10182022 NEWS, SPORT, FEATURES AND BUSINESS

Tender & Juicy McNuggets

Advocacy groups: We have spoken out for years on marital rape

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL Advocacy groups yesterday pushed back against assertions by press secretary Clint Watson that they have been “quiet” on marital rape, arguing that their advo cacy to criminalise spousal sexual abuse spans over several years.

Mr Watson’s views on the matter appear to be in stark contrast to that of Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis who told reporters

yesterday that he has heard the cries of all advocacy groups.

Meanwhile, Equality Bahamas founder Alicia Wallace told The Trib une yesterday: “We have been vocal, we have been bold, and we have been consistent.

“We are indefatigable. The #Strike5ive campaign by Equality Bahamas was launched in 2020, continu ing years of advocacy for the criminalisation of mari tal rape.”

PM ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BUT WILL SPEAK TO RETAILERS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis said he was “disappointed” to learn of some of the actions that retailers could take in response to new control measures.

The prime minister was asked to respond to talks of retailers threatening to

lay off some people and/ or pulling items from the shelves.

He answered: “I am dis appointed in those things and I’m not going to address that. I will speak to them and hear what they say and we’ll see what hap pens from there.”

Mr Davis previously revealed that 38 new items

And Best!

CONSULTANT WARNS OF SMALL BUSINESS JOB CUTS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

BAHAMIAN small busi nesses have “come too far” to close down, said con sultant Mark A Turnquest

yesterday - but he warned many will likely restructure in early 2023 due to escalat ing cost pressures, bringing salary cuts and the prospect of job losses.

INSURER ‘PRAYING’ FOR END TO CONSTANT DOWNGRADES

The

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

‘GANGS IN TALKS’ TO CURB VIOLENCE

By JADE RUSSELL

PASTOR Carlos

to the

istry of National Security, said officials have been doing consistent mediation between rival gangs amid heightened violence in the country.

The murder count

recent

with

she believed her daughter was an unintended target of rival gangs.

Tackling gang vio lence has been a specific focus of the Ministry of National Security in the fight against crime, offi cials have said.

who

of a 22-year-old

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Pastor Reid said they have been doing a number of differ ent mediations in efforts to combat the violence.

FACE TO FACE: BLINDNESS NO BARRIER TO ERVENS WHEN IT COMES TO FAMILY

Nassau

MINISTER of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville welcomes the arrival of the monkeypox vaccine yesterday - although The Baha mas has had no serious impact from the outbreak so far. Dr Darville also warned of a drop in overall vaccination rates. See PAGE TWO for the full story.

Photo: Austin Fernander

ROYALSTAR

PASTOR Carlos Reid.

PRESS secretary Clint Watson

STUDENTS: END THIS DISCRIMINATION SO WE CAN WORK IN THE BAHAMAS

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN medical students studying in Cuba have called for an end to “discriminatory prac tices” that have made it difficult for them to be employed in The Bahamas.

Earlier this month, Bahamas Ambassador to Cuba Dr Elliston Rahming hosted a group of Baha mian medical students attending Escuela Latino Americana de Medicina (ELAM Medical School) in Havana.

The students raised con cerns about the “apparent bias” within the country’s medical field against Cuban-trained Bahamian doctors.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville yesterday acknowledged the medical students’ concerns, saying he plans to meet up with the students at some point very soon.

“I don’t really understand the whole circumstances around it, but I did reach out to our ambassador in Cuba.

“I plan to have a meeting with them because I’m scheduled to leave for Havana tomorrow that is a part of my agenda.

“Of course, they are medical stu dents studying abroad and I need to listen to their concerns and ulti mately come up with a strategy to assist any Bahamian studying in any country.”

The minister’s comments fol lowed the students expressing their displeasure regarding how they’ve been treated.

“The future physicians raised a number of concerns with Ambassa dor Rahming, uppermost of which was the apparent bias within the medical profession in The Baha mas against Cuba-trained Bahamian doctors,” a recent press statement from the Embassy of The Bahamas in Havana said.

“According to a recent publica tion, one of the greatest paradoxes in Cuba is how a country in which the average monthly wage is $40 can keep its population as healthy as those of developed nations.

“The article posits that the main reason for this accomplishment is Cuba’s ability to provide welltrained, quality doctors.”

Students questioned why it was so difficult for Bahamian medical graduates from Cuban universities to find employment in The Baha mas. Especially if Cuban nationals are recruited to work in The Baha mas despite them having the same training and schooling as Baha mian students who also studied in Cuba.

“Students also pointed out to the number of foreign physicians employed in The Bahamas who attended medical school in their respective countries. It is believed that they too are allowed to prac tice medicine in The Bahamas without any additional test or training. Bahamian medical stu dents say they simply want a level playing field.

“Cuba’s extensive medical out reach programme now boasts over 40,000 medical professionals in some seventy-seven countries,” the statement also said.

Monkeypox vaccine arrives - and rollout coming shortly

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH officials said that there has been a decrease in the uptake of all vaccine types, amid the arrival of 1,400 monkeypox vaccines at the Lynden Pindling International Airport yesterday.

Shortly after 3pm, health officials, includ ing Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville, gathered on the tarmac at LPIA to receive the doses of the vaccine, which were acquired through PAHO’s revolving fund.

The vaccines, which were requested ear lier this year, arrived in the capital on British Airways and will be taken to an appropriate storage unit.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Dr Darville said. “I had an idea when it was coming but we wanted to make sure and today on British Airways, the vaccine is here.”

“We would like to thank the Pan Ameri can Health Organisation, our partners, to ensure we have the monkeypox vaccine in the country.

“The vaccine will be moved from here to the proper storage site and our teams will be responsible to administer to the high risk groups and individuals that may have been exposed,” Dr Darville said.

“On behalf of the government, we’d like to thank PAHO and the entire team at the Ministry of Health who worked assiduously to ensure that these vaccines arrived in the country.”

Though Dr Darville did not reveal a date for the official rollout of the vaccines, he said the high risk groups will receive doses “very shortly”.

“The official roll out will begin very shortly. We have a strategy on how it’s going to be uti lised and we would notify the media exactly how we would roll it out. We have our vacci nation consultative committee, which also will play an intricate role, along with our team.

“When we talk about high risk groups we talk about people who might have been potentially exposed. We also have other

groups that we believe may be at high risk. This is not like COVID, where everyone needs to be vaccinated. It is basically those groups that are at high risk.”

When asked if there will be another batch of the monkeypox vaccine doses in the future, Dr Darvile said, “We are back in negotiations with PAHO and that possibility exists. That final decision will have to be made along with our entire team. But we are definitely looking at the second batch.”

Meanwhile, Dr Cherita Moxey, Ministry of Health’s acting chief medical officer and coor dinator said as with the paediatric doses of the COVID 19 vaccine, which arrived in The Bahamas several weeks ago, the monkeypox vaccines indicate a step in the right direction.

“Like the monkeypox vaccine, its (paediat ric doses of the Covid 19 vaccine) arrival here in The Bahamas indicates that the Ministry of Health has taken a very proactive step. There was a lot of demand in the public space for these vaccines,” she said.

“Unfortunately we have not seen the realisation of that demand at our COVID vaccination centres. Right now we’re seeing a percentage of less than one percent of that particular population vaccinated.

“Not only the COVID-19 vaccines, I also want to speak to the fact that we’ve had a decrease in uptake for all vaccine types that are on our national immunisation schedule. So, we really want to encourage persons to get vaccinated for COVID 19, but (also) for the other vaccine preventable diseases that are out there.”

Last month, Dr Marcos Espinal, PAHO’s interim assistant director revealed that batches of monkeypox vaccines are on the way for countries as part of their revolving fund.

PAHO director Dr Carissa F Etienne also said that monkeypox was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in July and the region is now home to the “high est burden of monkeypox cases worldwide”.

In July, paediatric doses of the COVID19 vaccine, for children aged five to 11 years arrived in The Bahamas.

Dr Darville said the paediatric vaccinations would be voluntary and not mandatory.

BAHAMAS 15TH IN REGION FOR COVID-19 DEATHS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Pan American Health Organisation’s Health in the Americas country profile has revealed The Bahamas ranked 15th in the region for the number of COVID-19 released deaths from 2020 and 2021.

That is a cumulative 1,781 deaths per million popu lation over the two years under consideration.

The data showed that in 2021 The Bahamas was behind the United States, which was ranked 14th.

Currently, The Bahamas is ranked 32nd with 259.73 deaths per million popula tion in the selected period in 2022.

The Bahamas peaked ahead of other countries with larger populations in 2021 - Canada ranked 42nd; Mexico ranked 17th; Bar bados ranked 27th, Jamaica ranked 32nd; Guyana ranked 21st.

Peru ranked first for both 2020 and 2021.

PAHO’s country profile for The Bahamas added: “According to estimates by the World Health Organisa tion, there was a total of 334

excess deaths in 2020, or 85 per 100,000 population; a total of 667 deaths were estimated in 2021, for an excess mortality rate of 168 per 100,000.”

The country also had 955 confirmed cases of COVID19 and 14 deaths among health personnel between January 2020 to 30 Novem ber 2021.

This figure is higher than that of Jamaica, which has 861 cases and four deaths, and Haiti, with 781 cases and three deaths.

The organisation noted the latest available data is from 30 October 2021 for three countries as well as others.

Meanwhile, the coun try profile analysed other aspects of the general health, population, and difficulties The Bahamas faced.

Life expectancy at birth was 74.2 years in 2021 — lower than the average for the Region of the Americas and 3.2 years higher than in 2000, according to the report.

“In 2000, the total popu lation of The Bahamas was 325,014 inhabitants; by 2021 this figure had risen to 407 906, representing a 25.5 percent increase. Regarding

the country’s demographic profile, in 2021 people over 65 years of age accounted for 8.6 percent of the total population, an increase of 3.6 percentage points com pared to the year 2000.

“In 2021, there were 109.2 women per 100 men and 43.7 older people (65 years or older) per 100 children under 15 years of age, as can be seen in the country’s population pyra mids, distributed by age group and sex. Consider ing the population between 15 and 64 years of age to be potentially active (i.e., potential participants in the labour force), this group represented 71.8 percent of the total population of the country in 2020 (292,916 people).

“When these figures are added to the potentially passive population (80 042 under 15 years of age and 34 949 over 65 years of age), the result is a dependency ratio of 39.3 potentially passive people per 100 potentially active people. This ratio was 53.6 in 2000.”

The report also said that in 2019 the adjusted rate of potentially avoidable pre mature mortality in The Bahamas was 324.5 deaths per 100,000 population

- a decrease of 26.9 percent from a rate of 443.9 in 2000.

“This meant that, in 2019, the rate in the country was 43.1 percent higher than the average rate reported for the Region of the Americas as a whole. Among poten tially avoidable premature mortality, the rate for pre ventable causes was 171.5 per 100 000 population in 2019, which is 25.1 percent higher than the regional average rate; and the rate for treatable causes was 153 per 100,000 population, above the regional average of 89.6. The overall ageadjusted mortality rate was 7 per 1000 population in 2019, a decrease of 12.5 per cent compared to 2000 (8 deaths per 1000 popula tion),” the profile explained.

When deaths are cat egorised into three main groups, it is observed that, in 2019, the age-adjusted mortality rate from com municable diseases was 74.9 per 100 000 popula tion (90.6 per 100 000 in men and 61.2 per 100 000 in women), while the ageadjusted mortality rate from noncommunicable diseases was 525.4 per 100 000 popu lation (623.8 per 100 000 in men and 446.5 per 100 000 in women).”

“The rate of age-adjusted mortality from external causes was 91.8 per 100 000 population (148.8 per 100 000 in men and 39.1 per 100 000 in women), includ ing road traffic accidents (7.4 per 100 000 popula tion), homicides (36.4 per 100 000 population) and suicides (3.4 per 100 000 population). In 2000, the percentage distribution of causes was 60.1 percent for non-communicable diseases, 29.2 percent for communicable diseases, and 10.8 percent for exter nal causes; in 2019, the percentages were 75.4 per cent, 10.7 percent, and 13.9 percent, respectively.”

Between 2000 and 2019, infant mortality in The Bahamas increased from 14.8 to 19.4 deaths per 1000 live births, an increase of 31.1 percent.

The country profile also highlighted challenges related to population health, mentioning The Bahamas population is aging, and the pace of this aging is predicted to increase.

“In 1980, the proportion of The Bahamas popula tion aged 65 and older was 4.1 percent. This proportion increased to an estimated

7.7 percent by 2020, and is predicted to rise to 19.9 per cent by 2060. This future 40-year increase of 12.1 percentage points is above the regional average for the Caribbean of 10.7 percent age points, but below the average for the Americas of 13.7 percentage points,” the profile read.

“This demographic transition is in part due to important progress in reducing the burden of infectious diseases. In 2000, HIV/AIDS was the main cause of death and dis ability in The Bahamas, accounting for 14 percent of all healthy life lost.”

“By 2019, this burden had been reduced by twothirds, to 4.8 percent of all healthy life lost. Cardio vascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes in 2019 were the top three causes of death and disability, collec tively accounting for 38.4 percent of all healthy life lost. The burden of selfharm and violence, and unintentional injuries col lectively accounted for 11.8 percent of all healthy life lost in 2019, a rise of onethird since 2000. Solutions to each of these challenges require multi-sectoral cooperation.”

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville with Dr Eldonna

Boisson of PAHO/WHO as the monkeypox vaccines arrive.

Photos: Austin Fernander

THE MONKEYPOX vaccine delivery yesterday.

‘You’re wrong, Mr Watson’

“It was relaunched, com plete with new graphics and clear demands, including the amendment of Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act to remove ‘who is not his spouse’ from the definition of rape, the repeal of Sec tion 15, and the inclusion of a statutory definition of consent.

“All three of these appear in the amendment bill, and this is not a coin cidence. It is a result of our fierce advocacy and clarity of message.”

Ms Wallace was respond ing to press secretary Clint Watson’s comments on Friday about local advo cacy groups not being vocal enough regarding the con troversial topic.

“A lot of the groups are quiet,” he said during the weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Min ister. “A lot of the activist groups and the groups that protect women, where are your voices?

“This is now where your time is to come forward to express your concern and your view and to advocate to present proposals of leg islation to do it.”

Mr Watson also cred ited members of the media for bringing attention to the issue, saying “we have heard this issue from media representatives, reporters but not organisations.

“We need the advocacy groups and the people who represent women to come forward and say this is what we want, present their views and it will happen,” he also said.

“The cries of the organi sations are what’s missing, not the reporters who are asking the questions every week, but the people who actually protect women and work with women, silence,” he continued.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said that he has heard the cries of all advocacy groups.

“I have been hearing voices from all groupings,” he said when asked whether he felt activists have been advocating enough for mar ital rape.

“And I think that the voices of our females and organisations are necessary. It helps shape and form public policy and I con tinue to expect to hear from them.”

In a statement sent to The Tribune, Ms Wallace condemned Mr Watson’s remarks and called on him to do his research before making such bold “inaccu rate” statements.

“Watson’s comments are indicative of the gov ernment’s failure to not only meaningfully engage NGOs, but to pay attention to NGO statements and activities which are regu larly communicated in the media,” Ms Wallace added.

“Perhaps the govern ment needs to reduce its massive travel budget since key officials are incapable of keeping track of national news and public discourse while abroad. That money needs to be allocated to the establishment of a National Human Rights Institute which would be responsible for human rights educa tion, engaging stakeholders, raising awareness of State

‘GANGS IN TALKS’ TO CURB VIOLENCE

“We have been doing some consistent mediation, particularly some of these wars that have sprung up. And, like I said, once we get violence interrupters rolling, I think we could be more effective with it,” he said.

Pastor Reid explained a lot of factors lead to young people choosing or being thrust into a life of crime.

“But when we look at crime, we got so many mitigating circumstances surrounding it. A lot of our young people, when they come out of school, they’re ill equipped to be able to make a living for them selves, to be able to provide for themselves, or have the right kind of job to be able to take care of themselves.

“Because we have a lot of students that are coming out of school with zeropoint averages. We just push them through the system. I believe one of our challenges is that we need to be able to look at the system.”

Pastor Reid suggested

adjustments can be made to provide students who may not be academically inclined with alternatives to assist in their development, such as trade programmes.

Recently, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said from his standpoint the country was facing a crime crisis.

Asked about this, Pastor Reid said: “We are defi nitely in a crime crisis.”

He stressed that it is time for the country to be “proactive” rather than “reactive” in its response to the high frequency of vio lence occurring.

“I believe the way for ward is to be proactive, to put some things in place that would make sure that even though we are in this crisis, that this is not a crisis that we plan to be in forever.”

Although the gov ernment’s “violence interrupters” initiative has not officially been launched yet, Pastor Reid noted that he with others are still working actively to tackle crime.

He added: “Crime is eve rybody’s problem because

PM ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BUT WILL SPEAK TO RETAILERS

meeting with retailers.

has also sent communica tions to the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, and only secured an invita tion one week before the so-called consultation.

“We have engaged directly with the government, we have com municated publicly through the press, and we have held numerous public events on this issue. We urge Clint Watson to do his research, communicate with the rel evant government officials, and speak with integrity, giving accurate informa tion. There is no excuse for this kind of disinformation, and that it comes from the press secretary is damning.”

Marital rape is cur rently not a crime in The Bahamas, however there have been renewed calls for the Davis administra tion to address this gap in legislation.

Last month, the gov ernment released for consultation a draft amendment to the Sexual Offences Act that seeks to criminalise marital rape and redefine what consent is.

obligations, and monitoring progress.

She was also supported by Terneille Burrows, of Rise Bahamas, who said she did not agree with Mr Wat son’s comments and could personally vouch for the work done by activists con cerning the issue.

Meanwhile, Ms Wallace said that “if Watson wants to talk about silence”, the organisation would be more

than happy to speak to its efforts over the years to have the issue addressed through legislative means.

“Equality Bahamas can share the dates on several emails to the Attorney General’s office, specifi cally requesting the bill and inclusion in consultation processes, sent this year that received no response for months.

“Equality Bahamas

“We demand a proper consultation - not a plat form for misogynistic religious leaders and rapists to spew hateful nonsenseon the details of the bill,” Ms Wallace continued.

“That we need to crimi nalise marital rape is not debatable and should never have been presented as an issue with two sides.

“It is an issue of human rights and the obligation of the state to protect us all from violence in all forms and from all people, irre spective of relationships.”

will be subject to price controls.

There have been reports that food stores through out the country were said to be “up in arms” over the details of the government’s expanded price control regime amid fears it will “devastate” the industry and jobs for hundreds of workers.

There were calls from prominent grocer Rupert Roberts that price controls be done away with.

Mr Davis was to have a

As for what he will say to them, the prime minister told reporters he was look ing for them to partner with him to bring “relief to our people”.

“The government has been carrying a lot to ensure that not much burden – and we have gone as far as we can,” he said.

“And we’re looking for people to partner with us, wholesalers, and I trust that we’ll be able to per suade them to understand what is happening and why we need to do what we’re going to do.”

it affects all of us. I believe that we are at a point in our country, where we cannot afford to sit back and see what the government is going to do, what the school is going to do, what the police is going to do, what the church is going to do, but each one of us needs to get involved.”

The highest murder count the country has ever recorded was 146 in 2015.

PRESS secretary Clint Watson.

MAN SHOT DURING ALLEGED ROBBERY WAS ‘DECENT PERSON’

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE 38-year-old man who was fatally shot by an off duty police officer after allegedly trying to rob a woman of her car was yes terday described as an “awesome father” of eight and a “decent person”.

Jonelle Rahming, who shares a special needs son with the victim - Jamal Chino James Armbris ter - told The Tribune she

had concerns about the reported circumstances under which he died.

Armbrister, who police said was being electroni cally monitored and on bail for murder, was shot in an alleged botched armed rob bery attempt.

Police said on Saturday shortly after 8pm a woman who had just arrived at her residence on Barbados Avenue, Elizabeth Estates, was approached by a man armed with a handgun, who

CONCERN OVER OFFENCES WHILE ON ANKLE MONITORS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minis ter Wayne Munroe said officials are concerned about the high number of persons committing offences, while they are being electronically monitored.

According to Mr Munroe the ankle monitoring bracelet’s primary purpose is to provide the locations of the indi vidual as they are GPS located and depending on the conditions of their bail, the ankle monitoring bracelets have curfews.

“The monitor just monitors where you are, it does not monitor your mind,” Mr Munroe told reporters on the sideline of a press conference at the Ministry of National Security yesterday.

“So, if somebody is robbed, and we find that there’s somebody who looks to be at the exact spot at the time the robbery was taking place, that’s a fairly good suspect,” he added.

Since December of last year, Metro Security Solutions has been responsible for the monitoring devices.

Previously, Migrafill Security Group held the contract.

When asked by reporters the number of people being monitored, Mr Munroe said he had not been briefed on that information.

Mr Munroe said he is to schedule a meeting with the Director of Public Prosecutions in view of the recent trends of persons committing offences and being victims of crime while being monitored.

He also pointed out that at one point more than 50 percent of persons out on bail for murder were the subjects of murders in the country.

“The issue is the high incidence of persons committing offences while they are monitored and on bail and the high incidence of people who are being the victims of murders themselves. That is a concern for us, “he said yesterday.

One murder victim was a 38-year-old man being electronically monitored and on bail for murder. He was shot dead on Saturday after he allegedly attempted to rob a woman of her car, according to police.

Another was earlier this month when a 40-year-old man, who was shot and killed at a farmer’s market on Baillou Hill Road South, was said to be on bail for a serious offence at the time of his murder.

Last month, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said police recently charged 38 men who were on bail for serious crimes and who were being monitored for breaching their bail conditions.

He said many suspects on bail for serious crimes intentionally fail to charge their electronic monitoring devices so as to commit more crimes.

demanded the keys to her vehicle.

The woman screamed, alerting her husband, an off-duty police officer.

The off-duty officer con fronted the armed man and while attempting to disarm him, the 38-year-old was fatally shot. His weapon was confiscated by police.

According to Ms Rah ming, Armbrister was a father of eight who took care of all of his children.

“Jamal had eight

children,” Ms Rahming said. “Three of them are boys, the rest are girls and he took really good care of those children.

“My son is his oldest. My son is 21. I think his baby is five or six, but my son is the eldest child and my son is right now partially para lyzed and he (Jamal) took really good care of him as well. He was a really really decent person,” she said.

“Jamal was an awesome person. He loved Junkanoo.

He was one of the lead bass drummers in the Valley Boys. He loved Junkanoo. He literally loved Junka noo,” Ms Rahming added.

However, she said she felt there was more to the inci dent that took his life than what has been reported.

“All the talks, I feel like they literally lied on him, because Jamal is not that type of person to be honest with you. I feel like some thing else happened,” she said.

“Yes, he had some faults, because he was caught up with the wrong crowd and got accused of a murder that somebody else did. And he wasn’t even in the vicinity and he ended up getting locked up.

“But he only spent two months (in prison). So, that goes to show, I’m sure that when you don’t have no evidence against somebody they would let you out quick on bail or whatever.”

CARICOM MEETING DISCUSSES HAITI SITUATION

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MEETING between CARICOM officials and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was set to take place last night concerning ongoing issues in Haiti as it continues to grapple with crime, political and economic problems.

Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell confirmed the meeting in an interview with reporters yesterday afternoon.

This comes after he revealed on Friday that The Bahamas may be called to be a part of a United Nations multinational force in response to growing social unrest in Haiti.

Haitian officials have recently requested interna tional assistance to help restore security to the troubled state, which is also facing a humanitarian crisis.

Asked about this yesterday, the minister said: “The Bahamas doesn’t have an offensive capability, but it has been engaged in peacekeeping operations before. In 1994, the then prime minister dispatched, I believe, 141 Bahamian troops to Port au Prince to assist in the peacekeeping efforts there under the rubric of the United Nations.

“So, what we understand is happening now is that the United States is preparing a resolution. Perhaps the Canadian government is also involved because I have had discussions with them today to move the UN to see whether or not the UN is prepared to answer the requests of the de facto Haitian government for some support for their national police with boots on the ground.

“It’s not anywhere close to that now but the prudent thing for our own country to do is to have our forces give us advice on if we are asked for such an eventu ality, can we participate and to what extent we can participate.

“Prime Minister Davis will be meeting with his CARICOM colleagues tonight by ZOOM to further discuss the matter and we’ll try to keep the country abreast of what’s happening as things develop.”

BAHAMIAN ON BOARD AS BOAT INTERCEPTED

ALMOST 100 people, mostly from Haiti but including one Bahamian, who were rescued from an over crowded boat off the Florida coast had no food or water for two days, according to the US Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the 96 Haitians, as well as a pas senger each from Uganda and The Bahamas, about 20 miles east of Boca Raton, Florida, last week. They were transferred to Bahamian authorities on Sunday.

The passengers told Coast Guard

crew members they had been at sea for a week and lacked food and water during the last two days. The 40-foot cabin cruiser was overloaded with 53 men, 35 woman and ten children, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

No one was injured.

“Smugglers do not care whether you live or die,” said Capt. Robert Kinsey of the Coast Guard’s District Seven, citing the lack of sustenance and the overloaded vessel. “These people are lucky to be alive.”

THREE YEARS ON AND STILL NO FILES ON TURIN DEATHS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell expressed frustration with the Italian gov ernment yesterday for its continued delay to hand over the files on the investigation of the two Bahamian men who died mysteri ously in 2019.

Mr Mitchell told reporters in April that the government had requested the reports from the Italian officials.

However, to date, Bahamian officials have yet to receive them.

“Last year, I was in Italy for a conference when Italy was chair of the G20, I believe it was, (and) we met with the deputy foreign minister. The previous government had hired a private lawyer to work on our behalf. The private lawyer said that he had spoken to the traditional authorities in Italy,” Mr Mitchell told reporters.

“They had promised that within weeks of our departure that the entire file, their inves tigation would be turned over to us so that we could have our own police officers and forensic people look at the file to see if there was anything they had missed or had been re-examined.

“We have been seeking to follow that up

and it has simply not happened.”

Mr Mitchell said it’s especially annoying because it is the same countries that con stantly berate us and “beat” us with a stick.

He was likely referring to the European Union (EU) blacklisting and also suggested that the country may have to resort to “name and shame” tactics so their requests can be fulfilled.

“The reason why I’m particularly annoyed is because these countries in the EU are constantly barraging and trying to beat The Bahamas with a stick over one thing or the other that they have not produced,” he said.

“And on this very simple thing that we’re asking them, they can’t seem to get it done so we’re continuing to beat the bushes on that and so my own view is if name and shame is the game then perhaps that’s the direction we have to go in, but we want our authori ties and the families here to have a look at what the file says so that they can satisfy themselves that the investigation was in fact exhaustive and we know what happened.”

Asked if he felt that officials are not moving quickly enough because The Baha mas is a small island nation, he replied: “Well, let’s put it this way: You may remem ber that there was a case of a young woman, an American citizen who was charged with murder and who was convicted and

sentenced and the US government pushed and pushed and pushed and along with private lawyers, they were able to get a complete retrial, the thing reversed and the persons set free.

“The Bahamas, do we have the resources to do that? Don’t know but we have a voice, and my view is that the families are dissatis fied with the result. We are dissatisfied with the result. Our colleague is dead. It doesn’t make sense to us so we think we may need the opportunity to look at the file, view it in its entirety and come to our own decision as to whether the facts are as they present them.”

Bahamians Alrae Ramsey and Blair John were found dead in Italy on June 4 and June 5, 2019, respectively.

Ramsey, a 29-year-old foreign service officer on study leave in Vienna, was report edly in Turin on a break.

He and his friend, John, a 28-year-old Saint Mary’s University graduate student, were staying at a bed and breakfast estab lishment at Via la Loggia 2 in Turin.

Their bodies were discovered lifeless in the Po river in Turin.

While the autopsy reported that their deaths were likely accidental as a result of drowning, their families have rejected that explanation and are still seeking answers.

US Coast Guard law enforcement crews aiding people from an unsafe and overloaded 40-foot cabin cruiser about 20 miles off Boca Raton, Florida, on October 12.

Moxey ‘not happy’ at

GB Power fuel hike

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama Minis ter Ginger Moxey said she does not support the fuel cost hike to Grand Bahama Power Company’s custom ers, effective November 1.

Ms Moxey added it is never a good time for any type of increase, but espe cially now when “we’re trying to recover”.

“I’ve spoken about this early into our term when a request for an increase was asked at the time and my position remains the same. It’s never a good time,” she

told reporters.

“Actually, this time, there was no notice and so it makes it even more sur prising. And so again, I’m with the people of Grand Bahama, who are work ing so hard to recover from Dorian, from the pandemic. And so I’m not happy right now.”

She added: “But we will continue to work hard to provide an environment where people can really begin to recover because again, people are hurting, and we are doing every thing that we can to try to make things better.”

Meanwhile, Prime

Minister Philip “Brave” Davis stated: “We have continued to work and fight for them and hopefully relief will come soon.”

The Pineridge MP explained some of the ini tiatives on stream to help locals.

“Well, the same that was done for New Provi dence will be extended to Grand Bahama. And so that’s really what we’re doing, which is trying to find ways for people to be able to survive,” she explained.

“We’ve been taking a lot of different measures. In that regard, we’ve been

ABACO SHELTER WORK ‘IMMINENT’

MAJOR construction is set to begin “imminently” on the Abaco Hurricane Shelter and Commu nity Centre, according to Disaster Reconstruction Authority chair man Alex Storr.

During remarks to those attending the Ministry of For eign Affairs’ Diplomatic Week 2022, Mr Storr said that under his leadership the project has been revamped and relaunched completely.

The foundational footprint has also had to be reassessed and a decision made to raise the founda tion to mitigate major flooding.

Despite this, Mr Storr said the project will remain within its cur rent budget of $2m.

“One of the projects that we met stalled was the Abaco Hurricane Shelter and Community Centre,” Mr Storr told people attending the conference.

“We have since revamped and relaunched the project com pletely. We have made several amendments to the footprint of the shelter, which includes making the Centre accessible to residents who have disabilities. We have added a Porte-cochere to allow for a sheltered entrance into the centre.

“Further, based on the reassess ment of the foundational footprint the foundation will be raised to mitigate major flooding. All this while remaining within the cur rent budget of $2 million. Major construction will begin on the site imminently.”

He continued: “We intend to replicate this as the model for state-owned shelters throughout the Bahamas. We are developing the project plan to build at least 4 purpose-built shelters by 2024, on Cat Island, San Salvador, Grand Bahama, Long Island, Exuma and Eleuthera. “This purpose-built shelter project is one of the biggest items that we need your support in finding donors and partners for.”

Mr Storr also doubled down on his criticisms of how the authority was run under the former Minnis administration.

He said over the past year offi cials have worked to correct the DRA’s issues.

“Since my official appoint ment as chairman of the Disaster

PLANE GOES OFF RUNWAY

THE Air Accident Investigation Authority yesterday reported an inci dent involving a Flamingo Air Beech 99 aircraft, regis tration C6-OFM.

According to the AAIA, the incident took place at the Black Point Airport, Exuma, when the plane experienced gear failure.

Details received were that upon landing at the airport, the aircraft left the usable portion of the runway and came to a stop in bushes in the immediate vicinity.

The authority said 11 persons were on board the aircraft.

However, no injuries were reported.

A team of investigators will be dispatched to inves tigate further.

advertise

providing all sorts of relief opportunities. We’ve also personally introduced a beautiful Grand Bahama project that has employed those who haven’t worked in three years and so they’re able to provide for their families.

“We’ve extended the programme now twice and so with what’s being planned with Carnival Cruise Line, and the other developments going on, we believe that these indi viduals who will be able to move on into other job opportunities and other entrepreneurial opportuni ties, but in the meantime,

we’re doing all that we can to help for people to be able to put bread on the table.”

Dave McGregor, Car ibbean chief operating officer for Emera, Grand Bahama Power Company’s 100 percent owner, has told Tribune Business he hoped the difference in energy costs would steer inves tors towards the island and help revive its struggling economy.

“If I were to believe the numbers we’re seeing out of BPL next summer, all things being equal, we’ll be 40 percent less cost than the rest of The Bahamas,”

he asserted. “I’ve seen the numbers that BPL has pushed out for next June. If they are at 27 cents per kWh, and we’re at 12-13 kWh, that’s a huge differ ence and I hope that helps investors decide where to invest because Grand Bahama needs it.”

Asked if she felt opti mistic on that note, she answered – “I believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. And so I do feel good about that. And I hope that it continues in that direction, where it’s lower instead of increas ing. And so that’s one of the things that I can say.”

Reconstruction Authority in November 2021, my executive team and I have worked diligently to understand the various projects, successes, and failures of the Dis aster Reconstruction Authority.

“One of the first things I sought to do was to gain insight into the many projects - legacy and cur rent projects that are pending completion.

“What was clear is the Disaster Reconstruction Authority while a good thought and idea by the former administration appeared to have been grossly misman aged. From the current internal structure, the way contracts were negotiated, the apparent conflicts of interest, and the lack of com pliance and management of every project.

“We are quickly approaching one year after taking the helm of the DRA, and I am proud to say that my team and I are making steady progress. Many stated that the presence of the DRA in disas ter zones could not be felt. I don’t want to focus heavily on the past, save to say that internally we had to fix the processes, organisational structure and culture and quite frankly exit bad deals that handi capped our work.”

Back in February, Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder said it was “shameful” that there remained duties unfulfilled in storm ravaged Abaco while the former managing director of the DRA took home an “extravagant” salary.

Details of former DRA managing director Katherine Forbes-Smith’s salary came to light when she filed a lawsuit against the government for allegedly breaching her contract after her termination from the role last year.

According to a writ filed in the Supreme Court in Decem ber, Mrs Forbes-Smith is suing the DRA for $408,333.16 for that contract breach along with other allowances.

Mr Pinder, who is also Parlia mentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Avia tion, said people continue to suffer in Abaco and Grand Bahama despite the disaster of Hurricane Dorian occurring more than two years ago.

THE Water & Sewerage Corporation is this week hosting the 31st Annual Caribbean Water & Waste water Regional Conference at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island.

The event from October 17 to 31, is bringing together relevant stakeholders to discuss topics including the issues of masks and disposal of masks, plastics, and solid waste.

The theme for the event is “Recovery & Evolution – Regional Actions for Global Sustainability in the Water and Waste Sectors”.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis cutting the ribbon at the 31st Annual Caribbean Water and Wastewater Regional Conference at Atlantis last night.

Photos: Austin Fernander

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis addressing the water and sewerage conference.

MINISTER of the Environment and Natural Re sources Vaughn Miller at the conference.

What’s going on with climate change?

ADDRESSING climate change — a now ubiquitous term for the warming of the planet caused by humans emitting carbon dioxide and methane from coal, oil and natural gas into the atmosphere — is becoming exponentially more pressing, with the language of scientists, officials and activists becoming more serious with every passing year.

The most recent report by the world’s top body of climate scientists gave a damning assessment of where the world is headed if more isn’t done to curb global warming. Already, more extreme weather events are happening across the globe, from longer, more intense and more frequent droughts and heat waves to devastating floods and wetter hurricanes, attributed at least in part to climate change.

How the planet got here, the current and future effects of climate change, and what to do next, are all questions that experts have been researching for decades.

There may be an uptick in climaterelated policy, discussions and activism, but the science isn’t all that new.

Scientists in the early 1800s began to recognise that some gasses and water vapor could trap heat in the atmosphere. And for the last 60 years, researchers could definitively measure that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were rising, thanks to a CO2-monitoring sta tion at Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

Meteorologists in the middle of the twentieth century also started to under stand the climate as a “system that is dynamic, constantly changing, and per haps also vulnerable to external forcing and alteration,” said Martin Mahony, a lecturer of human geography at the Uni versity of East Anglia who studies the history of climate science and its interac tions with politics.

Add to that the knowledge that CO2 levels were going up and scientists started realising that this could be a major issue.

“In the 1960s, you start getting con ferences and workshops on ‘the CO2 problem’... bringing meteorologists together with the geophysicists and other folks to think through the implica tions of this in very abstract, theoretical terms,” Mahony said.

But it wasn’t long before this theoreti cal puzzle became a serious concern.

By the late eighties, the Intergovern mental Panel on Climate Change was set up to assess how much the climate is warming and if humans have anything to do with it.

Ever since its first report in 1990, the link between fossil fuels and global

warming was clear. Coal, oil and natu ral gas for electricity, heating, transport, industries like steel and cement-making, and the gasses from agriculture and refrigerants, are burning up the planet.

Scientists say that average global temperatures have gone up by around 1.1 degrees Celsius since the middle of the nineteenth century, causing hotter temperature extremes, rising seas and weather disasters, with experts warning that more catastrophic climate events are on the way as the world warms up further.

“It’s not just going to be heatwaves, drought, wildfires and hurricanes. It’s going to be water resources, it’s going to be food supplies... it’s going to be national security concerns that are going to be more apparent than they are right now,” said Brown University climate sci entist Kim Cobb.

Those living in the least developed nations or in poorer communities are often the most vulnerable to climate change. Many have called for rich, highpolluting countries, like the US and much of Europe, to pay their share so that developing countries are more resil ient to weather extremes and can curb their use of fossil fuels. Known as “loss and damage” in climate negotiations, it’s an area that nations have struggled to agree on in recent years.

In a somewhat rare moment of agree ment between rich nations and more climate-vulnerable, low-emitting ones, countries at the UN’s annual climate conference in Paris in 2015 did agree to limit warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, with the aim of capping the average global temperature rise to 1.5 Celsius.

Alternatives to fossil fuels, like solar and wind energy, need to be scaled up dramatically if the Paris climate goals are to be met, experts say. Newer tech nologies, like carbon capture or green hydrogen, which are currently too expensive, untested at scale or both, will also have to be deployed to limit warm ing. Changes in people’s personal lives can also make a difference, although the large reductions come from government policies and choices made by giant cor porations, rather than individuals.

Although some effects of global warming are locked in, many scientists believe that curbing warming to just a few more tenths of a degree is achiev able, but only if drastic action is taken very quickly.

By DANA BELTAJI Associated Press

Talk first, then take the action

EDITOR, The Tribune.

PRICE Control making changes before you consult with your supermarkets and food stores?

Sorry, Prime Minster, this is not correct for good governance. Today globally preBudget announcement it is the norm the government will divulge in total their Budget proposals - meet with all sectors of the econ omy and change proposals.

UK over the past few days you saw precisely how not to present a Budget mini-mini or large, you simply never make such proposals without

LETTERS

consultation.

Mr Prime Minister, very serious wrong move and to top that his PR mouthpiece spun the announcement the issue as if the supermarket and food stores operators were tiefs taking advantage of the public.

For many years, it has been argued that Price Controls do not benefit the consumer, surely it is time to talk about that on the principal issue. Do we remove them for a better system or do we alter them

to remove the disadvan tages of the present law?

Remember when ZNS used to feature Price Con trol inspecting a store and airing very biased reports suggesting the busi nesses guilty before even a word was spoken in the courts not very business positive relations nor is what happened last week - politi cal changes Price Control listing catch the headline but Government had not spoken to the supermarket - food store owners shame on you, not expected.

PAULA MINNS Nassau, October 15, 2022.

COVID’s ugly reach

EDITOR, The Tribune

NEARLY one in 20 people who were infected by COVID have not com pletely recovered. That is a six to 18 month corridor from time of infection. 42% claim to have only partially recovered from the infec tion. Most people recover fully from the infection, but some people develop a wide variety of long-term problems. The government needed to understand Long COVID as an essential to forming health and social care policy and supports.

The University of Glasgow carried out this prescribed effort. These scientists found the various symptoms to have one cen tral focus, that Long Term COVID has an impact upon all aspects of daily life and reduces people’s over all quality of life. The most common reported symp toms were breathlessness, chest pain, palpitations and brain fog. Who was most likely to be infected with this type of COVID? Older individuals, women, those from deprived com munities and people with pre-existing physical or mental problems. The study is important because it attempted to understand Long COVID within the general population, com paring symptoms with those uninfected, thereby distinguishing between health problems caused by

COVID and health prob lems that would happen anyways. Analyzing 33,000 laboratory confirmed COVID cases and match ing them to 63,000 never infected people from the general population. Both groups were followed over a 6,12 and 18 month period.

About 13% of people in the study reported improve ments in their health over time, while 11% reported some deterioration.

The study found those who had asymptomatic infections and those who had been vaccinated before their infections were fully or partially protected from COVID. The study showed that COVID is truly a multi-system disorder, not only in the brain, not only in the heart, but all organs can be attacked by this infection.

This winter will chal lenge our community and its healthcare systems. The data has shown us that the death and serious illnesses among the unvaccinated due to COVID, versus vaccinated and boosted will increase continually this winter. The level of vaccinated vs unvac cinated tells the tale. At the height of the pandemic 40% of Americans were untruthful about whether they had the virus or were ignoring safety precautions. While 68% of Americans have received their 1st vac cination, most have not received their second one,

or boosters. The pandemic is still filling our hospitals with infected patients, and while most 1st nations offer free vaccinations and booster, only seven.six million Amer icans have received their updated booster dose.

This winter as many as 90,000 Americans will die from COVID. The Univer sity of Southern California along with The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have placed the populations lack of urgency to be vaccinated as the factor causing these deaths. According to CNN, more than 400 people die of COVID daily in America.

Citizens have a respon sibility to protect their families, neighbours and themselves. Get your vacci nation and do it now. While many administrations go out of their way trying to propagate an illusion of societies return to normalcy, COVID-!9 has mutated and will continue to do so for the conceivable future. Children are returning to classes, and with winter upon us, their schooling will likely be indoors. The only way we can reach a level of normalcy is by investing our time and efforts in health safety procedures.

Vaccinate your future success.

STEVEN KASZAB Bradford, Ontario, Canada.

A PROTESTER with colors of the Russian national flag painted on his body argues with police in front of the American Embassy during a protest to reject an international military force requested by the government and to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday. The United Nations Security Council is evaluating the request by the Haitian gov ernment for the immediate deployment of foreign troops to help free Haiti from the grip of gangs that has caused a scarcity of fuel, water and other basic supplies.

Photo: Odelyn Joseph/AP

Woman is accused in killing of Cable Bahamas manager

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN and two men appeared in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday in relation to two separate murder charges.

One of these charges is in connection with the death of a British national in his residence at Westridge.

The other incident revolved around the fatal shooting of a man in Abaco last month.

Felecia Bonimy, 30, represented by Attorney Ryszard Humes, faced Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt on a charge of murder.

On September 24 in the Venito gated community of Westridge, Bonimy is accused of killing 58-yearold Cable Bahamas technical accounts manager Marcus Hinsbey.

The victim was found dead in his home from apparent stab wounds after co-workers became con cerned for his well-being after he failed to appear at work for several days.

Because of the grave nature of the offence the accused was not required to enter a plea. She was informed that her case would be fast tracked to the Supreme Court by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

Bonimy was further informed that while the Chief Magistrate could not

grant her bail, she had the right to apply for it at the higher court.

Until bail is granted, she will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).

The VBI in this matter is expected to be served on December 13.

Regarding the other matter, Billy Antoine, 35, and Theophilus Lloyd, 35, also appeared before the Chief Magistrate.

On September 28 in Crossing Rocks, Abaco, the two are accused in the shooting death of Andre Kikivarakis.

According to police, the victim’s body was found near the staircase of a business at around 11 o’clock that night having suffered from apparent gunshot wounds. While a black .9mm pistol with a magazine containing two live rounds of .9mm ammu nition were recovered at the scene, Kikivarakis was pronounced dead at the Marsh Harbour Clinic.

The two accused in this matter were not required to enter a plea as their case will proceed to the Supreme Court by way of a VBI.

The two were remanded to BDCS as the Magistrate lacked the jurisdiction to grant them bail. They were informed of their right to apply to the higher court for bail.

The pair’s VBIs will be served on December 8.

PAIR DENY 2016 MURDER

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO men pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court yesterday in connection with the 2016 murder of a man who was shot while at a traffic light on Robinson Road.

Giovanni Clarke, repre sented by Attorney Calvin Seymour, and Dekeil Bowe, represented by Attorney Ryszard Hummes, stood before Justice Guilimina Archer-Minns on charges of murder and attempted murder.

According to police reports it is alleged that on April 13, 2016, the accused shot 23-year-old Akeem Raheem Bren nen and Ken Rolle while

their car had stopped at a traffic light on Robinson Road. While Rolle survived his injuries, Brennen was pronounced dead in the parking lot of the Police Traffic Division the same night.

In court, both accused men pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Following the defendant’s official plea the jurors, who will hear their case, were also empaneled.

After Prosecutor Timo thy Bailey announced witnesses who are due to testify in this matter, includ ing the surviving victim and several officers, the Justice announced that the case would be adjourned for the prosecution’s opening address today.

MAN DENIES FIREARM CHARGE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail in a Magistrate’s Court yes terday in connection with firearm and ammunition charges.

Kyle Sears, 31, faced Magistrate Shaka Serville on charges of possession of an unlicenced fire arm and possession of ammunition.

On October 14 in New Providence, Sears is alleged to have been found with a black and rust .45 pistol. At the time of his arrest, the accused was also said to have had six unfired rounds of .45 ammunition.

In court, the accused pleaded not guilty to both charges and was granted $7,000 bail with one or two sureties.

His trial is scheduled to begin on January 24, 2023.

ACCREDITATION BID FOR CORRECTIONS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE government is seeking accreditation by the American Cor rectional Association in partnership with Global Corrections Services for the Remand Centre Facility at the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

This monumental accreditation process will allow the institution to operate as a fully functional correc tional facility based on international standards and practices.

Yesterday, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said the revitalisation of the correctional facil ity will ensure that residents of the facility are released in a manner that would reduce the likelihood of them reoffending.

In 2014, the institution was renamed Bahamas Department of Correctional Services and according to Mr Munroe it is the government’s aim to ensure the name change is a reflection of the institution.

“We have called it the Bahamas Department of Corrections since 2014, I believe,” Mr Munroe said yes terday at a press conference at The

Ministry of National Security.

“Changing a name does not change the place. What we’re seeking to do by this intervention by the global service providers of the American Correc tional Association is to measure how close we are to the standard.

“This is a needs assessment, but they will tell us how far on there to that standard and the steps that we need to take to hit that standard, and our commitment is to address short comings,” he added.

The minister explained that Global Corrections Services will oversee the assessment and accredi tation process, which will serve as the “blueprint” for what is required of the government to be permitted accreditation.

A representative of Global Correc tions Services said the company looks forward to partnering with the gov ernment on this journey, despite the difficulty. The representative referred to the “journey” as a mindset and cul ture change.

In addition to assisting The Bahamas achieve accreditation, the partnership to rehabilitate the BDOCS facility will also assist with the human rights of individuals and

help the staff become more pro fessional, according to the Global Corrections Services representative.

“It can help the staff to want to go to work every day, in a clean, healthy and safe environment,” said the rep resentative. “It will help a resident to feel safe in a facility that they’re trying to change their lives around which we should help. That is part of an indi vidual human rights that we have to respect”

The minister was unable to give an exact timeline on when the institution will be accredited following the initial assessment, as it would depend on the government’s ability to identify the deficiencies.

As the government seeks inter national accreditation, Mr Munroe underscored that humane living con ditions and respects of prisons is of importance. He added that torture is not a form of punishment.

“If people expect prisoners to be tortured. That’s not a part of a pun ishment. We punish you by depriving you of your liberty, you will live in the conditions that we determine you will live in. The conditions that you live in, impact a number of things,” he said yesterday.

FOX HILL prison. The Bahamas Department of Corrections is seeking international accreditation to measure standards.

Blindness is no barrier to Ervens when it comes to helping family

HE became the head of his household at an early age. The death of his par ents not only placed some big responsibility in his hands, it left a void in his heart and the hearts of his siblings. Ervens Jean-Pierre refused to allow his blind ness to affect his ability to become a father figure for his brother and sisters. He continues to push bounda ries and prove that people living with disabilities are capable of thriving and achieving their greatest desires.

Back in August of 2017, Ervens and his siblings

Face to Face

By FELICITY DARVILLE

suffered the devastating loss of their mother, who was struck down by a vehicle. That tragedy was coupled by another one just two months later. By Octo ber, the siblings were left to fend for their own when their father passed away from a heart attack.

Instead of buckling and folding during one of the most difficult times in his life, Ervens rose to the occasion. He became both parents for his siblings. He had to give love and atten tion to them, while figuring out the way forward for his family. Although he couldn’t replace his par ents, Ervens wanted them to know that he would be a constant in their lives no matter what. Stay ing strong wasn’t easy, and he says that even now, there are good and bad days. But he holds the faith that he is doing the right thing.

Ervans is living with a disability. At the age of 14, he became blind, and his life completely changed. But to meet him is to discover an energetic, happy young man with a bright future.

Somehow, Ervens developed cataracts in his eyes around the tender age of three. His parents took him to doctors, who arranged a surgery for him, which was unsuccess ful. The doctors attempted again and on that occa sion, Ervens was able to see again. He went on through his boyhood like any typical child, play ing and enjoying life. But when he was 14, an acci dent happened. He was playing dashing with his friends when one of them accidentally hit him in his eye with his elbow.

Ervens’ eye started to bleed behind the retina, rendering him blind. Another surgery was con ducted in attempt to save Ervens’ sight, but it was unsuccessful. Instead of being cast into a world of darkness emotionally, Ervens decided to look on the positive side of things.

“I accept my disability,” he said, frankly.

“By me accepting it, life comes easy. My mother never kept me inside. I was out in the yard playing with the children, moving around like nothing happened. My friends and family don’t treat me like I am blind. They treat me like one of them. Some even come to me to handle things for them or give them advice.”

When he look at his life, and thinks about the lives of some of the friends he grew up with, he says that his blindness could have been a sign of his bless ing. With so many young men tangled in the courts and the prison, or already dead at such a young age, Ervens is counting his blessings.

He gets support from The Bahamas Alliance for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BABVI). The group renders support to their members in any way they can. Having the cama raderie and fellowship with others living with disabili ties has allowed him to have an outlet to share things that only they would under stand. BABVI President Desmond Brown, Public Relations officer Dario Charlton, and BABVI members chose Ervens to share his story, as October is Blindness Awareness Month.

BABVI members want the public to know that people who are blind or visually impaired have a support group and a net work, that allows them to empower each other emo tionally, economically, and in many other ways.

Ervens is currently employed at the Salva tion Army Mop Factory. In this way, he is able to fully take care of himself, and he is able to help to

support his family.

“For me, living with blindness, some days are rough and some are easy,” he said, adding that every day he gives God

“I am the head of my house. I cook and clean. I deal with the landlord and I pay my own bills. I have access to my banking information. I use online banking and I pay all my bills. My phone has talk back technology, so I can handle whatever i have to do. I turned on my light in my own name. The only time I went in BPL was to pay my deposit. Since then, I pay my bill via the internet. So, I don’t have to ask some one to take me somewhere all the time. Basi cally I only need assistance when I have to go to the doctor or when I am shopping.”

Ervens says that he has been able to make life as normal as possible. He chooses his own outfits every morning. When he pur chases an outfit, once they tell him the colour, he remembers it and places his clothing where he will know what colour he wishes to choose on any given day. He feels the fabric and knows the type of look and feel he wants for his apparel. He even orders items online. he does this so often that his family members even ask him to order their items from time to time.

“I am really good living with my disability, beamed the handsome young man with a bright future.

He looks forward to the day when he settles down with his own wife and children, but in the mean time, he is still a father figure and a big brother to his many siblings, cous ins, nieces, nephews and godchildren, all whom he loves dearly.

“Sometimes, people don’t want to be bothered with you, or consider you a nag when you have t constantly ask them to do things, he said.

It is for this reason that he remains as independent as possible.

“Sometimes, people would say they are coming to help you, but never arrive,” he said.

“It could be depress ing, but I never dwell on it or feel sad about it. I bounce up handle what I have to handle. There have been times in my life when

people have said, ‘Carry your blind self!’, but I never let it bother me. I just try to be as independent as possi ble. I will even walk to the corner store to get neces sities if I have to. I just try to make the best out of life and not be a burden to anyone.”

On October 15, BAVI celebrated White Cane Day at the Mall at mara thon. It gave BABVI members a chance to bring awareness to their needs, while also encouraging members of the public to get their eyes tested, and take good care of them. At the mall, they conducted eyesight screening, Dia betes testing and blood pressure screening, all in conjunction with the Baha mas Society of Ophthalmic Nurses (BSON) and Ace Diabetes.

On October 6, BABVI held an online forum to officially kick off the 14th annual Blindness Aware ness Month under the theme: “Love Your Eyes”. Government dignitaries attended. There is a reg istration drive, as BABVI attempts to attract the many people living with low or impaired vision, or are blind who have yet to take advantage of the support they offer.

BABVI also held a thanksgiving service and luncheon. On Friday, Octo ber 21, BABVI members will be serving breakfast to students and staff of the Salvation Army’s Erin H Gilmour School for the Blind. On October 27, they will host a recep tion for new members and for those who are newly facing their blind or visu ally impaired condition. for more information, visit BABVI Bahamas on Face book, or call: Desmond Brown at 535-9142 or Drop Charlton at 802-7585.

Ervens knows how important it is to have a support group, especially when he has come to be the support for so many.

“We need to be treated fairly and not pushed in a corner; even though we may be blind, we can still get back in society,” said the 29 year-old.

“We need people to give us a chance. Don’t just look at my disability and think I cant do anything. I am will ing to try anything. I would even pick up a hammer and a nail - any opportunity I am given, I will rise to the occasion. Take the time to know people living with dis abilities and learn who we are and what we can really do.

“I just love to be help ful; I help wherever I can. I even mentor young people. I tell them, don’t ever give up on life - just believe in yourself never give up!”

ERVENS PIERRE, above, and pictured with his niece, left. He says for him, “family is everything”.

ERVENS Pierre never lets his blindness stop him from going out and enjoying life.

‘Staying strong wasn’t easy, and he says that even now, there are good and bad days. But he holds the faith that he is doing the right thing.’

FAST-MOVING CRISIS IN UK

MINDFUL of the guid ance to columnists to avoid repetition at all costs, I hesitate, after covering the subject for two weeks run ning, to write again about the astonishing political turbulence and economic turmoil in Britain. But the battering Prime Minister Liz Truss is experiencing since assuming office last month has become so serious that it is hard to ignore it today. The situ ation is being termed a crisis of immense propor tions which, in the words of former Leader of the Conservative Party Lord Hague, has led to her future ‘hanging by a thread’.

The troubles engulfing No 10 Downing Street were reported to have reached fever pitch last Friday - to the point of threatening the PM’s very survival - with some people saying her departure was a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’. It was a day of high drama. Even allowing for the customary media hyperbole, this has indeed developed into a major crisis.

October 14 is now being labelled ‘Frantic Friday’ following the sacking of the Chancellor of the Excheq uer, Kwasi Kwarteng, after just 38 days in charge of the Treasury. He had paid the price for his disastrous mini-budget on Septem ber 23 which provided for unfunded tax cuts amount ing to almost 45 billion pounds sterling but with no mention of cuts in public spending and which therefore would require substantially higher public borrowing. This alarmed the financial markets and led to a serious fall of ster ling against the US dollar. It was also seen as a reck less gamble at a time of

The Peter Young column

double-digit inflation and rising interest rates.

However, Kwarteng was only carrying out Truss’s instructions since she was as much an architect of this package as he was. Finding a fall guy for one’s own mis takes is said to be one of the oldest political manoeuvres. But, by dismissing him for carrying out her own mani festo, in the eyes of some she added injustice to accu sations of incompetence and irresponsibility in push ing forward her reforms so quickly and without ade quate preparation.

After telling Kwarteng, her long-standing friend and closest ideological and political ally, he was out of a job, Truss appointed Jeremy Hunt to replace him. This seems to have been well received gener ally since Hunt is said to be trusted and respected as a former cabinet minis ter and also as someone of sufficient calibre to have run – albeit unsuccessfully - in two Tory leadership

contests. He is regarded as a political heavyweight with long experience in government and who has a good understanding of busi ness as a result of being an entrepreneur himself.

But, even after backtrack ing on taxes by, for instance, changing her stance on cut ting corporation tax, Truss hardly enhanced her repu tation by briefly addressing a short press conference and taking only four ques tions from the assembled newspaper reporters. This was regarded by some as an attempt to run away from further scrutiny. She was harshly criticised for her performance which was called wooden and disrespectful and which did nothing to calm the markets. Her credibility as prime minister has been severely damaged and her ditching of Kwasi Kwarteng only ramped up calls for her to go herself.

Clearly, the Conserva tive Party has become increasingly divided. Many see Truss’s embarrassing U-turns as an example of desperation and panic and are calling her ‘a loser and a goner’. But much will depend on how the new Chancellor performs.

At the time of writing, he has already said ‘we went too far too fast’. In a dra matic turnaround, he has scrapped nearly all the tax cuts proposed in the growth plan three weeks ago. He has pointedly reversed Truss’s pledge that there would be ‘absolutely’ no spending cuts and is warn ing that all government departments will be forced to find efficiency savings while there will also be tax rises to come – and he has stressed that the most

important objective now is to restore stability.

Moreover, he has acknowledged it was a mis take not to have had an economic forecast by the UK’s independent Office for Budget Responsibility in advance of the mini-budget in September. The next step will be the government’s medium-term fiscal plan to be announced on October 31 which will presumably explain how any remaining tax cuts will be funded in a sustainable manner.

In a healthy and wellfunctioning democracy it is essential to have a critical press holding politicians to account. But, even though possession of a sense of humour is a prized quality in Britain, in modern times there seems to be no holds barred for an iconoclastic media which enjoys making fun of - and even ridiculing – political leaders publicly. Reportedly, the UK’s Daily Star newspaper is laying bets

about whether Truss will still be PM within the ten-day shelf life of a lettuce. Appar ently, the bookies have cut the odds over the likelihood of what they are calling a lame-duck premier still being around by the time the Daily Star’s lettuce wilts and becomes no more!

Hilarious or just plain silly? Take your pick. But what is for sure is that the last thing most people want now is another pro tracted Tory leadership contest, with MPs failing to unite over a replacement. What is more, if Truss were forced out so soon, the likelihood is that there would be another general election – and, with the opposition Labour Party well ahead in the polls, the Tories would probably lose in a landslide.

It seems that for many in the UK it is almost incom prehensible that the new government has, through poor judgement, got itself in

to such a mess so quickly by rushing unwisely into a new policy on the economy without doing the necessary preparatory groundwork. This policy may be desir able and workable as a means of boosting growth in the longer term. But one does not need to be a trained economist to under stand that at the same time it is fundamentally flawed by a failure to say how the tax cuts will be funded.

Unless she is suddenly forced out in the meantime, whether or not the prime minister survives is likely to depend on the outcome of her new Chancellor’s presentation of the govern ment’s new fiscal plan at the end of this month. Those who are conspiring to oust her may hold their fire until then. Who knows? But things are moving fast at the moment in British politics – and the speed of change during recent days has been described as breath-taking.

CHINA’S LEADER ON BRINK OF TOTAL POWER

THE general speculation in the lead-up to China’s Communist Party Congress which opened on Sunday has been that President Xi Jinping will be handed a third five-year term. If this happens, after the two-term limit was abolished in 2018, it would tighten his grip on China and, in the view of many China-watchers, make him the nation’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and its leader until his death in 1976.

The National Congress of China’s Communist Party (CCP) is held every five years and reportedly lasts for about a week. 2,300 delegates gathering in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square will elect new people to join the Party’s Central Com mittee and apparently there will be elections for new members of the Politburo, the standing committee of which is said to be “the elite of the elite”.

The huge gathering in the vast Great Hall is an awesome sight. The TV coverage shows row upon row of delegates seated in orderly fashion in

magnificently grand sur roundings in what could be described as “robotic con formism”. But the whole set-up is none the less impressive for that and the atmosphere exudes mas sive power which, even on a TV screen, is somehow intimidating.

Xi Jinping already holds the top three positions in China. As General Sec retary of the CCP, he is its chief and he is also head of the Politburo. He is Chair man of China’s Central Military Commission and therefore commands the country’s armed forces and police; and, as President, he is China’s head of state who represents the nation glob ally. Reportedly, he is also referred to as paramount or supreme leader.

If he is given another five-year term – and at the time of writing this has not yet happened -- his exist ing overwhelming control will clearly be even fur ther consolidated; and it is being said he could stay in power for the rest of his life. President Xi already leads the world’s secondlargest economy and one of its largest military forces. Some observers suggest

MORE HORRORS IN UKRAINE

THE extent of Russia’s continuing atrocities in Ukraine know no limits.

Indiscriminate bombing of apartment blocks in Kyiv and other cities and even children’s playgrounds that has left many dead and injured – supposedly in reaction to the recent attack on the main bridge from Crimea that is a stra tegic supply and logistics route for Russian forces -has reached a new low even by Putin’s standards.

Missile attacks on resi dential buildings against civilians constitute a hor rible escalation of violence beyond conventional war fare. The evil of what is happening is beyond com prehension and, in the eyes of many, the Russian

president and his immedi ate colleagues should be forced eventually to pay for their war crimes.

To shed light on the Ukrainian war and Putin’s further intentions, read ers may find it interesting to follow the reporting of the BBC’s Moscow-based correspondent, Steve Rosenberg. As a fluent Russian speaker who has been immersed in the study of the country for many years, he is reputed to have a deep understand ing of the situation and has analysed the most recent developments with admi rable clarity. There is no space in today’s column to examine this further but I hope to return to the sub ject next week.

that, with a third term, he would be likely to push China further towards a return to the type of totali tarian state ruled over by Chairman Mao – with even greater Party control over all aspects of life in China, not least the economy.

It is said that ‘Xi Jinping thought’ is beginning to gain prominence and could become enshrined as the CCP’s guiding philosophy

and that his brand of Chi nese socialism contains an “assertively nationalist philosophy” which is not supportive of any kind of private business. Nonethe less, Xi is credited with building his country into a prosperous, modernised society.

Such speculation by sinologists is open to debate, but they will surely be studying Xi Jinping’s

opening address at the CCP Congress. This was judged by some Western commen tators to be directed mainly towards the party faithful –doubling down on existing ideology and reconfirm ing that China was run on Marxist principles. But the speech was short on practi cal solutions to deal with the country’s current prob lems and major challenges like a faltering economy

and difficult international relations.

During the rest of this week, further news about a range of issues -- includ ing the economy, Taiwan and international relations more broadly -- will surely be aired and will throw light on the future of this impor tant nation. The media coverage will be compre hensive and China analysts will have a field day.

BRITISH Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves Downing Street to attend her first Prime Minister’s Questions at the Houses of Parliament yesterday.

Photo: Frank Augstein/AP

Haiti calls for help at the UN as world mulls assistance

UNITED NATIONS Associated Press

THE United States and Mexico said yesterday they are preparing a UN resolu tion that would authorise an international mission to help improve security in Haiti, whose government issued a “distress call” for the people of the crisiswracked nation.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council as thou sands across Haiti organised protests demanding the res ignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The demonstra tions came on the day the country commemorated the death of Jean-Jacques Dessa lines, a slave who became the leader of the world’s first black republic.

The US ambassador said the proposed “non-UN” mission would be limited in time and scope and be led by “a partner country” that was not named “with the deep, necessary experience required for such an effort to be effective”. It would have a mandate to use mili tary force if necessary.

She said the resolution being worked on is a “direct response” to a request on October 7 by prime minis ter Henry and the Haitian Council of Ministers for international assistance to help restore security and alleviate the humanitar ian crisis. It reflects one option in a letter from UN Secretary-General Anto nio Guterres to the council on October 9 that called

for deployment of a rapid action force by one or sev eral UN member states to help Haiti’s National Police.

Both Russia and China raised questions about sending a foreign armed force to Haiti.

Haiti has been gripped by inflation, causing rising food and fuel prices, and exacerbating protests that have brought society to the breaking point. Daily life in Haiti began to spin out of control last month just hours after the prime minister said fuel subsidies would be eliminated, causing prices to double. Gangs blocked the entrance to the Varreux fuel terminal, leading to a severe shortage of fuel at a time that rising prices have put food and fuel out of reach of many Haitians, clean water

is scarce, and the country is trying to deal with a cholera outbreak.

Political instability in Latin America’s poor est country has simmered ever since last year’s stillunsolved assassination of Haiti’s president Jovenel Moïse, who had faced oppo sition protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges and claims that his five-year term had ended. Moïse had dissolved the majority of Parliament in January 2020 after failing to hold legislative elections in 2019 amid political gridlock.

Haiti’s Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus said he came to the Security Coun cil with a “distress call” from the Haitian people to tell the world they “are not living — they are suffering”.

Haiti urgently needs “robust support” to help the police stem the humanitar ian crisis, neutralise the the gangs, guarantee fuel distri bution and facilitate a return to normal life, he said.

Thomas-Greenfield said the resolution authorising the security mission is coupled with a resolution obtained by The Associated Press last week that would impose an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban on influential Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, nicknamed “Bar beque”. It also would target other Haitian individuals and groups who engage in actions that threaten the peace, security or stability of the Western Hemisphere’s poor est country.

Some diplomats expressed hope for a vote on the sanctions resolution this week, but Russia’s deputy UN Ambas sador Dmitry Polyansky said Moscow can’t support quickly pushing through a sanctions resolution. “Indepth analysis and detailed negotiations” are required, he said, “to make sure that the measures are aimed at restoring government con trol and not be perceived as is frequently the case as a way of punishing the entire country and its people”.

The US ambassador stressed that the United States is “keenly aware of the history of international intervention in Haiti, and specifically of concerns about the council authoris ing a response that could lead to an open-ended peacekeeping role”.

The Security Council and

the international commu nity must seek “a different course” to respond to the security and dire humani tarian crises in Haiti, which require “targeted interna tional assistance” that must be coupled with “support for political dialogue and backed by sustained interna tional pressure on the actors supporting gang activity”.

Reflecting opposition to foreign interference in Haiti, Marco Duvivier, a 35-year-old auto parts store manager, who joined Monday’s protest in Portau-Prince said: “The US needs Haiti to make its own decisions and not interfere in Haiti’s business.”

“Life is not going to get better with an international force,” he said.

China’s deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang noted prime minister Henry’s call, but also the opposition by some politi cal parties and groups to the presence of a foreign armed force in Haiti.

“At a time when the Haitian government lacks legitimacy and is unable to govern, will sending such a rapid action force to Haiti receive the understanding, support and cooperation from the parties in Haiti, or will it face resistance or even trigger violent confrontation from the population?,” he asked.

“These are things we need to consider... and to treat with caution.”

Since the gang led by “Barbeque” surrounded the fuel terminal, the dis tribution of more than ten million gallons of gasoline

and fuel and more than 800,000 gallons of kerosene stored on site have been blocked.

Gas stations remain shuttered, hospitals have slashed services and busi nesses including banks and grocery stores have cut their hours as everyone across the country runs out of fuel.

The situation has wors ened a recent cholera outbreak, with hundreds hospitalized and dozens dead amid a scarcity of potable water and other basic supplies.

Haiti’s last cholera out break was a result of UN peacekeepers from Nepal introducing the bacte ria into the country’s largest river by sewage. Nearly 10,000 people died and more than 850,000 were sickened.

“We don’t need a foreign force. It’s not going to solve anything,” Jean Venel said.

Helen La Lime, the UN special envoy for Haiti, told the Security Council in a video briefing from the capital Port-au-Prince that “a humanitarian emergency is now at our doorstep” with disruptions to hospital operations and water supplies impacting the response to the cholera outbreak.

She said appeals by dip lomats, the UN and others to establish a humanitar ian corridor have gone unheeded, and insecurity is rife, with nearly a thou sand kidnappings reported in 2022 and millions of children prevented from attending school.

DRONE STRIKES BRING FEAR IN UKRAINE

KYIV, Ukraine Associated Press

WAVES of explosivesladen drones struck Ukraine’s capital yesterday, setting buildings ablaze, tearing a hole in one of them and sending people scurrying for cover or trying to shoot them down in what the president said was Rus sia’s attempt to terrorise civilians.

The concentrated use of the drones was the second barrage in as many weeks — after months in which air attacks had become a rarity in central Kyiv. The assault sowed fear and frayed nerves as blasts rocked the city. Energy facilities were struck and one drone largely collapsed a residen tial building, killing four people, authorities said.

Intense bursts of gunfire rang out as the Iranianmade Shahed drones buzzed overhead, appar ently as soldiers tried to destroy them. Others

headed for shelter, nerv ously scanning the skies. But Ukraine has become grimly accustomed to attacks nearly eight months into the Russian invasion, and city life resumed as rescuers picked through debris.

Previous Russian air strikes on Kyiv were mostly with missiles. Analysts believe the slower-moving Shahed drones can be pro grammed to accurately hit certain targets using GPS unless the system fails.

Also yesterday, a Russian Su-34 warplane crashed in a residential area in the Rus sian port of Yeysk on the Sea of Azov after an engine failure, killing at least four people on the ground, injur ing 25 others and starting a fire that engulfed sev eral floors of a nine-storey apartment building, author ities said. Six people were reported missing. Both crewmembers, on a training mission, bailed out safely, the Russian Defence Minis try said.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said yesterday’s barrage came in successive waves of 28 drones — in what many fear could become a more common mode of attack as Russia seeks to avoid depleting its stock piles of long-range precision missiles.

Five drones plunged into Kyiv itself, said Prime Min ister Denys Shmyhal. In the Kyiv region, at least 13 were shot down, all flying in from the south, said Yurii Ihnat,

a spokesman for Ukraine’s air force.

One strike appeared to target the city’s heating net work, hitting an operations center. Another slammed into a four-storey residen tial building, ripping open a gaping hole and collapsing at least three apartments.

Four bodies were recov ered, including those of a woman who was six months pregnant and her husband, Klitschko said. An older woman and another man also were killed there.

An Associated Press pho tographer caught one of the drones on camera, its triangle-shaped wing and pointed warhead clearly visible against the blue sky.

“The whole night, and the whole morning, the enemy terrorises the civil ian population,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine.”

In a televised address to

the nation, Zelenskyy said Moscow was resorting to the drones because it was losing the war.

“Russia doesn’t have any chance on the battlefield, and it tries to compensate for its military defeats with terror,” he said. “Why this terror? To put pressure on us, on Europe, on the entire world.”

Zelenskyy, citing Ukrain ian intelligence services, alleges Russia ordered 2,400 drones from Iran. Russia has rebranded them as Geran-2 drones — “gera nium” in Russian. A photo of debris from one of Mon day’s strikes, posted by Klitschko, showed “Geran2” marked on a mangled tail fin.

Iran has previously denied providing Russia with weapons, although its Revolutionary Guard chief has boasted of pro viding arms to the world’s top powers, without elaborating.

The drones pack an explosive charge and can

linger over targets before nosediving into them. Their blasts jolted people awake, including Snizhana Kutra kova, 42, who lives near one of the strikes. “I’m full of rage,” she said. “Full of rage and hate.”

The Russian military said it used “long-range air- and sea-based high-precision weapons” to strike Ukrain ian military and energy facilities. They hit “all assigned targets,” Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Ukrainian Foreign Min ister Dmytro Kuleba called for European Union sanc tions on Iran for providing drones to Russia and, and both he and Zelenskyy reit erated Ukraine’s need for air defences and weaponry.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-nation bloc is gather ing evidence about Iran’s drone sales to Russia, and if true, “we will be ready to react with the tools at our disposal”.

A DRONE is seen in the sky seconds before it fired on buildings in Kyiv yesterday.

Photo: Efrem Lukatsky/AP

A PROTESTER holding up a skull and seashell shouts for the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in the Champs de Mars area where the prime minister attended a ceremony marking the death anniversary of revolutionary leader JeanJacques Dessalines in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Monday.

Photo: Odelyn Joseph/AP

Adult survivor of child abuse finds faith, starts movement to help other women who are suffering

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

DURING her early childhood, Christie Cadet suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse.

The mental and physical abuse occurred at home, while the sexual abuse happened outside of the house.

Additionally, at school, she was bullied and discriminated against due to the fact that her mother was Haitian.

To add insult to injury, Christie said her mother didn’t tell her that the man she grew up believing to be her dad, the man she loved as her father and who was her main confidant, was in fact not her biological father. She didn’t find that out until later, and shortly after that shocking revelation, her mother died.

These experiences, she told Tribune Woman, were extremely traumatic for her, and she subse quently grew up to be a troubled young woman. As a teenager, due her feelings of rejection, she sought love, comfort and valida tion from older men, who then deceived her, took advantage of her, and rejected her altogether.

Christie reached a breaking point where she contemplated suicide. To make things worse, her dad, who was the breadwin ner of the home, suddenly died, leaving her to raise her then 13-year-old brother. This added to

her unresolved issues and child hood trauma.

In the end, the only thing that saved her was finding her faith.

“Fortunately, my breakthrough and

Outreach Ministries in James Cis tern, Eleuthera,” she said.

Now, Christie wants to give back to the community and help other women who may be strug gling with ordeals similar to what she went through.

“After going through so much in my life as a young child and teenager, I feel that it is my due obligation to God to use my past experiences for a greater good by means of mentoring young women in society and assisting them on their journey of holistic living,” she said.

In 2020, Christie founded the Woman of Worth Movement, a nonprofit organisation based in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The organisation’s main focus is to educate, develop and empower all women in a godly way.

Under the Woman of Worth Movement, Christie recently hosted the organisation’s very first conference and retreat with the theme “The Whole Woman.”

For the conference, Christie invited 12 women to share their personal stories with those in attendance. The guest speakers included Erin Brown, who is a well-known advocate in the Baha mas as well as internationally for persons with disabilities; Minister of Transport and Housing Jobeth Coleby-Davis and Bernadette Turnquest, among others.

During the retreat, held at the Seaview Villa in Nassau with an outing to Blue

Lagoon, Christie said the women got a chance to unwind and bond in a warm family-type setting.

To close out the weekend event, the group visited Dunamus Out reach Ministries on the Sunday and attended a special dinner.

Christie believes events like this are necessary to help Bahamian women heal, as so many of them have experienced serious trauma stemming from rape, molestation, physical and verbal abuse, and all forms of oppression.

“I realise that there are many women still walking around who appear normal on the outside, but they are damaged and plagued by pain and hurt on the inside. Hence, I believe that the confer ence was essential to bring all those broken women into one room to uplift and encourage them, letting them know that we are all in this together,” she said.

“The event was essential to connect women, but most impor tantly to mentor, inspire and teach them the true values of being a woman of worth, which simply means a woman of integrity, valour, value and purpose. I feel confident in saying that the event was indeed beneficial and impact ful in the end, as I am already receiving powerful life-changing testimonies from women who attended,” she said.

Teen girl hopes to help stop ‘brain drain’ and enrich the minds of young Bahamians

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

The “brain drain”, also known human capital flight, has been a reality for the Bahamas for many decades, leaving the country with a reduced number of valuable and skilled professionals.

And 17-year-old Malia Cash said many of her peers today still feel that true success and eco nomic empowerment can only be achieved by emigrating from the Bahamas and taking up resi dence elsewhere, usually in a First World country.

Young Bahamians who pursue higher education often think they will receive higher wages, improved working conditions, a more varied lifestyle and a better work-life balance abroad.

To counter this belief and show young people that success can be found at home, Malia has launched the Empowered Baha mian group. The group will be hosting a meet and greet event on October 22 at Bahama Grill beginning 6pm.

Malia is a 12th grader at Queen’s College who has taken a great liking to studying foreign languages such as Spanish and German.

“I am also interested in his tory, moreso with the human behaviour aspect and to really analyse the information to see what I can learn from it. After I graduate, I would like to study socio-anthropology, archaeology and linguistics,” she told Tribune Woman.

And what she enjoys doing in her down time, Malia said, is research.

“Researching random ideas and thoughts that come to mind. For example; a time period in his tory or the question, ‘What causes thunder?’ or ‘What is a nymph?’”

In addition to learning and researching, Malia’s used her free time to create Empowered Bahamian in early 2021, officially launching it in with it in Septem ber of that year.

Since then, she has seen a steady growth in the group.

Malia said she believes there is need for a platform where likeminded teens can connect and share ideas.

“Personally, I felt different from my peers because I had dif ferent views, values and interests from them. This made me want to find like-minded teens who I could socialise with in a safe envi ronment and a club that would help prepare teens bridge the gap between who they are and

where they want to be. Therefore, Empowered Bahamian is a safe place for teens to explore their interests and career aspirations,” she said.

The group targets teens between the ages 16-18 who are interested in networking with people their age and expanding their skills and knowledge in any field.

“The main goal of the group is to enrich the minds of young people looking to expand their knowledge on work-life and career choices while social net working; to prepare them for the adult world as they are in their latter years of being a teenager,” she said.

For more information, contact ebbahmas@gmail.com or 1(242) 829-9018.

healing came when I gave my life to the Lord at the age of 25 and began attending church under the mentorship of Pastor Orlando and Clarice Thompson of Global

ABUSE survivor Christie Cadet

(Photos/Olicera Lightbourne)

CHRISTIE Cadet (centre) hosts the inaugural Woman of Worth Movement conference

Shining a light on pregnancy and infant loss New group seeks to support ‘angel mothers’

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

Wendy Knowles’ joy turned to grief when her daughter, Nhor, was stillborn on May 30, 2016, at nine months. It was unexpected, unexplainable and just heart breaking for her and her entire family.

“At that time, I had nothing to lean on in terms of what I would consider faith, and so I tried prob ably everything else in an attempt to assuage the pain. I’ve learned that the pain will never dissipate and grieving the loss of a child is a life-long journey, but for me, I find solace in helping others, because unfortunately, there are always others,” she told Tribune Woman.

For Wendy, that wish to help others has resulted in her found ing the Lighthouse Grief Support Group for Angel Moms. She describes it as her “pandemic baby” born out of grief and faith.

“At the beginning of my jour ney, I was relieved to find out that there were groups out there with other moms who had gone through not my exact experience, but something close to it. And in joining these groups I always felt led to take on an outreach role. A few years after Nhor’s death, my faith in God began to grow and it was only then that I began to experience true peace,” she said.

Although she still didn’t have all the answers, and she still grieved the loss of her baby, Wendy

said she began feeling a sense peace she couldn’t understand or explain. So, in 2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she applied to lead a “belong group” for the Transfor mation Church based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, she spoke to church members about her story and began to feel that she wanted to start a support group for moth ers who lost children, also known as ‘angel mothers’.

The church approved her appli cation to start the group and the Lighthouse Grief Support is now a virtual meeting space for moth ers who have experienced any stage of miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a young child. Mem bers meet weekly on Sunday afternoons at 4pm via Zoom.

“It is a small group of inter national women of all ages and stages of loss and varying years removed, with moms from not only the Bahamas but also the United States and Jamaica. Light house is a faith-based support group, built on shared Christian values as a means of connect ing and strengthening women who have experienced one of the most tragic losses a woman can go through,” Wendy explained.

“I consider it a safe space and a no-judgement zone where the goal is to grieve freely and truly edify one another as we explore ways to use God’s promises for healing. We all have this shared experience and it’s definitely a ‘she who feels it knows it’ kind of experience; we know what

we have gone through and what we are still going through and so we’re especially ready to help our sisters whenever and however we can.”

Spreading the message

As October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Wendy said the Lighthouse Grief Support Group hosted its second virtual panel under the theme “Good Grief: Jesus Wept” on October 13, 2022 via Zoom.

It was a collaborative effort with AMEN (the Angel Mom Encouragement Network), Wings of Mine Belize and The Tears Foundation.

“What is always so interesting is that so often we are out here ‘doing life’ and thinking that our experiences are so isolated, and then one person can mention what happened to them and then all of a sudden, it’s like ‘Oh girl, I thought that was just me’, and the walls start coming down. The pain starts to ease and the connections and the bonds develop. This is the safe space I wanted for the Angel Moms of Lighthouse,” she said.

Wendy said she always tell moms that there are five to seven stages of grief and they are cycli cal, unruly and constant; they follow no prescribed pattern or order and there is definitely no time limit they adhere to, but for her there is actually an addi tional stage of grief in the form of outreach.

“This stage is therapeutic for me. I sometimes feel a little bad because these women and the bonds and friendships that are formed, definitely help me so much more than I feel I am help ing them,” she said.

A guiding light

Wendy explained she chose the name Lighthouse for her group, because to her lighthouses signify encouragement and light to guide you when you are lost.

“When you are desperate and you see a lighthouse, you can breathe a sigh of relief because there is now hope. I don’t want to speak for anyone else, but I do hope we live up to our motto of ‘supporting angel moms through the waves of grief’, because I do believe that having this safe, common space can be a source of peace for the moms,” she said.

“After the first year it may not hit you hard every day like it does in the beginning, it may just hit you in the really heavy seasons - Mother’s Day, birthdays, Christ mas and others, but no matter what it is or when, we surround and nurture each mother as she goes through her seasons, because we all do, and this little showing of support goes a long way.”

Grieving mothers, Wendy said, can often receive insensi tive responses from strangers especially who are unaware of pregnancy and infant loss.

This, she said, proves the neces sity for raising awareness of the topic.

“When people have no knowl edge of something they often brush it off as unimportant and this feeds into the vicious cycle which often leaves angel mothers suffering in silence,” she said.

Before she started the Light house Grief Support Group, Wendy desperately wanted to go into the hospitals, just to serve as an immediate point of contact for mothers after their loss.

“I still haven’t figured out how to do this just yet, but there are so many layers to helping moms when it comes to pregnancy and infant loss. For example, many moms need simple help with funeral preparations and costs for burials and cremations, ther apy after the fact, and even just

knowledge of communities like Lighthouse. And as a group we have so much that we would like to do, especially in the hospitals to start,” she said.

“My goal for the end of this year is to start small by donating a camera to the hospital maternity ward, which has already been pur chased for donation by one of the angel moms of Lighthouse, Mrs Shantell Smith.

“The camera would allow the hospital to take pictures for the families, because I’ve heard so many mothers over the years lament that they did not even think that was an option and they wish they had thought to take even just one photo,” she said.

“In addition, our group has been working on pamphlets for the hospital as well. We would like these to be sort of a first response to any mothers who may unfor tunately need them, or for their families/support persons. In them, we want to provide any informa tion we think would have been helpful to us during that time because there are so many things going on that often you don’t have time or quite frankly the capac ity to think about any of the little things.”

She remembers a mother once telling her that she snipped a lock of hair from her deceased baby before he was taken away, and Wendy has always wished she had done the same.

“There are so many women who suffer in silence because they think that their experience is insignificant, they’ve been told they should be over it by now, they fear they will be judged because of it or they are just flat out unaware that there are com munities of women out there who have gone through and/or are going through the same things that they are. Before starting Lighthouse, I was a part of two other groups, the Tears Founda tion as well as a group based in Belize called Wings of Mine, and since starting Lighthouse I have also joined another group called AMEN. So, there is community and they are all different and so Angel Moms need to just find their fit. Everyone may not want the weekly meetings, but know that you do not have to do this alone,” said Wendy.

Female construction student stands out

She has not yet graduated from BTVI, but Tameka Jones has already had the opportunity for some serious hands-on experi ence. This summer, she was given the chance to work alongside pro fessionals on the construction of some of the houses in the govern ment subdivision of Pinecrest.

The former Spanish teacher of eight years, who has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Tourism Man agement from the College of the Bahamas, said she discovered that she’s a “more hands-on” person and is passionately pursuing her entrepreneurial dreams.

Today, the 42-year-old is simul taneously studying Carpentry and Electrical Installation at the Bahamas Technical and Voca tional Institute (BTVI), often wearing steel toe boots.

This past summer, Tameka got the opportunity to be an appren tice with Arawak Homes. The company is a partner of BTVI and Tameka took advantage by con sistently being on the construction site, soaking up information and getting practical experience. Having just enrolled in BTVI in the Fall of 2021, she described it as an opportunity of a lifetime.

“I got more hands-on experi ence than anticipated. While on the construction site, I was able to do drywalling, door framing and assist with door hanging,” she said.

The first phase of the Pinecrest subdivision in the South Beach area consists of 47 homes. All

models feature three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and have concrete frame construction, along with storm-rated windows and doors.

BTVI Carpentry instructor Nihon Glinton is now teaching Tameka for the third semester and is pleased with her progress.

“Tameka is inquisitive. Her efforts stand out. She is always requiring more information; she is not afraid to ask. Some female students hold back because the field is male dominated,” said Mr Glinton, who himself has been in the field for over 20 years.

“She wants to move up in the industry. She is tenacious. She is a part of a melting pot of human resources for the construction field. The industry is changing. I believe in diversity.”

As a former construction supervisor at Mosko’s United, Mr Glinton is impressed with Tameka’s proficiency in carpen try, which he noted has “improved dramatically.”

He added that in blueprint reading, out of the two classes of 40 students, Tameka was in the top three. For Carpentry I, she was the only female student in the class and got the highest

final grade out of 10 students. There are currently 55 students in BTVI’s carpentry programme.

“Tameka was not intimidated by the tools, she had nearly per fect attendance and was always first to class,” said Mr Glinton.

Tameka’s interest in carpentry was piqued because of her inter est in the creation of design and staging props. She knew that building them would require her to have carpentry and electrical knowledge.

Having a passion for design and creativity, her favourite aspect of the field is finished carpentry.

“It ties in more with the design part of my interest. I hope to achieve a level of expertise that would take design on a different level locally and internationally,” she said.

So far, Tameka has worked on framing, drywall, and hanging doors and windows alongside pro fessionals. Among her personal designs is a night light plaque using basic knowledge to wire up a battery to a switch and lights. This was in addition to creating a wooden base.

Asked as to what she would say to other women wishing to enter male-dominated trades, Tameka said, “Go for it if there is an inter est. No matter what the bias may tell us, everyone has been given the power to do anything they put their mind to.”

While she admitted there have been challenges in lifting heavy items every so often, it does deter Tameka from her pursuits. In fact, she continues to watch television shows for inspiration, including Property Brothers, Love It or List It, Masters of Flip and Insane Pools, among others.

“At first, there was minor criti cism as it relates to my strength, but as time went on, I learned to work on a level that is comfort able for me while at the same time getting as much exposure as pos sible,” she explained.

BTVI Carpentry and Electrical Installation student Tameka Jones at work

Understanding genetic testing for prostate cancer

An estimated one in six Baha mian men and residents will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. Gene mutations can be passed down from father to son, father to daughter, mother to son and from mother to daugh ter. Some gene mutations such as those related to breast cancer genes, can increase a man’s risk for prostate cancer. Five to 10 per cent of all cancers are hereditary, with cancer causing changes in genes being inherited. Ten to 20 percent of all cancers are deter mined to be familial, as a certain cancer may be diagnosed in many family members but it is not caused by specific gene changes.

DNA makes up our genes, which is the body’s instruction manual that dictates which pro teins each cell in the body make; which influences the role of the cells of the body. A genetic muta tion leads to a disruption in part of the normal DNA that makes up a gene. Some gene muta tions are inherited and some are influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors such as cigarette smoking and exposure to hazard ous chemicals.

Types of genetic testing

There are two main types of genetic testing used for pros tate cancer: germline testing and somatic mutational or tumour testing. Men diagnosed with prostate cancer may have their urologist order somatic muta tional testing to determine whether the prostate cancer cells have developed mutations. Muta tions in the prostate cancer cells can affect how well the prostate cancer will respond to different treatments; with this informa tion used to assist in treatment planning.

Somatic mutational testing is performed on the prostate cancer tumor specimen itself. Ger mline testing for prostate cancer involves testing a man’s saliva or blood for an inherited gene mutation, to determine any pos sible inherited prostate cancer increased risk.

BRCA and Prostate Cancer

Men can also inherit breast cancer (BRCA) gene mutations, which puts them at risk for not just breast cancer, colon/rectal cancer, melanomas and pancreatic cancer, but also prostate cancer.

Every human, men and women have BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes. BRCA genes do not cause breast cancer or prostate cancer or any other cancers.

In fact, BRCA genes play a role in preventing breast cancer and BRCA 2 gene has an important role in preventing prostate cancer. These genes help repair DNA

breaks that could potentially lead to cancer formation, as they are tumor suppressor genes.

In certain individuals, these BRCA tumor suppressor genes have mutations and do not func tion properly in their important role in suppressing or preventing cancer formation.

When a BRCA 2 gene is mutated, it is not effective at repairing broken DNA and help ing to prevent both prostate cancer, breast cancer and certain other cancers.

Every cell in our body contains DNA and this DNA is continually damaged by various factors.

The cells in our body undergo a daily cycle of DNA damage and repair. The repair mechanisms are controlled by genes such as the BRCA 1 and 2 genes.

BRCA 2 genes play a far more important role in prevent ing prostate cancer in men than the BRCA 1 genes. The BRCA 2 gene mutation is associated with 8.6-fold increased risk of developing prostate cancer in a man’s lifetime and the BRCA 1

THE UROLOGY DOCTOR IS IN...

A more comprehensive pros tate cancer surveillance regime with more frequent prostate screening at a younger age is advocated for men with genetic mutations predisposing them to developing prostate cancer. Early diagnosis can be life saving for these subset of men.

2. Directed treatment therapy

Dr Greggory Pinto

gene mutation leads to a 3.9- fold increased risk of developing pros tate cancer.

Men with the BRCA 2 gene mutation are also 8 times more likely to develop breast cancer before the age of 80 than men without this gene mutation.

An estimated one in three hun dred Caucasian American men have the BRCA 2 gene mutation. Some studies have determined that the incidence of BRCA 2 mutations in African American men is approximately one in one hundred.

Persons of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry have a one in 40 inci dence of BRCA 2 gene mutations.

A scientific study published in 2019 involving 3,600 men with prostate cancer determined that 17 percent had inherited genetic mutations that may have led to their cancer; 31 percent of the genetic mutations seen were involving the BRCA genes.

Mutations in the genes ATM, CHEK2 and HOXB13 as well as others can all increase a man’s prostate cancer risk.

Benefits of prostate cancer genetic testing

Genetic testing and counseling can be important tools in deter mining a man and his male family members’ risk for developing prostate cancer; as well as poten tially providing insight into how to best effectively treat the pros tate cancer.

Genetic testing may influence and dictate several aspects of prostate cancer surveillance and management.

1. Early prostate cancer detection

Men with genetic mutations may be at an increased risk of not only developing prostate cancer but being afflicted with a more aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Men with prostate cancer and genetic mutations may respond to certain treatments better than those without. For instance, men with metastatic prostate cancer that have breast cancer gene BRCA mutations, benefit from targeted therapy using PARP inhibitors (olaparib and ruca parib). PARP stands for poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase, a type of enzyme that helps repair DNA damage in cells. PARP inhibitors work by preventing cancer cells from repairing, allowing them to die. These drugs are a type of tar geted therapy. They target cancer cells and mostly avoid affecting healthy cells.

Black men with BRCA gene mutations in particular have been found to have a significant pros tate cancer survival benefit with PARP inhibitor treatment when compared to Caucasian men with the same BRCA gene mutations.

Research shows that about one in eight men with metastatic prostate cancer have related gene mutations. Men in this group are strongly encouraged to have genetic counseling and testing.

3. Impact on family prostate cancer surveillance

Genetic testing for one male individual in a family may provide important insight into the genet ics of other men in the family. This genetic testing may influence health decisions of all men within a family and potentially lead to early prostate cancer diagnosis and cure for men that were previ ously unaware that they were at increased risk for prostate cancer.

Men Who should get genetic testing

There are three categories of men who would most likely ben efit most from genetic counseling and testing for prostate cancer.

1. Strong prostate cancer history

Men who have a strong family history of prostate cancer or breast, ovarian, colon or pan creatic cancer in male or female family members would be advised to obtain genetic counselling and testing. Men who have had family members diagnosed with any of these cancers before the age of 50 years old are at even higher

Weekend race to encourage Bahamians to start moving

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

ENTHUSIASTIC walkers and runners are being encouraged to participate in the Good Energy Run this weekend.

After being held for the past two years by virtual means, organ isers are happy that participates will have an in-person experience this year.

The Good Energy Run is being hosted by the Early Birds Run Club on Saturday, October 22, at 6.30am at the Western Esplanade.

Regina Smith, local fitness expert, said the run has been growing by leap and bounds since its inception.

“The run grows in number. We’ve always had a great turn-out of enthusiastic walkers and run ners,” she told Tribune Health.

“Every year we want to get better and more professional. Every year we try to add to the experience of our participants. So, this year it will be a timed race. All participants will receive bibs that will give them their individ ual times. This is good for runners who like to push the envelope and go for personal best on 5k and 10k distances.”

Trophies will also be awarded to the overall male and female finishers.

“We will also have a race vil lage with small business vendors. We love supporting small and medium Bahamian businesses and giving them a platform to showcase their products and talent. We are also keeping the

virtual aspect available for family island residents that may want to participate,” said Regina.

For people who are consider ing participating in a race like this one, preparation is important.

“Participants can prepare for the race by first purchasing proper shoes, start walking or running a mile a day, and reserving at least one day out of the week to

complete the distance they’ve chosen for the race,” said Regina.

Even if some people may feel they are not physically fit enough to participate in this race, Regina encourages them to just start moving more.

“Find the time of day that is most convenient for you. This will promote adherence to exercise. Find a friend to exercise with.

This increases accountability and promotes enjoyment of exercise and movement. Start small and increase your duration and inten sity,” she said.

While most of the club’s energy is geared towards making this weekend’s event a success, Regina said they may be more events like this one happening in the immedi ate future.

risk and genetic testing is strongly recommended.

2. Men with metastatic prostate cancer

Men who have unfortunately been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer with the cancer having spread outside the pros tate gland, have been shown to have improved survival benefits if genetic mutations have been diagnosed; leading to directed metastatic prostate cancer therapy.

3. Men wishing for a peace of mind

Fear of the unknown can potentially negatively impact the emotional state of men concerned about their prostate cancer risk profile. The Bahamas sadly has one of the highest incidences per capita of BRCA breast cancer gene mutations in the world. Knowing your genetic mutation status and subsequent potential increased prostate cancer risk can allow men to be proactive in their surveillance for prostate cancer. Early detection of prostate cancer has a nearly 100 percent 5 year cancer specific survival rate and a nearly 96 percent, 10-year cancer specific survival rate. Prostate cancer has an excellent survival rate when diagnosed in its early stages.

Men diagnosed with certain genetic mutations may have an increased risk of developing pros tate cancer in their lifetime, but it does not mean prostate cancer is inevitable. Gene mutations don’t account for most cases of pros tate cancer. Research shows that about one to two in 20 prostate cases are in men with cancerrelated mutations.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the Baha mas and the leading cause of male cancer-related death. Pros tate cancer is very variable in its genetic makeup, which makes diagnosis and treatment complex at times, as there is not a one size fits all approach for treating patients. A knowledge of the driv ers of genetic variability will help with understanding the prostate cancer disease itself and improve treatments.

Genetic counselling and test ing for prostate cancer is readily available in the Bahamas.

• Dr Greggory Pinto is a board-certified Bahamian urolo gist and laparoscopic surgeon. He can be contacted at OakTree Medical Center #2 Fifth Ter race and Mount Royal Avenue, Nassau, Bahamas; Telephone – (242) 322-1145-7; email: wel come@urologycarebahamas.com or visit the website:www.urology carebahamas.com

“For now, we’re focused on the Good Energy Run and making it as successful and as memorable as it can be. However, we are con sidering a family-focused event during the Christmas holiday season,” she said.

Proceeds will be donated to the Cancer Society’s Freedom Kids survivor support group.

Specialists discuss latest options for breast cancer survivors

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

For many women, a breast cancer diagnosis is one of the toughest experiences they will ever face.

Often, they face the additional challenge of deciding if they want to remove one or both breasts, have a lumpectomy (where only the cancerous portion is removed and the remaining tissue con served), and if they want to have

reconstructive surgery after the fact.

Similarly, some women who may find themselves more geneti cally predisposed to getting cancer may wish to explore their options should they choose to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy, like Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie did.

Dr Wesley Francis, a Baha mian oncologist, and Dr Martin Newman, who is a breast recon structive surgeon and department chair at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida, recently discussed the trends and latest options for

breast cancer survivors during a media interview hosted by Diane Philips and Associates.

Ms Philips is herself a breast cancer survivor who chose to have natural tissue reconstruction sur gery back in 1995.

At the time, her procedure was the latest trend, but surgeons have since made tremendous strides and said her procedure would be considered barbaric today.

Both doctors agreed that women have choices when it comes to restoring their bodies.

Dr Francis explained that in the Bahamas there is a cultural bias

Achilles tendon injury

Why is it called the Achilles tendon? According to myth, the Greek god Achilles was brought up by his mother and in order to protect him as a child she dipped him in the waters of the River Styx believing that this made him physically invulnerable to danger. And so, it did except for the part of his heel by which she held him—the proverbial “Achilles’ heel” meaning the weak spot.

The Achilles tendon is the larg est and strongest tendon in the body. Located at the back of the heel, it connects the heel bone to the calf muscle. Tendons are the long, tough, fibrous connective issues that attach our muscles to bones. The Achilles tendon helps you walk, run and jump by raising the heel off the ground. Although it is very strong, over-stressing it can cause injury and pain.

The most common causes of Achilles pain are:

• Achilles tendinitis, an inflam mation of the tendon. • Achilles tendinosis, when the tendon starts to degenerate due to neglect in treating the tendinitis. • Achilles tendon rupture, a tear or break in the tendon.

Tendinitis occurs when a tendon becomes irritated or inflamed. Inflammation is the body’s response to injury or dis ease and can be very painful, so it is extremely important to seek treatment as quickly as possible otherwise it can become a longterm, chronic problem, causing

difficulty in walking. There are two types of Achilles tendinitis: non-insertional Achilles tendinitis when the fibres in the middle of the tendon start to break down, swell and thicken. This type of tendinitis affects younger, more active persons.

Insertional Achilles tendinitis - this is when the lower part of the heel where the tendon con nects, or inserts to the heel bone

is inflamed or damaged. It can affect anyone, even people who aren’t active but it most com monly affects people who overuse the tendon, such as long-distance runners.

An Achilles tendon issue is a common sports injury. People at high risk are those who may play sports, especially sports that involve quick stops and starts, although people who play sports

towards mastectomies, perhaps unsurprisingly since we have high est known frequency of breast cancer (BRCA) gene mutations

“I have been home for 14 years and there is a cultural bias towards mastectomies even though literature clearly states that breast con servation and mastectomy are equal in terms of outcome of overall sur vival,” he said.

“But in the Bahamas a lot of people think that if you get breast cancer than you should get your breast removed and it’s been a constant battle to change that mindset.”

Dr Newman said that it is important that women explore all of their options before making such a huge decision.

“One thing about breast reconstructive sur gery it is never a one and done procedure,” he said.

Challenges arise because women’s bodies can change with weight fluctuations and they may wish to change the shape or balance of the breast.

“The patients who have been in our practice for the past 20 years are still in our practice and we continue to take care of them through life,” he noted.

Dr Newman explained that women who do opt for recon structive surgery have a variety of options .

They can choose natural tissue reconstruction, which is where the breast is reshaped using muscle, skin or fat from another part of your body.

Or they can choose to use implants – silicone shells filled with either silicone gel or saline (sterile salt water).

Whatever the choice, he said it is is a life-long journey.

Breast reconstruction includes a variety of factors, including reconstructing breast mounds, utilising tissue expanders, inser tion of permanent breast implants and balancing procedures, nipple reconstruction and areolar tattooing.

He said one of the newest pro cedures is breast resensation.

Resensation is a surgical tech nique performed during breast reconstruction that can poten tially restore sensation in breasts after a mastectomy, Dr Newman explained.

Resensation uses allograft (from another person) nerve tissue to reconnect and bridge the gap between the nerves in your chest and the nerves in your reconstructed breast tissue.

When sensation is restored to breasts after mastectomy and reconstruction, women have the ability to not only look, but also the potential to feel more like themselves again.

Dr Newman stressed that anyone on this journey should have a consultation with a boardcertified plastic surgeon.

“It is information whether you use it or not. Don’t be in that posi tion ten years from now saying nobody told me, because there are options,” he said.

The majority of women in the Bahamas diagnosed with breast cancer choose to have mastecto mies and reconstruction.

“Breast cancer is a cancer of older woman, but here we have younger women and so here a lot more of them are leaning towards mastectomies with reconstruc tion and 90 percent or more chose implant based,” Dr Francis said.

One big factor in deciding the route they wish to take is being able to pay for the procedure.

In the United States, Dr Newman said, that there is leg islation in place that says if an insurance carrier pays for a mas tectomy on one side, they are obligated to continue to maintain that reconstruction throughout the patient’s life and do something on other side so that both breasts can be as symmetrical as possible.

The US also has the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

GINA protects individuals against discrimination based on their genetic information in health coverage and in employment.

In the Bahamas, however, there is no such legislation.

Dr Francis said such legal protection would be extremely important in the Bahamas given, for example, the high-risk level for breast cancer here.

It would mean that women and men could test to see their risk level or predisposition to certain illnesses, without fear that the information could be used against them or be used to deny them coverage.

Dr Francis said the media and public need to join efforts with organisations like the Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group to get our parliamentarians to pass health insurance legislation

“We lag behind the US in this area,” he said.

less often “weekend warriors” may also suffer because of the infrequent use of that part of the body; others who are into run ning or dancing; or labourers who may suffer stress on their feet and ankles.

Others who may be susceptible are those who have weak or tight calf muscles, or have a bone spur, which is an extra growth rubbing the tendon causing pain. Other causes are flat arches of the foot or over-pronation meaning ankles that roll down on walking.

If you have an Achilles tendon issue you might notice heel and ankle pain, stiffness or tender ness in the tendon, leg weakness or swelling around the Achilles tendon. This may feel worse after you have been active or exercising even climbing stairs or walking uphill. This may only be notice able in the morning, improving during the day but should still be taken seriously.

You can avoid damage to the Achilles if you warm up before exercise or sports. Focus on stretching exercises, especially stretching your calf muscles; do a variety of exercises to avoid repet itive stress on the Achilles tendon; keep your muscles active by stay ing in shape all year round - good advice in general. It helps if you wear supportive well-fitting shoes and when possible avoid running uphill or on uneven ground. If you do notice pain, stop immediately and take a rest.

Seek help from your health care professional and follow the instructions to avoid re-injuring

Hannah Foster Middleton BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy, MCSP, SRP

yourself. The first option should be to see if non-surgical inter vention is the answer. See your physiotherapist although it may take a few months to see improve ment but if it works, a better non-invasive option. If surgery has to be performed, it is important to follow your provider’s instructions for the recovery period. This will include attending physiotherapy to do range-of-motion exercises to keep the tendon mobile and wearing a cast, splint or boot for the requisite period advised. As always, prevention is preferable to cure, so exercise thoughtfully, know your body’s limits and stay healthy.

• For questions and comments, call Hannah Foster-Middleton at 356 4806, e-mail genesisphysi otherapy@gmail.com, or visit www.physiotherapybahamas. com.

Bahamas Beach Soccer Cup kicks off on Friday

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Beach soccer returns to the shores of The Bahamas as the country’s men’s and wom en’s teams will compete against their counterparts throughout the region this weekend.

The Bahamas Football Association and Beach Soccer Worldwide will host The Bahamas Beach Soccer Cup, October 21-23 in the National Beach Soccer Stadium at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge.

The men’s division includes The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia and Costa Rica while in the women’s divi sion The Bahamas will compete against Trinidad and Turks and Caicos.

Gates open at 4pm each day and the first match begins at 6pm. Admission to the general public is free of charge.

Both head coaches of Team Bahamas called it an exciting moment for local beach soccer as the players anticipate an eager return to the pitch.

Head coach of the wom en’s team, Daria Adderley, said the event is an oppor tunity to showcase the budding programme, ranked no.18 by BSWW.

“This is our first inter national tournament here in The Bahamas so for the women here that will be playing, they are very excited to have the coun try see them perform,” she said.

“We played in a tourna ment in El Salvador a few months ago and we had a very good showing. We want the country to know that the women are just as good as the men, even better in some respects.”

Forward Hadassah Knowles added: “We’ve been training very hard, team chemistry is at its peak so we have noth ing but high hopes for this tournament. “I’m very happy to be playing for my country in front of country and it’s an amazing oppor tunity so I’m very excited.”

The team will face Turks and Caicos on October 22 and Trinidad and Tobago on October 23.

The men’s national team programme is currently ranked no.38 by BSWW. Colombia is ranked the highest in the tournament at number 26 while Costa Rica is no. 52. Trinidad and Tobago is at no. 54.

They will open competi tion on October 21 against Trinidad and Tobago, fol lowed by a matchup against Costa Rica the following day and concludes on the final day against Colombia.

Gavin Christie has moved from the sand to the sidelines and will serve as head coach for the first time.

“Beach soccer is finally back to The Bahamas.

Unfortunately with all that happened with COVID, the sport had to sit back for a while, we’ve been off for nearly two years, so now finally coming back to our shores we are excited,” he said.

“This is my first moving away from being a player, headed into a coaching role and I’m excited as a new venture. This team is excited, they’ve been beg ging for an opportunity to

play. Last time we played was abroad and was prior to COVID, so we haven’t played at home at this level since the World Cup. The team is ready, we’re at the fine-tuning stage just a few days left working on tacti cal stuff to ensure that we are ready to go.”

Veteran striker Lesly St Fleur said: “We’ve been preparing. We’ve trained but haven’t played enough games. Happy to have the games here and we get to showcase in front of the country.”

ALIV will serve as the Conch Shell Title Sponsor for the event.

“As the home of enter tainment in the Bahamas, we consider it our business to support local entities such as the BFA. We are proud to offer premium content to our subscrib ers via Our TV and also our Direct TV platform. We are providing in kind sponsorship by way of WiFi so persons attend ing the event can be able to share their experiences live with friends and family members who are not here with them,” said chief Aliv Officer John Gomez. “We are proud to always sup port organisations such as

NBA’s Western Conference is loaded with title hopefuls

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

THERE are many oneword answers that could be given about the state of the NBA’s Western Con ference. Loaded, deep, stacked, daunting: They all certainly apply.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch has another word: “Brutal,” he said.

That one works, too.

The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors rightly expect to contend again, and there will be no shortage of teams entering this season believ ing they’re good enough to compete for a title as well.

The Los Angeles Clip pers get Kawhi Leonard back, the Phoenix Suns have won more games than any team in the NBA over the last two regular seasons, the Denver Nuggets have the two-time reigning MVP

in Nikola Jokic, the Dallas Mavericks have a pre sumed future MVP in Luka Doncic, and the Memphis Grizzlies can say the same about Ja Morant.

Oh, and there’s LeBron James of Los Angeles Lakers, entering Year 20, somehow still not slowing down and maybe 50 or so games away from catching

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring record.

“When you put in the work,” James said, “you see the results.”

Lakers first-year coach Darvin Ham knows a great offseason, or a great lineup on paper to start a season, doesn’t guarantee anything.

He was an assistant coach for the Lakers in 2012-13, when the team entered the year with a lineup of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.

That group had two Hall of Famers in Nash and Bryant, and two likely future ones in Gasol and Howard. They started seven games together that season — and went 0-7.

The Lakers went through three coaches that injuryplagued year, won 45 games and got swept in the first

this, and we will continue to invest in the community so we want to encourage the public to come out because it is so meaning ful to encourage, give back and support our athletes.”

Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture Mario Bowleg said he hopes for this event to be a catalyst for the growth of the sport throughout the country.

“It is expected that the event will be exciting for all and we should all support our national teams in their return to international competition. The Bahamas has some of the most beau tiful beaches in the world. This sport, that showcases both our stunning nature and athletic expertise - we hope that this event can be a catalyst for this sport to grow throughout the family islands and that beach soccer can be enjoyed by Bahamians on every island,” he said.

“The country also has the only world-class beach soccer stadium in the region, and as Bahamians, we should hope that our country can continue to put on world-class events in paradise.”

The Bahamas has hosted the 2017 World Cup event

as well as the 2018 Baha mas Beach Soccer Cup.

BFA secretary general Fred Lunn said the contin ued legacy of hosting these marquee events provides unparalleled exposure.

“This event will be broadcast to 130 coun tries around the world so we are going to get tre mendous exposure. Other countries will be watching what is happening here, particularly those in the CONCACAF region. We are looking to be one of the countries submitting a bid to host the World Cup Qualifiers here in 2023. We did it several years ago and it was a tremendous success. It was the biggest viewership of any event CONCACAF has ever put on, so we are hoping to repeat that. When we hosted the World Cup here in 2017, we had some 54,000 local people attend that event,” he said. “We are so thankful for the consistent support of the government of The Bahamas, corpo rate Bahamas, the sporting community - made up of our coaches, our players, our fans, the BFA team has worked around the clock, to ensure the success of this upcoming event.”

BJ MURRAY HITS 2-RUN HOMER IN AFL

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

CHICAGO Cubs pros pect BJ Murray has limited opportunities in the Ari zona Fall League thus far, but continued his power hit ting from the regular season in his last plate appearance. In his third game for the Mesa Solat Sox, Murray hit a two-run home run to help lead his team to a 9-7 win over the Glendale Desert Dogs.

In seven appearances Murray has an .821 OPS and scored two runs.

The Solar Sox are now 6-5 in the standings, second to Tahnaj Thomas and the Surprise Saguaros.

The 22-year-old infielder has made a successful tran sition to High-A baseball and his progression within the Cubs organisation. Murray and his South Bend Cubs claimed the Midwest League Championship series in High A baseball. He hit .545 for the series.

In 56 games with South Bend, Murray hit .273, slug ging .406, with a .794 OPS, with 51 hits, 22 runs scored, eight doubles, five home runs, 28 RBI and eight stolen bases.

The struggles have con tinued on the mound for Thomas in his AFL season thus far.

In his latest appearance, Thomas allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, a walk and two strike outs in 2/3 of an inning. Thomas owns a 17.18 ERA in 3.2 innings pitched in the AFL. He spent his regular season with the Altoona Curve at the AA level.

In 37 games this year, he finished with a 5-4 record and three saves. He pitched 50.2 innings, with a 3.02 ERA and 52 strikeouts.

The league attracts many of the top prospects in the minor leagues.

Late in the minor league seasons, MLB clubs hold a position draft to determine the players who will par ticipate in the AFL. Most are Double-A and Triple-A players.

The league is designed for these prospects to refine their skills and per form in game settings in front of major and minor league baseball scouts and team executives who are in attendance at almost every game.

NBA’s Eastern Conference has many contenders, many questions

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer

NOBODY can be certain how the Boston Celtics will perform under their third coach in three years, or whether James Harden can flourish in Philadelphia alongside Joel Embiid, or if Ben Simmons’ first season playing with the Brook lyn Nets is already the last chance with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Talent is spread all over the Eastern Confer ence. So are the question marks. It’s easy to see any of those teams, along with Milwaukee, Miami and perhaps others, finishing atop the conference. It’s also easy to see some of them derailed by drama. For now, everybody is looking at the positives.

“There’s a lot of good teams, a lot of talent in the East, but once the games are being played, that’s when you’ll declare who the best team is,” Durant said. “I think obviously first third of the season, halfway through, you’ll start to figure it out,

but everybody feels great about their team around this time.”

Durant didn’t feel great over the summer, telling the Nets he wanted to be traded. At the same time, the Nets were declining to give Irving a contract extension after he was unavailable for so much of last season because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

But the Nets’ problems were old news by the time the Celtics, coming off an NBA Finals appearance, suspended coach Ime Udoka just before train ing camp for at least this season for multiple vio lations of team policies involving a woman in the organisation. Assistant Joe Mazzulla takes over

LEBRON JAMES

KEVIN DURANT

SHOWN, from left to right, are Hadassah Knowles, women’s national team player, Daria Adderley, women’s national team head coach, James Gomez, chief Aliv officer, Fred Lunn, BFA secretary general, Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture Mario Bowleg, Gavin Christie, men’s national team head coach, Kelsie Johnson, director of sports, Lesly St Fleur, men’s national team head coach and Anya James, BFA executive vice president.

Late turnover, Hopkins 4th field goal gives Chargers overtime win

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif.

(AP) — Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:38 remaining in over time, and the Los Angeles Chargers rallied for a 19-16 victory over the Denver Broncos last night.

Hopkins, who injured a hamstring during the first half, grimaced as he kicked the ball and fell to the ground before being picked up by teammates. The ninth-year kicker was inactive for last week’s game against Cleveland due to a quadriceps injury.

The Chargers have won three straight to improve to 4-2. They are tied with Kansas City atop the AFC West.

The game appeared to be headed toward a tie until Denver’s Montrell Washington muffed JK Scott’s punt at the Broncos 32-yard line. It was recov ered by Deane Leonard at the Denver 28-yard line.

Washington called for a fair catch, but Denver safety P.J. Locke didn’t hear Washington and tried to block Ja’Sir Taylor when Locke bumped into Washington.

Justin Herbert, who completed 37 of 57 for 238 yards and an interception, passed to Mike Williams for 9 yards to get Hopkins closer.

Russell Wilson was 15 of 28 for 188 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos (2-4), who dropped a game in overtime for the second straight week.

Denver jumped out to a 10-0 lead with scores on the first two drives.

Brandon McManus was good from 51 yards midway through the first, and Wilson found a wideopen Greg Dulcich for a 39-yard touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the quarter.

Wilson was able to elude pressure, step up in the pocket and loft a pass up the right sideline to the rookie tight end, who caught it at the LA 15 and went untouched into the end zone for his first NFL touchdown.

Dulcich, a third-round pick from UCLA, was activated before the game after beginning the season on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.

On the play before Dulcich’s score, Wilson avoided a sack attempt by Khalil Mack and Chris

Rumph II, scrambled right and connected with Jerry Jeudy for a 37-yard completion.

The Dulcich TD was the Broncos’ first in 87 min utes, 54 seconds.

The Chargers answered on their ensuing posses sion, putting together a 15-play, 82-yard drive that was capped by Austin Ekeler’s 6-yard run up the middle with the Los

Angeles linemen helping him get across the goal line.

The Chargers converted all four of their third-down opportunities — includ ing Ekeler’s TD — on the drive, which took 7:40 off the clock.

Following a Denver three-and-out, Los Angeles evened it at 10 on Hopkins’ 37-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining in the half.

The Broncos were not content to run out the clock though.

KJ Hamler hauled in a 47-yard pass to the LA 28. Denver got to the Charg ers 9 before McManus was good from 27 yards.

The Chargers tied it on their first drive of the third quarter when Hopkins split the uprights from 31 yards.

The teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter.

McManus was good from 48 yards after Baron Browning picked off Herbert.

The Chargers answered with Hopkins making it from 35.

UP NEXT Broncos: Host the sur prising New York Jets on Sunday.

Chargers: Host the Seat tle Seahawks on Sunday.

DOLPHINS TRYING TO STAY AFLOAT AS INJURIES, MISTAKES PILE UP

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) — Coach Mike McDaniel does not want his Miami Dolphins to attribute their threegame skid to their recent bad luck at quarterback.

“Of course it’s not ideal. You want the guys that get all the reps during the week to play,” McDaniel said.

“But you always know that that’s a possibility. I’m going to demand that the team does not point at that to be a reason for what’s happened or a reason for the loss. I think that’s the easy thing to do.”

The reality is that for three straight weeks, the Dolphins have prepared with one starting quarter back only for another QB to play most of the game on Sunday. And that would be hard for any team to overcome.

Third-stringer Skylar Thompson practiced all week with the first-team offence ahead of Sunday’s game against Minnesota while Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater advanced through the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Thompson exited in the first half because of a right

thumb injury — the fourth straight game in which a Dolphins quarterback had to leave the field. Bridge water, who had just cleared the protocol on Saturday, replaced Thompson.

“This game is so crazy,” Bridgewater said. “It just applies to life, also. You wake up one morning pre pared to do one thing, and boom, something happens, and how do you adjust?”

The Dolphins’ offence hasn’t been the same since Tagovailoa was injured on September 29 at Cincin nati. Miami averaged 27.7 points in the games he started and finished, and that has slipped to 16 per game without him.

The injury problems aren’t just at quarterback. Six players left Sunday’s 24-16 loss to the Vikings at various points.

Injuries aside, the Dol phins played one of their sloppiest games of the season as penalties and turnovers halted their momentum.

Bridgewater threw for 329 yards but had two interceptions, and Jaylen Waddle fumbled to squan der a fourth-quarter drive where the Dolphins has a chance to take the lead.

“Turnovers hurt us,”

this is a team that could win the whole thing.

MIAMI Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson (19) walks on the sideline with a band aged hand, during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

McDaniel said, “and over all the tightness of the ship, which, that’s what the head coach is there for, so you

take that square in the eyes and you let the guys know that you’re going to bring a better effort next week.”

WHAT’S WORKING

The Dolphins’ defence was much better after struggling the previous two games. Miami held the Vikings to 234 total yards and 156 passing yards -their fewest in a game this season. Minnesota went three-and-out four straight times to start the game and punted 10 times.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

Scoring. The Dolphins didn’t have trouble moving the ball with either Thomp son or Bridgewater. Tyreek Hill and Waddle combined for 306 receiving yards. But penalties and injuries wiped away those efforts. The Dolphins got just two touchdowns and 16 points out of their 458 yards of offense.

STOCK UP Tight end Mike Gesicki had season highs of six receptions, 69 yards and two touchdowns.

STOCK DOWN The offensive line. Miami allowed 13 quar terback hurries and six sacks Sunday. Left tackle Terron Armstead was inactive because of a lin gering toe injury, and right

tackle Austin Jackson (right ankle) is on injured reserve.

INJURED

The Dolphins suffered several injuries on defence, including a season-ending Achilles tendon tear for CB Nik Needham, a person with knowledge of the situ ation told The Associated Press on Sunday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the severity of the injury. Other players hurt Sunday were LB Trey Flow ers (foot) and CB Keion Crossen (knee). Waddle appeared to hurt his left shoulder after a 49-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter, but returned to the game — though McDaniel suggested the injury may linger.

KEY NUMBER 8 — The number of consecutive games the Dolphins had won at Hard Rock Stadium before Sun day’s loss. Miami hasn’t won more than eight in a row at home since the venue opened in 1987.

NEXT STEPS

Tagovailoa has cleared the concussion protocol and is expected to play Sunday night when Miami hosts Pittsburgh.

BARKLEY, ‘INSIDE THE NBA’ CREW AGREE TO CONTRACT EXTENSIONS

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer

CHARLES Barkley will not be leaving TNT or the “Inside the NBA” crew for the foreseeable future.

Barkley has signed a 10-year extension with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which owns TNT. Barkley’s agreement coin cides with contract renewals for host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.

round by San Anto nio. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it, remain ing healthy being at the top of the list,” Ham said. “And most important, also coming together as a team.”

Finch’s Timberwolves are another team that made big offseason moves, landing Rudy Gobert from Utah.

But even with that acqui sition, Finch knows nothing will be easy in the West.

He noted the confer ence has so much quality that even some good teams — New Orleans was an example he cited — just aren’t getting talked about.

“I think it’s open,” Finch said.

“And I think it’s deep. ... There’s certainly stratas of teams, but I think there’s no clear-cut, dominant team, as there has been. But yeah, it’s going to be a brutal one.”

A look at the West, in predicted order of regularseason finish:

PLAYOFF BOUND

1. Los Angeles Clippers. Leonard should quickly remind the league he’s still elite.

If Paul George can stay healthy, and if John Wall has anything left — the Clippers would be smart to watch his minutes — then

2. Golden State Warriors. Doubt the champs at your own peril. The Draymond Green mess is exactly that — “a crisis,” coach Steve Kerr called it — but the Warriors seem like a group that can handle such a situ ation. Oh, and they have Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. And a supertalented young core.

3. Phoenix Suns. The Game 7 embarrassment at home last season isn’t some thing that will be easily forgotten and it wasn’t exactly a smooth offseason amid the scandal surround ing owner Robert Sarver. Devin Booker is entering his prime, and Chris Paul is running out of oppor tunities to finally get his championship. Still an enor mously talented team.

4. Denver Nuggets. All they have is a two-time reigning MVP in Jokic, and the returns of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. There is a lot to like.

5. Memphis Grizzlies. It may be unrealistic to expect another 56-win regular season, but Morant is an MVP-calibre star, and the team has tons of swagger.

6. Minnesota Timber wolves. Yes, they emptied the safe to acquire Gobert. Pairing him with KarlAnthony Towns gives

Minnesota a 1-2 punch like almost none other. And with D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards continu ing to get better, the Wolves should be in the mix.

INTO THE PLAY-IN

7. Dallas Mavericks. Doncic looks to be in better shape, will be an MVP frontrunner and is coming off a great summer at EuroBasket for Slovenia. The Mavs need to find ways to not have Doncic carrying more than his share of the load.

8. Los Angeles Lakers. The biggest mystery in the West and maybe the league. James is on pace to become the scoring king, Anthony Davis can still be a major problem for opponents — when he’s healthy — and Russell Westbrook is look ing to silence critics. But will it work?

9. Sacramento Kings. New coach Mike Brown will install a new culture, the acquisition of Kevin Huerter was super-smart and the Kings are going to score a ton of points. It’s going to be hard to take big leaps forward in the loaded West, but the Kings will try.

10. New Orleans Peli cans. They got hot at the right time last year, got playoff experience and now they get Zion Williamson back after he couldn’t play last season.

Not many teams embrace a coach the way New Orleans embraces Willie Green, either.

But, again, the West is just so tough ...

FACING

LONG ODDS

11. Portland Trail Blaz ers. Damian Lillard is going to be a player on a mission this season and the Blaz ers will be improved over a year ago. But, again, the West is just so tough ...

12. Utah Jazz. Even after trading away Dono van Mitchell and Gobert, there’s still talent there. Not enough talent, but coach Will Hardy will have Utah playing defence. That’s a certainty.

13. Houston Rockets. We’ve now entered the lottery-watch portion of the list. Houston has young talent and a really good coach in Stephen Silas, but a team needs more in the West these days.

14. Oklahoma City Thun der. No Chet Holmgren this season means the Thun der return to the lottery. It’s a development year for a team with tons of draft assets.

15. San Antonio Spurs. Gregg Popovich won’t add many wins to the NBA alltime record this season, but he’ll be teaching the players he has how to win in the future. He’ll also

be brushing up on French wine, with hopes of having something to talk about with Victor Wembanyama for years to come.

FANDUEL SAYS ...

FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Warriors as the pick to come out of the West, by the slimmest of margins over the Clippers with the Suns not far behind.

Denver, Memphis, the Lakers, Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans are the second tier of FanDuel’s West favourites. From there, it’s a wide gap to the rest of the West -- Portland, then Sacramento, Utah, Oklahoma City, San Anto nio and Houston.

STEPH WATCH Curry, already the lead ing 3-point shooter, scored 1,630 points last season.

If he does that again this year, he’ll have climbed into the top 40 scorers in NBA history.

Curry starts this season 47th on the scoring list with 20,064 points. He needs 831 to pass Pau Gasol for the No. 40 spot, and if he matches his scoring mark from last year, Curry could end the season 37th — just behind No. 36 Larry Bird (21,791) and just ahead of Hal Greer (21,591).

LEBRON’S LIST James has had a lot of teammates. A whole lot. Counting players who have

Barkley has been with TNT since retir ing as a player in 2000. He had floated the idea of doing com mentary for Saudi-funded LIV Golf this past summer.

BARKLEY

“We’re all a big family — Ernie, Kenny and Shaquille are brothers to me — and I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for them and all the amazing people who work on our show,” Barkley said in a statement. “I’m not gonna lie, though, this is a life-altering deal ... and I’m blessed to be able to do live television for a living.”

“Inside the NBA” begins its 34th season today. Johnson has been with the show since the begin ning while Smith became a studio analyst in 1998. O’Neal joined the quartet in 2011.

The deals with Johnson, Smith and O’Neal are “long term,” but last well beyond the end of Turner’s current deal with the NBA in 202425. The league is expected to begin rights negotiations soon. Turner has been car rying games since 1984 while ESPN/ABC replaced NBC in 2002.

The other major sports leagues have recently negotiated new rights deals. Amazon is in its first season carrying the NFL, with the rest of the league’s renewed contracts with other networks kicking in next season. Major League Baseball’s new contracts with Fox, ESPN and Turner began this year while the NHL’s with Turner and ESPN are in its second season.

Major League Soccer’s deal with Apple TV+ begins next season. Besides the traditional networks, the NBA should see increased competition from stream ing services trying to get a package of games.

gotten into regular-season games during James’ stints in Cleveland, Miami and with the Lakers, he’s up to 226 teammates over his first 19 seasons. That number will rise on opening night, probably into the 230s.

NEW COACHES

There are three new coaches in the West. Ham got his long-awaited chance to coach when he was hired by the Lakers, and Utah’s Hardy is making his head coaching debut.

Sacramento’s Brown went 347-216 coaching Cleveland and the Lakers, and spent the last six sea sons as an assistant in Golden State.

DENVER TO .500?

Denver beat Cleveland on January 12, 1996, and that victory raised the Nug gets’ all-time record in NBA games to 797-796.

They lost to Portland the next night. They haven’t been over .500 as a fran chise since.

But that could change this year.

The Nuggets enter this season 1,844-1,861, and if they get to 18 games over .500 they’ll have a winning all-time record for the first time in about 27 years.

It seems quite possible: The Nuggets have been an average of 20 games over .500 in each of the last four seasons.

BRONCOS quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is sacked by Charg ers linebacker Khalil Mack during the first half last night. (AP Photo/Mark J Terrill)

Jacobi Bain in ITA Cup spotlight

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JACOBI Bain’s season has been highlighted thus far by two wins in three days at the ITA Cup Tennis Championships in Rome, Georgia.

The Xavier University of Loui siana sophomore scored a 6-2, 7-5 win in the consolation finals against Soufiane El Mesbahi of Keiser University.

Bain entered the draw unranked based on the ITA NAIA regular season singles rankings while El Mesbahi was ranked no.27.

He opened play with a 6-2, 6-1 over Daniel Vishnick of Cardi nal Stritch in the opening round to advance to the main-draw

quarterfinals. He was then elimi nated with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Georgia Gwinnett’s second-seeded Alex Gurmendi.

Bain and the Gold Rush will con tinue their season October 21-22 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Dil lard Invitational.

Formerly known as the Small College Nationals, the ITA Cup dates back to 1986. It is the only singles and doubles national cham pionship event for the Division II and NAIA levels. In 2021, more than 8,000 players participated in 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Cup field.

Earlier this month, Bain part nered with Nereo Suarez to advance to the final of the NAIA Gulf ITA Regional where they

finished as runners-up to Texas A&M-Texarkana’s second-seeded team of Alejandro Oviedo and

Mauricio Trevino Velasco 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) in the men’s doubles final.

Bain and Suarez won 8-3 in the quarterfinals against Remus Heb hang-Balan and Hippolyte Barbier de Preville of city rival Loyola. They advanced to the final with an 8-1 win over Blue Mountain’s fourth seeded team of Justin Van Amerongen and Rick Sakamoto.

In Singles-A play, Bain advanced to the final against fellow Gold Rush teammate Mathieu Strauss.

Bain’s stellar freshman season for the Gold Rush included a con ference wide honour as the ITA NAIA South Region Rookie of the Year.

He finished the year 20-7 in sig nals play and 26-9 in doubles play.

Athletes flock to inaugural Government High Cross Country Championships

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

A PAIR of University of the Bahamas Mingoes track and field team-mates took their share of the spotlight, while there were a couple of new faces that emerged to the forefront during the inaugural Govern ment High Cross Country Championships.

The early morning riser on Saturday saw almost 1,000 athletes from the pri mary to high school and elite level of competition compete on the flat course at Government High.

When the final tally was done, just like they did in track and field competi tion on the track, the CH Reeves Raptors clinched the junior division and the CR Walker Knights outshined their rivals in the senior schools.

Lhevinne Joseph, the Mingoes’ top middle dis tance runner, said he came out to have some fun and to be competitive as he pulled off the victory in the open men’s race in seconds to remain undefeated at home.

“We usually don’t cross country as much here and we don’t have that many distance runners in my opinion, but to see so many people come out and com pete in this meet is actually a good thing,” he said.

Joseph was the winner of the UB Cross Country a week ago after he partici pated as a member of the Mingoes Track Team at two international meets in St Thomas and in Dayton Beach, Florida.

“I feel alright now. I am a 400 and 800 metre runner, so I would consider this as conditioning for the rest of the season, so I’m in a good place,” said the 21-year-old.

Quinton Ellis, a 19-yearold graduate of Doris Johnson, gave Joseph a run for his money in their combined race. He said he felt very good about his performance, winning the under-20 division in 12:09.

Raywind Winder of Hurry Murray was second in 13:02 and Johnathan Turner got third in 13:05. Nathan Jones of Hurry Murray got fourth (13:45) and Jyonn Joseph of Doris Johnson got fifth (13:50).

“It was good. I just have to continue fighting and train every day so I can do my best,” Ellis said. “I’m

EASTERN

FROM

for Udoka, who just fin ished his first season after replacing Brad Stevens. Despite that, 76ers coach Doc Rivers still looks at the Celtics, along with the Bucks, as teams that start 2022-23 in a strong spot.

While his team strives to get the best out of former MVP Harden, who was swapped for Simmons at the Feb ruary trade deadline, the top players on rival squads (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday in Milwau kee; Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford in Boston) have played plenty of big games together.

“I think as a coach, when you look around, you look

not worried about the competition. I let my per formance speak for itself.”

In preparation for head ing off to college hopefully in January, Ellis said he would also like to be able to represent the Bahamas on the various national teams next year.

Lakeica Lewis, an 18-year-old graduate from CV Bethel now in her fresh man year at the University of the Bahamas, said she enjoyed winning her second consecutive cross country this year.

She held off Melvinique Gibson of RM Bailey in the sprint to the finish line. CR Walker’s trio of Destiny McPhee, Garanas Moss and Ivanieca Charlton followed ahead of Chelsea Sweeting of CV Bethel.

“This one felt good. I tried to keep the pace as much as I could because the crowd was much larger than the last one at UB,” said Lewis, who won that as well. I had to run my race and now run anyone’s race.”

Lewis, who stands at 6-feet, one-inch, said her goal next year is to repre sent the Bahamas in the 400 and 800m in as many inter national events as she can.

Yulianis Akompi, a ninth grader at St Augustine’s College and a member of Quick Step Athletics, said after placing second at the UB cross country, she went out to do her best in the GHS event, winning the girls under-15 division in 6:46.

She out sprinted the rest of the field that saw the Hurry Murray duo of Ramonique McLennon (6:56) and Breynice Kemp (7:05), while Alexis Roberts of Team Roberts Athletics was a close fourth in 7:06.

Breyyeisha Kemp of Hurry Murray was fifrth (7:15).

“I had a different plan and it turned out pretty good,” she said. “I am doing a lot of training, running a lot of long distance races so it can help me when I get on the track to compete.”

Her aim is to qualify for the CARIFTA Games in the 400/800 and 400m hurdles.

Zion Miller, a 15-year-old 10th grader at Queen’s Col lege, took advantage of his first cross country event this year.

“I was doubting myself at first, but I came here, stayed focused and I executed my plan and I came out on

at teams that have been together and teams that have an advantage there,” Rivers said. “Milwaukee. Boston, they’ve made some changes, but they still have their core guys, they’re still moving that core around. So those are the teams that a team like us, or teams that have made a lot of changes, you have to put a lot of work in. You have to put more work in, because they do have an advantage.”

A look at the East, in predicted order of regularseason finish:

PLAYOFF BOUND

1. Milwaukee — The Bucks should be driven to get home-court advantage after their title defence ended with a Game 7 loss at Boston in the second round.

2. Boston — The coach ing situation is an unknown. The players are not.

top,” he said. “There was a lot of competition, but as a 200/400m runner, I had to suck it in and run for it.”

As a former student at Sadie Curtis Primary School, Miller said he was accustomed to run ning distance races, so that background enabled him to compete in the cross country.

However, he said he wants to compete at CAR IFTA, NACAC, Pan Am and any other international event as he focuses on the 400m where he intends to lower his personal best time from 49 seconds to at least 47.

Melvinique Gibson of RM Bailey took the under20 girls’ title in 13:38, well ahead of CR Walker’s trio of Destiny McPhee second (16:33), Garanae Moss third (16:34) and Ivaniece Charlton fourth (16:39).

Chelsea Sweeting of CV Bethel rounded out the top five in 16:58.

Jasmine Mackey got a victory for 3P Stallions in the girls’ under-17 division in 11:48. A’Karee Roberts of CR Walker was second in 12:08 and Taylor Adder ley of Quick Step Athletics was third in 12.23. Dahjia Mesidor of CR Walker was fourth (8:14) and Tellica Seymour of the Road Run ners was fifth (10:10).

Lashley Naissance of CR Walker captured the under17 boys’ title in 9:44.

Jayden Walkine of CV Bethel was second in 9:48 and third went to Brandon

3. Philadelphia — The 76ers will hope for more than the 21 points Harden averaged for them last season.

4. Miami — Had the East’s best record and was a game away from the NBA Finals last season.

5. Chicago — Bulls were in great shape last year until injuries to Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball.

6. Cleveland — Dono van Mitchell and Darius Garland in the backcourt with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley up front should be good enough for a team that just fell short of the playoffs last season.

INTO THE PLAY-IN

7. Brooklyn — Too explo sive to be stopped. Maybe too small to stop others.

8. Toronto — Needs good bench play to keep the key starters from wearing down.

Brave of Government High in 9:57. Kaelano Kelly of Hurry Murray was fourth (9:57) and Dylan Simon of Quick Step Athletics was fifth (9:58).

Gabriel Johnson of Hurry Murray won the under-15 boys’ division with his team-mate Tieano Fer guson trailing in second. Joshua Cireus of DW Davis was third and CH Reeves’ Stanley Pratt and Jaime Perez were fourth and fifth, all timed in 6:06.

Aiden Musgrove of Bahamas Speed Dynamics was the winner of the boys’ under-13 category in 6:23. Arjaty Roberts of Team Roberts Athletics was second in 6:30 and Tavares Rolle of HO Nash Junior High was third in 6:46. Ayden Russell of Unique Athletics was fourth (6:54) and Jamal Ferguson of CH Reeves got fifth (7:01).

Shakinah Lewis of AF Adderley took the girls’ under-13 title in 8:00. She was followed by A’Niyah Burrows of Hurry Murray in 8:13 and Gabrielle McLean of the Road Run ners Track Club was third in 8:37. Azaria Dean of HO Nash was fourth (8:49) and Heziah Roberts of LW Young fifth (8:53).

In the boys’ under-11 category, Paterci Sherman of Claridge Primary was the winner in 3:16. Ronald Simon of the Road Run ners got second in 3:18 and Ramonick McLennon of Hurry Murray was third in 3:19. Jwyden Jones of

9. Atlanta — With Dejounte Murray join ing Trae Young, guard play won’t be a problem in Atlanta.

10. New York — Jalen Brunson takes over at the point and tries to get the best out of Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.

FACING LONG ODDS

11. Charlotte — Coach Steve Clifford’s second stint depends, as with recent Charlotte seasons, on the health of LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward.

12. Washington — The potential is there, as long as Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis are on the court together enough.

13. Indiana — Rick Car lisle for so long had playoff teams in Dallas. He doesn’t in Indiana.

14. Detroit — With Cade Cunningham, No. 5 pick

Unique Athletics got fourth (3:49) and Kelson Grant of Hurry Murray was fifth (3:53).

Daniel Murray of Hurry Murray was the winner of the boys under-9 division in 3:46. Ricardo Belle of the Road Runners got second in 3:51 and Lia Bethel of Unique Athletics came in third in 3.54. Hurry Mur ray’s Caiden Bain and Ksasyden Dean were fourth and fifth respectively in 4:21.

Mikhala Strachan, also of Hurry Hurray, won the under-9 girls’ race in 3:55. Christoria Moss of the Road Runners was second in 4:12 and Tanaz Davis of Unique Athletics was third in 4:28. 3P Stallions’ Queen Severe was fourth in 4:55 and Rainiesha Joseph was fifth in 5:11.

Tavia Rolle, the princi pal at Government High, said while this was the first cross country they hosted, they could not have done it without the support of the primary and high school coaches.

“We had a lot of children here today, nearly 1,000, who participated in the meet,” she said.

“Everybody wins because they got to participate, they are learning how to run cross country and they say they are in a better position to compete in events like this in the future.”

Rolle also commended her team st GHS, including Bernice Penn, the head of Physical Education.

Jaden Ivey and other young talent, Pistons won’t be in this position in a few years.

15. Orlando — No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero is the latest good piece to join Magic’s youth movement.

NEWCOMERS OF NOTE

Besides Mitchell, the AllStar guard who was traded from Utah to Cleveland, key additions in the East include Murray (traded to Atlanta from San Antonio), Malcolm Brogdon (Boston) and Brunson (New York).

SECOND-YEAR

STARS Toronto’s Scottie Barnes edged fellow forward Mobley of Cleveland by 15 points in voting for Rookie of the Year, the closest finish under the current voting format that began with the 2002-03 season. Throw in Detroit’s Cunningham, the

WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ FOOTBALL LEAGUES RUN UNTIL DECEMBER 10

FOOTBALL in The Bahamas continues to thrive as the Women’s League season kicked off at the Sir Kendal G.L. Issacs National Gym nasium on October 8 running until December 10, 2022.

With six teams in the Women’s Futsal League including five clubs Baha Juniors FC, Cavalier FC, Dynamos FC, United FC and Western Warri ors there will be intense excitement during these high energy matches.

As sports has the abil ity to bring people of all ages and fitness levels together, the Women’s Football league encour ages females to consider the sport and get con nected no matter their age as players from the age of 16 up to 50.

Soraya Toppin-Her bert, director of women’s football, welcomes women from all walks of life to join. “Regardless of your age or experi ence in football there are many opportunities for women to engage,” she said. “There are oppor tunities to volunteer at events or with clubs and teams, to volunteer as managers and adminis trators and many other ways such as becoming a referee, match com missioner, coach or even playing. Being a sup porter of the game is also a great way to become engaged, the players are always looking for people to support and empower them,” she said.

Post Futsal compe tition, the Women’s League will transition to Grass 11 vs 11 Football in January, 2023.

The public and media are invited to attend matches during the season.

For the full schedule of matches, visit www.baha masfa.net

“This was a safe environ ment to compete in and everyone had a lot of fun,” she noted. “We had family members who came out to support the athletes and so we’re looking forward to the same response when we put on the next event next year.”

Rashan Patton, one of the organisers of the event, said the Physical Education Department at GHS was very grateful for the sup port they received from the public.

“We were a little shaky at first, but everything came together,” he said.

“We just wanted to bring cross country back and so we were really pleased with the support from the government and private schools.”

Patton gave special thanks to principal Rolle, Penn and Fritz Grant along with the students.

He said Ednal Rolle, the head coach at the Univer sity of the Bahamas and David Ferguson, the time keeper, also should be com mended for their efforts in helping GHS host a suc cessful initial cross country.

2021 No. 1 pick, and there’s some potential sophomore sensations in the East.

BALL BROTHERS Both LaMelo and Lonzo Ball are battling injuries headed into the regular season. LaMelo, the former Rookie of the Year, has a sprained ankle that has his availability in question for Charlotte’s opener. Lonzo won’t be ready in Chicago after another procedure last month because he still experienced pain in his left knee after having surgery last season, when he didn’t play after January 14.

TOUGHENING UP Players arriving to add some needed physicality to contenders include P.J. Tucker in Philadelphia, Markieff Morris in Brook lyn, Andre Drummond in Chicago and Robin Lopez in Cleveland.

YOUNG athletes compete in the inaugural Government High Cross Country Championships early on Saturday morning.

Photo: Moise Amisial/Tribune Staff

JACOBI BAIN

World Baseball Classic Pools finalised

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

THE World Baseball Classic Pools have been finalised and the Baha mians on Great Britain’s roster now know their path toward further history making milestones at the event.

The World Baseball Soft ball Confederation made the official announcement yesterday and Great Britain will play in Pool C, hosted March 11-15, 2023 in Phoe nix, Arizona, alongside the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Canada.

The tournament will be hosted from March 8-21 across several venues.

Pool A (Chinese Taipei, Netherlands, Cuba, Italy, Panama) will compete at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Tai chung, Taiwan.

Pool B (Japan, Korea, Australia, China, Czech Republic) and tourna ment quarterfinals will take place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

And finally Pool D (Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua), quar terfinals, semifinals and championship will take place at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.

Great Britain is one of three teams in the field that advanced to the WBC for the first time while another will be playing in it since the first time since 2009.

Led by the Bahamian contingent, the programme recently advanced to the WBC for the first time in programme history, with its undefeated performance at last month’s qualifier in Regensburg, Germany.

The Great Britain roster included outfield ers Anfernee Seymour, D’Shawn Knowles, pitchers Tahnaj Thomas and Chavez

Fernander, catcher Ural Forbes and Albert Cart wright as a member of the coaching staff.

Seymour led the tourna ment in several offensive categories while Knowles had one of the team’s best offensive performances in the finale in Regensburg, Germany.

Seymour recorded the most hits (seven) runs (six),

stolen bases (five), and was only one of two players in the tournament to record a triple.

He also finished tied for fifth in the tournament with five RBI and hit .583, with a .643 slugging percentage and 1.393 OPS.

Knowles finished the qualifiers tied for third with six hits, four runs scored, one home run, and four

RBI. He hit .500, with an .833 slugging percentage, .800 OBP, and 1.000 OPS.

After a three-year gap between the first two installments of the tourna ment, plans were made for the World Baseball Classic to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event.

The third installment of the Classic was held in 2013,

and the fourth was held in 2017.

The fifth, originally scheduled for 2021, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament is being expanded from 16 to 20 national teams, with all teams that participated in the 2017 edition automati cally qualifying, plus four additional spots.

SHOWN, from left to right, are Bahamian players on Team Great Britain - Ural Forbes, Anfernee Seymour, Albert Cartwright, D’Shawn Knowles, Tahnaj Thomas and Chavez Fernander.

SMALL

increase - to within a range of between $225 to $240 per week - rather than the 24 percent jump to $260 that was unveiled by the Prime Minister last week.

While the Davis admin istration indicated it was seeking to increase the present $210 per week to at least $250 as far back as its Blueprint for Change election campaign mani festo, he added that small businesses are also seeking “a seat at the table” when policy decision that impact

their own livelihoods are taken. The seeming lack of consultation/collaboration by the Government, and absence of timely informa tion enabling the sector to smoothly adjust, remain concerns.

“They indicated they are going to have to revisit if they are going to let staff go,” Mr Turnquest said of feedback from mem bers and clients. “They said because of the Christ mas holidays, and with Thanksgiving coming up, they will not put their staff and employees in a

NOTICE is hereby given that LIVANIA DORVILUS of Bay Lilly Drive, Seabreeze Estates, New Providence, 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 18th day of October, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

LA BOMBITA LIMITED

In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, LA BOMBITA LIMITED is in dissolution as of October 6th, 2022.

LUIS RENE ANTONIO PELLECER LOPEZ situated at Avenida Reforma 9-55 Zona 10, Edificio Reforma 10, Oficina 701, Guatemala, Guatemala is the Liquidator.

L I Q U I D A T O R

‘WE’VE COME TOO FAR TO CLOSE’

compromising position before Christmas.

“But, most definitely, they said that come January they will maybe eliminate one or some employees then and see if they can renegotiate with others, making them part-time. You’re look ing really at electronic and clothing retailers. The con venience stores and smaller stores do not have much staff to let go.

NOTICE“That is the main chal lenge for my clients and my members. They say nothing is going to take place between now and Christmas because they don’t want to let staff have a bad Christmas, but what they want to do is inform them. Everyone’s looking at percentages of increasing costs. They’re all analys ing, the ones I’m dealing with, salary increases and increases in electricity costs,” he continued.

“All they see are increases in expenses and increasing costs right now. In January, they have to make a determination as to exactly what they want to do with their overall busi ness model. But what they did indicate is that they do not foresee closing down. They say they’ve come

too far in relation to the pandemic.

“They say they are not closing down. That’s the positive. Don’t mind people saying they are closing down; they are talking out of their heads. The ones I’m dealing with are not closing down. They’d just rather cut salaries, and stream line inventory to focus on certain products. They’re not in the mindset to close down. They say they’ve come too far, and this is how they pay their bills and it’s their main investment,” Mr Turnquest said.

“They most definitely are going to streamline their business model because sur vival is key in January. They said they’ve somewhat got a handle on shipping costs and shipping delays. They know it takes longer now, so they’ve already ordered product in time for Christ mas and Christmas stock.”

While Bahamian small businesses and entrepre neurs will do everything possible to remain viable and solvent, whether they will be forced to do the unthinkable and close down is another matter given the huge escalation in their cost base that will be coming in 2023.

NOTICE

MASSAI TRADING BUSINESS LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, MASSAI TRADING BUSINESS LTD. is in dissolution as of October 13th, 2022.

MARIA FERNANDA MELGAREJO MENDOZA situated at 51 Lote 73, Conkal Conkal, CP. 97345, Yucatan, Mexico is the Liquidator.

L I Q U I D A T O R

For businesses and households that use over 800 kilowatt hours per month (kWh), BPL’s fuel charge is set to increase by 122 percent, 163 percent and 138 percent - more than doubling compared to the present 10.5 kWh rateduring the periods of March 1 to May 31, 2023; June 1 to August 31, 2023, and Sep tember 1 to November 30, 2023. That covers a ninemonth period next year, the bulk of 2023, and includes the peak summer month consumption.

And, while few would argue against a minimum wage increase to enable the lowest-paid work ers in Bahamian society to earn a little more and help somewhat offset infla tion’s impact, the effect will be to increase payroll costs for many employers.

As a result of such surging expenses, and broad-based cost rises due to global and local pressures, businesses will have no choice but to pass much of this on to endconsumers via price hikes.

A significant increase in National Insurance Board (NIB) contribution rates for both employers and employees also looms in the immediate future despite the Prime Minister’s efforts to delay this yet again. This represents a further cost hike for the Bahamian private sector in what is shaping up as a tough eco nomic decade made worse by COVID-19 and hurri cane-related catastrophes.

Mr Turnquest told Trib une Business that the concerns of his members and clients depend upon which sector they operate

in. While all are fearful over the prospect of BPL increases, and harbour some concerns over the minimum wage, ‘Mom and Pop’ food and convenience stores are fretting over the Government’s decision to expand the price control regime to 38 items.

“They say as BPL goes up on their light bill, and the Government is decreasing their margins, most defi nitely their profits will go down,” Mr Turnquest said. “To top it off, they were not expecting a minimum wage rise to $260. They were expecting it to be between $225 to $240 at the most. They expected it to be mar ginal; not a steep hike.”

While some government officials have argued that the minimum wage increase will boost economic activity by stimulating consump tion spending among low income workers, he added that this will not necessarily aid Bahamian small busi nesses. “They’ll spend it on rent and bills, but small businesses will not see it spent on clothes and other stuff necessarily,” Mr Turn quest said.

“They [businesses] said all governments do cer tain policy changes without informing private sector groups so they can release information to small busi nesses. It’s too much stuff at one time, and it’s all come down on them without any type of collaboration and any type of information. Especially for the small business community, that’s a big challenge. They must have a voice at the table to inform them about certain policy decisions.”

NOTICESOVEREIGN LIQUIDITY FUND, LTD. (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the; International Business Companies Act, 2000, SOVEREIGN LIQUIDITY FUND, LTD. is in Dissolution. The date of commencement of dissolution is the 14th day of October, 2022.

Aegis Corporate Services Limited Building Six, Caves Village West Bay Street, P.O. Box SP-63771 Nassau, Bahamas Liquidator

LEGAL NOTICE

N O T I C E

0.4490.22018.32.67%

Pursuant to the Provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, (As Amended) NOTICE is hereby given that HARBINGER INC. has been dissolved and that the name has been struck from the Register of Companies with effect from the 04th of October 2022.

ENERVO ADMINISTRATION LIMITED

Montague Sterling Centre East Bay Street P.O. Box N-3924 Nassau, The Bahamas

LEGAL NOTICE

N O T I C E

Pursuant to the Provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, (As Amended) NOTICE is hereby given that SKY RAIN ASSETS LIMITED has been dissolved and that the name has been struck from the Register of Companies with effect from the 04th of October 2022.

ENERVO ADMINISTRATION LIMITED

Montague Sterling Centre East Bay Street P.O. Box N-3924 Nassau, The Bahamas

Bahamas’ ‘rosy picture’ not making the grade

FROM

we are concerned and we should all be concerned as an industry - all our different insurers.

“I hope and pray the powers that be are doing everything necessary to get us out of the rating we have now.... I am sure the banks are concerned. They are holding a lot of government debt. They are going to be discounting that, so they’re going to take a big finan cial hit like the two life and health insurance companies who are heavily invested in government debt,” Mr Saun ders continued.

“Thankfully for us we do not have that much govern ment debt on our books, so the impact on us is very different, but they [Family Guardian and Colina] have no choice but to buy govern ment debt because they’ve

got too match long-term lia bilities with long-term assets.

“For us, we don’t have much government debt on our books, but we are very concerned. I’d be lying if I said I’m not concerned. We are very concerned. What impact will the country’s rating have on our Best Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) score and on the company? If that is affected we may have to make certain adjustments internally on how we run our business. If it’s a significant downgrade we have to look at where we are now.”

Moody’s pushed The Bahamas further into socalled ‘junk’ status by cutting its sovereign creditworthi ness from ‘Ba3’ to ‘B1’ on the basis that its access to borrowing on the interna tional capital markets is being squeezed by a combi nation of global interest rate

rises, increased emerging market spreads and con cerns about its own fiscal condition.

However, Mr Saunders said both rating agencies appeared to be unconvinced by the Government’s asser tion that it has a plan and road map to tackle The Bahamas’ fiscal and eco nomic problems and put the country back on track in the wake of COVID-19.

“We cannot be painting a rosy picture one way and the rating agencies are not seeing it,” he told Tribune Business. “There’s a discon nect. There’s got to be a disconnect somewhere. We cannot be painting a rosy picture and there’s a discon nect between what we are saying and what the rating agencies are seeing.

“Obviously the data we are giving them is not satisfy ing them; that’s all I can say.

The data we are giving them is not satisfying them to the extent were we are stable. We are saying one thing, and Moody’s and S&P are seeing something else. We are caught in the middle of something we cannot con trol. This is another thing we have to deal with.”

Timothy Ingraham, Summit Insurance Com pany’s president, said the property and casualty insurer was still trying to determine what had driven A. M. Best’s downgrade of Colina and Family Guardian but added that the entire Bahamian financial services industry should be concerned if it stemmed from Moody’s sov ereign action and concerned about the geographic con centration of risk.

Most insurance and financial services pro viders operating in the domestic economy are

heavily restricted to com mercial activities in The Bahamas because of exchange control, which increases country and port folio concentration risk, although some have man aged to expand beyond this nation’s borders.

“We’re still looking at it. I’ve just been discussing it with the chief financial officer,” Mr Ingraham said of A.M. Best’s downgrade of Colina and Family Guard ian. “We need to get a bit more insight into it at this time. Is it strictly because of the country’s downgrade? Is it exposure to government debt?

“We don’t have any com ment on it until we learn the specific things that trig gered it. We’d naturally be concerned if the change was made because of the downgrade to the country’s financial rating. The entire

GB Power ‘very advanced’ on 20MW solar installation

FROM

fuels that GB Power does not have to purchase. Mr McGregor said Grand Bahama’s utility monopoly is seeking to acquire solar energy from the three IPPs at 10 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), adding that a price of 14-15 cents “doesn’t make sense”.

The Emera chief explained that GB Power’s own renewable ambitions had been delayed by Hur ricane Dorian, which flooded the site originally selected for its solar farm, thus forcing a relocation.

“I actually think the IPPs will be a little ahead of us,” Mr McGregor told Tribune Business. “We’ve been trying to manage our operations and costs because it’s been a tough couple of years.

“I hope we finish construc tion by the end of next year but the supply chain is a little tough. I have a high degree of confidence we will have at least three IPPs up and run ning next year. What we have to do is that we announced our project probably in early

2019 before Dorian. The site was flooded by Dorian and we had to find another.

“We’ve secured another site and are doing the geotech work, the planning process and hope to start in 2023. We need to get off oil and get on to solar at an affordable price. We’d started the transition, but obviously got delayed by Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic. But we’re back on track now.”

Mr McGregor spoke after GB Power announced cus tomers will see a 15 percent increase in the fuel charge reflected in their November bills, as it rises from 10 cents per kWh to 11.5 as a result of the increase in global oil prices earlier this year.

“I asked the team today to keep looking out for 2024 and 2025,” he added of GB Power’s fuel hedging ini tiative. “Oil is up and down every day. It dropped a bit on Thursday, and if we can get a good price for 2024 we will lock that in so we can give price certainty to our customers.”

However Pastor Eddie Victor, head of the Coali tion of Concerned Citizens (CCC) and a long-time GB Power critic, was less than impressed by both the fuel charge increase and pledges that the utility’s long-antic ipated solar roll-out is now about to materialise.

“Our concern has to do with the condition of the economy,” he told Tribune Business of the fuel charge increase. “I guess there’s nothing we can do about oil prices, but this power company broke ground on a solar plant in 2018 and there’s nothing.

“They broke ground and are supposed to be making progress from then. Where is the solarisation? I think the Government made an agree ment that a solar power plant will be built on New Provi dence. These are the things we need on Grand Bahama, and we need it quickly.”

GB Power said on Friday that it has managed to hedge 80 percent of its fuel needs for 2023 at $51 per barrel, a sum between 40.5 per cent and 44.5 percent below

prevailing spot prices on the global oil market last night. It added that this will translate into a fuel charge of between 12 cents and 14 cents per kWh for custom ers next year, but Pastor Victor argued this is not guaranteed.

“We’re going to continue to put pressure on them and will see what happens,” he told this newspaper. “My view is that it’s [the Novem ber fuel charge increase] bad timing. I think if they had a different model of operation as far as how the company runs they could keep the cost down.

“I anticipated that when the Government made the announcement on Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) fuel charge in Nassau, GB Power would follow suit here. I anticipated it, and when I got the call on Friday I wasn’t surprised. In the three years since Dorian, they’ve added a ‘storm recovery and stabili sation’ charge to the bill, had an increase in the base rate and now an increase in the fuel charge.

BAHAMAS ‘OFF TRACK’ OVER FOODS QUALITY

FROM PAGE A24

directly related to the inputs of our food.”

The Bahamas has long been viewed as vulner able to so-called ‘dumping’, where producers in other countries export inferiorquality product to this nation in the absence of any legislative safeguards or pro tections conferred by being

a member of rules-based trading regimes such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Mr Braynen said imported chicken was susceptible to having growth hormones and other antibodies “pumped” into them. “Once that’s opened up more to Baha mians, they can understand where the diseases come from,” he added. “All of the

N O T I C E

ROGER AURO LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) ROGER AURO LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 13th October, 2022 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, 2022

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

N O T I C E

KCK HOLDING LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) KCK HOLDING LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 13th October, 2022 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, 2022

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

financial community would be concerned on that basis.”

David Slatter, RF Bank & Trust’s vice-president of investments, yesterday said the Moody’s downgrade had effectively dropped The Bahamas’ from ‘level 13 to ‘level 14’ in terms of the credit ratings that the agency issues. That illustrates just how far The Bahamas’ cred itworthiness has fallen in the 14 years since the 2008-2009 financial crisis as a result of successive downgrades - a trend that has yet to be broken and, indeed, has been accelerated by Dorian and COVID-19.

“The way I read that was more of a commentary on the risk associated with longterm government bonds they hold in their portfolios, as they need to offset long-term liabilities with long-term assets,” Mr Slatter said of the Colina and Family Guardian downgrades. “That’s what I see the A.M. Best down grades reflecting.”

“That is significant for an island that’s recover ing from Dorian and the pandemic.” GB Power was earlier this year granted a 3.3 percent increase in its base rate, although this was less than what it had hoped to be granted by its regula tor, the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

Explaining that higher global oil prices have forced the fuel charge increase from 10 cents to 11.5 cents per kWh from November 1, 2022, Nikita Mullings, GB Power’s chief operating officer, said in a statement: “With GB Power’s fuel purchase strategy, or fuel hedging programme, we have been able to protect customers from global price volatility as the cost of oil has risen this year...

“We know there is never a good time for a rise in costs, and these are particu larly difficult times for many Grand Bahamians. Without hedging, fuel costs would be at about 18 cents per kWh. For 2023 we’ve managed to hedge our fuel costs at less than $51 a barrel.

farmers,” he told Tribune Business. “The producers, the farmers, the fishermen: That’s why we exist. To serve them.

“Based on current market trends, the fuel charge for 2023 should range between 12 to 14 cents per kWh. It’s clear our fuel strategy con tinues to benefit customers despite the unprecedented rise in global oil prices. With the continued price volatility, we will be communicating regularly with customers on fuel costs. Beginning in November and every month thereafter, we will be advis ing customers of the fuel cost monthly.”

GB Power said that with the November 1 increase, a residential customer con suming 350 kWh per month will see the fuel portion of their bill rise by approxi mately $5. It added that fuel costs are a direct passthrough to customers, and the company does not ben efit in any way from the fuel charge.

“We want to encourage customers to be mindful of energy use and to consider adopting habits such as lim iting air conditioning use, turning lights out and lower ing hot water consumption to help manage monthly electricity costs,” added Mrs Mullings. “At the end of the month, every effort to con serve is meaningful.”

thighs and legs, those are byproducts. We consume it as premium product. We pay a premium price and end up poisoning ourselves.”

The consumption of healthy, nutritious food is not the only agriculture-related area where The Bahamas has “gone off track”. Mr Braynen said the Ministry of Agriculture and its agen cies had at times “forgotten

who we serve”, but that was now being corrected by improved communications with farmers that ensure all inquiries are directed to where they can receive the necessary answers.

“My personal opinion is that over the years there’s been a disconnect between the farmers and the ministry, and we’ve forgotten who our primary customers are: The

N O T I C E JCY LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) JCY LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 13th October, 2022 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, 2022

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

N O T I C E

SETTIMO LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) SETTIMO LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 13th October, 2022 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, 2022

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

“The improved com munication serves as a strengthening tool. Without communication, there’s no relationship. That commu nication is so helpful to our producers. We’ve connected with who we should be con nected with. That’s how I feel.”

Tyrel Young, BAMSI’s chairman, said: “By 2030 I

think we could bring down imports across the food spec trum by about 30-40 percent. If we continue to push as we are doing now, 30-40 percent by 2030. Some items such as eggs we will be self-sufficient in, and some other crops, but collectively 30-40 percent. “That means a couple hundred million dollars remaining in our economy. Imagine what type of eco nomic boost that is in The Bahamas; to keep that amount of dollars here instead of exporting them.”

N O T I C E FKF LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) FKF LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 13th October, 2022 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, 2022

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

N O T I C E

LBG 1925 LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) LBG 1925 LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 13th October, 2022 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, 2022

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

BUSINESSES BLAST GB POWER FUEL CHARGE HIKE

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter

GRAND Bahama Power Company’s (GBPC) impending fuel charge increase was yesterday branded “disgraceful” by one businessman although the move came as little surprise.

Greg Langstaff, Grand Bahama Brewing Compa ny’s proprietor, told Tribune Business that the increase which customers will see reflected in their bills from November 1 comes as the price on many con sumer products has already increased by at least 40 percent.

“It’s a real shame,” he added of the 15 percent increase, which is taking GB Power’s fuel charge from the present 10 cents per kilowatt hour to 11.5 cents. “I haven’t seen too many companies or busi nesses announce they are

going to increase their employees’ wages at the same rate, but I guess this minimum wage increase will address some of that because a lot of people here are paying people at the minimum wage.”

Brent Collins, Freeportbased Power Equipment’s chief executive, said he had been expecting a fuel charge increase for several months.

“We’re encouraging people to go solar now for the same reason. Everybody knew this was going to happen; they just didn’t know what the amount was going to be,” he added.

“We had a lot of cus tomers asking us for solar and battery options. So I’ve been doing that type of work over the last four to six months because, honestly, I don’t see how The Bahamas can really make it unless you unless you do that. As long as you have solar power to your house, you won’t have to worry about GB Pow er’s bills. That’s what they

PHARMACIES TO OFFER ‘RELIEF’ ALTERNATIVE TO PRICE CONTROL

FROM

the Government, and let them know we are standing by our word to meet with

them and create some type of economic relief.”

Agreeing that eco nomic relief for consumers “must happen now; it can’t

is hereby given that JEAN RYKA TILO of Farrington Road, New Providence, 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 18th day of October, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

are really pushing people to do now.”

Asserting that renew able energy is the only mechanism available to Bahamians moving for ward, Mr Collins said: “I’ve been in the solar business since 2012, but back then it was a little more expen sive to do. Tons of people already had it in place.

“When I got into solar, it was through my personal experience in 2012, but I understood that there were several homes on the island that already had solar panels and it has increased over the years. Right now, my personal IT clients are asking for solar options, and this is how I fell back into it because I have a lot of friends and family asking me about it, and the reason ing they have is they knew the rates were going up.”

GB Power was earlier this year permitted an average base rate increase of 3.3 percent, which was 53 percent less than the 6.3 percent rise originally

wait”, Ms McBride said: “We want to move hast ily with the Government in finding some resolution to this and giving that relief to the public now. I would not say we are rejecting the price control proposal, but what we are asking for is an extension so we both can determine the way forward for both parties.”

Ms McBride did not give details on the industry’s eco nomic relief proposal since wholesalers and retailers, as well as the Association, will be involved. “The BPA may not be the only aspect of it, and the Government has to be involved and all parties have to agree,” she said.

“We are happy to help our fellow man through these tough economic hard ships, so we’re open - and the conversation is open - to anything once it gives relief and something that allows pharmacies to continue to operate so we can continue to provide the best health care while giving that relief.”

sought. The move united both the private sector and community activists in opposition on the basis that any jump was “too much” for a battered economy struggling to revive from COVID and Hurricane Dorian.

Still, GB Power’s fuel costs will be close to half, or 50 percent less, than BPL’s for the nine-month period between March and November 2022 based on what the latter unveiled recently. BPL’s fuel charge will hit 23.3 cents per kWh for the three months from March 1 to end-May 2022; 27 cents for the June to end-August period; and 25 cents for September to endNovember 2022.

These compare to the 12-14 cents per kWh charge that GB Power estimates it will have to levy on custom ers throughout 2023 after it managed to lock-in 80 percent of its fuel needs for 2023 at $51 per barrel via its continuing hedging strategy.

Explaining that higher global oil prices have forced the fuel charge increase from 10 cents to 11.5 cents per kWh from November 1, 2022, Nikita Mullings, GB Power’s chief operating officer, said in a statement: “With GB Power’s fuel purchase strategy, or fuel hedging programme, we have been able to protect customers from global price volatility as the cost of oil has risen this year...

“We know there is never a good time for a rise in costs, and these are particu larly difficult times for many Grand Bahamians. Without hedging, fuel costs would be at about 18 cents per kWh. For 2023 we’ve managed to hedge our fuel costs at less than $51 a barrel.

“Based on current market trends, the fuel charge for 2023 should range between 12 to 14 cents per kWh. It’s clear our fuel strategy con tinues to benefit customers despite the unprecedented rise in global oil prices. With the continued price

Card spending rose 57% during COVID

rates and the benefits of diversification.

Still, the Oxford Busi ness Group report argued that The Bahamas has made “healthy progress” in transitioning to elec tronic payments. “Between 2020 and 2021, credit card spending increased by 57 percent while digital currencies increased threefold in the same period,” it found. “Furthermore, 2020 saw the highest increase in real-time gross settlement (RTGS) transactions on record, signalling that digital infrastructure is increasingly prepared to handle digital payments.

“Although cheque elimi nation is set to take place by the end of 2024, in 2019-2020 there was a 40 percent reduc tion in the number of cleared cheques. This reduction has been more than offset by processing digital payments through the real time gross settlement system. Coop eration between commercial banks and financial institu tions and the Government

has been the cornerstone of this progress.”

The RTGS is used for clearing and settling large multi-million dollar pay ments. “The Government increased the planned capital expenditure for the Department of Digital Transformation four-fold in fiscal year 2021-2022, with planned spending expected to grow by 50 percent in fiscal year 2023-2024,” the Oxford Business Group report added.

“In parallel, digital cur rency in circulation has steadily increased since the introduction of a pilot programme in 2019 and nationwide implementation in 2020. The Sand Dollar represents a small fraction of total money in circula tion (about 1 percent), and 28,000 e-wallets use the cur rency, some 7 percent of the population. It was launched to accelerate financial inclu sion, especially in the remote Family Islands, in the after math of Hurricane Dorian and during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

volatility, we will be com municating regularly with customers on fuel costs. Beginning in November and every month there after, we will be advising customers of the fuel cost monthly.”

GB Power said that with the November 1 increase, a residential customer con suming 350 kWh per month will see the fuel portion of their bill rise by approxi mately $5. It added that fuel costs are a direct passthrough to customers, and the company does not ben efit in any way from the fuel charge.

“We want to encourage customers to be mindful of energy use and to con sider adopting habits such as limiting air conditioning use, turning lights out and lowering hot water con sumption to help manage monthly electricity costs,” added Mrs Mullings. “At the end of the month, every effort to conserve is meaningful.”

Turning to the potential benefits to the Government’s revenues from digital pay ments, the report said: “Citizens do not pay income tax, so the Government is heavily dependent on VAT. More cashless transac tions would boost revenue by reducing the informal economy’s size and aid the Government in reaching its budget surplus projected by 2024.

“More broadly, digi tal financial inclusion is found to have a positive effect on growth and is esti mated to increase emerging economies’ GDP by 6 per cent between 2016 and 2025..... Commercial banks and others have adapted swiftly to these new changes, facilitating the transition to a digital economy.

“Previously, these financial institutions partnered with the Bahamian government to establish the Bahamas Automated Clearing House and the Real-Time Gross Settlement system, reducing costs and bolstering secu rity for transactions. They also provide the foundation for national identity scheme compliance and boost the investment grade of The Bahamas and its finan cial institutions.”

Pharmacies to offer ‘relief’ alternative to price control

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN pharma cists yesterday said they will offer the Government an alternative “economic relief” plan for consum ers that does not resort to wholesale and retail price controls.

Shantia McBride, the Bahamas Pharmaceu tical Association’s (BPA) president, told Tribune Business she wants to reach a compromise with the Davis administration on easing inflationary pres sures for Bahamians and is planning to meet with government officials by tomorrow to share her ideas..

Following the Asso ciation’s meeting with Dr Michael Darville, minister for health and wellness, at the weekend, she added that members decided they will draft a counter-proposal to the Government’s price control model.

“We were pleased with what Dr Darville had to tell us and we saw his com munication coming out of our meeting, and it is so far, so good,” Ms McBride added. Pharmaceutical retailers, wholesalers and representatives from the Association participated

in the meeting with Dr Darville.

The event was called to address private sector con cerns over the Price Control (Drug) (Amendment) Reg ulations 2022, which were unveiled last week after the Prime Minister announced restrictions were being imposed on retail and wholesale mark-ups (mar gins) in an effort to ensure critical medicines remain affordable for Bahamians amid sustained across-theboard price increases that have sparked a cost of living crisis.

The new regulations impose price-controlled mark-ups ranging from 15 percent to 18 percent on pharmaceutical wholesal ers. For retailers, the range is from 35 percent to 40 per cent. The medicines covered include vaccines, anti-dia betic drugs, decongestants, laxatives, contraceptives, antacids, anti-hypertension medicines, cough prepara tions, cardiovascular agents and serums.

The new prices and markups were due to take effect yesterday, but Dr Darville and his permanent secre tary, Colin Higgs, informed the pharmaceutical indus try that more time will be allowed for the sector to make the adjustments. As a result, no sanctions, fines and penalties were to be

levied against those who failed to meet the deadlines.

“The minister of health and wellness confirmed that recognising the effective date for implementation of the regulations is Monday, October 17, 2022, time allotted for adjustments on inventory has been given in light of the number of items listed,” the ministry said. “Minister Darville confirmed the Govern ment’s position by adding that no penalties will be exacted while these inven tory adjustments are being made. He described the meeting with the group as fruitful.”

Ms McBride con firmed the Association is drafting an alternative proposal that will pro vide “economic relief” for consumers. “We agree with the non-enforcement of the price control amend ments, and we anticipated the communication that fol lowed along with it between pharmacies, wholesalers, retailers and the Govern ment,” she said.

“We also anticipate an early response to the meeting, and I’m hoping by tomorrow [today] or Wednesday we will be in the office of the minister and all are involved so that we can now prepare our information to present to

Bahamas regulator marks quality assurance efforts

THE Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ) marked World Standards Day last Friday to honour worldwide efforts to ensure product quality for consumers.

This year’s theme, a Shared vision for a better world, focused on climate

change’s environmen tal impact and the role regulatory bodies play in advancing sustainable living for a more eco-friendly world. The BBSQ held an exhibit on World Stand ards Day at the Mall at Marathon to promote public awareness of the

importance of standards and quality assurance.

BBSQ staff, pictured from L to R, are: Marva Williams, information officer; Shabethany Sawyer, standards officer; Kellie Rolle, standards officer; Tamara Baker, standards officer; and Nicollette Bur rows, metrology inspector.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Photo:Carissa Williamson/BIS

Bahamas’ ‘rosy picture’ not making the grade

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A TOP insurer was yes terday “hoping and praying” The Bahamas can reverse its continual downgrades despite the Government’s “rosy picture” of its fiscal and economic standing failing to convince the rating agencies.

Anton Saunders, RoyalStar Assurance’s managing director, told Tribune Business there was clearly a “disconnect” between what Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) see and what the Government is saying after the repercussions of the latest cut to The Bahamas’ sovereign cred itworthiness spilled over into

Insurer ‘hoping and praying’ for downgrade reversal

‘Very concerned’ following FamGuard, Colina actions

the country’s financial services industry.

Speaking after A. M. Best slashed the creditworthiness of BISX-listed Colina Holdings and FamGuard Corporation, the country’s two largest life and health insurers, on the basis of Moody’s latest downgrade, he

added that “I’d be lying if I say I’m not concerned” for the ratings of all other Bahamian under writers assessed by the global insurance rating agency.

Besides RoyalStar, which presently shares the top Carib bean financial strength rating of A (excellent) and long-term

GB Power ‘very advanced’ on 20MW solar installation

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama Power Company is “at a very advanced stage” in formalising four sepa rate projects that will collectively provide 20 Mega Watts (MW) of solar generation capacity for the island’s grid.

Dave McGregor, Car ibbean chief operating officer for Emera, GB Power’s 100 percent owner, told Tribune Business that besides its own 5 MW utility-scale solar project it is also in negotiations with three independent power producers (IPPs) to develop plants that will

generate the same amount of energy.

Blaming Hurricane Dorian and the COVID19 pandemic for previously delaying progress, he said: “We’re working very hard with independent power producers to bring solar to Grand Bahama next year.

We’re at a very advanced stage with a couple of

proposals. We’re close to getting a few projects within the next year.”

Confirming to this news paper that there are three separate proposals from IPPs, although he did not name the entities involved, Mr McGregor said the 20 MW of collective solar generation capacity would not necessarily translate

issuer credit rating of ‘a’ (excel lent), Bahamas First and Summit Insurance Company are also rated by A. M. Best. All their current creditworthiness assess ments could be in jeopardy if, like Family Guardian and Colina, the agency decides a cut is merited as a result of Moody’s action over the sovereign rating.

“The country rating is a criti cal part of all of our ratings. We have not gotten any indication from A. M. Best at this point,” Mr Saunders told this newspaper. He voiced optimism that Royal Star may be shielded from any downgrade due to its geographi cal diversification into other Caribbean territories, namely the Cayman Islands, US Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, Brit ish Virgin Islands (BVI) and

Anguilla, which was partly designed to shield the company from sovereign risk.

“We have diversified our port folio. That’s why we went into different territories other than The Bahamas to diversify away from concentrated risk in one country. We are pursuing a 55/45 split, with 55 percent of our business in The Bahamas,” Mr Saunders explained.

“The issue is our corporate office is in The Bahamas, and we are registered in The Bahamas. Our risk is still based on the coun try risk of The Bahamas. All I can say is we are concerned about the country’s rating, and what impact it will have on our rating. We don’t know what that is right now, but

Small business: ‘We’ve come too far to close’

into the projects supplying 38 percent of Grand Baha ma’s 53 MW peak demand. With output likely to be less than the combined maximum, he suggested the solar investments will meet around 10 percent of the island’s electricity demand.

“It makes all sorts of sense,” Mr McGregor added of the solar roll-out, “as long as you are paying a reasonable rate for the solar power produced. The expectations of develop ers for a rate of return are often a little high, but the ones we are working with are very reasonable.”

He described the solar energy investment as akin to fuel hedging, as the

Bahamas ‘off track’ over foods quality

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR agri culture official says Bahamians have “really gone off track” on food quality to such an extent that they are effectively “poisoning themselves” by eating inferior products.

Alaasis Braynen, the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Insti tute’s (BAMSI) general

manager, told Tribune Business in a recent inter view that Bahamians too often consume items other countries will not allow in their own food chains with scant regard for the health and nutritional value.

“We have really gone off track in consuming frozen goods. We eat poul try frozen for months, years. We eat vegetables that come in half ripe with limited nutritional value,” he argued. “We are really

eating a food chain other countries will not input.”

Mr Braynen told this newspaper that BAMSI, together with the Minis try of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs and its other agencies, plans to do what it can to “encourage”

Bahamian farmers and gar deners to meet the “eating fresh” challenge. He promised that Bahamians would soon “truly recog nise the nutritious” value

of tomatoes ripened on the vine, adding: “They’ll feel the difference”.

The BAMSI general manager added: “The reality is that what’s really damaging about the food chain we use is that it’s not just the cost of importing the food, and US dollars going out; it’s the health factor. We are suffering from hypertension, dia betes. These diseases are

Card spending rose 57% during COVID

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

CREDIT card spending in The Bahamas increased by 57 percent year-overyear during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers transitioned to digital and online payments, a survey has disclosed.

Oxford Business Group, the economic research consultancy, in a report produced in conjunc tion with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) argued that The Bahamas was well-positioned to make the switch to digital pay ments given that “on many metrics Bahamians are on par with or even above the average for G-20 nations when measuring

the population’s financial literacy”.

The report found that more Bahamians, some 93 percent of those surveyed, understood the meaning of “inflation” compared to an average 77 percent in G-20 countries. And more Baha mians, 81 percent versus 78 percent, understood the “relationship between risk and return”.

However, perhaps more revealingly, just 14 percent of Bahamians were able to estimate the interest paid on a loan compared to 80 percent of their counterparts in G-20 countries, the Oxford Busi ness Group report added. And fewer Bahamians also understood the com pounding effects of interest

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN small busi nesses have “come too far” to close down, a sector consultant asserted yester day, even though many will likely restructure in early 2023 due to escalating cost pressures.

Mark A Turnquest, of Mark A Turnquest Con sulting, told Tribune Business those entrepre neurs who have survived COVID-19 are not about to throw their investments and life ambitions away now despite being faced with a substantial increase in Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) bills, continuing inflationary pressures and a minimum wage increase.

But, while those he has spoken to will do every thing possible to avoid shutting their doors, restructuring via staff ter minations and salary cuts

may prove unavoidable in the New Year when many small businesses will focus on “survival” in the after math of the Christmas spending season.

Mr Turnquest, who is also president of the fledg ling 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, told this newspaper that both members and his clients had largely expected a smaller minimum wage

MARK A TURNQUEST

‘clearly disconnect’ between Gov’t, Moody’s