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VOLUME:114 No.251, NOVEMBER 21ST, 2017

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BUSINESS: HUNT BEGINS FOR NEW LANDFILL MANAGER

‘I love God. I love God’ Teenager tells of Mum’s last words in fatal carjack

By NICO SCAVELLA to swerve to avoid hitting Tribune Staff Reporter Mackey with her car just nscavella@tribunemedia.net moments before her death SUPREME Court jurors on November 11, 2015.

The son, whose name has have heard how the teenbeen withheld, identified age son of former Queen’s College elementary teacher Mackey, aka “Eagle Eye,” as that indiJoyelle McInvidual in an tosh identified identification one of three parade at men accused the Central of murdering Detective his mother Unit (CDU) as the indion Novemvidual lying ber 22, 2015. in the middle According of the road to the boy’s the family was testimony travelling on in court last the night she week, around was shot and 8pm on the killed. day in quesMcIntosh’s tion, he and 15-year-old his mother son, who JOYELLE MCINTOSH were driving recently took to pick up a the witness book from stand before Justice Bernard Turner, said Johnny one of her friends, who is Mackey was the individual also a teacher, for a project he saw lying on his back he had for the next day. on Parkgate Road. He told SEE PAGE FIVE the court his mother had

BAHA MAR DEAL NEARLY COMPLETED

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel suggested yesterday there are not many things left to be done before the sale of Baha Mar to purchaser Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) is complete.

Mr Bethel explained the sale’s finalisation was

dependent on the liquidation being cleared away among “some” other things.

Meanwhile, Works Minister Desmond Bannister rejected speculation the resort is still operating on a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) because of alleged structural issues.

Mr Bannister told The Tribune yesterday these SEE PAGE THREE

CHILDREN mourning Joyelle McIntosh at an assembly in 2015 following the death of the Queen’s College teacher.

‘MORE GRACIOUS’, PLEASE DR MINNIS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Press Club President Anthony Capron said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis should have been “more gracious” in his keynote address at Saturday’s awards banquet for members of the media.

Dr Minnis criticised the press for reporting “drama” rather than policy, for not comparing the Bahamas enough with other countries and for “blurring” the lines between reporting and editorial writing.

His speech on a night honouring the media received a cold reception from many in the room.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister yesterday confirmed that government has resurrected plans for a new primary school in Carmichael with a tender exercise for a school in Inagua “ready to go”.

Mr Bannister said the Carmichael school could cost as much as $20m to construct as he underlined the government’s commitment to a “real investment” in education.

SEE PAGE SIX

DR Hubert Minnis at the Bahamas Press Club Awards.

Photo: BIS

PM ‘LACKS CREDIBILITY’ ON RIGHTS ISSUE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ANGLICAN Archdeacon James Palacious said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis should apologise for offering “lukewarm” support for last year’s constitutional referendum while he promotes his administration’s plan to amend the country’s laws

BANNISTER UNVEILS PLANS FOR TWO SCHOOLS

to give children of Bahamian men and women equal access to citizenship.

Archdeacon Palacious, who said he supports the Minnis administration’s citizenship agenda, added Dr Minnis “lacks credibility” on the matter. He also said the equivocation and flip-flopping from both major political parties on the issue in the last two decades has undermined

the fight for expanded citizenship rights.

When asked by The Tribune if he thought Dr Minnis should apologise for not strongly campaigning for the 2016 referendum, Archdeacon Palacious said: “Yes, because he went lukewarm on it after a bi-partisan group was appointed.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SIX

RISE IN FIGHT FOR TOUGHER SENTENCES

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL child-rights advocacy group RISE Bahamas has launched a petition to lobby for legislative changes following the conditional discharge of a former police officer accused of producing child porn videos.

In the change.org petition, RISE director Terneille Burrows challenged the ruling, saying it set a dangerous regional precedent, and SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Tuesday, November 21, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

SANTA COMES TO THE MALL THE MALL at Marathon held its traditional Christmas parade at the weekend including the arrival of Santa Claus. There was music, entertainment and a host of atrractions to mark the day.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/ Tribune Staff

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 21, 2017, PAGE 3

Bill aims to bring higher pay and a stronger economy

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE government will begin debate tomorrow on a bill intended to “lead to higher paying jobs” and “build a stronger and more stable economy,” according to a press release from Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Dr Minnis said the Commercial Enterprise Bill will help to encourage investment in the Bahamas and “places a level on

prioritisation on Bahamian labour and talent”.

The statement added: “The legislation seeks to build a stronger and stable economy by encouraging both domestic and foreign investment in The Bahamas; creating economic zones where deemed necessary throughout the country; targeting specialised business in computer technology, software design, data storage, maritime trade, aviation registration, wealth management and

manufacturing enterprises.

“As well as fostering an economic environment that will help to lead to higher paying jobs, more job security and long-term employment for more Bahamians and helping the country to better compete globally.”

Dr Minnis said companies wishing to do business in the country “must be encouraged through policy and legislation to make an investment in the training of Bahamians to do jobs at all levels in various

enterprises”.

The legislation is part of the government’s broader economic agenda for economic growth and jobs, which includes various projects and investments which will be announced when they are finalised, according to the statement.

The bill was tabled in the House of Assembly in October.

According to Tribune business, the legislation, if passed into law as is, would enable a “specified commercial enterprise”

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis helping to cut the ribbon at the SLS Lux soft opening at Baha Mar.

to obtain an Investments Board certificate granting it a specific number of work permits for certain positions.

The certificate, which will initially be issued for one year and can be renewed, would allow key personnel to set up the company’s physical operations in The Bahamas before they obtained a work permit.

Such a permit must be applied for within 30 days of their entry, and the bill mandates the director

of immigration to make a decision on approval within 14 days of receiving the application. Should the director not respond within that timeframe, the work permit is “automatically deemed to have been granted”.

Work permits issued under the bill’s provisions will be for a three-year period, and are renewable for the same duration. They can only be revoked on grounds of “public safety, public morality or national security”.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

BAHA MAR DEAL NEARLY COMPLETED from page one

reports – published in a local tabloid – were not true, adding there was “absolutely” nothing concerning the structure that was a cause for concern.

“There are only some things that need to be done,” Mr Bethel said when he was contacted by The Tribune yesterday.

“They have to complete their own land transfers and some has to be completed with the government.

There is still a legal process that has to be completed elsewhere.

“It’s a matter of the liquidation being cleared away but the hotel properties and all transfers in terms of the heads of terms and heads of agreements are complete.

“These are all in the hands of the lawyers,” Mr Bethel said.

When he was contacted by this newspaper, Mr Bannister said as it stands, there have been about three or four TCOs issued, but for small stores at the hotel.

“They have all of their certificates of occupancy and I think maybe three or four temporary ones for certain little stores, for example you may have a store in there like a John Bull or something like that and the finishes may not have been ready or whatever, but nothing to endanger people or to cause any problems,” the minister said.

“Those stores may have

gotten a temporary TCO but I have in my office, I got my office to bring all the certificates of occupancy and they were all granted to Baha Mar so they are fully compliant.”

Asked if there was anything structurally alarming, Mr Bannister said: “Absolutely not.”

The SLS at Baha Mar officially opened on Friday night despite the incompletion of its top two floors and only 50 percent of the hotel’s 300-rooms filled.

At the event, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis dodged questions over whether the sale of the resort to purchaser CTFE was complete.

“The hotel is open. Are you not happy?” the prime minister responded when he was asked by The Tribune to comment on the status of the deal. “You are happy, right? I am happy.

Good.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the elaborate opening, SLS General Manager Richard Alexander said while only 150 of the rooms at the hotel were occupied, this was expected to increase to at least 60 per cent over the Christmas season.

He said: “So we have 300 very stylish bedrooms. Most of them face the ocean. We have five restaurants right across the resort. I should mention Cleo Eastern Mediterranean Restaurant.

We have Katsuya, which many people have already found and find it delicious, serving Japanese Asian

food and we have many more to come. But I think the beauty of this resort is there is something for everyone no matter where you come from, what nationality you are there is always something to excite you and entertain you.”

Asked to state the number of rooms filled, Mr Alexander said: “Tonight [Friday], we have 50 percent occupancy tonight and we are on day three. That’s quite an achievement and I

really want to shout out all the people who work here that make it happen.

“We will dip after this opening, but then Thanksgiving is looking really good and Christmas is looking really amazing. We’ll see at least 60 percent occupancy over Christmas.”

He also said: “All of the rooms are open except for the top two floors but they just need some final detailing and they’ll be ready by Christmas.”

Back in June, Tribune Business reported the resort’s original developer Sarkis Izmirlian urged the Minnis administration to impose “a moratorium” on the completion of Baha Mar’s sale and warned he was considering legal action against the Christie administration’s “state sponsored discrimination.”

Last month, Attorney General Carl Bethel confirmed the government received a letter from Mr

Izmirlian in response to questions from The Tribune over whether the government would investigate the issuance of a casino licence to CTFE. The letter, said to be dated October 17, and sent to the Office of the Attorney General purportedly called on the Minnis administration to look into the previous government’s April 5, 2017 issuance of the licence, a source told The Tribune.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 21, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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When will we say ‘enough’ and protect this land and sea?

ON FRIDAY of last week, The Tribune ran a story headlined ‘Activists’ Fear for Cat Cay.’ The article was accompanied by several colour photos taken from the air a few days earlier showing once-stunning turquoise waters off South Cat Cay in the northern Bahamas clouded by sand and silt.

Heavy equipment stood on a tiny sandbar. Dredging was taking place immediately offshore with gaps in silt barriers. The coastline had been scarfed and looked as bare as a baby’s bottom.

Or perhaps dredged sand had been piled on a coast where it had not previously existed to create a wider beach.

Whatever the history, the present showed an unnatural coast bereft of greenery, rocks or any naturally occurring topographical features.

It was one more time that Save The Bays tried to call attention to environmental damage in the name of development. The organisation that has more than 20,000 Facebook followers has said repeatedly, loudly and clearly, it is not anti-development. In fact, the same attorney who serves as the group’s legal counsel represents developers in his legal practice with Callenders & Co, a century-old law firm known for its pro-business bent as well as human and environmental rights.

We listen to what this group says because they have had the courage to stand up where many others have not.

Their reasons are understandable - ties to government or other funding support that comes with conservative restrictions leaving their hands tied and mouth shut as they go about their work trying to educate or advocate. We have no doubt the tiny Bahamas probably has more well-intentioned and hard-working environmental organisations and causes per capita than just about anywhere in the world.

But while the number of people involved in preserving the environment is substantial, while the voices of the courageous grow louder and their pleas take on more urgency, the government acts as if it is business as usual.

Developers come in with a plan, promise the earth, including careful resource management and environmental contributions, gain approval and turn to work.

On paper and in the Heads of Agreement, it all sounds good. Environmental impact assessments have to reviewed by the BEST Commission, recommendations negotiated and more promises made.

Then the job begins. Heavy equipment arrives. Coral reefs are in the way, they are demolished in the name of jobs for a marina that will attract mega yachts. Dredging is done without adequate silt barriers. Mangroves that serve as the hatcheries and nurseries of fish, conch and crawfish are mowed over or used as dumping grounds for concrete and trash.

And in the end the people of The Bahamas lose out.

What do we have to do to get a government which cares about the environment that makes The Bahamas the land and sea it is, the envy of nations and peoples worldwide? What do we have to do to get a comprehensive

environmental protection act so no one – local or foreign – can destroy the environment, abuse and misuse its resources without paying a high price?

We watch the work of Save The Bays because these are not radical people who want workers to drop their hammers, drills and hopes to hug trees. All they are asking for is a government to have the courage to stand up to developers who ride roughshod over the fragile Bahamian environment. All they are seeking is a rule for developers to demonstrate careful practices and create sustainable development, carried out with respect for the environment and all that takes is one comprehensive piece of legislation.

We believe that is what the public wants as well. Shortly after the ‘Activists’ Fear’ story ran in print, The Tribune posted a video of the flyover that led to the discovery of what was going on at South Cat Cay and in a matter of hours it had been viewed more than 450 times.

That tells us the public cares. If the public cares, where are the people who make and enforce policy? Where is the Minister of the Environment, Romauld Ferreira, an environmental lawyer and consultant who held such promise pre-election? Where is the Minister of Works Desmond Bannister who has impressed us so much in other ways?

We cannot continue to wait until cases go to court as one government after another continues down the outdated path of acting as if it is a choice between the environment and the economy.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The future of economic development lies in the blue economy and the green economy. Together they will account for the majority of jobs and replace the manufacturing economy. Facets of the blue economy – shipping and maritime transportation, seafood and fisheries, desalination, port infrastructure, minerals, aquaculture and mariculture – will not only generate hundreds of billions in global income but help to mitigate climate change in an age when 40 percent of the world’s population lives within 62 miles of a coast. The power of the green economy in renewable energy sources, waste management, improved farming methods and more is almost immeasurable. In Australia alone, it is estimated at $243 billion by the year 2030.

The Tribune is not opposed to development at South Cat Cay though we have strong reservations about the size of a 137-slip marina. We simply urge the government to insist the development be carried out in a way that is responsible to community and respectful of natural resources, preserving and enhancing the land and sea that makes this country the magical spot on earth that it is.

Remembering Ronnie Butler Ronnie Butler died at age 80 at his home in Nassau on Sunday morning and a nation mourned. A crooner without parallel, Ronnie captured the essence of The Bahamas in song and made all of our lives richer and better for it. He was fun, funny and so immensely talented and humble, it is hard to imagine life and concerts without him. Rest in peace, Ronnie. You gave us all you had and more.

Tribute to a mentor EDITOR, The Tribune.

SIR Etienne Dupuch Lifetime Achievement Award winner for excellence in journalism, Gladstone Thurston, paid tribute to his mentor, Mrs Eileen Dupuch-Carron, during Saturday night’s Bahamas Press Club’s awards banquet.

Thurston’s professional career in front line journalism spans more than 40 years, 20 of which he spent at The Tribune.

Said Thurston: “In reality, this award ought to be presented to Mrs Eileen Dupuch-Carron, publisher/

editor of The Tribune because, to the extent that I was able to attain such high standards to be even considered for this award it is all due to the endeavours of her; her husband, a true media gentleman, Roger P Carron; Mrs Nicki Kelly, a living legend in Bahamian journalism; Tribune senior journalist, Mr Mike Lothian; and all those British editors (Desmond Balmer) then employed by The Tribune.

“Mrs Carron nurtured me along the path of journalism to be the success that I am, and even when I was dashed against the shoals of life by the hurricanes of

reality, she threw me a lifeline, helped me up, and got me going again.

“To a woman who could only be the hand of God in my life, Mrs Carron, from the bottom of my heart, I am most grateful and most thankful to you.

“So, if at all possible, I would like this trophy to hang on the walls of The Tribune’s newsroom, as a testament to excellence in journalism a la The Tribune.”

GLADSTONE THURSTON Nassau, November 19, 2017.

Seeking to rewrite history EDITOR, The Tribune.

REWRITING the Baha Mar narrative has become somewhat of a sport in our political climate – where undeserving individuals seek to claim ownership or responsibility for where Baha Mar is today. At the opening of the SLS Baha Mar on Friday evening, Prime Minister Minnis was beaming at his inheritance, while Opposition Leader Brave Davis was green with envy. Davis’ request for the prime minister to apologize for his previous sentiments on Baha Mar and Prime Minister Minnis’ most recent shift in tone are both equally laughable.

Prime Minister Minnis, no stranger to swimming through his own vomit, gleamed as he addressed an audience at the ceremony.

From the crowd, a vaunting Davis looked on, proud of the PLP’s accomplishments.

Both men could not be more disillusioned, as any credit taken on any of their parts is unearned in the context they wish to receive it – particularly in the case of Davis and his colleague, Bradley Roberts, whom released another characteristically nonsensical statement regarding Baha Mar and the previous government’s handling of same.

It is seriously disappointing that members of the previous administration still seek to brainwash the populace on Baha Mar. While it is good that the resort is trudging along toward its full opening and creating excitement about the property, it cannot be forgotten that the PLP was responsible for torpedoing Baha Mar into the wreckage that it became for a year and a half. After wrestling it from the grasp of the project’s developer, Bahamian politicians want to assume responsibility for the project’s opening, but would have nothing to do with the reputational damage that they would be equally, if

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net not more, responsible for.

Perhaps, none should acknowledge more than Prime Minister Minnis, that Chow Tai Fook’s ‘sweetheart deal’ which was signed by the previous administration has been precursory to its rocky start. Coming out of the gates borrowing upwards of $700m, the previous administration’s decision to stonewall Sarkis Izmirlian whose offer to purchase his brainchild was far more attractive than any other bid that was on the table.

Not only was Izmirlian willing to pay all taxes associated with the purchase, but he also intended to finish the resort’s construction with a solely Bahamian workforce. This would have stimulated major cash injections into the struggling Bahamian economy.

Yet, we are now facing real scary prospects with the group that once supported Izmirlian uttering that “the cupboards are bare”.

However, it was the previous administration’s bitterness that led to it plunging any hopes for a deal that would have provided majority benefits to the country. That along with the conflicts of interest and revelations of solicitation involving former cabinet members completely sullied the Christie Administration’s dealings with Baha Mar. It is outrageous that Bradley Roberts or Brave Davis would now be coming out of the woodwork seeking a pat on the back. For what? What have any of you done? Aside from a few thousand jobs, what can you speak to when talking up what you did to ‘save’ Baha Mar that wasn’t already set in motion

by Izmirlian? The previous government’s interference with the Chapter 11 filings

led to the dismissal of over 2,000 employees and massive economic setbacks that have garnered us ‘junk status’ among investors. We were plummeted further into debt with complete negation to what may have been a holistically better deal for the resort.

To now praise SBE, when they are only property managers, and the President of Baha Mar without paying homage to the previous executive team that did all the heavy lifting – Sarkis Izmirlian, Tom Dunlap, Denise Godreau et. al - was tasteless by all involved. There would be no Baha Mar, if it weren’t for the brilliant minds that laid the foundational bricks and created the brand and design concept that captivates all who see today.

Similarly, we must also be careful when we praise the government or Baha Mar’s new management team for the 3,400 jobs that Bahamians hold because we can easily dismiss how much of that talent was sourced

by Izmirlian. From those who stayed onboard from Izmirlian’s team, to those who were reengaged, there is no Baha Mar without Sarkis Izmirlian.

It is shameful that those who seek to benefit politically still choose to ignore the facts and exploit the resort. Perhaps, it is understandable that the previous government would do anything to cover its tracks after giving away hundreds of millions of dollars in tax concessions that remain sealed in a secret deal.

However, for the prime minister, who was once so tough on Baha Mar issues in campaign mode, we still are in the dark as it relates to the Baha Mar deal, and based on his childlike excitement at the SLS opening, it seems that will continue to be the case.

MARTIN ROLLE Nassau, November 20, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 21, 2017, PAGE 5

Teenager tells of Mum’s last words in fatal carjack from page one

He said while they were on Parkgate Road, he saw “this man laying in the road when we were driving.” He said he told his mother he noticed someone lying in the road, but she ignored it and continued to drive.

After he repeated his statement, his mother said, “I am not into this tonight.”

The son said the man lying in the road then sat up, and his mother swerved to avoid hitting him. Had they not done so, he said, they “would have probably rolled over him.”

After passing him, he said he turned around to see if the individual was still in the road, but he was not.

McIntosh’s son said they continued driving “for maybe two more seconds” before he heard “glass” breaking. The driver’s side window was shattered, and he saw his mother “immediately” hold her neck.

“And I looked at her, she began to spit blood,” he testified. “And I realised she had probably been shot.”

He said he told his mother to drive to the hospital, but she continued to drive forward.

“I screamed, ‘drive to the hospital, drive to the hospital,’” he told the court.

“And she put up her hand, and she said ‘I love God. I love God.’ I continued to tell her ‘drive to the hospital’ and then her head gave way and hit the wheel, and then we hit a wall.”

The teen said he subsequently jumped out

of the car and ran, with the intention of going to his grandmother’s house nearby.

He said days later on November 22, around 1.10pm, he went to CDU and was taken into a room where he viewed an identification parade. He said when asked by the officer if there was anyone in the line-up that resembled the man he saw lying in the road, he pointed to number three, a number held by Mackey.

However, Dorsey McPhee, Mackey’s attorney, questioned the boy’s description of the person he saw in the road, who had been described as having “brown skin” and an “unkempt beard.” By “unkempt,” McIntosh’s son said he meant it “was not shaved. It wasn’t lined up. It was just in patches around his face.”

Mr McPhee further questioned there being no mention of facial hair in the boy’s initial statement to police, in reference to the description of the assailant seen lying in the road.

When he testified yesterday, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Will Hart, attached to CDU, said on November 22, 2015, after receiving certain information from another senior officer, he spoke with Mackey concerning his intentions to have him participate in an identification parade.

ASP Hart said he gave Mackey a form outlining the procedure for the identification parade, which

JOHNNY MACKEY, left, and Armando Sargeant, pictured outside court previously. he said Mackey appeared to have read and subsequently signed. Afterwards, ASP Hart said he took Mackey to the identification room, and showed him eight people with similar characteristics.

Mackey opted to take up position number three, ASP Hart said.

He said he went into the other side of the identification room, and McIntosh’s son was escorted in by Corporal Coakley. ASP Hart

said he spoke with the victim’s son, and informed him the person he saw lying in the road weeks prior may or may not have been in the line-up.

However, after the son viewed the line-up, he identified number three as the individual he saw in the road. ASP Hart said the parade was subsequently dismissed, Mackey was informed he was identified and subsequently cautioned.

The trial continues today.

Yesterday’s proceedings are the latest in the murder trial of two men and a teenager accused of murdering the former fourth grade teacher.

It is alleged the teenager, who was 17 at the time of the incident, along with Armando Sergeant of Kemp Road and Mackey of Bonaby Alley, attempted to rob McIntosh at gunpoint of her 2009 silver coloured Toyota Corolla worth

$6,000.

It is alleged that during the failed carjacking, the victim was shot multiple times in her head and body.

She later crashed into a wall at the intersection of Parkgate and Village Roads.

All three accused have denied the allegations.

Viola Barnett and Akeyra Saunders represent the Crown. Sonia Timothy represents the teenager, while David Cash represents Sergeant.

WITNESS TESTIFIES HE WAS PART OF GROUP IN ROBBERY

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net VIRGIL Hall told the Supreme Court yesterday that he was one of four men who went to rob “a drug boy” of $2m at a house in Deadman’s Reef on the night of September 12, 2015.

Hall is testifying as a key witness for the prosecution in the armed robbery and murder trial of Paul Belizaire, Devaughn Hall and Kevin Dames. He accepted a plea deal with the Office of the Attorney General to testify for the Crown.

Although the murder charges were dropped against Hall, he is currently serving time in prison on the armed robbery charge.

Allan Alcime, who also accepted a plea deal, has also testified at the trial.

Barry and Sheena Johnson were discovered murdered at their triplex apartments in Deadman’s Reef on the morning of September 13, 2015. They were robbed of their GMC Sierra Truck, and a set of keys.

Mr Johnson was employed as a supervisor at the container port and his wife was a school teacher at the Eight Mile Rock High School.

Hall said that on September 12 he was working on a car at Take Me Corner in Eight Mile Rock when Allan Alcime received a call around 6 and 7pm.

He said Alcime told him that “short man”, also known as Devaughn Hall, had just called about a job for them to do He assumed it was another car job. However, as they were walking through a shortcut to go to Pinedale, EMR, Alcime told him what it was they were going to do.

“It was not about a car; it was about this money this drug boy just make; he show me that it was $2m in this house and they needed a fourth man to search. He asked if I was ready for that,” Hall said.

He said when they arrived at Devaughn Hall’s house in Pinedale it was already dark. A grey-coloured Maxima was in the yard. He saw PJ, also known as Paul

Belizaire, and another man, the driver of the Maxima, whom he did not know at the time, but had seen him around in the Rocks.

“Devaughn said let’s go,” Hall said. They got into the Maxima – Alcime sat in the front seat with the driver; and PJ sat in the backpassenger seat on the left; Devaughn Hall sat in back in the middle; and he sat in the back-passenger seat on the right side.

Hall said Devaughn gave the driver directions to where they were going. He said “short man” directed the driver through a dirt road.

He said that Alcime asked Devaughn to pass him a tan mask from the bag. Hall had also asked for a mask and they all got out of the car.

“Devaughn gave PJ an AKA - it was a big gun; Allan grabbed the shotgun; and I put on a long sleeve shirt and gloves,” Hall recalled.

Hall told the court they walked through the bushes to an apartment and waited there. He said the woman arrived home 30 minutes later.

“Devaughn said, ‘not her; that the man knew where the money is.’ They waited for another 30 minutes and a truck pulled up and Devaughn said, ‘That’s him; let’s get him.”

Hall said the man dropped to the ground, and he went to the bedroom and kicked the door open.

He said the woman was sitting on the floor with a phone in her hand.

Hall hit the phone out of her hand and told her to sit in the front room while he searched the bedroom.

Hall stated Alcime shouted: “Let’s go these people ain’t gat no money.”

He said as he was leaving from the bedroom, he heard a shot go off and saw the man slump and drop to the ground.

As Hall ran past Devaughn, he heard another shot.

“I thought he shoot me, and I then I heard another shot,” Hall said.They jumped into the truck. He said Alcime was arguing with Devaughn about why he killed the people.

Hall said he was afraid that Devaughn would kill Alcime too because “he had just kill those innocent people.” He said they abandoned the truck. Devaughn threw the hand-held radio he was sitting on in the truck into the bushes and Alcime threw the keys away. He said they then split up. He and Alcime went one way, and the PJ and Devaughn went another way. He said Alcime took off his long sleeve shirt and wrapped the shotgun in it, so nobody would see it. He hid the gun in bushes in his yard.

Hall said he went home, but could not sleep and went back to Alcime’s house. “I was upset and told him that I don’t do that type of vibe, that I did not want anyone to get hurt,” Hall told the court.

Hall said he left Grand Bahama after receiving a call from his former boss about working on a plumbing job in Grand Cay, a small cay north east of Grand Bahama.The codefendant said that he received a call from his sister that the police were looking for him and she gave him a number to call the police.

He called the number and spoke with Officer Weir who told him they were looking for him in reference to a matter.

He said he told police he was at Grand Cay at the time.

Hall said he was arrested by officers in Grand Cay and returned to Grand Bahama, where officers of the Central Detective Unit in Freeport questioned him.

He said he directed officers to retrieve the brown and chrome shotgun.Hall identified all the defendants in the court. He said he had known Devaughn Hall aka “short man” for 10 to 12 years from Pinedale, Eight Mile Rock. He said they called Devaughn “short man” because he was short.

He said he knew Paul Belizaire, aka “PJ” just as long or longer. He did not know Kevin Dames, but had seen him and his car in the Rocks, and said he was the driver of the Maxima on the night in question.

The trial continues Tuesday.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, November 21, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis speaking to churchgoers at Our Lady’s Catholic Church during their 91 Years of Celebration Service.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PM ‘lacks credibility’ on rights issue from page one [Lynn Holowesko] along with Sharon Wilson and the FNM had already agreed to support it.

“Both of them [the PLP and Dr Minnis] need to apologise. None will, but they should.”

He added: “Most definitely the prime minister lacks credibility on this issue. He’s supporting this thing so enthusiastically now, but a little over a year ago what happened?

“He wanted me to vote my conscience now all of a sudden you aren’t leaving it up to my conscience, but you are coming out swinging and saying this is what’s going to be done?”

Several weeks before last year’s referendum, Dr Minnis urged Bahamians to be “properly educated, then vote your conscience”.

Although he had

previously stated he sup- the archdeacon asked ported the referendum and yesterday. equal rights for women, Nonetheless, the Anglisome critics faulted him for can leader said despite not campaigning for the ref- the failure of last year’s erendum and clearly stating referendum, the Minnis that he wanted people to administration has the manvote in supdate it needs port of the He wanted me to to make the proposed changes it vote my conscience changes. seeks to, Thenespecially now all of a sudden Prime since those you aren’t leaving it Minister changes will Perry Chris- up to my conscience, not involve tie later but you are coming changes to expressed the Constiout swinging and disappointtution. ment in Dr saying this is what’s The archMinnis, who going to be done?” deacon’s he thought support for was on the changes board with the referendum. are a stark contrast to Last year Mr Christie said that of Bahamas Christian things went “hopelessly Council (BCC) President wrong” when the FNM Bishop Delton Fernander, leader told people to “vote who wants the government your conscience”. to respect the results of “How can you be so the 2016 vote. Archdeacon enthusiastically in favour Palacious is the vice-presiof this now when you dent of the BCC. weren’t that way then?”

“It’s appropriate for

them to do this because the government has been mandated to run the country in a way that is reasonable and wherever applicable in compliance with international standards,” Archdeacon Palacious said.

“I appreciate the fact that the two referendums for it failed. I give deference to what those that say do not go against the will of the people are saying, but what the prime minister is saying is that people are wrong and he should not be presiding over a country where he cannot grant citizenship with equality.

“The referendum only stated that people do not want you change the Constitution, it did not say do not change the law to make it possible through some other means.”

Archdeacon Palacious also said the referendum results in 2002 and 2016 were tied to the

unpopularity of the administrations at the time.

He said: “If in 2002 Ingraham said Jesus loved them, Bahamians would not have believed it. If in 2016 Christie said Jesus loves you, Bahamians would not have believed it. The popularity of the administrations contributed to the results and that can’t be isolated from a discussion of this matter.”

The Nassau Guardian reported last week that after Bishop Fernander’s critical commentary about the government’s citizenship agenda, Attorney General Carl Bethel emphasised to members of the BCC that the government intends to make administrative changes but not to change the Constitution.

Last week, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold suggested in a press conference that in view of that meeting, Bishop Fernander’s position may have changed.

“The attorney general has spoken to the president of the Bahamas Christian Council,” Mr Newbold said when asked for the prime minister’s reactions to criticism from some, including Bishop Fernander. “You may want to revisit a conversation with the president of the Christian Council. His views may have changed a little bit.”

However, contacted yesterday, Bishop Fernander said his view remain the same. “[Mr Bethel] didn’t change my view on anything,” the BCC president said. “I convinced him to have meetings and go out and discuss this issue with the public. But I told him I couldn’t change my position on this.”

Bishop Fernander has called the administration’s intentions “draconian” and “undemocratic” in view of last year’s referendum results.

BANNISTER UNVEILS PLANS FOR TWO SCHOOLS

from page one

“We are looking at this new primary school in Carmichael,” he said as a guest on Guardian Talk Radio show Off The Record with Zhivargo Laing.

“It is going to be an amazing school. It is going to be on Carmichael Road, just as the government promised.”

He continued: “This is a project, quite frankly when you [Mr Laing] and I were in Cabinet, we wanted to do.

This project has sat dormant for five years. I just looked at the plans yesterday and we expect that Cabinet is going to be moving ahead with that shortly.

“That’s the focus on a new school right now, but we have to build other

schools. We have the Inagua school, that I have also looked at the plans, and that is going out to tender very shortly.”

Mr Bannister explained that the Carmichael road area was targeted after the Ministry of Education analysed population trends.

“That is going to meet a lot of needs out there,” he said.

“We had also looked at a junior high school in that area also, so I am sure that they will soon be looking at that.”

Mr Bannister, who served as education minister in the last Ingraham administration, said the plans were untouched last term by the Christie administration.

“When we left [office] unceremoniously in 2012,

and I was minister of education, we were also looking at that Inagua school that had been burnt down. I have looked at that also very recently, that is something that is ready to go out to tender now from our ministry.

“When you are looking at the development of schools, you have those two and you also have the one

in Holmes Rock in Grand Bahama, that was started by the former administration, that has been left, that needs to be completed.

“These are three major schools that are going to run you, the one in New Providence may run you into $20m to build and so you are talking about a real investment of the Bahamian people’s money.”

‘NO QUICK FIXES’ TO PROBLEMS WITH ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister yesterday stressed there were no quick fixes to the country’s road challenges, telling frustrated motorists the task was not an “overnight thing”.

Mr Bannister was

repeatedly asked about dilapidated, and pot-hole filled roads in the capital, and throughout the Family Islands, as a guest on Guardian Talk Radio show Off The Record with Zhivargo Laing.

He insisted the constant, ongoing work of his ministry was often overshadowed by the massive nature of problems faced.

“Fixing a road is not an overnight thing,” he said, “it’s not something that you got out and you just look and you pave, it’s a whole lot of engineering that goes into it. There is a whole civil design section, we have sections in the Ministry of Works, they have to go in, they have to look at the roads, they have to determine the condition

of the roads, they have to look at different aspects of the engineering of it, and then they make recommendations, and all of this ends of up being computer generated.”

Mr Bannister continued: “They make recommendations, then decisions have to be made with respect to paving so it is not an overnight process. I want

everyone to understand this. It’s not something that happens overnight.”

To illustrate his point, Mr Bannister referred roadworks in Nicholls Town, Andros. He said bids were put out for roadwork but there was a greater need to bring water to the community.

“Those communities didn’t have the water that

they needed,” he said, “and so you needed to have contractors come in there and engineers look at how you deal with water piping and all the rest of it.

“So there may be some concerns in those communities with respect to the nature of the work going, but it’s not simply road work they’re doing, they’re trying to ensure that those

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 21, 2017, PAGE 7

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis with award winners at the Bahamas Press Awards including Taneka Thompson, second left, and Sancheska Dorsett collecting Renaldo Dorsett’s award. Tribune columnist Naughty was also a winner on the night.

GLADSTONE Thurston receiving his award and, right, Tribune cartoonist Jamaal Rolle presenting a portrait to the prime minister.

‘MORE GRACIOUS’, PLEASE DR MINNIS from page one

“I don’t think he needed to sugar-coat what he had to say but because it was a press event, an event that lauded reporters for what they do, I think he could have been gracious or more gracious than he was,” Mr Capron, a former managing editor of The Nassau Guardian, said when contacted by The Tribune yesterday.

“The prime minister has to do what he has to do; he said some things but I don’t think the press needs to worry about what he says because the press has a job to do. No one can dictate to the press what they ought to do and what they ought not to do.”

The Bahamas Press Club honoured Dr Minnis with the Person of the Year Award, a fact that raised some eyebrows as most in the media had no say in the selection.

“We looked at the newsmakers,” Mr Capron

explained. “Who has been in the news more than him?

Between the FNM convention and . . . when he was ousted [as leader of the Official Opposition], he was a newsmaker.”

Among the statements that drew the most attention, Dr Minnis claimed the media has not reported his administration’s pledge to grant automatic citizenship rights to children of Bahamian women living abroad and children of unmarried Bahamian men.

“Anybody reading the papers daily would see that it was covered,” Mr Capron said. “I think it might have been a misquote.”

An electronic version of the prime minister’s speech showed the statement was read as it was written.

Dr Minnis’ speech drew criticism from Gladstone Thurston, former Tribune journalist who was honoured Saturday night with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

On his Facebook page, Mr Thurston wrote: “Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, in his address at the Bahamas Press Club awards banquet, came across as rather presumptuous...

When I was given the mic, I was tempted to remind him that talking fool is a very serious thing.

“Members of the press ought rightfully to have felt insulted by the prime minister’s remarks. In effect, he told us we were failures at our profession, especially for not supporting his pet projects, like his attempt to have citizenship bestowed outside the provisions of the Constitution... To regurgitate the prime minister’s insane attempt at rank intimidation is to yuck up my vexation.”

When asked about this reaction, Mr Capron said: “If you know Gladstone, that was par for the course. Despite what the prime minister had to say, I think the event went very well.”

TRIBUNE News Editor Taneka Thompson receiving her award and, below, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis with his wife, Patricia, at the awards.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis addressing the Bahamas Press Awards.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, November 21, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

RISE in fight for tougher sentences from page one was unacceptable given the maximum sentence was life imprisonment.

Last week it was revealed that former police officer Edmund “EJ” Lewis Jr was found guilty on one count of child pornography and will be required to attend the Department of Social Services, specifically the Domestic Violence Unit, and perform 50 hours of community service.

The Office of the Attorney General has filed an appeal against the ruling by then-Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes, now a Supreme Court judge, on the grounds that the sentence is “unduly lenient”.

The advocacy group is calling for: the establishment of a Minor’s Advocate Office; expansion of the parametres of a minor’s advocate to include private or public social workers instead of only people with a legal background; separate sexual offences court and family courts; revision under advisement, then full implementation of Marco’s Alert; as well as consultation with relevant advocacy groups around the establishment and regulations surrounding a convicted sex offender registry before full implementation.

The petition read: “We the people say that judgment is unacceptable when the maximum sentence possible under Bahamian law is life imprisonment. The

appeal should be upheld and a much more appropriate sentence given as this is not simply a slap on the wrist, but an open invitation to those that seek to prey upon children.”

It continued: “We will not wait for another Bahamian child/minor to be abused, misused or killed before we make noise on their behalf.”

Lewis Jr, a former constable, previously stood trial concerning allegations he produced child pornography videos between July 2014 and January 21, 2015.

He was first arraigned on January 23, 2015 and denied bail. He was dismissed from the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) shortly after charges were filed against him.

He elected to be tried in the Magistrate’s Court and was granted $5,000 bail days after being re-arraigned due to an “inadvertent error” at his first court appearance, when he should have been given the option to be tried in either the Magistrate’s Court or Supreme Court and enter a plea to the charges.

In February of 2016, the court heard how Lewis Jr admitted, in his record of interview with police, to filming his sexual encounters with a teenage girl he met in September 2014.

However, Lewis Jr said he thought the girl was older than 17 and she consented to being filmed.

There were 149 signa tures on the petition up to EDMUND “EJ” Lewis, who was found guilty of child pornography. press time.

‘CHALLENGE IMMIGRATION MOVES IN COURT, NOT THE PAPERS’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

IF FRED Smith, QC, believes the government of The Bahamas is violating the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code by detaining illegal migrants at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, then he should contest his issues in court, Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday.

Last week, Mr Smith, who is president of Rights Bahamas (RB), took issue that immigration officials were conducting sweeps across the country and those arrested were taken

to the detention centre instead of being charged in court.

The sweeps were the result of the Department of Immigration’s search for people believed to have been on a large, empty sloop discovered on the shoreline of Adelaide Beach a week ago.

As a result, more than 200 people were apprehended by officials last week. However, it is understood that none of them was from the sloop.

When The Tribune contacted him yesterday, Mr Bethel said: “I am not going to litigate this matter in the papers. The Bahamas government is acting

completely within its powers. If someone has an issue, they need to contest it in the court.”

Mr Smith last week called on Minister of Immigration Brent Symonette and Immigration Director William Pratt to present all the recently detained people to the courts.

He added that for those detained last week he planned to apply for a habeas corpus or a writ requiring a person under arrest be brought before a judge or into court to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

“That’s what the law requires,” Mr Smith told

The Tribune. “The Constitution says that a person must be taken before a court and/or given bail within a reasonable time and the Criminal Procedure Code says that it must be done within 48 hours or else these people have to be released.

“If these people are not taken before a court and charged in accordance with the law, then Rights Bahamas will be requiring the director to give the names of every person arrested so that we could issue a habeas corpus for them.

“It is illegal to simply hold people without taking them before a court and without giving them bail.”

He continued: “The [Department of] Immigration is not judge, jury and commissioner. So either charge them or release them. Because otherwise all they are doing is acting illegally.

“It is only the court, either the Magistrates or the Supreme Court, that have the power to control who is in custody. Not immigration. So by leaving it in the hands of the ‘Carmichael concentration camp’ [Carmichael Road Detention Centre] despite the prime minister railing against corruption he is actually creating an environment for corruption at the concentration

camp. I am very careful in calling it a concentration camp because I have said before the detention centre does not exist under any law.

“Parliament has not provided for its existence so this is just like Argentina and Chile where the government just picks people up and they disappear without any account.

“So Rights Bahamas demands that these people be taken before a court if they are suspected of committing an offence and charged, otherwise publish their names so we could apply for habeas corpus for them,” Mr Smith said.

READERS RESPOND TO MINNIS ON CHANGING HIS MIND

YOUR

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

THERE was a lively response on tribune242.com to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ suggestion that he is not wrong for changing his mind on pay rises for MPs. BahamasForBahamians said: “LOL. This dude must have no intention on being re-elected. Newsflash Hubert: It is OK to keep your word!”

To which Licks2 responded with: “‘HE MUST NOT INTEND TO BE REELECTED’ . . . it is called selfless leadership . . . doing for the people what they need . . . not what you need to get back in office. Ya keep ya word if it is the right thing . . . if your judgement was flawed, based on whatever, backtracking is wise!! The opposite is said to be the definition of insanity.”

Justthefactsplease had this analogy: “Mister PM, if you are driving out east by yourself for absolutely NO reason, then it is okay to turn around at any point you choose. If, however, you have convinced a bus load of people to go out east with you and they have a purpose for getting on the bus, then you turning around when you please is a betrayal.

Those people will likely get

off your bus and find another means to their destination. Five years ain’t too far away.”

Bogart believed the Prime Minister should be given some credit: “As the CEO/ Prime Minister he must be given credit as it must have taken a hellava set of fortitude to come out and say that he changed his mind and likely losing some goodwill stock by this gutsy admission. Prefer any day to have a politician come out and admit than to have to listen to double talk, moral manoeuvering, beating around the bush, plausible deniability and any number of attempts to not do what they said. While you may have spent some goodwill you would have also gained some.”

Readers also responded to the Prime Minister’s criticism of the media.

BahamasForBahamians said: “How ironic? Wasn’t it

the media that played a pivotal role in getting this man elected? Wasn’t it the media they paid in excess of $100k per week with ads to wipe out the previous administration? Didn’t he think the media would hold him to the same standard he did previous administrations? This guy is definitely embattled.

He’s attacking everyone that disagrees with him. Reporters, the media, the Bahamian public . . . I suspect there should be some infighting soon spilling out to the public.”

Tell_it_like_it_is agreed: “Exactly. I really started out supporting Minnis, but he’s starting to make me question that decision. So the media should only print flattering stories of you now? This is the Bahamas, not USA!” Birdiestrachan wondered: “Does Doc know that the press is kinder to him and the FNM than they have ever or will ever be to the PLP?” But Dajohhnycanoe had this to say: “I thought the speech was pretty good . . . every day the media reports negativity.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 21, 2017, PAGE 9

Clothing drive seeks to help teen mums IN celebration of Occupational Therapists Day, the occupational therapists of Doctors Hospital held a clothing drive to assist the teen mothers who participate in the PACE (Providing Access to Continued Education) programme.

Zenobia Neely, the clothing drive’s coordinator, said: “In keeping with this year’s theme, ‘Inform, Inspire, Influence,’ the group chose to assist this underserved group within the Bahamian population. We believe that they would benefit from our donation as well as information about occupational therapy.”

The group donated new and gently used baby items, baby wipes and boxes of diapers donated by Bebin

Diapers who learned about the initiative on social media.

The Doctors Hospital occupational therapists also conducted a presentation about the role occupational therapy can play in supporting mother and baby as well as the various job options available in the rehabilitative care field. Following the presentation, the programme’s principal, Jacqueline Knowles, thanked the group and said: “We are grateful for the donation, as the girls need all of the help they can get. And in addition to clothing items, they really need positive role models to sow into their lives. Today’s talk was really helpful and hopefully inspired them to start thinking about their career options.”

CHRYSTONIA McCoy (left) of Bahamas Wholesale Agencies which donated cases of Bebin diapers in every size to assist the young mothers at PACE; Amy Etor, Doctors Hospital occupational therapist; and Zenobia Neely, Doctors Hospital occupational therapist.

ZENOBIA NEELY, Doctors Hospital occupational therapist; Jacqueline Knowles, principal, PACE programme; and Amy Etor, Doctors Hospital occupational therapist.

UNIVERSITY GALA SMASHES THROUGH FUNDRAISING TARGET IN a powerful statement about the community’s belief in the transformational impact of higher education, the University of The Bahamas President’s Gala Soirée has exceeded the anticipated fundraising target.

The inaugural event was the institution’s first major fundraiser since transitioning to a university. The soirée paired excellence with elegance as sponsors and donors joined the UB community at the Harry C Moore Library and Information Centre. The occasion also commemorated the first anniversary of UB, which was chartered on November 10, 2016.

UB President Dr Rodney Smith, who also observed the first anniversary of his inauguration as UB president, thanked the many corporate sponsors, donors, friends, alumni and UB

constituents who helped to make the fundraiser overwhelmingly successful.

“We have exceeded the goal of $500,000 in cash and pledges for the endowed scholarship fund to support first-generation university students,” he said in a press release.

“These funds will benefit and change the lives of thousands of students, and by extension, families and entire communities.

This is the beginning of the next phase in the growth and development of the Bahamian people, through access to education.”

Major sponsors for the gala included Aliv, Sharon Wilson & Co, IL Cares, Doctors Hospital, Ernst & Young, Credit Suisse and New Providence Development Company Ltd. While celebrating the success of the soirée, Mr

Smith nonetheless invited private and corporate donors to continue supporting UB. “The university still needs the generous support of all corporate donors.

Our goal is to raise this endowed fund to well over $5m. We cannot do this without the annual contributions of alumni, sponsors, donors and the many friends of the university. Please continue to give to the university and give as generously as you can.

One donation will change a life and a community,” Dr Smith pointed out.

Student Government Association (SGA) President Stuart Hanna was also pleased that corporate and private donors are supporting student scholarships.

“As a result of a successful soirée, capable young Bahamians will be given

an opportunity to obtain tertiary education at University of The Bahamas.

These kinds of fundraising events bring immeasurable value to the advancement of the university, its students and the Bahamian society at large and show that the university is moving in the right direction,” said Mr Hanna.

Vice President of

Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs Davinia Blair said that the level of partnership and support from corporate Bahamas for the soirée was encouraging as the institution becomes a stronger university.

“The overwhelming demonstration of support by faculty, staff, alumni, corporate partners and friends

at the gala truly touched the hearts of many, in particular our students, who will benefit from the endowment. I am grateful for the stellar partnership with Fusion IMC and Events by Alexandra to accomplish this feat. Also, I am thankful to all of our donors and am confident of a promising path ahead for our nation,” Ms Blair said.

US ENDING TEMPORARY PERMITS FOR ALMOST 60,000 HAITIANS WASHINGTON Associated Press THE Trump administration said Monday it is ending a temporary residency permit program that has allowed almost 60,000 citizens from Haiti to live and work in the United States since a 2010 powerful earthquake shook the Caribbean nation.

The Homeland Security Department said conditions in Haiti have improved significantly, so the benefit will be extended one last time — until July 2019 — to give Haitians time to prepare to return home.

“Since the 2010 earthquake, the number of displaced people in Haiti has decreased by 97 percent,” the department said in a press release. “Haiti is able to safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens.”

Advocates and members of Congress from both parties had asked the Trump administration for an 18-month extension of the program, known as Temporary Protected Status.

Haitian President Jovenel Moise’s government also requested the extension.

Rony Ponthieux, a 49-year-old Haitian nurse with temporary residency who has lived in Miami since 1999, told The Associated Press, “This isn’t over, this is time we get to fight for renewal, not to pack

our bags.” She has a daughter and a son born in the United States and another son in Port-au-Prince.

“We need to push Washington to provide a legal status for us with TPS,” Ponthieux said. “This is anti-immigrant policy.”

Advocates for Haitians quickly criticized the decision, arguing the conditions in the island nation haven’t improved nearly enough for Haitians to be deported.

Florida Rep Mario DiazBalart, a Republican, expressed “strong opposition” to the measure and urged the administration to reconsider.

“Forcing them to leave the United States would be detrimental,” he said in a press release. “Almost eight years later, Haiti remains in total disarray and still requires much rebuilding.”

Amanda Baran, policy consultant at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, called the termination of the status a “heartless decision” and said the Trump administration has no plan in place for the US-born children who may now lose their Haitian parents and caregivers to deportation.

While Haiti has made advances spurred by international aid since the quake, the Caribbean nation remains one of the poorest in the world. More than 2.5 million people, roughly a quarter of the population, live on less than $1.23 a day,

which authorities there consider extreme poverty.

The United Nations last month ended a peacekeeping mission in Haiti that, at its peak, included more than 10,000 troops. Its new mission is comprised of about 1,300 international civilian police officers and 350 civilians who will help the country try to reform a deeply troubled justice system.

The Homeland Security Department made its announcement 60 days before temporary status for the Haitians is set to expire. In May, the agency extended the program for only six months instead of the customary 18, and urged Haitians under the program to get their affairs in order and prepare to go home.

The temporary status covers some 435,000 people from nine countries ravaged by natural disasters or war, who came to the U.S. legally or otherwise. Days after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti in January 2010, President Barack Obama granted the 18-month protection status for Haitians in America who would otherwise have to go home. Obama renewed it every time it ran out.

Monday’s decision doesn’t affect thousands of Haitians who were taken in

by Brazil and other South American countries after the earthquake and began making their way to the United States last year.

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PAGE 10, Tuesday, November 21, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

NEW ASSAULT CLAIM ON AL FRANKEN

ST PAUL, Minn (AP) — A woman says Al Franken pulled her in tightly and put his hand on her buttocks in 2010 while posing for a picture at the Minnesota State Fair, the second allegation of improper conduct against the Democrat and first involving his time as a senator.

Lindsay Menz told CNN last week for a report broadcast Monday that the interaction with the Minnesota senator made her feel “gross.” She said she immediately told her husband that Franken had “grabbed” her bottom and that she posted about it on Facebook.

Menz’s story comes days after a Los Angeles broadcaster, Leeann Tweeden, accused Franken of forcibly kissing her during a 2006 USO tour. Franken already faced a Senate ethics investigation over Tweeden’s allegation, but the Menz allegation is potentially more damaging for Franken because it would be behavior that occurred while he was in office.

Franken, a Democrat, told CNN he didn’t remember taking the photo with Menz, but said in a statement to the network that he feels badly that she felt disrespected.

“I take thousands of photos at the state fair surrounded by hundreds of people, and I certainly don’t remember taking this picture,” Franken told CNN. “I feel badly that Ms Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected.”

CHARLIE ROSE ACCUSED OF SEX ADVANCES NEW YORK (AP) — PBS says it is immediately halting distribution of Charlie Rose’s interview program and CBS News suspended him following The Washington Post’s report of eight women who accused the veteran newsman of multiple unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate behavior.

The women, three of whom spoke on the record in the deeply-reported story, accused Rose of groping them, walking naked in front of them and relating an erotic dream.

Rose told the Post that he was “deeply embarrassed” and apologised for his behavior.

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe delivers his speech during a live broadcast at State House in Harare, on Sunday.

Mugabe refuses to quit HARARE, ZIMBABWE Associated Press

ZIMBABWEANS mobilised Monday for a major push to oust President Robert Mugabe, an increasingly isolated figure who faces impeachment proceedings and more street demonstrations even as he ignores calls to resign.

While there is a widespread consensus that the 93-year-old president should step down after nearly four decades in power, Mugabe has refused. The country has known no other leader since independence from white minority rule in 1980.

The conflicted role of the military, widely hailed as a savior after effectively stripping Mugabe of his authority last week, is under scrutiny after its generals flanked him during a televised address Sunday night in which he asserted that he remained the “commander in chief” and referred to “our wellcherished constitutional order”.

The generals have been involved in talks with him on a way out of the leadership crisis. While they

acted outside his authority by sending tanks into the streets, they also projected deference in sitting by at the official residence, State House, as Mugabe told the nation he was still in charge.

Although Mugabe’s powers as a wily, ruthless tactician have faded with age, his remarks seemed to reflect a keen understanding of the quandary of those trying to pry him from office: It would be easy enough at this stage to eject him, but perceptions that he is being illegally toppled, or is the target of a military coup, would undermine the credibility of any successor and muddy the international relationships of a new government.

Zimbabwe’s association of war veterans, which is close to the military, said the generals are in an awkward position because their formal role requires them to protect Mugabe from civilian protesters such as those who poured into Harare’s streets on the weekend. It is time for the military to step back and let the parliament and, if necessary, demonstrators

remove the longtime leader, said Chris Mutsvangwa, head of the association.

“We cannot continue to have the generals seen as arbiters of the political destiny of Zimbabwe. It is not their purpose,” Mutsvangwa said.

Later Monday, the military said in a statement that it held further meetings with Mugabe since his speech in which he ignored calls to resign. The statement said Mugabe is working toward “a definitive solution and roadmap for the country”.

In a news conference on state-run television, the military said it was encouraged by new developments that include “contact” between Mugabe and ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has close ties to the military and is poised to succeed him. The military said Mnangagwa will return to Zimbabwe “shortly”.

Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party expressed confidence that it could impeach Mugabe this week if it secures the support of opposition

lawmakers in reaching a two-thirds majority in parliament. On Sunday, the party’s Central Committee stripped him of his ZANU-PF leadership post in a decision to be ratified at a party congress on Dec 12-17.

The plan is to move a motion for impeachment on Tuesday, set up a parliamentary committee to investigate the matter, and then refer it to all lawmakers for a vote by Wednesday, said Paul Mangwana, the party’s deputy secretary for legal affairs.

The main charge against Mugabe is “allowing his wife to usurp government powers” and that “he is too old and cannot even walk without help,” Mangwana told reporters.

However, some analysts believe the impeachment process could take weeks and would, if conducted properly, allow Mugabe to make a case in his defense.

Zimbabwe’s polarising first lady, Grace Mugabe, had been positioning herself to succeed her husband, leading a party

US LOOSENED LIMITS ON LION TROPHIES A MONTH AGO WASHINGTON Associated Press ONE month before the Trump administration sparked outrage by reversing a ban on trophies from threatened African elephants, federal officials quietly loosened restrictions on the importation of heads and hides of lions shot for sport.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service began issuing permits Oct. 20 for lions killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia between 2016 and 2018.

The agency is also currently studying whether to add three additional countries to the list — Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania.

Previously, only wild lions killed

in South Africa were eligible to be imported.

In a pair of recent tweets, President Donald Trump said he will delay the new policy on allowing elephant trophies, but he made no mention of lions. Trump, whose adult sons are avid big-game hunters, also expressed skepticism about his own administration’s claim that killing threatened animals could help save them by helping raise money for conservation programs.

“Big-game trophy decision will be announced next week but will be very hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps conservation of Elephants or any other animal,” the president tweeted on Sunday.

Trump weighed in after a strong public backlash against reversing an Obama-era ban on elephant trophies, which became public through a written notification posted in the Federal Register.

Officials said there was no such legal requirement for notifying the public about the policy change on lions.

In late 2015, the Obama administration added two subspecies of African lion to the list of animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Due to poaching and habitat loss, the number of lions living in the wild is in sharp decline — from an estimated 200,000 a century ago to less than 20,000 today.

GN1977

The additional protections were added a few months after Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer sparked international outcry by killing Cecil, a beloved 13-year-old lion who lived in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. Palmer paid $54,000 to bow-hunt Cecil on private land just outside the park.

A photo of Donald Trump Jr holding a knife and the bloody severed tail of an elephant he reportedly killed in Zimbabwe in 2011 has also drawn ire from animal rights activists.

Wayne Pacelle, the president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, said he is encouraged that the president is taking a second look at the issue.

NORTH KOREA DECLARED A SPONSOR OF TERRORISM WASHINGTON Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced yesterday that the US is putting North Korea’s “murderous regime” on America’s terrorism blacklist, despite questions about Pyongyang’s support for international attacks beyond the assassination of its leader’s half brother in February.

Trump said the designation as a state sponsor of terror was long overdue, and he promised a new wave of sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure campaign” over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons that could soon pose a direct threat to the US mainland.

North Korea will join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the blacklist. The North had been designated for two decades until 2008 when it was removed in a bid to salvage international talks aimed at halting its nuclear efforts. The talks collapsed soon after and haven’t been revived since.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the designation was a “very symbolic move” with limited practical effects although it could close a “few loopholes” in a tough sanctions regime that was starting to bite in Pyongyang. He said anecdotal evidence and intelligence suggests the North is suffering fuel

shortages, with queues at gas stations, and its revenues are down.

Still, Tillerson also acknowledged a two-month pause in the North’s rapid tempo of nuclear and missile tests and said there was still hope for diplomacy.

With tougher sanctions in the offing, he warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ‘This is only going to get worse until you’re ready to come and talk.”

The designation is likely to exacerbate sour relations between Washington and Pyongyang that have turned uglier with namecalling between Trump and Kim. There was strong bipartisan support for the move in Congress, which had passed legislation in August requiring the State Department to make a determination on the issue.

“In addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, including assassinations on foreign soil,” Trump said as he announced the designation at a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

The action had been debated for months inside the administration, with some officials at the State Department arguing that North Korea did not meet the legal standard to be relisted as a state sponsor of terrorism.

THE TRIBUNE

STAFF STILL NOT BACK AT POST OFFICE

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE assurances from the government that “everything will be done” to remedy the many issues plaguing the East Hill Street building, employees at the “mould and rat infested” General Post Office have still not returned to work, more than one week after they began their protest.

In an interview with The Tribune, Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) President Kingsley Ferguson admitted that the sit out has caused “a back-up” in mail but said the workers cannot continue to put their health at risk.

Mr Ferguson said mail has piled up as far back as April and at this point, until the issues are solved, no one will receive or deliver mail from that location.

Last week, Transport and Local Government Minister Frankie Campbell told parliamentarians 17 islands will not receive their mail due to the workers’ strike.

However, he urged members of the public not to “judge” the post office workers despite their “calculated mission.”

Dozens of employees demonstrated in front of Parliament last Wednesday, after days of protesting on East Hill Street, demanding the government either make the building habitable or move them immediately.

Mr Ferguson said the workers will not return to work despite a promise from the government that a resolution to the crisis is on the way.

Rat infestation, heat from a broken air-conditioner and alleged rashes from handling mail are just a few of the problems the workers are protesting.

“The workers are still out and will continue to be out until the mould and air-conditioning stuff gets sorted out. They are not returning to work because we cannot put people in harm’s way,” Mr Ferguson said.

“We are not striking, we

POST office workers protesting about conditions. are just removing ourselves “We are advised that a out of this hazardous situa- part we were seeking for tion. The persons are here months is about a week and on site, they are just not away. It has been shipped, going into the building until it’s in Florida and we are the situation is sorted out. advised once it’s here, Last week we spoke with installation should take the minister and he said the three to five days and air-conditioning will be fixed that will resolve the airby next week and all of the condition and ventilation concerns about the mould problems,” Mr Campbell and the rats will be sorted said last week. out in the coming weeks. So “The rodents, since I that means we will return in became the minister, I have the coming weeks. The mail sent the Environmental is piling up so no one is get- [Health] Department there ting anything at this time. and we will send them back.

“Persons came to get That is a continuous probstuff and to drop off stuff, lem that is caused by our but nothing is being taken bad habits but they will go and the mail is backed up back and resolve that issue. from April. So, there is Also there is a question of an accumulation of mail poor lighting in the general that has not been sorted, mail sorting area, so we will but what can we do when seek to remediate those people are getting sick? pressing issues to make When the issues are fixed the place tolerable until we will return.” such time as a permanent Earlier this year, then- location is identified and BPSU President John addressed... In the meanPinder threatened industrial time, we will address the action if the government urgent matters, we want did not immediately relo- them to know that help is cate employees from the on the way.” “unsanitary” building. At the time, he said his members were forced to work in a mould infested building with rats, termites and a leaking ceiling.

Since then, Mr Ferguson said things have become progressively worse and despite employees only working half days, many of them have reportedly developed respiratory issues because of the toxic environment.

In an interview outside Cabinet last Tuesday, Mr Campbell told reporters the government is aware of the situation and his ministry is “redoubling our efforts to ensure that Christmas cards are delivered on time.”

Tuesday, November 21, 2017, PAGE 11

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THE TRIBUNE

‘The Bahamas’ own street philosopher’