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‘No disrespect to PM’ AT STARTING

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Activist wants public response from Christie

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVIST Ranard Henfield pictured during Friday’s march to Rawson Square.

The event, attended by hundreds of Bahamians, sought to raise concerns over a number of issues. Mr Henfield declined to meet Prime Minister Perry Christie when invited.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

COMMUNITY activist Ranard Henfield, organiser of Friday’s “We March Bahamas� protest, said he meant no disrespect in refusing to meet with Prime Minister Perry Christie about protestors’ concerns, adding that his group will not relent in its push to get their demands met.

Speaking as a guest on the 96.9 FM show, The Revolu-

tion hosted by Juan McCartney, Mr Henfield said he never had intentions to sit and meet with Mr Christie.

He said he was of the view that the prime minister would address concerns put forth by his group in the public domain in a time frame prescribed by the group.

Last Tuesday, protest organisers issued a list of 23 non-partisan demands to the prime minister and several of his Cabinet ministers.

They also called for a public response to their letter on the

steps of the House of Assembly.

Mr Christie in a five-page statement released last Thursday stressed that he was “painfully aware� that the country had suffered tremendous setbacks, ultimately issuing an invite to the group to meet. “I meant no disrespect in refusing to meet with the prime minister, but I think the letters on November 9 and 22 are very clear,� said Mr Henfield.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

DORSETT CALLS PROTEST ORGANISERS ‘ARROGANT’

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net ORGANISERS of the “We March Bahamas� protest were described as arrogant by a Cabinet minister who called their refusal to meet with Prime Minister Perry Christie on matters of national concern both a “disappointment� and a “mistake�.

Environment and Housing Minister Kenred Dorsett issued the rebuke yesterday just days after he, Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald and Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller, and others, made an unexpected appearance at the protest.

Last Thursday, Mr Christie released a statement inviting protest organisers to meet with him

THE BLACK Friday protest march in Rawson Square.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ganiser of the demonstrato discuss their issues statdemanded. ing that he is “painfully tion, said he had no interAnd as the prime minaware� that the country est in meeting the nation’s ister did not appear at has suffered tremendous leader at the “ninth hour� Parliament Square as rebut would meet once Mr quested by protestors, a setbacks.

On Friday, however, Christie has tabled the leg- pledge was made to stage Ranard Henfield, lead or- islation the protestors have a similar event on Major-

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ity Rule Day if the government does not meet their demands.

Mr Dorsett, however, yesterday called the organisers’ response a “great disappointment.� “I must express my great disappointment with the event organisers for turning down the invitation from the prime minister for a sit down meeting,� he said in a statement. “Their arrogance lost them the opportunity to have a purposeful, productive exchange about the issues raised. That was a mistake. I believe that the only way to address the challenges facing our country is to do so together and by staying open to talking to each other. Divisive politics and rhetoric are not conducive to a stronger Bahamas.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

TWO MEN DEAD - ONE SHOT, ONE FOUND BURNT

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

POLICE in the capital are investigating the circumstances surrounding the country’s two latest homicides, which occurred early Monday morning in two separate incidents.

The killings moved the country’s homicide toll to 97 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

According to police reports, in the first incident, officers responded to calls of a male shot outside an apartment complex in the vicinity of McKinney Drive around midnight Monday.

Once on the scene, officers saw the lifeless body of man and pronounced him dead on the scene.

SEE PAGE SIX

DEFICIT FORECAST TREBLES TO NEAR $300M SEE BUSINESS

DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT FOR DOUBLE MURDER IN ANDROS

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JUDGE was asked yesterday to impose the death penalty on two men convicted of the murder and kidnapping of a Department of Immigration officer and his girlfriend in Andros.

Zintworn Duncombe, 28, and James Johnson, 22, appeared before Justice Indra Charles for the continuation of the penalty phase of their trial for their respective roles in the murder and kidnapping of Shane Gardiner and his girlfriend, Tishka Braynen, in 2013.

SEE PAGE SIX

SMITH: BELIEVING MITCHELL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WEBSITE WOULD BE NAIVE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet minister George Smith said it would be naĂŻve of anyone to believe that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell had ever disassociated himself from the website bahamasuncensored.com, as he warned politicians not to

push “private and personal agendas� while members of the government.

He was reacting to Mr Mitchell’s criticism of Friday’s “We March Bahamas� protest, as well as Mr Mitchell’s promotion of the website.

The website, with its distinctive pro-Progressive Liberal Party tilt, frequently posts information about Mr Mitchell’s activities as a

parliamentarian and Cabinet minister while providing commentary on various issues of prominence locally and worldwide.

The commentary is sometimes pointed and inflammatory, aimed at particular personalities. â€œâ€ŚI’d like to encourage you on a regular basis to read bahamasuncensored. com and ‘Fred Mitchell minute by minute’ on Fa-

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cebook, because it tells you what I’m doing and it also aligns with much of my thinking on political issues,� Mr Mitchell said in a voice note last week, as he urged PLP supporters not to attend Friday’s protest.

Reacting yesterday, Mr Smith said: “One would have to be fairly unfamiliar with the realities in The SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Tuesday, November 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

SALVATION ARMY LAUNCHES ANNUAL KETTLE DRIVE

THE SALVATION Army launched its annual Kettle Drive at the Mall at Marathon on Saturday, with music, speakers and the media in attendance. The annual drive aims to raise funds to help the organisation meet its goals of helping those in need.

Photos: Aaron Davis

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 29, 2016, PAGE 3

Gomez says NHI still on course for January 2017

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Dr Perry Gomez said yesterday that the first phase of National Health Insurance, primary healthcare, is still on pace to be rolled out in January 2017.

His statement comes mere weeks after he said NHI might have to be “slightly” delayed because of Hurricane Matthew, which damaged public buildings, including clinics, in October.

Some believe the Christie administration’s timeline for NHI implementation is too ambitious. The NHI Secretariat announced last week that the period for stakeholders and interested parties to submit proposals to manage NHI’s public insurer has ended, with three

proposals having been submitted.

The secretariat will now evaluate the proposals and submit a recommendation to Cabinet.

It’s unclear how long this process will last, and officials were not available for comment yesterday.

Under the original target schedule for NHI that was released in August, the preferred proposed bidder was supposed to be selected on October 28 while negotiations with the bidder was supposed to be completed

by November 25.

However, both dates have passed and officials are only now moving towards evaluating the proposed bids, raising questions about how other items in the queue have been affected.

The secretariat is also focused on completing regulations for NHI, a process

that was expected to be completed earlier this summer.

It’s now unclear when this process will end but it is expected to involve multiple rounds of consultations between stakeholders, officials at the Office of the Attorney General and Cabinet.

In addition, Dr Locksley Munroe, president of the Consultant Physician Staff Association (CPSA), said yesterday that potential service providers have not yet started the process of enrolling in the NHI scheme.

“They are making the promise of January rollout but they will look for reasons that it can’t work,” he told The Tribune. “Enrolling of providers has not begun. There’s still lots that we don’t know and I think it’s very unlikely that we will have a January rollout.”

MINISTER of Health Perry Gomez.

CHIEF OF STAFF’S RETURN DEPENDS ON APOLOGY

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE return of former Princess Margaret Hospital Medical Chief of Staff Dr James Johnson will depend on whether he receives an “apology” from Public Hospitals Authority Managing Director Herbert Brown, Consultant Physician Staff Association President Dr Locksley Munroe said yesterday.

Dr Munroe also told The Tribune that Mr Brown “unequivocally indicated his willingness” for Dr Johnson’s return, as well as a desire to “develop a more interactive relationship with the physician body” during a recent meeting with the Consultant Physician Staff Association (CPSA) president.

However, Dr Munroe told The Tribune that he, on behalf of Dr Johnson, sent a letter to Mr Brown yesterday, which stated that the former would not return to his old role “unless they apologise to him unequivocally for the manner in which they spoke to him.”

Dr Munroe told The Tribune that up until yesterday evening he had yet to receive a formal response from Mr Brown.

“Mr Brown indicated he would like to have a better form of communication between administrators and the senior physicians, and he has agreed with that,” Dr Munroe said when contacted by The Tribune. “But I don’t know if he is going to be willing to apologise to James, and James say he’s not coming back unless they apologise, because he’s not taking those kinds of insults.”

Dr Munroe’s comments

were in reference to how Dr Johnson, just months into his second term as MCOS, resigned with immediate effect last week after reaching an impasse with the PHA over its decision to disregard recommendations by the physicians on the appointment of two foreign doctors.

According to sources close to the matter, Dr Johnson’s suggestion was for the doctors to start at a lower salary ranking, with the option for review and promotion after one or two years; however, this was disregarded for a higher ranking at the beginning of their tenure, supported by Mr Brown.

The Tribune was advised

HUNT FOR ARMED ROBBERS POLICE are searching for the suspects responsible for an armed robbery that occurred on Sunday.

Shortly after 1pm, a man was about to purchase a vehicle at a home located at Obadiah Drive in New

Providence, when four men armed with handguns approached and robbed him of a large amount of cash before fleeing in a silver coloured Honda Fit vehicle.

Investigations are ongoing.

COURT CASE CORRECTION

IN Monday’s Tribune, we apologise for any inconvenincorrectly reported that ience caused. lawyer Norris Carroll represented Naki Roberts, 19, who was charged with murder on Friday in Freeport.

In fact, attorney Ashley Carroll represented Roberts at his arraignment.

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DR JAMES JOHNSON that Dr Johnson’s recom- and effective communicamendations were supported tion is a serious problem by the medical advisory within the hospital,” and committee. However, the that “the hiring of these recommendations were not physicians was the final supported by Mr Brown, trigger” for Dr Johnson’s who ultimately changed the shock resignation. proposal with the backing Dr Munroe also said of the authority’s board. in his statement that Mr Yesterday, Dr Munroe, Brown is open to Dr Johnin a statement, said that fol- son resuming his former polowing a meeting with Mr sition; however, he referred Brown on the matter, the to a letter by Dr Johnson in PHA managing director which the former Medical acknowledged that “timely Chief of Staff demanded an

apology from Mr Brown if any progress on his potential return is to be made.

“A letter was sent to Mr Brown concerning said matter,” Dr Munroe said.

“So that letter is on record of having gone, but like I said whether or not he’s going to respond to it, that’s another story. Because like I said, James said he’s not coming back unless he gets the apology. And I sent the letter on to Mr Brown to

indicate that that was the terms and conditions.

“The whole method or manner of doing things does not involve the managing director working in any kind of a congenial manner with anybody, because essentially he’s been able to do what he’s been doing for the last couple of years without query or question, and that’s part of the problem.

“What I was hoping for, really, was that having spoken with Mr Brown, having spoken with James Johnson, that somewhere along the line somebody was going to say ‘okay let’s start again,’ but I don’t see that at all.”

“I’m going to have to see what Mr Brown says to the letter that says ‘I am not coming back unless you apologize.’”

The Managing Chief of Staff position is a contractual peer-appointed post with a three-year term. Dr Johnson served from 2013 to 2016, and was reappointed for another term in July.

Dr Johnson has said that he decided to step down from the post after it became clear that officials had already proceeded with the recruitment exercise of the foreign doctors despite months of back-and-forth discussion over the changes.

“It put me in a terrible position, it’s either they need to change the decision or I need to withdraw myself from the process,” Dr Johnson had said earlier.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 29, 2016

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

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THE TRIBUNE

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After the march, what next?

ON Friday, November 25, history was made in The Bahamas.

As many as 1,000 people from all walks of life took to the streets in a peaceful march to express their frustration with how they are being governed.

They asked for transparency, accountability, freedom of information legislation. They asked for an end to closed door deals. They asked to be consulted on matters impacting their own communities. There were even those who asked for better education for their children or more food on their table.

The Black Friday March was like a blender into which was dumped all the frustrations of a population that feels disconnected from its government and disenfranchised in its own country. The march, which The Tribune supported as a means of democratic expression, was, by all measures, highly successful. There were some surprises. Why did five Progressive Liberal Party MPs show up? What was their intention? Why did Fred Mitchell, a veteran PLP politician, risk sounding like a dictator ordering PLPs not to go near the march? What would they be risking, one has to ask? Would they be excommunicated from a party desperately trying to hold on to its believers?

More importantly, the question that should be on everyone’s mind who cares about how they are governed is “After the march, what next?”

The government admits the march was a wake-up call. They now know people are no longer willing to settle for whatever is pushed down their throats. They are willing to take a stand. They are willing to get up out of their armchairs where apathy and gravity want to tug at them and pull them down. They are ready to hoist their placards and their hopes high into the air. They no longer care if the TV camera captures them. The people, at long last, have had enough and, for the first time since Bahamian Independence, are not afraid of victimisation because they have comfort in numbers.

And again we ask, after the march, what next? Will the march lead to change?

We fear that while some members of the current administration will want to do things differently, bring more transparency and accountability, others – particularly the older, more established members – will resist that change. They have benefitted from the lack of transparency and from making decisions at the Cabinet level without the annoying rounds of true

public consultation.

We ask: “Was there a lesson learned?”

Three days after the march, a court case was being heard in Grand Bahama where residents of the small community of Little Harbour, Abaco, were trying to protect their way of life in the face of a developer with property on a nearby island wanting to dredge, build a marina, retail outlets and other enterprises on the little island whose residents have carved out the life they want for themselves and are vehemently opposed to big development. Those residents are not poor. They are not begging for anything except to retain the culture of their community. They are not asking for anything except not to transformed into another big marina stopover for strangers.

They have an honour system at the little restaurant on the beach; cook a burger, sign a chit and pay later. They have an historic foundry where brass artworks are created that have put The Bahamas on many a map. Sea turtles swim unfettered in the harbour. Sailboats bob and tail into the wind with dinghies going between them as friends join one another for sundowners. Little Harbour, in many ways, is a microcosm of the life of boaters in The Bahamas and has been since its founder, Randolph Johnstone, first brought his family to the perfect isle he found and they settled into a cave when weather made life aboard their boat too difficult.

So the Black Friday March came and went, a success of organisation and expression. And in Grand Bahama a community is before a judge fighting for the right to be what it is instead of having a government decision about development imposed upon it.

The Black Friday March can matter, but only if the organisers and those who supported it do not spend time patting themselves on the back for the job they have done but instead begin planning for the job that lies ahead. Now that they have found their voice, it is time to end the silence of submission. It is important to continue to do so in a peaceful manner and as free of politics as possible to maintain credibility.

In reality, the opportunity for real change will occur when voters walk into election halls. For now, the chorus must find ways to stay connected and move forward guiding the path to progress for all Bahamians.

Saying a farewell to Fidel Castro EDITOR, The Tribune.

in Cuba as well as in all the world A Day inevitable has afis it like air gone out ter all Arrived of all the tyres on the road, out of all the tyres in the (For Fidel Ale- world jandro Castro Ruz, Castro expiring, sighing, August 13, 1926 to Novem- tired after all, right through ber 25, 2016) his mind and body passing now that he has lain down When I get back to Cuba, and died, will I sense this loss now that he has given up will it be empty of some- his life, thing now that he has been takwhat void has this death, en back, has his death created, taken up, taken away caused, from us and from the sum

of life what will - who will there be to fill us, to uplift us who will argue for- take up the cause of the oppressed of this world of the wretched of the earth in heaven he’ll be happy, I am certain, to meet again, to chat and to laugh with Frantz Fanon and Aimé Césaire.

OBEDIAH SMITH Blantyre, Malawi.

Sandals and the law EDITOR, The Tribune.

OFF West Bay parking around Sandals Royal Bahamian Hotel- tried to park to collect my mail from the Post Office at Cable Beach impossible - the staff told me - Sandals Grand Opening these are their employees! The Post Office parking area is Government property so our access has to be guaranteed.

Tried to visit a friend who lives close to Cable Beach Manor - impossible the

street roped off.

Editor, friends who live close to Sandals have an enormous and growing nuisance from the employees of Sandals - the employees park anywhere they can find. When the FNM sold the hotel to Sandals and Sandals added the extension no required parking was provided so with the additional employees they are left to themselves to find somewhere to park to the annoyance of their neighbours.

Then there is the junkanoo noise every week in the evenings.

How today Cable Beach Manor access is roped off is illegal - I did not see any Gazetted Notice from the Police advising the road would be closed - so the obvious has to be asked - is again Sandals above the law?

Where are the Cable Beach police?

K JOHNSON Nassau, November 18, 2016.

Means to an end EDITOR, The Tribune

“BY hook or by crook” is an old saying that portends that any means necessary will be deployed to accomplish a certain end.

How appropriate then that the Minister responsible for fishing has been caught in his own net (again) and is proving to be as slippery as an eel in worming his way out of his own fishy stories.

Bear in mind that Minister Vergeneas Alfred Gray, a member of the Bar, always says what he believes. The trouble is what he believes keeps changing, sometime by the hour.

The Minister honestly believed sometime ago that he did not interfere with the administration of justice in a matter involving some of his constituents.

Now he wants us to believe him when he says the government is not considering the grant of crown land and assorted other matters to Chinese concerns. The government, in a collective sense, probably was not. But apparently the Minister, acting in a solo capacity, had the matter strongly under advisement. He believes that he, not the government, was considering the matter.

Never mind all that malarkey about cabinet government and collective responsibility, one for all, etc.

Minister Gray was merely thinking through a plan to boost fishing and agriculture in a country of 5,000 square miles by calling in a country for whom that acreage would be nothing more than a backyard plot for slash and burn farming and a goldfish pond.

Because China sits on almost 4 million square miles they have a tendency to think big in designing their projects.

Exhibit A in this regard, the still unfinished Baha Mar resort, perhaps because it was too big to undertake all at once.

We Bahamians muse about people with “big eye”. They tend to be motivated by something other than altruism.

There are so many layers to unpack in the latest PLP fishing fiasco. For example, why it is that the party who were so obsessed with preserving Bahamian fishing grounds for Bahamians that the first time shots were fired in a hostile action by our Defence Force (then called the Police Marine Division) was in a stand-off to stop illegal poaching by U.S. based fishermen?

In 1975, two years after independence, the PLP amended the 1969 Fisheries Act to declare lobster, conch, grouper and other marine resources creatures of the continental shelf. At the time, fishermen from Florida, including a large number of Cuban-Americans would

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net cavalierly sail into our waters to fish. Paul Adderley, then Attorney General would have none of it.

We came to blows over fish and that was the first test case for the newly sovereign Bahamas. We adopted a law, similar in text and intent as one only in force in the US to protect their fishing.

Five years later, in 1980 we got into hostile action with Cuba over another incident of poaching. We lost four seamen and a 103’ navy ship in that dust-up.

So strong was the PLP’s vision of preserving fishing for Bahamians that the unflappable A. D. Hanna to this day can’t discuss it without furrowing his brow. It moved him to his core. Hanna had agitated for a Defence Force from the get-go when Pindling was still fixated on the Police Marine Division becoming a Coast Guard.

Twelve years on from that episode and the PLP did a 180-degree reversal on protecting Bahamian fishermen. The hapless Sidney Stubbs, then a MP and Chairman of the agricultural corporation tried to sneak a few Korean fishing boats past an armada of laws and regulations the former PLP had put in place to prevent such a thing.

Perry Christie was PM at that time too, and I’ll bet you a plate of conch fritters if you can find a statement from him about what really happened.

Fourteen years later, Christie is PM again and here we go with a plan to invite the Chinese to put up the money and the “expertise” to teach our people, whose forefathers have been productively fishing here for centuries, how to extract fish from our waters.

But before condemning the PLP cabinet for engineering a policy flip-flop, let’s interrogate the messenger. Gray could have been on a solo fishing expedition without the consent of the Cabinet or even the knowledge of the Prime Minister.

That’s just the type of slackness that Christie allows.

What he may have found was a completely well intentioned temporary civil servant in our Ambassador to China, unskilled in the protocol of the public service or even, it seems, the opaque machinations of diplomacy.

Rookie Ambassador Andy Gomez works for Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell and he can’t just breeze past his line Minister, no matter how deep his friendship with Christie.

Instructions for him to

proceed with a course of diplomacy with his hosts in Beijing ought to have come from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not the Minister of Agriculture.

And Gomez is accredited to China and so it is baffling how he could initiate discussions on a fishing project with the Chinese Embassy in Nassau. Protocol dictates that the Chinese diplomats in Nassau would first present their compliments to the Foreign Ministry here before entertaining a question from our man in Beijing.

Mitchell is brutishly autocratic at Foreign Affairs and one gets a snigger out of how this snafu appears to have got past him. Mitchell keeps such a tight reign on his Ministry that he calls in to local radio talks shows, even while travelling just to set the record straight. Could it be that Gray intentionally plotted a pincer move to outsmart Mitchell?

Word is that Mitchell plays minecraft on his smart phone whenever Gray makes a cabinet intervention, such is the level of contempt in what otherwise should be brotherly respect and a display of the good manners his parents taught him.

All of this is lost on Christie as he reportedly spends cabinet meetings staring at the bottle of “NoDoz” tablets, discreetly placed in front of him before each session.

What is also now unprecedented is the press release from the Embassy in Beijing, effectively injecting itself into the political imbroglio unfolding at home. The Ambassador put his foot wrong on this one and the Counsellors and First Secretaries who support him in the Embassy should have advised him against this action.

No doubt Mitchell is on the phone now with his travel agent booking first class passage to Beijing to set the Ambassador straight. Ambassadors speak for the entire government and not for individual Ministers. Mitchell is the cop in charge of traffic between Ministries and our missions abroad. Full stop.

This plot only thickens.

And if you are a lobster fisherman in Spanish Wells, a conch fisherman in Long Island or a weekend fisherman with a favourite watering hole in Andros you should be livid that the PLP is trying to take your livelihood or pastime away from you.

If you think the lionfish is a threat to our grouper, wait till you see what $2 billion in Chinese money will do to wipe out our favourite pelagic delicacies.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, November 21, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 29, 2016, PAGE 5

FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis speaking during Friday’s protest in Rawson Square.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Minnis again calls on PM to release Baha Mar deal details FREE National Move- Prime Minister Christie ment Leader Dr Hubert told us that he would ‘soon’ Minnis has again demanded unveil more details on the that Prime Minister Perry secret buyer of Baha Mar, Christie release the details and the Bahamian people surrounding are still waitthe deal to reing,” Dr Minmobilise the ‘It has been a nis said in a beleaguered month since Prime statement.

Baha Mar re- Minister Christie “Minister sort.

Obie WilchHis re- told us that he combe over newed call would ‘soon’ unveil the weekend came a day more details on announced after Minister that a proof Tourism the secret buyer of spective buyObie Wilch- Baha Mar, and the er has subcombe told mitted their Bahamian people The Tribune proposal to that the gov- are still waiting.’ buy the reernment has sort.

The received the highly antici- prime minister must now pated Baha Mar propos- immediately explain to the als from prospective buyer Bahamian people how this Chow Tai Fook Enterprises buyer was selected and what (CTFE), including a list of concessions were given. operators that the Hong “The PLP government Kong-based conglomerate claims it will now do its due is eyeing to run the shut- diligence by looking into tered mega-resort’s casino – the company but how can the largest in the Bahamas this happen if they will not and the Caribbean. reveal any details to the BaMr Wilchcombe con- hamian people? firmed that the Gaming “A review of a new owner Board began its due dili- of this multi-billion dollar gence on the list of casino resort by the PLP governoperators late last week. ment cannot be conducted “It has been a month since in the dark of the night as

they have conducted their business these past four and a half years.

“It is time for the embattled Prime Minister Christie to finally step forward and provide the details of his secret Baha Mar deal as he said he would weeks ago.

The people are long past tired of his excessive excuses, empty promises and side-show distractions.”

Dr Minnis said people marched on Parliament last week because of issues with a lack of transparency from the current administration.

“However, the government has not heeded the calls of the Bahamian people for accountability and transparency,” he added.

“No, they are continuing to keep secret all of the details involved in this deal.”

“The embattled prime minister continues to remain defiantly silent on the secret Baha Mar deal and his silence is deafening to the Bahamian people who simply want to know the truth.

“The prime minister can end all of this secrecy by allowing the courts to unseal the deal. We serve notice on the PLP government that the

PAIR DENIED BAIL ON FIREARMS CHARGES

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were remanded to prison yesterday after they were separately arraigned in Magistrate’s Court on firearms-related offences.

Charles Archer, 31, appeared before Magistrate Constance Delancy facing a charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm and two counts of possession of ammunition concerning an alleged seizure on November 24.

It is alleged that Archer was found with a black Austria Glock .40 pistol and 11

live rounds of .40 ammunition for the weapon without being the holder of a certificate or license to possess the items.

It is further alleged that he was found with a single .45 calibre bullet on the date in question.

Archer, when called on to enter a plea to the charges, denied committing any crime.

He returns to Magistrate’s Court on January 31, 2017 for the start of his case.

He was denied bail, however, and was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services.

Archer has the right to apply for bail in the Su-

preme Court.

In another arraignment before Magistrate Delancy, 25-year-old McKenzie Oscar faced a charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm concerning an alleged seizure on November 26.

It is alleged that he was found with a pink and silver frame, black handle .38mm revolver without having the authority to possess it.

He pleaded not guilty to the allegation and was remanded to prison to await trial scheduled for January 23, 2017.

Oscar also has the right to apply for bail to the Supreme Court.

MURDER TRIAL DATE SET FOR SEPTEMBER NEXT YEAR

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A TRIAL date in 2017 has been fixed for the accused men behind a murder that occurred in August.

Kyle Newbold, 24, and Christopher McQueen, 22, appeared before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson yesterday for a fixture hearing for their case concerning the August 23 killing of

Martin Nixon.

A tentative date was set for September 4, 2017.

The pair had pleaded not guilty to murder when they were formally charged before Justice Bernard Turner on November 4.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 11pm off Blue Hill Road South, Nixon was involved in an argument with another man in front of a home when he was shot.

He was rushed to the hospital, but died of his injuries early the next morning.

When Newbold and McQueen’s case was transferred to the Supreme Court for trial in October, they were informed about the voluntary bill of indictment and their right to enter an alibi in court or to the Office of the Attorney General in 21 days.

Both men chose the latter option.

FNM will continue to stand with the Bahamian people as they fight for a transparent and accountable government, and a government which addresses the needs and interests of the Bahamian people. We will not

be side-tracked by the PLP’s continued excuses, broken promises, and distractions.”

CTFE announced in a press statement last month that it was in talks to acquire the beleaguered Cable Beach project.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, November 29, 2016

TWO MEN DEAD - ONE SHOT, ONE FOUND BURNT from page one

Hours later, at about 6am, police received reports of a fire near an abandoned vehicle on a service road off Graham Drive in Yellow Elder.

Police Fire Services units responded, extinguished the blaze, resulting in the discovery of a lifeless body of a male.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean, both matters are being investigated as murders.

ACP Dean issued a plea to residents in both communities to come forward and help police with their investigations.

Monday’s killings came a day after police in Grand Bahama were called to the scene of a fatal shooting on that island. The incident occurred shortly before 3am Sunday.

Last week, a Freeport Harbour employee was found murdered in his apartment in Freeport. The victim, Dwayne Jackson, a courier, was found stabbed to death shortly before 11am last Tuesday inside his unit at the Maxim Court Apartments, off Ponce de Leon Drive in Freeport.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers on 328-TIPS.

THE TRIBUNE

Death penalty sought for double murder in Andros from page one

Gardiner and Braynen were allegedly killed after a failed plot to take $8,000 in gambling winnings from the immigration officer.

Braynen, of Cargill Creek, and Gardiner, who lived in Love Hill, both in Central Andros, were reported missing around 1.45pm on November 24, 2013. Gardiner had recently been assigned to the island. On December 21, 2013, police in Andros discovered the remains of a man with “items related to a female.”

Duncombe, Johnson, Daniel Coakley, 28, and Cordero Saunders, 26, were unanimously convicted of double kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.

The Crown is seeking the death penalty for Duncombe and Johnson.

Darnell Dorsett, Crown prosecutor, made submissions on behalf of the Crown’s request that the case met the “worst of the worst” threshold set out in law for the discretionary

Friday October 28 - Saturday December 24, 2016

ZINTWORN DUNCOMBE JAMES JOHNSON death penalty to be im- prisonment. has the discretion to impose posed.

“This is a fitting case for the death penalty in the The 2011 amendment to the imposing of the death most extreme and excepthe Penal Code notes that penalty,” Ms Dorsett said tional cases. only certain types of aggra- yesterday.

“We say that the heinous vated murder are currently The prosecutor noted murder of the senior impunishable by death: mur- that Duncombe and John- migration officer and his der of a law enforcement of- son were convicted of all girlfriend falls within the ficer such as a police officer of the offences brought ‘worst of the worst’ threshor a prison guard; murder against them. old when we compare other of a judicial officer, includShe said the victims, murders like the case of ing judges, registrars and based on the testimony of Simeon Bain,” Ms Dorsett prosecutors; murder of a Terrel Mackey, were taken argued. witness or juror; murder of to Newbold Farms where In the case of Bain, the more than one person; mur- Duncombe and Johnson, 44-year-old had his life sender committed by a defend- armed with handguns, de- tence reduced to 55 years by ant who has a prior murder manded money from Gar- the Court of Appeal for the conviction; and murder in diner. throat-slashing murder of exchange for value.

“Duncombe shot Shane former Burger King restauThe only two possible Gardiner in the head when rant manager Rashad Morsentences are either death Gardiner maintained that ris after a failed plot to obor life without parole. Any he had no money. Braynen tain money from the victim. other type of murder car- started screaming and Dun“In this case, in the midries a term of imprisonment combe shot her to the head dle of the night, a young of 30 to 60 years. execution style,” the pros- neighbour heard a gunshot The amendment further ecutor added. from Shane Gardiner’s provides that any murder Ms Dorsett reminded house. We ask the court to committed in the course the judge that the pa- infer that Shane Gardiner of/or in furtherance of a thologist said that based (was) home in a relaxed robbery, rape, kidnapping, on Gardiner’s wound, his state. They were taken in terrorist act, or any other death was not immediate the dead of night to a very felony is punishable by and so there was evidence eerie place of Newbold death, with no explicit re- of suffering.

Farms. There’s no lighting quirement of intent to cause Relying on the case au- at all in that area. We urge death. thorities of Forrester Bowe the court to take into conA felony is defined as any vs the Crown and Ernest sideration these two conoffence that is punishable Lockhart vs the Queen, the tributing members of sociby at least three years’ im- prosecutor said the court ety were taken hostage and

one month later, hog hunters happened upon their remains. But for the grace of God, their remains may have not been found, leaving the affected families without closure,” the prosecutor said.

She said the court also had to consider whether there was a prospect of reform for the convicts.

She stressed that there has been no expression of remorse from either Duncombe or Johnson which, according to psychiatrist Dr John Dillard, is the first step to rehabilitation.

“We say that because they’ve expressed no remorse, they still pose a significant danger to society,” Ms Dorsett added.

Jerone Roberts, Duncombe’s second lawyer, countered that this case did not warrant the imposition of the death penalty as it did not fall within the “worst of the worst” threshold set out in prior rulings by the Privy Council.

Mr Roberts stressed that the psychiatrist could not definitively say that the two convicts were beyond reform, which is a hurdle the Crown must get over in order for their application to succeed.

“This is a case which unfortunately occurs often not only in the Bahamas but around the world,” Mr Roberts said, adding that even terrorist bombings have become daily occurrences.

Duncombe, Saunders, Johnson and Coakley, who all maintain their innocence, were each represented by lawyers Ian Cargill, Moses Bain, Donna Major and Terrel Butler.

Mrs Dorsett and Patrick Sweeting prosecuted the case.

A decision is expected to be handed down on December 12.

SMITH: BELIEVING MITCHELL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WEBSITE WOULD BE NAIVE from page one

Bahamas not to have known that that website’s genesis was with Fred Mitchell and you would have been rather naïve to believe that he ever disassociated with it.”

“Politicians in the government should never push their private and personal agenda and I get the impression that too much of that is happening in this phase of our political life in The Bahamas and too many people believe that maybe these websites are being used for that purpose.”

He continued: “A minister has to walk a very narrow line in that all the time the public ought to be satisfied in his utterances, in what others claim to be his utterances, in his actions, where he goes, why he goes

FRED MITCHELL, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. where he goes, that the public is mindful that the minister is a member of the executive of the government of The Bahamas and in that

capacity has both tremendous individual power as well as collective power because he exercises power on behalf of the executive.”

As for last week’s march, Mr Smith said his views differ from other PLP members like Mr Mitchell.

“It was a beautifully, wonderfully organised march,” he said. “Organisers ought to be commended for bringing to the government and other political parties what they want for this country and expressing the concerns that the masses have. You may not agree with them but you have to admire them for doing it. Thank God we live in a country and we have the level of freedom that we could do that and I think we should have more and more of it. I believe those who govern, only govern with the consent of the governed and the government (should) always find time to listen to these people.”

READERS AGREE WITH MILLER ON PLP WIPEOUT

House & Spray

We can computer colour match:

IN The Tribune’s latest online poll, we asked readers if they agreed with Leslie Miller that most PLP MPs would lose their seats in the next election.

A huge majority - 92 per cent of those voting - shared the Tall Pines MP’s view, with just eight per cent disagreeing.

Online readers also responded to Mr Miller’s challenge to ‘We March’ organiser Ranard Henfield.

Following Friday’s protest, Mr Miller dared the activist to run in the next election, saying he would pay him $1,000 for every vote he received beyond 200.

Emac asked: “Why do PLPs feel that only them have a God given right to lead this country, voice their opinion or speak out?

The last time I checked, the

Bahamas was a democratic country. Everyone has a right to protest or speak out against the many ills of our society. This past demonstration proves that Bahamians can show their displeasure without being violent or breaking the law.

But I think Miller and Fred them are threatened by what occurred last Friday that’s why they are up in arms about it.”

Quietone praised the protest: “To me, this was the best thing which has happened in The Bahamas in 50 years. Yeah, it shows that Bahamians can unite, something I thought was impossible for a very long time. I have never heard of or met Mr Ranard Henfield, but upon hearing his conversation on the Guardian radio station this evening, I am impressed by his intel-

ligence and his knowledge of history, etc. I now regard him as a great Bahamian and I believe he’d make a great prime minister of this country!”

Mr Henfield’s pledge to stage a similar event on Majority Rule Day – if the government does not meet the protesters’ demands – also prompted a lively reaction on tribune242.com.

Honestman said: “The PLP are running scared.

People worldwide are on the march against governments that do not listen to the electorate The PLP has numerous challenges in persuading Bahamians to vote for them again: “They do not listen. They are corrupt. They believe they need to account only to themselves. They are arrogant in power. They are completely devoid of ideas

for rescuing the country.

“Basically the Chinese and Web shop sponsored PLP needs to go NOW. In true PLP fashion, however, they will cling to power until the last moment. There are still six months of asset stripping to be done and they will take full advantage of this in the knowledge that they are never coming back. The people’s anger will manifest itself at the ballot box next May. You can be sure of that!

BahamaPundit offered support: “I’m 100 per cent behind this movement.

Thank God. We may prevent this country from failure.”

As did Alex_Charles: “I marched as well, and will march again if needed.”

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

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 29, 2016, PAGE 7

‘No disrespect to PM’ from page one “I did not ask to meet with the prime minister you know, the demands were clear; we want these things done to empower and enrich every Bahamian regardless of their political affiliation and we want these things done by November 25. Should you not do these things for us by November 25, should you not amend these acts of Parliament; put forth new legislation on these issues, instruct the attorney general to commence certain court actions, for the beach access for example.

“Should you not do these things, we will move to stage two, and stage two means we will move people to vote into the hundreds or in the thousands. We did that at the march on Friday, with the Parliamentary

Registration (Department), that registered so many people in to the night hours that they ran out of voter’s cards,” he added.

“We said in stage two that it would be that we would create focus groups; and we had thousands of people signed up at that march to be a part of focus groups or a national think tank in which they were putting forth their suggestions on how we fix this country.”

The organisers’ refusal to meet with Mr Christie has been described as arrogant and disappointing by some Cabinet ministers.

Yesterday, Mr Henfield also dismissed Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller’s challenge for the community activist to run as a candidate in the next general election.

On Sunday, Mr Miller said he would pay the activist $1,000 for every vote beyond 200 he receives if

he runs in the 2017 general election.

Brushing off the challenge, Mr Henfield told The Tribune he had no time to “squabble with a potcake”.

He said: “That is the problem with these career politicians. They want you to get down and fight in the mud with them when you offer up national advice. I would be idiotic to argue back and forth with Mr Miller. I am here, working from the community and I will not relent until we have the best possible government in place.

“They put their egos above people. I will not make that mistake and I am not running in any election.

I am not interested in his ego trip.”

Power The activist also criticised the “gross levels” of power held by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM),

which he thinks will lead to The Bahamas’ demise if left unchecked by the people.

Urging voters to “see reality”, Mr Henfield claimed that the OPM has, through successive governments, accrued a level of power that could border on a dictatorship if left in “the wrong hands”.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Henfield said he has to “ring the alarm,” insisting that a progressive Bahamas could not be experienced under the thumb of a “power-centric government.”

“This is a message that we have to stay on, Bahamians have to see what is really at play here. There has to be concern when you have a leader that can work without any checks and balances. I mean really, who does our prime minister answer to when it comes down to his decisions?

“My references don’t just

speak to the man, know this is beyond the current Prime Minister Perry Christie.

This is about the office that can grant Crown land when it feels. Additionally, there are no term limits; that is the core of the issue.

“There needs to be a process where we restrict some of that power and impose a level of rule and checks and balances to that office.

Unless, we will face the consequences when that office falls to someone with a warped sense of governance.”

Mr Henfield urged the implementation of term limits for the post of prime minister and the immediate removal of the Crown land portfolio from the nation’s leader.

Moreover, Mr Henfield recommended that the Bahamas should consider moving away from a democratic parliamentary style

of governance to a republic, enabling a more shared level of power between the judiciary, legislative and executive branches of government.

Mr Henfield said he believes it would take roughly 20 years to make the necessary constitutional and societal changes needed to be recognised as a republic, but insisted that this was a process the country of the Bahamas has to begin to move toward.

Mr Henfield launched the Our Carmichael community outreach initiative in October of 2015.

Since its start, the group has organised a home and auto insurance programme, a job training agency, a fun day, its own senior citizens programme, a residential alarm monitoring programme with free alarm systems and its own drone crime watch.

McCARTNEY WARNS ACTIVIST NOT TO REJECT POLITICIANS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday criticised “We March Bahamas” lead organiser Ranard Henfield’s call for Bahamians to “turn their backs to politicians” during Friday’s protest, saying that the ones who will run the country and affect change are politicians and “not nationalists” or “civil activists”.

Mr McCartney, in an interview with The Tribune, said while there is a high level of “dissatisfaction with politicians and with political parties,” it would be pointless to reject politicians wholesale.

Additionally, Mr McCartney said it would be “silly” to lump the DNA into that class of politicians Mr Henfield urged protestors to turn their backs on, as he said, the third party has not had the opportunity to govern. The former Bamboo Town MP said Mr Henfield’s admonitions should be levelled at “those bad politicians” in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the Free National Movement (FNM) who “got us in this mess.”

Last week, after leading hundreds of Bahamians on a “Black Friday” march to Parliament, Mr Henfield cautioned protesters to “turn their back” on politicians when approached by them, charging that they all have “empty promises.”

Then, in a move that has since gone on to encapsulate Friday’s protest, Mr Henfield turned his back on Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller in Rawson Square when it appeared that the former PLP Cabinet minister attempted to address the crowd, demonstrating that the voice of the people no longer valued the “tired and useless words of politicians.”

Mr McCartney, as well as several members of the PLP and the FNM, attended the protest.

“The bottom line is this: the politicians are going to be the ones to run the country, not the nationalists, not the civil activists, it’s going to be the politicians,” Mr McCartney said in response. “So you can’t turn your back on the politicians.

You just need to turn your back on those bad politicians who got you there, who got us in this mess. It’s going to be the politician, and only the politician, those who put themselves in

the arena, those who put themselves forward, that’s going to be on the ballot box.

“So it’s going to be either the DNA, FNM or PLP who will run this country in the next six months. So you can’t turn your back on them. One of them you’ve got to vote for. One of the leaders of those parties is going to be your prime minister.

It’s either going to be a McCartney administration, a Minnis administration, or a Christie administration, or Sears, depending on what happens at (the PLP) convention.

“So you can’t turn your back on a politician. One of them, and one of them leaders, will be the prime minister. So to turn your back, where do you go from there? What do you do?

What gets done? Can’t happen.”

Mr McCartney seemed to take umbrage at the suggestion that all politicians are to blame for the country’s current state of affairs, as he asserted that the DNA should be exempt from such criticism.

“You cannot be talking about the DNA’s politicians, because we haven’t been there,” he said.

“And to do so would be silly. To say turn your back on all politicians, when those politicians that you’re upset with, they’ve been there, they’ve done that, they’re the ones that got you in this mess. Not the DNA. So it’s really silly to say that and relate that to the DNA’s politicians. I cannot understand that, I don’t subscribe to that, and I don’t think in good consciousness they meant that. And if they did, they’re totally misguided.

He added: “I think there is a level of dissatisfaction with politicians and with political parties, but that’s based in the dissatisfaction of the PLP and the FNM. That in no way can be in response to the DNA. We’ve never had an opportunity to govern. So when they start to say turn your backs on the politicians and that sort of thing, well at the end of the day, we have not been the ones to govern.”

Friday’s protest saw frustrated residents occupy Parliament Square following a march from Arawak Cay. Led by Mr Henfield, it is estimated that more than 1,000 protesters walked down West Bay Street towards Rawson Square, singing the national anthem and chanting.

A smaller group of protestors stayed in Parliament Square until 1am Saturday.

THE PROTEST march to Rawson Square on Black Friday.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

DORSETT CALLS PROTEST ORGANISERS ‘ARROGANT’ from page one

“I ask that we all come together as one and build The Bahamas we wish to see for our children,” Mr Dorsett stressed.

On Friday, as several PLP MPs mingled with those participating in the march, various protestors could be heard quietly questioning their presence after Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, in an audio

recording, condemned the protest as a propaganda exercise and vowed that no PLP supporter should be “caught dead” at the event.

Mr Dorsett yesterday explained his choice to appear at the protest as his acceptance of an invite “to members of government” and “because I have deep love for our beautiful country and respect for the democratic right for free speech”.

Mr Dorsett said he was

aware that the march organisers, in their open letter to the government, called for a policy to facilitate the use of renewable energy.

“I remind them that this has been done,” Mr Dorsett countered.

“The National Energy Policy speaks to our goal of a minimum of 30 per cent renewable energy penetration in our energy matrix by 2033, and we have begun the national dialogue

on the matter. The government has also amended the Electricity Act to allow for renewable energy generating systems and interconnection to the grid as well as established the regulator for the electricity sector- the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA).

“The Residential Energy Self Generation (RESG) programme that will allow homes and businesses to use solar gener-

ating systems to connect to the grid under a net billing framework with BPL is currently before URCA for its review and finalisation. We have been, and continue to be, committed to policies that deliver positive change.”

Mr Dorsett argued that the government “is working tirelessly every day for a stronger Bahamas” and that “the National Development Plan, the National Youth Policy, the Shared

Vision for Education 2030 – these are all initiatives focused on building a modern and prosperous Bahamas.”

More than 1,000 frustrated residents gathered at the Arawak Cay meeting site prior to a march in protest against the government for its ineffective management of the country’s affairs.

Some protestors occupied Parliament Square until 1am Saturday as part of the protest.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, November 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Mitchell’s strange quackings reveal a man out of touch S

OMEWHERE in the dark recesses of his mind, Fred Mitchell thought it was appropriate - all things considered - to release a voice note that specifically and blatantly advertises his bent, individual political positions, while wearing the cap of our country’s foreign affairs representative, as if being a politician in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was not enough of a scar on his record.

I thought Mitchell was miles above this kind of behaviour. I’m now so very much over that notion.

In his voice note rant, Mitchell talks about the “so-called Black Friday march”, pretending to refer loosely to a column written and recently posted on the Bahamas Uncensored website. He encourages listeners of this voice note - anyone, presumably - to read Bahamas Uncensored and his “Minute by Minute” (is that a thing?) Facebook posts on a regular basis, because it “tells what he’s doing and it aligns with a lot of his thinking on political issues”. Yes. Let’s all do that now. Because it uplifts us and edifies and is the fount of all truth and knowledge.

Right. I have officially decided that Mitchell is delusional, having lost the last marble in his bag.

Do any of us care anymore what Fred Mitchell is saying or doing? I mean fundamentally.

Because, obviously, we may now need to be concerned that he will pop off on a whim of his own liking when he feels the fire beneath his feet or recognises just how numbered his days in a seat of power really are.

Mitchell insists that none of the concerns put forth by the ‘We March Bahamas’ organisers are “revo-

‘Fred Mitchell says if it walks and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.

I wonder if that also applies to when you talk and act like an ass, as he has done in this voice note.’

By NICOLE BURROWS

lutionary”, or “of any special importance” and are “quite pedestrian”. He says the march’s lead organiser, Ranard Henfield, could demand all he wants of the government, implying none of it will be granted ... if even regarded. Mitchell continues that it would be far more beneficial for potential march supporters to go and register to vote than to take part in an “idle march”.

While people should be registered to vote, I think Mitchell has the wrong idea about the march and about its impact.

According to Fred Mitch-

ell, Henfield is not speaking the truth and his efforts, being in association with John Bostwick, son of long-time supporters of the Free National Movement (FNM), Janet and Henry Bostwick, are purely FNM propaganda. Mitchell says if it walks and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. I wonder if that also applies to when you talk and act like an ass, as he has done in this voice note.

Mitchell’s insistence that “no PLP should be caught dead” on the march is distinctly divisive and provides evidence that the PLP leadership, no less, has no inten-

tion of unifying Bahamians, and is really very concerned about keeping them divided as it is the only way the PLP will remain in power. with such obvious desperaUsing Mitchell’s logic, tion? What kind of a leader the march was just another is he? This is not becoming FNM propaganda exercise, of a man in his position. A one in which, go figure, the man of his experience. A DNA and PLP members of man of his intellect. All he’s parliament and representadoing is showing the world tives also took part. Mitchhe doesn’t espouse free ell practically forbade his speech, free expression, PLP associates to attend free association or free asthe march and, no surprise, sembly ... that he’s careless they ignored him anyway and reckless with regard to Shane Gibson (didn’t somehis duties as a respectable one say he was supposed to diplomat representing the have his hands full with hurBahamian people when ricane relief and paternity there is a possibility to adleave?); Jerome Fitzgerald vance his personal agenda. (why is he always, always Mr Mitchell, you are our defending himself whenevMinister of Foreign Affairs er there is an open mic near for God’s sake! You should him?); Cleola Hamilton be conducting yourself with (why did she forget to tell decorum and not falling Fred Mitchell ‘we all Bainto some ratty little display hamians’ like she told Our of self-aggrandisement.

News?); Leslie Miller (is Should this send off an there any large gathering of alarm for the people that, in people he would ever miss spite of your public panderout on being in the midst ing and movements in interof?); and Ken Dorsett (have national circles, your portwe figured out his political folio is to you just a vehicle purpose yet, or, has he?). for personal opportunity?

These And then politicians of to go and ‘The ‘diddly squat’ the governcommit this ing party, Mitchell thinks the opinion to dressed in Black Friday ‘We a recordblack, feigned ing to be participation March Bahamas’ shared with and solidar- protest will result the world ity, when in could not be and last forreally they ever, revealwere there to more wrong. The ing how the report back slate of too many PLP does not to camp just issues people make uphold citihow numzens’ rights jeers about makes bered the while coercPLP’s days the number of ing them into really are. disunity? supporters that I have ofThis only much greater, ten felt that makes you Fred Mitch- because there is at a madman, ell is a lone Mitchell. least one thing of soldier in the If only you concern to each PLP, the parwould pull ty and the ad- Bahamian.’ the plug on ministration, your career and he has before we pull it for you. made it clear with his audio Mitchell asserts that release that that is indeed Bostwick’s proximity to the the case.

FNM, by way of his family, Is it usual for Mitchell to makes the whole march a send out voice note mesfarce. Has he not listened sages/updates? Are we to Bostwick himself rail going to get this like our against the FNM? And who daily devotions now? Who really cares anyway? The is he targeting? All PLPs? point of organising the proEasily brainwashed PLPs? test in the way it was organWhat is the point of this ised was because we can’t voice note? Warning PLPs afford to care about indinot to go to the march, bevidual political involvement cause he thinks it’s by and when we’re all supposed to for FNMs? Did he really be fighting for the same imthink this would stop the portant causes. people from attending the Mitchell presents his view march, or was it a means to as if Ranard Henfield randraw attention to his other domly woke up in the mornpersonal ambitions and side ing, sat down and planned job? a protest in the afternoon, Why is Mitchell acting and then marched the same day to protest everything he could think of. He should give Henfield a little more credit; if he shows up in the next election as an FNM candidate and not an independent candidate, you can say this was TO ADVERTISE then FNM propaganda. For all IN THE the things that people say about Mitchell, you would TRIBUNE, think he’d know how to give someone the benefit of the CONTACT doubt before belittling their 502-2394 character.

Bahamians have lamented their concerns on all the same issues encapsulated by the protest for months now. And there are myriad issues. Some people main-

tain that there were/are too many issues expressed by protest organisers, but it is merely representative of a reality in The Bahamas.

The countless issues, the list that’s longer than your grocery list for a month, is a reflection of our reality.

We do have way too many issues. And they are the result of unsuccessful governance and leadership over decades.

Too much hole-plugging and band-aids and not enough core problem solving and sacrifice necessary to solve the smaller problems before they became rolled into one big mess.

Our leaders fell asleep at the wheel long ago, and while they were busy satisfying their own selfinterests, and using tourism as a prop, the country was disintegrating beneath the prosperity facade. We couldn’t see it then the way we can now because it was in disguise, behind the easy US dollars to be made. But along the way our lack of real productivity hastened to the forefront. And our societal structure caved on a weak foundation of poor education and poor lifestyle habits, overlain with corrupt practices. The more corrupt the practice, the more frequent the corruption and the harder it is to get anything noteworthy accomplished, and so we end up with what we have today.

A whole lot of nothing covered up by a peeling layer of what used to be something. That’s exactly how the band-aid lifts off over time, leaving a dirty, nasty resin behind.

The ‘diddly squat’ Mitchell thinks the Black Friday ‘We March Bahamas’ protest will result in could not be more wrong. It was the largest, most united showing of Bahamian opposition to the status quo in a very, very long time. The slate of too many issues people make jeers about makes the number of supporters that much greater, because there is at least one thing of concern to each Bahamian.

We have no shortage of things to be concerned about for our country.

But in case Mitchell and others are still unclear, the established aim of the protest march was to present issues of concern to the government, but the actual effect of the march was to: 1 show Bahamians they can each make a legitimate impact if they choose to take the time to involve themselves, and; 2 show the government of The Bahamas, elected and appointed leaders alike, what they can come up against with an irate people, and what is most likely to be the beginning of a revolt which that same government and those same leaders will meet face-to-face, as the Bahamian people continue pressing onward and finally march together.

Send email to nburrows@tribunemedia.net.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, November 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

DNA unveils overhaul plans for public service

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE Democratic National Alliance yesterday promised to overhaul the country’s public service sector if elected to office, highlighting the proposed abolition of the sector’s General Orders and a “strengthening” of the Public Service Commission as “vital” to establishing an “efficient” civil service.

DNA Finance and Economy spokesperson Youri Kemp, during a press conference yesterday, said the “overlapping legislation, rules and regulations” currently contained in the General Orders - the handbook used to guide the administration of the public service - leads to “incoherent and unenforceable rules and practices” which gives them the appearance of being “arbitrary from time to time.”

Mr Kemp said the “incoherence” of the General Orders are further highlighted when stacked up against the country’s labour, public service and industrial relations laws, all of which, he said, may be contravened via the administration and/ or execution of the General Orders. Additionally, Mr Kemp noted that the general orders are not legislation

YOURI KEMP, DNA candidate for Garden Hills, speaks at the party’s press conference on public service reform, flanked by leader Branville McCartney, right, and deputy leader Christopher Mortimer.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Mr Kemp also said that lic services handbook that “but is used as if is a legislaMr Kemp also said the tive tool or empowered by there is “too much unneces- does not contravene estab- DNA will make the PSC a sary power” centred in Par- lished laws. legislative tools.” “statutory elected office” Regarding the PSC, Mr with no less than five electRegarding the Public liament on public service, Service Commission (PSC), especially considering how Kemp said the DNA is pro- ed commissioners, thus alMr Kemp said the party is “parliaments have a five- posing to give it “greater lowing it to serve a “broader of the view that the “effi- year term limit and the pub- independence” by remov- purpose within our governing the position of public mental agencies.” cacy” of the PSC’s adminis- lic service is continuous.”

Thus, Mr Kemp said the service commissioner out trative purview is questionThe DNA’s proposals are able, such that its input on third party is proposing to of the interference of the outlined in an 18-page long the disciplining of manage- “abolish” the public ser- administration of the day white paper titled “Public ment and the enforcement vice General Orders and by mandating a “manda- Service Reform: The Proof procedures intended to allow for union stakehold- tory minimum and earmark gramme for Public Service mitigate the contravention ers, along with a “DNA se- for the (PSC) to be irrevo- Reassurance 2017.” of established law is “mute lect committee,” to craft a cably set aside every budget The white paper also “modern, up to date” pub- cycle.” at best.” highlights the need for the

revision of the compensation structure within the public service sector, which Mr Kemp said should be based on performance indicators and performance based appraisal mechanisms; the creation of sound job descriptions and consequent job specifications for all public servants; the provision of “professional hurt counselling” for public servants who are aggrieved on the job; and added focus on training and development opportunities.

“It is without question that a fully functioning, organised, progressive and rewarding career should be afforded to every citizen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” Mr Kemp said.

“This most certainly includes persons that are employed with the public service, because the efforts on behalf of us as citizens, and the majority of us really and truly, are vital to our country’s growth and is vital to our stability and well being.

“The DNA has embarked on what we call this programme for public services reassurance. This programme for public services reassurance seeks to alleviate some of the vexing problems that have been causing some of the most pain and hardships, as well as some of the confusion and consternation in our public services.”

POLICE CALL FOR WITNESSES TO PARKING LOT MURDER TO COME FORWARD

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

SENIOR Assistant Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour is calling on persons that witnessed the shooting death of a man in Freeport early Sunday morning to come forward with information to assist in the arrest of the suspect.

Police, he said, are aware that many persons were at the scene when a gunman opened fired in the parking lot of an establishment near the International Bazaar shortly before 3am.

“There were quite a number of persons around… and today is an appeal to persons who saw or who witnessed the incident to come forward and assist the police in bringing matter to a resolve,” said Senior ACP Seymour.

He stressed that it is the “civic duty” of citizens to report any act of crime to the police.

“This is murder 17 for us in Grand Bahama. And as I have said, one murder is one too many,” he added.

Sometime after 2am on Sunday, police received a call of a shooting. On

arrival, officers discovered the lifeless body of a black male, with bodily injuries.

“Initial reports suggested that the victim was in the parking lot when gunshots were heard. The victim, along with a group of individuals were leaving the establishment, when a lone gunman came into the area and opened fire, hitting the victim in the process,” Senior ACP Seymour reported.

Police do not know the motive behind the shooting, but there have been rumours circulating on social

media that the victim may have stepped on someone’s shoes.

Police did not release the victim’s identity, however he is believed to be Kason Fowler, 21, of Andros.

Senior ACP Seymour described the incident as a senseless act.

“I get perturbed because a life has been lost needlessly. It was senseless. We don’t have a motive, and we don’t know what contributed to the death. We know it was caused senselessly.

And we want to say to those persons, if you have a grievance with another individu-

al there are ways to resolve differences other than resorting to violence.

“All we are saying is let’s talk about it. Once a life is lost, we cannot bring that individual back and we want you to think before you act.”

He is optimistic that with the help of the general public, the matter will be resolved.

“We can and will as we did in others solve this matter, and my appeal is for those persons to step forward and do their civic duty because you owe it to the community you live in.

My appeal goes out to you please,” he urged.

He said police are satisfied with the “excellent” level of support from the public in helping to solve crime in Grand Bahama.

“This is murder 17 - we have solved 85 per cent of them today. And we have one or two still open and under active investigation,” he noted.

Anyone with information is asked to call police in Grand Bahama at 242-3529774/5, the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS or 242300-8476 if calling from the Family Islands.

CUBAN women, along with a child, who were detained in Grand Bahama.

21 CUBANS INTERCEPTED BY US COAST GUARD

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWENTY-ONE Cuban migrants, including a young child, were taken to Grand Bahama on Monday after a go-fast vessel was intercepted on Sunday by the US Coast Guard in Bahamian waters.

An American, of Cuban descent, who was operating the speedboat, was taken into custody by US Coast Guard and transported back to US to face charges

of attempted human smuggling.

This latest group, which consists of 16 men, four women and one child, arrived at Freeport Harbour around 9am aboard the USCG Cutter Robert Yared and were turned over to Bahamian authorities.

Bahamas immigration officer Napthali Cooper reported that a go-fast vessel travelling in the direction of Florida was intercepted

by US Coast Guard officials on Sunday.

He said the migrants

claimed that they left Cuba sometime last Wednesday with the intention of going to the United States.

The migrants were taken to the Department of Immigration headquarters, where they were examined by a medical team from the Surveillance and Infectious Disease Unit of Public Hospitals Authority.

Mr Cooper said the group will be flown to Nassau, where they will be detained at the Detention Centre in New Providence to await repatriation to Cuba.

TWO HAITIANS DETAINED IN GRAND BAHAMA

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWO Haitians who had entered the country illegally this year were taken into custody over the weekend at McLean’s Town, East Grand Bahama, after arriving by ferry from Abaco.

The men, James Jean, 35, of Port au Prince, Haiti, and Alex Joseph, 20, of Port au

Paix, Haiti, had boarded a ferry at Crown Haven, Abaco, on Saturday, and on their arrival at McLean’s Town, were questioned by police officers.

When questioned about their legal status in The Bahamas, the men were unable to satisfy officers and were taken into custody and transported to the Lucaya Police Station.

Immigration officials

were contacted and the men were taken into custody. They told officers that they had arrived in The Bahamas illegally by boat in September of this year and remained in Marsh Harbour until coming to Grand Bahama.

Immigration officials believe that the men had travelled to Grand Bahama to be smuggled into the United States.

THE TRIBUNE

A THANKSGIVING FOR THE NATION’S VETERANS MEMBERS of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force showed their gratitude on Sunday during their Thanksgiving service and career transition luncheon.

Using the day that Americans observe as Thanksgiving, ten recently retired or ‘transitioning’ veterans of the Force, as they were referred to by Commander Defence Force (Acting) Captain Tellis Bethel in his address to them, were the honoured guests at this year’s event.

Captain Bethel and senior officers were on hand to greet the honorees as they arrived at Coral Harbour Base. The men and women of the force listened intently

as some of their comrades sang, recited and offered sincere excerpts from their grateful hearts.

Captain Clyde Sawyer, as well as heads of departments also expressed their gratitude for the dedicated service by those who had completed their tenure of service in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Carl Smith offered thanks on behalf of the Minister of National Security and the staff at the ministry to both the retired and current serving members of the Force for their dedication and commitment to safeguarding the nation.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016, PAGE 11

DEFENCE Force officers serving the Marines during the Thanksgiving luncheon held at the Defence Force Base.