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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019
$4.56 ‘No business as usual’ with Dorian rebuild
By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter A LEADING engineer yesterday warned it cannot be “business as usual” with post-Dorian recovery because the damage to The Bahamas’ housing stock is “staggering and overwhelming”. Quentin Knowles, the Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) president, told Tribune Business he was “surprised” that the joint Dorian damages assessment produced by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other multilateral agencies did not place a higher value on rebuilding costs and economic losses. “I’m surprised that the IDB calculations are that low,” he argued. “There is total devastation up there. I am hopeful that when the reconstruction happens there will be a lot of opportunities available for everyone. I’m hoping it is done right and the reconstruction efforts, I am hoping, will turn a very negative situation into a positive. “I have read most of the report on the IDB’s website. Needless to say the numbers are staggering and overwhelming. Eleven million square feet of damaged structures says it all. Business as usual will not cut it in the recovery effort. The government must find a more effective way of engaging the private sector, which I believe is more than capable of rebuilding Abaco and Grand Bahama.” The report said Hurricane Dorian left almost 3,000 homes “uninhabitable”, and 7,339 “severely damaged”, as it inflicted a $1.487bn impact on the housing sector in Abaco and Grand Bahama. The long-awaited assessment of the category five storm’s financial impact projected that this nation has taken a total $3.438bn hit through physical damage, economic/revenue losses and “additional costs” related to issues such as the Grand Bahama oil spill and environmental damage. Housing, not surprisingly, was identified as the sector most impacted by Dorian with around 9,000 homes representing more than 11 million square feet of physical property - damaged to some degree by its winds, storm surge, falling trees and flying debris. “The report on the
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Port eyeing $4m-$6m ‘one-stop shop’ spend By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
T
HE Nassau Container Port’s operator yesterday said it plans to make a $4m-$6m investment to complete its “one-stop shop” model after the government approved its 15-acre expansion. Dion Bethell, Arawak Port Development Company’s (APD) president and chief financial officer, told Tribune Business it had received “a commitment letter” from the government agreeing to lease land adjacent to the existing port for construction of a Customs Freight Station and Road Traffic Department vehicle inspection facility. While the BISX-listed port operator has yet to receive the proposed lease terms from the government, Mr Bethell said the additions to the Arawak Cay-based port will help to safeguard the government’s revenues and prevent the smuggling of illegal goods while also improving road safety on New Providence’s streets. “We understand the
• Govt approves APD’s 15-acre expansion • Will benefit Customs and Road Traffic • Potter’s Cay ‘loophole’ concerns remain
ARAWAK CAY PORT government has made the approval for additional land for the Customs Freight Station,” he revealed. “We got the approval for that in a letter that came through on September 9 and was received on September 11, so we’re going to proceed ahead with the plans to construct that. “In that facility we will also have a Road Traffic inspection and licensing facility. That is to complete our one-stop
shop concept.” Mr Bethell said the Customs station will help underpin the department’s new Electronic Single Window (ESW) platform, known as Click2Clear, for the online clearance of physical goods imported into New Providence. With the new system designed to enable Customs to conduct better risk analysis, and detect potential concerns with both specific importers and container
VISITOR interest in Family Island vacations has “skyrocketed” since midOctober, it was revealed yesterday, with hotel room nights sold forecast to beat prior year in nearly every month through April 2020. Kerry Fountain, the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board’s (BOIPB) executive director, told Tribune Business there had been an “exponential increase” in visitors using its website as a pass-through to member resorts since it relaunched its marketing and incentive programmes in mid-October following Hurricane Dorian. He added that major international distributors such as Expedia, as well as local operators, had informed him that the
shipments, the APD chief said the new facility - to be designed, financed and constructed by the port operator - would enable the department to better conduct in-depth inspections of imported cargo on-site. “In the past, if you needed to rummage through any container you had potential issues with, you had to move it across the street and do the inspection at the customer’s place of business,” Mr Bethell added, explaining that international best practice required that such inspections be done at the receiving port. “There’s just so much that could happen in transit between the port and the customer’s place of business,” he continued. “If Customs wants to do risk analysis and more intrusive inspections they will be able to do it at our facility. “Then, with the other
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Senator: ‘No apologies’ for deal’s wasted $7M By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE opposition’s health spokesman yesterday said it “makes no apologies” for handing an $18m contract to a vendor threatened with “far-reaching consequences” by the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA). Dr Michael Darville, rushing to the defence of the Christie administration’s “aggressive healthcare agenda”, blamed the present government’s “stop, review and cancel policy” for the failure of the integrated healthcare management system (iHMS) deal awarded to Allscripts Healthcare Solutions and its partner, Infor Lawson. The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) senator, who was present when the Allscripts contract was signed in 2016, sought to justify the former government’s actions by saying that “the
• PHA threatened vendor with AG probe • ‘Not a single IT module’ installed anywhere • Warned govt will seek ‘refund’ last year
DR MICHAEL DARVILLE experts recommended” the US-based publicly traded company “as the number one choice” for the datadriven transformation of the Bahamian public healthcare system. But Catherine Weech, the PHA’s managing director, told Allscripts in an August 13, 2018, letter it
“can find no evidence” to show the US firm had “installed a single operating platform on any desktop device” in the two years following the contract’s award despite being paid $7m by the Bahamian taxpayer. The letter, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, adds further weight to assertions by Dr Duane Sands, minister of health, that millions of dollars belonging to the Bahamian people has been squandered on a deal which has delivered zero value for taxpayers and patients alike. Mrs Weech, writing to Allscripts’ president, Alan Fowles, put the Nasdaqlisted company on notice that the PHA and government intended to “decertify,
Family Island visitor interest ‘skyrockets’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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• Room nights mostly ahead November-April 2020 • Destinations shrugging off ‘hurricane hangover’ • But not enough to offset October Q4 declines “phone started ringing off the hook” three weeks’ ago with inquiries from travellers interested in exploring a Bahamian vacation after the category five storm’s passage. Confirming that such inquiries had been “dead” during the first half of October, Mr Fountain said such reports combined with the data he has seen suggest that Family Island resorts and tourism operators are also shrugging off their “hurricane hangover”. However, he acknowledged that the “very encouraging trends” would not completely make-up for October’s lost business and Abaco’s shut-down, as some wary travellers either
altered plans or stayed away from The Bahamas due to concerns about Dorian’s damage and lingering impacts. Mr Fountain said the Out Island Promotion Board’s own forecasts had predicted year-over-year fourth quarter 2019 increases in room nights sold for every major category of member bar small resorts with less than 50 rooms in the southern Bahamas. But Dorian’s devastation has now turned those optimistic projections into losses, with room nights sold at Promotion Board-member resorts with 50 rooms and under in the northern Bahamas - which includes Abaco - now projected to
be 30 percent down yearover-year compared to the previous estimate of a 12.7 percent increase. Now, to drive tourist traffic in a “need period” for Family Island resort, Mr Fountain said the Promotion Board is employing a series of “air credit” incentives that include its upcoming “Black Friday” offer of a $500 credit for visitors who book in the five days between November 29 and December 3 for a holiday that must be completed before end-January 2020. Explaining that the Promotion Board was maximising the resources available to it, given that it
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and possibly rescind” the integrated healthcare management system contract unless the two sides could “re-negotiate terms of a mutually acceptable solution” by August 22 last year. Dr Sands’ revelation to Tribune Business that legal action is likely imminent indicates that the government, some 15 months later, is now prepared to exercise the options set out by Mrs Weech in August 2018 - a 60-day notice to Allscripts to cure its alleged contractual breaches, followed by termination of the deal and a demand for “a full refund” of sums already paid. The PHA managing director accused Allscripts
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$4.60 J S Johnson in 170% claims rise through Dorian By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net J S Johnson yesterday revealed that a 170 percent spike in net claims incurred due to Hurricane Dorian has slashed its net income for the first nine months of 2019 by 26 percent. The BISX-listed broker and agent, also unveiling its third quarter financial results for the period to end-September, said its bottom line had been negatively impacted by the $2.257m net loss suffered by its property and casualty insurance affiliate, Insurance Company of The Bahamas (ICB). Alister McKellar, J S Johnson’s managing director, told shareholders that Hurricane Dorian had “seriously affected” its results. “Consolidated net income fell 26 percent as a direct result of Hurricane Dorian, despite total income rising some 13 percent,” he confirmed. “The overwhelming factor being net claims incurred that increased 170 percent from $1.57m to $4.241m and impacted our underwriting segment, turning second quarter profit of $906,495 into third quarter cumulative loss of $2.257m.” J S Johnson’s results provide the first insight into the impact Dorian-related claims payouts have had on individual Bahamian property and casualty insurers in terms of the net losses they have suffered. Previously, the only data revealed has been collective figures for the industry. J S Johnson’s net income for the first nine months dropped to $3.11m from $4.197m year-over-year as the hit to ICB more than offset a strong performance from the brokerage and agency business. Its profits for the year to endSeptember were $5.367m compared to $4.217m in the prior year. Elsewhere, Patrick Ward, Bahamas First’s president and chief executive, said the property and casualty underwriter was projecting around 2,000 claims from Hurricane Dorian. He added that home and auto insurance premiums were likely to rise “on the low end” by 15 percent, and 20 percent in the storm ravaged areas “at a minimum”. “We are likely to see payouts in terms of the overall gross amounts at a level that will be higher than we’ve ever had before in
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BRITISH AIRWAYS IN NASSAU EXPANSION BRITISH Airways yesterday said increasing the frequency of its Nassau to London service from four to five weekly flights with effect from April 2020 should boost visitor arrivals from the UK. Flights to Heathrow Airport will leave on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the service continuing to be shared with the Cayman Islands. Diane Corrie, British Airways’ commercial manager for the Caribbean, said: “This expansion in airlift perfectly complements initiatives to bring more visitors to the island, and to offer increased options for travel to London and beyond from The Bahamas.” The addition of a fifth flight, she predicted, “will better serve representatives of the corporate community - including the business and finance sector, and other residents of The Bahamas - who travel frequently on British Airways for business and leisure, and to visit friends and family”.
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THE TRIBUNE
BAHAMIAN LAW FIRM’S STAGES CLIENT SEMINAR THE HIGGS & JOHNSON law firm’s recent client seminar focused on the need to be proactive in adapting to fast-paced change in areas such as financial services, technology and digital currencies. The event, held under the theme Fast forward: Regulation, legislation and application, was introduced by Higgs & Johnson partner, and chair of its private client and wealth management practice group, Dr Earl A Cash. He spoke to the “advancement of technology…how it continues to change at a rapid pace, launching us into an era that will be unlike any other before it”. K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister, in his opening address charged attendees to “embrace the call to innovate, explore and expand into new markets, embrace new technologies and carve out new ways to add value”. Andre Hill, a Higgs & Johnson associate based in The Bahamas, summarised recent legislative changes such as the recently-enacted Register of Beneficial Ownership Act 2018. Christel Sands-Feaste, Bahamian partner and chair of the law firm’s financial services and securities practice groups, together
website seems to be missing the section detailing their recommendations; this I would like to see,” Mr Knowles said. “These recommendations will be, in my estimation, most important. The report talks of best practices and the five pillars of resilient reconstruction.
foreign non-governmental organisations. “Marsh Harbour is the heart of their economic activity, so what I have seen in Abaco is nothing happening there. There is no business happening there. There is no place to stay,” Mr Knowles added. “I think to get this jumpstarted they need to get homes back on Abaco through the proposed ‘dome city’ idea the government floated. “Housing is the main obstacle to getting the economy jump-started. Everything in Abaco is booked out and there is nowhere for anyone to
“From the physical part of it, you need to put in place some serious programmes for rebuilding. It’s a tough one but it could be done. A lot of those places are demolished totally,” he said. “The first thing is that they have to not do the same thing. We need to do some planning ahead and put some stringent policies in place. A lot of the destruction was as a result of shoddy construction. Even some of the structures that were recently built were not up to code. Steps have to be taken to ensure that proper construction is done.”
JEREMY STEPHEN, centre, with Higgs & Johnson partners from left: Michael FL Allen, Christel Sands-Feaste, Tara Cooper Burnside, Portia J Nicholson, Sterling H Cooke and global managing director, Oscar N Johnson.
with Cayman-based partner, Francine Bryce, gave a comparative analysis of
‘No business as usual’ with Dorian rebuild FROM PAGE ONE
THE DEPUTY prime minister is flanked (L to R) by Higgs & Johnson partners Dr Earl A Cash; Tara Cooper Burnside; Christel Sands-Feaste; and Stephen J Melvin.
the economic substance requirements introduced in two territories. Jeremy Stephen, lecturer at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Cave Hill campus, identified the regulatory and economic challenges stemming from the rising use of technology. Higgs & Johnson associates, Kamala Richardson and Nia Rolle, then highlighted viable wealth management vehicles including private trust companies. A panel discussion on The Bahamas’ potential accession to full World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership concluded the morning session. Michael FL Allen, Higgs & Johnson attorney and partner, chaired a panel featuring Jeffrey Beckles, chief executive of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC); Dr Allan Wright, senior country economist with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB); and Bahamas commercial partner, The seminar concluded with a presentation on Project Sand Dollar by Jay Joe, chief executive of NZIA Ltd, the company contracted by the Central Bank to fulfill ambitions of developing a digital version of the Bahamian dollar.
“We must use tried and true methods, based upon the lessons learned from other disasters from around the world. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here. I see the government being primarily the facilitator to make this reconstruction happen, engaging and co-ordinating local and foreign expertise, the local construction industry and local and
stay even if they wanted to come back. Basically, excursions come in in the day and leave by the evening. “ Meanwhile Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president, Ken Hutton, told Tribune Business that the IDB’s estimated economic output loss for the island is “a lot more than 7.3 percent.” Amos Ferguson, former president of the Institute of Bahamian Architects, said that while the IDB report deals more with financial data and statistics, the numbers could be accurate and a fair reflection of what the damage was on Abaco and Grand Bahama.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, November 19, 2019, PAGE 3
Abaco Chamber chief fears NGO departures By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ABACO’S Chamber of Commerce president yesterday voiced fears that the imminent departure of nongovernmental organisations (NGO) will leave a vacuum in post-Hurricane Dorian relief efforts. Ken Hutton told Tribune Business “the biggest concern” for Abaconians now is that the non-profit relief groups and agencies, which have played a key role in clean-up and recovery initiatives following the category five storm’s passage, are “packing up” with no one to replace them. He also expressed concern over the lack of clarity surrounding the government’s Dorian Economic Recovery Zones and their associated tax breaks, together with the absence of information on how the Disaster Reconstruction Authority will be structured. “Rubicon’s last day is today and there is still a lot of work to be done,” Mr Hutton said of one major NGO. “This was Rubicon’s originally scheduled date to leave. They have been here to do what they want to do and they are packing. We are also hearing World Central Kitchen will be transitioning out of here next month. Yet again, this is just their scheduled time for departure and nothing has been done.” While multiple attempts have been made to encourage NGO’s to stay and help beyond their target departure dates, Mr Hutton added: “When USAID (US Agency for International Development) pulled out we tried to get them to stay, but they have a certain amount of funds for a certain amount of time. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We are still struggling daily with
KEN HUTTON the clean-up. The debris collection has picked up marginally but is nowhere near where they need to be. We need to get the clean-up ramped up. “The debris clean-up is not near the level where it needs to be. There is still no sorting at the dump and that is the big issue. We keep hearing that there are plans to do this and that, but we are going on two-and-a-half months now.” Besides the impending NGO departures, Mr Hutton said confusion remained over the value-added tax (VAT) exemptions and other tax breaks announced by the government to provide devastated homeowners and businesses with some financial relief as they seek to rebuild. “We are still waiting for information on the Disaster Reconstruction Authority and how that will be set-up,” he added. “We understood that diesel fuel was supposed to be VAT free, but no one told the petroleum retailers and we are still paying VAT on diesel. “It has been over two months since the exigency orders have been announced and there is still this confusion. There is still very little information on how do we access these concessions and services that government announced.” The Disaster Reconstruction Authority Bill 2019
was tabled in the House of Assembly at the beginning of November, paving the way for the creation of the authority it seeks to give legal effect to. The prime minister pledged “it will remove the red tape too often associated with government processes, and should enable the reconstruction process to proceed as efficiently and quickly as possible.” Mr Hutton, meanwhile, said: “The airport continues to be a main problem, and it is not open for international yet. It’s a start to have the airport open. There are a lot of second homeowners who have to get into Abaco from Nassau. If they can get in through Marsh Harbour they can start to get their properties back in shape easier.” Mr Hutton told Tribune Business that last week’s re-opening of Maxwell’s Supermarket has been a major lift for remaining residents on the island. He did warn, however, that it was “difficult to assess stock levels” at this time considering that persons are only now beginning to move back to the island. He added that his company, Premier Importers, was back open and selling building supplies. He said: “We are doing a lot of business, but there is still a lot of confusion involved in taking advantage of the exigency order.”
BAHAMAS DEVELOPMENT BANK
Employment Opportunity
Suitable candidates are invited to apply for the position of Credit Officer at the Bahamas Development Bank (“BDB”). The successful applicant will have satisfied the requirements and be able to provide the services as noted below. General Duties and Responsibilities: Within and subject to the Bank’s core values, the primary duties of the Credit Officer are as follows: • • • • • • • • • • •
Promoting growth and development of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Bahamas through marketing the Bank’s products and services. Review submitted proposals and respond to clients regarding the project’s viability within 48 hours. Providing operational and financial advice to both new and existing clients regarding their businesses, within the Department’s objectives in the time-frame specified per project by management. Assist with acquiring new clients by staging informative financial presentations to diverse organizations. Conducting annual site visits of projects that received funding. Assist with the maintenance of a quality portfolio for the Bank through providing business advice to both new and existing clients regarding their operation. Ensuring that clients remain in compliance with all loan covenants/ reporting requirements. Assist with the preparation of departmental reports. Assist the department with achieving annual sales and loan restructuring strategic goals as established by the Bank. Assist with the preparation of statistical reports for use by the Bank with decision-making. Any other related duties as assigned by Management.
Required Experience and Skills • • • • • •
Bachelor’s degree in Banking, Finance or Accounting. Qualifications in credit or related fields would be an asset. Excellent credit judgement and understanding of credit risk, advanced and current knowledge of regulatory environment relating to credit. Understanding of provisions, including regulatory and IFRS standards. Strong analytical and leadership skills. Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills. Ability to travel.
Submit resume and letter of interest to the Human Resources Department no later than November 22nd, 2019 via email to hr@bdb.gov.bs
Poultry producer: Give us land to fund Dorian rebuild By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter A MAJOR Abaco poultry producer yesterday urged the government to grant it ownership of its property so that this can be used as security to obtain Dorian reconstruction financing. Lance Pinder, Abaco Big Bird Poultry’s chief executive, told Tribune Business: “We need our land. The government does not have a lot of resources to jumpstart anything. But granting us the land would not cost them anything, and it could help us access financing and restart our operations.” He explained that the farm’s 21-year lease ended three years ago, and ever since it has been trying to persuade the government to convey the property to it with little success. Mr Pinder said he believes the government should grant Abaco Big Bird its land given that it has pumped millions of dollars into its development, arguing that it is “the least the government could do”
in order to compensate them for Dorian losses. “It would be good to have our land, and also that duty0free process for concessions for farmers could be a lot better than four weeks to get a response from the Ministry of Agriculture,” he added. Mr Pinder previously said Customs’ administrative delays in processing duty exemption requests often holds the business back, saying: “I can’t process the rest of the Customs paperwork until I get that approval for the duty-free goods back from the government. As a result, I don’t have the figures to put into the VAT filing paperwork. Then I run into problems with the Inland Revenue Department for not filing my paperwork on time.” Turning to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) assessment that the poultry industry in Abaco suffered $1.5m in damages, Mr Pinder said “just the poultry part of the farm is $1.5m; the damages to the whole farm would be over $2m.
“With the avocados and limes there is no crop insurance. It would be two years before we get any income out of the avocados, and we are talking about four years for the limes. We have to factor in labour, up-keep, irrigation and weed control before we estimate what has to be done in between, plus the cost of replanting.” Mr Pinder reiterated: “Land ownership is the key to open financing, and there needs to be faster turnaround for the dutyfree concessions. We are still trying to come up with a solid business plan. We need to factor in labour, which is one of the most difficult things for us right now because no one has anywhere to live. So we really don’t know how to estimate how to move forward as a result, but acquiring the land is also a big part of our business plan going forward.” Mr Pinder said he would like Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture, to visit Abaco Big Bird to see what the farm is up against and talk face-to-face.
J S Johnson in 170% claims rise through Dorian
writing business in 1983, Mr Ward said the severity of the damage - and sums being claimed - were the highest ever. He declined, though, to place a figure on this. “One positive element is because the number of claims is not going to be significant relative to what we’ve seen in the past, we will probably be able to deal with the majority of them by year-end,” he added. Mr Ward, though, warned that individual homeowners and businesses could see
greater than 15-20 percent increases in their insurance premium rates because carriers and their reinsurers may introduce “some additional underwriting measures”. “Companies are reassessing elements like distance from the sea, how much of a factor that plays in rates and deductible terms,” he added. “Persons need to be aware that some additional measures may be taken as to how those properties are treated going forward.”
FROM PAGE ONE the history of the company,” Mr Ward said. “We’re likely to have 2,000 claims or thereabouts at Bahamas First.” While the claims volume does not represent a record for a carrier that first began
PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 19, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Senator: ‘No apologies’ for deal’s wasted $7M FROM PAGE ONE of leaving the taxpayerfunded healthcare provider with “a staggering increase in implementation costs” by failing to stick to the terms agreed in both the contract and tender process, with one-third party vendor alone responsible for more than $1.5m in undisclosed expenses. Noting that Allscripts had failed to address the concerns set out by her
predecessor, Herbert Brown, more than one year before she wrote to it, Mrs Weech said: “We submit that the PHA has endured what can only be described as a silent indifference to its plight. “Further, not only do we have difficulty in accounting for the PHA’s almost $7m in payments but we feel that the constant demands for outstanding receivables are unjustified. We can find no evidence or documentation which would support the
notion that a single Allscripts module, integration or basic operating platform has been installed within our data centre or on any desktop device.” A position paper sent to the PHA’s Board of Directors, which was updated on September 13 last year, suggests that up to $9.1m may have already been paid to Allscripts and Infor Lawson even though Dr Sands branded the contract as “a bust” and said it had “crashed”.
Employment Opportunity Suitable candidates are invited to apply for the position of Analytical Officer at the Bahamas Development Bank (“BDB”). The successful applicant will have satisfied the requirements and be able to provide the services as noted below. General Duties and Responsibilities: Within and subject to the Bank’s core values, the primary duties of the Analytical Officer are as follows: • Provide timely financial and business analytic support to senior management. • Conduct statistical and other quantitative analysis, including financial and risk modeling. • Be highly numerate and use a variety of analytical techniques to provide high quality, timely analysis and intelligence relating to key priorities of BDB. • Ensure accurate and open communication and co-ordination with a range of organizations and individuals, researching and drafting correspondence and papers and ensuring the management of specific tasks, lead reporting and analysis across a range of specialties, functions and projects. • Develop and optimize credit risk strategies using analytical techniques and statistical analysis to meet pre-defined goals. • Integrate new data sources and solutions into credit risk strategies. • Tracking and reporting on strategy implementations and validating post implementation (e.g. economic impact). • Develop and maintain economic report for all major Bahamian islands. • Participate in major and minor projects where analytical support is required. • Other duties as assigned. Required Experience and Skills • • • • • • •
Advanced Microsoft Office (Access, Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.) skills are required; Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative discipline (e.g. Statistics, Economics, Mathematics, Analytics etc.); Experience in credit risk modeling/analytics, credit risk portfolio management or credit risk strategy development (preferred but not required); Advanced Project Management experience; Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills; Experience working as part of a cross functional team; and Analytical and problem solving skills.
All interested applicants are asked to submit a resume along with letter of interest to the Human Resources Department, no later than end of business November 22nd, 2019 via email to hr@bdb.gov.bs. ONLY SHORT LISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED.
This sum, which is higher than the $7m referenced in Mrs Weech’s letter, was said to have been split into $6m for software, licensing fees, implementation charges and project management fees related to Allscripts’ platform. The $3.1m balance relates to computer hardware, software and infrastructure upgrades said to have been required at the PHA’s data centre. Mrs Weech, meanwhile, urged Allscripts to supply the rationale for demanding “support and maintenance fees” from the PHA given that no element of the integrated healthcare management system was implemented or functioning. While “the majority of such unresolved issues” occurred before the Minnis administration took office in July 2017, appointing the present board and management team, Mrs Weech “implored” the US healthcare technology/data services provider to render “invaluable assistance” to get the project back on schedule and contract. Then, in a blunt warning to Allscripts, the PHA managing director wrote: “Given the position of the PHA as a statutorilyappointed body, should our chairman [Julian Rolle] opt to ask the Board to rescind the Allscripts award of the iHMS project, such actions would invariably trigger a forensic audit, resulting in the country’s attorney general possibly appointing a special counsel tasked with conducting a costly, timeconsuming, international inquiry into the matter. This could have potentially farreaching consequences for your organisation.” The contract, which was bid over six years ago in mid-2013, was intended to totally transform healthcare delivery in The Bahamas through the use of electronic records that followed Bahamian patients wherever they went to access services. This would have given providers instant access to a person’s health history, enabling them to better and more quickly
diagnose any cause of distress. However, Mrs Weech said the project’s roll-out had been blighted from the start by a “glaring lack of oversight” on Allscripts’ part, “significant cost overruns”, “unconscionable delays”, multiple information technology (IT) issues and vendor “apathy” towards adhering to contractual terms. She added that “key responsibilities” had been thrown back on the PHA, while the vendor had deviated from the payment schedule submitted in its bid and the agreed timeline/ implementation schedule. However, despite such concerns detailed by two successive PHA managing directors, Dr Darville yesterday stood by the Christie administration’s decision to hand Allscripts the contract. He argued that Dr Sands was pushing the issue as a “political distraction” to deflect from the Minnis administration’s woes, even though it was Tribune Business that contacted the minister – not the other way around. Aiming to put the blame and focus back on the government, Dr Darville said: “Were it not for the minister of health’s stop, review and cancel policy, this health initiative could have played a pivotal role in the transformation of the public healthcare system prior to the full launch of universal healthcare by way of National Health Insurance (NHI). “We make no apologies for awarding the contract to Allscripts, a reputable US medical software company. The experts recommended them as the ‘number one’ choice. The Allscripts contract was awarded according to all due processes and there is no truth to the claim that the company got special privileges in the bidding process. Contrary to The Tribune’s story, Allscripts did not submit their bid late and it was done in accordance with all the appropriate rules of the board.” The deadline for
receiving bids was extended from September 5, 2013, to September 19, 2013, but Tribune Business has in its possession documents showing that the Allscripts proposal was “stamped” as received by the PHA’s tenders committee on September 30 - 11 days after the formal closing. The PHA Board’s position paper bluntly states: “We have yet to receive an explanation from the PHA’s tender selection committee as to how an RFP bid - stamped by the tender committee at PHA’s corporate offices on September 30, 2013 - was even considered given that the said proposal arrived 11 days after the RFP tender procurement process had closed in contravention of the assessment criteria.” Dr Darville’s statement also ignored the detailed concerns expressed by Herbert Brown, the PHA’s immediate past managing director, and evidence suggesting that the “experts” who recommended Allscripts were Sanigest Internacional, the architects of the Christie administration’s NHI scheme, rather than Santa Rose Consulting which was named in a Cabinet paper. The PLP senator, though, at last agreed on the contract’s initial lofty objectives. “In awarding the contract, we wanted to modernise our public healthcare system to produce a single medical record, improve supply chains as well as improving revenue cycle management services by computerising the administrative arms of the Princess Margaret hospital, the Rand Memorial Hospital and the satellite clinics,” Dr Darville said. “We intended to collect the much-needed operational capital mainly from insurance companies, tourists and expatriate workers who continue to use the public healthcare medical and surgical services, diagnostic and laboratory facilities without being charged or receiving billing in a timely fashion - sometimes years after.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, November 19, 2019, PAGE 5
Family Island visitor interest ‘skyrockets’ FROM PAGE ONE is “underfunded” and lacks members on the scale of Baha Mar and Atlantis, Mr Fountain said it had already begun its marketing comeback after “pausing every single drop of advertising” in Dorian’s wake. As international media attention on the storm’s aftermath began to wane in late September, he added that the Promotion Board relaunched its “Google search” advertising mechanism and “started to ramp up everything we do” during October’s first half. Mr Fountain said it sought to complement the Ministry of Tourism’s focus on educating visitors that 14 of 16 Bahamian island destinations remained open post-Dorian by providing incentives for them to book and come now. One deal, launched on October 21, and for which the booking window ended yesterday, offered to pay $250 towards a visitor’s air fare costs if they stayed for four nights or longer at a Promotion Board member hotel flying non-stop from a US gateway. For those transiting through Nassau to the Family Islands, the Promotion Board is offering to buy one and two roundtrip tickets between the two destinations for persons staying four nights and seven nights-plus, respectively, in a promotion scheduled to close at end-November. “Our message was not just come to these 14 islands, but come to these 12, stay in a member hotel and take advantage of these offers,” Mr Fountain explained. “Coming right up next week, starting on Thanksgiving and flowing right through to Tuesday, we have Black Friday. If you book a seven-night vacation in those five days you will get a $500 air credit but must complete your holiday in January. “What we try and do with all our promotional efforts is drive business in a need period... We also want to encourage Bahamian residents if they want to get away, instead of going to Florida and shopping yourself into a frenzy take a break and come to the Out Islands. Stay two nights and there is one round-trip ticket, and for four nights there is two round-trip tickets.” The Promotion Board, which has 40 member hotels, has configured its
website to link and drive visitor traffic to their own sites. Mr Fountain described “hot leads” as persons who not only visited members’ websites, but entered their booking engines and conducted research activity. “I bring that up to say that since we launched our advertising at the beginning of October, mid-October, the number of leads and hot leads going to my member hotels from my website, the increase has been exponential,” Mr Fountain told Tribune Business. “Consumers tend to support destinations that have suffered something like we did with Dorian. I can tell you we’re not talking about a small three percent increase; the increase in leads and awareness has been exponential.” Mr Fountain said the rebound being experienced by the Promotion Board and its members was being mirrored by international booking/search engine giants such as Expedia, plus Bahamas-based Family Island distribution channels such as Majestic Holiday and Bahamago.com Noting that Expedia’s data includes all Family Island hotels, not just Promotion Board members, Mr Fountain said: “Based on their numbers all Out Islands, with the exception of this next month; if you look at the number of room nights sold as at November 18, 2019, and compare that with November 18, 2018, with the exception of a slight decrease in December through April every month is showing an increase.” He added that Bahamago.com had told him business activity was now “close to normal”, while Majestic Holiday had seen “very, very positive” signs for bookings over the past two weeks. “In the month of October the telephone and website inquiries were dead,” Mr Fountain told Tribune Business. “Then, about three weeks ago, the phone started to ring off the hook and inquiries skyrocketed.” Still, he acknowledged that the revived booking pace would not be enough to compensate for Abaco’s Dorian-induced loss or the fall-off in October business. Mr Fountain said the Promotion Board’s August 7 forecast of a 12.7 percent fourth quarter year-overyear increase in room nights sold for its small hotel members with less
LEGAL NOTICE
FINAL NOTICE Pursuant to the provisions of section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that:DELPHIN INVEST SA has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 25th October, 2019. Kim D. Thompson Liquidator
than 50 rooms had been downgraded to a 30 percent decline. Similarly, expectations of a 9.2 percent increase in room nights sold for small hotels with less than 50 rooms in the central Bahamas had been dropped to a 3.1 percent year-overyear decline. And, for the Promotion Board’s larger members with 50 rooms or more, the forecast has been reversed from an 8.2 percent increase to a 5.5 percent drop. There was slightly better news for small hotels with 50 rooms or less in the southern Bahamas, where the ten percent decrease in room nights sold projected in August was trimmed slightly to 9.5 percent in the latest forecast. “All in all, while we did have a little hurricane hangover, the forecast.... is very encouraging,” Mr Fountain said. “Any bout of cold weather that we have in the north-east or upper mid-west will work even better for bookings.’ He added that the Family Islands were “more resilient than other destinations” in the face of Dorian-type events due to the fact their visitor base is concentrated more heavily on repeat tourist business.
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PAGE 8, Tuesday, November 19, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Port eyeing $4m-$6m ‘one-stop shop’ spend
GN-2332
FROM PAGE ONE
component, we bring in quite a lot of vehicles; more used than new. Bahamians have become very savvy. They go online, purchase a vehicle and wait six to eight weeks for it to arrive. When they arrive, they usually go straight on the road uninsured, not inspected and not ready for the road. “We would have insurance brokers in there. People will be able to get insurance in that facility and have the vehicle inspected, so when they leave the car is ready for the road.” APD’s container throughput volumes at Arawak Cay are projected to increase by 3,000 or a modest 2.3 percent to 133,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) for the 12 months to end-June 2020. For the 2019 financial year, it saw bulk car volumes of 14,138, which were 2,862 or 17 percent less than budgeted car volumes of 17,000. Mr Bethell said APD planned to also use its additional 15 acres, which is adjacent to its existing southern boundary, for additional storage. He explained: “We have a lot of overflows from time to time of excess vehicles and containers. “We’re doing the renderings for it now. That goes through the process with the board, and we will send out an RFP for architects and contractors to be able to build the facility. We’ve just recently received it [the government’s letter] and the board has approved it proceeding. We’ve already engaged a consultant to
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MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com
(242) 323-2330
MONDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2019
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ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,203.23 | CHG: -6.71 | %CHG: -0.30 | YTD: 93.78 | YTD%: 4.45 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.10 2.60 2.00 5.47 11.75 6.17 4.64 11.25 2.81 3.85 10.21 7.60 16.90 9.40 3.63 14.20
52WK LOW 3.52 20.91 4.90 4.46 1.01 0.22 2.00 9.30 6.15 3.95 6.75 2.35 1.76 7.51 6.10 12.10 6.41 3.01 13.01
SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson
SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ
1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00
1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00
Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B
CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB
PREFERENCE SHARES
1.00 10.00 1.00
1.00 10.00 1.00
CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00
52WK LOW 100.00
115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
52WK HI 2.27 4.31 2.07 194.86 158.57 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.21 8.01 9.60 6.83 11.39 12.30 10.68 10.00 8.69 11.79
52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.58 1.69 1.66 1.09 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20
SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +
SYMBOL FBB22
Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y
BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407
BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)
MUTUAL FUNDS
MARKET TERMS
LAST CLOSE 3.64 17.43 6.00 6.10 2.46 1.80 4.50 11.06 6.16 4.12 8.57 3.18 3.85 9.93 7.60 16.90 9.33 3.48 14.00
CLOSE 3.64 17.43 6.00 6.10 2.46 1.80 4.50 11.06 6.16 4.11 8.06 3.23 3.85 10.03 7.60 16.90 9.33 3.51 14.00
CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.01 -0.51 0.05 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00
1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00
1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
LAST SALE 100.00
CLOSE 100.00
CHANGE 0.00
107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F
BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings
VOLUME 50
20,000 18,000
5,000 900
VOLUME
NAV 2.27 4.30 2.07 193.72 158.42 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.19 8.23 10.10 6.85 11.24 12.28 10.74 9.92 8.68 11.38
EPS$ 0.239 0.932 1.760 0.369 0.070 0.000 -0.438 0.722 0.449 0.184 0.140 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.939 0.203 0.631
DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610
0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
P/E 15.2 18.7 N/M 16.5 N/M N/M -10.3 15.3 13.7 22.3 57.6 31.7 8.2 15.5 10.4 20.7 9.9 17.3 22.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
YIELD 4.67% 7.23% 0.00% 4.26% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 6.51% 3.57% 2.92% 0.00% 13.44% 1.56% 3.27% 3.16% 3.20% 2.14% 3.42% 4.36% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%
INTEREST Prime + 1.75%
MATURITY 19-Oct-2022
6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%
20-Nov-2029 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022
YTD% 12 MTH% 2.77% 3.84% 1.38% 3.46% 2.03% 2.76% 4.99% 6.20% 7.18% -0.08% 2.88% 3.80% 4.56% 6.50% 3.35% 4.17% 5.77% 7.89% 7.17% 8.76% 11.07% 12.58% 3.50% 4.96% 8.92% -0.97% 5.22% 5.44% 2.95% 2.64% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%
NAV Date 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 27-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019
YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful
TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333
help put together a master plan and prepare the renderings. “The intent and plan is to proceed. We could not do it sooner as we have to lease the land. We will not own it. We will lease it on a long-term basis. We’re waiting for a copy of the lease from the Department of Lands and Surveys and the Attorney General’s Office, but with that commitment letter we have enough to proceed with that part of planning.” Mr Bethell told Tribune Business that while APD had yet to learn the scope of Customs and Road Traffic’s accommodation requirements, it was estimating that construction costs will run to $4m to $6m per year. He added that the BISXlisted port operator had multiple financing options, including its own operational cash flow, for funding construction. Elsewhere, the APD chief said the continued landing and clearance of international freight cargo at Potter’s Cay “remains on our radar” due to it the “loophole” it creates in breaching the Government’s agreement with the port operator as well as the potential revenue loss for itself and the Public Treasury. “This activity not only breaches certain agreements made with APD, but also undermines national security, Public Treasury revenue collection objectives, health and safety standards and the cost of living,” APD argued in its annual report. “The company will continue its lobby to the Ministry of Finance
to address and resolve this issue, which is so inimical to positive, sustainable progress.” Mr Bethell added yesterday of Potter’s Cay: “We feel that’s always a way for persons to try and circumvent the fees of the port, which translates into operating income for APD. Usually, when that’s the case, it’s also a means of circumventing the government ports, and that’s not in line with the intent and spirit in which APD was established. “We’re supposed to have a facility where all dutypaid cargo enters through our facility, and not alternatives like Potter’s Cay. There’s the loss of revenue, whether its import duties, Excise Tax, VAT or any other charges. We feel that’s just a loophole and a problem that continues, and it remains on our radar.” Mr Bethell said there had been “no further progress” on other business opportunities APD had been exploring to deliver further value for its 11,000 shareholders by developing new revenue streams. In particular, he identified the possibility of establishing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering facility at the port to supply this fuel to cruise ships, Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) or both as one initiative that has not moved forward. The APD president confirmed that the port operator was still continuing to seek expansion opportunities at other facilities in The Bahamas or internationally, but nothing had materialised yet.
Chief justice orders delay in House fight for Trump records WASHINGTON Associated Press CHIEF Justice John Roberts is ordering an indefinite delay in the House of Representatives’ demand for President Donald Trump’s, pictured, financial records to give the Supreme Court time to figure out how to handle the high-stakes dispute. Roberts’ order yesterday contains no hint about what the court ultimately will do. The court’s hold could last a matter of days or weeks, if the court is willing to let an appeals court ruling in favour of the House remain in place without granting full review of the case. But the delay could extend for months if the justices decide they need to hear arguments and issue a written opinion. Earlier yesterday, the House said it would agree to a brief halt for the orderly filing of legal briefs, while opposing any lengthy delay. Those written arguments will give the justices a basis to decide whether they will jump into the tussle between Congress and the president. Last week, Trump made an emergency appeal to ask
the Supreme Court to block the enforcement of a subpoena issued by a House committee to Trump’s accountants. The House has until Thursday to respond, Roberts said. The high court has a separate pending request from Trump to block a subpoena from a New York prosecutor for Trump’s tax returns. The justices next meet in private on Friday and could discuss what to do with the House subpoena. Without some intervention by the high court, a ruling by the federal appeals court in Washington, DC, in favour of the House was set to take effect tomorrow. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform would have been able to try to enforce the subpoena to the Mazars USA accounting firm.
PUBLIC NOTICE
INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, VADIUS DELIEN of Summerset Estates, Carmichael Road, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to VANDYKE SEYMOUR. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.
NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that RODNEY JEAN-BAPTISTE, of Treasure Cay Abaco, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 18th day of November 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.