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VOLUME:115 No.244, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

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HEALTH: GIRL AUTHOR GIVES HOPE TO DIABETES PATIENTS

‘We’re doing all we possibly can’ Dames defends search operation for crash pilot

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net AS THE search for missing pilot Byron Ferguson continues, National Security Minister Marvin Dames defended officials against criticism by saying that law enforcement has extended every effort to resolving this matter.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Dames said as soon as information about the crash was reported, law enforcement mobilised.

He also said no flight plan

was filed for the aircraft, as he appealed to the public not to make assumptions.

Regarding the search, Mr Dames added there is still “hope” that officials can find Mr Ferguson.

Yesterday, Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commissioner Tellis Bethel reiterated to The Tribune that the perimeter of the crash has extended.

“The search was expanded yesterday (Sunday) to include waters

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis conceded yesterday that only a small group of Bahamians benefit from economic growth in the country, but assured citizens the government is addressing blockages that stifle job creation and perpetuate poverty.

For some, the economic growth has done nothing to

FORMER Renew Bahamas CEO Michael Cox and his uncle Maurice Cox will stand trial at the end of the month on allegations that they were working in The Bahamas last month without government approval.

The two British men, ages 41 and 51 respectively, were arraigned before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans last month on a single charge of engaging in gainful occupation on October 5.

It is alleged that on the date in question, the two Newcastle, United Kingdom natives, were caught working in Summerset Estates without leave of the director of immigration to do so.

The two pleaded not guilty to the charges.

They have since been granted $10,000 bail and are required to report to

PRATT - I’LL FIGHT ‘UNJUST’ ALLEGATIONS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE THREE

ease the burden of living on consumers, Dr Minnis said, many telling him survival remains difficult.

Dr Minnis was speaking during the opening of Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants Week at Baha Mar’s Convention Centre.

Following his presentation, the prime minister refused to answer questions from The Tribune and SEE PAGE NINE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE SIX

‘MAJORITY MISS OUT ON GROWTH’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

RENEW CEO COX ‘HAD NO WORK PERMIT’

Romi’s holding out for a hero ENVIRONMENT Minister Romi Ferreira yesterday visited two schools to encourage children to join his initiative to keep The Bahamas clean. Full story - Page 2. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

FORMER Immigration Director William Pratt said yesterday he was seeking legal redress in response to “loose, untested allegations” in reference to him in an affidavit detailing the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe of an alleged local US visa scam.

The affidavit of special agent Kevin Gounaud details conversations the scam’s alleged lead conspirator, Edward Israel Saintil, had with undercover FBI informants.

Saintil allegedly boasted of having relationships with top immigration officials. He also alleged that SEE PAGE SEVEN

CRUISE TOURISTS SPEND $132... APPARENTLY

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

CRUISE passenger spending in Nassau and Freeport soared by 59 percent over the past three years, it has been claimed, making The Bahamas the third highest-yielding destination in the Caribbean.

Such findings, which showed per capita cruise passenger spending rise at a

A CRUISE SHIP rate more than double that of all other nations bar the Dominican Republic, are likely to be greeted with scepticism by many in the tourism industry - not least

because they come from a report commissioned by the cruise lines themselves.

The survey, which measures the industry’s economic impact on the Caribbean every three years on behalf of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), said the huge leap in The Bahamas’ average cruise passenger spend was driven by increased luxury goods purchases.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

FACE-TO-FACE FROM GROCERY BOY TO HALLS OF LEARNING

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Tuesday, November 13, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

WEATHER WATCH ON TROPICAL WAVE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net WEATHER officials are monitoring a system that has developed in the Atlantic Ocean and has The Bahamas in its sights.

The tropical wave has formed east of the Lesser Antilles.

On Sunday, the US National Hurricane Centre said about the system: “Showers activity has increased and (it

should) become a little better organised today in association with a tropical wave located bout 350 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands.

Environmental conditions are forecast to gradually become more conducive for development

by Tuesday, and a tropical or subtropical cyclone is expected to form by the middle of the week. The system will move westward to west-northwestward for the next few days, passing

near or north of the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the southeastern Bahamas.”

Yesterday, an official with the Bahamas Meteorological Department said the system has a 50 percent chance of developing over the next 48 hours and an 80 percent chance of developing over the five days.

The official said the system could develop into a tropical cyclone though weather models are uncertain what path it will take.

MINISTER of Environment and Housing Romauld Ferreira speaking to students at LW Young.

How you can become a hero

By RIEL MAJOR ENVIRONMENT Minister Romi Ferreira yesterday urged school children to sign up and join his new initiative - “Be a Hero, Keeping The Bahamas Clean, Green and Pristine”.

During visits to L W Young and T A Thompson schools Mr Ferreira

said the programme was now at “stage two” and asked pupils to support the initiative.

“What we are attempting to do is to change the attitudes of the young because we are a young nation with young people and young energy,” he said.

“We cannot expect to go anywhere as a country unless we engage the minds

STUDENTS at LW Young for the ‘Be A Hero’ campaign.

of the young people and we get them to see that as much as we are a tourism nation we can’t really do this for the tourist.

“We have to do this for us this is actually our work and we cannot expect people to come to our country and value it more than we actually value it for ourselves so we’re beginning that journey.”

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, PAGE 3

Dames defends search operation for crash pilot from page one and (coastlines) off of the east coast of North Andros, including the Joulter Cays and the south coast of the Berry Islands including Chub Cay and Whale Cay,” the commodore said.

“Prior to this, the northwest quadrant of New Providence was searched, which included the coastline, shallow and ocean areas using RBDF patrol craft, drone and divers, and a US Coast Guard fixed wing aircraft.”

Bahamas Air Accident Investigation Department Operations Investigator Kendal Dorsett Jr also said yesterday that with a lack of physical evidence, authorities are looking at “other avenues” that could have contributed to the incident.

“Because of that, we have requested a weather study from the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States and we will also be looking at the maintenance records of this aircraft and also the ATC related data in relation to this case,” Mr Dorsett said.

During a press conference held on Sunday, relatives of Mr Ferguson expressed dissatisfaction with the way officials have conducted search and rescue efforts in the wake of the plane crash in the waters off Nirvana Beach on Thursday night.

Mr Dames said he was “taken aback” by the criticism, given his knowledge of how quickly officials mobilised in response to the crash.

“When this matter was reported to the authorities on Thursday night…I was in communication with (Commodore Bethel) and the commissioner (of police),” Mr Dames said. “I was also in communication with the minister of tourism, who has responsibility

THE FAMILY of Byron Ferguson at Nirvana Beach during Sunday’s press conference and, inset right, Byron Ferguson.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff family’s critiques that no can’t because the waters are information, noting for civil aviation. that as far as offi“We take that (plane divers went into the waters rough.

“You don’t know what cials are aware, no crashes) very seriously. on Thursday night, Mr And so immediately as Dames underscored preser- you’re up against…you flight plan was filed that information came in, vation of life is paramount have to make that call for the ill-fated trip. once you get to that scene.

“As far as we are the authorities activated in these situations.

“The first order of busi- I can’t make that call for aware, we don’t have their machinery, almost immediately. The (RBDF) ness is the preservation them. But what I would any, up to this day, anyresponded, the police of life,” Mr Dames said. say: at the earliest oppor- thing stating that a flight responded, we got the assis- “Now, I couldn’t say what tunity that the officers were plan has been filed…So I tance from the US who the conditions were at the able to send divers down, say this to say, we have to be careful when we make mobilised the helicopter time, and what the officers that was done.”

Regarding the family’s assertions.” almost immediately under were up against. We could However, Mr Dames also the umbrella of (Opera- all sit back and be Monday criticisms that the plane tions Bahamas Turks and morning quarterbacks, but was not marked or tracked said he is sympathetic to if you look at search and before authorities left the the family’s plight.

Caicos) OPBAT. “Every family, I included, “Officers worked early rescue, anywhere the world scene, Mr Dames said he into the morning, divers over, and you see how it is could not speak to that if I were faced with that situcame in early that morning, conducted — sometimes matter as the investigation ation, would want to ensure that the authorities are went to work, along with a you have rough waters and is ongoing. you may want to go in and He also warned against doing all that is humanely search party.”

When asked about the execute a search, but you the spreading of false possible to return their

loved one or loved one’s home,” Mr Dames said. “And so I am not faulting the family whatsoever.

“We continue to search and it is always our hope that we can find life,” he added, referring to the incident when Bahamian sailor Samuel Leroy Moss Jr was found alive after being adrift at sea for two weeks.

LANDFILL AGREEMENT WITH BIDDER ‘85% COMPLETE’

By RIEL MAJOR

ENVIRONMENT Minister Romauld Ferreira said the New Providence Sanitary Landfill’s investment and management contract between the government and the selected bidder is 80 to 85 percent completed.

The minister told The Tribune yesterday lawyers are still actively working to

complete the contractual agreement.

“I just got my update today, they spent all day on Thursday hashing out the final details...I have been advised that they’re 85 percent complete so I look forward to them completing the other 15 percent,” Mr Ferreira said.

Mr Ferreira said the new company will be able to manage the landfill after the

MAN DIES IN HOSPITAL AFTER SHOOTING INCIDENT A MAN died in hospital shortly after he was shot while in the Cordeaux Avenue and Watkins Street area yesterday, police said.

Details were scant up to press time, but around 6pm yesterday police announced they were investigating yesterday’s shooting.

The incident marked the 77th murder of the year, according to this newspaper’s records.

The killing came three days after another man was

fatally shot in the Kemp Road area.

Police responded to the sound of gun shots around 11pm on Friday in the area of Cooper’s Terrace off Kemp Road when they discovered the man lying in the street with injuries. Paramedics’ attempts at reviving the man were unsuccessful.

Anyone with information on these incidents of any other crime is asked to call police at 919 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

lawyers have completed the contractual agreement and he is unable to confirm, at this time, when the remaining 15 per cent will be done.

“It is an urgent priority and so we’ve directed a lot of time and energy towards it,” Mr Ferreira said. “We hope to have it finished as soon as practicable but since it’s in the hands of lawyers and being a former practitioner it’s difficult

to say because they have to have mutual agreeable terms that both sides can live with that can have the desired result which is to endure for the benefit for the Bahamian people.

“I don’t want to make any prediction.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that Providence Advisors/Waste Resources Development Group Consortium had been chosen to

assume management of the city dump.

At a press conference this summer, it was said the project will feature several sustainability measures and beneficial features for the immediate long-term health of the surrounding communities and environment.

These include but are not limited to extinguishing all fires at the site and

implementing operational measures to prevent such fires in the future; remediating the existing site’s leaking toxins and health hazards transforming an ongoing nightmare for the site’s neighbours into a wellrun operation with much reduced environmental impacts; as well as keeping the site clear, secure and green with a lush natural vegetation cap.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 13, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Cameras, strong measures must be deployed to fight corruption ON MONDAY, November 5, this newspaper published a front page story revealing a two-year investigation into alleged bribery and corruption at the highest levels of the Bahamas Immigration Department was now an FBI matter.

The story included detailed reports of alleged incidences that should have shocked us, the cost of work permit “favours” regularly hitting the $15,000 tag. Instead, the reports felt commonplace. Corruption is so pervasive that it is widely accepted as how to do business. Only the lucky or the pure remain innocent and untethered to a system designed to coddle the crooked.

In Immigration offices, pay-offs to officers prompt them to do what is called “moving your file”, literally translated into finding your application in the hip-high stacks of manila folders that dot the office, and advancing it to the next step. It was no accident that documents were handled in such a way that made “moving” them entitled the “mover” to a favour fee or commission for personally moving the application of an individual or company for work permit, residency or other immigrationrelated matter. We know of cases where individuals have waited so long for what appears to be routine handling that frustration leads them to believe the only way to get anything done is by paying off someone inside the department to do it. One man told us “I’m so tired of waiting, I would pay someone to get it done, but I don’t know who to pay, especially now since they are trying to clean it up.

Suppose I pay the wrong person?”

If that gentleman is correct and “they are trying to clean it up”, we suggest that rather than trying, the government and the Minister of Immigration Brent Symonette declare war on corruption.

Because mid- to low-level corruption in The Bahamas is so entrenched, ending it is no longer possible without full-out war on the culture that feeds it. That means tough measures must be taken including cameras in every office, body cams on officers on the road, monitors and incentives for tips – rewarding rather than punishing whistleblowers if a charge is filed that results in a conviction, even if that conviction only carries a fine and community service.

Further computerisation and a new system currently being implemented will partially stem the tide of pay-to-play.

But until we have uniform standards and rules, removing the need for a human to make the decision on every permit application and until we rebuke the culture of bribery and extortion, the opportunity will continue to exist to exchange approval for dollars. And as long as that opportunity is the reality, The Bahamas’ international reputation suffers.

In figures that have been widely reported, with one being the most corrupt and 100 the least, The Bahamas averaged 69.50 out of 100 possible points as measured by Transparency International over the past decade.

According to another source, tradingeconomics.com, the country reached an all-time good record – still far below what it should have been – in 2011 and all-time poor record in 2017 in the years since 2010 when that body began reporting perceived corruption.

Transparency International,

considered the world’s leading authority on corruption, ranks The Bahamas well above states like Somalia but far below the cleanest countries. Denmark earns the highest marks for being nearly corruption free, followed in order by New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, The Netherlands and Canada.

Though there may not be any research validating the connection, we cannot but wonder how much education factors in the relationship. Those countries which rank the best in corruption scores are the same countries that lead the world in education rankings. Though not in the exact order, all are within the top 10. They are also countries that have Freedom of Information legislation, providing an avenue by which the media and ordinary citizens can seek information about how their governments and their civil service functions. They can ask questions about what happened to an application and they have a right to the answer.

Transparency International’s local representative, a sharp attorney named Lemarque Campbell, along with Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG), Save The Bays, Citizens for a Better Bahamas and others that make up civil society have called for the passage of a long-promised Freedom of Information Act with funding for the creation of an independent Information Commissioner. The Act has passed, but there is little evidence, if any, that regulations have been completed or the process for implementation is active or the search for an Information Commissioner has begun.

Down deep, the real problem with corruption is that for every citizen or corporation that benefits by its practice, there is someone left behind whose file is not handled as it should be. Corruption cripples business. Without the usual pay-off, why rush to get anything done?

Slackness rules where money is absent in a society riddled with corruption.

Corruption also benefits the few at the expense of the many, money going into private pockets instead of public coffers, building lavish homes for the crooks cloaked in civil service uniforms. Payoffs pad the pocket of the middle man who expedites the transaction and keeps a piece of the dirty money. It is so blatant that facilitators stand right outside offices offering their services and quoting rates to total strangers.

It is true that The Bahamas is far from alone in dealing with corruption. Transparency International says more than two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories it studied fall below the midpoint, in its words, scoring what it called “a paltry 43” on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the best.

“In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity,” explains José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International.

Declaring war on corruption, inclusive of cameras in offices and locations where transactions take place, is the only sensible course of action open to The Bahamas government if it is serious about ending the scourge and building its reputation as a desirable place to live, work and invest.

Beware the cruise ship companies EDITOR, The Tribune It is nonsense for the government to even consider letting one of the cruise ship companies manage the Port of Nassau. These companies have no interest in seeing Bay Street thrive.

Right now, they are allowed to dock in Nassau Harbour and keep their shops and restaurants open all day and night. They are

making a killing while in our port and the last thing they want is to see a revitalised downtown Nassau.

The cruise ship companies complain that Nassau is one of the worst ports in the Caribbean. If that is true, their own actions played a great part in making it that way. The government should view with extreme suspicion any helping hand from these entities.

The cruise ships are businesses and they are in it to make money. Nothing wrong with that, but we Bahamians, on the other hand, have to live here and want to see downtown flourish and our fellow countrymen who work and live there prosper.

RICARDO JOHNSON Nassau October 25, 2018

A PM term limit would prevent another Pindling EDITOR, The Tribune TWO referenda have failed in The Bahamas under the last Progressive Liberal Party administration of former Prime Minister Perry Christie: the constitutional referendum in 2016 and the gaming referendum in 2013.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ plan to implement term limits for the office of prime minister will almost certainly succeed in a referendum. I believe Minnis wants ten years or two terms for the prime minister.

In the US, the president can only serve up to two terms. However, the US is a republic, unlike The Bahamas, whose governmental system is tied to the Westminster system of England, which precludes term limits for the prime minister. The prime minister, a virtual dictator, can serve for life if his party is successful at every election.

Take a look at the father of the modern Bahamas, the late Sir Lynden Pindling,

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the country’s first prime minister. He led The Bahamas from 1967 to 1992 – 25 years. Pindling was one of the longest serving heads of state in the western hemisphere. He led The Bahamas to majority rule in 1967 and to independence in 1973.

He brought about sweeping reforms in education and in healthcare. Under Pindling, the black Bahamian middle-class was created. Pindling did plenty in modernising the country.

However, I believe he overstayed his tenure by at least 10 years. Some may even argue 15 years. Whichever the case might be, I believe Pindling should’ve stepped down in 1982. He could have groomed a young Hubert Ingraham as his successor.

At that time, Ingraham was the PLP MP for North Abaco. Ingraham also

served as national chairman of the PLP in 1977. Had Ingraham become prime minister in 1982, The Bahamas would’ve been spared the Nation for Sale debacle during the mid-1980s. The drug crisis wouldn’t have blossomed into what it did during that time. By 1977, Pindling was pretty much exhausted of meaningful ideas in forwarding The Bahamas. I believe he had served his purpose between 1967-1977.

The term limit initiative by the Free National Movement should be wholeheartedly embraced by all Bahamians of all political persuasions. Power has a tendency of corrupting those who hold onto it for too long. The country can attest to this.

A term limit will prevent another Pindling. The Bahamas of today will not tolerate another prime minister serving for five consecutive terms.

KEVIN EVANS Nassau November 11, 2018

Why airspace fees should come to us EDITOR, The Tribune

OUR failure to capitalize on our own airspace is losing us millions of dollars each year. Most Bahamians may be unaware, but every aircraft that flies within our national boundaries pays a fee, a kind of tax if you will, for right of passage through our territory. The problem is, currently those fees, which can number in the many thousands of dollars per flight, get paid to the United States authorities!

It cannot make sense for a free and independent country to allow another nation to control its airspace, terrestrial land or sovereign waters, much less cash in on the situation, while we get nothing.

All the time and effort, all

the danger that our Royal Bahamas Defence Force marines endure in order to protect our sovereign waters from poachers, yet we give up our airspace without even putting up a fight?

Meanwhile, this government seems intent on taxing the people to death.

Twelve percent VAT, two percent for National Health Insurance and taxes on electricity supply the highest in the region. Ministers claim that the Treasury doesn’t collect enough revenue to make the country run, yet they continue to look to the people’s pockets to get themselves out of this fiscal jam. Why not look at other revenue sources?

Why not try to be creative?

Why not seek to make the

geographical location of the country, which is right in the line of so many busy air routes, work for the public benefit?

Cashing in on our own airspace would cost us nothing more than a conversation with United States officials, for whom these fees are nothing more than spare pocket change.

But for little old us, it could mean huge benefits for our Public Treasury and an opportunity to alleviate the onerous tax burden that seems to keep on growing with each passing year. It seems a no-brainer. What on earth are they waiting for?

ESSY BOOTLE Nassau November 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, PAGE 5

Witness misidentified men in ID parade, court hears

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A KEY witness against Stephen “Die” Stubbs, Clinton Evans and Andrew “Yogi” Davis identified Evans as Stubbs during an identification parade almost 20 years ago, despite his claims that he had known Stubbs for almost a decade up to that point, appellate judges heard yesterday.

Stubbs’ lead attorney Edward Fitzgerald, QC, told the tribunal of Sir Hartman Longley, Sir Michael Barnett and Milton Evans that while John Campbell picked out Evans on March 30, 1999, he then referred to Evans as someone he had known for eight years.

However, Mr Fitzgerald said Campbell’s evidence that he identified his client as one of those responsible for the March 29, 1999 death of Constable Jimmy Ambrose, was contradicted by the evidence of Inspector McKenzie, who later stated that Campbell had picked out only Davis on the parade.

And in any event, Mr Fitzgerald submitted that Stubbs, Evans and Davis being placed on the same ID parade was in contravention of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s (RBPF) Standing Orders, as they were not of roughly similar appearance, amongst other things.

Additionally, Mr Fitzgerald said Campbell was later allowed to make a dock identification of his client, something he said the trial judge should have never allowed because it was “too dangerous” to rely on the circumstances, thus making it “wholly unfair” to his client.

The submissions by the English attorney came during day one of the trio’s respective appeals concerning their convictions and sentences for murdering Constable Ambrose and attempting to murder Constable 2265 Marcian Scott at the now-closed Club Rock disco.

STEPHEN “Die” Stubbs pictured during a previous appearance at court.

Mr Fitzgerald also submit- evidence that he participated in an ted that during trial, Constable ID parade, something he submitScott, the Crown’s other key wit- ted was “fundamentally flawed”.

According to a summary of ness, claimed he was a police officer during the time the killing the facts, Constable Ambrose, an occurred. However, Mr Fitzgerald officer in plainclothes, was shot said National Insurance Board and killed outside the night club (NIB) records showed that the after a fight between two rival officer was discharged on January groups of men broke out around 1am on the date in question.

11, 1999.

The fight had resulted in a Mr Fitzgerald further asserted that the NIB records show that young man running out of the Scott was paid up to February club and approaching Constaof that year, but by that March bles Ambrose and Scott. A short he was employed by a private time later, four men came to the security company. Mr Fitzgerald club’s entrance and words were thus submitted that had such evi- exchanged between them and the dence been available at the time, young man.

Constable Ambrose told the it would have had a “significant” impact on the case. He further young man to go to the police stastated that such evidence now tion and tried to stop him from raises a “serious doubt” as to further engaging the men at the whether Constable Scott was an entrance. However, the four men started shooting in the direction officer at the time.

The English QC also submitted of the young man and the two that Constable Scott was permit- constables.

Constable Scott hid behind a car ted to make a dock identification during trial, despite there being no and eventually made his way to

the door of the club. He claimed he looked back and saw both Stubbs and Davis shoot Constable Ambrose. Evans, meanwhile, was said to have pointed his weapon at two other police officers as he ran from the West Bay Street nightclub.

The three men were first convicted in May 2002, but their convictions were overturned on appeal. The second trial before then-Supreme Court Justice Jon Isaacs, since deceased, was aborted on the first day of the summation of the case.

In a second retrial in July 2013, the three men were convicted of murder and attempted murder, while Evans was further convicted of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to put another in fear. A week before sentencing, Crown prosecutors gave notice of their intent to seek the death penalty.

However, then-Supreme Court Justice Roy Jones, who also now sits as an appellate judge, ruled

that the case did not meet the “worst of the worst” requirements for the death penalty, and even if it had, the Crown had failed to follow sentencing guidelines by giving notice of their intention in the specified time. The men were ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment.

Following the verdicts in the second retrial, the three men appealed successfully against their convictions and, with the exception of Stubbs, their sentences.

Prior to the substantive hearing of the matter before Justice Isaacs and since departed Justices Abdulai Conteh and Neville Adderley, Stubbs’ attorney Murrio Ducille requested that Justice Isaacs recuse himself on the bases that the judge had presided over the second aborted trial.

However, the Court of Appeal refused Mr Ducille’s application for recusal. At the time, Justice Isaacs ruled that in his view, him participating in the appeal would not give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias, citing the length of time that had passed since the second trial.

Justice Isaacs also noted that the court should not be too quick to grant recusal applications because of the unnecessary delays it would cause in the administration of justice.

The Privy Council, in a written ruling, said it is of the “clear view” that the complaint made by the appellants is well founded.

The London-based tribunal further said that the decisions Justice Isaacs made during the second trial would lead a fair-minded and informed observer to conclude that “there was a real possibility that he had pre-judged issues which fell for consideration on the appeal to the Court of Appeal and that the appellants did not have the appearance of a fresh tribunal of three judges to consider their appeals.”

Ramona Farquharson-Seymour represents Evans, while Ian Cargill represents Davis.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, November 13, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

UNION FEAR OVER BTC DOWNSIZING

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net BTC UNIONS yesterday protested further downsizing at the telecommunications company, namely the outsourcing of its call centre.

Employees called for government intervention to defend Bahamian workers during a joint press conference held by the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union and the Bahamas Communications and

Public Managers Union outside BTC headquarters.

About two dozen BTC employees staged a lunchtime protest against the move. They claim they were notified of the outsourcing

by BTC executives a few weeks ago.

A joint statement released by the unions noted an insecure work environment that has persisted over the last seven years, adding it appeared as thought the company’s mission statement was to “cut expenses, rather

THE DOWNTOWN BTC store.

than grow revenue”.

“Since 2011, the woes of this company has been placed at the feet of our members,” the statement read.

“When it was determined that staff was oversized, our members were targeted for separation. When the company needed to prepare for competition, our members had to go. When the company needed to improve/ maintain its bottom-line, again our members were sacrificed.

‘We’re here to say, enough is enough. We want

a plan to grow this company, a plan to stabilise this place and create a working environment that my members are happy and proud to be a part of.”

The unions maintained BTC’s revenue was earned in The Bahamas, and the workers should benefit from those earnings.

“The call centre should

remain in The Bahamas, and become the centre of excellence as agreed in the purchase agreement between the government of The Bahamas and (Cable and Wireless Communications) CWC,” the statement continued.

“CWC is paid an annual

two percent of gross revenue plus additional support fees to manage BTC. We are left to ask the (government), are you pleased that you are getting value for money, are you satisfied that CWC is living up to the terms of the purchase agreement?”

The timeline for the impending outsourcing is not clear.

RENEW CEO COX ‘HAD NO WORK PERMIT’ from page one

MICHAEL COX

the Cable Beach Police Station on Sundays by 7pm. Failure to comply with their bail conditions will result in their bail being revoked and them being remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).

Attorney Myles Laroda represents both men. Avia Beckford, a Grade 2 immigration officer, is prosecuting the matter.

PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY ADVERTISEMENT

VACANCY

TECHNICAL SERVICES OFFICER 1 CORPORATE OFFICE The Public Hospitals Authority invites applications from suitably qualified Bahamians for the post of Technical Services Officer1 in the Information Communication Technology Operations/Infrastructure Development Unit, Public Hospitals Authority, Corporate Office.

JOB SUMMARY: Provide technical support to end users; trouble-shoot IT problems; repair personal computers and monitor network systems and platforms. Perform routine daily operations and backups independently.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES FOR THIS ROLE INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMTED TO THE FOLLOWING: 1. Installing, maintaining and upgrading operating systems and applications; 2. Assisting with planning, managing and coordinating work assignments for technical staff; 3. Performing essential network functions; configures network users, crates and maintains user profiles and other basic functions; 4. Assisting users with AS400 system utilities and maintaining program libraries; 5. Assisting with coordinating and providing end user training; 6. Ensuring compliance with security protocols and integrity of systems; 7. Preparing managerial reports for distribution to functional department; 8. Researching current and new technologies and recommending business enhancing processes and procedures; 9. Maintaining logs and operation procedures manuals (Linus/Unix back ground a plus); EDUCATIONAL/ COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS • Bachelors degree in Information Technology or equivalent; • Certification in Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA), Certified Cisco Network Associate (CCNA) or A+ Certification or equivalent with five (5) years experience; The Technical Services Officer 1 will report to the Information Communication Technology Operations Consultant/Infrastructure development.

Letter of application and curricula vitae should be submitted to the Director of Human Resources, Corporate Office, Public Hospitals Authority, 3rd Terrace West, Centreville; jobs@phabahamas.org or P.O. Box N-8200, Nassau, Bahamas no later than 19th November, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, PAGE 7

I’ll fight these ‘unjust’ allegations, says Pratt

from page one

immigration staff did not process work permits without being paid to do so.

According to the FBI, Saintil claimed he had a relationship with Mr Pratt and Immigration Director Clarence Russell. Another senior immigration official is referenced in the affidavit.

The former director maintained his innocence and defended his tenure at the Department of Immigration in a press statement issued yesterday.

“I have never sold or received bribes for any permits or anything else in my five years as director,” the statement read.

“I have never met Edward Israel Saintil. I never knew what he looked like until a photo produced to me online purporting to be him was shown to me.

I stand by the integrity of any decision made by me with regard to work permit or immigration applications. These applications are considered based on information that is received which must justify the request.”

Mr Pratt’s statement continued: “I have never met him. I have never had any dealings with him or any other person in an illegal, unlawful conduct of any kind.”

The FBI’s undercover operation kicked off in 2016 after agents were tipped off to claims a Haitian national living in The Bahamas - Edna St Fleur - had obtained a US visa fraudulently.

St Fleur, along with two

WILLIAM PRATT, former director of the Bahamas Immigration Department. other Haitians and a Bahamian woman, were also indicted in a separate case for allegedly conspiring to commit visa fraud.

Saintil, a purported justice of the peace who was said to hold both Bahamian and Haitian citizenship, is currently on bail in a high intensity supervision programme pending trial in Washington.

Saintil pleaded not guilty to the charge of encouraging and inducing illegal entry into the US. According to the affidavit, the scheme involved Bahamians being paid to

write fraudulent letters for immigrants purporting to be employers that would be used as documentation for work permits. The affidavit alleged these work permits were not for actual employment in The Bahamas but to facilitate the granting of US visitor visas.

Mr Pratt’s last day at the Department of Immigration was December 3, 2017.

He took a three-month vacation before taking up his post as senior undersecretary at the Department of Labour on April 3.

He said Mr Gounaud’s affidavit was replete with

hearsay, insisting it was “unjust” for such allegations against his character and integrity to be put in the public domain without giving him an opportunity to refute it.

“The damage has been done and now it is left for me to use my personal resources to seek redress by having to prove a negative,” Mr Pratt’s statement read.

“I am appalled.

I denounce this and reject it.

I will seek whatever legal means are available to me to have this set aside.”

The Office of the

Attorney General has not officially responded to news of the FBI’s probe, and Attorney General Carl Bethel declined to comment again yesterday.

Meanwhile Progressive Liberal Party Chairman and opposition Senator Fred Mitchell has called on the government to directly address the allegations, particularly the nature of the “scandalous and defamatory” claims against senior public servants.

Mr Mitchell, who would have been minister of immigration when the FBI’s probe began, suggested the

claims may have negative consequences for named individuals at the local embassy or in the US given the “subjective nature” of American immigration law, and noted officials had no legal redress.

Mr Mitchell advised the government not only to ask the American government for an explanation, but also protest the matter.

“The question must be asked by our government,” Mr Mitchell said, “how could in the US jurisdiction a document be produced in court which clearly alleges malfeasance in office against named individuals, be allowed to surface with untested hearsay evidence in it?”

Mr Mitchell continued: “In other words the names of persons are called, serious accusations are made against them purporting to be the truth of their contents. There is no evidence to support the allegations.

I am advised that none of the persons whose names were called had an opportunity to defend themselves, yet their names are now scandalised.

“At the very least this must be protested by the government for the record and the names of its public servants defended,” he added.

The Tribune has reached out to both the US and Haitian embassies for comment on the developing story. A US embassy spokesperson told The Tribune the agency did not comment on ongoing investigations. The Haitian embassy has not responded to inquiries made by this newspaper.

HOSPITAL RETURNING TO NORMAL AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net LABORATORY and radiology services have now been restored at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama following the suspension of services as a result of a minor chemical spill last Thursday.

According to officials, a private Hazmat company, representatives of the Department of Environmental Health and a private chemist were called to the hospital to clean the

affected area. Operations at the radiology department were temporarily suspended and all general practice cases were referred to the nearby Freeport Community Clinic.

Laboratory services were also suspended on the weekend as the hospital’s management and technical teams continued to monitor the aftermath of the spill.

“Management has confirmed the full restoration of the radiology services, and the cessation of referrals from general practice to the Freeport Community Clinic,” the statement

said. “Immediately following the spill, environmental chemistry experts and an independent Hazmat company, a private chemist and the Department of Environmental Health Services were called in to mitigate the effects and clean the affected area.

“No injuries were reported and at no time were patients admitted on the hospital’s wards impacted.

The Rand Memorial Hospital will continue to monitor the matter to ensure the sustained safety and health of our patients and staff,” the statement said.

PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY ADVERTISEMENT

VACANCY DEPUTY LABORATORY MANAGER DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY & LABORATORY MEDICINE

PRINCESS MARGARET HOSPITAL The Public Hospitals Authority invites applications from suitably qualified persons for the post of Deputy Laboratory Manager, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital.

JOB SUMMARY: The Deputy Laboratory Manager, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is responsible for the effective and efficient running of Laboratory Services. The Deputy Laboratory Manager will assist in the management of the day-to-day activities of the Laboratory.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES FOR THIS ROLE INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMTED TO THE FOLLOWING: • Providing supervision for the day-to-day activities of the Laboratory; • Maintaining security and confidentiality of laboratory standards, protocols and of operating procedures, quality management, performance, trouble shooting, and audits are maintained; • Managing all projects assigned to the division of laboratory services; • Assessing, planning, organizing, and ensuring efficient and professional services are designed to meet the needs of patient and staff; • Assisting with the implementing departmental policies and procedures; • Ensuring staff adherence to professional and hospital standards, policies and procedures, legal requirements and accreditation standards; • Assisting with the development the annual operating budgets of the laboratory department; • Implementing productivity, quality assurance, patient-service and health strategies; • Assisting Laboratory Management team with the implementation of procedures and monitor their compliance; • Preparing detailed quality indicator reports; • Collaborating with Quality Assurance Education and Safety Committee.

EDUCATIONAL/ COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS • Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Technology; • Must be a corporate member of relevant professional body with seven (7) years post qualification experience , five (5) of which must be at the Supervisory Level; • Effective communication skills (oral and written); analytical and interpersonal skills.

• Excellent organizational and leadership skills.

The Deputy Laboratory Manager will report to the Laboratory Manager, PMH. Letter of application and curricula vitae should be submitted to the Director of Human Resources, Corporate Office, Public Hospitals Authority, 3rd Terrace West, Centreville; or jobs@phabahamas.org or P.O. Box N-8200 Nassau, Bahamas no later than 19th November, 2018.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, November 13, 2018

H

E grew up as a Valley Boy in Culmersville, lost his father as a young boy and began working at an early age to help his mother. His life could have been a story of mediocrity blamed on his circumstances. Instead, he would be the boy who worked to pay for his education, studied hard in school, set goals for himself and achieved them - and then some.

When I went to visit Dr Rodney Smith at his office as President of the University of The Bahamas, I met a humble man with a deep sense of inner calm. He wasn’t flamboyant nor exuberant. But what he was, was enough; he was accommodating and open, sharing a life story to such length that it could not all be published in this column.

He shared his upbringing, what brought him back to The Bahamas, the plagiarism accusation, and his reappointment and plans for UB’s expansion. He has a lot to give, and thankfully, he is unfazed by naysayers, focusing solely on improving the level of tertiary education in The Bahamas.

He was born to Floretta Malone-Smith and Wilfred Smith, both of Long Island.

They moved to Culmersville in Centerville, Nassau and raised four children – Winifred, Linda, Jerry and Rodney. Rodney was just a young boy when his father died in a drowning incident, but he has fond memories. Wilfred was a ship mechanic and would often work on the sand barges with Rodney sometimes accompanying him.

“I remember as a child going on the boat with him,” he said. “I remember falling asleep while he worked and waking back up again because of the loud noise of the engine. I can remember things as young as two-years-old. There are things that my father did with me that I can recall… most of them being when he and I were alone.”

Wilfred’s death was a tragedy for the family. Floretta had an eighth grade education who had worked as a waitress all her life. She had to bear the brunt of raising four children on her own. Her eldest son Jerry stepped up to the plate. He dropped out of school to help his mother raise the other children. By the time Rodney was 11, he, too, had to go to work. He became a packing boy at the Winn Dixie nearby. He would work on Thursday and Friday evenings after school and all day on Saturday.

“I grew up there in that grocery store,” he said. “I started out packing and then moved to the shelves. I spent most of my teenage years in the dairy department.

When it was time for me to go off to school, I got a (partial) scholarship from Winn Dixie. That was very helpful.”

Rodney attended Eastern prep school on Mackey Street with people like Jeff Lloyd, current Minister of Education. His memories of guidance and discipline at that school and at Eastern Senior stay with him today: “Mrs Armbrister was the principal and Elaine Thompson was my first grade teacher. She is still alive. Dawson Conliffe was the headmaster at Eastern Junior School. He was straight from the old school. We never misbehaved because he would never hesitate to run you down and put the strap on you. At Eastern Senior, Mr Darville was the headmaster and Harcourt Johnson was the deputy.”

All that discipline paid off as he worked diligently at the food store and saved up his money, all of which he gave to his mother. She took a portion of his funds and put them towards a private high school education for her son.

At the age of 12, Rodney enrolled in St Augustine’s College: “I really grew up at SAC. I was very involved in the choir and drama club.

I was never very athletic because I was asthmatic.”

At SAC during the 1960s, Rodney blossomed. He became involved in every aspect of theatre.

Working with Father Aaron Kraft, he would assist in crafting the sets and rigging the lighting for shows, and he installed the first set of colourful lighting for the stage at St Mary’s Hall (the school auditorium). He performed in My Fair Lady (a play which I starred in when I attended SAC and was surprised it had been running since way back then), Westside Story, and Arsenic and Old Lace. His school experience led him to continue in theatre, and he performed with the Bahama Drama Circle, doing shows like Moon on a Rainbow Shore.

I got a good chuckle looking at his yearbook photos, with class mates like Sir Michael Barnett, former Chief Justice, former Senator Philip Galanis, Minister Lloyd, and current Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

In 1968, things changed significantly at SAC. It went from an all-boys school to welcoming its first set of female students from Xavier’s College. At first, the boys’ grades took a dip as they adjusted and obviously enjoyed the change. Things eventually went back to normal, Rodney said, and two of those students became his closest friends – Dr Agretta Eneas-Carey and Dr Elaine Monica Davis, Honorary Consul for The Bahamas in Trinidad and Tobago. The three were great at the sciences – biology, chemistry and physics.

St. Augustine’s Alumni Association will be honoring him for his life’s work at its Lighthouse Gala Ball slated for Saturday, November 24.

Once Rodney graduated from high school, he applied to St John’s University in

THE TRIBUNE

From grocery boy to the halls of learning (BAMTAD). The association was very instrumental in advising the government for the implementation of the Nassau Technical Training College (now BTVI), as well as the Teachers Training College, which used to be where CC Sweeting Senior High School is now, implementing one in San Salvador as well. The group also helped to usher in 6th form at The Government High School, which was on the campus of the current University of The Bahamas. All of these institutions came together to create the College of the Bahamas, making him proud to have been a part of the Bahamas’ main tertiary institution since its inception.

Due to a bonded scholarship from former Minister of Education Livingston Coakley, Dr Smith went off to pursue his Master’s Degree, obtaining one in clinical psychology from Mahari Medical College. His thirst for knowledge continued, and he eventually obtained a Doctorate degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Education in the area of Administration. During the time he met the love of his life, Christina Ramirez, a Bahamian-born leader in education who was just as focused as he was.

Eventually they got married in 1986 and moved in together, but devoted their time to studying hard together and completing their Doctorates with flying colours.

“We developed a plan of action to finish in two-and-a-half years,” he said. “We worked six days a week and took one day off. We went to the library all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday until 11pm. Tuesday we took off and went to the farmer’s market and the movies and out to dinner.

Wednesday it was back to work (studying and schooling).”

DR Rodney Smith with his wife Christina and their children Samantha and Sean (above and left). Below, with his mother and sister Minnesota. It would make him a first generation college student in his family. He didn’t make a 3.0 grade average, but he tried; but he was not admitted. Not being one to give up, Rodney wrote to the admissions director. He pleaded for an opportunity of provisional admission, stating he would show them what he could do. The admissions office must have been impressed because he was then admitted to the school with a scholarship. Between this and his Winn Dixie scholarship, he was on his way.

“St. John’s was another very interesting experience for me,” he shared. “We were coming at a time in history when we had the Black Panther Movement.

There were African Americans there from Chicago who were dealing with issues we were not familiar with. In addition, I was dealing with having a lighter complexion, and Bahamians of a darker complexion were not that welcoming to me at the time.

“There were student demonstrations taking place all over the countryside. I was going to school with people like Cresswel Stirrup (permanent secretary), Donald Davis and Luther Emerson Smith (former Director-General of Bahamas Information Services). There was a

sit-in planned to take over the president’s office. Luther pulled the three of us aside and said, ‘You aren’t going anywhere.

You came here for an education and you are not getting yourselves involved in any social unrest. We listened to him and it saved us from going to jail because that night, many people were arrested including Bahamians.”

He shares an account of racism he personally experienced: “I was one of seven students who did advanced statistics and cognitive psychology. I couldn’t understand why I could only get a “B”. The professor literally looked me in the face and said, ‘Blacks don’t get higher than a B’. I should have reported him, but I never did.”

The incident did lead him to explore new paths in education, however.

He had interest in a girl who was attending Fisk University, an HBCU (Historically Black College or University). That summer, he took three courses there - educational psychology, cognitive psychology and abnormal psychology – and he got As in all of the classes.

“What I learned more than anything else, is that it built up my own confidence; HBCU students were getting an education as well as the confidence they needed,” he said.

Rodney returned home in 1974 and landed a job at the Ministry of Labour.

He was an employment counsellor and the youngest member of the Bahamas Association for Manpower, Training and Development

T

HEY eventually returned to The Bahamas, but found it difficult to find institutions willing to accept them in their “overly-qualified” states. They returned to the US and worked as university administrators, both serving as presidents at some point, while raising their children, Samantha and Sean.

When he was called home to head the College of The Bahamas in 2004, he suffered the embarrassment of a speechwriter using parts of someone else’s speech, something he said he did not have the time to cross check. He decided to resign, and was immediately offered a position in the US as a consultant for the Registry for College and University Presidents.

“When I look back at what I did between then and now, everything I did in-between taught me even more so what I needed to do coming back,’ he said.

When the transition secretariat was established in 2012, a representative flew to Virginia to interview him to become the President of the University of The Bahamas.

At first, he was not sure, but a friend Judith Blair told him her heart was saying his work in his home country was not finished.

He returned in October of 2014 and “immediately began making changes”.

Ground has been broken for the Sir Franklyn Wilson Small Island Sustainability Research Complex, the Portia Smith building is being rebuilt, the UB system is now fully digitised and students can conduct most of their affairs for registration and the like on line, and audits not produced for many years are all being brought up to date. The Clarence A Bain building will be imploded to make way for new university facilities, and the Grand Bahama university branch will soon become a reality due to a $3 million gift from the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

Floretta would have many reasons to be proud. Not only is her youngest son back home doing his part in nation building, but her eldest son Jerry became an influential airlines executive and an active member and administrator in the Anglican church; while Winifred (now Giobanoli) and Linda (now Braun) are both successful entrepreneurs.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, PAGE 9

‘Majority miss out on growth’ from page one

AN AIDE swats the microphones of reporters yesterday as seen in a video circulated on social media.

other media regarding the country’s position on a two-year Federal Bureau of Investigation probe that uncovered alleged work permit bribery in The Bahamas as part of a larger US visa fraud scheme.

Reporters were told moments before by a handler that the prime minister would not take questions.

When reporters did ask questions, the handler, a police aide who was positioned to Dr Minnis’ left, swatted the microphones of two reporters, saying: “Don’t put the mic in my face.”

To this, Dr Minnis said: “Y’all relax, y’all relax.”

During his earlier presentation, Dr Minnis said the economy was turning the corner, but the improvement was not being felt in the pocket of the common man. He said it was important there was no return to the years of wasteful reckless spending.

“As we meet this year, I am

pleased that public finances are being restored and that the annual deficit has been reduced by half even as we are making significant social investments in education, entrepreneurship programmes, combatting crime and other initiatives to involve the lives and prospects of our people,” Dr Minnis said during the event.

“My government recently launched the small business development centre in partnership with the University of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce.

“Our guiding principle is that sustainable economic growth should be driven by Bahamian investment and creativity in tandem with strategic foreign direct investment.

“We have to continue to address the blockages that prevent Bahamian ownership, that stifle job creation and that perpetuate poverty.

“I have just recently visited Spanish Wells and Eleuthera and I had to remind them that in 2013 our economy grew by a negative

0.6 percent, in 2014 it grew by a negative 1.2 percent, in 2015 it grew by a negative 3.1 percent, in 2016 it grew by 0.6 percent, in 2017 it grew by 1.4 percent and is projected by the IMF to grow in 2018 2.1 percent.

“I say this because I reminded them that we are now turning the corner but we still have a long way to go,” Dr Minnis said.

“And regardless too if our economy grows 2.5, 3.5 or five percent the most important factor moving forward is a small grouping cannot continuously feel the benefit while the majority of us at the bottom still do not feel it. Growth means nothing to the individual if he does not see it in his pocket. That is the first question I am asked as I continually visit most of my friends.

“They tell me that the economy is growing but it is still difficult to pay my light bill and other expenses. It is not affecting me. That, the government must change. Monies must reach the lower level,” Dr Minnis said.

MINISTER QUIZZED OVER QUALITY OF CARETAKING AT CENTRE FOR GIRLS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell faced an unlikely question about the quality of caretakers at the Willie Mae Pratt School for Girls during a press conference yesterday about the series of events planned this month to celebrate men, women and rehabilitation services.

Mr Campbell had just finished announcing the schedule for the upcoming events related to rehabilitative services, International Men’s Day, International Women’s Week, International End of Violence

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Against Women Week and Deaf Awareness Month when he opened the door to questions from the press.

It was then that an elderly woman raised an unrelated concern.

The woman, identified as Ms Ramsey, said: “How do y’all pick the staff for these youth (facilities), especially the Willie Mae Pratt (Centre for Girls)? How do y’all interview those staff?

I’m asking that because I was invited up there to do some work with the children. I went up there with the intention of passing a skill on to them and the way people spoke to the children, it was like, what?

Once you have children

under your care, you need to show them love and compassion, not jump all over the children.

“I taught at Uriah (McPhee Primary School) for 15 years in the ghetto and I have children who came out as doctors and lawyers, out of St James Road and Kemp Road and you know what I did? If the child was dirty and they came to the school, I had a tin tub and towels and I had them bathed and I begged money from a corporation, I fed them, I clothed them and I showed them love.

You can’t just pick up anybody and put them with children who are already suffering and feel as though

they don’t belong. You need people to show them love and some kind of respect.

That is what I wonder, how do y’all interview them?”

People in the audience nodded, many appreciating the woman’s concern.

In response, Mr Campbell said: “I’ve learned over the years that when an individual is job hunting, he or she is the nicest individual in the world. Then there are some instances, and notice I’m careful to say this, there are some instances when the individual would’ve already gotten the job, he or she feels he or she has arrived and forgot all the promises he or she made during the interview.

MINISTER of Social Services and Urban Development Frankie Campbell receiving a pin before speaking at the Elimination of Violence against Woman and Girls Press Conference.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh “On becoming the min- they will have to answer ister of (social services) to if they wrong, ‘the least one of the first things I of God’s people.’ But your said to staff as I met them, point is taken. The director I reminded them that as is here, the deputy director, much as we do for the least everybody responsible is of these God’s people, so here and your point is duly it isn’t Minister Campbell noted.”

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PAGE 10, Tuesday, November 13, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BPL’S CEO DENIES THEY TURNED ON GENERATOR TOO SOON

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

WHITNEY Heastie, Bahamas Power and Light CEO, sought to dispel speculation yesterday that a fire at BPL’s Clifton Pier Power plant was the result of an ill advised call to operate a generator when the conditions were not right.

Equipment at the plant suffered extensive damage after a fire in September.

Following the incident, it had been rumoured an executive gave the directive to have one of the generators turned on despite advice to the contrary.

Mr Heastie and BPL chairman

Donovan Moxey were guests on radio talk show The Revolution when questions over the operation of the generator were raised.

“Well I think the call was made a week earlier once the asset was returned from the repair work that was done,” Mr Heastie said when he was asked if he was the one who made the call.

“The asset was handed back over to operations on Sunday.

They started their normal checks and it was on Friday that the incident occurred and so there was nothing abnormal here where the assets was not brought back the time that it should have been brought back. It was all normal protocol for that asset to come back the way it was brought back.

All the checks were done and everything was in order for that asset to return to service.”

It has been more than two months since three fires struck Clifton Pier. Insurance adjusters have still not concluded their investigations and neither man could say when Clifton Pier would be brought back to its full operational capacity.

They could neither say if sabotage was to blame.

Regarding a timeline of how long the Clifton facility was expected to be offline Mr Moxey said: “Again we don’t know until the assessment is done. What I can tell you is there are quite a number of contingency options that we’re working on right now

because we don’t know exactly what the report is going to say. We don’t know exactly what’s going to be the state.

“And so from our perspective we are trying to get those high efficiency low cost assets back online as soon as possible and again, the summer of next year is a very, very sort of optimistic date that we put out there because we understand that’s the start of the summer season and we are doing everything we can for the start of that.

“Even though there’s some things that we can’t come and readily say - because we are still waiting for the investigation to come through - we are waiting for us to do a fuller assessment on

D811 and 12 before we are going to come out and say these will be in operation.

“We are also working on contingencies as well just in the event that they can’t be back in operation. So there are quite a number of things we are working on to make sure we can share some of that base load back at Clifton.

“If we - myself or Mr Heastie - had jumped in and said to the insurance company ‘get out of our way we want to see if we can get these things online’ - all of a sudden now there is someone interfering in an investigation that’s another issue. We don’t want that.

“So our position is - let them do the work.”

Straw Market vendors want goods back

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

THE STRAW Market.

PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY ADVERTISEMENT

VACANCY

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR III The Public Hospitals Authority invites applications from suitably qualified persons for the post of Network Administrator III in the Information Management System Unit, Corporate Office.

JOB SUMMARY: The Network Administrator III is responsible for the daily operations and maintenance of the network operating systems and utilities; provides support for the daily functioning and ongoing management of all related components; Directs involvement in analyzing the business requirements and design and implementation of an infrastructure for business solutions; Assists with projects within the Unit.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES FOR THIS ROLE INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMTED TO THE FOLLOWING: 1. Manages different network topologies and multiple platforms; 2. Manages and supports all client access environments, including installation, maintenance and upgrades; install, maintain and troubleshoot Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN) equipment including CISCO switches, tape drives and servers; 3. Employs security administration which includes planning, implementing and enforcing security policy to ensure protection of data and shared network resources; Configure, implement and maintain host security (including passwords, file permissions and file security, building firewalls, deploying authentication systems, or applying cryptography to network applications); 4. Provides technical leadership and/or supervise other technical staff; 5. Assists in analyzing designing and implementing local and wide area networks; 6. Makes recommendations to the ICT Operations Consultant/Infrastructure and Development for enhancing processes or procedures; 7. Assists with policy development and implementation including disaster recovery plan and backups; 8. Creates and maintains user group profiles and accounts; configures network file systems; 9. Configures and maintains TCP/IP networks, routers and terminal servers; 10. Resolves and recovers crashed systems; ensures regular software updates and anti-virus protection; performs and monitors backup procedures and recovery of data; 11. Monitors and controls resource usage; 12. Provides helpdesk support to end users; 13. Responds to off-hours problems (Linus/Unix background a plus); EDUCATIONAL/ COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS • Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or equivalent; • Certification in Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) or Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA) • Two (2) years’ Experience in Information Technology and network environment The Network Administrator III will report to the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Operations Consultant/Infrastructure Development.

Letter of application and curricula vitae should be submitted to the Director of Human Resources, Corporate Office, Public Hospitals Authority, 3rd Terrace West, Centreville; jobs@phabahamas.org or P.O. Box N-8200, Nassau, Bahamas no later than 19th November , 2018.

STRAW vendors are appealing to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Works Minister Desmond Bannister to have the Straw Market Authority return all vendors’ goods which were disposed of last week in a dispute over unpaid rent.

The Straw Business Persons Society released a letter yesterday addressed to Dr Minnis, where it decried the “inhumane treatment” vendors face and accused the SMA of doing an “awful” job.

The letter asked the prime minister to speak to Kelly Ingraham, SMA chairman, about the dispute.

Last week vendors, including SBPS Vice-President Rebecca Small, told The Tribune that dumpsters arrived at the downtown Straw Market on the evening of November 6.

According to witnesses the SMA organised the dumpsters’ arrival to reportedly throw away goods from the stalls of delinquent vendors. The SBPS claims vendors did not receive “proper notice” of this action and that “due process” was not taken.

“This is a case of emergency and the matter at hand has escalated to an unacceptable level,” the letter noted. “We will not

stay silent and allow the inhumane treatment of the straw vendors to continue.

“Please ask Ms Kelly Ingraham and the Straw Market Authority to return all of the vendors’ merchandise that they disposed of. It was on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, when we witnessed members of the Straw Market Authority disposing of the products owned by some straw vendors.

“It is believed that those vendors did not receive proper notice of this action. Where is the legal basis for this action taken?

If we are business owners in a landlord/tenant relationship, why wasn’t due process extended to the disenfranchised vendors?

Some of the vendors literally had their only source of income taken from them by the government. I say the government because the Straw Market Authority is an agent doing business on behalf of the government.

“We say again to Ms Kelly Ingraham and her crew, we want to see the products returned to their rightful owners immediately. This is not a joke. People’s lives are at stake and their families are affected. How can people be so heartless?

Where is the compassion for the vendors?

“They sit in their lofty offices and are paid every month-end without fail and they are doing such an awful job,” the letter added.

The SBPS also called

for “better upkeep” of the Nassau Straw Market. The letter alleges tourists often “(express) their disbelief” at its state, as the building is “constantly dirty” and not well maintained.

The group also claims the bathrooms often lack toilet tissue, hand soap, and hand towels. To bolster these claims, in the letter the SBPS also invited the public to visit the site to see its “filthy” state.

The letter also demands an audit be conducted on the financial affairs of the market and pleads for “proper marketing” to enhance sales.

“We seek clarity on the rights of the vendors as it relates to tenants’ rights,” the letter continues. “It seems like the straw vendors have no rights and are only subject to the taskmasters.

“From the time they came to office, the only things this administration is interested in is the victimisation of vendors and being an evil task master. But, we are calling on the prime minister and Mr Desmond Bannister to intervene and to assist in bringing correction.”

This letter is 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.

SMA has not yet responded to the vendors’ claims about disposed items.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, PAGE 11

BODIES FOUND IN CARS AND HOMES: CALIFORNIA FIRE TOLL KEEPS RISING CALIFORNIA Associated Press

THE dead were found in burned-out cars, in the smoldering ruins of their homes, or next to their vehicles, apparently overcome by smoke and flames before they could jump in behind the wheel and escape. In some cases, there were only charred fragments of bone, so small that coroner’s investigators used a wire basket to sift and sort them.

At least 42 people were confirmed dead in the wildfire that turned the Northern California town of Paradise and outlying areas into hell on earth, equaling the deadliest blaze in state history, and the search for bodies continued yesterday.

Nearly 230 people were unaccounted for by the sheriff’s reckoning, four days after the fire swept over the town of 27,000 and practically wiped it off the map with flames so fierce that they melted metal off cars. The dead were so badly burned that authorities brought in a mobile DNA lab and consulted forensic

anthropologists for help in identifying them.

Increasingly exhausted and dispirited, friends and relatives of the missing called hospitals, police, shelters and the coroner’s office in hopes of learning what became of their loved ones. Paradise was a popular retirement community, and about a quarter of the population was over 65.

Tad Teays awaited word on his 90-year-old dementia-stricken mother, who lived about a mile from him in Paradise. And Barbara Hall tried in vain to find out whether her aunt and the woman’s husband, who are in their 80s and 90s, made it out of their home in a retirement community in town.

“Did they make it in their car?

Did they get away? Did their car go over the edge of a mountain somewhere? I just don’t know,” said Hall, adding that the couple had only a landline and calls were not going through to it.

Megan James, of Newfoundland, Canada, searched via Twitter from the other side of the continent for information about her aunt and uncle, whose house in

KRYSTIN HARVEY, left, comforts her daughter Araya Cipollini at the remains of their home burned in the Camp Fire in California.

Paradise burned down and whose vehicles were still there. Yesterday, she asked on Twitter for

someone to take over the posts, saying she is “so emotionally and mentally exhausted.”

“I need to sleep and cry,” James added. “Just PRAY. Please.”

The blaze was part of an outbreak of wildfires on both ends of the state. Together, they were blamed for 31 deaths, including two in celebrity-studded Malibu in Southern California, where firefighters appeared to be gaining ground against a roughly 143-square-mile blaze that destroyed at least 370 structures, with hundreds more feared lost.

Some of the thousands of people forced from their homes by the blaze were allowed to return, and authorities reopened U.S. 101, a major freeway through the fire zone in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Malibu celebrities and mobile-home dwellers in nearby mountains were slowly learning whether their homes had been spared or reduced to ash.

All told, more 8,000 firefighters statewide were battling wildfires that scorched more than 325 square miles, the flames feeding on dry brush and driven by blowtorch winds.

Stan Lee, creator of a galaxy of Marvel superheroes, dies

ISRAEL, HAMAS TRADE FIRE AFTER DEADLY INCURSION

LOS ANGELES Associated Press

GAZA CITY Associated Press

STAN LEE, the creative dynamo who revolutionised the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human frailties in Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died yesterday. He was 95.

As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book. He revived the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action craved by younger readers while insisting on sophisticated plots, college-level dialogue, satire, science fiction, even philosophy.

Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider-Man, the Hulk and X-Men went on to become stars of blockbuster films.

Recent projects Lee helped make possible range from the films Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy to such TV series as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Daredevil. Lee was recognizable to his fans, having had cameos in many Marvel films and TV projects — his hair grey, his glasses slightly tinted and often delivering his trademark motto, “Excelsior!”

Captain America actor Chris Evans mourned the loss on Twitter: “There will never be another Stan Lee. For decades he provided both young and old with adventure, escape, comfort, confidence, inspiration, strength, friendship and joy.

He exuded love and kindness and will leave an indelible mark on so, so, so many lives. Excelsior!!”

Lee considered the comic-book medium an art form and he was prolific: By some accounts, he came up with a new comic book every day for 10 years. “I wrote so many I don’t even know. I wrote either hundreds or thousands of them,” he said in 2006.

He hit his stride in the 1960s when he brought the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man and numerous others to life.

“It was like there was something in the air. I couldn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

His heroes, meanwhile, were a far

PALESTINIAN militants bombarded Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells yesterday while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in what appeared to be the most intense exchange of fire since a 2014 war.

Palestinian officials said at least three people, including two militants, were killed

by Israeli fire and nine were wounded, and an Israeli airstrike destroyed the ruling Hamas group’s TV station. In Israel, the national rescue service said at least 20 people were wounded, including a 19-year-old soldier and a 60-year-old woman who were in critical condition.

The fighting cast doubt over recent understandings brokered by Egypt and UN officials to reduce tensions. Just a day earlier, Israel’s prime minister had defended those understandings, saying he was doing everything possible to avoid another war.

The United Nations said it was working with Egypt to broker a halt in the violence. “Rockets must STOP, restraint must be shown by all!” the UN Mideast envoy’s office tweeted.

The rocket fire was triggered by a botched Israeli military raid in Gaza on Sunday. Undercover troops, apparently on a reconnaissance mission, were discovered inside Gaza on Sunday, setting off a battle that left seven militants, including a Hamas commander, and an Israeli military officer dead.

Around sundown yesterday, militants launched some 100 rockets in less than an hour, the most intense barrage since the 50-day war four years ago.

The outgoing rockets, which continued into the evening.

STAN LEE, creator of comic-book franchises such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and X-Men, in his office in Santa Monica in 2002. Lee, the architect of the contemporary comic book, has died, aged 95. cry from virtuous do-gooders such as rival DC Comics’ Superman.

The Fantastic Four fought with each other. Spider-Man was goaded into superhero work by his alter ego, Peter Parker, who suffered from unrequited crushes, money problems and dandruff. The Silver Surfer, an alien doomed to wander Earth’s atmosphere, waxed about the woeful nature of man. The Hulk was marked by self-loathing.

Daredevil was blind and Iron Man had a weak heart.

“The beauty of Stan Lee’s characters is that they were characters first and superheroes next,” Jeff Kline, executive producer of the Men in Black animated television series, told The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, in 1998. Some of Lee’s creations became symbols of social change — the inner turmoil of Spider-Man

represented ‘60s America, for example, while The Black Panther and The Savage She-Hulk mirrored the travails of minorities and women.

“I think of them as fairy tales for grown-ups,” he said in 2006.

“We all grew up with giants and ogres and witches. Well, you get a little bit older and you’re too old to read fairy tales. But I don’t think you ever outgrow your love for those kind of things, things that are bigger than life and magical and very imaginative.”

Lee scripted most of Marvel’s superhero comics himself during the ‘60s, including the Avengers and the X-Men, two of the most enduring. In 1972, he became Marvel’s publisher and editorial director; four years later, 72 million copies of Spider-Man were sold.

“He’s become our Mickey Mouse,” he once said of the masked, webcrawling crusader.

Lee also published several books, including “The Superhero Women” in 1977 and “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way” the following year, when he was named publisher of the year by the Periodical and Book Association of America.

CBS turned the Hulk into a successful TV series, with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno portraying the doomed scientist from 1978-82. A Spider-Man series ran briefly in 1978. Both characters were featured in animated TV series as well.

The first big-budget movie based on Lee’s characters, X-Men, was a smash in 2000, earning more than $130 million at North American theatres.

JUDGE: TIME FOR THE SIDES IN FLORIDA EUROPEAN UNION & UK INCH CLOSER TO RECOUNT TO ‘RAMP DOWN’ RHETORIC A DEAL AS BREXIT HANGS IN BALANCE FORT LAUDERDALE Associated Press AFTER Republicans, including President Donald Trump, made unsubstantiated accusations of illegal activity, a judge yesterday urged the warring sides in the Florida recount to “ramp down the rhetoric,” saying it erodes public confidence in the election for Senate and governor.

The state’s law enforcement arm and elections monitors have found no evidence of wrongdoing, but lawyers for the Republican party and the GOP candidates joined with Trump in alleging that irregularities, unethical behavior and fraud have taken place since the polls closed last week.

“An honest vote count is no longer possible” in Florida, Trump declared yesterday, without elaborating. He demanded that the election night results — which showed the Republicans leading based upon incomplete ballot counts — be used to determine the winner.

Trump went on to allege that “new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged” and that “ballots (are) massively infected.”

It was unclear what he was referring to. The recount that is underway is mandated by state law.

Much of the Republicans’ ire was centered on Democrat-leaning Broward County and its Supervisor of Elections Brenda

Snipes, a Democrat who was appointed in 2003 by then-Republican governor Jeb Bush.

Broward elections officials have said this year’s count was encumbered by the unexpectedly high turnout for a midterm election and the unusual length of this year’s ballots, which contained 12 state constitutional amendment proposals, partly as a result of a constitutional revision commission that meets once every 20 years.

Bush said yesterday on Twitter that Snipes should be removed from office, saying there was “no question” that she “failed to comply with Florida law on multiple counts, undermining Floridians’ confidence in our electoral process.”

BRUSSELS Associated Press BRITAIN and the European Union appeared to be inching toward agreement on Brexit yesterday, but British Prime Minister Theresa May faced intensifying pressure from her divided Conservative government that could yet scuttle a deal.

Britain leaves the EU on March 29 — the first country ever to do so — but a deal must be sealed in the coming weeks to leave enough time for the UK and European Parliaments to sign off. May faces increasing domestic pressure over her proposals for an agreement following the resignation of another government minister last week.

The British leader had

BRITISH PM THERESA MAY been hoping to present a draft deal to her Cabinet this week. But no Brexit breakthrough was announced yesterday after talks between European affairs ministers. The two sides are locked in technical negotiations to try to bridge the final gaps in a move laden with heavy political and economic consequences.

May said talks were in their “endgame” but that negotiating a divorce agreement after more than four decades of British EU membership was “immensely difficult”.

May told an audience at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London that “we are working extremely hard, through the night, to make progress on the remaining issues in the Withdrawal Agreement, which are significant.

“Both sides want to reach an agreement,” May said, though she added she wouldn’t sign up to “agreement at any cost.”

The main obstacle to a deal is how to keep goods flowing smoothly across the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the UK.

PAGE 12, Tuesday, November 13, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

It’s time for

Toyland

THE countdown to Christmas has begun and children are already flocking to the Toyland section at Kelly’s, complete with the chance to visit Santa. The store’s traditional exhibition is now open to the public.

Photos: Terrel W Carey/ Triubne Staff

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