friends left

him there with nobody Vanessa said that when to watch him or reassure they went to the police they him that they were going were only given Mr Coopto help him. They left him er’s phone, $50, his bank there…,” she said. card, and his licence. She She said the men told said they never received his her they went to the police clothing – a pair of jeans station, but the police said and tennis, or his watch. they did not have a boat.

“Right now, we do not “The men said they then want him to be another asked the police for a flash- statistic, someone has just light so they could go back gone missing, and nobody and search for Rashard. cares because it seems as When they returned, they if that happens a lot now said it was dark and they in The Bahamas. People did not see Shard, they only gone missing at sea, they saw the jet ski, and his stuff do a couple of searches and (at the cay),” she said. that’s it, and the person is Ashenique said the men missing for three, four, five said it took them two hours years.” to find a boat.

Ashenique said the She said they believed Mr family hopes that Mr Cooper took off his pants, Cooper is alive, but is also socks, and his shoes, and ready to accept and to face jumped in the water. the worst outcome.

She said the cay is not too “At this point, if that far from the dock, about means our family member 400 metres away. is deceased which we are Although her uncle was hoping it is not, we just not a strong swimmer, she want the body. Whatever said he could informa“manage” in tion anyone the water. knows Mr Cooper whether it is relocated hard to proto Abaco cess or hard from New to swallow, Providence we still want about a year it. If they ago. He was care and love employed Rashard, as a mason they would and also did help the some rooffamily.

He ing work. He is our blood has a twoand this is month-old affecting RASHARD COOPER baby girl. my aunties His niece because they described him as a very raised him.” jolly person. “He was the Assistant Superintendent life of the party. He loves of Police Stephen Rolle to have fun and he was not said when the matter was afraid, he was brave.” reported to authorities, the His sister Vanessa Lewis police quickly mounted an said the story of his disap- operation to search the cay pearance is not adding up. and the ocean for the miss“Shardy was a loving, ing man. kind and humble young “Also they would have man. It is baffling to me gotten assistance from the right now because the story US Coast Guard to locate is not adding up for me,” this young man on the land, she said. at the cay, and in the waters.

“Standing on the dock… So far it has proven negayou could actually see the tive,” ASP Rolle said. cay. So, my thing is why He said drones were also would Shardy leave if the jet used in the search. ski is tied up and his friends ASP Rolle said water said they coming back with searches have been a boat. Why would he jump stopped, but they are in the water, if he is not a still conducting searches, good swimmer? hoping to find him.

“If there are two friends, “We can’t say whether he one could go look for a is dead or alive at this point, boat and the other could just that he is missing. We have stayed there and keep are hoping to find him and watch and reassure him.” give his family some cloShe also said the men sure,” he said. said that a woman customs When asked the distance officer had told them that of the cay from the dock, someone was stuck on the ASP Rolle said he is not cay. familiar with the location, Vanessa said that Mr but said he was informed Cooper’s friends told them that it was a short distance when they went to police to from the dock. report what had happened, When asked about the they were informed that no man’s clothing, ASP Rolle Royal Bahamas Defence said police are holding on Force boat was available at to them. the time.

“Once there is an active She claimed that the investigation those clothresidents of Abaco had ing would be kept in the conducted a search for her event forensics needs to be brother, but she did not done. Once investigations think police searched for are concluded the items him. would be turned over to the “We saw people out on family,” he explained. the shore searching for him, “It is being kept for forenbut to say the police, not sic evidence as he is missing, that I know of,” she said. and we do not know exactly “We want to know that what transpired. He just the police have done every- went missing. There is noththing they can, and we don’t ing at the scene to suggest feel as if the police did eve- that it is foul play. We are rything they can. And these going on what we have and people who were last seen that is a report of a missing with him, hold them and person.” question them, and make ASP Rolle is appealing to them accountable. Right family or friends who have now, we don’t feel they did information regarding Mr anything,” Ms Lewis said.

Cooper’s whereabouts that “If our loved one and could help with their invesbrother had drowned, tigation to come forward wouldn’t the body already and call the police. surface in six to seven Persons can call 350-3106, days somewhere along the 919, 911, or call police at shores of Abaco?”

Marsh Harbour at 367-2567.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, PAGE 3

Rosa’s final words: please pray for us

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

AN Andros woman is dead from COVID-19 after being airlifted to New Providence for treatment while her elderly mother remains in hospital fighting the disease.

Both women were airlifted out of Mangrove Cay last week, with an island health official saying there was some issue initially in finding available bed space for them in Nassau.

Health officials have said that the Mangrove Cay Clinic in Andros has a sufficient supply of oxygen to deal with COVID-19 patients and officials will deliver a supply of PPEs for staff today.

However, a doctor at the clinic stressed that a proper facility is needed, lamenting the fact that healthcare workers are providing treatment at a “temporary makeshift place”.

The recent COVID-19 related death of Bahamas Power and Light employee

FORMER Health Minister Dr Duane Sands.

Rosa Bastian raised concerns about whether there was equipment and oxygen to treat her before she was airlifted to New Providence.

Ms Bastian and her mother fell ill to COVID19 last week. Ms Bastian’s mother is currently in an intensive care unit battling the deadly disease, but The Tribune understands the daughter succumbed to COVID while being prepared for transfer from a tent at Princess Margaret Hospital to Doctors Hospital.

Both Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville and doctor in charge of the Mangrove Cay Clinic, Dr Teka Grant-Thompson, have confirmed that the clinic did have oxygen to treat them. However there was some delay in getting the patients transferred to New Providence for treatment due to a shortage of bed space, The Tribune was told.

In a harrowing, breathless final voice note to friends and family, Ms

Bastian asked for prayers.

“I request your prayers… all of you.” she said. “My mom and I are COVID-19 positive. We’re doing our best, but we could always use some prayers. So please pray for us. Thank you so much.”

The two women were airlifted to New Providence on Wednesday of last week and Ms Bastian died on Friday. It is said that they both were unvaccinated with comorbidities.

Speaking with The Tribune yesterday, Dr Darville dismissed speculation that there was not enough oxygen in that clinic and said that PPEs were on the way.

“There was an adequate oxygen supply at the Mangrove Cay Clinic,” Dr Darville said. “There is an issue with a shortage of PPEs. While there is a shortage, a plan has been put in place. We are loading a plane, as we speak, that is heading to Mangrove Cay and Kemps Bay and it will drop off additional supplies today. Also there is a boat, the Captain Moxey, which

has more supplies for the clinics in those particular areas.

“The boat will take a little longer to arrive in those areas, but the plane will arrive sooner with those supplies to ensure there are adequate PPEs. However, there is in fact an adequate supply of oxygen at the Mangrove Cay Clinic.”

Dr Grant-Thompson also told The Tribune that oxygen was not an issue in the case of Ms Bastian and her mother. However, she also made a plea to the government for a permanent clinic.

“When she left here she was stable,” Dr GrantThompson said. “We have supplies. This issue was not supplies, it was space in Nassau. We still got her out to Nassau in time.

“I don’t know what transpired when she got to PMH, but the only issue we had was waiting on space in Nassau. You can’t send a patient unless you have somewhere to send them.

An ambulance cannot come for a patient unless there is somewhere to take them.

“We do, however, need a clinic. The government knows that already though.

We are using a temporary makeshift place. I think they are coming this week to address certain issues we are having. We are in dire need of a clinic.”

A resident of Mangrove Cay claimed that the area had a COVID-19 outbreak. However, Island Administrator Dr Jaqueline Collie was unaware of that claim.

“No, I don’t know of any outbreak of COVID in the area,” she said. “I am just back on the island having travelled on Friday. I’ve just learned about Rosa on my way back here. I won’t have any information on the clinic at this time. I will have to speak to them first.”

The Tribune also spoke to Chris Smith, a relative of Ms Bastian. He reminisced on the kind of person she was.

“Well Rosa is my cousin,” he said. “She was a very nice, Christian who everyone liked. She had a little weight on her, though. I know she and her mother

were not feeling well. I own a foodstore and at one point she asked us to come and bring some things to her because she had a feeling that something was going on with her. We carried the stuff to her.

“After that they had to go to the clinic and before we had an opportunity to visit them, they had to go into Nassau. The clinic is in a temporary (location) right now because they are working on another location for it. The staff and government are working hard to get the staff back into the main clinic.”

Because BPL is known to have frequent COVID cases among staff, The Tribune inquired if such were the case at the Mangrove Cay office. Quincy Parker, communications director, denied this.

“We can say that there is no outbreak at the BPL facilities in Mangrove Cay,” he said. “Meanwhile, our prayers and best wishes are with Rosa’s family and friends at this time, and we wish them peace and comfort.”

from page one

necessary at this time as infection rates are currently “going down.”

However, he said if there is a need to add more measures, the government will not hesitate to do so.

“Well, you know we are listening to what the former minister is saying and we’re taking it into consideration.

We feel at this particular time that we are okay to the point that we don’t need to bring restrictions back to where they are, but I can say this much, we are watching this very closely and in the event that we feel that we need to execute more measures we will,” the health minister added.

There were 379 virus cases last week and the week before saw 537 infections confirmed.

This comes as health officials recorded another 32 cases Monday pushing the nation’s confirmed coronavirus case count to 21,723.

Dr Sands said although the number of confirmed cases appear to be trending downward, Bahamians seem not to “get it” that a surge is ongoing.

“I don’t think as a country that we get it that we’re still in the middle of an ugly surge of COVID. “It eased up a little bit and now it’s coming back

and so when I speak about the healthcare system as the canaries in the mine, you can get a pretty good feel of what’s coming based on who’s showing up in the emergency room.”

He praised new vaccination numbers, but said it was regrettable that the country did not have the supply to sustain additional vaccines at this time.

The latest vaccine tracker says 115,153 people have reached full inoculation, while 238,512 have received at least one vaccine dose.

“We are on a good clip.

The problem is that we don’t have the doses to sustain this clip and obviously we need additional doses of AstraZeneca, and it would be nice to get the next tranche of Pfizer.”

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health said that due to diminishing numbers of Pfizer vaccine, first doses will no longer be offered effective October 18.

On Monday, officials said effective October 23, second doses of AstraZeneca vaccines will not be offered. However, the Pfizer vaccine will be made available as a second dose instead.

Additional vaccines are expected to arrive in the country early next month.

‘PEOPLE ARE DYING IN DROVES’ - SANDS

“It is almost as if they’ve become numb to it. Literally people are dying in droves. The numbers tell a horrible story.

“But the spike that we are having in deaths is ugly relative to the rest of the world and we do not have the critical care nursing capacity to manage what’s happening in the hospital. That is a categorical statement. That’s not an opinion,” he said.

“Where we are right now, unless we are prepared to accept a certain level of scheduled deaths, we’re going to need to modify dramatically policy and our behaviour.

“Either we are going to accept that a number of us are going to die because of the number of ventilators that we have, the number of critical care nurses we have, the number of beds that we can’t staff or we’re going to make changes so that we bring the number of new cases of COVID in line with what we’re able to manage safely and adequately.”

Yesterday, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said he doesn’t believe additional COVID-19 restrictions are

PAGE 4, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

‘WE HAVE ENOUGH SECOND DOSES UNTIL SHIPMENT’ from page one Yesterday, Dr Darville said: “There was a bit of a challenge as a result of the COVAX facility where there are some 54,000 or maybe 57,000 doses that were supposed to be in the country now. There was some delay and I was told up to yesterday that we’re looking at the first week in November.”

The Ministry of Health has advised that first doses of the Pfizer vaccine will no longer be offered as of October 18 due to “diminishing supplies.”

Asked yesterday if he was concerned about supplies running out before the next batch arrives, Dr Darville replied: “Not really.

We have to make sure that we’re able to provide the necessary second doses.

Today is the 12th and so we’re looking at two weeks and we believe we have enough supplies.

“But you know in the vaccine world, people like choices and so there may be some people who want Pfizer and if they can’t get the first dose of Pfizer, decide to wait until the supplies are in island early next month.”

News of limited vaccine

supplies comes as residents appear to show a greater appetite to receive the jab amid high virus hospitalisation and death rates.

Speaking on the government’s vaccination programme yesterday, Dr Darville said the initiative was progressing very well.

He said fears of contracting the infectious disease along with rising virus related-death rates have encouraged people to get vaccinated in recent weeks.

“As you could see, many more people are coming forward to be vaccinated.

They understand the dangers of COVID. They looked at our death count and they realise that our hospitals are bursting from the seams,” the health minister said.

“We’re trying to do the best that we can and we are now asking the Bahamian people to move swiftly to receive vaccinations and to ensure that if you do have COVID symptoms to respond very quickly rather than wait at home for a long period of time because the window of survival is very narrow and it’s important to respond very rapidly if you start to develop mild to moderate signs.”

Dr Darville also revealed that vaccinations have already started at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, though he was unable to say how many prisoners have taken the jab to date.

As it relates to when the country can expect to receive its second tranche of donated vaccines from the United States government, Dr Darville was unable to say yesterday.

In August, The Bahamas received 128,700 doses of the Pfizer vaccine as a donation from the US government. The shipment was the first tranche of 397,000 Pfizer vaccine doses expected to be donated to this country.

“I’m being told that the process is in play,” Dr Darville said. “As you’re aware, they were donations of vaccines from the United States and not only for The Bahamas but for the entire region. We are close and cannot give a date at this particular time, but we will definitely receive those vaccines.”

According to the government’s latest vaccine tracker, 115,153 people are now fully vaccinated while 238,512 have received at least one vaccine dose.

Graveside Service for Mr. Elvis Nathaniel McPhee, 62 of #17 Almond Grove, Seabreeze Estates, will be held on Thursday, October 14th, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road.

Officiating will be Bishop Carrington S. Pinder.

Precious memories will remain in the hearts of his Wife: Judy McPhee; Sons: Elvis Thompson & Dario McPhee; Daughters: Elvisa Thompson & Gabrial Taylor; Adopted Sons: Jamaal Bain and Jamaal Newbold; Brother: Wayde McPhee; Sisters: Helena McPhee and Theresa Saunders; Daughter-in-law: Shakera Thompson; Grandsons: Nathayo Miller, Dillon, McPhee and Julian McPhee Jr.; Grand-daughters: Brendea Thompson; Janeasha Bain, Shakell Thompson, Breonna Thompson, Nathalyia Miller, Brenae Thompson and Shamaya McPhee; Sisters-in-law: Telsine Sands, Sonya Arthur, Carolyn McPhee, Jackie McPhee; Brothers-in-law: Dwayne Arthur, Boswell Arthur and Thomas Sands; Uncles: Edward McPhee and Henry Clarke of Freeport, Grand Bahama; Aunts: Rosalie Davis, Mary Morris of Freeport Grand Bahama, Marie and Iva McPhee, Priscilla Clarke of Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, and Adrianna Gaitor; Aunt-in-law: Christine Robinson; Nieces: Samantha Williamson, Jameika McPherson of Abaco, Sharanda Rolle, Waydenia McPhee, and Tajae McPhee, Henrica McPhee, Henrise McPhee, Kenisha Knowles, Hendia McPhee; Nephews: Renardo Major Sr, Kendrick Major Sr., Bernardo Saunders & Jameico McPherson, Wayde McPhee Jr., Treighton Arthur-Sherman, Henrico McPhee, Korey McPhee and Henry McPhee Jr.; Grand Nephews and Nieces: Renardo, Rachel, Kendrick Jr., Kennise, Monishka, Ciana, Ta’Kendria, Zayia, Shaunny, Jewel & Kennedy Major, D’Mari McPhee, Jemma McPherson, Azaria and Payton Saunders, Devinare and Sharese Moss, Bimini Rolle, Glenton and Devin McPhee; Cousins: Michelle Reckley, Patrice Hepburn, Deaconess Ruthlyn Outten, Margaret Cash, Joyell Elcimae, Sandi Thompson, Ginger and Annalee of Grand Bahama, Beryl and Kizzy McPhee, Brenda McPhee, Janice Ash, Anne Clarke of Freeport, Grand Bahama, Merlean Clarke and Family, Julian, Demetrius, Valentino and Floyd McPhee, Edward McPhee of Freeport Grand Bahama, Jeff Hall and Enoch Joseph of Freeport, Grand Bahama, Edward McPhee II, Muriel McPhee of Freeport, Grand Bahama, Elizabeth, Deniece, Patrice and Calvin McPhee, Thelma Bain and Family, Deaconess Norma Hield & Family, Nadia Butler, Leon and Sarah McPhee, Travalis Taylor, Indira Miller (God-child), Shakera Nabbi (God-child), Harris Cash Aaron Ash, Andrew Ash, Indyanna Outten, Indera Baker, Teanna McPhee, Demetrius McPhee Jr., Demetria McPhee, Tamar Russell, Latoya, Latonya, Lathera, Rev. Ellerston Smith, Lashelle, Lenoris & Lanette, Tamala Clarke, Tandra Longley, Damaine Clarke, Vincent McPhee, Latasha Clarke; and a host of other relatives and friends including: Scieska Adderley and Family, Orecia Clarke and Family, Mary Sweeting and Family, Brenda Mott and Family, Sandena Neely and Family, Vernie Newbold and Family, Gregory Mortimer and Family, Gary “Super” Johnson and Family, Tony Albury and Family, Troy Johnson and Family, Samuel Heastie and Family, Christopher Symonette and Family, Anthony Porter and Family, Lillian Boyce and the Robinson Family, Turks & Caicos Islands, Melanie McKenzie and Family, Sally Lightbourne and Family, Brenda Kendrick and Family, Sadie Moss and Family, Allison Evans and Family, D. Rev Sweeting and Family, Audril Farquharson and Family, Perry Seymour and Family, Bernard Hanna and Family, Ayo Olurin and Family, Kirk Campbell and Family, Terrance Godet and Family, Wendell Albury and Family, Jack Davis and Family, Michael Adderley and Family, Maurice Tynes and Family, the Sweeting Family, the Robinson Family, the Hon. Prime Minister, Philip Brave Davis and Family, the Hon. Perry G. Christie and Family, Allyson Maynard-Gibson and Family, the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin and Family, the Hon. Khaalis Rolle and Family, the Hon. Loretta Butler Turner and Family, Kim Saunders, Deacon Lindsay Williamson and Family, The St. John’s Native Baptist Cathedral Family, Margaret Taylor and Family, the Department of Environmental Health Solid Waste Management Family, The Progressive Liberal Party Family, Members of The Sting Junkanoo Family and the R. M. Bailey Senior High School Class of 77. Due to the volume of persons who loved Elvis, we are unable to list everyone at this time, We thank you for your understanding.

Viewing will be held at the P.L.P. Headquarters, Farrington Road on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

MINISTER of Health Michael Darville.

Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

Cruise ship vaccination policy to be extended

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper says the government will extend its vaccination policy for cruise ships seeking to enter a port in The Bahamas until next year.

The policy, which requires cruise passengers aged 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, was initiated by the former Minnis administration.

The order said exceptions to the vaccination requirement will be made in cases of emergencies, “in other exigent circumstances approved by the government” or if a passenger has a medical excuse for not being vaccinated.

“Crew, contractors and any non-revenue passenger” under existing protocols previously agreed upon between the government and cruise lines also do not have to abide by the rule.

The order was outlined in the COVID-19 Emergency Orders and took effect September 3 until November 1.

Asked yesterday if the Davis administration was considering extending the rule, Mr Cooper replied in the affirmative.

He said officials wanted to extend the policy to provide tourists with much needed confidence to travel to The Bahamas in this current health climate.

“We are taking action to extend that until 2022,” Mr Cooper said before going to a Cabinet meeting. “We will be looking at it closely moving forward. We are actively in conversations with our various cruise partners. As you know we welcomed Virgin (Voyages) cruises last week, a new ship to our shores, but we believe vaccination is the right approach in order to be able to attract tourists to our shores in a balanced and responsible way.

“So we note that mostly, in the US market we see vaccinations in the high 60 and low 70 percent and we know that all of our cruise

DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper. passengers who come naturally because of this rule of vaccinated, that’s good for The Bahamas. It’s good for the tourism industry and certainly as we extend this rule, we believe that this will help us even further to grow our tourism business in a balanced way.”

According to international reports, more than 187 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Here in The Bahamas, health officials said more than 115,000 people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 238,000 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

However, Mr Cooper said when compared to other regions, he believes the country’s rates for fully vaccinated people may be too low.

“I’m a little concerned that the numbers for fully vaccinated in The Bahamas seems to be tracking low, relatively low compared to the rest of the world,” he said. “We know that some countries in the region, like Jamaica, is slightly lower than we are but by and large we see many of the tourists in markets, persons in markets where our tourist comes from, their vaccination rates are general in the high 60s and early 70s so I think the best way to manage COVID is naturally through vaccinations and that’s been the science that supports it and certainly if we can cause this to happen into the near and medium term future, I

believe this will be good for tourism and the country as a whole.”

Yesterday, Mr Cooper was also asked about the government plans to remove the travel health visa for international travel.

The visa requirement was eliminated for inter-island travel last month.

“We are not yet at a point where we are minded eliminating the international element of the travel visa,” he said.

“We are monitoring it in a responsible way to determine the timeline of doing (it). We are doing some very exciting initiatives in terms of digitising. There’s the question of whether the landing card is going to continue or whether that’s going to be replaced with some digital means so we’re looking at all of the possibilities at the moment.

“Suffice to say, we are not going to be loosened free in terms of the management of COVID itself. We know from the data that many persons who come to our shores test positive in the five-day test and we know that a large percentage of those persons who test positive are actually Bahamians so we want to continue the effective controls that the travel health visa system helps us to bring in terms of managing the incidences of positive cases coming to our country so until we have a mechanism to do that contract tracing and the follow up testing smoothly we are going to continue with the travel health visa on the international side.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, PAGE 5

Broke emergency orders?

Now you can apply to get your records expunged

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee has been directed to begin expunging the records of people convicted of breaking Emergency Orders, committee chairman Paul Farquharson said yesterday.

The process, however, is not automatic, and people must apply to have their records expunged.

Mr Farquharson said four such people have applied to his committee already and the body was expected to examine their applications following yesterday’s press conference.

“As you are aware there are several offences that were established under the Emergency Order and curfew,” he said. “As announced by the minister of national security two weeks ago, these matters ought to be brought before the committee almost immediately. Those persons who have contravened the curfew and paid their fines and we have a few of those applications before us today, we want to encourage members of the public throughout The Bahamas who have had or were convicted under the Emergency Orders and the curfew to apply to the committee for those records to be expunged.”

Family Island residents can get applications from island administrators, he said.

“The offences under the Emergency Order are treated as ticketed offences,” he added. “It becomes a criminal offence as I understand it when the fine is not paid or there is a custodial sentence involved.”

After the Emergency Orders were put in place as part of COVID-19 restrictions last year, scores of people were prosecuted for various offences including violating curfew.

One high profile case involved the conviction of an 18-year-old man who faced a $700 fine or one month in prison for selling roadside coconuts in breach of the orders.

Concerned citizens came together to pay his fine and lamented that the teen was “burdened” with a criminal record that stifled his chances of success.

Yesterday, Mr Farquharson said the committee has received 200 applications for expungement since its establishment in 2019.

Forty-one people have had their records expunged so far.

He said the views of criminal victims will now be considered when his committee considers the applications of those

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PASTOR Carlos Reid has described the government’s newly announced Second Chance jobs programme as a “past due” initiative, one he believes that could spark a decline in the recidivism rate among offenders.

In the Speech from the Throne delivered last Wednesday, the Davis administration committed to the creation of the jobs programme as a means to allow people who served time in prison to enter the jobs market.

As a part of the Second Chance programme, the government said it will expunge the records of those young people convicted of minor offences

related to the use of marijuana so that they may more easily rejoin the formal, productive economy.

In 2019, the recidivism rate at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services was said to be 17 percent.

Speaking of the promised jobs programme, Pastor Reid said for a long time, the government has not acted in a way that facilitates rehabilitation for offenders.

“I think that is past due,” he said. “We are spending as a nation $20,000 a year on every inmate that is incarcerated, and they sit down there all day and do nothing.

“I believe if you have somebody for five, 10 years

wishing to have their records expunged.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, in a separate interview, said that hearing what victims have to say would be a valuable addition to the expungement process, one he directed the committee to include.

“I was briefed by Commissioner Farquharson about the work of the committee as part of my general briefing and the process involved in the exercise comprises getting an application, getting the facts, getting a report from police, from the Department of Corrections if the person was in prison and sometimes something from social services; and they also interview the offender,” he said. “I told them that was fine. That’s a fairly broad consultation. You can’t really satisfy any process involving a crime without hearing what the victim has to say. So going forward, where there is a victim of an offence that can be included in the process, they are to include those people.”

Mr Munroe said the views of the victim won’t sway the final decision “as much as people may think.”

“If, for instance, the question is have you been rehabilitated, how you interact with the victim after the offence might affect your status,” he said.

“If you commit an offence against somebody and then continue harassing them and that can be shown, that would show you are a person who is insufficiently remorseful. On the other hand, sometimes what a victim says can cause you to expunge or grant parole when you may not ordinarily have done so. Sometimes they bring something to the table that the record didn’t show and it may change what you would have otherwise done.”

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Amendment) 2015, people who have committed murder, manslaughter, treason, armed robbery, rape or possessed dangerous drugs with the intent to supply cannot have their records expunged. After five years, however, most others are eligible if they are first-time offenders or were younger than 21 at the time of their first conviction.

To date, the committee has received 157 applications from New Providence residents.

Thirty-one records have been expunged, 27 referred to the Prerogative of Mercy, six referred for counselling, eight applied to early and 87 are waiting on reports to be seen by the committee.

Of the 23 applications from Grand Bahama residents, nine records have been expunged, two told

you ought to prepare them to be able to enter back into society because they will enter back into society. When a person leaves prison and they’re not prepared they are going right back to all they know.

“We have an opportunity where we could be able to make sure that the recidivism rate goes down by making sure that we teach these persons something or prepare them to be able to survive in the society out here. I believe that everybody deserves a second chance, but that person has to be worthy of that second chance.”

Pastor Reid praised the government

for making the commitment.

“To have the government mention it this says that this government is more concerned about people and that’s the approach that we need to take. When you even look at what the Minister of National Security (Wayne Munroe) said the other day - the stopping the parading in the front of the courts - we needed to stop those things long time.

“There are some things that we are doing as an administration that’s not lending to reducing crime

MINISTER of National Security Wayne Munroe said he has directed the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee to take into account the views of victims. to reapply, three referred and nine are still to be conto the Prerogative of sidered. Otherwise, there Mercy, two are waiting for have been eight applicatheir rehabilitation to be tions submitted in Bimini completed, one has been and one application in recommended for counsel- Exuma, the record of which ling, six did not show up was expunged.

REID: SECOND CHANCE PROGRAMME COULD REDUCE REOFFENDING LEVELS and violence in this country and I believe that these things are going to play a pivotal role in us reversing that.

“We can’t continue to spend millions and millions of dollars just housing people up to the prison. We call it the Department of Corrections but there are no corrections up there.”

He continued: “A lot of these young men that are going into the

prison we talk about rehabilitating them but how can we rehabilitate what has never been habilitated? A lot of them don’t know. So, when we look at the Second Chance, it’s what we should have been doing all along, giving them a second chance.”

THE PRISON at Fox Hill - which Pastor Carlos Reid believes could see fewer reoffenders returning to thanks to the Second Chance jobs programme announced by the government.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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We must not become numb to COVID death toll THE biggest issue facing The Bahamas before the election remains the biggest issue facing the nation after the election.

We have had the pomp and ceremony of swearing in new MPs, a new Prime Minister, a host of ministers and the Speech from the Throne – and COVID19 is still spreading, still infecting people, and sadly still claiming too many lives.

Dr Duane Sands may no longer be in Parliament, but his voice still speaks loudly when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.

The death toll now stands at 605, and the numbers of fatalities have been climbing shockingly.

Or at least it should be shocking – but how the public is reacting to this spike in deaths is one area where Dr Sands is concerned.

“It is almost as if they’ve become numb to it,” he said.

“Literally people are dying in droves.

The numbers tell a horrible story.”

Dying in droves. Think on that for a moment.

We have seen ourselves an increase in the number of obituaries received at The Tribune – every week this newspaper is carrying extra pages for our obituaries section at present and there seems little sign of that relenting.

For those who have become numb to the constant rise in deaths, we urge you to read the story of Rosa Bastian and her mother, who both fell ill with COVID and had to be airlifted out of Mangrove Cay on Wednesday last week.

Ms Bastian died on Friday, while being prepared for transfer from a tent at Princess Margaret Hospital to Doctors Hospital.

Her last voice note to friends and family, in a breathless voice, asked for prayers. She said: “I request your prayers… all of you. My mom and I are COVID-19 positive. We’re doing our best, but we could always use some prayers. So please pray for us. Thank you so much.”

It was the last they would hear from her.

Our hospitals remain overwhelmed.

As Dr Sands says, “We do not have the critical care nursing capacity to manage what’s happening in the hospital. That

is a categorical statement. That’s not an opinion.”

So what do we do? Dr Sands says: “Where we are right now, unless we are prepared to accept a certain level of scheduled deaths, we’re going to need to modify dramatically policy and our behaviour.

“Either we are going to accept that a number of us die because of the number of ventilators that we have, the number of critical care nurses we have, the number of beds that we can’t staff or we’re going to make changes so that we bring the number of new cases of COVID in line with what we’re able to manage safely and adequately.”

Dr Sands is of course a former Health Minister in the previous administration.

The man in that role now is Dr Michael Darville who has a different opinion.

He says he doesn’t believe additional restrictions are necessary as infection rates are currently “going down”.

This should not be a matter for party politics, of course. This is a battle measured in grim metrics – how many are dying, how many are in intensive care.

Dealing with the pandemic was going to be the biggest challenge for any new government, regardless of who won the election. For the PLP, this was not a disaster of their making, but it is a disaster they have inherited and have to deal with.

We cannot become numb to the mounting deaths of our brothers and sisters. We cannot shrug it off as the price we must pay for reopening the economy.

Every life, such as that of Rosa Bastian, is precious and we have to do what we can to save each one.

Campaign pledges by the PLP, such as free testing for COVID, need to be implemented as a priority if that is how they see us getting through this battle.

Until then, we have to be prepared to sometimes put our foot on the brake again, and introduce restrictions where needed if it will help our overwhelmed health system.

The new government has the biggest job to do that could possibly be asked of it. Our lives are very much in their hands. We must do nothing less than all that is necessary.

Honouring our unsung heroes EDITOR, The Tribune.

THERE has been much ado lately about who and what defines a, “National Hero”.

I recently came across an Oxford definition that defines a Hero as, “A person who is admired for their consistent courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”

It’s not seeking 15 minutes of fame, but modeling a lifestyle of committed, responsible heroic behaviour.

This week, exactly two years ago, I led a follow up humanitarian visit to Abaco and Grand Bahama in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. While in Marsh Harbour, I was captivated by an image of a Bahamian flag still on a pole, whose torn and tattered remains blew with “all it had left” amidst unprecedented devastation. Dorian Relief Workers, both international and local were still hard at work making their contributions to rebuilding the island. No big

salaries, cameras, videos or reporters, just good humanitarians at heart.

As I continue to reflect, I remember how exactly one year ago, I was privileged to engage a wide cross-section of our local Tourism and Hospitality professionals. Many were still grappling with the crippling blow brought on by the Global COVID Pandemic … but yet they remained resolute in their efforts to keeping it, “Better in The Bahamas” by fighting at the forefront in our tourism rebound and recovery efforts.

Beyond that, I recall the many Church, Community, Health Care and Law Enforcement leaders and workers, who never gave up, never gave in and oftentimes pressed through their personal pain and problems to make life better for people, everyday! They served while others slept and believed when others doubted!

My definition of a Hero is, “A Distributor Of Hope”. They offer hope to those who have nowhere to turn! They

help those who are hurting. They help to lift up heads towards the rising sun.

Their words and prayers heal the spirits of those bent and broken by the vicissitudes of life. They are often overlooked yet undervalued and overworked yet underpaid.

Often times, they go unnoticed. They seldom make the headlines or seek the applause of mortal men.

They, however, are in the majority and come from amongst every sector of society.

There are many more like them, who represent the Ordinary Bahamian, doing Extraordinary things!

I see them. I recognise them. I appreciate them.

They also deserve the honour as our National Heroes, as we admire their consistent display of courage, outstanding achievements and noble qualities.

My thoughts.

DR KENNETH ROMER Nassau, October 12, 2021.

Too many Governor Generals EDITOR, The Tribune GOVERNOR General C A Smith was appointed to his post in June 2019 by the former Free National Movement (FNM) government. His predecessor was Dame Marguerite Pindling, who was appointed to serve at Government House located on Mount Fitzwilliam in 2014, by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government. Dame Marguerite had replaced Sir Arthur Foulkes, who was appointed to the post in 2010 by the final Ingraham administration. Prior to Foulkes’ appointment, eight other distinguished Bahamians had served as governor general: AD Hanna, Paul Adderley, Dame Ivy Dumont, Sir Orville Turnquest, Sir Clifford Darling, Sir Henry Taylor, Sir Gerald Cash and Sir Milo B Butler. Cash served from September 1979 to June 1988; nearly nine years. His was the longest tenured reign. Sir Orville, who served from January 1995 to November 2001, was the second longest serving head of state.

Sir Milo, who died in office in 1979, served the third longest.

In total, The Bahamas, despite being just 48 years old as an independent state, has had 11 governor generals. Our CARICOM ally, Jamaica, became an independent state 11 years before The Bahamas on August 6, 1962, via a bipartisan collaboration between the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration of Alexander Bustamante

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net and the People’s National Party (PNP) and Norman Manley. This past August, Jamaica celebrated its 59th independence anniversary, with Sir Patrick Allen serving as governor general – a position he has held since 2009. He was appointed by the then Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, amid controversy concerning his strong ties to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Allen’s tenure has coincided with the balance of the Golding administration, that ended in December 2011; the PNP administration of Portia Simpson-Miller, between January 2012 to February 2016; and the first and current Andrew Holness JLP governments.

Despite being appointed under a JLP government, Simpson-Miller saw no need to remove Allen, as Jamaicans view the governor general post as politically neutral, while we Bahamians have politicized the post. This can explain why Jamaica has had only six substantive governor generals (with an additional two who served as acting) in its 59 years of independence. Allen is now in his twelfth year, which is over three years longer than Cash’s tenure.

Bear in mind that while Jamaica has a population of 2.9 million, The Bahamas has a population of only 400,000. The sheer size of our population

means that the number of appointments to occupy the state owned mansion on Mount Fitzwilliam is disproportionate.

Moreover, another issue burdening Bahamian taxpayers is coming up with massive pension benefits for five retired governor generals. If Smith is retired by this PLP government, that number would probably increase to six. A governor general pension is, to the best of my knowledge, near the $100,000 range.

Jamaica, on the other hand, only has one retired governor general, Sir Kenneth O Hall. Both the FNM and PLP have burdened taxpayers with a costly post, in order to reward their faithful stalwarts with a lavish pension and enviable retirement benefits, while complaining about the Treasury being near broke. I am humbly calling on Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis to put an end to this unsustainable practice.

The Bahamas can no longer afford each new government, that is being elected every five years, to appoint a new governor general every term. One of the easiest austerity strategies Davis can implement is to simply not burden the Bahamian people with another unnecessary appointment to Mount Fitzwilliam to occupy a post that The Bahamas can do without.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama October 11, 2021.

How could statue be smashed?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT IS unbelievable! One man with a sledgehammer at Government House almost destroyed the statue of Christopher Columbus before the police arrived.

What happened? Why did it take the police so long to get there? When were they notified? Was it

considered an emergency?

Also troubling, where were the Defence Force officers stationed at Government House?

And what about the multi-million CCTV programme, where the police have the city under surveillance in real-time.

It is good to quote statistics on crimes solved, but

what about crime prevention? It does not look well for the Royal Bahamas Police Force nor the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

The Commissioner and the Commodore must give us answers that we can believe.

ANTHONY CAPRON Nassau, October 10, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, PAGE 7

FIVE IN COURT OVER INCIDENT THAT ENDED IN AIRPORT OFFICER BEING SHOT

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net FOUR men and a woman were yesterday charged with conspiring to commit armed robbery in connection with an incident that resulted in an officer being shot at Lynden Pindling International Airport last week.

Police said two of the accused — Marvin Tilme, 29, and Garnett Newbold, 55 — used a handgun to rob Karen Bain of $3,354, a $200 Motorola cell phone and $560 Coach glasses on October 2.

They also accused the pair of attempting to kill Ms Bain and Corporal 1964 Smith and using a firearm to endanger the lives of the woman and police officer that day.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 5pm on the day in question, a police officer on duty at LPIA was shot while assisting a business establishment with a deposit.

Officers said when the police corporal arrived at the deposit site, he was approached by a gunman who shot him before escaping.

The officer, who remained conscious following the encounter, was then taken to the hospital where he later received medical attention. At last report, he was in stable condition in hospital.

During the hearing, Tilme and Newbold were not required to enter a plea and their case was

adjourned to December 15 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Yesterday, the men were arraigned with Brian Goodridge, 60, Jeffrey Lunn, 55, and Ella Adderley, 33, who were accused of abetting the armed robbery of a BahamasAir deposit bag containing $2,654 cash from Ms Bain.

According to court dockets, the trio were also charged with assisting “others” to commit the attempted murders of Ms Bain and Cpl Smith.

They will also return to court on December 15 when they will be presented with their VBIs. Meanwhile, Goodridge, Lunn, Adderley, Newbold, and Tilme were all charged with conspiring together to commit armed robbery.

Yesterday, Goodridge was further charged with being in possession of a 9mm pistol with 20 live rounds of ammunition which police alleged they found him with on October 7.

Due to the nature of the offences, all of the accused were denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Before they were taken into custody, Lunn, Tilme and Goodridge alleged that they were brutalised by four officers while in police custody.

In response, Magistrate Swain said she would make a note of their complaints.

All of the accused have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

TWO ACCUSED OVER SEPARATE KILLINGS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN and a teenager were yesterday charged with murder in two separate incidents.

Regarding the most recent homicide, Dandray Bethel appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain charged with the death of Renardo Brennen on September 29.

According to police reports, sometime around 8.30 that night, they received a tip from a caller who informed the Police Control Room that a man had been shot on Windsor Lane west.

When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered the unresponsive body of a man lying in bushes on the northern side of the street.

After Emergency Medical

Services visited the scene and examined the body, the man was pronounced dead.

Yesterday, Bethel was not required to answer to the charge. He returns to court December 13 to be presented with a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

While he was denied bail and remanded to prison, he has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

Meanwhile, Keno Janvier, 19, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with the death of Walter Johnson on September 19.

He was not required to enter a plea and will return to court December 16 for service of his VBI. Like Bethel, he was denied bail and taken into custody.

He also has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

$800 FINE FOR MARIJUANA

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN caught with more than $200 worth of marijuana must pay $800 to avoid spending three months on remand.

Police arrested Corey Davis after they found 3.34 ounces of Indian hemp in his residence on October 5.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous drug possession with the intent to supply when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis.

The prosecution said around 1.45pm on the day in question, officers acting on information proceeded

to Davis’ Cool Acres residence armed with a warrant. After informing him of their search, they began their investigation and discovered two plastic bags with 39 silver foil wraps containing a quantity of marijuana. Davis was subsequently arrested.

During an interview with police, he said he bought the drugs for his personal use.

Yesterday, Davis maintained his initial explanation and added that he bought the drugs to smoke to help “ease himself down”. As a result, he was convicted and fined $800 or three months in prison.

MAN ACCUSED OF GUN POSSESSION

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A FREEPORT man was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Drexton Belony, of Frobisher Drive, appeared before Magistrate Simone

Brown in Grand Bahama.

He pleaded not guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm and was granted $4,000 cash bail.

He also pleaded not guilty to possession of ammunition and was granted $2,500 bail, with one or two sureties.

The case was adjourned to February 17, 2022.

THE COLUMBUS statue being covered with tarpaulin after the attack.

Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff

Psychiatric test for man after statue smashed from page one

the court if her son could be evaluated as he had been acting strangely for a while and his family was concerned about his behaviour.

Smith also went on a rant in the courtroom, stating that he was operating under a divine purpose after he had an encounter with God and even alluded to conversations he allegedly had with the late Dr

Myles Munroe years ago concerning finding his purpose.

Afterwards, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said she was going to “err on the side of caution” as she was concerned that Smith may not be a “mentally competent person”.

She said she had to satisfy herself with that information before she accepted his plea because she was “concerned for his personal welfare as well as the

welfare of others”.

As a result, she adjourned his case to November 15 and remanded him to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) for a psychiatric evaluation.

Magistrate FergusonPratt explained that Smith would be held at the prison because the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre had no more space. Nonetheless, she said she would make checks for any

availability and if there were none, write a letter asking for Smith’s evaluation to be expedited while he is at BDCS. Yesterday, Smith was given an opportunity to speak with his mother before he was taken into custody.

However, he told the magistrate he had “nothing to say” to her because she tried to make him look like he was crazy on multiple occasions.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Fashion parade and dress code police DRESS codes, to some people, are necessary. To others, they are restrictive.

The way they are received depends heavily on the reason they are introduced, the effectiveness in addressing that cause, enforcement, and the consequences, both intended and unintended, of their existence. It often seems as though we like dress codes. It isn’t that we particularly enjoy being constrained, but watching other people fail to meet the standard appears to be a favourite pastime.

Last week, the opening of Parliament took place and, as usual, it was a POPPY SHOW. People watched closely to see who was wearing what and, in many cases, who was wearing whom. This is an exciting element of the affair — seeing the work of Bahamian designers and celebrating their talent.

Many would say it was a time to “show up and show out.” The invitation to the invite specified lounge suits and short dresses with hats and gloves. Some adhered to this, some used it as a starting point, and others seemed to simply do their own thing.

Throughout the event, photos and videos circulated. The main focus, of course, was fashion. Predictably, the vast majority of the comments were about the women in attendance.

From proclaiming love for a particular hat to projecting a deep meaning onto what others see a simple choice in colour, the participants in these conversations were determined to assess every article.

It was interesting to see people defend the dress code and attempt to be gatekeepers from their mobile devices. If a woman was photographed with gloves, it could not go without comment. “These people ain’ read the invitation,” or some variation appeared in the comments on many photos.

Even more telling were the comments on features that were not stipulated in the dress code. It was almost as though people took personal offence to the choices women made regarding their own clothing and on their own dime.

They labeled dress lengths “wrong,” disturbed by the visibility of women’s knees.

They were equally scandalized by the exposure of shoulders, insisting that sleeves are required for such events. Some even references the queen, saying that these women would not have been allowed to meet her dressed as they were. This is, by the way, completely incorrect. You can definitely meet the queen with exposed shoulders, arms, knees, backs, cleavage, and even bellies.

She does not seem to care what anyone else wears.

That aside, why the focus on what the queen might want to see at the opening

By Alicia Wallace of Parliament in The Baha- is absurd. Men are wearmas, independent since ing suits and ties, office air conditioning is set to a low 1973?

AMONG those showing Dress codes and uniforms temperature to compenoff their fashions at the are often seen as almost sate, and the women learn opening of Parliament interchangeable. One key to keep a thick sweater or were, from left, former difference, however, is that warm jacket in the office MP Loretta Butler-Turner, uniforms tend to unify, at and drink tea all day to Ann Marie Davis, the wife least in appearance, a group warm up. “Professional” of Prime Minister Philip of people by eliminating dress is an import and a “Brave” Davis, and Leslia opportunities for their dif- result of colonialism. We Milller-Brice MP. ferences — especially in need to let it go. It is costdisposable income — to be ing us money, in more ways visible. For schools, uni- than one, and results in forms are said to reduce discomfort. With all of the are visible. Women Bahamian distractions fashion skirts designers and give stu- ‘Dress codes and out of shopping who show us dents less bags in the parkwhat they’ve to compare. uniforms are often ing lot because got when As we know, seen as almost the Department people wear they simply interchangeable. of Immigration are an or set of people who contheir designs focus on deems that more sider themselves worthy excuse One key difference, in pageants, shoes, belts, appropriate than of other people’s deferfor at balls, and back- however, is that their uniform which ence, thereby validating people to and spectapacks. Who uniforms tend includes shorts say that cer- those setting the rules and cles like the can afford (which are longer than tain people do not belong. their positions, even if their opening of which brand? to unify, at least the shopping bag skirt). To gain access, you must intent was simply to insert Parliament, Who gets in appearance, a Students miss class because be able to afford a dress, themselves into a particular we can cernew ones group of people their skirts do not touch hat, and gloves, and you class of people. It is quite tainly come after the the floor when they kneel. must at least appear to the tool, powerful enough by eliminating up with our Christmas We can and must do better believe that the shoulders that people on the outown busibreak? opportunities for than this. and knees of women are an side — with no invitation ness attire.

For workDress codes are, in most embarrassment that must — help with enforcement, their differences Countries in places, cases, unnecessary. They be concealed in the hopes announcing those who slip the Pacific uniforms are — especially in are used to exclude people. that everyone else forgets in with minor infarctions, have done it, said to make disposable income They are a tool of gatekeep- they exist. Dress codes are dedicated to making their making busiit easier to ers. They are usually rooted an arbitrary set of rules that failures known. Keeping — to be visible.’ ness attire identify staff. in sexism, racism, and/or some follow with ease and these old rules only encourwell suited Many people classism. Dress codes are prefer uniforms because to the weather, culture, and not about cohesion and do others struggle to meet in ages this kind of behaviour order to be accepted by a and does nothing to elevate it is easier to get ready for the pocket. not have anything to do any of us. Again, we can person We need to think about work. I know someone who with the quality and must do better than makes it her mission to what we consider “right”, of an event. this. convert staff wherever she “good”, and “proper”, and They works to her position on how we came to these ways uniforms. Some businesses of thinking. We need to even leave room for staff to be prepared to learn and add personal flair by allow- do better or, at the very 1. Mo n ing them to make articles least, accept that others with day’s No with a particular fabric and will move beyond these Mond her grand t Coming b issuing scarfs that can be old, tired ways of letters ay is not th mother, Cl y Tiffany D au er ,b Ja thinking and there worn in different ways. day of ut when M e. She was adia returns ckson. Aft o l t n r h e d e wee ady co home to fi er spendi Dress codes do not do is no reason to be ay doe part k n look, icularly inte , Claudia ge sn’t show u nfused by t nd that her g the summ the same thing. There may offended by their a h p r t s e s e k a s l m , t a t a e c s o simple nd rec d in lo There chool, k of re best friend er be more room for personal growth. re con the fri , but the tw ruit adults oking for M cerned. It especially sponse to h a differflair, but constraints are is to se on en o e o still there. One of the big- ence between when dship and timelines —help her. T nday, so Cl ems like no her favori r fi te h a a o n n u e b ne di d e p unexp the gest constraints is financial. holding reade ected ng out wha fore and af remise of t ia is on her else is r .

F r h t o p t o e is m the ie w r What is the woman with opinion that r beginn ce of infor eally happe — create m story seem n to matio a very limited amount of women ned. I s quite i o n r g e , w i n n t what h e v money to spend supposed should wear appen know Mon about Clau gets more c estment in d o ed to to do? In addition to a dresses that her is day isn’t co ia is shared mplicated m q with u i n i t g, but e the r beautiful dress, she now cover their findin the ide. and g out needs to purchase a hat and knees 2. Gro gloves. In many cases, dress saying that kitche w your o codes are also discrimi- women who w n b ounty gardens. T n food. Las natory. It is now widely wear shorter hey po t year, w i t i h n g. It is fa do accepted that women dresses alread mily memb sted their s many peop p l ucce a y le g ers know nt n wear pants, so why would not O your g ursery to fi ctober, but and friends sses on soc ot excited a women be required to wear what is or is ial m s . bout a n t I r i d t l d l i o e they c s q dresses for an event? Fur- not approprian let n space is —ut what yo uite hot, so now, again edia and sh starting u p y are , l o t c a t fo a im a u nts wi ther, gender is a spectrum ate. You believe ll rece know wha r example, n plant nowlk to the sta e to start d the plant t i f o . v f w Be e. I nt and people express their one thing, and at il You c an gro f you don’t l do best th he western sure to tell your favor genders in various ways, so someone else has e ite si w a nu h t r mber ave much y e given the de of your hem where it should not be surprising acted on their own house of veg amou ard sp n etable — a that some women and non- position, liking with s and ce, don’t co t of sunligh so herbs t binary people would prefer thinking about or in sma unt yoursel your f out! ll spac to wear something than knowing you, or having es. any loyalty to your fashwhat is prescribed.

The other thing about ion (in)sensibilities.

When we start to assign dress codes, which also applies to many uniforms, moral value to people’s is that they are completely attire, we leave room unsuited to The Bahamas. for much greater errors.

Gloves are a ridiculous People are blamed for acts requirement, only adding of sexual violence against to the cost of attending them. Women are turned an event. Even what we away from voter registraconsider business attire tion because their shoulders

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, PAGE 9

BIG PICTURE, BIG DATA SWISS UNVEIL VR SOFTWARE OF UNIVERSE

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The final frontier has rarely seemed closer than this — at least virtually.

Researchers at one of Switzerland’s top universities are releasing open-source beta software on Tuesday that allows for virtual visits through the cosmos including up to the International Space Station, past the Moon, Saturn or exoplanets, over galaxies and well beyond.

The program — called Virtual Reality Universe Project, or VIRUP — pulls together what the researchers call the largest data set of the universe to create threedimensional, panoramic visualisations of space.

Software engineers, astrophysicists and experimental museology experts at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, or EPFL, have come together to concoct the virtual map that can be viewed through individual VR gear, immersion systems like panoramic cinema with 3D glasses, planetarium-like dome screens, or just on a PC for two-dimensional viewing.

Earth “The novelty of this project was putting all the data set available into one framework, when you can see the universe at different scales — nearby us, around the Earth, around the solar system, at the Milky Way level, to see through the universe and time up to the beginning — what we call the Big Bang,” said JeanPaul Kneib, director of EPFL’s astrophysics lab.

Think a sort of Google Earth — but for the universe. Computer algorithms churn up terabytes of data and produce images that can appear as close as one metre (about three feet), or almost

HADRIEN GURNEL, software engineer in EPFL’s Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+), explores, with a virtual reality helmet, the most detailed 3D map of the universe with the virtual reality software VIRUP. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP) infinitely far away — as if you sit back and look at the entire observable universe.

VIRUP is accessible to everyone for free — though it does require at least a computer and is best visualised with VR equipment or 3D capabilities. It aims to draw in a broad array of visitors, both scientists looking to visualise the data they continue to collect and a broad public seeking to explore the heavens virtually.

Still a work in progress, for now, the beta version can’t be run on a Mac computer.

Downloading the software and content might seem onerous for the least-skilled computer users, and space — on a computer — will count. The broader-public version of the content is a reduced-size version that can be quantified in gigabytes, a sort of best-of highlights.

Astronomy buffs with more PC memory might choose to download more.

The project assembles information from eight databases that count at least 4,500 known exoplanets, tens of millions of galaxies, hundreds of millions of space objects in all, and more than

1.5 billion light sources from the Milky Way alone. But when it comes to potential data, the sky is literally the limit: Future databases could include asteroids in our solar system or objects like nebulae and pulsars farther into the galaxy. To be sure, VR games and representations already exist: Cosmos-gazing apps on tablets allow for mapping of the night sky, with zoom-in close-ups of heavenly bodies; software like SpaceEngine from Russia offers universe visuals; NASA has done some smaller VR scopes of space.

But the EPFL team says VIRUP goes much farther and wider: Data pulled from sources like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in the United States, and European Space Agency’s Gaia mission to map the Milky Way and its Planck mission to observe the first light of the universe, all brought together in a one-stop-shop for the most extensive data sets yet around.

And there’s more to come: when the 14-country telescope project known as the Square Kilometer Array starts pulling down

information, the data could be counted in the petabytes — that’s 1,000 terabytes or 1 million gigabytes.

Strap on the VR goggles, and it’s a trippy feeling seeing the Moon — seemingly the size of a giant beach ball and floating close enough to hold — as the horizon rotates from the sunny side to the dark side of the lunar surface.

Galaxies Then speed out to beyond the solar system and swing

by Saturn, then up above the Milky Way, swirling and flashing and heaving — with exoplanets highlighted in red. And much farther out still, imagine floating through small dots of light that represent galaxies as if the viewer is an unconscionably large giant floating in space.

“That is a very efficient way of visiting all the different scales that compose our universe, and that is completely unique,” says Yves Revaz, an EPFL astrophysicist. “A very important part of this project is that it’s a

first step toward treating much larger data sets which are coming.”

Entire galaxies seem to be strung together by strands or filaments of light, almost like representation of neural connections, that link up clusters of light like galaxies.

For one of the biggest pictures of all, there’s a colorful visualisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background — the radiation left behind from the Big Bang.

“We actually started this project because I was working on a three-dimensional mapping project of the universe and was always a little frustrated with the 2D visualisation on my screen, which wasn’t very meaningful,” said Kneib, in a nondescript lab building that houses a panoramic screen, a half-dome cinema with bean-bag seating, and a hard-floor space for virtualreality excursions.

“It’s true that by showing the universe in 3D, by showing these filaments, by showing these clusters of galaxies which are large concentrations of matter, you really realise what the universe is,” he added.

SMART ROBOTS DO ALL THE WORK AT NISSAN’S ‘INTELLIGENT’ PLANT

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer

KAMINO KAWA, Japan (AP) — Nissan’s “intelligent factory” hardly has any human workers. The robots do the work, including welding and mounting. They do the paint jobs and inspect their own paint jobs.

“Up to now, people had to make production adjustments through experience, but now robots with artificial intelligence, analysing collected data, are able to do it. The technology has developed to that level,” Nissan Executive Vice President Hideyuki Sakamoto said during a tour of the production line for the Ariya sport-utility vehicle at its Tochigi plant Friday.

The factory, on the outskirts of Tokyo, is set to be up and running sometime before April, according to Nissan Motor Co. Its assembly line is designed so that all three types of models — electric; e-Power, which has both a motor and an engine, and those powered by regular combustion engine — can be built on the same line. Each vehicle is equipped with the right powertrain as it moves along the line.

ROBOTIC arms put in the electric vehicle powertrain into the Ariya model in the assembly line at Nissan's Tochigi plant in Kaminokawa town, Tochigi prefecture, Japan. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama) The workers at the factory can focus on more skilled work such as analysing data collected by the robots, and on maintaining the equipment.

All automakers are working on robotic technology that can increase adaptability and enable them to respond quickly to market demand.

During the tour, giant mechanical arms equipped with large displays shone light from the displays on to the car’s surfaces from various angles so

that cameras could detect the tiniest flaws. A mechanism quickly wound wires around a metal object that looked like a giant spool, a motor part that Nissan is using to replace magnets now used in electric vehicles. The company says the innovation eliminates the need for rare earth materials, cutting costs.

Nissan said the innovations being tested in Tochigi will be gradually rolled out at its other global plants,

including French alliance partner Renault’s factories. Sakamoto said it was difficult to estimate exactly how much the fully automated assembly line will save.

But he said manufacturing needs to adapt to labour shortages, to the coronavirus pandemic and to lower carbon emissions to help mitigate climate change. Nissan says that by 2050 it hopes to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products, which includes raw material extraction, manufacturing, use and recycling. A new kind of paint that enables vehicles’ bodies and bumpers to be simultaneously painted and baked reduces energy consumption by 25%, the company says.

Before, vehicle bodies, which are aluminum, and plastic bumpers had to be painted separately at different temperatures.

Nissan is expecting to regain profitability in this fiscal year, but like other automakers, it is contending with parts shortages caused by the pandemic. Its brand took a hit from a scandal centered on its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested in Japan on financial misconduct charges in 2018.

TECHTALK PUERTO RICO TO INSTALL FREE INTERNET IN ALL PUBLIC HOUSING

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s government announced last week that it plans to offer free, high-speed internet to the more than 300 public housing projects across the U.S. territory.

Public Housing Administrator Alejandro Salgado said nearly all units will have internet access by the end of next year as part of the $11.8 million project.

He said an internet connection has become an urgent need, especially for schoolchildren.

Salgado said the service recently debuted in some of the island’s 78 municipalities, including Aguada, Arecibo and Isabela.

The government also is installing technical education centers in every housing project that offer computer and printing services to residents.

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PAGE 10, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

CORONER SAYS TRAVELLER PETITO WAS STRANGLED WEEKS BEFORE BODY FOUND CHEYENNE, Wyoming Associated Press

CROSS-COUNTRY traveller Gabby Petito was strangled, a Wyoming coroner announced Tuesday.

Petito, 22, died three to four weeks before her body was found September 19 near an undeveloped camping area along the border of Grand Teton National Park in remote northern Wyoming, Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue said.

It wasn’t clear if the determination might lead to additional charges against Petito’s boyfriend and traveling partner, Brian Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and remains unaccounted for.

Blue declined to say more about the autopsy or

the case overall, saying he was prevented by Wyoming law that limits what coroners can release.

Petito had been on a cross-country trip with Laundrie, visiting Colorado, Utah and other states. She was reported missing on September 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while the couple visited national parks in the West.

Blue previously classified Petito’s death as a homicide — meaning her death was caused by another person — but had not disclosed how she was killed pending further autopsy results.

A “detailed analysis” led to his conclusion Petito was strangled, Blue said.

“Nothing is obvious in a case like this,” he said.

Blue said little more about Petito’s physical

condition — including whether she may have been strangled directly by somebody’s hands, a rope or some other item — but noted when asked that she wasn’t pregnant.

The three to four weeks her body was believed to be in the wilderness, however, put her death around the August 27-30 period investigators believe Petito and Laundrie had travelled to the area.

Petito’s case has led to renewed calls for people to pay greater attention to cases involving missing Indigenous women and other people of colour, with some describing the intense coverage of her disappearance as “missing white woman syndrome”.

The search for Laundrie has generated a publicity frenzy.

THIS police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on August 12.

New Brexit fight nears over Northern Ireland BRUSSELS Associated Press

IT WAS late last Christmas Eve when the European Union and Britain finally clinched a Brexit trade deal after years of wrangling, threats and missed deadlines to seal their divorce.

There was hope that nowseparated Britain and the 27-nation bloc would sail their relationship toward calmer waters.

With Christmas closing in again one thing is clear — it wasn’t to be.

Britain’s Brexit minister yesterday accused the EU of wishing failure on its former member and of badmouthing the UK as a country that can’t be trusted. David Frost said during a speech in Lisbon that the EU “doesn’t always look like it wants us to succeed” or “get back to constructive working together”.

He said a fundamental rewrite of the mutually agreed divorce deal was the only way to fix the exes’ “fractious relationship”.

And he warned that Britain could push an emergency override button on the deal if it didn’t get its way.

“We constantly face generalised accusations that we can’t be trusted and that we aren’t a reasonable international actor,” Frost added — a response to EU claims that the UK is seeking to renege on the legally binding treaty that it negotiated and signed.

Post-Brexit tensions have crystalised into a worsening fight over Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK to share a land border with an EU country, which is Ireland. Under the most delicate and contentious part of the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland remains inside the EU’s single market for trade in goods, in order to avoid a hard

IN this April 28, 2021 photo, an anti-Brexit protester holds a placard at the Houses of Parliament, in London.

Photo: Matt Dunham/AP border with EU member metaphor, 2021 has already Frost demanding sweep- of the EU court “means brought a “sausage war”, ing changes to the way the the EU can make laws Ireland.

That means customs and with Britain asking the EU agreement is governed. which apply in Northern In his speech in the Portu- Ireland without any kind border checks must be con- to drop a ban on processed ducted on some goods going British meat products such guese capital, Frost said the of democratic scrutiny or to Northern Ireland from as sausages entering North- Protocol “is not working”. discussion”.

“It has completely lost the rest of the UK, despite ern Ireland.

The EU is highly unlikely Northern Ireland’s Brit- consent in one community to agree to the change. The the fact they are part of the same country. The regu- ish Unionist community, in Northern Ireland,” he bloc’s highest court is seen lations are intended to meanwhile, says the Brexit said. “It is not doing the as the pinnacle of the free prevent goods from Britain deal undermines the 1998 thing it was set up to do – trade single market, and entering the EU’s tariff-free Good Friday peace accord protect the Belfast (Good Brussels has vowed not to single market while keep- — which sought to protect Friday) Agreement. In fact undermine its own order. ing an open border on the the rights of both Unionist it is doing the opposite. It Ireland’s Deputy Prime island of Ireland — a key and Irish Nationalist com- has to change.”

Minister, Leo Varadkar, Most contentiously, he said Britain’s demand was pillar of Northern Ireland’s munities — by weakening Northern Ireland’s ties with said the EU must also “very hard to accept”. peace process. remove the European The UK government the rest of the UK. “I don’t think we could The bloc has agreed to Court of Justice as the ulti- ever have a situation where soon complained the arrangements weren’t look at changes to the Pro- mate arbiter of disputes we had another court working, saying the rules tocol, and is due to present concerning trade in North- deciding what the rules of impose burdensome red proposals today. Before ern Ireland and instead the single market are,” he tape on businesses. Never that move, Britain raised agree to international arbi- said. short of a belligerent the stakes again, with tration. He said the role Some EU observers say

Britain’s demand to remove the court’s oversight shows it isn’t serious about making the Brexit deal work.

Frost repeated the UK’s threat to invoke Article 16, a clause allowing either side to suspend the agreement in exceptional circumstances.

That would send already testy relations into a deep chill and could lead to a trade war between Britain and the bloc — one that would hurt the UK economy more than its much larger neighbor.

The economically tiny but symbolically charged subject of fish, which held up a trade deal to the final minute last year, is also stoking divisions now.

France wants its EU partners to act as one if London wouldn’t grant more licences for small French fishing boats to roam close to the UK crown dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey, just off France’s Normandy coast.

In France’s parliament last week, Prime Minister Jean Castex accused Britain of reneging on its promise over fishing.

“We see in the clearest way possible that Great Britain does not respect its own signature,” he said.

In a relationship where both sides often fall back on cliches about the other, Castex was harking back to the centuries-old French insult of “Perfidious Albion”, a nation that can never be trusted.

Across the English Channel, UK Brexit supporters often depict a conniving EU, hurt by Britain’s departure, doing its utmost to make Brexit less than a success by throwing up bureaucratic impediments.

“The EU and we have got into a low equilibrium, (a) somewhat fractious relationship,” Frost conceded. “(It) need not always be like that, but ... it takes two to fix it.”

CALIFORNIA OIL SPILL LEGAL FIGHT LIKELY TO LAST YEARS LOS ANGELES Associated Press

IT TOOK little more than 48 hours from the moment a major oil spill was discovered off Southern California until the first lawsuit was filed against the Houston company that owns and operates the ruptured pipeline.

Finding the cause, who is to blame and if they will be held accountable will take much longer.

Several federal and state agencies are investigating in parallel as they seek the cause of the pipe rupture, how quickly pipeline operators responded and determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Coast Guard Capt Jason Neubauer said investigators are trying to find which ship among thousands of possibilities may have snagged the pipeline with its anchor in the past year, possibly during rough seas and high winds in January.

“We are not ruling out

anybody at this time,” Neubauer said.

A possible leak off the Orange County coast south of Los Angeles was first reported Oct. 1.

The spill was confirmed the next morning, and crude came ashore on Huntington Beach and then spread south to other beaches.

Much of the coastline nearby was shut down more than a week, crippling businesses that cater to beachgoers and boaters.

The Coast Guard has estimated between about 25,000 gallons and 132,000 gallons spilled.

It could take a long time for investigators to comb through marine tracking data to see which ships passed over and anchored near the Amplify Energy pipeline running from platform Elly to the Long Beach port.

Investigations by federal prosecutors, the Coast Guard and several other federal agencies, including the National Transportation Safety Board, could lead to criminal charges, civil penalties and new laws or regulations.

“Criminal charges — when they’re warranted — you absolutely want to go after for all the reasons that you pursue criminal charges: accountability, deterrence, punishment,” said attorney Rohan Virginkar, a former assistant US attorney who helped prosecute BP for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. “But really in these environmental cases, it’s about finding somebody who’s going to pay for the cleanup.”

Coast Guard investigators already have boarded two vessels and plan to track down others, many from overseas, Neubauer said. They will inspect anchors for damage and review all logs kept by the captain, deck officers and engineers, and the voyage data recorder — the equivalent of the so-called black box on airplanes.

They will also interview crew.

Under some environmental laws, prosecutors only have to show negligence to win a conviction, Virginkar said. That could

lead to a charge against a shipping company for anchoring outside an assigned anchorage or too close to a pipeline marked on nautical charts.

The accident occurred where huge cargo ships anchor waiting to unload at the Los AngelesLong Beach port complex — the nation’s largest.

Other investigators, including federal pipeline regulators, will focus on Amplify Energy, which owns the three offshore oil platforms and the pipeline.

They will review pipeline inspections for evidence of corrosion that might show it was being operated negligently and seek any information that records were falsified, which is what they found in the BP case, said attorney William Carter, a former federal environmental crimes prosecutor. A forensic analysis will be performed after the cracked is retrieved from 100 feet of water.

The Amplify pipeline was required to have thorough inside

and outside checks on alternating years. The most recent showed no issues requiring repairs, according to federal documents.

Prosecutors will also scrutinize control room data to see if there were pipeline pressure drops that would have indicated a possible leak and what was done to respond, Carter said.

The company could be prosecuted if it realized there was a leak and did not quickly call state and federal hotlines to alert the Coast Guard, fish and wildlife officials and multiple other agencies that respond to spills, Carter said.

Prosecution for an untimely response is fairly common in spills, he said.

“The elements necessary for that violation are: I knew there was a release, and I didn’t immediately report it — regardless of the cause,” Carter said. “I mean, it could have been lightning or an earthquake did it and you knew it, and you didn’t report it in a timely fashion.”

PAGE 20, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

NASSAU’S FIRST FIVE-SHIP ARRIVALS SINCE COVID FROM PAGE 24 Citing Disney as an example, the Nassau Cruise Port chief said that as a familyoriented cruise line it had a disproportionate share of unvaccinated passengers in the form of children aged 12 years-old or less.

As a result, Mr Maura explained that Disney was “interested in excursions and tours that offer a greater amount of control and limit the amount of independent passengers that can freely roam the city”. He added that this approach would alter in line with health protocols.

As for the other cruise lines, Mr Maura said: “Royal Caribbean and Carnival have very strict health protocols, with 90 percent of passengers fully

vaccinated. Those passengers are able to pass through Nassau and New Providence freely, and participate in tours provided they comply with the health travel protocols.

“MSC is the same as Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

Norwegian Cruise Line only allows fully vaccinated people on board. We’re seeing a lot of cruise passengers come off the ship.”

Mr Maura, meanwhile, said Nassau Cruise Port was waiting on the Securities Commission to complete its review and approval of the offering document that will set out all the details investors require regarding the $25m initial public offering (IPO) of shares in the Prince George Wharf developer.

NASSAU cruise port.

A client of our Firm is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of:

Chief Accountant The successful applicant must possess a high-level of accounting and analytical skills and will be responsible for overseeing the proper execution of the day-to-day operations of the accounting department.

Applicant must have a minimum of five (5) years finance or accounting work experience at a supervisory or management level, with a sound understanding of financial accounting and familiarity with Financial Reporting Standards. Must possess a bachelor’s degree in Accounting or finance. CPA/CA would be a plus.

Suitably qualified individuals should fax, email or post their resumes to: The Manager Baker Tilly P.O. Box N-1991 Nassau, The Bahamas Fax: 242-356-4125 Email: info@bakertilly.bs Deadline for submission is October 31, 2021.

Email: info@bakertilly.bs The Deanery 28 Cumberland Street P.O. Box N-1991 Nassau, The Bahamas

Tel: (242) 356-4114 Fax: (2420 356-4125 Email: info@bakertilly.bs Website: www.bakertilly.bs

The IPO, which is targeted at individual retail investors as opposed to large institutions, will offer Bahamians the chance to buy shares in The Bahamas Investment Fund. This investment fund-type structure will collectively hold a 49 percent equity ownership interest in the Nassau Cruise Port on behalf of all investors.

The offering, which was scheduled for a mid-October launch, is structured so that no one investor or group of investors can own a majority interest in - or control - The Bahamas Investment Fund.

And Global Ports Holding, Nassau Cruise Port’s controlling shareholder with a similar 49 percent stake, is making available a multimillion dollar financing facility to help fund share purchases by Bahamians.

And Mr Maura also hailed the newly-elected Davis administration’s decision to extend the cruise passenger COVID-19 vaccination mandate beyond its November 1 expiration,

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arguing that it will further boost industry “confidence and certainty” in The Bahamas.

Speaking after Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister, confirmed the requirement that all passengers aged 12 years and older be fully vaccinated before they embark on a cruise will be extended to next year, Mr Maura said: “It brings more confidence and certainty to the industry.

“Why I say that is the cruise consumer has been calling various cruise lines, looking at booking a cruise to The Bahamas or a stop in The Bahamas, and asking the question: ‘Do I have to be fully vaccinated? What are the health protocols?’

The cruise lines would have communicated that there was an emergency order, and the requirement was to expire on October 31 at midnight.

“The Government, by choosing to extend the vaccination requirement for all cruise passengers 12 years and older, brings more certainty to the industry and

allows the Davis administration to continue monitoring the COVID19 global circumstance. It brings more consistency and certainty to the current rebound of the cruise industry.”

The cruise industry provisions, contained in the Emergency Powers (COVID-19 Pandemic) (Management and Recovery( (No.2) (Amendment) (No.8) Order 2021, which came into effect on August 19, were to last from September 3 to November 1, 2021.

These prohibit cruise ships from calling in Nassau, Freeport and other Bahamian islands - including the lines’ private islands - unless all passengers aged 12 years-old and older were fully vaccinated before they embarked the vessel at its original port of departure.

Cruise ships also have to submit a health manifest on all passengers and crew before arriving in port, and comply with measures previously agreed with the Government.

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NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that EDNEL JOSEPH of Lazaretto Road, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of October, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that LEXIRA LEXIUS of Lazaretto Road, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of October, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that REGINAL DAMIS of Gladstone Road, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of October, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, PAGE 21

AID’S $1.5M REASON FOR ‘NO CHRISTMAS STOCK SHORTAGES’ FROM PAGE 24 The AID chief explained lower-value items are more impacted by the spike in freight costs, as the latter are close to matching what the shipment is actually worth. He added that the retailer was waiting until these goods arrive in The Bahamas, and clear Customs, before determining how to price them.

Acknowledging the supply chain disruption, Mr Watson told Tribune Business: “It’s not going to be a huge impact for our company. We have a lot of merchandise arriving right now, a lot of containers arriving right now.

“It’s going to be a few things we’re out of stock on for two to three weeks or so, but we’ve found a lot of substitutes for those things.

I’m travelling, trying to find substitutes for products we will run out of. It’s mainly housewares but, for the most part, it’s four containers we have stuck in China.

“Everything else we’ve been able to ship. When

you put that into perspective, it’s not a lot of containers. We’re hoping to get them shipped in a couple of weeks. I think it’s almost every week I’ve been travelling. It was only one week when I didn’t.”

Mr Watson added that some $1.5m worth of inventory was due to arrive this month, and said: “We’re not going to have any shortage of inventory for the Christmas season. A lot of products we ordered since December last year, January this year, even though they are late will still be in time for Christmas.”

Noting that the global supply chain had seemed on the verge of sorting itself in May, as pricing came down and containers were shipped more quickly, the AID president recalled how “things suddenly went way worse than it was before” with container price hikes that he had little choice but to accept.

As a result, Mr Watson said he had embarked on sourcing product from other areas, such as the

US and Panama, to act as both a substitute for inventory not obtained from traditional sources and as a counterweight to shipping costs from China.

Amid the switching of suppliers, he added that US inland haulage rates “went sky high” due to the post-COVID driver shortage. Instead of trucking product from New Jersey to Jacksonville, and then shipping to The Bahamas, as AID had done previously, Mr Watson said it was now shipping direct to Nassau from New Jersey via ocean freight.

“The thing about it is it’s not just the rate; you cannot get drivers to move the load,” he revealed. As for Chinese shipping rates, AID is currently paying $18,700 per container compared to $7,500-$8,500 prior to the supply chain disruption - a cost increase of between 120 percent and 149.3 percent.

Mr Watson revealed that AID had “accepted it” when container prices went to $10,000 and $12,000, but

baulked at paying $13,000 believing the costs were “kind of crazy”, only to be forced into paying even higher costs when it became clear prices were not coming down.

Post-COVID shipping costs having escalated due to a global container shortage, while pandemicinduced supply chain disruption has left many factories and producers unable to meet strong demand given that they have first been forced to fulfill order backlogs.

These are the prime factors behind the supply chain bottlenecks.

“We’re definitely absorbing some of the cost,” Mr Watson told this newspaper, adding that it was “difficult to say” how Bahamian consumer prices will be impacted.

“It depends on the value of goods in the container,” he explained. “If the value of goods in a container is very high, it will not have much impact, but if there is a container of lowvalue comforters worth

$20,000 against an $18,700 container.......

“Customs charges $500, there is the attendance fee, road tax and you have to pay the haulage charges.

You’re almost paying as much in freight as what the goods are worth. For those goods, we will make a decision on how we handle it [the pricing] when they arrive. The extremely highvalue containers, $60,000 to $80,000, will not have as much effect on cost.”

Conceding that it will be “very difficult for us to absorb all these costs” in some product categories, Mr Watson told Tribune Business: “There’s a lot of pressure on profits right now. We have higher payroll costs we continue to pay, we had expected to move staff into our new Blue Hill Road location by now, and are paying staff with COVID-19 for the two weeks they are out of work.

“There’s a number of additional costs we are absorbing at this time that we did not previously have to absorb. There’s a lot of

pressure on profits.” Mr Watson said the supply chain disruption may last into mid-2022, although others are predicting it may cease by February/March of next year.

AID is far from the only Bahamian retailer enduring supply chain challenges. Tara Morley, a Bahamas Federation of Retailers co-chair, recently told consumers not to “under-estimate the resourcefulness” of local merchants, asserting that the industry will do everything it can to ensure Bahamians “have as many options as possible for the Christmas season”.

And Andrew Wilson, the Quality Business Centre (QBC) and Fashion on Broadway principal, told Tribune Business he was “trying to hold the line” on passing price increases on to Bahamian consumers this holiday season as a result of the near-tripling in container shipping costs.

FAMILY ISLAND RESORTS ‘PSYCHED’ ON REBOUND FROM PAGE 24

closer to” pre-COVID numbers from 2019. He added that European visitors, especially, were “important because of their length of stay” and significant number of room nights sold per capita as opposed to “the number of heads in beds”.

“We’re pretty psyched,” the Out Islands Promotion Board’s chief told this newspaper. “I just hope hotel staff continue to get

vaccinated and the hotels get prepared for the business we see coming down the street. We don’t want to rest on our laurels. We keep on pushing to get vaccinated and, when you do, to follow the protocols of mask wearing, social distancing and avoiding crowds.”

Mr Fountain said the Board was urging member hotels to reach out to guests before they arrive, via their website and social media, “to reassure them that all

the necessary protocols to welcome them safely, and afford them a safe vacation once they get here”, have been taken via the provision of six-feet distance markers.

He added that customer service was another key focus, having seen how US and Canadian hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses had struggled throughout 2021 by using 2020 staffing levels to try and cope with the increased demand.

“We are contacting members before they open in late October and early November, and saying now is the time to invest in front-line customer service training for staff,” Mr Fountain said. “We’re partnering with the Ministry of Tourism on that, and hopefully will have the programme endorsed by the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association and University of The Bahamas.”

CIBC: ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ FOR BAHAMAS DESPITE REGIONAL SALE FROM PAGE 24

head office as well as ultimate parent.

The BISX-listed Bahamian operation, which is 4.5 percent owned by local shareholders, generated $57.7m in net income for the nine months to endJuly 2021. “This is definitely the most profitable unit, no doubt about that,” Ms Mortimer said. “It’s the most profitable one, that’s just the way it is. They’re not

going to sell the profitable ones.”

CIBC has been seeking to exit the Caribbean for some time, having previously abandoned attempts to do so via an initial public offering (IPO) that would have been listed in New York in 2018. The Bahamas produced 32.3 percent, nearly one-third or just over $188m, of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s $581m top-line in 2018, its $85m in net income generated 84 percent of

the bank’s regional $101m bottom line.

The sale to GNB Financial Group did not proceed because it “did not receive approval from FirstCaribbean’s regulators”.

One highly-placed source, speaking on condition of anonymity at the time, said simply that “the regulators didn’t go for it” in multiple Caribbean states.

“The regulators were not very comfortable and just focused on the pandemic,

and the deal just fell apart,” the source said. “From what I understand it is really the regulators lost their appetite and couldn’t be convinced that the timing and everything else was right for this.

“They were distracted

by COVID and the loss of activity in the market.

The two parties at the top decided enough was enough. Even they may have lost their appetite.”

He added that the Out Islands Promotion Board was seeking to introduce benchmarks to measure the training’s effectiveness and ensure it became a longterm commitment with dedicated “follow up” from member properties.

“In terms of measuring hotels, when people choose a hotel they look at its Trip Advisor rating,” Mr Fountain said. “What we’re aiming for is all hotels to have a Trip Advisor service

rating of 4.5. We cannot totally eliminate COVID19, but we can mitigate it as much as possible and offer good service at 4.5 or above.

“If we do all things possible to mitigate COVID-19 we believe we have a winner. We have to make a commitment to offer good customer service. That’s an investment, and we have to commit to that and be dedicated to it.”

Share your news The Tribune wants to hear from people who are making news in their neighbourhoods.

Perhaps you are raising funds for a good cause, campaigning for improvements in the area or have won an award. If so, call us on 322-1986 and share your story.

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

Equisign Company Limited

Encompt Corporation Ltd.

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of The International Business Companies Act 2000 the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 15th day of September, 2021. The Liquidator is Dillon R. Dean of Nassau, Bahamas.

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of The International Business Companies Act 2000 the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 15th day of September, 2021. The Liquidator is Dillon R. Dean of Nassau, Bahamas.

PURSUANT TO SECTION 218(1)(e) COMPANIES ACT, 1992 EBL Nominee Ltd. (the “Company”) (IN VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION)

Kim D. Thompson (Liquidator)

Kim D. Thompson (Liquidator)

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on September 15, 2021 the Company was placed into voluntary liquidation.

The Liquidator is Kim D. Thompson of Equity Trust House, Caves Village, West Bay Street, P.O. Box N-10697, Nassau, Bahamas and can be contacted on/via 242 676-8188; kthompson@ equitybahamas.com Dated: September 15, 2021 Signed: Kim D. Thompson

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

Execore Company Limited

PURSUANT TO SECTION 218(1)(e) COMPANIES ACT, 1992 Management Nominee Ltd. (the “Company”) (IN VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION)

PURSUANT TO SECTION 218(1)(e) COMPANIES ACT, 1992 Directors Nominee Ltd. (the “Company”) (IN VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION)

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of The International Business Companies Act 2000 the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 15th day of September, 2021. The Liquidator is Dillon R. Dean of Nassau, Bahamas.

Kim D. Thompson (Liquidator)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on September 15, 2021 the Company was placed into voluntary liquidation.

The Liquidator is Kim D. Thompson of Equity Trust House, Caves Village, West Bay Street, P.O. Box N-10697, Nassau, Bahamas and can be contacted on/via 242 676-8188; kthompson@ equitybahamas.com Dated: September 15, 2021 Signed: Kim D. Thompson

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on September 15, 2021 the Company was placed into voluntary liquidation.

The Liquidator is Kim D. Thompson of Equity Trust House, Caves Village, West Bay Street, P.O. Box N-10697, Nassau, Bahamas and can be contacted on/via 242 676-8188; kthompson@ equitybahamas.com Dated: September 15, 2021 Signed: Kim D. Thompson

PAGE 22, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

CRUISE VACCINATION POLICY TO BE EXTENDED INTO 2022

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE deputy prime minister yesterday said the cruise ship passenger COVID19 vaccination policy will be extended into 2022.

Chester Cooper, minster for tourism, investments and aviation, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting, said the requirement that all passengers aged 12 years and older be fully vaccinated before they embark on a cruise will be extended beyond its November 1, 2021, expiration (see article on Page 24).

He said: “We are taking action to extend that to 2022. We will be looking at it closely moving forward.

We’re actively in conversations with various cruise partners.

“As you know, we’ve welcomed Virgin Cruises last week, a new ship to our shores. But we believe vaccination is the right approach in order to be able to attract tourists to our shores in a balanced, responsible way.”

The cruise industry provisions, contained in the Emergency Powers (COVID-19 Pandemic) (Management and Recovery( (No.2) (Amendment) (No.8) Order 2021, which came into effect on August 19, were to last from

September 3 to November 1, 2021.

These prohibited cruise ships from calling in Nassau, Freeport and other Bahamian islands - including the lines’ private islands - unless all passengers aged 12 years old and older were fully vaccinated before they embarked the vessel at its original port of departure.

Cruise ships also have to submit a health manifest on all passengers and crew before arriving in port, and comply with measures previously agreed with the Government.

Mr Cooper added: “So we note that, mostly in the US market, we see vaccinations in the high 60 percent, low 70 percent, and we know that all of our cruise

passengers who come naturally because of this rule are vaccinated. That’s good for The Bahamas.

“It’s good for the tourism industry, and certainly as we extend this rule, we believe that this will help us even further to grow our tourism business in a balanced way. I’m a little concerned that the numbers for fully vaccinated persons in The Bahamas seem to be tracking low relative to the rest of the world.”

The Ministry of Health said that more than 115,000 people in The Bahamas are fully vaccinated, with 238,512 doses of the various COVID-19 vaccines administered.

Major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean have

updated their travel and health protocols by mandating all guests age two and older — regardless of their vaccination status or the length of their cruise — will need to take a COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) with an accredited test provider no more than three days before arriving at the port and show their negative test result.

Noting that vaccination rates in some countries in the Caribbean are lower than that for The Bahamas, Mr Cooper added: “By and large, we see many of the persons in markets where our tourists come from.

Their vaccination rates are generally in the high sixties and early seventies [percents].

“So I think the best way to manage COVID is naturally through vaccinations, and that’s been the science that supports it. And certainly if we can cause this to happen into the near and medium-term future, I believe this will be good for tourism and good for our country.”

Mr Cooper also reaffirmed earlier statements that the health travel visa for international travellers will remain in place for the foreseeable future, but the Government is “monitoring it in a responsible way to determine the timeline” for bringing it to an end.

EX-MINISTER: ECONOMY ‘TOO OPEN’ FOR COVID FROM PAGE 24

“Many are operating as if COVID-19 is not as bad in The Bahamas as it really is....... We are seeing a surge, a significant surge, and we do not have the capacity to deal with the sick patients that are coming up.

“When you look at the stress on the overall healthcare system, in a simplified way we are far more open than we ought to be given the fact COVID-19 is out of control and I fear it’s going to get way worse,” he continued.

“On the preventative side, business as usual has to stop. I get that people are frazzled with that, given the fragility of the economy,

but I think we will regret it if we don’t.

“There have been 605 deaths from COVID already, and 46 unknowns.

When you look at those numbers and compare the number of deaths per capita with other countries in the world, we are not doing well at all.”

Dr Sands made no mention of lockdowns or some of the more draconian measures employed by the Minnis administration in 2020, but just mentioning the need for further restrictions will likely chill both consumers and businesses who will fear such action could further setback the Bahamian economy.

The situation also highlights the delicate balancing act that The Bahamas continues to face in re-opening its economy, and preserving jobs and incomes, while still containing COVID19. Business owners and executives, not surprisingly, reacted negatively to calls for renewed restrictions while praising Dr Sands and conceding his views cannot be ignored.

Ben Albury, Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that introducing further restrictions would “be detrimental” especially given reports that stopover tourism numbers are on track to rebound to pre-2019 levels by year-end or early 2022.

Noting that COVID-19 case numbers appeared to be falling, while deaths were climbing, he added: “I’m in no position to speak to the health side, but from the financial side it could be extremely damaging.”

Mr Albury said other doctors, who he did not name, believed COVID19 will be present for his lifetime and into “the foreseeable future”. He added: “I feel for the health workers, the system is overwhelmed, but we’re past the point of having to see where this goes.

“It’s unfortunate territory, and no one wants to

BEN ALBURY see anyone lose their life, but at the same time a lot of people are in grave danger where their finances are concerned. How can you tell a hotel worker who has not worked for almost two years that we’re going back to further restrictions? It’s terrible but we have to deal with it.

“I think that if we’re going to survive financially as a nation, and a nation that is able to feed its children, we’re going to have to take it as it comes. I feel terrible. It’s a terrible position to be in but we’re going to have to take it.”

Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes and Sunshine Holdings chairman, described Dr Sands as a “world-class scientist” and

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

LEGAL NOTICE

N O T I C E EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION MAURITANIA (OFFSHORE) LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION MAURITANIA (OFFSHORE) LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 7th day of October 2021 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Rebecca L Wittrock, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A. Dated the 13th day of October, A.D., 2021 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company LEGAL NOTICE

The Public is hereby advised that I, BRENDAMAE BULLARD AKA BRENDA MAR HOLBERT AKA BRENDA MAE DENISE BULLARS AKA BRENDAMAE D. BULLARD of Blue Hill Estates, Nassau, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to BRENDA MAE DENISE BULLARD. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

SIR FRANKLYN WILSON agreed that his comments on health-related matters such as COVID-19 “have to be taken very seriously”.

Yet he added: “He will appreciate there has to be a balance between that view and the economic recovery we are trying to nurture....

We have had many deaths, but the fact of the matter is the number of confirmed cases seems to be trending downwards generally and the economic recovery appears to be trending upwards.

“If these trends continue, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get the case numbers down and the economic buoyancy back up. If that continues, that’s good.” Sir Franklyn said Dr Sands may be concerned that Bahamians were becoming “over relaxed” and not adhering to COVID-19 health protocols, noting that his church held the “first sung mass for a long time” at the weekend.

Dr Sands, meanwhile, argued that persons were becoming too focused on falling COVID-19 case numbers, which hit 32 on Sunday, as opposed other indicators such as the mortality rate. Some

48 COVID-related deaths were recorded in the week to October 10.

With the healthcare sector suffering from a shortage of ventilators, critical care nurses and respiratory technicians, he added that COVID19 carers were burning through specialist equipment “faster than it can be replaced”.

“When you look at the amount of testing that is happening, we are still not testing anywhere near where the World Health Organisation (WHO) says it will give us an accurate reflection of the cases,” Dr Sands said. “Lest anyone think this is a criticism of the current administration, it’s not.

“It’s an acknowledgement of the seriousness of the problem and the need for us to come together collectively to figure out the way forward. It’s untenable unless we accept we are going to lose scores, if not hundreds more Bahamians.

If that’s acceptable to us as a country, then we can continue as we are. If it is not, we need to have a major recalibration.”

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DANIEL DESAUGUSTE of Treasure Cay, Abaco, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of October, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that EULAINE JOSEPH of Lazaretto Road, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of October, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

N O T I C E

N O T I C E

N O T I C E

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SENEGAL (OFFSHORE) LIMITED

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION MAURITANIA (OFFSHORE) LIMITED

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SENEGAL (OFFSHORE) LIMITED

Creditors having debts or claims against the above-named Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 2nd day of November, A.D., 2021. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.

Creditors having debts or claims against the above-named Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 2nd day of November, A.D., 2021. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.

Dated the 13th day of October, A.D., 2021.

Dated the 13th day of October, A.D., 2021.

Rebecca L. Wittrock Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

Rebecca L. Wittrock Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SENEGAL (OFFSHORE) LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 7th day of October 2021 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Rebecca L Wittrock, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A. Dated the 13th day of October, A.D., 2021 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, PAGE 23

CHESTER COOPER, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, is shown with Charles Washington Misick, premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and other hotel developers.

DPM ATTENDS MAJOR TOURISM CONFERENCE

THE deputy prime minister recently attended an international hotel conference in a bid to attract more tourism-related investment to The Bahamas.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, participated in the 25th annual International African American Hotel Ownership & Investment Summit & Trade Show.

The conference was organised by the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers’ (NABHOOD), and Mr Cooper told attendees: “The

Bahamas has in place all the prime conditions conducive to propelling economic growth in the short to medium and long-term. I invite you to come to The Bahamas, invest and grow with us.”

“In recent years, The Bahamas has benefitted from close to $3bn in foreign direct investment.

Development projects have ranged from mega resorts, marinas and attractions to boutique hotels.

This ongoing development activity is a strong indicator of one thing — investor confidence/

“We project continued growth in visitor arrivals in the months ahead, based on positive hotel bookings.

There has been a significant increase in airlift fuelled by pent-up demand for travel. Currently, there are direct or one-stop flights to The Bahamas from every major region of the United States.”

NABHOOD’s mission is to create wealth by increasing the number of minorities developing, managing, operating and owning hotels, while expanding vendor opportunities and executive level jobs.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, the Hon. I. Chester Cooper, Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation meets with the Hon. Charles Washington Misick, Premier, Turks and Caicos Islands. Also shown is Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation John Pinder and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation, Reginal Saunders.

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021

$5.10

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Ex-minister: Economy ‘too open’ for COVID

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER health minister is warning The Bahamas “will regret” failing to impose tougher curbs to control COVID-19 as the economy is “far more open than it ought to be”.

Dr Duane Sands, who held that Cabinet post under the former Minnis administration, acknowledged to Tribune Business that many Bahamians will be “frazzled” by his call given the economy’s still-perilous position but he argued: “Business as usual has to stop.”

Perfectly positioned to assess the pandemic’s ongoing impact as a front-line healthcare worker, he argued that many Bahamians and residents appear to be behaving as if COVID-19 “is not a big deal right now”.

Warning that the situation will “get way worse” unless tougher protocols are put in

Nassau’s first fiveship arrivals since COVID

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU Cruise Port will today host five vessels for the first time since COVID-19 struck in March 2020, its top executive asserting: “We’re on the road to recovery.”

Michael Maura, its top executive, yesterday told Tribune Business that the two Royal Caribbean vessels, combined with one each from Carnival, Disney and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), will collectively bring close to 10,000 passengers to the Bahamian capital when they dock today.

“Tomorrow [today], for the first time since March 2020, we will have five cruise ships in port,” he disclosed. “We will have the Disney Fantasy, Carnival Pride, MSC Divina, and Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.

“It highlights that the industry is well on its way to 2019 levels, given that this will be the first time since March 2020 that we will have had five cruise ships MICHAEL MAURA in port at the same time. We will have close to 10,000 passengers. We’re on the road to recovery.

Any time we have at least 5,000 passengers in port we hire a local Bahamian band and music to create a lot of excitement.”

Bahamian tourism-related businesses and their employees, typically those located in the downtown Nassau and Bay Street areas, require passengers to venture off the ship and spend their money if they are to maximise the potential economic benefits from the cruise industry.

Tribune Business recently reported the concerns of one business that suggested just 20 percent of passengers were disembarking their vessel when docked in Nassau. When this was pointed out to Mr Maura, he said different cruise lines were adopting different COVID-19 health protocols as an example.

SEE PAGE 20

DR DUANE SANDS

number of persons being tested for the virus rather than the reality on the ground.

Instead, Dr Sands pointed to the increase in persons in dying from COVID-19, adding that healthcare facilities were increasingly patients who have become extremely ill with the virus. With healthcare workers, and the system itself, increasingly “overwhelmed and exhausted”, he argued that The Bahamas rapidly needs

to “recalibrate” its approach before it becomes too late.

Asked by this newspaper whether the COVID-19 focus had shifted too much to the economy and livelihoods, as opposed to healthcare and lives, Dr Sands replied: “That’s a very important question. The answer is principally an observational view that things seem to be going as if COVID-19 is not a big deal right now.

SEE PAGE 22

Family Island resorts ‘psyched’ on rebound

• Retailer pledges it will overcome global supply woe • IMF predicts 5% local inflation highest since 2013 • President ‘travelling almost every week’ to source

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

of Out Island hotels’ business, have largely been cut-off from The Bahamas since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020.

Now, with US president Joe Biden set to open his borders to vaccinated travellers from both jurisdictions come November, they will once again be able to connect with flights to The Bahamas from Florida and other states.

Mr Fountain said the anticipated move would help his member hotels “get even

A MAJOR Bahamian retailer yesterday pledged there will be “no Christmas inventory shortages” despite ongoing global supply chain disruption, with $1.5m in merchandise due to arrive this month.

Jason Watson, Automotive Industrial Distributors (AID) president, told Tribune Business he has been “travelling almost every week” in recent months to meet with suppliers and ensure the company has access to alternative products and channels should the need arise.

With global supply chain bottlenecks, and fears of product shortages, already resulting in panic buying and empty shelves in major markets such as the UK, he revealed that a shortage of US drivers had prompted AID to begin shipping product direct to Nassau from New York/ New Jersey rather than trucking it to Jacksonville as was done previously.

As for shipping from China, Mr Watson said container costs had increased by up to 149 percent since the supply chain squeeze began. Containers that had previously cost AID between $7,500 to $8,500 are now fetching $18,700, he disclosed.

Such cost spikes ultimately feed into the price of goods in The Bahamas, given that the country imports virtually everything it consumes. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday predicted that consumer prices in The Bahamas, which measure inflation, will increase by 5 percent this year - the greatest rise since 2013.

Mr Watson said there was “a lot of pressure on profits” at AID as a result, with the retailer “absorbing a number of additional costs” that it never previously had to. As a result, it was doing its best to hold the line on consumer prices, although the ultimate impact depended on the goods held in each particular container.

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A SENIOR tourism executive yesterday said Family Island hotels are “pretty psyched” about the upcoming winter season as they remain on track to beat 2021 forecasts by near 20 percentage points.

Kerry Fountain, the Bahamas Out Islands Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business that is member properties are on target to generate between 80-85 percent of what they achieved in 2019 for room revenues and room nights sold.

“A lot of our hotels are approaching 2019 numbers,” he said. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to reach 65 percent of room nights sold in 2019, and then 62 percent of room revenues reached in 2019. It looks like that in both cases we’ll surpass that goal.

“I can tell you that from the January to September 2021 forecast that you did, and the two forecasts we did for the January through December period, it looks like we’re going to be about 80-85 percent of what we did in 2019 for room nights sold and room revenue. It’s worth stressing that performance has been carried by stopover visitors coming basically from the US.” Canada and Europe, which have traditionally accounted for between 6-7 percent

AUTOMOTIVE Industrial Distributors (AID) Wulff Rd. Photo:BahamasLocal.com

AID’s $1.5m reason for ‘no Christmas stock shortages’

• Sands concedes many ‘frazzled’ by call • But Bahamas ‘will regret’ not tightening • Warnings of ‘grave danger’ if new curbs place, Dr Sands said to do otherwise will be to accept that “we are going to lose scores, if not hundreds more Bahamians” to the pandemic beyond the 605 deaths already confirmed and the 46 cases that have yet to be confirmed.

Quickly asserting that his comments were not intended as criticism of the newly-elected Davis administration, he told this newspaper that the falling COVID-19 case numbers were likely a reflection of the

$5.01

KERRY FOUNTAIN

CIBC: ‘Business as usual’ for Bahamas despite regional sale

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CIBC FirstCaribbean yesterday said it was “business as usual” for its Bahamas operations despite its move to exit five smaller regional jurisdictions.

In a sign that the Canadianowned commercial bank has reverted to ‘Plan B’ following the February 2021 break-up of its deal to sell a controlling 66.73 percent equity stake to the Colombia-headquartered GNB Financial Group, CIBC announced that it has agreed to sell its operations in St Vincent, Grenada, Dominica and St. Kitts to a consortium of local banks.

They are The Bank of St. Vincent and the

Grenadines; Grenada CoOperative Bank; National Bank of Dominica; and St Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank. In addition, Aruba bank is acquiring its assets in that nation, with all transactions subject to regulatory approval.

Colette Delaney, CIBC’s chief executive, said in a statement: “These transactions enable FirstCaribbean to optimise and simplify its business, further enhance efficiency and focus on core markets to accelerate growth.

“In each case we chose a partner that is an excellent fit in its respective market, given that its knowledge of the local markets match with our product offerings and client base and strong market positioning.

“They each bring a depth of local knowledge to the market and the needs of our clients there, which we believe will serve them well in their positioning for the future. We remain committed to executing on our long-term strategy and delivering the best outcome for

clients, shareholders, employees and communities.”

CIBC has thus seemingly elected to follow the route previously taken by fellow Canadian-owned commercial bank, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), to downsize its regional presence by exiting markets deemed too small to produce significant profits and where costs likely exceed anticipated returns.

Teresa Mortimer, the Bahamas Financial Services Union’s (BFSU) president, whose union represents several hundred CIBC staff in this nation, told Tribune Business that the Canadian bank was unlikely to exit this nation due to the significant profits it continues to produce for both the regional

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