11232021 BUSINESS

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2021

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Cruise giant’s 150-year PI Crown Land ‘option’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Minnis administration has effectively given Royal Caribbean a minimum 150-year lease over seven Crown Land acres on Paradise Island for its multi-million dollar Beach Club project.

The lease, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, gives the cruise giant an initial 25-year extension plus “no less than four additional options”.

All these “options” are 25 years in length, meaning that when they are added to the original 25-year lease, Royal Caribbean can exercise its rights to potentially occupy that land for one-and-half centuries.

The agreement, which was executed on May 25, 2021, also commits Royal Caribbean to paying an annual $140,000 rent to the Government for use

• Royal Caribbean in ‘minimum’ five 25-year renewals • Annual lease payments $140k, or $3.5m for duration • AG Office, Lands and Survey confusion on site plan

LIGHTHOUSE POINT

of land that it holds in trust for the benefit of the Bahamian people. Over a 25-year lease, this amounts to $3.5m in total rental income with VAT at 10 percent contributing a further $350,000 to the Public Treasury.

These sums pale when set aside the extra $26m in annual visitor spending that the Royal Beach Club is projected to generate, a figure that rises to $650m when extended over the initial 25-year lease term. Royal Caribbean previously said its $110m Paradise Island investment will boost overall visitor spending by $1bn over a ten-year period, although it is uncertain where this impact falls.

The Minnis administration agreed the potential 150-year lease with the cruise giant even though three of the seven Crown Land acres involved

SEE PAGE 4

Union chief hails ‘night and day’ labour change

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Trades Union Congress (TUC) president yesterday accused the former Minnis administration of committing “an unforgivable sin” as he hailed a “night and day” difference in labour relations.

Obie Ferguson told Tribune Business that the previous government had been “very hostile” in its attitude towards, and treatment of, trade unions and working Bahamians.

Besides preventing the Labour Day motorcade this year on the basis it would aid COVID-19’s spread, he also cited a legal appeal made by the Grand

Lucayan’s holding company as a further cause of discontent.

“It’s known to The Bahamas, and Bahamian workers, that we experienced a very hostile, disrespectful relationship with the former government,” he blasted. “Labour Day is one of the most

SEE PAGE 4

OBIE FERGUSON

BPL fuel hedge among ‘first issues’ for Board

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) fuel hedging strategy will be continued beyond its June 2022 end, a Cabinet minister promised yesterday, although there may be some adjustments.

Alfred Sears, minister of works and public utilities, said this will be one of the first issues that the newlyappointed BPL Board has to address. Given that the hedging strategy is effectively underwritten by the

Government, or Bahamian taxpayer, he added that discussions were taking place over whether its scope should be narrowed to assist only “vulnerable” households.

“There have been a number of discussions with the outgoing chairman [Dr Donovan Moxey] and the Ministry of Finance. The hedging strategy is a financial arrangement which helps to stabilise the price of fuel. That facility is backstopped or supported by

SEE PAGE 5

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Resorts set for ‘over 90%’ Thanksgiving occupancies

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MAJOR Bahamian resorts are set to enjoy occupancies “in excess of 90 percent” over the Thanksgiving holiday, a top hotelier disclosed yesterday, adding: “We’re not looking back.”

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that based on advanced bookings the Christmas/ New Year festive period is

• BHTA president: ‘We’re not looking backwards’ • Christmas/ New Year to start earlier, last longer

• Harbour Island described as SEE PAGE 5 ‘chock-a-block’

Bad weather may ‘knock 10-15% off’ for marinas

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday voiced fears that anticipated bad weather may “knock 10-15 percent off” visiting boater traffic this Thanksgiving holiday.

Peter Maury told Tribune Business that the rough weather forecast for much of this week was already deterring some Floridabased boats and yachts from making the crossing to The Bahamas during a period that traditionally

launches the winter tourism season.

With his Bay Street Marina set to run “somewhere in the 60s” on occupancy over the Thanksgiving weekend, and other marinas projected to be above 50 percent and in similar territory, he said: “We’re seeing good bookings. The only problem is that this weather’s not helping is. We’ve had quite a few boats coming over that were stuck in Florida, waiting for a weather window.

“We had a couple of hours today that were good, but then the weather picked

SEE PAGE 2

PAGE 2, Tuesday, November 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Royal Caribbean deal boost for 300 students

THREE hundred Bahamian students aged between five to 16 years-old will gain access to training and skills for building a more sustainable world via a tie-up involving Royal Caribbean Group.

The cruise line’s agreement with the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) will enable Nassau students from underserved communities to take part in Oceans Camps. These are designed to boost the increasingly popular education foundation known as STEM – science,

technology, engineering and math.

STEM provides a project-based approach to finding solutions that improve the planet. STEM campers will use underwater rovers to explore sea grass, learn about mega and miniature sea fauna, and create solutions for the preservation of habitats.

The $450,000 grant from Royal Caribbean will also provide funds and equipment to train 20 local teachers ,whose qualifications are reviewed prior to the application process through a network of local partners.

Global Conversations Development Centre and Project Limestone will work with PADF on the application process, and will leverage their network of schools and teachers to promote broad community participation.

“We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the Royal Caribbean Group, and delighted to create new opportunities for youth in The Bahamas to engage in STEM education,” said PADF executive director, Katie Taylor.

“These STEM camps will provide an interactive and hands-on STEM

educational experience that ensures students, especially girls, gain curiosity, knowledge and practical skills for the 21st century.

The challenge - and the opportunity - both groups agree is attracting more girls to science, engineering and math.

“STEM focuses on skills that are both cognitive and non-cognitive, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, communication skills and conflict resolution,” added Ms Taylor, making it an important factor in future workforce development, according to the

concept paper that led to the agreement between the foundation and Royal Caribbean.

“Giving a group of students a project to work on that requires critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork sets them on a special course in life, and could lead to all sorts of career directions and promising opportunities in the public or private sector,” said Russell Benford, Royal Caribbean’s vice-president of government relations for the Americas.

PADF described STEM activities, tailored to the

specific environment in which they are taught, as a key driver of economic sustainability.

“Our innovative STEM for Oceans programme, for instance, teaches students how to use robotic kits to build underwater drones and help us better understand the ocean’s characteristics, such as levels of salinity, temperature and direction of currents. This type of STEM exploration is perfectly suited for The Bahamas,” said Ms Taylor.

BTC GIVES 150 TABLETS TO AID VIRTUAL LEARNING ALIV IN THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has donated 150 tablets to the Ministry of Education to assist virtual learning at five public schools in Abaco.

The donation was made through the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF), BTC’s immediate parent company, and is part of the carrier’s Mission Week community activities.

Present for the donation were senior Family Island administrator, Donald Rolle; district superintendent of education, Dominique Russell-McCartney; school principals; and the BTC team.

Andre Foster, BTC’s chief executive, said: “We believe that no child should be left

behind. We are pleased to team up with the Ministry of Education to donate 150 tablets to students currently unable to use the virtual learning platform because they did not have access to a device.”

The ministry organised a drive-through collection for the tablets at Central Abaco Primary School so parents and students could pick them up. The CWCF donated 150 tablets for preschoolers, primary and high school students at Central Abaco Primary School, Cooper’s Town Primary, Fox Town Primary, Guana Cay Primary and Patrick J. Bethel High School.

Mrs Russell-McCartney said: “BTC is a strategic partner for education, so we’re excited about this donation. Before Hurricane

Dorian, we had 3,400 children on the island. We are now at 2,500, so a lot of families are moving home and the need for devices is so critical.

“This donation helps us to support our parents because it means that more children have access to the virtual education platform.

We look forward to the continued partnership with BTC.” BTC also teamed with Long Bay School and Friends of the Environment in Abaco to clean up the grounds of the Murphy Town Community Centre and to plant trees. The community centre was destroyed in Hurricane Dorian, but the grounds are still being used by many children and families.

Speaking about this week’s volunteer activities, Mr Foster said: “Every year our employees rally around Mission Week, as we believe that it is so important for us to give back to our communities, whether it’s by planting a tree, serving a hot meal, teaching a class or helping to restore a home. This is the true ethos of our company.”

Gilbert Davis, chairman of the Murphy Town Local Government Township, added: “This was a really great initiative by BTC, and we are thankful for this partnership. When the members of the community passed by and saw us working, they were encouraged and they are optimistic that this is a new beginning, bringing the community centre back to life.”

BTC began its Mission Week on Monday, November 15. The company teamed with the Bahamas National Trust to take students from Inagua, Long Island and New Providence on a virtual tour of several national parks and pine forests, and also taught them about the importance of taking care of the environment.

The company also teamed with communities in Exuma and Grand Bahama for clean-ups and tree planting, and employees also delivered care packages to senior citizens. Mission Week is a company-wide initiative where employees in Latin America and the Caribbean contribute their time, energy and knowledge to positively impact the communities they serve.

BAD WEATHER MAY ‘KNOCK 10-15% OFF’ FOR MARINAS

FROM PAGE ONE

picked up again. Last week was terrible. It didn’t help us much. We’re still going to be busy. We have a few boats over here [Bay Street Marina], Atlantis has a few, and the others have a few.

“It’s a good start. We’ll be somewhere in the 60s.

Most people will be above 50 percent..... We’re glad for what we have. We can’t complain but the weather doesn’t help. It slows the boats coming down. Today is the only good day, and then it gets bad all week,” Mr Maury continued.

“It probably knocks 10-15 percent off our occupancies. I think we’ll still be in

the mid-range 60 percents.

It’s not so much the rain; it’s when it’s windy. We have a front coming through.”

Voicing optimism that more boats and yachts will be tempted to cross from Florida to The Bahamas later in the week, Mr Maury said local marinas were “still fighting the battle” to regain the small and midsize vessels that were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic’s early stages.

“We have a lot of big boats that want to come over, but not a lot in the mid-range,” he told this newspaper. “It still doesn’t fill up all the slips. We’re still fighting that battle with the centre console craft,

the 50-foot boats and the cruisers.

“We have a lot of big boats around, buying a hell of a lot of fuel, a lot of groceries, but many smaller slips in the marina are empty. We’re seeing a repeat of that. This time of year we like to be a solid 80 percent on occupancy.

If we can get that [smaller market] that will definitely give us an opportunity to get to higher numbers.

It’s just not as much as we would like.”

Mr Maury, though, said the Government was still enduring “some growing pains” when it came to the ease of processing a boat’s entry to, and exit from, The

Bahamas. “We still have problems clearing the boats in,” he added.

“The entry process takes for ever, but hopefully the Ministry of Tourism and its parliamentary secretary, John Pinder, are going to focus on that and make it more streamlined. That will make a big difference going into 2022, as we should start to see a lot more traffic going into February and March. Provided the pandemic does not rear up again, The Bahamas should have a fantastic summer.”

The ABM president said Customs’ Electronic Single Window (ESW), or Click2Clear, system had turned what used to be a 30-minute

effort into 340 questions that takes around four hours to complete.

Calling for the process to mirror the health travel visa, which can be applied for “in a matter of minutes” online, Mr Maury added: “Unfortunately with Customs you have to start from scratch when the boat comes into, and goes out of, the country.

“There are five different agencies dealing with it.

There are so many aspects to it, and in my opinion we have made it a difficult process. You have to start from zero every time.” With visiting boaters having to deal with Customs, Immigration, the health travel visa, cruising permits, fishing permits and, potentially, charter fees, Mr Maury said the process would be much easier if online.

This, he added, would also assist with fee collection. Mr Maury, though, said Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, had told the industry at the recent Fort Lauderdale Boat Show that he was assigning Mr Pinder to address the problem.

“We seem to like collecting a lot of paperwork,” the ABM chief said.

BIMINI LAUNCH FOR ITS DISCOVER APP

ALIV’S technologydriven incubation hub has launched its Discover Maps app in Bimini in a bid to boost tourism and the local economy.

The mobile operator’s Aliv Creates team, in a statement, said the app will help build relationships between residents, visitors and the Ministry of Tourism by unlocking the attractions and characteristics of Bimini and its surrounding cays.

Aliv said its staff has met with 70 Bimini businesses to develop a strategy that will drive local economic growth. Erecting 18 signs around the island, and printing 600 maps, visitors will be directed to key amenities and attractions, learn Bimini’s history and save money.

“You don’t have to be in Miami, or Houston or Cleveland. Visitors can download the app from all over the world, and when they do, they will see I-95 and Big Mike; can read about it, discover what others have said about it, and visit you when you get there,” said Gravette D. Brown,. Aliv’s chief commercial officer.

Aliv Creates was set up as a connector and facilitator, where it acts as a technology-driven incubation hub. The Discover Maps app; The List app; and Patch are all products that Aliv Creates has assembled.

Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina was the venue for the first Discover Maps launch event.

The resort is well known for its fishing tournaments, attracting sportsmen and 8,000 guests from around the world.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 23, 2021, PAGE 3

JUST 72% OF VENDORS BACK TO STRAW MARKET

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net JUST 72 percent of straw vendors are returning to the re-opened Bay Street facility, it was revealed yesterday, representing a 140-person decline from pre-COVID levels.

Celestine Eneas, the Straw Vendors Associatio’s president, told reporters attending the official re-opening that out of 500 vendors in the Straw Market prior to its March 2020 closure, only 360 are coming back to work. This means more than one out of every four vendors pre-COVID may not be coming back.

She added that about 30 vendors have died between the COVID-enforced closure and yesterday’s opening, while others are still determining if it is worth returning to the market at this time.

With building work ongoing, Bacchus Rolle, minister of state for works, said: “The construction that you see is part of the protocols that the Ministry of Health required for us to put a sick bay or an infirmary in place. So we anticipate that should be done in about six weeks max. There will be completed bathroom facilities there for the sick bay area, as well as the lodging area.

“The overall cost of the project has been offset because a lot of the work has been done by the ministry itself. And so we stepped out to begin to work internally. We don’t anticipate this being over $70,000.”

Alfred Sears, minister of works and public utilities, said there is a “commitment” to the renovations.

There also needs to be an elevator installed inside the Straw Market so that there is easier access for people to move about.

Ms Eneas, meanwhile, said: “I thank God that we have reached this far by faith, and I want to say something to the Bahamian people. I want to make it clear that I am proud to work along with the minister and his team because they put us as a priority.”

Straw vendors will be placed on shift systems to ensure compliance with COVID-19 related health protocols such as social distancing. They will be divided into two groups.

Group A will work on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for this week, and Group B will work on Tuesday and Thursday. Then the groups will change days next week, and work the opposite days, with one day off as a “cleaning day”.

Mr Sears said: “I am advised that it will be approximately 180 vendors each day, and the rotation is something that is being worked out. It’s a work in progress as we proceed.”

There are other options being considered if the shift system does not work as intended. A “week by week” system, with one group working a full week and then switched out the following week with another group, is also under consideration.

“Ideas on how to make this institution more competitive, much more attractive, were put on the table. And we will be having consultation with the Ministry of Tourism, with the Ministry of Health, as well as other stakeholders to implement the recommendations that have been put forward,” added Mr Sears.

Ms Eneas said vendors had reported that some of their goods, which had been stored at the Straw Market, were stolen. “When we came a lot of the vendors’ stuff was missing,” she said. “When the vendors came, their stuff was gone.”

Barbara Minns, a straw vendor, added: “When I came back to the market

and opened up my locker all of my caps were gone, but it wasn’t that much money that I lost.

“My thing is now we are only working three days out of the week, and now the doors will be locked and we have to bring in our own stuff when we come to the market. It’s hard but we still have to do it.”

Stephanie ArmbristerSands said: “The only thing I don’t appreciate is that they have the entrance closed, and you have to tote your things in yourself. You can’t have no help. They said the minister authorised this, but I don’t know if the minister knows that the authority is saying this order came from him.

“My thing is my mother has health issues. How do you expect her to lift heavy boxes up the stairs in her condition? While I know a lot of stuff was stole,n and they want us to secure our stuff, some of these boxes are heavy and grown men will feel the strain of

WINDER STEPPING DOWN AS COMMONWEALTH CHIEF

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

COMMONWEALTH Bank’s president, Raymond Winder, is stepping down to be replaced by the BISXlisted institution’s chief operating officer, Tribune Business can reveal.

Well-placed sources told this newspaper that the former Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) managing partner is leaving having reached retirement age and will be succeeded in the post by long-serving Commonwealth Bank executive, Denise Turnquest, who also

currently holds the post of senior vice-president.

Mr Winder declined to comment when approached

by Tribune Business, saying: “I don’t want to comment on that right now.” This newspaper, though, understands that the bank’s staff have already been informed about the move with the transition likely to occur in weeks as opposed to months.

Mrs Turnquest, who already sits on Commonwealth Bank’s Board, has some 30 years of banking experience and won the Bahamas Financial Services Board Executive of

the Year Award in 2015. She has worked in commercial and personal lending, business development, credit risk and delinquency management.

A former Chamber of Commerce president, Mr Winder joined Commonwealth Bank as president, as well as taking a Board seat, after retiring from Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) on May 31, 2018.

He was then in charge of the firm’s operations and financial advisory services department. Mr Winder has over 38 years’ experience in public

COMMONWEALTH BANK OF THE BAHAMAS (MAIN BRANCH) accounting, and was a partner for 33 years.

His departure comes after Commonwealth Bank suffered a $23.9m loss for the nine months to end-September 2021 - a near-$50m turnaround from the prior year’s $25.3m profit - due to the timing associated with booking loan loss provisions on delinquent credit.

The move is not, though, connected to this.

William Sands, Commonwealth’s executive chairman, in a message to shareholders said: “The primary contributor to the results has been the bank’s loan impairment expense of $74.8m, which when compared to the same period in 2020 reflects an increase of 92 percent.

carrying these boxes filled with t-shirts, so you can imagine an elderly woman.

“I prefer to keep my stuff inside overnight and I am going to. I don’t have a problem in my shop because all you have to do is secure your goods properly.” They penalise you for every little thing while you are in here. They treat you like you are school children; as if you are back in pre-school.”

Given the long layoff, vendors will not be expected to pay any back license or rental fees. Mr Sears said: “There has been a moratorium. In other words, it’s not like a driver’s license where, if it’s not paid or not active for a year, you have to pay the previous years.

“There has been a moratorium because the Government recognises that if your business is closed, you have to have not just a grace period but a moratorium on payment.”

“While the bank maintains a well-diversified loan portfolio, our customers in good standing that were granted extensions to participate in our loan payment deferral programme have been concentrated in the sectors of the economy most impacted by the pandemic, namely the hotel and leisure sectors.”

He added: “Our regulatory ratios remain very strong. The bank is required to hold a minimum liquidity ratio of 20 percent (the level of liquid assets against possible liquidity risk). As of September 30, 2021, the bank’s liquidity ratio is 59 percent.

“Additionally, regulatory capital adequacy ratios (capital levels to absorb exceptional losses) are set at 17 percent. At over 26 percent, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio is also well in excess of this Central Bank requirement.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 23, 2021

CRUISE GIANT’S 150-YEAR PI CROWN LAND ‘OPTION’

THE TRIBUNE

were approved. Those were the plans that I saw on our file here at the Office of the Attorney General. I do not know if maybe the Bahamas Investment Authority or the Office of the Prime Minister can assist in that regard.”

The Royal Caribbean lease refers to a site plan where the subject land has been coloured “pink”.

Such a document was said, in handwritten notes, to have been dropped off to the Department of Lands and Surveys by Candia Ferguson, then-director of investments at the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA).

Such a document should have been prepared by the Department of Lands and Surveys, given its responsibilities in administering Crown Land, which raises questions as to how involved it was in preparing the site plan and associated surveys for the Paradise Island Crown Land lease.

Toby Smith, the Bahamian entrepreneur behind a $2m investment in the adjacent Paradise Island

Lighthouse & Beach Club project, yesterday suggested that the Minnis administration had merely “copied and pasted” the site plan for his rival Crown Land lease “to suit Royal Caribbean’s cause”.

He added: “So why would Minnis, having offered the Crown Land lease to Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club in January 2020, then have someone within the Office of the Prime Minister draft a lease for Royal Caribbean in May 2021?

“The Government went to extensive measures, involving many government agencies, as they drafted the lease for Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club.

However, did they involve all the same agencies when they drafted the lease for Royal Caribbean?”

The newly-elected Davis administration must now deal with the issues raised by a battle that saw Mr Smith initiate Supreme Court action against the former government, which remains ongoing.

Royal Caribbean has steadily amassed around 13.5 acres on Paradise Island’s western end by buying out private landowners in the area, but its efforts to lease the extra seven Crown Land acres have brought it into conflict with Mr Smith.

He is seeking himself to lease two Crown Land parcels at Paradise Island’s western end, one of which involves two acres around the lighthouse and another three acres for the “beach break” element of his own $2m project. Two of the acres sought by Mr Smith are included in Royal Caribbean’s Crown Land lease.

Mr Smith’s court action is alleging that he was granted a valid Crown Land lease over both parcels, including the lighthouse and the area at Colonial Beach for his “beach break” destination, which is now legally binding.

The case is based on a January 7, 2020, letter from Richard Hardy, acting director of Lands and Surveys, that was headlined “approval for crown land lease” over the two tracts he wanted. This lease was agreed over a year before Dr Minnis signed off on Royal Caribbean’s deal.

UNION CHIEF HAILS ‘NIGHT AND DAY’ LABOUR CHANGE

that agency shop becomes “automatic” once a trade union is recognised as the sole bargaining agent for a workplace.

Other areas where the unions and a PLP government have agreed to work together on changing laws and regulations “where necessary and possible” include “allowing for at least 16 hours of rest between shifts for each employee”.

They also plan to “redefine wages to include all forms of income, including tips and gratuities”, and will look at several other potential changes to the Employment Act. These include amending section 26 (4), so that employees are entitled to redundancy pay, gratuity and a pension in cases where the employer provides a non-contributory pension.

And the PLP-union MoU also commits the parties to assessing if the Act’s section 29 can be changed so that redundancy/dismissal is based on wages instead of basic pay.

Mr Ferguson yesterday likened the differences between the current and former administration to “night and day”, adding: “The difference is very, very significant. We’re having meetings with the Government, and in order to solve any problems you need to have meetings.

“You need to respect the workers, the working people, meet their representatives, listen to them, consult with them on matters that are going to affect more than 220,000 Bahamians. The former government said they don’t believe in unions. We have about 33 unions in The Bahamas approximately.

“We are meeting and we are accomplishing some things. That couldn’t have been accomplished under the former administration because they never met with us..... There’s no union in the TUC that could come out legitimately and say things have not changed.

That speaks volumes to us.”

FROM PAGE ONE

are tied-up in a Supreme Court battle between the Government and Bahamian entrepreneur Toby Smith, who is arguing that they form part of a valid, binding lease he had obtained prior to Royal Caribbean’s deal.

Yet the lease terms seemingly give Royal Caribbean the power to determine whether there will be a renewal, rather than the Government. The cruise giant must only give notice of its intent to renew three months’ prior to the existing lease’s expiry, while also ensuring there has been no breach of existing conditions.

Once these terms are met, Royal Caribbean can renew “for a further term of 25 years from the expiration of the said term at a revised rent” that is to be based on the Crown Land’s value but not include any “improvements” made by the cruise giant.

“The lessee [Royal Caribbean] will be granted no less than four additional options. Each option term

FROM PAGE ONE sacred days for labour, for workers of our country, and we were denied a motorcade. That is an unforgivable sin.”

Mr Ferguson contrasted that with the general election campaign held barely months later, where the supporters of both the Free National Movement (FNM) and Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) were permitted to hold motorcades and drive-in rallies unlike the unions on Labour Day. And he also lashed out over the Governmentowned Lucayan Renewal Holdings filing a legal challenge with the Court of Appeal “seeking to have the court declare that an employer can terminate, or lay-off, a worker without

will consist of 25 years,” the Crown Land lease states.

This gives the cruise giant a much longer occupancy than its senior executives have previously let on.

James Boink, Royal Caribbean’s vice-president of private destinations, told a virtual meeting held by the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) earlier this year that the seven-acre Crown Land parcel would be returned to the Bahamian people’s ownership eventually but did not state this might take up to 150 years.

Responding to a question from Ricardo Miller, he replied: “Our Crown Land lease is for 25 years with rights to renew and, yes, the land does revert back to The Bahamas.”

The lease, which is signed by former prime minister, Dr Hubert Minnis, in his capacity as the then-minister responsible for Crown Land, requires the rent to be paid annually on June 1 every year. Royal Caribbean is also to maintain public

pay. That was taking it too far”.

While Mr Ferguson cited this as an example of the former administration’s allegedly uncaring approach to Bahamian workers, Tribune Business previously reported that the Grand Lucayan’s legal move was designed to have far less serious consequences than the TUC president believed.

This newspaper obtained confirmation that the Grand Lucayan’s motion was only concerned with temporary - and not permanent - layoffs as happened during the COVID-19 crisis peak last year. And the case has yet to be heard.

The motion, filed in response to the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association’s (BHMA) appeal against a Supreme Court

liability insurance of “not less than $1m” and keep comprehensive insurance coverage for the Beach Club property.

Tribune Business, meanwhile, has also obtained documents suggesting there was much confusion over which of eight site plan versions drawn up for Royal Caribbean’s project was the correct one.

A March 17, 2021, e-mail from Bryan Bynoe, acting surveyor-general in the Department of Lands and Surveys, asks an attorney in the Attorney General’s Office: “Thank you for the eight plans you forwarded to the Department of Lands and Surveys.

“Since we have so many versions of the plan of the location, my question is: ‘Which of the plans is final and approved?’ The final/approved plan is not on the related file at the Department.”

The attorney, senior counsel Petrocelli Edwards, replies: “Unfortunately I am unaware of which, if any, of the plans that I sent

judgment won by the Grand Lucayan’s governmentowned operator, is asking the Court of Appeal to clarify whether the Employment (Amendment) Act 2017 allows an employer to lay-off an employee temporarily without any pay.

“Properly construed, section 28 of the Employment (Amendment) Act 2017 effected a change to the common law and conferred on an employer the right to lay-off an employee without pay,” it read.

Mr Ferguson’s stance is also likely to be influenced by the labour-friendly Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the then-opposition PLP agreed with the unions prior to the general election. This “pledged” a PLP government to raising the redundancy cap to 24

months through changes to the Employment Act once elected to office.

And, as “a matter of fundamental principle”, it commits a PLP government to “declaring its unequivocal support for trade unions in the workplace, including automatic agency shop”. Agency shop, which is viewed as protecting a union’s security, would result in non-union members in a particular workplace paying service fees to the union to cover costs associated with collective bargaining agreements the latter secures.

Agency shop agreements are highly-regulated in developed countries, and the US Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that such deals are invalid in the public sector for that country.

However, the PLP-union MoU commits both sides to altering the Employment Act’s section 42 such

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 23, 2021, PAGE 5

RESORTS SET FOR ‘OVER 90%’ THANKSGIVING OCCUPANCIES FROM PAGE ONE likely to start “earlier than normal” and last longer providing increased earning opportunities for COVIDbattered properties and their employees.

While the Christmas/New Year period traditionally provides a week-long boost for the Bahamian resort industry, he added that it could extend to ten days in 2021 with heavy business volumes forecast to arrive in The Bahamas from December 20.

Given these trends, Mr Sands said the hotel and tourism industry was poised for business “levels that we have not seen in many years even prior to COVID”, with airlift into the destination likely to be back and pre-pandemic capacity by January 2022 and advanced bookings for the New Year putting The Bahamas in position to “certainly exceed 2019 levels”.

“All indications from industry partners are, yes, it will be a very strong Thanksgiving,” the BHTA chief said. “I would certainly say it is similar to levels seen in 2019, and maybe stronger than 2019; much stronger than 2019.

“I can tell you it’s [occupancies] extremely high, in excess of 90 percent speaking generally, for the

Thanksgiving weekend; the period. It is very robust.”

Mr Sands said the two Battle 4 Atlantis basketball tournaments, men’s and women’s, plus events staged

by Baha Mar were helping to kick-start the peak winter tourism season.

He added that “pent-up demand” post-COVID, as well as The Bahamas’ upgrade from ‘Level 4’ “do not travel” status with the US health authorities to a ‘Level 3’, were further driving visitor demand.

“We’re beginning to see a pick-up in advance bookings, all forward bookings for the period,” Mr Sands said. “It’s looking very favourable and very encouraging. I would say it’s a very noticeable uptick in terms of seeing what booking levels are like.

“I would say that these are some of the highest levels that we have not seen in many years. I would say that is even compared to pre-COVID. The trends are there as well, and the festive season is very strong. This year, the busiest period is starting earlier than normal. It’s not limited to just a few days. It may be a ten-day period of very robust occupancies.

“Christmas to the New Year is usually six to seven days, but it could be ten days.

We’re beginning

ROBERT SANDS to see busy period even prior to Christmas.” Airlift capacity into The Bahamas was said to be sufficient, with Virgin Atlantic’s arrival and British Airways’ expansion to six days per week service boosting European arrivals, while other carriers were adding routes from the US. “There appears to be adequate airlift,” Mr Sands added. “We’re not quite there back to 2019 levels, but were seeing an increase in seats coming into the destination month-onmonth every month, and by the time we get to January

momentum will have certainly built back to 2019 levels in terms of airlift.

“The Bahamas has always been considered a safe destination. I think we’ve demonstrated to the world that our safety protocols are strong notwithstanding we have had some [COVID] waves and increased cases, but we have taken action that has inspired confidence in the travelling public.”

With current hotel booking pace set to exceed 2019, a record year for Bahamian tourism with 7.2m arrivals, Mr Sands said

the possibility of further COVID-related disruption was far from his mind.

“I’m not even thinking negatively at this point in time,” he added. “We continue to point out to industry members the need to be safe, to put all the protocols in place and ensure any Ministry of Health issues are addressed. We’re not looking backward; we need to continue to look forward.”

Meanwhile, Harbour Island was yesterday said to be “crazy, crazy” and “chock-a-block” as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. Benjamin Simmons, proprietor of The Other Side and Ocean View properties, told Tribune Business that both resorts were 100 percent occupied and “it’s the same all around”.

“It’s been crazy. It’s been crazy since the middle of October,” he revealed.

“The pick-up has been very significant. There’s big jets landing it seems every minute in north Eleuthera.

It’s one private jet after another private jet. It feels like we’re back.

“We’ve constantly been in the high 80s to mid-90s on occupancy. It’s at least in the high 80s. We’re continuing at that level through Christmas and then there’s

a little dip before things pick back up again.”

Mr Simmons said the Christmas and New Year’s period had been fully booked since almost 12 months ago, and added: “We’re very thankful that there seems to be some stability returning to the market to some degree.

“I keep harping on about weddings; that’s our core business and there’s a continuing backlog. It’s not just us. Coral Sands and Pink Sands have both had weddings these past two weekends. The backlog of weddings that people have rescheduled and are booking is huge.”

Mr Simmons said his hotels and others were struggling to find sufficient part-time employees, who they rely on heavily for weddings, to meet the demand. Many, he added, appeared to have found other jobs in a sign that the wider economy continues to recover from the pandemic.

“It’s coming back. It’s coming back,” he said.

“We’re just hoping that whatever the winter brings in terms of COVID-19 that it doesn’t create any hurdles where we have to take one step forward, two steps back but, touch wood, it feels like there’s some stability back. Fingers crossed.”

BPL FUEL HEDGE AMONG ‘FIRST ISSUES’ FOR BOARD FROM PAGE ONE the Government,” Mr Sears said.

“There is a discussion whether that subsidy by the Government should be applied to all consumers or only vulnerable consumers, and I know that’s the discussion that is taking place within the Ministry of Finance. The hedge is one of the first issues that the new Board will have to address in concert with the Ministry of Finance and, of course, the Ministry of Works.

The hedging strategy, executed by the former Minnis administration in July 2020, was designed to both stabilise the “fuel charge” component on BPL customers’ bills as well as produce millions of dollars in savings for those businesses and households, as well as the taxpayer and the Government.

The move was viewed at the time as representing a triple win for BPL’s customers; the Government and its fiscal position; and the overall economy and the foreign exchange reserves.

For the “hedge” locked-in the fuel charge component of customer bills at 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh) until June 2022, providing businesses and households with electricity rate certainty for a two-year period at a time

BAHAMAS POWER & LIGHT’S (BPL) when their finances were under huge strain due to the economic crisis created

by COVID-19.

Mr Sears yesterday said hedging’s continuation will “stabilise the price of energy during this transitional period”, adding that it would be integrated with the Government’s renewable energy drive and other initiatives.

“Clearly, with the price of oil rising daily, one mechanism for providing stability of price for the end-use consumer is by hedging,” he added. “So there will continue to be some hedging

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that MILAN DORVILUS of Governors Harbour, Eleuthera, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of November 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ANNIE BEADNELL of, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of November, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

mechanism, and that will be a matter for the Board and also for the Government, which at the end of the day is going to have to provide the guarantee.”

The Deloitte & Touche accounting firm will be at BPL this week to conduct its assessment of the fuel hedging strategy’s efficacy as part of a review that will also see them examine the energy monopoly’s proposed $535m rate reduction bond (RRB) issue.

BPL’s fuel hedging, which was supported by the Government and InterAmerican Development

Bank (IDB), puts control of monthly electricity bills back in consumer hands.

With rates fixed, and no longer vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations, Bahamian energy costs for the past 16 months have been determined by each business and households’ management of their consumption.

The utility’s reduced fuel costs have also helped reduce the drain on the $2.4bn external reserves at a time when The Bahamas needed to preserve every cent of foreign currency

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JIMMY PACRET of, Floridel Avenue, Bacardi, P.O Box CR54259 Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of November, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that CHRISTOPHER KIWINGTON of, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of November, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

when tourism-related inflows virtually dried up.

BPL’s annual fuel bill is one of the most significant drains on the foreign reserves, which are vital to maintaining the Bahamian dollar’s one:one parity with the US dollar. The hedge thus likely eased some of the anticipated pressure on the external reserves.

The state-owned energy monopoly, in its one-year review of the hedge conducted in summer 2021, asserted that it brought average residential customer bills down by 24 percent versus June 2018.

“The average residential customer saved $42 on the fuel charge in June 2021 versus June 2018 (prior to the hedge). That extrapolates to an annual savings on the fuel charge of about $500. More broadly, the research shows that from August of 2020 to June 2021, customers and the public treasury have saved $15m as a result of the hedge programme,” it said.

BPL said if that trend continues, it projects savings of about $40m to customers and the Public Treasury between August 2020 and January 2022.

Mr Sears, meanwhile, said Shell North America remained “willing to partner” with the Government on both the 225 Mega Watt (MW) power plant and associated liquefied natural

gas (LNG) regasification terminal at Clifton Pier that will provide New Providence’s baseload electricity supply.

“There was a meeting between the Prime Minister and executives of Shell, and I also had a meeting with them,” Mr Sears said. “I participated in both meetings and the conversation.

“Shell is available, and has expressed its willingness as the Government recalibrates, to work and facilitate and is willing to partner with the Government. That in a nutshell is the outcome of the conversation.”

BPL’s long-standing legacy debt stands at around $290m, and is something Mr Sears said will be the responsibility of the new Board to deal with. “The function of the Board is to look at how to deal with the legacy debt at BPL, which is $290m, almost $300m, and then to fund whatever the business strategy is in terms of power generation, improvement of distribution and transmission infrastructure for the whole country,” he added.

BPL’s new board consists of Pedro Rolle, chairman; Daniel Ferguson, deputy chairman; Errol Davis; Anthony Farrington; Reneika Knowles; Dirk Simmons; Cheryl Simms; and Nadia Storr.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that DAVANO ERROL THURSTON of, #6 Bacardi Road, P.O Box CR54259 Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of November, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JOHN BEADNELL of, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of November, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, November 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

FED’S POWELL WILL AIM TO WIN A HIGH-STAKES BET IN 2ND TERM

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gambled last year that his ultra-low rate policies would help revive an economy that had sunk deep into a pandemicinduced recession. So far, his bet has mostly paid off.

Growth and hiring have rebounded faster than anyone expected. President Joe Biden, citing his commitment to lowering unemployment, on Monday picked him for another four-year term.

Yet Powell’s challenge is hardly over. Inflation has jumped to a three-decade high, and Powell’s efforts to contain it will constitute the stiffest test of his next term. In doing so, he will also have to grapple with

additional complications, from the unusual nature of the pandemic recovery to the risk of getting ahead of other central banks around the world.

Getting inflation under control will be particularly difficult because the Fed isn’t facing a traditionally overheating economy. Normally, the central bank can cool runaway growth, and the threat of high inflation, by raising its benchmark interest rate, which affects other loan rates throughout the economy. Doing so tends to slow borrowing and spending.

This time, huge government stimulus spending, the release of pent-up demand as the economy reopened and the Fed’s own policies — it’s kept its short-term rate near zero since March 2020 — has supercharged consumer demand. The

spending surge has mostly been funneled into goods like cars, furniture and electronics. The jump in demand has clogged ports and railways and collided with labor and supply shortages. That combination of factors isn’t something the Fed can fix.

“This isn’t your gardenvariety inflation spike,” said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University who has studied the Fed. “This pandemic economy is different.

There’s really no playbook for: How do you get the soft landing the Fed is always aiming for?”

At the same time, the economy still has 4 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic. Under a new policy framework the Fed adopted last year, it has placed a renewed emphasis on reaching maximum employment. Should the Fed miscalculate and keep rates too low for too long to try to spur further job growth, price increases could accelerate. The central bank would then have to resort to sharper rate hikes to bring inflation back down. That, in turn, would risk causing another recession.

“2022, without question, is going to be one of the hardest years that the Fed has had to navigate,” said Claudia Sahm, a senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute and former Federal Reserve economist.

“They have a very complicated task ahead of them.”

By most measures, the economy has fared quite well this year, even though high prices have undercut Americans’ confidence in it and made it harder for many households to afford

FEDERAL Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 12, 2020. President Joe Biden announced Monday, Nov. 22, 2021 that he’s nominating Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chair, endorsing Powell’s stewardship of the economy through a brutal pandemic recession in which the Fed’s ultra-low rate policies helped bolster confidence and revitalize the job market.

Photo:Susan Walsh/AP

“This isn’t your garden-variety inflation spike. This pandemic economy is different. There’s really no playbook for: How do you get the soft landing the Fed is always aiming for?”

Sarah Binder food, fuel and other necessities. On Monday, while introducing Powell and his nominee for vice chair — Lael Brainard, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors — Biden declared that the U.S. economy has “gone from an economy that was shut down to an economy that’s leading the world in economic growth.”

He credited his own policies and the Fed’s as well.

“Things are getting better for American workers,” the president said. “Higher wages, better benefits, more flexible schedules. ... Savings are up, home equity is up.”

Yet consumer prices also skyrocketed 6.2% in the 12 months that ended in October, the fastest yearover-year jump since 1990.

Powell, after having previously describing high

inflation as merely “transitory,” now acknowledges that it could persist well into next year.

Most analysts expect the Fed to raise rates at least twice in 2022 to try to rein in inflation, which the Fed wants to average 2% annually over time. But those rate increases will create their own challenges.

Under the new framework devised by Powell and Brainard among others, the Fed wants maximum employment that is “broad and inclusive.” That means it will take account of other data points, like the unemployment rate for Black Americans, rather than just the overall jobless rate.

Yet even if the overall jobless rate falls below 4% next year — it’s 4.6% now — which would be close to what many Fed officials

regard as full employment, African-American joblessness would likely be much higher, given the perennial racial gap in unemployment. Black unemployment is 7.9% now.

Stephanie Aaronson, a former Fed economist who now directs economic studies at the Brookings Institution, noted that the Fed has frequently said it wants to keep the economy growing as robustly as possible, to help disadvantaged workers regain employment or earn higher pay.

If the central bank instead starts to hike rates to choke off inflation, it could forestall some of those potential gains in employment.

If that should happen, Aaronson said, “they’re going to have to say why they didn’t wait longer.”

Fed officials, she added, could note that high inflation also hurts lowerincome workers.

“They can articulate this, but they’ve got to get started,” Aaronson said.

Joseph Stiglitz, an economist at Columbia University and Nobel Prize laureate in economics, suggested that the Fed also has to consider the global consequences of its policies.

PUBLIC NOTICE In accordance with the Order of the Honorable Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson made October 21, 2021, Shares numbered 2,001 to 4,000 describe in share certificate #2 in Blue Illusions Ltd. are to be sold by public auction on Friday November 26, 2021, in front of Supreme Court main Building, Bank Lane, Nassau, The Bahamas between the hours of 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm

LEGAL NOTICE GLOWENA HOLDINGS LIMITED (In Voluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given in pursuance of Section 218(e) of the Companies (Winding Up Amendment) Act, 2011, that the Members of the above-named Company by Resolution passed on the 4th day of November 2021 resolved that the Company be wound up voluntarily forthwith and that the Liquidator be Ms. Tanya P. Simmons of Ronald Atkinson & Co., Chartered Accountants, Marron House, Virginia and Augusta Streets, P.O. Box N-8326, Nassau, Bahamas.

Dated the 19th day of November 2021.

Tanya P. Simmons Liquidator

NOTICE INTEGRATED DATA PROCESSING AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) INTEGRATED DATA PROCESSING AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS INC. is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act, 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 19 November, 2021 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Mr. Beryn Neeley.

Dated the 23rd day of November, 2021.

H&J CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company