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PM eases the pain on bills (for some) VAT-exempt limit raised to $300 as short-term relief

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AS PUBLIC discomfort continues over the spike in electricity costs, the government will temporarily increase the value added tax exemption ceiling on Bahamas Power and Light bills, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced yesterday.

Parliament has to approve the measure first, then the VAT exempt ceiling will increase to $300 per month until the end of next June.

TEARS FOR BRADLEY

This change will be made effective next month and be seen in BPL’s January billing cycle.

The ceiling for VAT exemption on electricity bills was set at $200 during the 2018-2019 budget debate earlier this year.

Noting the undue burden electricity costs have put on citizens, Dr Minnis further assured Bahamians that he remained resolute regarding the need for this country to substantially reduce its energy costs.

SEE PAGE FIVE

THE Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) has pledged to address deficiencies that left it “unaware” of how many supplier contracts it had in its $53.327m annual procurement budget.

The Auditor General’s Office, which conducted a two-year probe of the PHA’s procurement processes during the former Christie administration’s final years, found that the

state-owned agency “stands to lose valuable time and resources because contracts are not monitored proficiently”.

Its report for the two years to end-June 2017, tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, exposed weaknesses that could result in the waste and abuse of Bahamian taxpayer monies because the PHA may still gave been paying on expired or unnecessary contracts.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

L SOUR CE

LUCAYAN’S UNIONS ASK FOR DOUBLE PAY-OFF DEAL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Lucayan’s chairman yesterday said he is defending “the interests of 400,000 Bahamas residents” over staff payout demands that exceed the resort’s offer by $4.6m.

Michael Scott said neither of the two unions representing the Government-owned resort’s workers had “seen the light” over their voluntary separation requests, which are double and triple respectively what the hotel is offering to provide.

While the Grand Lucayan’s board had “resolved to be fair” over the voluntary separation packages, Mr Scott said that it will not be bullied or coerced into paying more than is due.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

VISA FRAUD SUSPECT IS OUT ON BAIL

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

COST CONTROL CHAOS INHERITED BY NEW PHA

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$1

CYNTHIA “Mother” Pratt comforts Hartlyn Roberts, the wife of Bradley Roberts, during a memorial event held last night for the former PLP chairman at the Sir Lynden Pindling Centre. See page 12 for more.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

THE Haitian-Bahamian justice of the peace at the centre of an FBI probe into visa fraud in The Bahamas has pleaded not guilty to charges in the United States, The Tribune was told.

Edward Israel Saintil said yesterday he was currently out on bail and in Washington pending trial after emphatically denying the charge of encouraging and inducing illegal entry into the US. He added he rejected a plea deal.

Meanwhile, local activists say they hope the allegations laid out in an affidavit prepared by an FBI agent on the two-year sting operation leads to a “crackdown” of any corruption there might be in the Department of Immigration.

SEE PAGE THREE

CANDLE SPARKED FATAL HOUSE FIRE

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

SINGLE

WWW.BURGERKING.BS

GOLDEN Isles MP Vaughn Miller yesterday said a burning candle caused the house fire that tragically killed a five-yearold boy in Eleuthera on Monday night.

Mr Miller expressed condolences to the family of the victim, who he identified as John Dorsette,

during his address in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Mr Miller told Parliament the family’s home did not have any electricity and candles were in use. Little John’s mother, Christine Sweeting, had briefly left the home while John and his ten-year-old sister remained inside, Mr Miller said.

Mr Miller said when the fire started, the girl

tried in vain to waken her little brother. She left the house to get help, but the younger child could not be rescued.

When asked what caused the fire, Mr Miller later told The Tribune: “They do not have electricity and they were using candles for light. And the mom had just stepped out, just for a few minutes.”

/BURGERKINGNASSAU

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE 11

DIANE PHILLIPS:

WHO DREAMED SOVEREIGNTY COULD HURT SO MUCH?

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Thursday, November 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

EDMUND MOXEY

MP MAKES TEARFUL TRIBUTE TO MOXEY

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ST BARNABAS Member of Parliament Shanendon Cartwright was brought to tears yesterday as he said politics should never diminish humanity or the contribution of any Bahamian to society.

He was speaking of the legacy and victimisation of deceased politician Edmund Moxey and foreshadowing cultural festivities in his honour, which are to take place next week.

Moxey, former Coconut Grove MP, died in 2014 at the age of 80.

“This Edmund Moxey cultural week planned for the 11th to the 17th, while it is on the one hand about a larger discussion about Bahamian culture, it is also an important lesson because the late Edmund Moxey and his family would have suffered tremendously,” Mr Cartwright said struggling to keep his composure before a packed gallery including children and relatives of Moxey.

“And I am so overcome with emotions today Mr Speaker because politics should never diminish our humanity or the contributions of any Bahamian.

“So these are tears because of the love I have for my country for all of us who aim to make this country better. This also is about reclaiming as much as we can the legacy of Edmund Moxey.”

Mr Cartwright, executive chairman of the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority, said last week Moxey was a “cultural icon” who committed his life to the development of Bahamian culture.

“We are excited about what we have planned,” Mr Cartwright said last week.

“What we want during this week besides importantly honouring Edmund Moxey that is well deserved, we want to have a larger discussion about culture because that’s what Edmund Moxey’s life represented.

“This is the time for the Bahamian people and visitors to come and see… we’re celebrating us and what it is to be Bahamian.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 8, 2018, PAGE 3

Visa fraud suspect gets bail from page one Saintil holds both Haitian and Bahamian citizenship, and told The Tribune he was born in The Bahamas.

He was arrested in late September after the FBI allegedly recorded conversations between him and a paid informant, in which he boasted of close relationships with both current and former top immigration officials and claimed a capacity to obtain fraudulent bank statements to support US visa applications.

It is alleged that Saintil further claimed immigration officials did not process work permits unless they were paid to do so, adding that bribes to obtain fraudulent documents for Haitian nationals

were the cheapest, according to the FBI agent’s affidavit.

Saintil obtained a two-year work permit for one informant, identified in the affidavit as CHS-3, as a handyman for his company, Saintil’s Painting and Cleaning Services on August 1.

The Tribune has withheld the name of the official, who it was claimed in the affidavit, had signed the permit. Saintil alleged he paid the immigration official $3,000 for the permit that same day, according to court documents filed in the US. He had also claimed he was in possession of six or seven work permits, telling the FBI informant he had been holding them since December 2017 due to non-payment.

A search of the Company Registry by The Tribune uncovered only one business with the name Saintil - “Saintil Painting and Cleaning Services”. The company was registered on May 13, 2017.

Court documents detailing the FBI sting operation into US visa fraud in Nassau also name deceased activist Pierre Parisien as being involved in the scheme.

Parisien died earlier this year. He was president of the Haitian Organisation for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS & STDs (HOPHAS), a local non-governmental organisation.

His death in February was described as a “stunning blow” to Bahamian civil society and the Haitian-Bahamian community.

Among activists who spoke to

Parisien’s legacy yesterday was Matt Albury of the Organisation for Responsible Governance.

“It’s a tough pill to hear because we were all so supportive of him and his work,” Mr Aubry said yesterday, “nothing but positive things for the community, he was dedicated to helping and speaking for those who had no voice.”

Mr Aubry added: “I think his contributions to the community and the organisation he supported do stand on their own. Whether or not (the claims) are true, his contributions are still his formative legacy. We hope that’s not tainted.

His efforts were very grounded in need and value.”

Mr Albury reiterated his organisation’s call for the government to prioritise the Integrity Commission

Bill and other planned anti-corruption laws.

Responding to bribery allegations uncovered in the court documents, activist Louby Georges told this newspaper: “These are the things you hear all the time, that corruption is rampant at the Immigration Department. Whenever immigration issues come up the negative focus is put on the migrants or persons waiting to be processed.”

He added: “I just hope maybe the persons involved in this will be rooted out and named. We can have a new day after this where corruption can go out the window.

You hear all these horror stories of files missing. Hopefully with this coming to light there can be a major crackdown over there.”

PATRICIA MINNIS, above, wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, received a warm welcome while visiting Central Eleuthera High School this week.

Photos: Eric Rose/BIS

Prime minister’s wife drops in on Eleuthera students STUDENTS at Central Eleuthera High School learned about gender-based violence on Tuesday when Patricia Minnis, wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, visited the Palmetto Point school.

Students who were members of the Bahamas Maritime Cadet Corps formed a receiving line when she arrived and band members played a fanfare in her honour. Principal Marie Galanis and faculty members joined with the students in welcoming her, and District Superintendent for North and Central Eleuthera Myrtle McPhee and representatives from New Providence accompanied Mrs Minnis.

Among topics she addressed with the students were physical violence, inappropriate touching and bullying. She appealed to the male students to be especially courteous in their interaction with girl students, and not resort to any form of hitting or name-calling. She also prayed with students and teachers, and took time out to talk with a number of youngsters, even learning a few dance moves.

While in Eleuthera, Mrs Minnis also visited Preston H Albury High School where she spoke to female students about gender-based violence.

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PAGE 4, Thursday, November 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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How Democrats could solve debt problem NOW that Democrats control the House, the question on many minds is what they will do with it.

Incoming Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi says Democrats will focus on corruption, money in politics, drug prices, gun control and protecting young immigrants. These are important but, in my view, second-order issues.

The biggest challenges facing the US are much deeper and seriously jeopardize Americans’ future prosperity.

Namely, soaring national debt, Social Security’s solvency and the lack of affordable health care.

As an economist, I’ve spent a lot of time researching and writing about these issues. And as a presidential candidate in 2016, I tried to put them on the national agenda when I staged an independent write-in campaign.

Were I leading the House Democrats right now, I would focus on passing three key bills. The Senate would likely turn them down, but their passage would show the country that Democrats are prepared to govern.

It starts by acknowledging the true state of America’s fiscal condition. No politician that I know of has ever told the truth about this, either because he or she didn’t know the truth or were hiding it. Brace yourself. Here’s where we really stand.

The official debt is $21.7 trillion – more than the value of all goods and services that will be produced in the US this year. But this ignores massive unfunded obligations that have been kept off the books, such as paying for future Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

When you calculate the present value of all anticipated future outlays less all the receipts projected by the Congressional Budget Office, you get a whopping $200 trillion fiscal gap. This is how much we – or more accurately our children – really owe.

Closing this fiscal gap will require dramatic changes, including much higher taxes and drastic spending cuts. Yes, Republicans hate the former and Democrats loathe the latter. But the longer we wait to do this, the larger the taxes our kids – or theirs – will pay and the lower the benefits they will receive. And at some point, America’s decades long intergenerational Ponzi scheme will collapse.

There is hope, however. Several simulations and studies I’ve conducted suggest three basic reforms that could largely eliminate the $200 trillion fiscal gap – while reducingrising levels of inequality in the process.

Let’s start with taxes. The current fiscal system is riddled with inefficiencies, and what’s worse it lets the superrich pay literally zero taxes. This means there are ways to increase revenue without creating major burdens on the poor or middle class.

I would ask the now Democratcontrolled House Ways and Means Committee to draw up legislation to get rid of the current corporate income, personal income and FICA taxes. I would replace them with a value added tax, a highly progressive personal consumption tax, a progressive payroll tax and a high carbon tax.

These changes would dramatically improve incentives to work and save, make the rich pay their fair share and help save the climate – all while increasing revenues by 5 percent of GDP. Of our nation’s $200 trillion fiscal gap, $34 trillion is Social Security’s unfunded liability – that is, how much we owe tomorrow’s retirees beyond how much revenue the system is expected to take in. This is why by the early 2030s, Social Security will be out of money, requiring a bailout or a draconian and permanent benefit cut that’s close to one-quarter.

Democratic hero Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped establish Social Security in 1935. As such, it’s the party’s baby. They want to protect and preserve it at all costs.

It’s not just the system’s finances that are a problem but also its structure. The system has hundreds of thousands of incomprehensible rules. It’s a bureaucrat’s fantasy and a user’s nightmare.

The solution, however, isn’t to save it but to retire it – and replace it with something better. Social Security was based on the idea that today’s workers can support today’s retirees. While your benefits are tied to how much you earned, longer lifespans mean the payouts last much longer than a halfcentury ago.

A simple system that is more directly linked to what each person sets aside for retirement, with proceeds invested in the same global index fund, free of fees, would be simple, transparent and fully funded. The government would match contributions by the poor and contribute in full on behalf of the disabled and unemployed.

Will the Democrats take advantage of their “blue wave” and pursue such an agenda? I hope so. There are lots of new blue members of Congress that ran on fixing the country, not playing political games. As they ponder their first steps in 116th Congress, they would do well to heed Bob Dylan’s lyrics: Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled

By Laurence J Kotlikoff of Boston University. This article first appeared on The Conversation.

Get ready to be shocked EDITOR, The Tribune NHI - we all know how desperate this is needed, but there is a problem can we afford it based on the wages and monies left, after we pay all the taxes, supermarkets and medical expenses?

Experience tells you that the medical sector needs to be totally audited, as to how they charge what they charge. If food items are priced controlled, I certainly propose medical charges will be price controlled - I suspect in this lies the solution. If we can bring the medical costs down, then everything might become affordable.

Doctors Alliance agreement needs to be immediately cancelled.

This was the sole profitable revenue source of PMH,

and this has to be in the hands of PHA/PMH…why give your primary revenue source to a select few doctors? Who have profited over the years. This was a crazy decision anyway.

What sector of our community needs cover most? I suspect it might not be the obvious, those over 65, it could well be much younger and here lies an enormous problem. Create a profile.

Minister - Dr Roberts let’s start solely with catastrophic - this is the one that hurts. General cover will be horrifically abused, as it is in all other global programmes. What is the catastrophic sickness costs?

We further have to be realistic, even Minister Sands admitted that NIB is in emergency, and will need revamping, but revamping means a higher

contribution level. This has to be considered together with what NHI is going to charge. NIB-NHI has to be affordable and realistic.

You cannot take water out of a very dry stream!

So Minister - a forensic Audit of all Medical and Hospital Costs, let’s find out the truth - like why should facilities be charging 50% more, if you are on a group insurance against paying cash?

If this government pertains to be The People’s Government, then we have to see if what I suggest is happening. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of real costs of delivery of health services and work forward.

Get ready to be shocked.

W THOMPSON Nassau, November 1, 2018.

Bradley, a man who meant well for us all EDITOR, The Tribune I WAS astonished to learn that former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chair and Bain and Grants Town MP Bradley Roberts had passed away on the afternoon of October 25.

His passing is a massive blow to not only the party he was actively involved with for decades, but also to the entire country. The Bahamas continues to lose prominent citizens at such a rapid rate in 2018. Politicians of the Pindling era - individuals who played an important role in nation building - are dying out.

All things considered, Roberts’ death has taught me about the mortality of our fragile life. The New Testament apostle James described life as a vapour.

The entire country must learn from this. We must live each day as if it were our last. We must be our brother’s keeper. We must all work towards building The Bahamas.

Free National Movement (FNM) supporters mustn’t hate PLPs. PLPs mustn’t hate FNMs. We are all Bahamians. We are all human beings. We should not allow politics to divide us to the point of hating our

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net political rivals. There are some things in life that are far more important than politics.

I believe Roberts fulfilled his calling as a politician and nation builder. Now he, like the rest of us one day, must now give an account of his stewardship to the sovereign Lord of the universe.

While his political views were not shared by this writer, the writer nevertheless regarded him as a vivacious and fierce political debater who was a firm believer in his political philosophy.

His views were always worth listening to, even if you vigorously disagreed with them. He was rightly considered to be one of the best debaters in Parliament, perhaps in our generation.

Without him now, the PLP will never be the same.

The entire political landscape will never be the same.

His departure has left massive shoes to fill.

Even while in retirement,

Roberts continued to passionately voice his opinions in the national discourse.

No one can deny that Roberts loved his country passionately.

While his views on how to manage The Bahamas differed from those of the governing FNM, no one can deny that he had the best interests of the country at heart. Even objective FNMs would admit that Roberts meant well for the country.

I wish to express sincere condolences to the PLP and its leadership of Philip “Brave” Davis, Deputy Leader Chester Cooper and Chairman Fred Mitchell; former Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Roberts’ family.

May his soul rest in eternal peace!

In closing, I will quote these words from the late American evangelist Billy Graham: “There comes a time when we must all realise that life is short, and in the end the only thing that really counts is not how others see us, but how God sees us.”

KEVIN EVANS Freeport Grand Bahama October 25, 2018

Cut away the dead wood EDITOR, The Tribune PLP postpones much heralded Convention. What is the real reason? PLP commentator Philip Galanis led the public to suspect something was coming, and in usual manner, the populous were asked not to oppose Brave Davis as leader. What they promised Glynis and Obie?

The PLP is totally controlled by the old guard, who refuses to give a millimetre for sense and progressiveness, which their party title calls for. Who controls the stalwart councillors? Christie and Davis period.

Brave Davis - if leader going into the next election has only a chance to win,

if the FNM continues to screw up as they have been since May 2017, It will be an all over again performance and result. The Bahamian voter will kick the FNM out, never thinking who they will elect. Bahamians never elect a potentially good new government.

The postponement had nothing to do with the untimely, unexpected demise of Big Bad Brad…May his soul rest, but for financial reasons.

PLP allow the young, interested people a chance, and all that dead wood move aside.

ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau October 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 8, 2018, PAGE 5

PM eases the pain on bills (for some) from page one Pledging his government would continue to explore the cost of energy, the prime minister said a substantial transition to solar and other renewable energy supplies will be made.

“Given the circumstances that have given rise to the temporary spike in the fuel surcharge component of consumers’ electricity bills, the government is mindful of the impact that this increase has on all Bahamians but especially on the poorest and most vulnerable,” Dr Minnis said yesterday in the House of Assembly.

“This situation is a legitimate issue for every Bahamian. However, there are a small few who are seeking to make political mischief out of a serious situation who know full well the set of circumstances that have built up over several decades that have led us to this point – and who also know that this administration is the one that is putting in place the plan to address it.”

He continued: “You would recall that the government in the 2018-2019 budget provisions made allowance that would exempt Bahamians whose monthly bills were under $200 from the payment of VAT. This was and remains a deliberate policy initiative to assist Bahamians of modest means.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

“This recent temporary spike in fuel surcharge has unfortunately put a number of the qualifying customers over the $200 threshold.

Thus, I today advise the honourable House that the government will be moving an amendment to the law to allow for a temporary increase in the VAT exempt ceiling from $200 a month up to $300 per month through the end of the fiscal year – that being June 2019.”

He said changing trends in the cost of the delivery of electricity will inform any decision to extend the increased exemption ceiling into the new fiscal year, beginning July 2019.

Dr Minnis also told House members he requested Works Minister Desmond Bannister, who has responsibility for BPL, and the power provider’s team to review and report to Cabinet the full range of options to the government to address this temporary spike in electricity bills.

Fires at BPL’s Clifton Pier Power Plant in September have led BPL officials to rely heavily on the Blue Hills Power Plant from where, he said, 70 megawatts of power are being syphoned to satisfy a generation deficit.

The prime minister highlighted this issue explaining the Blue Hills plant uses a more expensive fuel than the Clifton facility. However, he said, Mr Bannister,

who was absent from yesterday’s sitting, is expected to make a full report on energy matters.

Earlier this week, the minister blamed international gas prices for the escalating cost of electricity, but, he said, BPL has worked out interim solutions until Bahamians begin to reap rewards from the Shell North America agreement.

Mr Bannister at the time refused to go into great detail about burdensome electricity costs and when there could be some relief, but insisted the power provider had been forced to grapple with issues out of its control.

Last Friday, the country was said to be one step closer to lower energy bills and more stable electricity generation with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between BPL and Shell North America for an integrated LNG gas-to-power project.

However, it is not clear whether consumers will feel the impact of the company’s transition to liquefied natural gas this term as the project, which features a 220-250 megawatt (MW) power plant is not slated to be completed until the “early 2020’s”.

Shell officials were also unable to offer any estimates as to how much it planned to invest on the project, stating it was too early to tell.

PUBLIC NOTICE CALLING ALL GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI (1962-1974)

Students attending Government High School, between 1962 and 1974, who were taught by former teacher Mrs. Barbara Godwin, who will be visiting Nassau from 16th to 22nd November 2018, are asked to contact Carl Brennen at email carlbrennen@ hotmail.com or telephone 565-5883, by Thursday 15 November, in connection with a get together for that visit.

PAGE 6, Thursday, November 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Minister Lloyd disappointed as teachers stay out of classes

By KHRISNA RUSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd expressed disappointment in the actions of the majority of teachers at CH Reeves Junior High School, telling Parliament that educators withdrew service more than a week ago despite receiving clearance that it was safe to teach at the facility.

As of yesterday morning, Mr Lloyd said substitute teachers were asked to assist administrators and the ten remaining teachers who did not take part in the unauthorised industrial action. Normally, 74 teachers are stationed at the school.

According to the minister, without prior notice, the junior high school teachers withdrew labour last Monday backed by

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Wednesday, Novemeber 28th, 2018.

claims of a suspicion of mould in 12 classrooms, leakage in a few of the classrooms, termite infestation and leaky toilets in one block of the girls’ bathrooms.

As a result, Mr Lloyd said the ministry requested the assistance of Anthony Ryan - Environmental Monitoring Risk Assessment Division in the Department of Environmental Health who assessed the affected classrooms, finding what he described to be recognised environmental concerns, including in dust and accumulated dirt.

He subsequently formulated a prescription to rectify those issues, Mr Lloyd said, adding a contractor was immediately hired to conduct the remediation process.

This included the removal of mildew, the cleaning of dust on ceiling beams, and the cleaning of air-conditioning units, window sills and elsewhere. Other contractors effected repairs to a leaky roof and to faulty toilets in one of the female students’ bathrooms, the minister said.

“In good faith, the management at the Ministry of Education made the decision to suspend classes on Wednesday, October 31, and Thursday, November 1, in order to begin the remediation process,” Mr Lloyd told the House.

“Meanwhile, parents were advised to keep their children at home while teachers and other staff

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MINISTER of Education Jeff Lloyd. were asked to report to school.

“Teachers were asked to work from the staff room and engage in lesson planning, the marking of student books, the preparing of examinations and other school-related tasks.

Despite the fact that this arrangement was agreed with the Bahamas Union of Teachers, the majority of the teachers left the work site well before the normal dismissal time of 3.15pm.

“Following the classroom cleanings, Mr Ryan conducted another assessment and provided the Ministry of Education with an oral report which indicated that the school was suitable for occupancy. However, on Friday, November 2, 2018, teachers at the C H Reeves still refused to work despite the fact that a new classroom schedule was constructed by administrators that accommodated all classes, without them having to use the newly cleaned rooms. Instead, they insisted upon being provided with a copy of a written report prepared by the Department of

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

Environmental Health Services.”

Mr Lloyd said to accommodate the additional repairs, the executives of the Department of Education in conjunction with the school’s administrative team, decided that the school would temporarily operate on the staff meeting bell schedule. This would allow for classes to be dismissed at 2pm daily until the repairs were successfully completed.

However, on Monday, November 5, the teachers abandoned their posts again, leaving students dangerously unsupervised.

“The Ministry of Education received the official written report from Mr Ryan at the end of the work day on Monday past, which was shared immediately with the Bahamas Union of Teachers. At BUT’s request the director, Mr Marcellous Taylor, and his executive team arranged a meeting with Mr Ryan. A meeting was arranged for 3pm yesterday. “However at 3.10pm, ten minutes after the agreed time the union called to say that they were otherwise engaged and

could not meet. The union has not been heard from since.”

He said after reviewing the findings and recommendations advanced in the environmental assessment report conducted by Mr Ryan carried out on C H Reeves Jr High School, the Ministry of Education was and is satisfied that the entire campus was and is safe for occupation by teachers and students.

“Despite all efforts made to rectify the situation at C H Reeves Jr High School, teachers still refused to report to classes. At this point, teachers began questioning the validity of the written report provided by the Environmental Monitoring Risk Assessment Division. As of this presentation the teachers remain out of the classroom while yet on campus,” Mr Lloyd said.

C H Reeves has a student complement of 1,020 who need 196 contact instructional days to complete the curriculum. However the ministry struggles to pack the needed courses into 176 days, which is less than the ideal quota.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 8, 2018, PAGE 7

Goods disposal angers Straw Market vendors

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net NASSAU Straw Market vendors yesterday criticised the Straw Market Authority’s (SMA) decision to reportedly throw away goods from the stalls of delinquent vendors.

Some sellers said the SMA should have been more lenient with vendors, while others said at the very least the goods should have been auctioned off instead of being sent to the dump.

Straw Business Person Society (SBPS) vicepresident Rebecca Small particularly noted that nothing in the rulebook states SMA has the right to throw away delinquent vendors’ goods.

These criticisms are the latest in a series of complaints vendors have lobbied against the SMA over the past year, which culminated in a protest in Rawson Square in April.

Yesterday, Ms Small told The Tribune the dumpsters arrived at the downtown Straw Market on Tuesday evening.

James Rolle, a vendor, said he witnessed their arrival and claimed he asked a member of the SMA about their presence.

“I saw the truck coming with (one of) the dumpsters,” Mr Rolle said. “I asked one of the guys in the authority, ‘what y’all doing with the dumpster?’ He said that they’re cleaning up the market.

“I said ‘what you mean cleaning up?’, he said some of the stalls (where) the people ain’t pay no rent for maybe a year, a year and a half on some of them, (the stalls) went back to the Authority.

“And (the SMA) say they call them over a month ago and tell them come for their goods. So they ain’t never came for them. So they’re in the (process) of giving the stalls to other vendors who want it. So they had to clean it up.”

Mr Rolle could not provide an estimate of how many stalls were cleared out, but he said he knew

there were “a lot” of closed up shops throughout the market.

Andrew Moses Armbrister, another vendor and wood carver, reiterated that delinquent vendors were given notice by SMA “quite some time ago”.

“Because what happened is these persons’ stalls were closed down, so they were not allowed to open up their shop…(because) they owed money. And that they didn’t pay,” Mr Armbrister added.

“Actually the stalls are now taken away from them.

So they asked them to come for their stuff, they never came for their stuff.

So I guess they get fed up and they bring about two containers last night and everything went to the dump.”

However, Mr Armbrister criticised this choice, saying the goods should have instead been sold.

“When you look at it, (they) could’ve keep them and auctioned them off or something. Instead of just throwing away…quality, good stuff.

“I don’t know if they (SMA officials) have storage to keep them in, but like I say, auction them off or something. They shouldn’t have just thrown them to the dump.

“Goods, souvenirs, straw work…Everything went to the dump.”

Regarding SMA’s current process for such issues, Ms Small said the group normally reaches out to a vendor first and if the person cannot be contacted, the organisation throws the goods away.

“If they can’t reach the vendor, they’ll say the vendor wasn’t able to be reached and so we can’t pay for storage and we (are) dumping the stuff.

We have a problem with that. I have a problem with that…that they are… dumping things people paid for.”

Ms Small yesterday called for “due process” to be taken instead.

“I feel that even if they put those things out on auction where other vendors could benefit or

NHIA NOW HEADING TO EXUMA TO CONTINUE HEALTH TALKS AFTER holding what it termed successful meetings with residents in Freeport and Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, the National Health Insurance Authority will travel to Exuma next Thursday to continue public consultation on universal healthcare.

As part of NHIA’s 45-day consultation period on proposed changes to NHI, community meetings and stakeholder consultations will continue until December 6.

“NHI Bahamas is changing to improve health outcomes for our country. I was pleased to see the level of interest from Grand Bahamians who came out to the community meetings and provided feedback on the way forward for NHI. It is important that Bahamians make their voice heard and contribute to the debate on the

implementation of this programme as we move towards universal healthcare in the Bahamas,” said Dr Robin Roberts, chairman of the NHIA board.

“I was also encouraged by the productive discussions that were held with members of the business community and the support for the programme that was voiced by the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.”

The Exuma town hall is set for 6pm at LN Coakley High School in Moss Town.

Consultations will continue throughout November and December with upcoming visits planned for Abaco, Eleuthera, Andros, Long Island and New Providence to hear from more Bahamians and stakeholder groups on NHI Bahamas.

For more information on NHI, visit www.nhibahamas.gov.bs.

something...it’s nothing in them to work along with us,” she added.

“You know what bothers us?” Ms Small continued, “They never have monies to do anything. But when it’s time to hire dumpster, do anything against the vendors, they always find it.”

When asked if anything in the vendors’ agreement provides for the goods of delinquent vendors to be thrown away, Ms Small said “no”.

“No. Nothing in the rulebook. Their position with this is: We are the authority, and in the rulebook it states that we are to manage, and whatever we find, deem necessary, we will do it.

That’s what their position is. Nothing in the rulebook states that.”

Ms Small said SMA’s managing director told vendors that some stalls had been closed since 2014.

However, Ms Small said vendors were not allowed to get their items after their stalls were shut down.

“If the vendor owed them $800 (for example), and the vendor shop was closed, the vendor was not allowed to go back to get their stuff,” Ms Small said. “If a sign says closed, they will not allow the vendor to go and get their stuff. We know that for a fact.”

During a press conference held on July 19, the SBPS called for the Nassau Straw Market to be removed from the portfolio of Works Minister Desmond Bannister.

Less than a week earlier, Mr Bannister told The Tribune that there are vendors who have not paid rent for “three, four years.” He added that such a backlog makes it difficult for the SMA to find a way for the Straw Market to exist.

However, the SBPS board members, supported

by Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin, said since this administration took office, it has “demanded” that rent arrears be $200 or less.

Attempts to secure a response from SMA officials were unsuccessful yesterday.

THE DUMPSTERS arrived at the downtown Straw Market on Tuesday evening.

PAGE 8, Thursday, November 8, 2018

T

HERE probably isn’t a Bahamian soul alive today who would trade independence for rule by another. We are so proud of being a sovereign nation and a success story from the moment we threw off the reins that bound us that we celebrate every year as if it were the first. We gather at Clifford Park by the thousands, exclaim when fireworks light the night sky. We applaud the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Defence Force bands. We wipe away a tear when we sing the National Anthem.

We are such a proud people and so very proud of our independence.

We rarely stop to think how that very sovereignty has left us exposed, vulnerable to bullying by the big guns who think they can tell us how to run our economy and who we should let live, invest, work or play in this independent country. We rarely stop to think a regulator in northern Europe or somewhere else who may never have been to The Bahamas believes he thinks he knows what is good for The Bahamas and what The Bahamas must do to be good for the world and keep it safe from all the crazies, terrorists and demons out there. Salvo after salvo they fire at us and we sit, open-chested, taking the bullet and taking it to heart, trying to please.

In its latest salvo, the OECD has targeted The Bahamas real estate industry and officials have responded by incorporating real estate in the Financial Transaction Reporting Act. That now places the same kind of onus for risk assessment on real estate firms as on banks. Before you do business with someone, the big guns say, you need to have a compliance officer investigate the source of the client’s wealth and the source of his or her funds.

This goes beyond normal know your customer. This is know everything about your customer, where the money they are about to spend for a lease originally

THE TRIBUNE

Who dreamed sovereignty could hurt so much? came from, where it’s been, what the client’s hidden agenda may be, if there is one. Investigate, keep the records, but for just exactly the right time and if you do anything wrong as a real estate broker you could face a fine of $5,000 a day for non-reporting.

It was not until the Bahamas Real Estate Association hosted a seminar this week to provide information about the new requirements amending the 1995 law governing the real estate industry that I understood the relationship between sovereignty and vulnerability.

What a dummy I was living under a rock in quiet mossy cover thinking that the reason The Bahamas was on a blacklist and always trying to get off and no matter how much we did there would be new rules and new lists was because we had been very bad before.

I thought it was because

in our heyday of tax haven ‘heaven’, we had ‘banks’ that operated out of suitcases and were, to put it mildly, a little on the slack side when it came to checking where the money that was deposited between their leather covers came from.

Of course, in those days there was less fear about money funding terrorism though certainly there was awareness of funds derived from ill-gotten means that needed a good laundering. But it was not until the brilliant senior attorney and compliance specialist Cheryl Bazard who led the November 6th BREAsession added, almost as a footnote, that the reason The Bahamas gets picked on so much is “because they can” and the reason “they can” is because we are unprotected.

It had not occurred to me, living under that rock of complacency with regard to financial services, that the reason we are always

being targeted is because we are a sovereign nation.

We sit out there all by ourselves like a bright target in the sand. Turks & Caicos, Cook Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands all have protection. They are either protectorates or have special status. But the little old Bahamas, well, we are just all alone out there and Ms Bazard is right, they pick on us because they can.

The very sovereignty which inspires us to hold our heads high and shoulders back opens us to a kind of aloneness that few other nations with sophisticated financial services regimes face. And it will not be until we find the courage to stand up to the bully that we will be truly sovereign because our independence is in name only if our behaviour is always under scrutiny and our punishment is only another list away.

That is not to say that we should ignore the rules that are designed to keep the world a safer place. There is no question that vast sums of tainted money make their way around the word and searches for a convenient laundering jurisdiction.

And real estate is a likely laundering loophole. Buy, flip, re-invest, buy, flip reinvest, a few transactions down the line and you

won’t even be able to trace the original source of funds.

But to require every three-person real estate firm to have a compliance officer in-house or on retainer and to hold a real estate sales associate as culpable for handling a lease or sale of a condominium, for instance, as a bank with fines of $5,000 a day for failure to file is like taking away after school sports for three months for failing to tie a shoelace.

The new Act requires real estate firms to keep records of all correspondence in English between agents, brokers and clients for five years but orders that they be destroyed exactly after five years.

And if there is an inquiry post the five-year mark and the individual produces a file that implicates someone whose reputation could be impugned by the document, the individual could be fined for exposing the client unnecessarily.

The Act places risk assessment squarely on the shoulders of those who practice real estate even if deposits go directly to the attorney’s office because, the drafters of the legislation assert, the individual whether associate, broker or appraiser contributed to the transaction.

“If it started out as tainted money, you are getting tainted money in your commission,” explains Ms Bazard, who has advised jurisdictions around the region on compliance and legislation and acknowledges that the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO) has not yet been consulted in the legislation drafting process.

However, the Regulations are not finalized and it is anticipated that BREA, the Bahamas Developers Association and BACO will all

THE BAHAMAS 43rd Independence Day celebrations, below, held at Clifford Park back in 2016.

seek to contribute. If there is a single strong message they can deliver in a unified fashion to those who complying with the clampdown, trying to narrow the opportunity for funds from nefarious sources making their way into and through The Bahamas, it is this: The Bahamas is not perfect. But neither are those who are trying to strangle this small country by creating rules for us that do not apply to them. Opening a new bank account in The Bahamas can take months or longer. Opening a bank account in London, New York or Miami takes about as much time as reading this sentence despite the Financial Action Task Force.

Even more to the point, The Bahamas is a tiny player in a swirling money mega-world world, a grain of sand on a beach a mile wide. We have been squeezed until it hurts and those who are squeezing are far larger players in the world of questionable funds buying up real estate in places like New York and London. Why stifle development in a land where the middle class strives for ownership and education is key to future success, where hope, peace and security are far greater treasures than a pat on the back from Brussels.

We may not be perfect but we have given it one heck of a try and at the expense of what was once a thriving financial services sector boasting of being the Switzerland of the West. If bullies find satisfaction in reducing the value of our economy and the respect of our brand, when will they stop? For one thing is certain, The Bahamas will not trade its sovereignty for anyone’s attaboy.

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Thursday, November 8, 2018, PAGE 9

Residents fear Over-the-Hill project won’t address needs

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net MORE than three months after the government passed the Economic Empowerment Zone Act, some residents of Bain & Grants Town and Centreville are still largely ignorant of its benefits and doubtful the Over-the-Hill programme will address their most pressing needs.

The initiative is a flagship programme for the Minnis administration. But of the dozen or so residents The Tribune spoke to this week, most said they never heard of it. Others recalled hearing snippets about the plan but could provide no details.

Through the programme, tax exemptions will be offered to residents and businesses in specified areas. These will include exemptions on real property tax, business licence tax, custom duties on materials necessary for constructing, equipping, and completing buildings, excise taxes and stamp duty taxes. The exemptions are not accessible yet, nor have businesses and residents

RESIDENT William Carey begun seeking approval for them.

Samita Ferguson, executive manager of the Over-the-Hill Unit in the Office of the Prime

BAIN & Grants Town is the most impoverished constituency in New Providence.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Snr/Tribune Staff

Minister, said this phase is expected to kick in before the end of the year after the empowerment zone is gazetted.

Residents, like Rickell Bennet, 36, said the programme could help some businesses but speculated most residents of Bain & Grants Town, the most impoverished constituency in New Providence, have far more important priorities than renovating their homes with the little money they make.

“Renovation would be on the bottom of my list of priorities,” she said, minutes after praising the government’s effort. “Other things would be more important like buying grocery, clothes, cleaning items, daily toothpaste, your soap, your deodorant. Renovation would have to happen only where something in the house leaning and falling down.”

Life has been made more difficult by the increase in value added tax, something she said has had “a crazy impact” on her family that has been exacerbated by the fact that her daughter uses her minimum wage job to pay tuition at the University of The Bahamas, forcing her to pick up the slack in the house.

A programme to transform Over-the-Hill must, she added, feature a major job creation component, more so than tax exemptions.

“You can’t implement a programme like that to empower me, which in it could since if my house dilapidated or whatever and I getting a cheque every week, I could send for stuff to fix my roof or whatever, but if I don’t have a job to send away for the stuff I can’t do that. The first programme you need, and I’m not knocking that particular one, is how to get the people jobs. Lots of people here don’t have it. I’d say less than 45 percent of people in these areas would benefit from that.”

Another resident, Paul Andrew Kemp, 51, was told about the Over-the-Hill programme for the first time yesterday. He wondered how a programme designed for Over-the-Hill communities could be a mystery to so many residents in the community.

More than anything, he said he wants the programme to prove its worth by fixing the community’s immediate problems first, like constructing speed bumps and erecting stop signs in his home

area of Royal Palm Street, where he said accidents in the dilapidated area take place at least once every two weeks.

“I heard of it but I don’t see no effects of it, not particularly near to me,” said another resident, William Carey.

“He is as a disgruntled Free National Movement supporter who felt some actions of the Minnis administration, like increasing the VAT rate, made residents disillusioned about the Over-the-Hill programme’s potential.

“So far, I gon be truthful to you, I am a supporter of the FNM, I haven’t eaten no gravy off the gravy train, but that is not my complaint. Most of the things they doing, I don’t agree with even though being a party supporter,” he said.

An owner of a business in Bain & Grants Town, Mr Carey didn’t want to talk about the Over-theHill programme, despite being prodded to consider its benefits.

“The main important things the people need, they (the government) ain’ doing,” he argued.

“You got to set your house in order. Their priorities wrong.”

PAGE 10, Thursday, November 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Bahamian veteran Sir Etienne honoured in art project

AN ARTIST put an empty chair in one of the hundreds of Flanders Fields war grave cemeteries.

IN honour of war veterans, a museum in Belgium is showcasing an exhibition of chairs this weekend from all the countries and regions soldiers came from during the First World War. Among those who will be honoured are The Bahamas and Sir Etienne Dupuch, former Tribune publisher, who served in the First World War as part of The Bahamas’ War Contingent serving in the British West India Regiment.

The installation in Belgium was inspired by an earlier exhibit by international artist Val Carman.

A press release issued by In Flanders Fields Museum, which is organising the exhibit, explained the project.

“These past few months, people from around the world were found willing to donate a chair for this project. Many chairs carry unique stories and intentions. In representing the emptiness felt a hundred years ago, these chairs also symbolise the participation of countless people at this unique moment in history.

“The chairs will not return to their country of origin, but will remain in Ieper (Ypres), just like the fallen soldiers. Eventually, they, too, will preserve the unique worldwide memory of this centenary commemoration.

“The empty chairs will be deployed in an intimate installation in the Astrid Park. The chairs will be illuminated by candlelight.

The lantern will show the chair’s country of origin and the distance it travelled to Ieper (Ypres). The city of Ieper’s Parks Department will plant white flowers in the park for the occasion.

Lester Simpson will provide a soundscape that will play there for three days.”

On Friday at 5pm, volunteers will bring the chairs from the museum’s courtyard to the Astrid Park in Belgium.

The installation will be on display until Sunday, which is observed as Remembrance Day. Afterwards, the chairs will become part of the collection of the In Flanders

A WORKER unpacks a chair that Belgium.

Fields Museum. The chair, now in Belgium to represent The Bahamas, was sent by Sir Etienne’s son, Etienne Dupuch, Jr, of Dupuch Publications.

As part of the World War One centenary tomorrow an exhibition opens at the University of The Bahamas created by the Belgian National Institute for Veterans and Victims of War. The exhibit will run for a month and features 30 panels highlighting different aspects of the war at Flanders Fields in Belgium.

It will also feature information on three Bahamians who served in the British West Indies Regiment and are known to have died and been buried in Flanders Fields. One of those men was Lance Sergeant Charles S Sparkman, 23.

In his book, “A Salute to Friend & Foe”, Sir Etienne described the horrors of war, revealing how a fellow soldier’s head was blown off mere feet away from him while on parade in Belgium near Passchendaele Ridge.

That man was Lance Sergeant Sparkman.

“It was evident that the enemy had sighted us and were trying to pick up the range,” he wrote. “As shells

will be part of a war exhibit in started inching nearer and nearer, Sergeant Sparkman ran out to the parade ground and told a Jamaican corporal in charge of the squad to dismiss the parade and let the men take cover.

“If Jesus Christ came down here today and told me to dismiss the parade,” the corporal declared, “I wouldn’t do it.” This blasphemy was hardly out of his mouth when a shell fell right in the middle of the parade and men went down like ten-pins in a bowling alley. When the smoke cleared, Sparkman lay on the ground, his uniform spotless, but his head had been blown off the shoulders by a piece of shrapnel.

The Jamaican corporal had disappeared and he didn’t turn up for several days.

When he did, he was in a state of shock,” Sir Etienne wrote.

As part of a series of local events for Remembrance Day, a church service is scheduled on Sunday at Christ Church Cathedral.

Tomorrow’s Tribune will also include a special 24-page supplement dedicated to all the men from all classes of society in The Bahamas who answered the call to arms and served in The Great War.

THE TOMBSTONE of Charles Sparkman and, below, his biographical details.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 8, 2018, PAGE 11

CANDLE SPARKED FATAL HOUSE FIRE from page one

TOWN Centre Mall.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Construction begins for Post Office relocation

By RIEL MAJOR

TRANSPORT and Local Government Minister Renward Wells said construction is underway to renovate Town Centre Mall for the relocation of the General Post Office, adding plans initially drawn up by the previous administration are being relied upon with some changes.

Mr Wells said architectural drawings were started by the previous administration and the government has reviewed those drawings and made adjustments.

He reiterated that staff from the General Post Office should be relocated to the new facility at Town Centre Mall by Christmas.

“The first set of construction work that is commencing and that will be completed is the post office Savings Bank.

Removing the post office

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Savings Bank into the old Barclays Bank and (removing) the cafeteria area from the second floor to the lower floor in what was Subway, so it makes that kind of transition very easy for us to do the requisite renovations in those places,” Mr Wells told reporters yesterday.

“We have no unforeseen challenges other than us just agreeing on the work spaces and agreeing on the additional drawings.

“So we are looking to have those post office bank staff to be the first set who move and we are looking for that to happen within the next two weeks or so.”

Town Centre Mall is owned by Immigration Minister Brent Symonette and his brother. The government’s decision to lease the mall for five years to house the post office has drawn criticism from the

Official Opposition and four Free National Movement backbenchers.

Yesterday, Mr Wells stressed his support of members of Parliament being able to conduct business with the government once, by law, the correct procedures have been followed.

“First of all, the law of The Bahamas makes provisions for it and not just the law, the Constitution,” Mr Wells said. “The highest law in this country that cannot be questioned makes provisions for it so that means it is not something that is illegal or something that is underhanded.

“The law says if someone who is elected enters into business with government the thing that they (have) to do is to declare and the Parliament has to give them the opportunity to not vacate their seat to vote that the member not

be forced to vacate his seat.

“We did all of that, now if you have a problem with that and you believe that no member of Parliament should have any sort of contract with the government of The Bahamas… mind you let’s remember our founders (and) our forefathers who established this nation didn’t think there was a problem with it,” he said. “They just thought what you ought to do is go through the right procedures to do it. Now if we who are their children who have come along now to govern this country believe that there is a problem with that kind of thinking then what we ought to be doing is making suggestions to change the constitution of The Bahamas.

“That is what we should be doing rather than complaining about it and so at

the end of the day if you feel aggrieved in any which way or you have a particular position on something and believe that something is untoward then at the end of the day let us move in the way of correcting it by legislation. That’s my position.”

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

“She went, probably to a neighbour’s house. And the sister, I don’t know how it happened, but the sister realised there’s a fire and she could not awaken her five-year-old brother.

“She tried to wake him up but the fire was burning bigger, getting hotter.

So she went out to get help. And by the time (as) she got her mom and came back, it was too late.”

According to earlier reports, Rock Sound Police Station officers were notified shortly after 9pm about a single-story home made of wood, with a concrete overlay, engulfed in flames in Green Castle, South Eleuthera.

Chief Superintendent Stephen Adderley said his team along with local residents tried to extinguish the flames to rescue the 5-year-old boy, but were unsuccessful.

“We discovered a young boy, the body of a male, in the residence burnt beyond recognition,” CSP Adderley said on Tuesday.

“We were made to understand the youngster was home with his (ten-yearold) sibling and apparently the (sibling) woke up to the fire and was able to get out but the youngster was left sleeping.

“The parents were not home at the moment,” Supt Adderley continued. “We understand that the parents were just a short distance away and returned home and met the house ablaze.”

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PAGE 12, Thursday, November 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

PLP HOLDS MEMORIAL FOR BRADLEY ROBERTS

A MEMORIAL service was held yesterday for Bradley Roberts at the Sir Lynden Pindling centre. Pictured far left, Perry Christie, left, Allyson Maynard Gibson, top, Philip Davis and, right centre, Hartlyn Roberts.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net BRADLEY Roberts’ former cabinet, parliamentary and party colleagues hailed him as a definitive representation of the Progressive Liberal Party’s philosophies during a memorial at the PLP headquarters last night.

Among those who paid tribute to him were former Prime Minister Perry Christie, former Attorneys General Allyson Maynard Gibson and Alfred Sears, former Labour Minister Shane Gibson, and former MP and Sunshine Holdings chairman Sir Franklyn Wilson.

Mr Gibson considered Mr Roberts a mentor and praised his skill as a debater. “He could tear down the entire parliament

by himself and didn’t need any help,” he said. “He was one of the most dynamic politicians this Bahamas has ever seen. He was one of those colleagues around the table who if he told you he will do something, you could take it to the bank that he will get it done.”

Mr Sears similarly highlighted Mr Roberts’ knack for uncovering damaging information about his political opponents, which he unveiled to the country to devastating effect at times in his career. “His resourceful research transformed the proverbial garbage can into a reliable source of intelligence which made him a powerful debater in parliament and a powerful political commentator,” Mr Sears said.

Sir Franklyn drew parallels between the challenges the PLP

faced between 1997-2002, when it had just four MPs in parliament, to what the party faces now, saying Mr Roberts’ role in helping the party win the 2002 general election should inspire the party. “All who think the PLP is weak,” Sir Franklyn said, “I want to make the point, the former leader is here, I believe he recalled a meeting we had in August 2001. Five of us were there. If you did opinion polls saying the PLP would win in 2002, I don’t know what the poll would say, save and except not a chance in hell. But look at what happened.

“Look at what came out of that garbage can…Bradley’s record is so clear. You can’t be confused. When we have lectures to tell candidates what we expect, be like Bradley, you

can’t go wrong. If the PLP could be where they were in August 2001 and win the way they did in 2002, don’t let no analyst, no one tell you anything about what will happen in 2022 based on what they suspect today.”

For his part, Mr Christie said he chose Mr Roberts to be Minister of Works in his first administration because of his “incredible experience, connectively throughout the country from the lowest to the highest, having worked with white and black and therefore clearly accomplished to get amazing results as a minister which he did.”

Mr Christie said Mr Roberts will be permanently credited with the installing of fibre optic cables throughout the country.

Noting how fragile the country’s

communication system once was, Mr Christie recounted Mr Roberts’ fibre optic cables pitch to him. BTC, then BATELCO, wanted to install the cables in just six islands, he said, because officials there believed it would not be profitable to install them in smaller islands.

He said Mr Roberts made the case for installing the cables through the entire Bahamas.

“He came and said this is beyond economics, about connecting the country with fibre optic cable for ever and ever,” Mr Christie recalled. “The government made a decision based on Bradley’s advice to spend $68m to put fibre optic cable through the Commonwealth; he didn’t discriminate against any islands and wanted it for smaller islands too.”

PAGE 14, Thursday, November 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 8, 2018, PAGE 15

Trump sacks Sessions as AG WASHINGTON Associatied Press ATTORNEY General Jeff Sessions was pushed out yesterday as the country’s chief law enforcement officer after enduring more than a year of blistering and personal attacks from President Donald Trump over his recusal from the Russia investigation.

Sessions told the president in a one-page letter that he was submitting his resignation “at your request.”

Trump announced in a tweet that he was naming Sessions’ chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a former United States attorney from Iowa, as acting attorney general. Whitaker has criticised special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential coordination between the president’s Republican campaign and Russia.

The resignation was the culmination of a toxic relationship that frayed just weeks into the attorney general’s tumultuous tenure, when he stepped aside from the Mueller investigation.

Trump blamed the decision for opening the door to the appointment of Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation and began examining whether Trump’s hectoring of Sessions was part of a broader effort to obstruct justice and stymie the probe.

Asked whether Whitaker would assume control over

JEFF SESSIONS

Mueller’s investigation, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Flores said Whitaker would be “in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice.” The Justice Department did not announce a departure for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller more than a year and a half ago and has closely overseen his work since then.

Whitaker once opined about a situation in which Trump could fire Sessions and then appoint an acting attorney general who could stifle the funding of Mueller’s probe.

“So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt,” Whitaker said during an interview with CNN in July 2017.

Asked if that would be to dwindle the special counsel’s resources, Whitaker responded, “Right.”

In an op-ed for CNN, Whitaker wrote: “Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 electionmeddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing.”

The relentless attacks on Sessions came even though the Alabama Republican was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump and despite the fact that his crime-fighting agenda and priorities — particularly his hawkish immigration enforcement policies — largely mirrored the president’s.

But the relationship was irreparably damaged in March 2017 when Sessions, acknowledging previously undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador and citing his work as a campaign aide, recused himself from the Russia investigation.

PRESIDENT Trump watches as a White House aide reaches to take away a microphone from a CNN journalist yesterday.

From bad to worse: President’s media relationships are getting more personal NEW YORK Associatied Press PRESIDENT Trump’s combative relationship with the media deteriorated further yesterday with a news conference where he called some reporters rude and accused a PBS reporter of posing a racist question when she asked him about white nationalists.

“It’s such a hostile media,” Trump said during his post-midterms news conference at the White House, after ordering reporter April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks to sit down when she tried to ask him a question.

The president complained that the media did not cover the humming economy and was responsible for much of the country’s divided politics. He said that “I can do something fantastic, and they make it look not good.”

His exchanges with CNN’s Jim Acosta and NBC News’ Peter Garrett turned bitterly personal, unusual even for a forum where the nature of their jobs often put presidents and the press at odds.

“I came in here as a nice person wanting to answer questions and I had people jumping out of their seats screaming questions at me,” said Trump, who talked for nearly 90 minutes despite the run-ins with reporters.

Acosta and Trump began sparring after the CNN White House correspondent asked him about why a so-called caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern US border was emphasised as an issue in the just-concluded midterm races.

Acosta questioned Trump calling the migrants march an invasion and Trump defended the term.

“You should let me run the country,” Trump said. “You run CNN and if you did it well, your ratings would be

much better.” When Acosta pressed on with another question, Trump said “that’s enough!” and a White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta.

After Acosta asked about the investigation of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election and Trump tried to turn to Garrett.

“CNN should be ashamed of itself having you work for them,” the president said. “You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN. The way you treat Sarah Sanders is horrible. The way you treat other people is horrible. You shouldn’t treat people that way.”

Garrett came to his colleague’s defense. “I’ve travelled with him and watched him,” Garrett said. “He’s a diligent reporter who busts his butt like the rest of us.”

“I’m not a big fan of yours, either,” Trump replied.