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VOLUME:115 No.226, OCTOBER 18TH, 2018

OBITS OFFICIA

CLASSIFIED TRADER: CARS, CARS, CARS & MORE CARS

INSIDE

Jean Rony dealt court setback

Smith: We’ll take fight to Privy Council

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

COURT of Appeal justices zeroed in on a “glaring defect” in process as they set aside the landmark Supreme Court decision that saw the dramatic return of Bahamas-born deportee Jean Rony Jean-Charles and caused ripple effects to the administration of the country’s immigration laws.

Appellate judges Sir Michael Barnett, Jon Isaacs, and Hartman Longley added there could be no

finding of a constitutional breach as it related to Mr Jean-Charles’ detention and deportation, due to lack of certainty over his identity.

The justices stated any application for constitutional, or any other relief, should not have been entertained until that issue was resolved and brought as an entirely separate matter.

While his lawyers have pledged to fight his case at the Privy Council, Mr JeanCharles told The Tribune yesterday he was distressed SEE PAGE THREE

POLITICAL pressure from a former minister resulted in the award of a $1.46m computer supply contract to a web shop boss who earned a 30 percent profit margin on the deal.

The revelation, by former Ministry of Finance financial secretary Simon Wilson, was disclosed in a report to the Auditor General that exposed multiple internal control and procurement

failings in the government agency.

The report, by Bahamas-based auditing and advisory firm FTI Consulting, found that the contract was awarded to a company owned by Pete Deveaux, chief executive of the Island Game web shop chain, and his wife even though they appeared to have “no prior involvement in businesses relating to information technology or computer procurement”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

L SOUR CE

JURY RULES DAD KILLED ATTACKER IN SELF-DEFENCE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net SENIOR immigration officer Ruis Gibson - who shot and killed a man who had stabbed his son to death during a beach party in Grand Bahama in April - will not face criminal charges after an inquest found that the shooting was lawful.

Many immigration officers packed the courtroom in support of Mr Gibson, who is still trying to cope with the death of his son.

Attorney Renaldo Toote, of Carlson Shurland and Co, represented Mr Gibson at the Coroner’s Court inquest into the deaths of two men – Rasheid Gibson, 31, and Nicolaus John, 44 – on April 2 at Xanadu Beach.

According to initial police reports, Gibson was celebrating his birthday at a private beach party with friends and relatives. John, who was not an invited guest, was confronted by SEE PAGE SEVEN

3 AMERICANS HELD IN CREDIT CARD FRAUD

WILSON BLOWS LID ON CONTRACT AWARDS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$1

By RIEL MAJOR THREE American men are in police custody after officers discovered a large amount of fraudulent credit cards, $10,000 in Bitcoins and a unknown amount of suspected cocaine in a home on Yamacraw Hill Road.

According to police, shortly after 8pm on Tuesday, officers from the Anti-Corruption and Financial Crime Branch presented a search warrant at a home on Yamacraw Hill Road, where the fake credit cards, cocaine and the cryptocurrency were found.

The men who occupied the home were arrested.

JEAN Rony Jean-Charles outside court after his earlier victory.

PM DEFENDS PO DEAL WITH MINISTER

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis does not appear to be concerned about losing political capital over his administration’s decision to enter into a fiveyear lease agreement with owners of Town Centre Mall, one of them a sitting Cabinet minister, to house the General Post Office, telling reporters yesterday

BRENT SYMONETTE he is doing “what is right”.

Defending the decision, the prime minister said the

process will be transparent and debated in the House of Assembly.

Part of this transparency, he said, will feature a declaration of interests from Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and industry and immigration, who is part owner of Town Centre Mall.

But the Progressive Liberal Party has branded the move as a “shameful, SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

DIANE PHILLIPS: HELPING THE HELPLESS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Man found guilty of Freeport shooting

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ALEXANDER Sweeting was found guilty of murder in the Supreme Court yesterday in the shooting death of a 40-year-old man in the Redwood Lane area almost three years ago.

As the prisoner was being led away by officers outside the Grand Bahama courthouse around 3.30pm following the unanimous guilty verdict, Sweeting resisted violently.

“I did not do it,” he shouted as he struggled with officers.

Onlookers gathered at the building’s entrance and watched as officers subdued the handcuffed convict and took him through the Magistrate’s Court to a holding cell. A woman, who was identified as Sweeting’s sister, tried to come to his

ALEXANDER Sweeting.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn aid, but was prevented by an officer from entering the building.

The upset woman made allegations about the trial, then shouted, “Judgment going to hit.”

Sweeting was on trial for the murder of Whitfield Jones Jr, a resident of Coral Reef Estate, who was shot to death on December 1, 2015, at Redwood Lane.

The shooting occurred around 6.30pm in a yard and stemmed from an argument that had occurred between both men on November 24, 2015. Jones was found dead, lying face down in a puddle of water, with several gunshots in his body.

A .40mm fired cartridge and one fired bullet were recovered at the scene near the body. Sweeting was arrested by police later that evening in the Garden Villas area.

According to evidence presented by the prosecution at the trial, the accused had admitted to shooting Jones while in police custody.

Irene Ingraham, the victim’s mother, said that justice was served for her deceased son.

“I am very pleased with the jurors’ decision; justice was served for my son,” she said.

Ms Ingraham said that her son was a father of two.

“He was 40 at the time of his death and it was unjustified; he was shot in the back three times, and five times in total,” she said.

He leaves behind two daughters.

Ms Ingraham said her son never got a chance to see his youngest daughter, who at two years old, was born after he was buried.

Lawyers from Carlson Shurland and Co represented Sweeting. Neil Brathwaite appeared on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.

Justice Estelle Gray Evans delivered her summation of the case on Wednesday morning after two weeks of testimony.

The 12-member jury returned in the late afternoon with the verdict.

Sweeting will be sentenced on January 24, 2019.

TRIBUTES TO PERMANENT SECRETARY THE Cabinet Office has advised that the public service has lost a dedicated competent officer after the death of Christina Brown, deputy permanent secretary, who died on Friday, October 12.

Brown joined the public service in 1973 as a clerk at the Ministry of Education.

“During her service there, her dedication and efficiency were noted and commended and led to her secondment to the Cabinet Office. Twenty-six of her 45 years as a public officer were spent at the Cabinet Office,” a statement from the Cabinet Office noted.

“As early as 1994, Mrs Brown served as secretary to the Senate where her habit of routinely working beyond the normal hours of work contributed to her steady rise thorough the

public service. At the Cabinet Office she moved from chief executive officer up to deputy permanent secretary, all the while improving her academic qualifications at the College of The Bahamas, culminating in a Bachelor of Arts degree in public administration.

“Mrs Brown will be remembered as the officer who was charged with responsibility for the Official Gazette, for assistance with national events, for pending legislation and as clerk of the Senate. Mrs Christina Brown will be deeply missed by legislators, senior colleagues and others in the public service and the entire Cabinet Office family.

“The Cabinet Office extends sincere condolences to the family of Christina Brown in their time of bereavement.”

ROADWORKS ALERT THE government has advised that road work is being carried out by Bahamix at Cordeaux Avenue, beginning yesterday.

Additionally, paving work on Bernard Road will

be suspended due to additional utility works.

Motorists are asked to avoid the area if possible, and to be aware of, and acknowledge the posted traffic paving signs.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 3

JEAN Rony Jean-Charles in the shack he shared with six others in Haiti.

Jean Rony dealt court setback from page one by the outcome, particularly the uncertainty over whether he will be allowed to remain in the country.

“I’m stressed right out right now,” he said. “If they win, does that mean they will try to ship me back?

They got me stressed right out.”

The Crown sought to have Supreme Court judge Gregory Hilton’s decision concerning Mr Jean-Charles’ controversial deportation from The Bahamas to Haiti and subsequent return to this country overturned.

Yesterday, Attorney General Carl Bethel described the victory as important vindication of due process.

Mr Bethel told The Tribune Mr Jean-Charles would be given “reasonable time” to prove his identity, adding if he is unable to do so “the minister of immigration will have all the usual discretionary powers at his disposal.”

Meanwhile, Mr JeanCharles’ attorney Fred Smith regretted that the Court of Appeal judgment did not address the far-reaching constitutional issues raised by the case.

“I note their focus on procedural issues,” Mr Smith said, “but the reality is we are dealing with human beings and such tabulated legalism should not transcend the vindication of constitutional rights as was done in the Supreme Court

by Justice Hilton.

“We are studying the judgment and we are grateful to the court for having considered the matter, but it is likely that we will be appealing to the Privy Council (in London) as the constitutional issues that were raised at the Supreme Court should still be dealt with as they are of an overarching importance.”

The matter began as a habeas corpus application filed by Mr Jean-Charles’ lawyers with an affidavit made on his behalf by his sister, in a bid to have him released from the detention centre. However, Justice Hilton dismissed the writ of habeas corpus filed on November 29, 2017 for the government to produce Mr Jean-Charles, finding as he was not in the custody of the state at the time the application for the writ was made, the order for the writ should not have been issued.

Justice Hilton ultimately found Mr Jean-Charles was “unlawfully expelled” from The Bahamas after having been unlawfully detained from September 17, 2017, to November 24, 2017, in breach of his constitutional rights.

Justice Hilton further found Mr Jean-Charles has been deprived of his personal liberty, unlawfully arrested and detained/ falsely imprisoned in breach

JEAN Rony Jean-Charles after a previous court appearance. of his rights guaranteed him under the Constitution.

As in the initial appeal hearing in May, there was much debate over the discrepancy surrounding whether the individual immigration authorities said they deported — Jean Charles, and Mr Rony Jean-Charles – are one and the same.

Despite the “voluminous” amount of paper laid before the court, Sir Michael found the issues raised in the appeal could be reduced to two questions: whether Justice Hilton was correct to dismiss the habeas writ and the motion for contempt; and whether the trial judge was correct to grant constitutional relief.

Sir Michael stated Justice Hilton was correct to dismiss the habeas writ but moreover the writ should have never been issued. He said it was clear the affidavit filed by Mr Jean-Charles’ sister, Clotilde Charles, in support of the habeas claim, did not satisfy legal requirements, and raised the spectre of whether he was unable to submit an affidavit himself because he was no longer restrained or in the country.

“It is surprising therefore that the trial judge would have acted on that affidavit given its glaring defect and given the fact that it failed to state what the rule required,” the judge noted.

He also noted that Clotilde’s affidavit contained statements of fact that she could not confirm, noting this element was impermissible and illustrated why the rules require such an affidavit to be made directly by the applicant.

He went on to point out that correspondence from Mr Smith to the Department of Immigration on December 6, made it clear Mr Jean-Charles’ counsel knew he was no longer in detention at the time his application for leave was heard on December 7, 2017.

On the matter of constitutional relief, Sir Michael stated it was obviously unfair to the government to deal with the motion at

a hearing fixed to deal with their return in the habeas matter - whether they requested an adjournment or not - due to the importance of the issue.

Sir Michael wrote: “The (government’s) return itself raised issue as to whether the applicant was the person who was detained by the state and released from detention prior to the commencement of the proceedings. The name was different and the date of birth was different.

“The judge fell in error when he proceeded with the application for constitutional relief and I would set aside all orders made by him on that application.”

Sir Michael noted the appellate ruling did not prevent Mr Jean-Charles from applying for constitutional relief, stating there may be more appropriate causes of action to obtain relief, such as an action in tort for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

He maintained it would be inappropriate for him to weigh in on the propriety of those claims in this appeal.

For his part, Justice Isaacs noted there were nine grounds of appeal advanced by the appellants but only two needed to be considered to dispose of the appeal.

The first, that Justice Hilton was wrong to consider the application for constitutional redress without allowing government an opportunity to respond, thus depriving them of a fair hearing; and the second, that the affidavit filed by Mr Jean-Charles’ sister in support of his habeas corpus claim should have fallen away when the application

was dismissed, and as such, Justice Hilton made a grave error by determining the constitutional claim without any affidavit evidence.

Justice Isaacs said he was satisfied the Supreme Court decision was unsustainable, adding while he referred to the individual as “Jean-Rony”, it was not an acceptance that the respondent is the same individual that had been detained.

“In the face of his (Justice Hilton’s) doubts as to whether Jean-Rony JeanCharles was one and the same as Jean Charles, the judge erred in treating them as such ‘in the absence of definitive evidence’.”

As for Mr Smith’s argument that the dismissal of the habeas writ was invalid because the decision was with the Registry Department, Justice Isaacs said the argument is a “distinction without a difference”.

Justice Isaacs wrote: “It is not unknown for persons to be abducted by individuals posing as agents of the state, only for it to be discovered later that the individuals were merely dissemblers.

That could have been the case in the present matter.

Thus, it was important for the judge to be sure that Jean-Rony Jean Charles, applicant for habeas corpus, was Jean Charles, expelled individual.

“Nevertheless,” Justice Isaacs added, “the issue would only have arisen on a constitutional application separate and apart from the habeas corpus application.”

Justice Longley stated he would allow the appeal, dismiss the cross appeal, and set aside the Supreme Court decision for the reasons given by his colleagues.

Yesterday, Mr Bethel said: “The habeas corpus application was bound to fail as the court found…it was incorrect for the court to have allowed the matter to proceed with a tacked on constitutional motion which was, in my view, only tacked on in an attempt to revive a case that was bound to fail.

“The case was fatally flawed when even the trial judge could not say that he was certain that the person before the court was the person referred to in the birth certificate on which he relied. “(Mr Jean-Charles) will be accorded a fair opportunity to prove that he is the person who is in the birth certificate.”

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PAGE 4, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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

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Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

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Despite Trump, free trade isn’t dead ... yet THE rules-based world order, which has been the scaffolding supporting the global economy since World War II, appears to be in serious jeopardy. And, judging by the number of eulogies published in recent months, it would be easy to conclude that this system of international cooperation on trade and other issues is already dead.

Concern for the fate of cooperation among nations is understandable. In his attacks on the United Nations, NATO and the World Trade Organisation, President Donald Trump has shown his disdain for American commitments to peace, security and trade.

Notwithstanding Trump’s bluster, I believe it’s too soon to mourn the end of international cooperation. While there are some very real challenges facing the global system, when we look at international economic law – one of my areas of expertise – there are several reasons to believe that it can, and will, endure.

Trump has been attacking free trade since his 2016 campaign. He singled out multilateral trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership as harmful to US interests. He also claimed the North American Free Trade Agreement was responsible for accelerating the decline in American manufacturing.

Once in office, this anti-trade rhetoric turned into policy. Trump withdrew from the TPP, demanded a renegotiation of NAFTA and has repeatedly threatened to leave the WTO. And earlier this year, he began trade wars with allies such as the European Union and rivals like China.

In addition to concerns that these actions will harm Americans’ pocketbooks, there is fear that Trump’s strategy is eroding faith in the very rules that promote economic cooperation, including those intended to limit trade protection and constrain retaliation.

Look beyond Trump’s tough talk on trade, however, and you’ll see reasons to be hopeful.

Many cite the president’s attacks on the World Trade Organisation as evidence that the system is breaking down.

Trump’s main problem with WTO is its formal system for dispute settlement, which the White House argues treats the US unfairly. Indeed, the United States is sued more often than any other country.

In response, Trump has threatened to ignore WTO rulings and US authorities have blocked the appointment of new appellate judges to the organisation.

These moves are certainly disconcerting given that US withdrawal would be a serious blow to a system it once helped build. However, ongoing activity in the WTO’s dispute system indicates that other members still see value in the system.

Instead of relying solely on unilateral trade retaliation, countries have filed 17 new filings against the US this year to combat its tariffs and other protectionist measures. That is the highest number of cases against the US since steel tariffs brought on a wave of disputes in 2002.

But rather than supporting Trump’s contention that the WTO is biased against the US, these filings are a statement that economies around the world want the system to work. And for good reason. There are benefits to seeking

settlements at the WTO over punitive tariffs.

For example, research shows that WTO dispute settlement works pretty well as a way to combat discriminatory trade policies. Countries comply with the WTO’s rulings about 60 percent of the time. While that may not seem like a lot, given the WTO isn’t strictly able to enforce its rulings, 60 percent compliance is actually pretty good.

By bringing these complaints to the WTO, countries also draw the world’s attention to violations, naming and shaming violators of the rules, effectively damaging the reputations of leaders who erect discriminatory barriers. Another reason trade experts and economists bemoan the end of cooperation is that Trump is snubbing multilateral agreements in favour of bilateral ones, which, he says, can better leverage US market power to secure better deals.

While it’s true that there has been a spate of new one-on-one agreements among US trading partners in the last few years, this isn’t evidence that other countries are buying into Trump’s rhetoric. Notably, the TPP didn’t die with Trump’s withdrawal. Partly on the insistence of Japan, the rebranded Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed in March.

This new deal looks like a sign of things to come. Canada currently has a conversation ongoing with Japan. South of the border, Mexico has been talking to China. Bilateral deals may be seen as messy and even inefficient compared with the multilateral trading system. But that reading is too simple.

It’s important to recognize that the WTO hasn’t undergone comprehensive revisions in many years, and this has led countries to prefer regional and bilateral alternatives. But these alternatives don’t necessarily signal a turn away from cooperation. Nor are they representative of a global wave of Trump-inspired economic nationalism. Just the opposite. In an effort to maintain open trade routes, countries are seeking alternatives to US leadership.

Certainly, it is difficult to overstate the damage that Trump’s strategy is doing to American diplomatic relations.

By many accounts, his main “victory” on trade – the conclusion of negotiations over a new NAFTA – came at the expense of any lingering goodwill between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

And that victory, has been seen as much ado about nothing, resulting in very modest revisions to the status quo.

Yet one significant result of Trump’s tirades against trade law is a growing push for much-needed reform at the WTO, particularly by Canada and the EU. If successful, this could result in actually boosting international economic cooperation.

Whether those efforts will be successful is uncertain. But at the very least, countries seem interested in salvaging the system. As long as that’s true, it’s too soon to mourn the end of trade cooperation.

By Jeffrey Kucik, University of Arizona.

First published in The Conversation

Foot in mouth problems EDITOR, The Tribune OFFICE of The Prime Minister Press Secretary – not only is this the mouthpiece of the Prime Minister and today as the Prime Minister does not like facing journalists this should be where the PM gets PR advice. Boy they are not assisting the PM as he is putting his feet in his mouth daily.

Anglican Church Synod - last evening pontifical high mass an event the Governor General - the Prime Minister and should be Cabinet do not miss… where was Prime Minister

and ALL of Cabinet? Not one present.

RBDF or really US Coast Guard seizure of Dominican fishermen - again we miss and if it was not for the US Coast Guard and the very much appreciated assistance of Cuba these mother ships and 100 plus fishermen would have gone undetected.

Look at a map of southern Bahamas…we have the vessels now there is absolutely no reason we can’t patrol this limited area be it for Haitian migrants or Dominican Rep poachers and, of course, the drug boys.

CD cars using sirens can the Commissioner of

Police or Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm that certain CD cars have been given permission to use sirens and, therefore, the public driving is required to pull to the side? Who next?

URCA and BP&L Tender - boy these people lost their mouths totally are they not supposed to keep BP&L within the law?

The 80MW RFP exploding to 275MW needs explaining why the silence? Ms Duncombe comment on the high level of CO2 from LNG. ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau October 16, 2018.

Why I have faith in our police force EDITOR, The Tribune OVER the decades our Police Commissioners, who worked in the Criminal Investigation Department (CDU) learned to appreciate the need for an efficient and effective police service.

They were exposed to the frustrations of the victims of crimes against the property where hard working Bahamians lost valuable property to criminals. They very often met with victims of violent crimes; rape and other sexual offences, armed robberies and murders.

The grief and the loss suffered by the families renewed your commitment to that portion of the oath; the prevention and detection of crime. The present Commissioner of Police Mr Ferguson was attached to the CDU for many years and was the lead investigator in serious crimes, in particular murder and armed robberies.

His

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net performance was efficient and effective, with good results.

ACP Fernander is in charge of crime management. He is a dedicated detective, with a successful history in crime detection, a man of integrity and physical ability.

Most importantly, a great leader and teacher of personnel associated with him, the Hon Marvin Deans, Minister of National Security, was also a member of the Criminal Investigation Department and eventually the Head of the Department. He was a man of action, often seen on the streets and where the action was, that involved law enforcement.

It appears to me that our police force is now involved in a renewed

thrust in its war on crime.

I call it aggressive policing, that appears to be having commendable results in all areas of crime detection.

Over the past months there have been several arrests for criminal activity and the recovery of illicit drugs, guns, money and the detection of crime, notably murders are impressive.

Public relations have been improving and morale in the Force is high.

We are winning the war and must maintain the pressure. Our courts must endeavour to implement speedy trials. J Edgar Hoover the first head of the FBI wrote: Murder is not a preventable crime and the most effective solution to crime is early detection, arrests, quick prosecution and the appropriate punishment. I have faith in our police force.

PAUL THOMPSON Sr Nassau September 26, 2018

Hands off Nassau Harbour EDITOR, The Tribune I READ with horror the news that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has a bid before ggovernment to redevelop Nassau Harbour. It seems that under Prime Minister Minnis, we risk being completely taken over by the gaudy, tacky theme park nightmare that is cruise ship tourism.

Lighthouse Point for Disney, a new port for Carnival Cruises in Grand Bahama, and now this? If he is not careful, Dr Minnis’ legacy will be transforming the Bahamas into the

republic of neon lights, silly games and plastic water-slides.

While there is no question that Nassau Harbour and downtown in general is in need of an urgent upgrade, this is not the only option.

As I recall, the Downtown Nassau Development Association had a great plan for developing the area into a premier port destination, including revamping the cruise port. These are local businessmen who have a stake in downtown and who want to see it succeed, for their own benefit as well as the country’s.

I would much rather this plan than yet another surrender to a foreign entity that has no real skin in the game. Please, Dr Minnis, don’t let this Request For Proposals to develop downtown become another rubber stamp for the ‘All Powerful’ cruise ship companies.

Give us a chance to have a world class destination in Nassau Harbour, spearheaded by Bahamians who actually care.

ESSY BOOTLE Nassau October 15, 2018.

Price of a life is far too low EDITOR, The Tribune LIFE in The Bahamas seems to get cheaper by the day, According to our law, the dollar value of a human life is said to be approximately $10,000 (presumably excluding VAT), ie less than half the cost of many new cars!

In many societies, the objectives of justice are: Punishment, Rehabilitation, and Deterrence. Were any of these criteria achieved in this case?

KEN W KNOWLES, MD Nassau October 13, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 5

PM defends PO deal with minister

from page one naked conflict of interest that no parliamentary or constitutional device or slight of hand will disguise.” PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell rejected the decision, adding the opposition party would not support the move.

Mr Symonette was not present in the House of Assembly yesterday. However, he told The Tribune on Tuesday he knew nothing about the proposed rental of the property. Mr Symonette said he was in Miami, Florida, attending a conference.

“I think it’s complete transparency and I don’t want to get into any details because they are going to debate it, but I think it’s complete transparency and if you have done due diligence, searched around, the Bahamian public have been without an adequate post office now in excess of three years the matter must be resolved,” Dr Minnis told reporters yesterday.

He spoke moments after the resolution to approve the lease was read into the record of the House.

The government plans to begin debate on it next Wednesday.

Asked by this newspaper if the government did not have another option, Dr

THE TOWN Centre Mall.

Minnis said: “I don’t want to get into details because what’s going to happen is more details will come out during the debate, but what you will find out is that at a particular point in time even the PLP had selected the facility and they had also already drawn the plans.

“I believe in transparency,” he added. “I believe in doing what is right and what I feel is right. I believe in improving the quality of life for the Bahamian people. How much longer do you want them to have no access to a post office?

How much longer do you want them to work in inadequate facilities and inadequate conditions?”

When asked about concerns of losing political capital, he said: “It’s going to the Bahamian public.

The Bahamian public will see the facts.

“Let me ask you a simple question. If Bill Gates was a Bahamian, Microsoft with the best possible computers for your country in terms of e-Bahamas and internet systems, and Bill Gates was also a member of Parliament, would you deny the country the use of Microsoft because he’s a member of Parliament when he declares, and you know (he is) the best in taking you to first world status?”

Mr Mitchell yesterday

argued that the Minnis administration sought to reinvent the wheel over the post office’s woes, when the PLP had already done all of the heavy lifting before leaving office.

He raised questions about the rate of $12 per square foot at which the government will lease portions of the mall. He said what has been deemed generous and concessionary may not really be. The resolution notes the landlord will make the facility suitable for operations.

Mr Mitchell said what this really means is that the owners will come out ahead, having rented a property of depreciated value to be turned into an appreciating asset. This he called “arranging a benefit” for one of its Cabinet ministers. Mr Mitchell also noted a previous controversy ensnaring Dr Minnis, whose company Leechez Investments Limited, which owns Stat Care, had been granted a rental lease in 2005 by the Christie administration. That lease continued while Dr Minnis was minister of health in the Ingraham administration, before ending last year. Dr Minnis has always maintained he declared his interest.

The Christie administration had looked at relocating the General Post

BRENT SYMONETTE MP Office to the Town Centre Mall during its last term, but ultimately decided to enter into a public-private partnership (PPP) to construct a new building at the Independence Drive Shopping Centre opposite the mall instead. Tribune Business previously reported that project was placed on hold following traffic flowrelated complaints from local residents and concerns over whether proper due diligence had been conducted.

After the Minnis administration assumed office, officials announced it had acquired the old Phil’s Food Services building on Gladstone Road to house the General Post Office.

But last month, Transport Minister Renward Wells revealed the government had gone back to the drawing board on plans to relocate the facility.

“The traffic studies, engineering reports, social impact studies, traffic pattern studies had all been completed,” Mr Mitchell noted in a statement. “The PLP decided to assist a young Bahamian, not born in one of the selected families, with a public private partnership (PPP) and preceded to advance the plans

in the old Independence Shopping Centre.

“The FNM came along believing their own propaganda and cancelled that project, with significant costs to the public. They announced with great fanfare they were moving to Gladstone Road without checking the facts. That proved to be a colossal error.

“Without so much as a ‘by your leave’ they now announce this resolution, the effect of which is to abandon all that has already been done, waste all the money already spent, with a poorly hatched, cooked up scheme to fix up one of their brothers. It is embarrassing. It is shameful.”

He also slammed the resolution as being “poorly drafted with unnecessary verbiage.”

The resolution seems to deviate from the usual format for this kind of parliamentary document. It noted that the General Post Office building on East Hill Street has been condemned as being structurally unsound and has suffered from periodic, deep-rooted mould infestation and other harmful environment pathogens.

It further noted plans

to relocate the facility to a new building at the Independence Shopping Centre were met with “resounding objections and rejection” by residents of the surrounding communities.

It stated the government had acquired the old Phil’s Food Services building on Gladstone Road, but “only recently discovered that the latent (hidden) structural defects and other technical issues would require a massive expenditure of taxpayer dollars in conducting extensive renovations to the entire building which would take at least a year or more” to complete.

The resolution acknowledged a sitting Cabinet minister is one of the owners of Town Centre Mall “who did not take part in the discussions leading to the decision to accept the offer to lease portions of the building, which will be made suitable for the operations of the General Post Office at the expense of the landlord,” adding Mr Symonette has nonetheless declared his interest.

The mall will be rented at a “commercially concessionary rate” of $12 per square foot “far below the going commercial rates” on New Providence, it noted.

PAGE 6, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Missing paperwork for Urban Renewal contracts

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net TWENTY-TWO contractors in the small home repairs programme under Urban Renewal’s Grand Bahama arm did not have the supporting documents to ensure they were verified as licenced operators, an audit tabled in the House of Assembly said yesterday.

There were also more than 20 instances where supporting documents for small home repairs did not include evidence of a bid from the contractual awardee. In these instances, the supporting document from the awardee was an invoice.

The discrepancies were entailed in Auditor General Terrance Bastian’s audit of Urban Renewal Grand Bahama for the fiscal years July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2017. During this time,

Michelle Reckley, former deputy director, headed the programme under which various centres in the northern Bahamas were included.

She had oversight of the small home programme in Bimini, Cat island, Exuma, North Abaco/Grand Cay, North Andros and Berry Islands, South Andros/ Mangrove Cay and South and Central Eleuthera.

“In an effort to confirm that contractors participating in the small home repairs programme were legitimately licenced, we requested supporting documents,” the report noted.

“The documents submitted included such records as business licences, VAT registration including TIN numbers and National Insurance Board compliance letters. Supporting documents for

22 contractors were not supported.”

Auditors also explored the tender process used for the small home repair programme.

“Supporting documents for small home repairs on Grand Bahama typically included three quotations, the contractual agreements and before and after images of the repairs. We were not provided with details of the tender process, but noted that the same contractors appeared to have participated in the process.

We noted that quotations submitted used similar wording.

“We inquired about the format of the quotations with the undersecretary in the Ministry (of) Grand Bahama who advised that he was not sure whether there was a template used by the Ministry of Grand

MICHELLE RECKLEY, former deputy director of Urban Renewal in Grand Bahama.

Bahama or whether the submissions came from the Department of Urban Renewal. We were unable to inquire with the staff of the department of Urban Renewal because the office was closed.”

The report continued: “We found 23 instances totaling $463,000 where supporting documents for small home repairs conducted on Grand Bahama did not include evidence

of a bid from the contract awardee. In these instances, the supporting document from the awardee was an invoice.”

Auditors recommended that supporting documents include evidence of a proper bidding process for a clear and objective audit trail.

Additionally, there were 18 instances where repairs were valued at $203,147.27 and the payments amounts

recorded on the requisitions for Family Island contractual repairs could not be agreed with supporting documents.

Further, supporting documents did not include dollar values, also the amount recorded in the supporting documents did not correspond with the amount paid per the requisition.

And neither was their evidence that homeowners were required to attest to completion of home repairs.

It was also noted that annual salaries for Urban Renewal workers could not be verified. In 2016 the salary budget was $1,926,050 and in 2017 there was a slight increase of $1,971,050.

Auditors said they could not confirm the salaries because the Public Treasury was unable to produce payroll records for August 2015 through June 2017. However, they were referred to the Ministry of Grand Bahama.

Records were submitted for the 2016/2017 fiscal year but the April 2017 payroll was missing. At the time of the audit, the records for 2015/2016 remained outstanding.

Overall the results of this examination were not satisfactory, auditors said.

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PORT St George developers yesterday said the proposed expansive Long Island project featuring an entirely off-grid five-star hotel and spa, 515 luxury homes, and a 640-berth marina has all the requisite government approvals and permits.

However, two Cabinet ministers yesterday told The Tribune they were not well acquainted with the project probably because it has languished on for nearly a decade.

When contacted yesterday, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said he was unaware of the proposed project.

Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry Brent Symonette said he was aware a presentation had been made, but would need more time to be fully briefed on the development.

Long Island MP Adrian Gibson did not respond to calls for comment up to press time.

The project was said to be at an “advanced planning, architectural and environmental design stage,” according to a statement from developers, who responded to questions placed by this newspaper.

It stated construction is slated to begin in the “first half of 2019,” with a construction timeline of four to five years.

“Port St George has all requisite government approvals and permits,” the

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR, Minister of Tourism and Aviation. statement continued.

“PSG has a permit for the development from the Bahamas Investment Authority and an environmental impact assessment approved by the BEST Commission. An application for subdivision approval will be made when the present planning work is complete,” the developers added.

The mixed-use development has been billed as the first “eco-engineered luxury waterfront destination” spanning from “coast to coast” featuring a 100-acre protected harbour and an 18-hole golf course.

When the project was unveiled in 2008, it was billed to create over 300 jobs on a 951.4-acre site in northern Long Island.

In 2014, developers Ian Moorcroft and his business partner Jon Houghton told Tribune Business they were hunting for a joint venture partner to move the proposed $110m Port St George project forward.

In a release on Tuesday, the Star Resort Group Inc stated the proposed marina will be the largest in the country, and other sporting facilities include an Olympic-sized pool and solar-powered watercraft.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 7

ATTORNEY RENALDO TOOTE, left, speaks to the media after an inquest found his client, Ruis Gibson, right, lawfully shot a man that fatally stabbed his son.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

Jury rules dad killed attacker in self-defence from page one

Gibson and other partygoers. There was an altercation between both men. Gibson was fatally stabbed by John and Mr Gibson pulled out his gun and shot John.

At the time police, had classified one of the killings

as a murder, an unlawful killing, while the other, John’s death, was classified as a homicide.

An inquest into the deaths started in mid-September. Some 19 witnesses were called to give evidence, including police officers, eyewitnesses, and a pathologist.

Yesterday, after a month

of testimony, the jury brought back a unanimous verdict that the shooting of John was lawful.

Mr Toote told The Tribune that his client is relieved by the outcome, but is still hurting over the loss of his son.

“It is a bittersweet moment for him in that Mr Gibson lost a son on April 2,

and for the past six months he had to live through an ordeal of losing his son on the one hand, and fight for his freedom in relation as to whether the shooting was justified or not,” said the Nassau-based attorney.

“I am so happy and relieved that now he can start to heal psychologically, and he is scheduled to

see a counsellor and psychiatrist starting tomorrow,” Mr Toote said.

The attorney said that the court heard eyewitness accounts that John stabbed Rasheid Gibson’s head with a knife.

“We heard that prior to John coming to Xanadu Beach, where him and some other friends were

uninvited, that they were consuming alcoholic beverages and were involved in dangerous drugs on the date in question,” Mr Toote said.

The court also heard from Dr Mandy Pedican, pathologist at the Rand Memorial Hospital, who gave expert testimony and confirmed the deaths of both men.

PAGE 8, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Helping the helpless but a story which fills us with shame

THE AMBASSADOR Chorale performing at the Mission Baptist Church.

PHOTO: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

IF YOU live on the eastern side of the island you see them every day – men and women in light blue shirts and khaki pants holding tin cans in the shape of a church.

They wait patiently for donations, a few hundred dollars a day coming from regulars who know the work these extraordinary men and women do. They are the members of Ambassador Chorale and the money they raise helps to house, feed, clothe and teach those who have fallen through the cracks or whose drug-sodden parents are incapable of caring for them.

Ambassador Chorale is a living rescue mission, taking on board those handed over by authorities, other times finding the forgotten who pray for dry weather so they can keep a window cracked in the abandoned truck they are sleeping in.

Through the night while you and I are sound asleep with a solid roof over our heads and the golden promise of tomorrow, Rev Michael Bullard and Mario McPhee and Mr Hall and Mr Taylor are risking their lives to save others who can hardly remember how they got through today.

Bullard and his team travel through a sad and sorry world filled with bodies slumped in doorways and alleys populated by the dysfunctional.

They are motivated by a spirit that is as undeniably genuine as it is hard to comprehend.

But it is their story that is the most remarkable, beginning with how they came to be called Ambassador Chorale. It began in the 1980s with Bullard who holds a number of degrees including two master’s, one in music, the other in religious ethics. A choir director who later became a choir master with 31 choirs under his direction by the 1990s, he started with a choir that grew to 95 young males originally called the Boys Chorale. A few young women wanted to sing and Ambassador Chorale performed its first concert under its new name at Carnival’s Crystal Palace. The date: October 1, 1994. Twenty-four years later to the day, October 1, 2018 the Crystal Palace Hotel was imploded.

Many years later, on September 11, 2001 they were scheduled to perform at another venue – the revolving restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center, pictured.

The director and another singer were too ill to travel and two days before they were scheduled to perform, they had to break the news that they were forced to postpone the appearance. There were 65 due to travel, 65 Bahamians who would have been in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

If there is such a thing as using up all your luck, Ambassador Chorale did it that day

and life for the troupe of singing rescuers has been anything but easy since.

They have moved from place to place, first building homes on Marshall Road on property that had been donated to them.

They repaired two rundown buildings, added places for people to stay, all for free, became the charity of choice for KFC worldwide.

Funds raised through performances locally and around the world helped foot the growing bills. As long as they could sing and dance and Bullard could teach them to sing in many languages – Gaellic, Swahili, Latin, Japanese and Italian among them – they could feed the hungry, house the homeless, teach the children. They stayed on the Marshall Road property for 11 years until a family land dispute forced them off.

From there they purchased nine acres of land at $136,000 an acre off Prince Charles.

They paid monthly to a private individual for years, moved tons of trash and debris by hand to avoid bulldozers destroying trees and to protect flora and fauna that they discovered as they cleared the site. There, their numbers grew to 76 and schooling was done on site with approval by Ministry of Education. During performances outside The Bahamas, teachers were assigned to travel with them.

Fifteen years after they moved to Prince Charles, new legal troubles began and they fought a legal battle that went back and forth and in the end was resolved by a bulldozer that ripped through everything they’d built, the gardens, wells, trailers turned into houses, the beautiful low stone walls and archways built by the hands of children. Animals were killed. A little four-year-old boy nearly lost his life chasing after a puppy that was running from the bulldozer when the equipment headed fullspeed for child and dog.

On January 21, 2016, all the homes were demolished and Ambassador Chorale was displaced. The rescuers became like those they had rescued, living in vehicles, on park benches and under trees and by the compassion of friends, finding a few weeks’ stay in private homes.

What happened to Ambassador Chorale in The Bahamas is a crime of the worst order – pretending that evil did not strike those who were just trying to do good. They have now purchased a new home and just for the record, the little choir that started with a few voices in the Kemp Road area has sparked an international movement. Today there are 45 Ambassador Chorales around the world.

“There is a very large Ambassador Chorale in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

They put us to shame,” says Rev Bullard.

We, the Bahamian people, should be ashamed. Reverend Bullard and Mario and Mr Taylor and Mr Hall, and all your wives and children and the forgotten whom you look after, you should be very proud. Very proud, indeed.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 9

Baptist group to visit Haiti and Florida after disasters

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

THE National Baptist Convention will be sending a delegation to Haiti on Monday to determine what aid the country needs, Christian Council President Delton Fernander said yesterday.

The Christian Council will be partnering with the group and once the delegation’s report is complete, the council will send financial aid to both Haiti and the Florida Panhandle to assist these areas in recovering from the natural disasters which have affected them in recent weeks.

Bishop Fernander also commented on the recent controversy surrounding the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation’s evictions, underscoring that “humanity extends to everyone” and expressing hope that evictions were done as a last resort.

These remarks were made at a press conference held at the William Thompson Auditorium by Baptist leaders as they announced upcoming events for the denomination’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

“The National Baptist Convention, through the auspices of the Baptist Caribbean grouping, will send a delegation to Haiti on Monday,” Bishop Fernander said. “On Monday of next week, all through the Caribbean, the leaders of Baptists will convene for assessment and a meeting in Haiti so that they can galvanise their report.

“After that meeting, headed by the Rev Dr William Thompson, who is the president of the Caribbean Baptist (Fellowship), they will then tell all of us what it is Haiti is in need of, how

RESIDENTS outside a home damaged in the quake that hit over the weekend of October 7-8 in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. The baby’s mother died in the earthquake. can we help as a Baptist will do to help those in Haiti that the Christian Council planes that flew in with supdenomination. and those in the Panhandle has not helped the Baha- plies from Home Depot “But I am excited as the of Florida,” Dr Smith said. mas, you as the press know and the like. Those are not president of the Christina “This is their time. And we that’s erroneous. Every, just relative to The BahaCouncil, that this denomi- don’t know when our time every, every time there’s mas. We are part of a bigger nation has already made will come. And so whatever a hurricane locally— in network, that whatever is movement and is going resources we can come up fact, let the record show, needed, once that report to move on Monday, so with we will turn that over to we would have assisted comes in, we pull on that, that they can have those the president of the Christian Crooked Island just the and it will be financial.” reports ready, and we can Council from the Baptists. other day when all others Regarding the recent do our part as a Chris“We want to do our best, have turned their backs. local donation, Bishop Fertian Council. And all of and we will do our best. The The council sent a cheque nander said: “We did about the denominations will be Bahamas, we should not down there. On record, we $10,000, between Ackdoing the same. All of them come up short.” didn’t mention it, we didn’t lins, all of the islands that will have committees, will Bishop Fernander could go to the press. were affected (from major have representation.” not provide specifics on “But sometimes, in an storms last year). And let National Baptist Conven- the types of resources that effort to make the church me say, we delivered what tion President Dr Lloyd will be provided as yet, but look like it doesn’t do they asked for. If they asked Smith underscored the noted they will be finan- anything, people can use for water resources, we partnership between the cial. He added the council erroneous statements. But delivered it. If they asked convention and the coun- recently provided $10,000 what we plan to do is, (it’s) for finances, we delivered. cil and the assistance that to islands in the Southern going to be financial and So if we do it in kind, I don’t also will be provided to Bahamas. it’s going to be whatever what that figure would be.”

Americans.

“It will be financial, defi- products are necessary that He was also asked to pro“I don’t know how much nitely,” Bishop Fernander we have. And then through vide the council’s stance we can do, but whatever we said. “I heard some of the our network. “As we did on the BMC’s evictions of can do, is that (which) we reports people were saying in The Bahamas, we had delinquent homeowners

of low-cost homes, especially in comparison to the government’s pause on shantytown evictions.

“We are always about being humane in whatever we do, but that humanity extends to everybody, including those who are indigenous Bahamians.

Let me say…it is my hope that those (who) have been given the extent of leniency in terms of paying their mortgages, if it is that some of them have fallen on hard times, I know that some kind of communication would have taken place, and I hope that eviction has been the last resort.

“It is our hope as a Christian Council. And so the council is mindful of it.

We’ve gotten one report that we’re concerned about, someone is reporting that they were seven years away from completing their mortgage and if that is true, we’ve already kind of said some consideration should have been given, that if you’re seven years away from completing your mortgage and, we have no way of saying that you were a good customer, but if you were a good customer, we would have hoped that some kind of leniency would have been done.”

Regarding the Baptist celebrations, Dr Phillip McPhee said last night, the denomination met with Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling. He added on Friday night, the denomination’s first inaugural presidential ball will be held at the William Thompson Auditorium. Over 700 people are set to attend.

On Sunday, the Baptist parade will take place, starting on Wulff Road and ending at R M Bailey Park. Dr McPhee noted the parade is expected to have over 25,000 participants.

PAGE 10, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BAIC $150,000 theft claim ‘a bold-faced lie’ THE Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation has shot down rumours that $150,000 was stolen from the corporation, saying the allegation is a “bold-faced lie”.

“We wish to emphatically state that the allegation is a bold-faced lie and without any foundation or merit,” BAIC noted in a press release.

“It saddens us that a person or persons are prepared to go to great lengths to create and cause mischief regarding the corporation and to purposefully, intentionally and without any

THE BAHAMAS Agricultural and Industrial Corporation. basis at all, malign the chairman and board mememployees of the cor- bers of the corporation and poration, the executive the entity itself, especially

regarding a serious criminal allegation.

“The corporation does not take lightly the criminal allegation made against it. We ask the person or persons responsible to desist forthwith, and we totally reject all such allegations.”

Earlier this week, local website Bahamas Press claimed $150,000 was “missing” from BAIC’s farmer’s market but did not provide any proof. The website alleged “the profit and loss paperwork” had failed to be handed over to the minister responsible.

BLAZE RIPS THROUGH MINISTRY WAREHOUSE

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Repo rter madderley@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Education’s warehouse unit on University Drive was completely destroyed in a blaze late Tuesday night.

This inferno was the second major fire in the nation’s capital in a 12-hour period.

Education Minister Jeff Lloyd told Parliament that despite the presence of multiple fire units and the assistance of himself and other senior personnel in the Ministries of Education and Youth, Sports, and Culture, officers confirmed yesterday morning the building could not be saved.

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Fire Services director, Chief Superintendent Walter Evans reported to the media that a fire had broken out at the warehouse.

During his address, Mr Lloyd said the fire department received a call about the blaze at 11.25pm on Tuesday.

“Initially three fire units were dispatched,” Mr Lloyd continued. “Upon their arrival, heavy smoke and flames emanated from the building. Director Walter Evans of the Fire Department contacted the airport fire crew, dispatching an additional truck to render assistance.

“Upon their arrival, visibility in the building proved difficult, as well as difficulty engaging access to all areas of that building.”

Mr Lloyd added equipment such as the jaws of life had to be used to gain entry to the building. A “large number” of paper material, including files and office supplies, were already “engulfed in flames,” the education minster reported.

“Because of the set-up of the warehouse and the chain link fencing of the interior, it proved difficult to extinguish the multiple seats of fire.

“Shortly before 5am this morning (Wednesday),

myself and many other senior personnel in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture came to assist in the extinguishing of that fire,” Mr Lloyd continued.

“This morning, at 9.30 the fire continued to burn, however, it was determined by Senior Officer Knowles on the scene the that the building and its contents were completely destroyed.”

Roughly 12 hours prior, a massive fire broke out at John Chea #8 on Carmichael Road. CSP Evans said police were informed shortly before 11am on Tuesday and responding officers met a massive blaze emanating from the rear of the food store.

Two women were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. CSP Evans could not confirm whether they were store employees but noted they were conscious when transported to the hospital.

He added all available units in New Providence were called to that scene, as well as a truck from the airport Crash and Rescue Department. A portion of Carmichael Road from Gladstone Road to Golden Isles Road had to be closed as officers fought the blaze.

In addition to windy conditions aiding the spread of the fire, fire-trucks had to go to nearby fire hydrants to replenish their water supply, CSP Evans said.

He also told reporters that it was too early to tell what caused the fire.

On Saturday, a transformer at the Sea Grape Shopping Centre exploded and resulted in a minor fire. Operations at several stores in the plaza were temporarily halted late Saturday night. There were no injuries.

The previous Saturday, October 7, four government vehicles parked at a Department of Labour building on Carmichael Road caught fire. Police said arson is suspected in the case. There were no reported injuries.

SURINAM MEN ARRESTED AFTER COCAINE FOUND

By RIEL MAJOR TWO Surinamese men were arrested at Lynden Pindling International Airport on Tuesday for transporting suspected drugs in their bodies.

Police said the seizure occurred shortly after 2pm on Tuesday when the suspects arrived on an international flight at LPIA. Drug Enforcement Unit officers suspected the men were drug mules. They were taken to hospital, given an X-ray, and several

packages of cocaine were found inside them. The men are currently under heavy police guard at the hospital.

Additionally, DEU officers seized an AR-15 assault riffle, a .380 pistol and 32 rounds of ammunition.

Shortly after 6.30pm on Tuesday, DEU officers were patrolling Excellence Estates when they saw a man bending down nearby bushes. The man then saw the officers and fled the scene in a black vehicle.

Investigations are ongoing in all matters.

WOMAN HELD AFTER DRUGS DISCOVERED IN FOOD PLATE A WOMAN has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services concealed in a plate of food.

Police said shortly before 10am yesterday, a woman went to the correctional facility to take food to an inmate. Correctional officers examined the food and

found marijuana inside.

The woman was arrested and is expected to be formally charged this week. A similar incident occurred last month, when another woman was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the Fox Hill facility in a plate of food brought for an inmate. She has since been arraigned.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 11

BAMSI students dive against debris FOR many people marine debris is out of sight, out of mind.

Thankfully however, divers have the unique ability to bring to the surface what is going on beneath the waves and this is exactly what the student dive team of the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Institute (BAMSI) has been engaging in over the past few weeks. The project is part of a global initiative called ‘Dive Against Debris’ which was first launched in 2011

by Project AWARE. The dive team, accompanied by Dr Vallierre Deleveaux, head of BAMSI’s marine science division and a PADI open water scuba instructor, removed debris from Captain Bill’s Blue Hole located in Blue Holes National Park in Central Andros. As a popular tourist attraction on the island, the team felt it was important for the community to present the best possible image. At the end of the day the team

collected nearly 80 pounds of garbage and debris from the blue hole.

Also working with the dive team – who are all open water and advanced open water certified - was a student snorkel team who provided surface support by collecting the debris-filled mesh bags from divers at the surface.

The clean-up removed several bags of debris, totalling 250 articles. The largest offenders in terms of materials included glass, aluminium products and plastics. Beer bottles and cans formed the vast majority of these articles.

The main objective of the cleanup initiative and similar projects that BAMSI’s student affairs division is planning, to raise awareness and educate the students and the community at large about the importance of keeping the island’s environment clean.

A second Dive Against Debris was conducted with a small dive team

under the supervision of Dr V Deleveaux on October 3 at Uncle Charlie’s Blue Hole in North Andros. The site showed promise as marine debris pollution was found to be minimal within the blue hole. Further, the site had healthy aquatic fauna with a population of crabs and a blind fish species being present. The aquatic site exhibited relatively little anthropogenic impacts when compared to the first dive site.

‘Dive Against Debris’ involves two parts: debris removal and reporting. Removing rubbish improves the underwater habitat while reporting any findings helps reveal the extent of the global marine debris crisis.

Without debris data, scientists and conservationists cannot advocate for change. Since its initial launch, more than 30,000 divers in 50 plus countries have geared up to protect the ocean and the creatures who live there.

PAGE 12, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE CUBAN percussuionist Jose Cordova and Ismara Vargas Walter visit GHS yesterday.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Cuban expert goes back to school

By RIEL MAJOR

A CUBAN percussionist visited Government High School yesterday to participate in an art and music initiative.

Jose Cordova had the opportunity to listen to 13 students in grades 11 and 12 of the Government High band perform a Bahamian song in Junkanoo style. He also played the drums along with the students and taught them about rhythms used in Cuban music.

Mr Cordova said: “I believe that all of us are percussionist from birth.

You are born with percussion and you will die with percussion.

“I’ve been around various parts of the world and I was doing research

about percussion and this is the second time I’ve been to the Bahamas. In all of the years I’ve been traveling, this is the one of the cultures’ rhythms I love.”

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture worked with the Cuban embassy to set up the visit.

Rowena Poitier Sutherland, director of culture at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, said: “Today this experience is marrying both culture and youth and it’s important that we celebrate our artist that…that we celebrate professionalism.

“We celebrate our access to the international world our sisters and brothers in the region in Cuba and to tap into that and so it’s an amazing

opportunity the Cuban embassy has extended to our Bahamian students that they have this opportunity to work side by side with these industry professionals.

“We need to educate them on the importance of not just being a free artist but how to become a professional in the industry and how to generate income from the industry and also that it is possible and that other people do it around the world.

“So I think it’s the utmost important for us to celebrate that for us to recognise that and so that’s what I think my presence here is doing as well. Just putting that feel of approval and stamp of validation on such an industry.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Murder charge is dropped

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net JUST over three months after a 20-year-old man was arraigned on charges of murder and attempted murder, prosecutors yesterday produced a written directive from the Office of the Attorney General requesting the more serious charge not be pursued.

Matthew Knowles, of Sunshine Park, was due to return to court on November 14 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

He was accused of murdering 65-year-old Errol

Williams, a security guard at AF Adderley Junior High school while he was on duty on June 12.

Williams was accosted and then attacked by two armed assailants.

Police said at some point during this interaction, Williams was shot in his body and died at the scene.

The nolle prosequi was presented by police prosecutor ASP Barrington Miller.

The decision was conveyed to Knowles by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, who informed him the announced course of action was unusual at this stage of the case.

Additionally, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told Knowles to view the directive as a gift from God; telling him he should be grateful and give thanks for the outcome.

However, despite the good news, Knowles informed the court he was still awaiting service of a VBI in his attempted murder case.

“They put two on me,” he told Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt, “I have to come back.”

Knowles now stands accused only of the attempted murder of Travis Roker on June 17.

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 13

MATTHEW Knowles at an earlier court appearance.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PAGE 14, Thursday, October 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

POLICE SEARCH SAUDI CONSUL’S HOME ISTANBUL Associated Press TURKISH crime-scene investigators searched the home of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul yesterday in the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, and a pro-government newspaper published a gruesome account of the journalist’s alleged slaying.

As Saudi Arabia’s green national flag flapped overhead, forensics teams entered the residence, only two kilometres from the consulate where Khashoggi vanished on Oct 2 while trying to pick up paperwork to get married. It was the second-such extraordinary search of a site considered under international law to be sovereign Saudi territory after investigators spent hours in the consulate earlier this week.

The account published in the Yeni Safak newspaper alleged that Saudi officials cut off Khashoggi’s fingers and then decapitated him at the consulate as his fiancée waited outside.

The searches and the leaks in Turkish media have ensured the world’s attention remains focused on what happened to Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who went into a self-imposed exile in the US over the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It also put further strains on the relationship between the kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, and its main security guarantor, the United States.

Flying back home after a visit to both Saudi Arabia and Turkey, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remained positive about an ongoing Saudi probe into Khashoggi’s disappearance, but he stressed that answers are needed.

“Sooner’s better than later for everyone,” Pompeo said.

POLICEMEN stand near the vocational college, in Kerch, Crimea, where a student went on the rampage.

Student kills 19 and wounds 50 in Crimea school attack MOSCOW Associated Press AN 18-year-old student strode into his vocational school in Crimea yesterday, a hoodie covering his blond hair, then pulled out a shotgun and opened fire, killing 19 students and wounding more than 50 others before killing himself.

It wasn’t clear what prompted Vladislav Roslyakov, described as a shy loner, to go on the rampage.

A security camera image carried

by Russian media showed him calmly walking down the stairs of the school in the Black Sea city of Kerch, the shotgun in his gloved hand.

“He was walking around and shooting students and teachers in cold blood,” said Sergei Aksyonov, the regional leader in Crimea.

Officials said the fourth-year student killed himself in the library of the Kerch Polytechnic College after the attack. His mother, a nurse, was helping to treat victims at a local hospital after the shootings, unaware yet that her son was accused of the rampage and was already

dead. Such school shootings are rare, and yesterday’s attack was by far the worst by a disgruntled student in Russia, which annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. The bloodbath raised questions about school security in the country; the Kerch Polytechnic College had only a front desk with no security guards.

By the end of the day, Crimean authorities said the death toll stood at 19, apparently not including the shooter. Fifty-three people were wounded, including 12 in serious condition.

It was the greatest loss of life in school violence in Russia since the Beslan terrorist attack by Chechen separatists in 2004, in which 333 people were killed during a threeday siege, many of them children, and hundreds were wounded.

The announcement that the shooter in the attack was a student who acted alone came after hours of rapidly shifting explanations as to what exactly happened at the school.

Officials at first reported a gas explosion, then said an explosive

device had ripped through the cafeteria during lunchtime in a suspected terrorist attack.

Witnesses, however, reported that victims were being killed by gunfire. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top crime investigation agency, eventually said all the victims died of gunshot wounds.

Reflecting the daylong confusion, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the victims were killed by an explosion just as the Investigative Committee was announcing they were fatally shot.

A somber-faced Putin deplored the attack as a “tragic event” and offered his condolences to the victims’ families at a news conference in the southern city of Sochi, where he was meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The Investigative Committee said the explosive device rigged with shrapnel went off in the school lunchroom and Sergei Melikov, a deputy chief of the Russian National Guard, said it was homemade. Officials later found a second explosive device and destroyed it.

It was not clear what the

explosive was, if the attacker detonated it, or how many people it wounded.

Guns are tightly restricted in Russia. Civilians can own only hunting rifles and smooth-bore shotguns and must undergo significant background checks. Roslyakov had only recently received a permit to own a shotgun and bought 150 cartridges just a few days ago, according to local officials.

Aksyonov, the regional leader in Crimea, said the gunman had been described as a shy boy who had no conflicts.

“He wasn’t aggressive, he was rather timid,” Aksyonov said, speculating that Roslyakov might have “watched some movies” that inspired him to go on the shooting spree.

Some Russian news reports said the shooter had left his backpack containing the explosive device in the cafeteria and remotely detonated it before he started shooting.

“I heard an explosion and saw glass shards and window frames falling down,” student Roman Voitenko said.

UK AND EU AGREE TO TAKE MORE TIME OVER BREXIT BRUSSELLS Associated Press EUROPEAN Union leaders gave themselves several more weeks — perhaps until the end of the year — to clinch a friendly divorce with Britain before their separation, after a Brexit summit yesterday avoided any friction but also produced no tangible results.

British Prime Minister Theresa May provided none of the substantial new proposals that EU Council chief Donald Tusk had urged her to bring to the table, giving the 27 other leaders little more than a plea for goodwill.

“The last stage will need courage, trust and leadership on both sides,” May told her EU counterparts.

Officials said there were hints that Britain might consider extending a postBrexit transition period beyond the proposed 21 months to make talks on a future trade relationship easier.

But the meeting that had been painted as a make-orbreak moment for a Brexit deal ended with a whimper.

“Nothing new tonight,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark

Rutte said after an evening when not exacerbating divisions with Britain was seen as a victory in itself.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said that “we need much time, much more time, and we continue to work in the next weeks” with his British counterpart.

So uncertain was that prospect that a special EU summit on Brexit that had been penciled in for next month to finalise a deal was taken off the table. Rutte said EU leaders would assess the situation in the coming weeks and “stand ready to meet if necessary.” The next official EU summit is scheduled for December.

Despite the lack of progress, the mood music at the summit was positive.

May spoke of “working intensively over the next days and weeks” to achieve agreement that avoids a no-deal departure from the bloc for Britain on March 29 that could create chaos at the borders and in the economy.

May addressed other EU leaders before they gathered for a dinner of pan-fried mushrooms and turbot in wheat beer — without her — to assess the state of Brexit talks.

CANADA WAKES UP ON A HIGH

JUBILANT customers stood in long lines for hours then lit up and celebrated on sidewalks yesterday as Canada became the world’s largest legal marijuana marketplace. In Toronto, people smoked joints as soon as they rolled out of bed in a big “wake and bake” celebration. In Alberta, a government website that sells pot crashed when too many people tried to place orders. Ian Power was first in line at a store in St John’s, Newfoundland but didn’t plan to smoke the one gram he bought after midnight. “I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall,” the 46-year-old Power said.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 18, 2018, PAGE 15

Medics to hold meeting in GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Bahama Medical & Dental Association will holds its 18th annual Scientific Educational Conference in Freeport beginning today at Pelican Bay Resort.

The theme for the twoday event is: ‘Universal Health: United to Fulfil the Vision.’ Each year the conference brings doctors and specialists from around the world to share cutting edge procedures in various medical specialties.

Renowned paediatric cardiac surgeon, Dr Immanuel Turner of Miami, Florida, is expected to attend the conference and will be making a presentation on adult congenital heart disease (ACHD).

Dr Turner is also a congenital heart surgery specialist at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in South Florida.

It was noted that the incidences of ACHD have been critically growing lately.

Dr Turner is expected to share studies in theories surrounding this fact,

and why there has been an increase in congenital heart disease in the adult population. He will also share some of the best results and outcomes he has had with his patients.

“I feel very enthusiastic about this visit to the beautiful Bahamas. It is always a great experience being able to share the patient’s outcomes with our colleagues,” Dr Turner said.

According to reports, congenital heart disease affects eight to ten of every 1,000 children in the world.

Some of these cases are easily detected at birth, but sometimes the symptoms do not begin to appear until the later years, resulting in a high risk heart condition for adults, including congenital valve defects, atrial and ventricular septal defects and many others.

Dr Vincent Burton, president of the GBMDA, said the association’s objective is to provide improvement of health care in Grand Bahama, the promotion of healthy lifestyles in the community, and the continuing medical education of members.