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VOLUME:118 No.01, NOVEMBER 23RD, 2020
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‘IF A LEADER HAS VISION, PEOPLE WILL FOLLOW’ - SEE PAGE NINE PAGES NUMBERS DOWN - BUT WE MUST STAY ALERT
TURNQUEST - WILL HE RIDE THIS OUT? •Opposition screams for DPM’s resignation as Minnis and party maintain silence • US case revealed sacked employee made unproven tax fraud claims By NEIL HARTNELL and TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT PRESSURE was mounting last night on Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest amid demands for his resignation over allegations he had told a court he was “praying to God” would never emerge in The Bahamas. Finance Minister Mr Turnquest, pictured, voiced fears in videotaped evidence given four months after the FNM’s 2017 general election that the “sordid detail” surrounding allegations made by a former employee of Fred Kaiser - the man alleging Mr Turnquest “conspired” to defraud him of nearly
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net AMID a decline of positive COVID-19 cases in the country, a local infectious disease expert said it appears The Bahamas has flattened the curve in the second COVID-19 wave, but warned residents must still not let their guards down as “things can still change”. Dr Nikkiah Forbes, director of the National HIV/ AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, told The Tribune yesterday that even though the country is seeing a downward trend of confirmed cases, Bahamians must still follow all the health protocols in place until the COVID-19 threat has been defeated. SEE PAGE FOUR
DR TIMOTHY McCARTNEY DIES FROM COVID VIRUS
$27m via sham loans could be exploited by political opponents to damage both himself and the government. Yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis called for Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to address the matter - and on Friday he said Mr Turnquest should resign. He said if he did not, the Prime Minister should demand it. Details from a 2016 court case have now emerged in which a former employee of Mr Kaiser claims Mr Turnquest played a central role in both her firing and a purported scheme that violated US tax law.
By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, PM?
SEE PAGES TWO & THREE
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis jogging on the beach.
COUPLE FOUND SHOT DEAD IN CAR By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE mother of a woman killed in a double homicide on Saturday has recalled the horrific moment when she discovered her dead daughter as “cold as ice” inside of a parked car on Ida Street. Agatha Greene, told The Tribune yesterday she was the first one to find her daughter, 38-year-old Doreen Mortimer and
DOREEN MORTIMER her boyfriend Vicardo Rolle early that morning. The couple, who had
been in a relationship for more than ten years, are the country’s latest murder victims. Police press liaison officer ASP Audley Peters told reporters at the scene that police found the victims in the car on Ida Street after receiving reports shortly after 6am. Emergency Medical Services were called, but pronounced the man and woman dead. SEE PAGE FOUR
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
THE psychiatric community is mourning the loss of Dr Timothy McCartney, who died yesterday in Florida from COVID-19. He was 87 years old. Dr McCartney, Ph.D, was a clinical psychologist who worked at the Ministry of Health, mostly Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, from 1967 to 1993 before relocating to the United States. He and his wife, Pauline were diagnosed with COVID-19 this past week. In a statement last night, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said Dr McCartney was an exuberant, generous, kind-hearted man who excelled as a teacher and as a counsellor. SEE PAGE FIVE
INSIGHT ASYLUM? TRY 531 DAYS IN CUSTODY INSTEAD SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Monday, November 23, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
Turnquest - will he ride this out? By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE deputy prime minister was “praying to God” that allegations connecting him to unproven claims of tax fraud and a worker’s wrongful dismissal would never emerge in The Bahamas. K Peter Turnquest, in videotaped evidence given four months after the FNM’s 2017 general election victory, voiced fears that the “sordid detail” surrounding allegations made by a former employee of Fred Kaiser – the man now alleging the deputy prime minister “conspired” to defraud him of nearly $27m via sham loans – could be exploited by political opponents to damage both himself and the Government. Those fears have now been realised, with details from a 2016 court case initiated by Yvette Bailey, a former senior international buyer for Mr Kaiser’s Alpha Technologies and affiliated companies, claiming that Mr Turnquest played a central role in both her firing and a purported scheme that violated US tax law. Some documents circulated widely on social media at the weekend. Mr Turnquest, when contacted by The Tribune yesterday, declined to comment further on the allegations made by Mrs Bailey. “That case has been settled by a court of law. I have nothing more to say in respect of it,” he said in a message to this newspaper. The deputy prime minister is correct in his assertion given that the federal district court in western Washington state, and the US ninth circuit court of appeals, have both dismissed Mrs Bailey’s claim that she was “wrongfully terminated” by Mr Kaiser and his business partner, Grace Borsari, after “she reported to them that they
were committing tax fraud” in breach of US law. Both courts, finding that Mrs Bailey had admitted she had no experience in tax matters, said she had failed to provide sufficient evidence that Alpha Technologies and its affiliates had violated US federal tax laws. And, because she had only reported her concerns to Mr Kaiser and Ms Borsari, rather than going public, she could not invoke the “whistleblower” defence to her dismissal. However, both courts largely focused on the employment aspects of Mrs Bailey’s claim rather than the alleged tax fraud. Multiple court documents obtained by The Tribune allege that Mr Turnquest and the Bahamas-based Alpha Technologies affiliates, which he managed and ran on Mr Kaiser’s behalf, played a key role in this scheme as well as helping to engineer her dismissal. In particular, Mrs Bailey claimed that Mr Kaiser and Mrs Borsari terminated her employment after receiving an August 21, 2015, e-mail from Mr Turnquest alleging that she and her husband had publicly bad-mouthed both the deputy prime minister and her employer while visiting Freeport just days before. The e-mail, which was included in the court files, also claimed that Mrs Bailey and her husband had been asking where they could purchase drugs on Grand Bahama – a claim the former Alpha Technologies employee vehemently denied. “I have had to count to ten many times before writing this and consider if it’s worth the aggravation, but in the end I must,” Mr Turnquest wrote. “I regret to advise that Yvette and her low-life husband have placed me in the unfortunate and embarrassing position of having to defend our good names, business and character in Freeport.
DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. “It is most unfair that they have come to my home and, in one night, created more personal suspicion and risk to me and you than I have ever experienced; to the extent that even after mentioning our names as being connected to them inquired about where to secure drugs.” Mr Turnquest, who was then in opposition as east Grand Bahama’s MP, told Mr Kaiser: “My information is that these two country hicks sat at the hotel bar last night getting drunk and making the most outlandish claims and accusations against me and what I do, you and our operation here... “Fred, I don’t bother much, but these two were completely out of order based upon the level of credible details that were relayed to me... I am very protective of my name, the one thing my father was able to leave us and I am
disappointed and resent that these two think that they could just say these very inflammatory things and make the serious accusations they did. It’s more than an insult to me and my family.” Mrs Bailey, denying the assertions in Mr Turnquest’s e-mail, alleged they were part of a set-up to provide justification for her dismissal after she reported her “tax fraud” concerns to Mr Kaiser and Ms Borsari. The e-mail, and how he came to learn of what Mrs Bailey and her husband had said, were the focus of the September 25, 2017, video-taped deposition the deputy prime minister gave in Miami. The deposition, the transcript of which has been obtained by The Tribune, revealed that Mr Turnquest was anxious that details about the case not leak out in The Bahamas. Responding to cross-examination by Mrs Bailey’s attorneys, the deputy prime minister said: “We had feared that this whole sordid detail would get out to the public and be used for a political purpose. “It has not made the local news yet. I’m hoping and praying to God that it doesn’t... Let’s keep it that way. Don’t need that.” Mr Turnquest said he had also made clear he was not interested in testifying at a trial due to his position as deputy prime minister, adding that he had discussed the matter “with the attorney general
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff back home,” meaning Carl Bethel, QC. The Tribune was unable to obtain an answer from the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday as to whether the Government had been aware of the nature of Mrs Bailey’s case, and the allegations involving Mr Turnquest who – as in the instance of Mr Kaiser’s legal action – was not named as a defendant by the former Alpha Technologies employee or accused of wrongdoing. In his deposition, though, Mr Turnquest – who confirmed that he still held a majority 70 percent equity stake in Sky Bahamas some four months after the general election – admitted he had heard the claims about what Mrs Bailey said fourth-hand. He revealed that he was informed of the matter by Captain Randy Butler, Sky Bahamas chief executive and former business partner of both himself and Mr Kaiser. Mr Butler and his companies have been named as defendants in Mr Kaiser’s “bogus loans” writ while Mr Turnquest, despite being central to the allegations, has not. Mr Turnquest, in turn, said Captain Butler had been informed of the Baileys’ comments by Rex Rolle, head of rival airline, Western Air. Mr Rolle’s informant was his nephew, Harvey Woodside, who worked in the bar/restaurant at the Pelican Bay
resort where the Baileys had dinner. Somewhat ironically, given the nature of Mr Kaiser’s allegations, Mr Turnquest twice stated in his deposition that he was informed Mrs Bailey had said she came to The Bahamas to investigate how Sky Bahamas had been using the Alpha Technologies chief’s money. “She asked about – she said that she was there to investigate me because Fred had given me a lot of money to support Sky Bahamas, and she was there –- she felt that there was some misappropriation and she was there to protect Fred’s interest and she was doing an investigation on me. That’s the gist of it,” Mr Turnquest said, making his anger plain. Mr Kaiser founded Alpha Technologies, which makes power products for the cable TV, communications and renewable energy industries, in 1975. The business expanded to offices in eight countries, with more than 2,000 employees worldwide and $500m in annual sales, according to media reports, before the business was sold to EnerSys, a global energy company, for $750m in 2018. Mrs Bailey’s “tax fraud” claims centred on the practice of transfer pricing, which involves the sale of products or services CONTINUED OPPOSITE
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 23, 2020, PAGE 3
PLP INCREASE CALLS FOR DEPUTY PM’S RESIGNATION By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net PRESSURE mounted from PLPs yesterday who demanded answers from government and the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest over damaging fraud allegations. Yesterday, just after documents of a second case of allegations against Mr Turnquest emerged, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis, issued another statement calling for Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, to address the matter. On Friday, Mr Davis said Mr Turnquest should resign. If he did not, he said the Prime Minister should demand it. Although not named as a defendant in a case alleging a $27m fraud, Mr Turnquest was accused of issuing “fraudulent loans” between companies on which he served as a director. Since the allegations emerged there has been no
comment from the Office of the Prime Minister or Free National Movement chairman, Carl Culmer. “We have been waiting for some word from the Prime Minister on what his view is on the allegations of impropriety against his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance made by the law firm of Michael Scott, Chairman of the Hotel Corporation,” said Mr Davis in a statement released yesterday. “The accusations of a conspiracy to defraud a foreign investor of $20m have been in the public domain since 19 November 2020. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Free National Movement Chairman has had a word to say in the deputy prime minister’s defence.” “It is time to hear from the Prime Minister from the comfort of his beach holiday in San Salvador,” Mr Davis continued, as he took a swipe at the Prime Minister heading to San Salvador for the weekend. “Silence suggests that the Deputy Prime Minister does not have the Prime
Minister’s support. We demand answers.” Weighing in on the situation faced by Mr Turnquest, former PLP Cabinet Minister, George Smith, said the thing for him to do is just resign his position and hope that the courts will exonerate him. “In the Westminster System when public figures, particularly those in charge, the political directors of a country, when charges occur what the politician ought to do is to tender his resignation and if the whole thing turns out that he is vindicated then he lives to fight in the political arena another day,” Mr Smith said. “The matter is technically before this court. It is before the court in another jurisdiction, there is the public murmur and this individual has, probably in terms Ministerial responsibility, the most demanding job of anybody in the Cabinet, short of the authority of the Prime Minister to appoint and to dis-appoint Cabinet ministers.” In terms of DPM Turnquest’s responsibility as a Cabinet minister, Mr
Smith said there are few Cabinet posts that rival that of the Minister of Finance, particularly the way Cabinet portfolios are structured in The Bahamas. “So the honourable course is clear and I think that most people would hope that, if what he claims to be the case is true, then he must have faith in the system and faith in the system suggests that if the case is unfounded, then the faith will lead to vindication,” Mr Smith said. Former State Legal Affairs Minister Damien Gomez QC, also called on the DPM to resign as he felt the accusations of fraud have implications for The Bahamas. “Mr Turnquest may well be innocent of the public allegations of financial misconduct and criminal acts contained in a published writ of summons filed by the firm of Mr Michael Scott, QC. While the deputy prime minister professes his innocence as he is so entitled, the public interest looms much larger than his personal issues,”
from previous page between two companies that are part of the same corporate group. This practice has come under increasing scrutiny from global tax authorities, given that large corporate groups and multinationals can use it to engage in artificial or contrived transactions where prices can be manipulated to shift tax liabilities to lower tax jurisdictions such as The Bahamas. Mrs Bailey alleged that Alpha’s Bahamian subsidiaries, which were run by Mr Turnquest since he and Mr Kaiser first formed their business partnership in 1997, were involved in “reinvoicing” purchases of electrical products and components made by Chinese manufacturers for Alpha and its subsidiaries in a bid to lower the Washington-based company’s US tax liabilities. Focusing on Alpha’s Bahamian subsidiary, Telecomponent & Supply (TCS), Mrs Bailey claimed: “It appears that defendants (Mr Kaiser, Ms Borsari and their companies) may have created an elaborate artifice to shelter their profits from US income tax. For instance, it appears purchase orders were ‘issued by’ a Bahamian company to a Hong Kong purchasing agent. “Each of these entities appears to have been under the common control or affiliated with the defendants. This purchasing agent in turn obtained parts from Chinese manufacturers. The purchase orders purportedly issued by these Bahamian and Hong Kong companies were in fact issued by US staff in Bellingham, to the benefit of the foreign affiliates, and ultimately to the detriment of the US employer, in a purposeful effort to artificially reduce US tax burdens. “Moreover, it appears
DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. that the final invoice issued by the defendants’ Bahamian accountants included artificial mark-ups for each international step (with each purported transaction) occurring in a low or zero tax jurisdiction.” Mrs Bailey claimed that such “sham transactions” resulted “in the US corporation realising artificially low profits, due to massive and unnecessary fees being purposefully directed to various tax havens by the US enterprise”. She alleged she had been told by Mr Kaiser that TCS’ gross profit margins on components sold to Alpha Technologies and its affiliates should not exceed 20-25 percent, which she interpreted as an instruction designed to ensure the group was not charged “with some form of tax fraud”. However, in February 2015, Mrs Bailey alleged that profit margins on invoices coming from TCS
27 CUSTOMERS CITED FOR BREACH A GROUP of people were cited over the weekend for breaching Emergency Orders. According to police, shortly after 5pm on Saturday officers from the operations unit were alerted to a group gathered at an eatery at Second Street, the Grove. Upon the officers’ arrival, people were observed inside the establishment not adhering to COVID-19 protocols. As a result, police cited the manager for hosting a social gathering and 27 patrons were also cited for attending and failing to practice social distancing. This comes after several people were cited for gathering at a club in the Palmdale area last Tuesday night. Police said they were alerted to the gathering shortly after 6pm. “An inspection of the
premises was conducted, it was discovered that the patrons and proprietor were in violation of the COVID-19 Emergency Order,” officials said in a statement last week. “As a result, the proprietor and the manager of the establishment were cited for hosting a social gathering and failing to practice social distancing. A number of patrons were also cited for attending a social gathering and failing to practice social distancing.” Several videos of the event circulated on social media showing scores of people leaving the local establishment closely huddled together as officers surrounded the building. While most of those attending appeared to be wearing masks, there were some who were without them. Social distancing was also not observed in the video.
in The Bahamas “showed high profit margins of between 50 percent to 75 percent”, which she brought to Mr Kaiser’s attention. After being told not to put anything in writing, Mrs Bailey alleged: “A four-way teleconference was quickly
arranged between plaintiff, Mr. Kaiser, Ms Borsari, and Mr Turnquest. The re-invoicing issues were discussed during which Mr Kaiser admonished Mr Turnquest for essentially not being more careful with the re-invoicing he was
Mr Gomez said. “Surely, the government should at the very least make a public assurance that its relevant agencies have become engaged and that they are each performing their legal duties, including contacting the US Justice Department to ascertain what accounting evidence it or any other government department (such as the IRS) might have to assist our local functionaries in their investigation and making a similar request of the principal of the companies that have made these most serious allegations.” Mr Gomez said this is not a matter that can be compromised, and the public has every right to expect the investigation to be transparent and fair to both the accused and the accusers. He, too, raised concerns about the “deafening silence” of the government on this matter. “The opposition has properly requested a public response from the government. Days have passed in deafening silence,” Mr Gomez performing.” However, a revised price list issued by TCS in July 2015 allegedly included mark-ups as high as 50-60 percent. This led Mr Kaiser telling Mrs Bailey to come to The Bahamas on the fateful trip so that she could meet Mr Turnquest and revise the price list – something she argued was not necessary. The US courts appear to have not delved too deeply into the “tax fraud” claims beyond saying Mrs Bailey had supplied insufficient evidence. However, the emergence of detail surrounding the case is a further headache for Mr Turnquest as he seeks to ride out the political storm created by Mr Kaiser’s claims against himself and the naming of Captain Butler and Sky Bahamas as defendants. The Tribune’s sources yesterday said a Cabinet meeting had been called to discuss the situation yesterday, with the Prime Minister having flown back from San Salvador on Sunday morning. The outcome was not disclosed, amid suggestions that Mr Turnquest will stand his ground especially after his defiant statement on Thursday night refuting all Mr Kaiser’s claims. However, multiple
continued. “In the meantime, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance ought to resign from Cabinet in accordance with the conventions of the Westminster system of government. “Alternatively, the Prime Minister is obliged to dismiss his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the public interest. It is apposite to note the reputation of The Bahamas. We have relations with the FATF, the CFATF, the OECD, the IDB, the CDB, the OAS, ECLAC, the World Bank, the IMF, the EU, Canada and the USA. Our national and international standing is not a political football nor is this matter a game.” Mr Gomez said the country demands no less from its political leadership and those charged with the duty to uphold the rule of law without fear or favour nor regard to the station of those alleged to be guilty of very serious criminal matters impacting the country’s standing in the financial services global environment. observers, speaking privately yesterday and unwilling to comment publicly, said the nature of the allegations by Mr Kaiser – fraud, financial irregularities and accounting improprieties – would make it increasingly difficult for Mr Turnquest to remain as minister of finance given that they directly impact his credibility as the nation’s chief financial officer and tax enforcer. While the deputy prime minister has denied the accusations, and is innocent until proven guilty, the same observers said the matter threatens to be a big distraction that will overshadow the Government’s remaining tenure while giving the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) ample ammunition to use. They also argued that it could impact The Bahamas’ dealings with the international credit ratings, plus the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Inter-American Development Bank, European Union and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). “This will hang around like a black pall over the Government until the next election,” one observer said.
PAGE 4, Monday, November 23, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
AMERICAN ESCAPES UNHURT FROM MAYAGUANA PLANE CRASH LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
AN American man escaped injury after his plane crashed in Mayaguana on Saturday. The single engine aircraft was en route from Jose Aponte de la Torre, Puerto Rico, to Governors
Harbour, Eleuthera when it experienced an engine malfunction while in the Mayaguana area. This led the pilot – the sole person on board – to initiate emergency protocols. “The aircraft came to a rest in an area that is inaccessible, subsequently a request was made to the
United States Coast Guard for assistance. “The Coast Guard responded via the dispatch of OBPAT helicopter and the pilot was rescued, with no reported injuries,” the Air Accident Investigation Authority said in a statement yesterday. AAIA officials said they
are now investigating the crash. The incident comes a month after an American Eagles plane skidded off the runway at Grand Bahama International Airport in late October. At the time, officials said all passengers on board the aircraft were accounted for with two being taken to
the Rand Memorial Hospital by EMS personnel for non-life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, in August, a group from Abaco escaped injuries after their small aircraft crashed into waters off Treasure Cay just after takeoff. Bishop Cedric Bullard, who posted a live
Facebook video about the incident, was travelling to New Providence with his son, Timothy Bullard, one of the pastors from his church, Rev LaTroy Russell and Russell’s daughter, a medical school student. The bishop thanked God they are all alive and uninjured.
Couple found shot dead in car from page one ASP Peters told reporters police believed foul play was involved, adding that preliminary evidence suggests the victims were shot. However, he did not disclose to the press at the time where the victims suffered gunshot injuries. While police did not release the victims’ identities, relatives have identified them as Doreen Mortimer, 38, and Vicardo Rolle. Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Doreen’s mother, Ms Greene said the two had been in a relationship for many years. “They been together for more than ten years,” she said. “The people used to say Cardo is Doreen soulmate. When you see her, you see him. He may be way behind, but she up to the front.” Ms Greene, who also lives on Ida Street, recalled finding the couple dead. She said her discovery came as she was searching for her daughter, who had told her the day before that she was going out and “coming right back”.
THE SCENE of the shooting on Saturday in which a man and a woman were killed. Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff Recalling fond memories have any kids. She goes However, Ms Greene said back and tell my boy and Doreen never did return, I called the police. I touch of her daughter, Ms Greene to work. She worked to prompting a search for her her, I shake her and her described her as a loving, Roads and Parks. She used head was slant to the side. unproblematic person who to work there. She did love whereabouts. her job. She did love every“I found them in the area She was in the front seat. liked to help people. “She was a loving and body,” she said. because I was calling for I shake her and touch her and I feel her pulse and she sweet person. She helped “People did love her. her,” she said. “I shake her and I come was cold as ice.” a lot of people. She didn’t She used to work. She used
NUMBERS DOWN - BUT WE MUST STAY ALERT from page one The country recorded a total 187 cases – pushing the nation’s tally to 7,413 as of Saturday. A week earlier, health officials recorded 259 new cases. Grand Bahama accounted for the majority of last week’s infections at 72 and was followed by New Providence at 55. Last night, another 18 cases were confirmed, with a further ten in New Providence, and three in both Grand Bahama and Exuma. Abaco and Andros each had a single case. No further deaths were reported, and only one person remained in intensive care. Yesterday, Dr Forbes said: “So, it appears as if we have past the crest of the second wave. Cases reported confirm that cases are decreasing, but we have to remember that we haven’t eliminated COVID19 so if you look at the daily count it’s variable.” “But, there are still new cases being recorded in New Providence, Grand Bahama and other islands and so we have to remember, if we’re going to keep cases low. This is very dependent on what we do
in terms of preventing new infections.” She added: “So there’s no cure for COVID-19 at the moment and so when we think of strategies, prevention is a large strategy and we have to learn our lessons in terms of what we can do and need to do as individuals to stop the spread and ongoing transmission of COVID-19 if we want to see an end of this cycle of restrictions.” “We really want to stress the importance of learning our lessons in terms of what we need to do to prevent new cases which I think we should’ve learnt in the first wave and second wave so that we could stop COVID-19.” With new cases still being recorded daily in the country, Dr Forbes said it’s possible the country can experience another surge if people become relaxed in following the preventive measures. “So, we’re still seeing cases per day sometimes in the double digits,” she said. “This is not better than triple digits and we have to be very cognizant of what we do because once there’s transmission, if there’s community transmission, cases will go up if we’re not following preventive
measures, we can see a surge again.” Asked if health officials are expecting to see a spike of new cases during the holidays, she replied: “It all depends on what we do and how well we follow the measures. It doesn’t have to happen. All of this is very dependent on individual and collective.” She urged Bahamians not to attend large social gatherings and undertake unnecessary travel. Her comments comes amid heightened concern over large social events which have been frequently happening in the country despite constant calls for adherence. Just yesterday, police said over 20 people were cited on Saturday for attending a social gathering and being in breach of COVID-19 orders. “When you gather, either at a holiday meal or to have a party, masks are not going to be on the whole time and that is what we know is necessary for COVID transmission that if people are in close contact and gathered together and have no masks on and if there’s a lot of people, say in a party that is going to increase risk of COVID transmission,” Dr Forbes stressed.
TOTAL CASES
to sell her clothes, order her clothes online and sell it to her coworkers and my coworkers. We were like sisters. She’s my only girl. She was the last child. I have two oldest children, two boys. We were very close.” Her daughter’s death has dealt a blow to the family and Ms Greene said the family wants justice. “Yeah, we want justice to be served. We need justice because my girl didn’t deserve that. She was not a problem person at all, just a loving and sweet person.” The couple’s deaths come days after a man was fatally shot and another injured during a shooting on Commonwealth Boulevard off Elizabeth Estates. The victim was said to be in his late 30s. ASP Peters said police were following significant leads into the double homicide and were canvassing the CCTV department. Anyone with information about this incident or any crime news is asked to call police at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477).
TOTAL DEATHS
7,431 163 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES FRIDAY 18 CASES
SUNDAY
NEW PROVIDENCE 10 GRAND BAHAMA 3 EXUMA 3 ANDROS 1 ABACO 1
SATURDAY
18 CASES
28 CASES
GRAND BAHAMA 17 NEW PROVIDENCE 5 ABACO 3 BIMINI & CAT CAY 1 ELEUTHERA 1 BERRY ISLANDS 1
GRAND BAHAMA 10 NEW PROVIDENCE 7 ANDROS 1
TOTAL TESTS
41,946
HOSPITALISED
21
“The sad thing is if persons get COVID who were at the gathering, some of them are going to get very sick. Some might get very sick and so that’s the risk you take when we do things like gather.” “So, I’m saying that we’re optimistic that next year
CASES IN ICU
1
could look better with a vaccine on horizon and so it could be wise to defer a large holiday gathering or a huge family reunion meal this year because it would be really sad if persons got COVID and/or spread COVID and then vulnerable ones catch it.”
RECOVERED
5,652
Last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis gave notice in the House of Assembly of his intention to extend the country’s state of emergency to December 28. The current COVID-19 Emergency Powers Orders ends on November 30.
Death Notice for CORENE GWENETTE MOSS-CLEARE, 41 of Eton Ave., Cable Beach, died at Doctors Hospital on Tuesday, November 17th, 2020. She is survived by her Husband: Marcus Cleare; Sons: Christian and Carsten Cleare; Stepson: Matthais Cleare; Parents: Huedley and Victoria Moss; Brother: Huey Moss; Sister-in-law: Monica Moss; Adopted Sister: Anastasia Stubbs; and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral will be announced at a later date.
Death Notice For
MICHAEL ROBERTS, 52
a resident of Cordeaux Avenue, Coconut Grove, died at his residence on Friday, November 13, 2020. He is survived by his wife: Samantha Roberts; mother: Iva Roberts; father: George Milatos; 2 sons: Michael Roberts Jr. & Jaun AdderleyRoberts; 1 stepson: Aidan Carter; 2 sisters: Myrtle Roberts-Rolle & Christina Roberts; 2 brothers: Dereck & Paul Roberts; numerous nieces & nephews & a host of other relatives & friends.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 23, 2020, PAGE 5
‘When will we be told about probe into seabed damage?’ By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net ENVIRONMENT activities are still awaiting results of an investigation by a government-appointed task force into alleged seabed damage by cruise ships. In September, local environmentalists complained about the country’s seabed being severely damaged by chains and anchors used to dock cruise ships when they arrive at our shores. Shortly after, the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture and Fisheries established that some damage had been caused and announced a fuller investigation would be carried out. “I don’t have any updates on that,” said Eric Carey, executive director of the Bahamas National Trust, yesterday. “They have not sent anything to the Trust. The only thing I know is that a task force was formed and we have had no further updates since then.” ReEarth spokesperson and environment activist Sam Duncombe has also had not heard anything about results of the investigation. “I’m all for the task force if it actually gets something done,” Ms Duncombe said. “They have not shared any information with ReEarth. I don’t know if they shared any information with the (Bahamas) National Trust, because I know the National Trust had spoken out about it. So I think that we need to look at making these cruise ships move into places where they are at least not next to a facility and not dragging up all the coral. “Where are the fines and where are the court cases and all the things we need to be doing? We want to
MARINE biologists, scientists, and professional divers representing The Bahamas National Trust and other local organisations took part in a rapid marine assessment of the seabed in the Northern Berry Islands on September 8. have this illusion of lots of tourists and all of that, but they come with a very heavy price. Cruise ship tourists come with a huge price. They sail away with all the profits and we get left with all of the burden and the damage. It would be fantastic if something does come out of it and these cruise ship companies are fined.” Ms Duncombe recalled a previous matter where a cruise line was accused of dumping waste into Bahamian waters. There was a promise to go after the cruise line, she said, but to
date, nothing has happened. “They told us they were going to go after Carnival for dumping in our waters and that was a year and a half ago and I haven’t seen anything yet,” Ms Duncombe continued. “Coral takes years and years to grow and to impact a reef means you have impacted all the reefs around that reef and when you look at how many cruise ships are basically docked in our waters…” She continued by raising the question of how valuable or invaluable the cruise ship industry might be to The Bahamas.
DR TIMOTHY McCARTNEY DIES FROM COVID VIRUS from page one
“I was saddened to learn of the death of Dr Timothy McCartney, who passed away this morning in Florida,” the Prime Minister said. “Born in 1933, Timothy McCartney was an exuberant, generous, kind-hearted man who excelled as a teacher and as a counsellor. “A deeply spiritual and creative individual, he dedicated his life to the well-being and enrichment of his family, friends, students, clients and colleagues. “On behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas, and on my own behalf, and that of my wife, Patricia, I offer condolences to his wife, Pauline; his daughters: Angela and Lorraine; his siblings Coramae Major, William and Clinton McCartney and Ann Cancino; in-laws; grandchildren and great-grandchildren and numerous friends and colleagues.” Dr McCartney had four children (two deceased), 18 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He was also an Organizational Development Consultant, facilitating seminars, workshops and advising national and multinational companies in the Caribbean and worldwide. The late doctor was a Bahamian pioneer in psychology. He obtained a doctorate in psychology from the University of Strasbourg in France and also studied in the United States, Switzerland, Jamaica and England. Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis described Dr McCartney as a trailblazer and pioneer in the field of mental health. “The Bahamas has lost a giant and pioneer in the field of psychology and behavioural science in the person of Dr Timothy
DR TIMOTHY MCCARTNEY McCartney,” Mr Davis said. “I join many Bahamians in expressing my sadness at his passing earlier today. “A trailblazer in his field locally and the personification of Bahamian exceptionalism internationally, Dr McCartney was the first Bahamian to earn a doctorate degree in psychology. His broad and seminal research and development work include the book ‘Neurosis Under the Sun’, his extensive analyses on Bahamian sexuality and work on the impact of the use of marijuana.” In 1969, Dr McCartney was awarded the Sir Victor Sassoon Golden Heart Award. And, that same year he published his first book, “Neuroses in the Sun”, which explored mental health issues in The Bahamas and Bahamian mores. In 1971, he published, “Bahamian Sexuality” and more recently in 2013 he jointly authored “U-Turn” with his dear friend and colleague, psychiatrist, Dr Michael Neville. “I am just devastated,” Dr Neville said. “He was such a good friend. We are all going to miss him. We
worked for many years together at Sandilands. In my view I don’t think The Bahamas ever realized what a brilliant person they had here. “Even though he got certain awards here, a lot of his awards were more from the international community than here. He won the Golden Heart Award here, but I don’t know that he ever got national honours. A great sense of humour was one of his gifts. That’s what made him such an amazing teacher. The ability to teach with humour.” Dr McCartney was a distinguished Professor of Management and the Paul Hersey Chair in Leadership at the H Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he was awarded in 1998 and 1999, the Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2008, the School awarded him the Professor of the Year Award and he retired professor emeritus. Apart from excelling in the field of psychology and teaching, he was an astute musician – a gifted pianist.
“Who is monitoring all these ships and making sure their chains and anchors are not dragging on the sea bed?” Ms Duncombe asked. From the Ministry of Tourism’s own stats, 75 percent of our tourists are cruise ship passengers and they only account for 11 percent of the tourist dollar spent. “Whereas 25 percent stay in hotels, eat in our restaurants, go shopping, go on tours, do all these activities and they represent 89 percent of the tourist dollar spent here. So which tourist should we be following?
This is actually the perfect time for us to rethink before we restart the cruise industry.” The ReEarth activist reflected further on the cruise industry, bringing up the preparation of the arrival of the “Oasis of the Sea” to The Bahamas. “Remember a couple of years ago we had to go dredge out the harbour for the Oasis of the Sea because it was a bigger ship and we needed bigger ships,” she said. “That ship doesn’t even come here anymore. So we spent millions and millions of dollars
doing that only to have that ship not come here. “Last week, Key West (Florida) actually banned cruise ships with over 1,300 people from coming into their ports. So they have restricted the number of passengers that can be on any ship, the number of passengers that can come into Key West, period. Those are the kinds of things that we need to be looking at doing as well.” The Tribune reached out to the Ministers of Environment and Agriculture and Fisheries, but neither responded.
PAGE 6, Monday, November 23, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
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Turnquest faces a tough test DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest faces a battle to keep that title. He faces allegations in court, and questions in the court of public opinion. Let us be clear about the situation – the lawsuit filed by Fred Kaiser in which it is alleged Mr Turnquest “conspired” to defraud Mr Kaiser of nearly $27m in sham loans does not name Mr Turnquest as a defendant. And the details of a 2016 case that have emerged in which it was claimed Mr Turnquest played a role in a former employee of Mr Kaiser, Yvette Bailey, being fired as well as involvement in a purported scheme that violated US tax law were dismissed by the US ninth circuit court of appeals. This means that there is no allegation that has been made and tested in a court of law that finds Mr Turnquest at fault. This does not, however, mean there are no questions to be asked. For example, Mr Turnquest saying just four months after the FNM election victory that he was “praying to God” that unproven allegations of tax fraud and wrongful dismissal would never emerge in The Bahamas doesn’t speak well of a senior official in a government that campaigned on transparency. His evidence is far from the level tone of such an official, either, calling the complainants “country hicks” and describing the woman’s husband as a “low-life”. Mr Turnquest may not have disclosed the matter to the Bahamian public, but it was apparently known within government – at least by Attorney General Carl Bethel, who Mr Turnquest told Mrs Bailey’s attorneys he had discussed the matter with. In what capacity Mr Bethel acted is unclear – but publishing his advice and the nature of his role is certainly appropriate. He does, after all, work for the nation. Clearly, Mr Turnquest understood the sensitivity of the case, telling Mrs Bailey’s attorneys: “It has not made the local news yet. I’m hoping and praying to God that it doesn’t… Let’s keep it that way. Don’t need that.” That begs the question why hide something when nothing was proven to be wrong? Had Mr Turnquest come out publicly then and said there’s been a court case, it was dismissed and the allegations have no merit, it would have been old news by now. Instead, here we are with candidates lining up to find their election slots and the story becomes a millstone around Mr Turnquest’s neck. He can’t ignore them – lest he forget what the response was to Jerome Fitzgerald as the now former PLP education minister tried to dance his way past allegations on the way to the
voting booth. People know when you’re being straight with them, and they know when you’re not being straight with them. That the PLP are calling for Mr Turnquest’s resignation is neither here nor there – they call for resignations so often that the term has been rendered meaningless, not least because in the past they have ignored such calls for their own MPs. No, the FNM needs to look past the noise from the opposite side of the house and consider the electorate. Mr Turnquest surely must realise that he opposition will hit him with these cases at every opportunity. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. Transparency, that word from the campaign trail that mysteriously goes missing in office, just might.
Another injustice? How many times must we hear about cases in which migrants have to go to court after reports of inhumane treatment. Ousman Bojang is the latest, but we could give you a list of previous cases. In Mr Bojang’s case, detailed in today’s Insight, he fled legally to The Bahamas from Gambia, seeking asylum only to be told that the Immigration Department was too busy over Christmas to help him. No room at the inn, you might say. When he finally did meet an immigration officer, he was taken into custody without explanation and held for 531 days, spending time in both Fox Hill Prison and the Carmichael Road Detention Centre. He was never charged with anything, never convicted, and never even brought before a court of law. The details of his imprisonment are awful, but the fundamental truth is that a man who has never seen a courtroom should never be deprived of his liberty in such fashion and such length. Mr Bojang’s case may see a resolution in the form of a lawsuit – but what about the next migrant to face such a situation, or the one after that? Are there any behind bars right now that should not be? And when these cases are heard, why is nothing done to remedy the injustice? Rather than fight, fight, fight the lawsuit then trudge off defeated when the Attorney General loses again as seems to be the pattern, will the government recognise the need to do more? Or do we just pay the damages and hope the next case goes away? That’s not good enough – and the government should know it.
A viral message about the virus EDITOR, The Tribune. AS cases soar worldwide, here’s a Reminder to ourselves..... I saw this on Facebook today…it’s well written and makes the point. (Please note that I did not write it). “Just in case anyone needs it explained one more time: You wake up with a terrible cough, a fever, and severe body aches. Immediately you rush to the doctor. Unfortunately, you’re diagnosed with COVID-19. For the last two weeks, you’ve been unaware that you were infected. For the last two weeks, you’ve ignored “the rules,” gotten together with some close friends for pizza, had a few people over, even visited some parks and beaches. You figured, “I don’t feel sick,” and “I have the right to
keep living my normal life!” With your diagnosis, you spend the next few days at home on the couch, feeling pretty crappy; but then you’re well again because you’re young, healthy and strong. Lucky you. But your best friend caught it from you during a visit to your house, and because she didn’t know she was contagious, she visited her 82-year-old grandfather, who uses oxygen tanks daily to help him breathe because he has COPD and heart failure. Now, he’s dead. Your co-worker, who has asthma, caught it too, during your little pizza gettogether. Now, he’s in the ICU, and he’s spread it to a few others in his family, too – but they won’t know that for another couple of weeks yet. The cashier at the
restaurant where you picked up the pizza carried the infection home to his wife, who has MS, which makes her immune-suppressed. She’s not as lucky as you, so she’s admitted to the hospital because she’s having trouble breathing. She may need to be placed in a medically-induced coma and intubated; she may not get to say goodbye to her loved ones. She may die surrounded by machines, with no family at her bedside. All because you couldn’t stand the inconvenience of a mask; or staying home; or changing your familiar routines for just a little while longer. Or however long it takes until we are safe. #SocialDistancing = It’s not about YOU.” VICKI LIDDELL Nassau, November 20, 2020.
A window of opportunity EDITOR, The Tribune. IN recent events, news outlets have been reporting that Asia and Oceania have created a new regionwide trade agreement, which the move has gained momentum for its growing potential to enable rapid economic growth and recovery during the pandemic, but the biggest by far is that the US has refrained from joining the agreement. Known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the new economic agreement is stated to grow into one of the world’s largest trade free zones with Asia’s major markets taking the spotlight. Many financial experts are predicting that economic growth is shifting to Asia worldwide, with the combined regional GDP of approximately 26 trillion dollars in the RCEP with about 30% of the world’s population. This deal took eight long years of delays, diplomatic disagreements, constant restructuring and a pandemic on top of those complications. Now that the agreement is complete. Asia will soon become the new centre of global economic growth. Besides China; South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Southeast Asia will experience a wealthy upturn that will not only greatly aid them in reducing the financial fallout of COVID, but the wealth produced by this agreement will last for decades or even a century. However, many economists have also told news outlets that in contrast to the growing Asian markets, the nations of the Western Hemisphere have started to regress backwards. The US; the Bahamas, Mexico, Brazil and the rest of the Western Hemisphere keep sending stimulus packages that goes to waste, lockdowns that people defy everyday and the West’s toxic politics has sabotaged many efforts of absolving the health and financial crisis. Our nation alone has tens of thousands now unemployed and tourism will be painfully slow to recover, leaving our economy in stasis for the next few years and we may not have long before more dire issues take place within the next two months. There’s a common catchphrase for our flawed geopolitical stance: When
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the United States sneezes, The Bahamas catches the cold. This is very true. The USA has failed on controlling COVID, which is affecting the Bahamas. 80% of tourists are Americans from Florida, which is one of the COVID hotspots in the US, most of our goods are from the US and that country is our strongest ally since the 1980’s. With how Americans are rethinking travel plans, most of our customers are gone and our economy and businesses have slowed to a crawl. We could also suffer a third wave of COVID-19 at our weakest when it comes to our overloaded hospitals and clinics. To make things even worse, the actions of Donald Trump and his loyalists have complicated matters further. His persistence to deny COVID, to use his gun-loving fans to start insurrections against the “tyrannical” governors of Virginia and Michigan, refusing to condemn Alt right hate groups as domestic terrorists for their crimes and is willing to destroy the election process to stop Biden from assuming his rightful seat as the President. If Donald Trump had got his way or if Biden was assassinated by one of Trump’s loyalists during his term; not only will the Second Civil War begin to destroy what’s left of the US, The Bahamas will have its tourism product reduced to non-existence, our imported food supply will be eventually depleted and other infrastructure development that is dependent on the US will also be set back by 60 years. This isn’t new to us, however. In the aftermath of 9/11, almost all ships in the world couldn’t enter or exit from the United States and the Bahamas was greatly affected. Fortunately, the US reopened before the Bahamas suffered any permanent financial damage. However, we cannot survive an import freeze and economic upheaval for the second time. With the exception of Canada, there’s a strong possibility that the rest of the Western Hemisphere will economically collapse to a point lower than the Great Depression of the 1930’s,
with most of the Western nations’ monetary values reduced to near worthlessness at the level of the inflated Zimbabwean dollar. In a nutshell, an economic cataclysm is almost inevitable in the US and almost all of the West and the Bahamas won’t be spared. That’s why we must make a strong point that me must seek to become a part of the new RCEP. It’s not about searching for a new safety net, it’s about contributing towards the world’s largest markets. If and when we decided to do the work and become part of the trade free agreement fully, the Bahamas will be mostly spared from adverse economic damage. Most of our imports will shift towards East Asia and Southeast Asia, giving us another food import supply source as well as pushing us to increase exports of our own. If we’re talking about how would the Bahamas go for the agricultural industry, then we can include shipbuilding. We can restore the Grand Bahama shipyard and build two new facilities on Inagua and Northern Andros for building entire freighters and other commercial vessels, which will further boost the economy. If done well, our GDP could climb from 12 billion to approximately around 90 to 100 billion dollars. Although China is included in this deal; and while people are highly suspicious of Beijing, we can still work with the ASEAN organization, which China is not a member of that group. Whatever flaws behind the trade deal can be fixed and patched up. This window of opportunity won’t last forever, and we must try eight times harder to control this virus. The West’s economic cataclysm is approaching fast, and we must try at our absolute best to avoid it and there must be zero margin for errors. This current government administration and the Bahamian society cannot repeat the same mistakes as the USA and Donald Trump, and this pandemic is showing us that there is a better way and there are other options left on the table that we must use to survive and grow. AMMAKA RUSSELL Nassau, November 22, 2020.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 23, 2020, PAGE 7
Brawl lands pair of men in court By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO men who were involved in a physical altercation were charged in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court with disturbing the peace. James Miller, 19, and Donald Temple, 44, both of Freeport, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson. Both initially pleaded not guilty, but later changed their pleas to guilty. Temple, a Jamaican, said it was his first time appearing in court and asked the judge what it meant when
you enter a not guilty plea. After she explained to him what it meant, he changed his not guilty plea and admitted that he was fighting with the accused, Miller. Prosecutor Calsey Arthur read the particulars of the case to the court. At about 12.51 pm on November 14, police responded to a fight at Adena Court, where police assistance was requested. On arrival, officers spoke to James Miller, who had visible head injuries as a result of an altercation with Donald Temple. Temple told officers that while working on a car Miller came
and harassed him, which resulted in them fighting. Both men were arrested. During the arraignment, Temple told the Court that he was at his residence working on a vehicle when Miller came in the yard and told him he was not doing the job right on his friend’s car and started cursing him. Temple said Miller removed the iron car jack from under the vehicle and threw it in the bush. He did this twice more, once while Temple was underneath the vehicle working. Temple said he told Miller to leave his residence, but Miller went to
his vehicle and returned with a screwdriver and brushed up against him. He pushed Miller off, and then Miller stabbed him in the chest and back. Temple said he hit Miller in the head with the iron jack and he dropped to the ground. Deputy Chief Magistrate Ferguson asked Temple if he knew Miller. He said that he did not know him, but was working on his friend’s vehicle at the time. She ordered Temple to pay a fine of $150 by 3pm on November 23, or serve two months imprisonment. Once payment is made, the judge said she would grant
him a conditional discharge. Miller, who had pleaded not guilty, disputed Temple’s story. He also claimed that he first filed a complaint with the police against Temple. The judge told Miller that he would have a chance to explain his side at trial, and set bail at $300 cash, and adjourned the matter to February 1, 2021. Prosecutor Arthur also objected to bail saying that Miller has antecedents and has been before the courts for previous matters. Miller told the judge that he did not have $300 cash for bail, and that he did not
want to go to jail because his girlfriend and baby were outside waiting on him in the car, so he changed his not guilty plea to guilty. He admitted to having a screwdriver and stabbing Temple but claimed only after Temple had hit him in his head with the iron jack. He said that he was disoriented from the blow to his head, and was bleeding, and went to the hospital for his injuries. The judge ordered Miller to pay a fine of $150 by 3pm on November 23. On payment of the fine, a conditional discharge would be granted.
CURFEW BREACH BRINGS FINE
WOMAN STOLE FOOD ‘IN DESPERATION’ By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A 41-YEAR-OLD woman who stole more than $200 worth of food items from Super Value last week was ordered to reimburse the store or risk spending two months at the Bahamas Department of Corrections. Tanai McKenzie was arrested after she stole an assortment of grocery items valued at $206.59 from Super Value on November 14. She pleaded guilty to the charge during a hearing before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans on Friday. The court was told that
a Super Value employee had reported the incident to police on November 16 after noticing a woman leaving the store “with a trolley full of groceries” while he was checking the surveillance cameras. The prosecution said officers then arrested and cautioned the accused who later directed police to the stolen items. However, police said the items were no longer “of use”. Attorney Ian Cargill, who represented McKenzie, said his client was a motherof-two who was battling cancer and had no previous convictions. He also told the court McKenzie had been unemployed since the COVID-19 pandemic and
NO BAIL IN KNIFE CASE By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A 47-YEAR-OLD man, accused of assaulting a woman with a knife, was remanded in custody on Friday. Ramond Minnis appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn VogtEvans charged with assault with a dangerous instrument after being accused of assaulting Tyressa Roberts with a knife on November 17. During Friday’s proceedings, Minnis pleaded not guilty to the offence. Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. The case was adjourned to February 25. Also appearing before Magistrate Voght Evans on Friday was James Markland, 34. He was charged with causing harm to his nephew, Patrick Johnathan Wells, on November 18. During Friday’s hearing, the court was told that Markland’s sister had reported him to the police after she heard her sevenyear-old son screaming on the day in question and, upon inspection, noticed that he had injuries. The prosecution said the accused was subsequently arrested, when he admitted to “throwing a rock through the sheetrock” of the home, ultimately causing injuries to his nephew. When given the chance to speak, Markland explained that his actions were not intentional. He said that he did not mean to harm his nephew. He said he threw the rock out of anger against his sister. The accused claimed that his sister had stolen money from him. “I just started working and the money what I had there, my sister took it and I don’t know what she did with it, but it was the money
that I was supposed to pay the man to weed the yard,” he told the court. In response, Magistrate Voght-Evans reminded him of the severity of his actions, noting that he could have killed his nephew. “Imagine if that sheetrock wasn’t there as a buffer in your anger when you threw that. He would’ve been dead,” she said. Magistrate Voght-Evans noted that, given his previous convictions, he should have exercised better selfcontrol as he knows that there are consequences to his actions. “You are in a position to know better and you had enough experience that should have guided you in this so-called anger knowing that you have been in so much trouble before,” he said. As a result, Markland was ordered to pay his sister $200 by Monday or risk spending two months in prison. Naomie Ceide, 49, also appeared before Magistrate Voght Evans on Friday, accused of causing harm. Officers alleged that Ceide intentionally and unlawfully caused harm to her mother-in-law, Iracama Ilus, on November 19 by beating her about her body. The court was told the complainant suffered head injuries and lacerations to her left upper arm following the altercation. During litigation, Ceide’s attorney told the court that she was extremely remorseful for her actions. The attorney said Ceide lost her temper after her mother-in-law said “some things” to her, adding that their relationship has been strained. Magistrate Voght-Evans subsequently ordered the accused to compensate her mother-in-law by paying her $500. Failure to do so would result in six months at the Bahamas Department of Corrections.
was extremely remorseful for her actions, adding she did it out of “desperation”. In response, Magistrate Vogt-Evans told the accused that instead of stealing there were too many places in New Providence where she could have sought help for food assistance. She further noted that while she sympathised with McKenzie’s health issues, it still did not justify her actions. “There’s no excuse,” she said. As a result, McKenzie was conditionally discharged and ordered to reimburse the foodstore $207. Failure to do so would result in two months imprisonment.
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A 59-YEAR-OLD man who pleaded guilty to violating curfew in New Providence was ordered to pay a $200 fine or spend a week in prison. Michael Rolle appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged with the curfew violation after police found him in the Golden Gates community around noon on October 31. Rolle was also accused of resisting arrest. During Friday’s hearing, the prosecution told the court an officer was in the Golden Gates area when they saw a man walking and acting in a suspicious manner. According to the prosecution, officers then questioned Rolle about his reasons for being in the area and whether he was aware of the curfew. The prosecution said it was at that point when the officer noticed that “something” had dropped from Rolle’s body, which was suspected of being drugs. The court was told the officer then attempted to arrest Rolle, but he resisted by pulling away. He was subsequently arrested and
taken to Carmichael Road police station. During the hearing, Rolle agreed with the facts read by the prosecution and pleaded guilty to curfew violation and resisting arrest. As for the possession of the dangerous drugs count, the court was told Rolle had already been charged for that particular offence. The court also heard Rolle had no previous convictions and was a
professional golfer who represented The Bahamas in the 1980s. After hearing litigation, Magistrate Voght-Evans ordered the accused to pay $200 or face spending one week in prison for the curfew violation. He was also fined $150 for resisting arrest and was told that failure to pay the fines would result in one-month imprisonment. Both fines were paid the same day.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020
THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS
From persecution to prison to poverty – a political refugee’s five-year ordeal in The Bahamas By FREDERICK SMITH, QC
before a court of law. In sworn evidence, he told of the horrifying treatFLEEING his native ment and conditions to Gambia in fear of extra- which he was subjected judicial execution, Ousman while in custody. OverBojang accepted a friend’s crowding at the Detention invitation to take refuge Centre was endemic, with in The Bahamas. Expect- his dorm occupied by 300 ing safety and protection in to 400 people and not accordance with our inter- enough beds to accommonational obligations, he was date them. “For the first met instead with arbitrary two weeks I slept on the detention, false imprison- floor until I found a dirty ment, inhumane treatment old mattress which I used and shocking conditions. after that,” he said. Then he was released, Bojang had little to eat, only to be forced into pov- was forced to drink stinkerty by a cruel and spiteful ing tap water and had to government. endure terrifying nighttime As Bojang’s quest for drills. “Every night we were justice finally approaches awakened at around midresolution, this 40-year-old night by the Defence Force father-of-two, formerly a officers and we all had to truck driver and engineer- stand outside, sometimes ing student, is hunkered for hours, sometimes down in a friend’s derelict all night. The defence car, where he has lived for force officers didn’t care the past two whether it years in an ‘In sworn evidence, was cold increasingly or not,” he he told of the desperate said. struggle to horrifying treatment Then, survive. the govand conditions Unable to ernment to which he support himsought to self following was subjected rid itself of his court while in custody. this asylum ordered seeker in Overcrowding at the release in the most 2017, because Detention Centre shocking the govern- was endemic, with and cyniment has cal way. his dorm occupied refused to On May give him a by 300 to 400 25, 2016 work permit. they tried people and not Bojang’s to forcienough beds to ordeal bly return began in accommodate them.’ him to 2015 during Gambia a “very dif– back to the very counficult” political period in try where he had been his country. As a youth persecuted and from leader for the opposition, which he fled in fear. the United Democratic They did this without Party (UDP), he was falsely a Deportation Order, arrested for organising even though required political meetings. He was by law. Instead, they held for three days with- tried to trick Bojang, out charge before being falsely claiming his released. But, then came family had sent him a a tip that he would soon ticket home. be rearrested and possibly The truth is that killed. Immigration hadn’t It is apparently common even bothered to secure for the authorities in a ticket for his first leg Gambia to release politiof his journey, much cal prisoners publicly, then less a connecting flight recapture and “disappear” to Africa. Instead they them quietly while claiming just bundled him on a they have gone into hiding. plane to Havana. When The authorities also falsely the Cuban authorities accused Bojang of being a realised this, they sent homosexual, a crime in his him immediately back country that carries a minito The Bahamas. mum sentence of 14 years He was returned to the and makes one a target of Carmichael Detention violence and even death at Centre, but soon moved the hands of fellow citizens. to Fox Hill Prison, as the He had no choice but authorities said a hurto flee, leaving his young ricane was coming. “The family behind, first to Dakar in Senegal and then, upon first night I was placed in the invitation of a friend, a small balcony room with to The Bahamas where no beds with 14 other men. he entered - legally - on The room had no walls. a 14-day visa on Decem- It was like a balcony with ber 5, 2015. After several iron bars around. The area attempts to find a UN High was flooded so we had Commissioner and apply nowhere to sleep. The folfor political asylum, he lowing night I was placed in presented himself to The a small cell approximately Bahamas Immigration 3x8 square feet with over Department, but was told 20 other prisoners. There they were too busy during were no beds, mattress or the holiday season to help blankets. We had to sleep on the concrete floor. The him. When, after several cell was hot and had no attempts, he finally got windows. “We had two buckets in before an immigration the cell, one for urine and officer on December 30 and explained he was in one for faeces. All 20 of us The Bahamas to apply for had to share the two buckasylum as he feared for ets to defecate and urinate. his life in Gambia, instead The buckets remained in of being offered help as the cell until the were taken mandated by international out the following day. I law, he was summarily could not eat as the stench taken into custody without in the cell was so bad that it was impossible for me to explanation. Held for 531 days, eat in that condition.” between December 30, He was kept in prison for 2015 and June 16, 2017 in four weeks before being “terrible and inhuman con- sent back to the Detenditions” at both Fox Hill tion Centre – back to the Prison and the Carmichael hot, overcrowded, stinking Road Detention Centre, dorms, clogged toilets and Bojang was never charged showers filled with up to a with anything, never con- foot of dirty water. On June 16, 2017, after victed or even brought his lawyers applied for
1800 Massachusetts Ave NW Suite 500 Washington DC, 20036 United States of America Telephone: +1 202 296 5191 Fax: +1 202 296 5660 E-mail: usawacab@unhcr.org
Reference number: 267-16
-00181
Date of Issue: Date of Expiration:
05-Aug-2020 05-Aug-2021
REFUGEE CERTIFICATE Name of Applicant:
UNHCR Registration no.:
Registration Date:
Nationality:
BOJANG, Ousman
267-00004160 09-Sep-2016 Gambia
Country of Asylum:
Bahamas
Arrival Date:
05-Dec-2015
TO WHOM IT MAY CONC ERN
This is to certify that the abo ve-named person has bee the United Nations High Co n recognized as a refugee mmissioner for Refugees, by pursuant to its mandate. As should be protected from for a refugee, he cible return to a country wh ere he would face persecutio assistance accorded to the n. Any above-named individual wo uld be most appreciated. Questions regarding the info rm ation contained in this doc United Nations High Comm ument may be directed to issioner for Refugees at the the address above.
(Signature of designated
Habeas Corpus Bojang was finally taken to court. He was given no notice of where he was being taken or why, and after being “manhandled and dragged to a car like a criminal” he was shackled to prisoners who he later found out were charged with murder. Chief Justice Isaacs determined he had been wrongfully imprisoned and granted his immediate release pending a response from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to his application for political asylum. He was not immediately released, but rather unlawfully detained once again, re-shackled to accused murderers, and brought to a police station to spend the next four hours in a cell with nothing to eat or drink. In January 2018, Bojang applied for a work permit to sustain himself while in The Bahamas and paid the relevant fee. They government has refused to even acknowledge his application for three years, leaving him penniless and desperate. Ever since he was freed,
UNHCR Officer)
Bojang has been seeking justice for the violation of his constitutional rights, but this has been delayed and resisted at every turn by the Attorney General’s office. When the matter finally came to trial on November 17, 2020 the only position put forward by the government was to flatly deny that he was ever falsely imprisoned and assert his treatment was humane. They have provided no documents concerning his detention, despite the court ordering discovery.. The Supreme Court concluded trial on November 18, and is considering Bojang’s request for damages for false imprisonment and inhumane treatment. On 5 August 2020, Bojang learned that the UNHCR had upheld his refugee status, giving him the right to be protected from forcible return to the Gambia until such time as he is able to return safely and with dignity. The Bahamas became a signatory of the United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1993. The main thrust of this agreement is the principle
of non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. This is now considered a core rule of customary international law. On December 10, 2018, the Bahamas became one of the 153 signatories to the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), which emphasises the safety, dignity, and human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migratory status. The government claims on its website that it “seeks to adhere” to these agreements, adding that in the identification and protection of asylum seekers, the Immigration Department maintains “a transparent process, which conforms to international standards”. To say that The Bahamas violated both its own Constitution and its international obligations with regard to Bojang would be an understatement of epic proportions. In his and so many other cases related to migration, the government routinely tramples upon its responsibilities, acting as
if basic human rights and international law simply do not exist. The harrowing tale of his treatment echos that of countless poor souls who have the bad luck to end up in the hands of Bahamian authorities. Meanwhile, at the same time that this government continues to abuse Bojang, it is bringing legislation to codify the asylum seeking process into law, whereby anyone “unable or unwilling to return to his country of origin owing to a wellfounded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or because he holds a particular political opinion” is to be granted asylum and have the right to live and work in The Bahamas. No more and no less than Ousmane Bojang asked for. His ordeal is about far more than immigration laws or UN standards; it speaks to who we are as a nation. To whether or not we have a fundamental regard for fairness, justice and basic human decency. In essence, laws are only as good as a society’s willingness to enforce them.
EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net
INSIGHT
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 PAGE 9
If a leader has a true vision the people will follow By MALCOLM STRACHAN IN times of crisis, the mettle of true leaders is put to the test. Winston Churchill, known for his refusal to surrender to Germany in World War II, Nelson Mandela’s leadership and negotiations that led to the end of Apartheid, George W Bush navigating the US through the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and his successor, Barack Obama, steering the country during the 2008 recession – all names synonymous with incredibly trying times throughout history. And now, with COVID-19 affecting the whole world, leaders have had to dig deep. North of us, America is in total chaos. With cases increasing at an astronomical clip and with a President seemingly on a kamikaze mission to leave his successor an epic mess to disentangle, it is quite ironic the US now fits the description of one of the countries Trump so eloquently described a few years ago. Though he may have lost the presidency in the electoral college by a margin he referred to as a landslide when he bested Hillary Clinton in 2016, most commentators view this as a decision by the American electorate to vote him out rather than elect Biden in. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Despite the seeds of discord he’s repeatedly sown in American society during a time when racial tensions have been as high as during the Civil Rights Movement, at many points throughout election night, many people thought it was a very real possibility for President Trump to secure another term in the White House. Many other things have been easier to grasp. The world superpower - a country with such proud citizens - when looking at its leadership options were more certain about where they did not want to return to than where they want to
actually go. Anywhere, anything, is better than the past four years, I suppose. But nonetheless, it is a dangerous place for a citizenry to be. Who knows this better than we do? Every five years, we experiment with the governance of our country – allowing one group to come in for a five-year test drive before the other guys have another opportunity. Rinse and repeat. But as we would have hopefully learned through our most difficult lesson yet, without visionary leadership, the cost of this merry-go-round is very burdensome on our people. Without a vision, we are on a directionless course. A vision places a marker down, pinpointing somewhere in the future, allowing leaders to reverse engineer a strategy of getting us there. In the last two administrations, on one hand, the former Prime Minister Perry Christie won on the mantra, “Believe in Bahamians”. Taking a similar tone five years later, the Free National Movement told us it was “the people’s time”. However, as both slogans were just as about as ambiguous as the other, the Bahamian people never got a true sense of where we were going to be led, or how we were going to get there, we are where we are. Although murders are down significantly - entirely due to the population being locked in doors every night for most of the year - the level of hostility due to the misery index is through the roof. Our population is growing more individualistic at a time we need each other most, and the brain drain is alive and well as many Bahamians living abroad scoff at the idea of returning home. Unquestionably, all signs point to the need for the next government to have a vision, but even more importantly, the will to lead the country there even when the electorate doesn’t do its job in keeping them accountable. Notwith-
standing the extraordinary difficulties the current administration has had to grapple with in a short space of time, when leaders are guided by a vision, they are better prepared to handle crises head on. The country desperately needs this kind of leadership – not just in the role of Prime Minister, but throughout Cabinet and on both sides of the political divide in Parliament. Culturally, we need to evolve from this iteration of Bahamian politics, else we will be hard-pressed to survive the changing landscape that is upon us. No longer can we depend solely on tourism and the debunked notion that if the resorts are open the tourists will come. Leaders are going to have to become more creative, innovative and strategic. On campaign trails leading up to election, political aspirants are no strangers to vainly promising to implement the policies they think will deliver a victory. Without a firm commitment to what’s laid out in manifestos or first 100-day proclamations, successive administrations have lacked the foundation needed to inspire confidence in the populace at a time when it’s needed most. Visionary leadership surveys the global landscape, imagines the implications of a multitude of situations and comes up with ways to safeguard against or take advantage of them. If we have learned anything, we know that this must be a prerequisite to governing this country.
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‘In the last two administrations, on one hand, the former Prime Minister Perry Christie won on the mantra, “Believe in Bahamians”. Taking a similar tone five years later, the Free National Movement told us it was “the people’s time”. However, as both slogans were just as about as ambiguous as the other, the Bahamian people never got a true sense of where we were going to be led, or how we were going to get there, we are where we are.’
PAGE 10 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020
INSIGHT
EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net MEN wade through a street flooded after the passing of Hurricane Iota in La Lima, Honduras, on Wednesday last week. Photo: Delmer Martinez/AP
We’re in a new reality and those who control the purse strings need to realise that - and help GOVERNMENTS in Central America are calling for “climate justice” after the devastation of their countries by Eta and Iota as both tropical storms and hurricanes. The Central American countries are echoing a call previously made by Caribbean governments whose countries are repeatedly ravaged by hurricanes. The response of the international community to the plight of Central America has, so far, not been different to the way they respond to the Caribbean. Typically, that response is much public handwringing, miniscule immediate contributions, and then tough negotiations over conditions on which any meaningful concessionary loans would be made to help affected countries recover. If any of the countries are regarded as ‘high-income’ like Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, and St Kitts-Nevis, they will get no concessional financing unless they are already in an IMF balance of payments support programme. Yet, the situation in Central America and neighbouring Colombia is catastrophic. Thousands of people face a lack of drinking water, food and basic supplies after Eta and Iota slammed the region, destroying homes, hospitals and other critical infrastructure and piling one disaster on top of another. Many have died, many are
World View
burden of human suffering. This is why 13 CARICOM countries (Haiti was the exception) joined the nations of Central America, Mexico and Colombia in sponsoring a Declaration at the Organization of By SIR RONALD SANDERS American States (OAS), on November 18, calling missing, tens of thousands silence of other big pollut- for urgent support to the are homeless. On top of the ing nations is also alarming. affected countries, “through dreadful human suffering, The Central American hemispheric and global the infrastructural wreck- Bank for Economic Inte- cooperation to address the age runs into hundreds of gration authorised $1m in most pressing needs for recovery and millions of dollars. non-reimreconstrucThe demand for “cli- bursable ‘Those who tion”. mate justice” by Caribbean funds for make policy for The governments, and now Honduras sponsoring Central American lead- and Nicara- the international ers, is for compensation for gua, but its financial institutions countries sought a massive damage caused to resources and multilateral ‘declaration’ their countries by Climate are relatively rather than Change in whose creation small. It is to development a ‘resoluand ballooning they are International banks have to tion’ which least to blame. The Eco- Financial stop pretending would have nomic Commission for Institutions been a much Latin America and the Car- (IFIs), such that the economic stronger ibbean notes that Central as the IMF, and financial instrument, America’s total CO2 emis- World Bank circumstances binding on sions represents only 0.2 and the Interthe organithat existed in percent of the global total; American sation. But the Caribbean’s is even less. Development January 2020 are Central International help, so Bank, that still the same in American far, for Central America these counand Caribindicates a slow response. tries will look November 2020. bean countries The US Agency for Inter- for significant They are not. The knew well national Development resources. world has altered, that some announced $120,000 each to Like the powerful and significantly.’ Honduras and Guatemala, Caribbean, states in the and $100,000 to Nicaragua. the Central OAS would The European Union (EU) American countries are have pushed against such a did better, pledging $1.83m facing extraordinary costs to all Central American to fight the effects of the binding resolution. The governments of these countries. But the sums COVID-19 pandemic in are small given the US and circumstances where their same powerful countries EU countries are among revenues are dwindling. are among those who make the largest contributors The havoc wreaked by policies for the IFIs that disto Climate Change. The Eta and Iota adds to their qualify small and vulnerable states, such as Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados and St Kitts-Nevis, from access to concessional financing because of the false criterion of ‘high per capita income’. Making my contribution
to the OAS’ meeting, I said the following: “Those who make policy for the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks have to stop pretending that the economic and financial circumstances that existed in January 2020 are still the same in November 2020. They are not. The world has altered, and significantly.” The reality is that while many countries – including my own - are denied access to concessional financing and debt relief on the basis of the wrongful measurement of high per capita income, that per capita income has been reduced by as much as 40 percent because unemployment has more than tripled. The time has long come for policy makers to admit the reality of the changed situation and to amend the policies of financial institutions to address it. Similarly, while Paris Club members continue to demand debt repayment without debt restructuring, they too should face the reality that countries cannot pay what they do not have. Debt default is what will occur with little prospect of repayment unless a balance is struck now. If these circumstances continue to be ignored, or the usual placebos are administered rather than the financing vaccines that exist and can be applied, this pandemic of economic disaster and human suffering will plague our hemisphere irreparably and irreversibly for decades to come”. Given the Caribbean’s increasing exposure to external shocks (hurricanes, pandemics and recession in North America and
Europe) the region must increase the volume and heighten the intensity of its advocacy on debt which is a tightening noose around its neck. In the present circumstances, the nations of Central America are the Caribbean’s natural allies to make common cause on this issue in the international community. CARICOM countries should initiate a strong diplomatic effort with Central America to build such an alliance. As a first step, Central American and Caribbean countries should agree to follow the pattern of Barbados and Grenada to include a “hurricane clause” in their bonds, stipulating an immediate, if temporary, debt moratorium if the country is struck by another natural disaster. Such a clause should also be part of all external debt. If Central American and Caribbean counties insist on it collectively and strongly, they have a chance to succeed. The two sub-regions, representing 20 nations, can turn the crises of this season of hurricanes, tropical storms, and COVID-19 to advantage. But they must act together. • Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com. (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own).
EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net
INSIGHT
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 PAGE 11
Aragonite again! EVERY now and then we work ourselves into a frenzy based largely on hearsay and conspiracy theories. Eventually the controversy du jour settles down and is forgotten until the next time. There are several of these perennially contentious issues, but the one I want to discuss here today is aragonite. At the recent ‘We March’ protest downtown, activist John Bostwick argued that our almost inexhaustible aragonite resources could solve our economic problems. And hackles were raised a few weeks ago when American news reports seemed to suggest that Florida officials were about to steal Bahamian sand for their beaches. A couple of years ago, union leader John Pinder and others made the preposterous claim that aragonite exports could not only pay off our national debt but give every Bahamian a $50,000 cheque. “We’re talking about moving from being borrowers to lenders. What China is to the rest of the world, The Bahamas could be to the Caribbean,” Pinder said confidently. At the same time, lobbyist Kay Smith was touting a $50m investment in East Grand Bahama to mine aragonite for export and manufacturing. She did not reply to my recent email asking about the current status of that grandiose project. Meanwhile, the government has said it is investigating the whole aragonite issue with a view to updating all the rules for resource extraction in The Bahamas. Aragonite is a fine limestone sand that precipitates naturally out of sea water. There are massive quantities on the Bahamian seabed, among other places. The name actually derives from the Spanish town of Molina de Aragón, where the rock type was first identified in the 18th century. It has been used mainly for industrial purposes - to capture sulfur emissions in energy production, as a soil conditioner in agriculture, as a base for bioplastic materials, as an ingredient in glass and cement production, and as an additive in livestock feed. It can also be used for sand applications - as in playgrounds, acquaria and beach restoration. The latest chapter of the aragonite controversy bubbled up earlier this month, when local newspapers reported that Florida officials were considering the use of Bahamian sand to shore-up their eroding coastline. Outrageous and shocking, we said. How dare they take our sand to rebuild their beaches? How would this affect our own beaches? And how could the government possibly contemplate such a treacherous act? Environment Minister Ken Dorsett had to insist that nothing of the sort was under consideration. He also repeated previous statements that the government was undertaking a comprehensive review of all extractive industries in the country. In 2014, the prime minister said he had advised the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation to explore the possibility of state-run mining operations for aragonite. The corporation “has been commissioned to report on how we do it and how we get participation. How can we use this sand and aragonite for industrial purposes or even re-nourishment purposes.” But, as with most things the prime minister says are forthcoming, no information has been provided on this issue in more than two years. Interest in mining Bahamian aragonite goes back to the 1960s. Bimini’s Lerner Marine Lab had the first concession, but
With talk of Aragonite again circulating in The Bahamas as a solution to the nation’s financial ills, we reprint this article from January 17, 2017, by columnist Larry Smith, who died in August 2017. In the column, he tackles some of the myths surrounding the claims about aragonite - some of which still circulate today. turned it over to Union Carbide, which sold it to the Dillingham Corporation, a California-based engineering and construction services company that is now out of business. The idea then was to supply millions of tons of pure Bahamian aragonite sand to cement and glass manufacturers on the US east coast. But it had to be extracted and hauled to market cheaply enough to compete with other sources of supply. Dillingham had rights in four Bahamian areas totaling over 8,000 square miles (one of those concessions has since been turned into a national park). It was estimated that exports of ten million tons a year would net The Bahamas a yearly royalty of about $600,000. Early environmental studies concluded there was no reason why the relatively sterile aragonite drifts on the edges of the banks should not be mined, provided the operation was properly monitored. Several miles south of Bimini, Dillingham created a 95-acre sandpile called Ocean Cay by pumping dredge slurry across two small islets. The cay was the company’s aragonite mining base until market conditions forced it to close. In 1984, Florida-based Marcona Ocean Industries took over the lease and held it until 2000, when it was bought by the AES Corporation. AES wanted to triple the size of Ocean Cay to build a Liquified Natural Gas and desalination plant at a cost of $550m. The main goal was to supply imported gas to South Florida by undersea pipeline. That project was never approved. And in fact, energy markets have changed so dramatically over the years that the AES plant today would be a huge white elephant (or stranded asset) if it had gone ahead. A Bahamian company called Sandyport Development (owned by Tony Myers) leased Ocean Cay in 2009 for $7,500 a year, and began small-scale mining operations soon after. Myers secured an interest in the mineral from a group of American entrepeneurs who determined that, if properly processed, marine aragonite could have an application as a filter in the plastics industry. In 2012, Myers sold his single biggest consignment of 15,000 tons at $50 per ton (with the government getting $2 per ton in royalties) to a start-up company called US Aragonite. But within a couple of years oil prices fell, other plastics manufacturing processes became more cost-effective, and US Aragonite went bust. In 2015, the government leased Ocean Cay to MSC Cruises for a private island destination. Construction is starting now, according to Investments Minister Khaalis Rolle, but there are no plans to export aragonite. “I am not aware of any marine aragonite being sold in the US for any industry over the past two years,” former US Aragonite principal Gary Miller told me recently. “Demand and value has to be created by each industry along with supply chains and distribution contracts. Without these, Bahamian aragonite will never be a commodity in the US market.” There has been talk of using Bahamian aragonite for beach restoration in the US since at least the mid1980s, when Florida began projecting the depletion of its available offshore sand deposits. In 1990, coastal engineers
imported a small amount of Bahamian aragonite to restore the beach at Fisher Island south of Miami Beach. It takes about a million cubic yards to fill an average-sized beach. At the time of the Fisher Island project, the export price per cubic yard was $8. A cubic yard in sand volume equals 1.17 metric tons in weight. In 1993, the Miami Herald reported that “beach restoration projects along the Dade and Broward County coasts since 1970 have stripped sand from hundreds of underwater acres along their coasts…So officials are scrambling to find a fresh sand supply…But federal import rules, endangered species laws and the sheer costs of mining the ocean
OCEAN Cay pictured in 2014, a 95-acre man-made island situated on the Great Bahama Bank in the northern Bahamas, and the site for the extraction of aragonite. floor so far away present daunting obstacles.” And last year, new US legislation authorised the Army Corps of Engineers to study the potential of using foreign sand, such as aragonite from the Bahamas, to widen shorelines
and protect coasts from hurricanes. There are many obstacles to this proposal, including a ban on spending federal money on US beach projects that use foreign sand. Non-US-flagged vessels are also prohibited from
bringing foreign sand to Florida. Whether or not these obstacles are surmounted, we can all rest assured that no-one will be driving a tractor onto our beaches to excavate sand for export.
PAGE 12, Monday, November 23, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
BURKINA FASO VOTES AMID VIOLENCE OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso Associated Press
PEOPLE vote in Burkina Faso’s presidential and legislative elections in Ouagadougou yesterday. Photo: Sophie Garcia/AP
FEARS of attacks by extremists prevented voting in many parts of Burkina Faso yesterday, as the country went to the polls for presidential and legislative elections marred by ongoing violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Election and local government officials told The Associated Press that certain polling stations in the Center North, Sahel and East regions that were expected
to open had not, and those that did had to close early because of the fear of attacks. Two polling stations in the capital, Ouagadougou, also didn’t open, according to Halidou Ouedraogo, president of Codel, a local organisation monitoring the elections. He wouldn’t elaborate on why. Some towns weren’t able to conduct voting at all, including Bartiebougou and Tin Akoff, where 14 soldiers were killed in an ambush by IS earlier this month, Newton Ahmed Barry, president of the
National Independent Electoral Commission, told a news conference yesterday. “The reasons are mainly security and also it’s impossible to find someone to manage the polling stations,” Barry said. Even if the army can secure the area, the electoral commission didn’t have staff willing to go there, he said. Other poll stations remained closed because people were threatened and told that if they voted and put ink on their fingers, they can “say goodbye to their finger,” he said. While the elections
that did take place were for the most part peaceful, observers worry what might happen after the election given that so many people were prevented from voting. “It’s not clear yet how people will react vis-a-vis the people elected, because they have not voted ... Will the population accept the people elected despite the fact that all of them didn’t vote?” said Julien Oussou, regional coordinator for the West African Network of Peace building, an organisation focused on human rights.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 23, 2020, PAGE 13
ENVIRONMENT GROUP’S MOVIE WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARD A BAHAMIAN environmental group has won international recognition for a film it created highlighting its work. The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) won top honours at the 9th
annual Global Sustainability Film Awards in London. The 2020 awards were held online from November 16-20, with BREEF winning first place in the Transforming Society category. BREEF and the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative
GN-2471
collaborated to produce a short film about educating the next generation of Bahamian environmental stewards. The film highlights BREEF and its Eco-Schools programme, drawing attention to the work of young people within their schools and communities to combat climate change and to sustain the Bahamian way of life. Students from Deep Creek Middle School, Harbour Island Green School, Eva Hilton Primary School and CI Gibson Senior High School are in the film, inspiring others around the world by using the ocean as a living classroom, and driving action to protect it. Children in the film learn about marine protected areas and explore BREEF’s coral nursery and Coral Reef Sculpture Garden. The film includes stunning footage of the island of Eleuthera where BREEF’s executive director, Casuarina McKinney-Lambert,
was born - from Lighthouse Point in the south to Harbour Island in the north. The film was directed by Fran Mendez, and includes underwater footage by Bahamian photographer Andre Musgrove. Ms McKinney-Lambert said, “We are thrilled and are so proud of what the young people of The Bahamas are doing to protect the oceans around us and make the world a better place. We owe it to the next generation to support them.” BREEF has been running eco-schools in The Bahamas since 2009. EcoSchools Bahamas is part of a programme developed in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education. It promotes environmental stewardship by creating an awareness of local and global environmental challenges. To find out more, visit www.breef.org. For more information on the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative visit www.rolex.org.
PAGE 14, Monday, November 23, 2020
ETHIOPIA WARNS OF ‘NO MERCY’ IN OFFENSIVE NAIROBI, Kenya Associated Press
ETHIOPIA’S military is warning civilians in the besieged Tigray regional capital that there will be “no mercy” if they don’t “save themselves” before a final offensive to flush out defiant regional leaders — a threat that Human Rights Watch yesterday said could violate international law. “From now on, the fighting will be a tank battle,” spokesman Col Dejene Tsegaye said late on Saturday, asserting that the army was marching on the Tigray capital, Mekele, and would encircle it with tanks. “Our people in Mekele should be notified that they should protect themselves from heavy artillery.” He accused the Tigray leaders of hiding among the population of the city of roughly a half-million people and warned civilians to “steer away” from them. But “treating a whole city as a military target would not only unlawful, it could also be considered a form of collective punishment,” Human Rights Watch researcher Laetitia Bader tweeted yesterday. “In other words, war crimes,” former US national security adviser Susan Rice tweeted. Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, gave the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front 72 hours to surrender, saying that “you are at a point of no return”. He accused the TPLF leaders of using religious sites, hotels, schools “and even cemeteries” as hideouts and using Mekele residents as human shields.
THE TRIBUNE
The legal team that cried fraud - but proved nothing PHILADELPHIA Associated Press AS THEY frantically searched for ways to salvage President Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid, his campaign pursued a dizzying game of legal hopscotch across six states that centered on the biggest prize of all: Pennsylvania. The strategy may have played well in front of television cameras and on talk radio to Trump’s supporters. But it has proved a disaster in court, where judges uniformly rejected their claims of vote fraud and found the campaign’s legal work amateurish. In a scathing ruling late Saturday, US District Judge Matthew Brann — a Republican and Federalist Society member in central Pennsylvania — compared the campaign’s legal arguments to “Frankenstein’s Monster,” concluding that Trump’s team offered only “speculative accusations”, not proof of rampant corruption. Now, as the legal doors close on Trump’s attempts to have courts do what voters would not do on Election Day and deliver him a second term, his efforts in Pennsylvania show how far he is willing to push baseless theories of widespread voter fraud. It was led by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, who descended on the state the Saturday after the November 3 election as the count dragged on and
the president played golf. Summoning reporters to a scruffy, far-flung corner of Philadelphia on November 7, he held forth at a site that would soon become legendary: Four Seasons Total Landscaping. The 11.30am news conference was doomed from the start. Only minutes earlier, news outlets had started calling the presidential contest for Democrat Joe Biden. The race was over. Just heating up was Trump’s plan to subvert the election through litigation and howls of fraud — the same tactic he had used to stave off losses in the business world. And it would soon spread far beyond Pennsylvania. “Some of the ballots looked suspicious,” Giuliani, 76, said of the vote count in Philadelphia as he stood behind a chain link fence, next to a sex shop. He maligned the city as being run by a “decrepit Democratic machine”. “Those mail-in ballots could have been written the day before, by the Democratic Party hacks that were all over the convention centre,” Giuliani said. He promised to file a new round of lawsuits. He rambled. “This is a very, very strong case,” he asserted. Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who specialises in election law, called the Trump lawsuits dangerous. “It is a sideshow, but it’s
a harmful sideshow,” Levitt said. “It’s a toxic sideshow. The continuing baseless, evidence-free claims of alternative facts are actually having an effect on a substantial number of Americans. They are creating the conditions for elections not to work in the future.” Not a single court has found merit in the core legal claims, but that did not stop Trump’s team from firing off nearly two dozen legal challenges to Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania, including an early morning suit on Election Day filed by a once-imprisoned lawyer. The president’s lawyers fought the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots to arrive. They complained they weren’t being let in to observe the vote count. They said Democratic counties unfairly let voters fix mistakes on their ballot envelopes. Everywhere they turned, they said, they sniffed fraud. In fact, a Republican runs the city’s election board, and has said his office got death threats as Trump’s rants about the election intensified. No judges ever found any evidence of election fraud in Pennsylvania or any other state where the campaign sued — not in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada or Georgia. Instead, Trump lawyers found themselves backpedaling when pressed in court for admissible
evidence, or dropping out when they were accused of helping derail the democratic process. “I am asking you as a member of the bar of this court, are people representing the Donald J Trump for president (campaign) … in that room?” US District Judge Paul Diamond asked at an after-hours hearing on November 5, when Republicans asked him to stop the vote count in Philadelphia over their alleged banishment. “There’s a nonzero number of people in the room,” lawyer Jerome Marcus replied. The count continued in Philadelphia. The Trump losses kept coming. By Friday, November 6, when a state appeals court rejected a Republican complaint over provisional ballots and a Philadelphia judge refused to throw out 8,300 mail-in ballots they challenged, Biden was up by about 27,000 votes. A US appeals court found Pennsylvania’s threeday extension for mail-in ballots laudatory, given the disruption and mail delays cause by the pandemic. Judges in Michigan and Arizona, finding no evidence of fraud, refused to block the certification of county vote tallies. Law firms representing the campaign started to come under fire and withdrew. That left Giuliani, who had not argued a case in court for three decades, in
charge of the effort to overturn the election. Giuliani asked to hold up the certification of the state’s 6.8 million ballots over two Republican voters whose mail-in ballots were tossed over technical errors. “I sat dumbfounded listening,” said Mark Aronchick, a seasoned trial lawyer who represented election officials in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and elsewhere. Giuliani struggled to answer even basic legal questions. “The best description of this situation is widespread, nationwide voter fraud,” Giuliani argued. Under questioning, though, he acknowledged their complaint no longer included a fraud claim. And then, just as it had at Four Seasons, reality came crashing down on him, when news broke in the courtroom that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had rejected the campaign’s appeal over observer access in Philadelphia. It was one of the campaign’s last remaining claims. Even the dissent was crushing. “The notion that presumptively valid ballots cast by the Pennsylvania electorate would be disregarded based on isolated procedural irregularities that have been redressed ... is misguided,” Chief Justice Thomas G Saylor wrote for the minority in the 5-2 decision.
CHILE REOPENS BORDERS TO VISITORS TODAY CHILE says it will open its main border crossing and principal airport to foreign visitors today after an eight-month pandemic shutdown. Arrivals will have to present evidence of a recent negative test for the new coronavirus as well as health insurance. They’ll also have to report their whereabouts and health status for a two-week watch period. Those coming from high-risk countries will have to quarantine for 14 days. President Sebastián Piñera yesterday urged people to maintain precautions to prevent another wave of COVID-19: “The coronavirus is still among us and so we cannot be careless.” Chile closed its borders on March 18, two weeks after reporting its first new coronavirus infection. Since then, the nation of some 18 million people has recorded 540.640 infections and more than 15,000 deaths.
APPROVAL FOR COVID DRUG TRUMP TOOK US HEALTH officials agreed on Saturday to allow emergency use of a second antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental medicine that President Donald Trump was given when he was sickened last month. The Food and Drug Administration authorised use of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc drug to try to prevent hospitalisation and worsening disease from developing in patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms. The drug is given as a one-time treatment through an IV. The FDA allowed its use in adults and children 12 and over who weigh at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms) and who are at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 because of age or certain other medical conditions.
PEOPLE line up at Gotham Health East New York, a COVID-19 testing centre in the Brooklyn borough of New York earlier this year. Black clergy leaders are joining forces with the United Way of New York City for a new initiative designed to combat the coronavirus’ outsized toll on Black Americans through testing, contact tracing and treatment management. Photo: Frank Franklin II/AP
BLACK CLERGY LEADERS JOIN IN EFFORT TO TACKLE EFFECT OF CORONAVIRUS NEW YORK Associated Press BLACK clergy leaders are joining forces with the United Way of New York City for a new initiative designed to combat the coronavirus’ outsized toll on African Americans through ramped-up testing, contact tracing and treatment management. Details of the new effort, shared with The Associated Press in advance of its launch today, rest on harnessing the on-the-ground influence of church leaders to circulate resources that can better equip Black Americans in safeguarding against and treating the virus. Its rollout will begin in five major cities with initial seven-figure funding, focusing on expanded testing and public health
education, with a goal of further expansion and ultimately reaching several hundred thousand underinsured or uninsured Black Americans. The Rev Calvin Butts, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City, said participating churches were stepping forward to serve as a “first line of defence” for the Black community against the virus. “I’m delighted to say we are strongly together across denominational lines and, even when there may be political differences, we still stand shoulder to shoulder in meeting this crisis,” Butts said. The coronavirus has killed more than 250,000 Americans, with hospitalisations reaching an all-time high this week as US deaths
from the virus reached their highest levels since the pandemic surged in the spring. The Black community has been hit hard, with an August study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finding that African Americans had a virus hospitalisation rate 4.7 times higher and a death rate 2.1 times higher than the white population. Sheena Wright, CEO of the United Way of New York City, highlighted that impact in describing plans to help boost the partnership’s technical and fundraising capacities. “We are focused on really closing the opportunity gap for communities of colour around the city, and we’ve certainly seen in COVID19 the profound disparities and impact on the Black community,” Wright said,
pointing to a historic “lack of investment in health institutions” that serve Black Americans. The virus testing is set to start in January in five cities: New York, Detroit, Atlanta, Washington and Newark, New Jersey. Among the clergy helping to spearhead the effort are the civil rights activist the Rev Al Sharpton and the Rev Raphael Warnock, pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and a Democratic Senate candidate in Georgia. Funding support will come from testing company Quest Diagnostics and Resolve to Save Lives, a nonprofit-backed public health initiative led by Tom Frieden, director of the CDC during the Obama administration. The project is modeled in part on the strategy used by
the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, founded in the 1980s to battle another epidemic that disproportionally hit Black Americans. The coronavirus initiative will involve the establishment of leadership roles at participating churches with responsibility to coordinate testing, tracing and connection of virus-positive people with health care, said Debra Fraser-Howze, founder of the AIDS commission and a partner in the new project. The coronavirus struggle “is similar to the AIDS epidemic” in that the Black community has “been again left out, locked out of resources,” Fraser-Howze said. “We have the highest rates of death and illness. So it is time for those that lead us to understand what is going on.”