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VOLUME:115 No.12, DECEMBER 6TH, 2017
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SPORTS: CAPTAINS MUTINY OVER BEST OF THE BEST RACE YACHT
‘Police beat me to confess to killing’ Teen left ‘bruised and swollen’ after interrogations By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE TEENAGER accused of murdering Queen’s College elementary teacher Joyelle McIntosh yesterday claimed he was beaten and forced to give a false confession of his involvement in the crime. The teenager, taking the witness stand before Justice Bernard Turner, said a plastic bag was placed over his head and he was “forced” by officers to give a false confession. He also said he was coached on what to say when the official interview began. This, he claimed,
occurred four to five times between November 20 and 21, 2015, while at the Central Detective Unit (CDU). He said he was taken “back and forth” between the interview room and the homicide room by officers as they forcibly tried to get him to confess to the crime. While in the homicide room, the teenager said he was made to lie on his stomach while handcuffed and a plastic bag was placed on his head, then subsequently asked if he was ready to confess. He said while doing so, one officer held his feet and another held his hands. SEE PAGE THREE
A 29-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison yesterday for having unlawful intercourse with a teenager girl who he had lured to his home through a fake Facebook profile. Justice Bernard Turner sentenced Jamal Daniels to 24 years in prison concerning an incident that occurred with a
14-year-old girl in September 22, 2014. The sentence is to commence from June 22, 2017, the date of his conviction. In doing so, Justice Turner expressed his intent to protect society from Daniels’ “predatory” behaviour, and stated that despite Daniels being said to be “industrious” and “hard-working,” he is still a “present danger” to young women in society. SEE PAGE FIVE
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas was yesterday warned not to “rest on our laurels” after it escaped the European Union’s “blacklist” largely thanks to Hurricane Irma. While the financial services industry and wider economy “dodged a potential bullet”, this resulted from the EU Council taking pity on the nation as a result of damage inflicted during the recent hurricane season. The House of Assembly today will debate amendments to finance laws as the government seeks to satisfy requirements for ratifying the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, something Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest is expected to sign when he visits San Marino next week. SEE PAGE SIX
HOSPITALS’ FEE CHANGES PUT ON HOLD
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
INTERNET RAPIST JAILED FOR 24 YEARS By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
IRMA SAVES BAHAMAS FROM EU BLACKLIST
ATTORNEY Fred Smith with Clotilde Jean-Charles, sister of Jeanrony Jean-Charles, who is said to be missing from the Detention Centre. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
‘WHERE’S MY BROTHER?’ By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net
THE family of a 35-yearold man who was picked up by immigration officials in September say they do not know if he is “alive or dead” or has been “illegally deported” after allegedly not being allowed to speak to him or visit him in nearly three weeks. In an emotional interview, Clotilda Jean-Charles, 36, told The Tribune yesterday that she only wants to know what happened to her brother Jean Rony Jean-Charles but no one at
the Detention Centre or the Department of Immigration will give her answers. Ms Jean-Charles said her brother, who was born and raised in The Bahamas to Haitian parents, was taken into custody by immigration officers during a raid on September 15. “I have been to the Detention Centre three times and they would not let me see him. They told me I had to go to Hawkins Hill. I went there and the line was so long but I stayed and I even went back and spoke with a man on the third floor who assured us that he would look into it.
He gave us his number and we have been calling and calling and we don’t know anything,” Ms Jean-Charles said during an interview outside the Detention Centre. “The last time anyone spoke with him was about three weeks ago. We don’t know if he is alive or anything. No one is saying anything. They are not giving us access and they are not giving us any information. “Our concern is this, they deported him to Haiti, number one he has no one SEE PAGE FIVE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
PUBLIC Hospitals Authority officials have decided to delay for 60 days several across the board fee increases at the Princess Margaret Hospital, including those proposed for PMH’s Morgue Department, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said yesterday. This change comes a day after the minister said he would be willing to meet with angry funeral directors who protested outside PMH last week about the new fees. However, on Sunday, Dr Sands also told The Tribune the government could no longer permit “free passes” in health services due to huge revenue deficits. SEE PAGE SIX
TIME WE TALKED TO A WIDER AUDIENCE
SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Wednesday, December 6, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
Grace Jones to receive BIFF award THE Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced that iconic actress, singer, songwriter, supermodel and record producer Grace Jones will be honoured with the prestigious Career Achievement Award at this year’s festival, taking place December 10-17. Serving as the festival’s most prestigious symbol of recognition, awarded in appreciation of the lifetime achievements of an actor, BIFF’s Career Achievement Award will be bestowed to Ms Jones on the evening of Friday, December 15 at the Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort. The announcement was made by BIFF founder and executive director Leslie Vanderpool. In addition to receiving BIFF’s Career Achievement Award, Ms Jones will present her latest film, “Grace Jones: Bloodlight
and Bami” - the acclaimed documentary from director Sophie Fiennes. “Grace’s trademark charisma has fueled memorable performances for decades, but in watching her amazing body of work, the depth of her performances is unmistakable and equally as memorable,” Ms Vanderpool said. “Having Grace in The Bahamas to receive the Career Achievement Award and present the highly acclaimed ‘Bloodlight and Bami’ is a huge honour for the festival and the audiences who will share in the experience. Grace is an legend, an icon and we are extremely thrilled to recognise her amazing career at the Bahamas International Film Festival.” Filmed over the course of a decade, the documentary, from director Ms Fiennes (The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology) offers a stylish
and unconventional look at the Jamaican-born model, singer, and New Wave icon. The statuesque Jamaican model-turned-singer, actress and icon has made a career performing versions of herself. But who is the real Grace Jones behind the masks and makeup? This film moves between her personae onstage and off. Don’t expect a traditional music biography with sit-down interviews and archival footage. This treatment is as stylish and unconventional as its subject. In the subtitle, “bloodlight” refers to the studio signal for recording and “bami” is a Jamaican flatbread. They stand for art and life. Ms Fiennes has previously made films about a philosopher, a dancer, and an artist. Each time, she conjures a fresh style for the material. One of her early documentaries, “Hoover
Street Revival,” profiled Ms Jones’ brother Noel, the Los Angeles preacher. With “Grace Jones,” filmed over ten years, we gain entry to her private spaces: her family in Jamaica, in the studio with long-time collaborators Sly & Robbie, and in Paris with her onetime image maker and lover, Jean-Paul Goude. In negotiations glimpsed on camera, she demonstrates that you wouldn’t want to go against her. Yet we also catch her in sweet and vulnerable moments. Interspersed throughout the film are performances from a 2016 concert staged for Ms Fiennes’ camera. Strutting the stage like an Amazon in heels, Ms Jones performs songs such as “Slave to the Rhythm,” “Love is the Drug” and “Amazing Grace” with multiple costume changes. This might be the first documentary with a credit for
GRACE JONES corset designer. Whatever from December 10-13 mysteries she conceals, one in Harbour Island and thing is for certain: we can’t December 14-17 in Nassau. take our eyes off her. The festival’s opening BIFF will showcase more night in Harbour Island than 82 films from 28 coun- will begin with a screening tries, including 12 world of Sean Baker’s critically premieres, four interna- acclaimed drama “The tional premieres and 57 Florida Project” starring Caribbean premieres. All of Willem Dafoe. the films will be Bahamian The full lineup can be premieres. viewed at www.bintlfilmBIFF 2017 takes place fest.com.
UNION TO ANNOUNCE IT WILL REPRESENT BAHAMAS WASTE STAFF By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas General Workers Union is expected to announce today that it is now the official bargaining agent for employees of Bahamas Waste, amid several ongoing industrial disputes at the waste management company. In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, BGWU President Dr Thomas Bastian said the move was “in the works” for some time, insisting employee disputes at the company were often handled in a way which “put workers in a ‘suck it up, or leave the job’ position.” Dr Bastian said workers, despite issues and concerns,
are allegedly told on a daily basis to get the job done or vacate the post. “The workers approached us nearly two years ago after some of them realised that something was not quite right. From that moment to now, we’ve tried to work on behalf of these workers and their rights,” the veteran trade unionist said. “Our goal now is for the company to come to the table and negotiate. We have informed them on several occasions that we are now the bargaining agent, they know; it’s time to get something done and to place these workers in a better situation.” Asked by The Tribune to expound on conditions the BGWU wanted corrected, Dr Bastian stated: “It’s about decency. We
want to bring about a level of decency to the day-today jobs of these men. We believe that once decency is extended from employer, the persons on the street, the public will follow suit. So, decency, and with that respect.” In a separate interview with The Tribune, several workers suggested work conditions are unfavourable. “House waste, sewage, your trash, my trash; everything nasty and too dirty to touch, my skin sees and feels all of that every day. All while the people I work for tell me my job isn’t hazardous or my job doesn’t present any health risks,” claimed one employee who asked not to be named. Another employee, also asking not to be named
out of fear of termination, added: “They don’t respect us as men or as employees. When we raised an issue about the level of sanitation on the job and what we were being exposed to, we asked for proper healthcare and medical insurance, we got showers. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the shower, that way I don’t have to go home to my family with garbage all on me, but still, I’m working around needles and bacteria; is proper medical insurance too much to ask for?” A third employee, recently treated for an ailment he alleged was work-related, told The Tribune: “When I went to my doctor, it all came out of my pocket. My medicine is in the car now, but when I tell the boss this happened
here, he brushed it off and said that was not the case.” This employee is being treated for an infection. To protect the identity of the employee, The Tribune omitted the nature of his infection and his treatment. In 2016, employees of Bahamas Waste took issue with shipments of biohazardous medical waste, claiming the items posed a threat to working conditions. In a letter presented to The Tribune at the time, workers alleged that industry regulations specify that biohazardous material should be incinerated prior to pick up and transport to the landfill. The letter read: “After much consideration, this letter has been drafted to build the country’s
awareness to some of the most degrading conditions and practices that are (allegedly) being carried out at Bahamas Waste Limited.” The group have alleged that employees at the facility are at risk, as they are allegedly exposed to infected blood samples, used needles and fecal matter. “With writing this letter it is hoped that some sort of support and assistance be given to the employees and that bad health practices be discontinued,” the letter added. Employees this week said conditions are still the same. Officials at Bahamas Waste have offered no comment on the matter, despite repeated requests from The Tribune.
BAMSI AUDIT COMPLETION EXPECTED BY END OF YEAR By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
THE audit into operations at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute in North Andros is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Renward Wells said yesterday. In an interview with reporters, Mr Wells said “an awful lot of money” was spent by the previous Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government to make the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Institute (BAMSI) operational. The audit, he said, would give
taxpayers an opportunity to see what took place as this occurred. The minister also revealed it was the government’s intention to rename BAMSI as NAFRI – the National Agricultural Fisheries Research Institute. However, he said officials were still mulling over the name change. He said: “Well I am looking at probably by the end of the year to have the report done by (HLB) Mann Judd. Mann Judd was called in to audit the accounts of BAMSI. Just to be able to give the Bahamian people an understanding as to what took place in BAMSI over the past three (or) four years.
“An awful lot of money was expended in trying to bring food security, establishing BAMSI. Not that we’re saying that anything took place that is untoward, we’re just giving the Bahamian people an opportunity to see what took place. “So, Mann Judd is auditing BAMSI and as soon as that report is available it’ll come to Cabinet and we’ll make a decision as to where we go from there. “BAMSI as it stands, now as you would know, is an incorporated private company. As was spelled out by the Free National Movement we’re going to dissect BAMSI. “It was our intention to call it NAFRI - the National
Agricultural Fisheries Research Institute. They’re still debating discussion as to whether we still change the name to that for it just to be agriculture and fisheries or whether or not we want to still hold on to the whole idea of agriculture and marine. So, there are a couple of decisions that need to be made in that regard.” Mr Wells explained some of the Minnis administration’s plans for the agriculture and marine science school in Andros. He said some thought was also being given to adjusting its structure. “So we’re going to have the university aspects of it and then the other part of BAMSI is really with
associate farmers programme, the collection of all of the agricultural goods in the country and seeking markets for those agricultural goods. “We’re looking at how that part of BAMSI is going to be structured whether those parts of BAMSI are going to end up in the Department of Agriculture. “So again, there are some decisions that need to be made. We’re looking forward to making those at the beginning of the New Year because in the New Year we’re going to hit the ground running in a very meaningful and powerful way for and on behalf of the Bahamian people. “We’re looking into
expanding the school. We’re looking into bringing real food security for the country. We’re looking to really bringing the requisite information technology to farmers in The Bahamas to make them much much more productive,” he said. In July, Mr Wells told The Nassau Guardian that the Christie administration spent at least $80m on BAMSI and its operational costs were around $10m each year. This figure, he said, was expected to increase once all investigations were finished. The total investment into BAMSI has been unclear during the Christie administration’s 2012-2017 term in office.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 6, 2017, PAGE 3
‘Police beat me to confess to killing’ from page one Although he originally maintained not having any knowledge of what officers were alleging, he said he ultimately gave in to avoid being beaten again. He also said he didn’t tell the individuals who sat in on the interview with him—a pastor and a social services employee, that he was beaten. However, he said he told his mother and an attorney that he was beaten when they visited him the following day at CDU. “I ain’t freely give that statement,”said the teenager, whose name has been withheld because he was arraigned as a minor. “I was forced to give that.” The teenager also claimed he did not know co-accused Johnny Mackey and Armando Sergeant before the incident. He said he only knew them in a general sense as guys from the Kemp Road area. Sergeant, he said, he only knew of as “Crow”. Meanwhile, the teenager’s mother, Bernadette Tynes, said she witnessed her son suffering from injuries on November 21, 2015, despite having no bruises or injuries when she turned him in to police the day before. Ms Tynes said on November 20, 2015, around 9am, she knew police were searching for her son, so she decided to look for him. She said she, along with then-MP for the area Richard Lightbourn and an individual by the name of George Symonette used Mr Lightbourn’s car to do so. Ms Tynes said she ultimately found her son, and that she told him of her intent to turn him in. He was later surrendered to police at the Wulff Road Police Station, and once he was booked in she said she left and went home for the rest of the day. She said during that day she received no phone calls, and stated she did not give anyone her phone number. However, Ms Tynes said subsequent to a call from her son’s attorney, Crystal Rolle of Murrio Ducille &
JOHNNY MACKEY, left, and Armando Sargeant, who are accused alongside a teenager in the killing of Joyelle McIntosh. Associates, on November November 21, 2015, the headed to CDU, Ms Rolle officer stationed there that 21, 2015, she went to CDU teenager “appeared dif- said she was under the her client complained of to visit her son. ferent” from the way he impression they were there being beaten and subseUpon arrival, and after did when she saw him at to conduct the interview. quently requested that he officers brought her son in the Wulff Road Police StaWhen she and Ms Tynes seek medical attention. handcuffs to see her, she tion the day before. both arrived at CDU, howThe officer’s response, said she noticed he was Ms Rolle said she ever, and when the teenager Ms Rolle said, was “If he limping and had a number became the teenager’s was brought out, Ms Rolle requested medical attention of cuts and abrasions on his attorney while at the Wulff said she noticed that he had he will get it.” forearms, which she said Road Police Station on bruises on his arms and his Ms Rolle said she subwere also swollen. November 20. She said the face looked swollen. sequently waited for a call She said her son had sus- teenager’s older brother Ms Rolle said when she which never came concerning tained an injury to one of requested her services in asked him what happened the interview she had anticihis feet, but said she didn’t representing him, which to him, he told her he was pated to have on November actually see the injury she subsequently confirmed beaten, punched about the 21, 2015 and didn’t see her because he was wearing with the teenager and his body and had a bag placed client until his arraignment black socks. However, Ms mother. over his head. She said the in Magistrate’s Court on Tynes said given his limp, She said on November teenager told her officers November 23 of that year she knew his foot was 21, 2015, she was notified by were trying to get him to concerning the murder. injured in some way. an officer at CDU concern- sign things against his will. Yesterday’s proceedMs Rolle also took the ing the teenager, and in turn Ms Rolle said she subse- ings were the latest in the witness stand yesterday, contacted Ms Tynes. Given quently went to the front murder trial of the fourthand similarly said how on that she and Ms Tynes were desk at CDU and told the grade teacher on the night
of November 11, 2015. It is alleged the teenager, who was 17 at the time of the incident, along with Mackey of Bonaby Alley and Sergeant of Kemp Road, attempted to rob McIntosh at gunpoint of her 2009 silver coloured Toyota Corolla worth $6,000. It is alleged that during the failed carjacking, the victim was shot multiple times in her head and body. She later crashed into a wall at the intersection of Parkgate and Village Roads and died of her injuries at the scene. All three have denied the allegations. The trial continues.
EDUCATION MINISTER ON BARBADOS FACTFINDING MISSION By MORGAN ADDERLEY
EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd is conducting a “fact-finding mission” in Barbados on early childhood education, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said during yesterday’s press briefing. Pre-school education is a major focus for the Minnis administration. In August, Mr Lloyd established a connection between the national “D” BGCSE average and the lack of emphasis on pre-school education. According to Mr Lloyd, more than half of the country’s pre-schoolers are not enrolled in school before grade one, with only 550 pre-schoolers currently registered in the public system. “In keeping with the government’s mandate to expand pre-school education in The Bahamas, (Mr Lloyd) is conducting a factfinding mission on early childhood education in Barbados,” from December 5-6, Mr Newbold said. “These preliminary meetings will allow the minister to engage the Barbadian minister of education and his team in discussions relative to early childhood education. “We have some quite capable people in The Bahamas associated and focused on early childhood education, but Barbados has gotten a reputation for being pretty good in the field of pre-school education. So, the minister is
conducting that fact-finding tour.” In August, while speaking at the Teachers’ Enrichment Day at the Jack Hayward High School in Grand Bahama, Mr Lloyd referred to a study by the Inter-American Development Bank on education. According to Mr Lloyd, the report found that the Latin American and Caribbean region invests far less on preschool education about $500 per child, by comparison to $3,500 per child in primary school education. “We are failing our society,” said Mr Lloyd at the time. He added that this year, “great emphasis” will be placed on two-and-a-half and three-year-olds. Reporting that less than half of the nation’s pre-schoolers are in an appropriate programme, the minister said: “We are setting up ourselves for catastrophic failure if we do not address that.” At this event, Mr Lloyd also said that when resources permit the Ministry of Education is going to mandate that all two-and-a half and threeyear-olds must be in a ministry approved school. In November, Mr Lloyd reiterated this stance while attending the 39th annual UNESCO conference in Paris, France. He said: “(The Bahamas is) shifting (its) policies from focusing exclusively on universal primary and secondary education to one that promotes
lifelong learning, especially with a particular emphasis on early childhood and preschool education.” Accordingly, on Monday Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis launched his administration’s eLearning Project at the Willard Patton PreSchool. Dr Minnis said: “This pilot eLearning Project was designed to involve ten public pre-schools, five of which are in New Providence and five in the Family Islands. “The project is part of on-going efforts for education reform, including through the use of technology and experience-based education,” Dr Minnis said. During yesterday’s press briefing, Mr Newbold also said that as chair of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE), Mr Lloyd will also be attending the 20th Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labour while in Bridgetown, Barbados. The conference will be held on December 7-8. Mr Newbold said the conference is “being staged to forge greater collaboration between education and labour in the OAS member states which includes Latin America, the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.” He added: “While in attendance a the conference, (Mr Lloyd) has been asked to make a presentation on the topic, ‘Towards better inter-sectoral
coordination between education, training, and labour, crucial to unleashing youth potential and addressing the future of work.’” Acting Director of Education Marcellus Taylor will be accompanying Mr Lloyd on these matters as his technical advisor. Senator Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, will also attend the conference.
PAGE 4, Wednesday, December 6, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
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Sol Kerzner proposed for Heroes’ Day nomination LUXURY real estate broker Mario Carey in considering this country’s heroes has suggested that on Heroes’ Day next year, Sir Sol Kerzner should be nominated. “He is neither Bahamian by birth nor has he taken centre stage in politics but probably no one has made a greater impact on the national economy and international image than Sir Sol Kerzner, the founder of Atlantis, the One & Only Ocean Club, and creator of Ocean Club Estates,” said Mr Carey. “Sir Sol Kerzner,” said Mr Carey, “put a modern Paradise Island on the map. I believe it is time that the Bahamian people honoured him for his vision, his belief in The Bahamas and his investment in this country at a time when it was desperately needed.” It was indeed Sir Sol, with his late son “Butch”, who rescued an economically sinking Bahamas. “It was in the early 1990s,” said Mr Carey, “when Kerzner first looked at the hotel properties on Paradise Island and where others saw cracks in the walls, outdated buildings and signs of despair, he saw potential. Over the next 20 years, he would pour more than $1 billion into renovations and new construction, creating more than 7,500 jobs, becoming the country’s largest private employer and second only to government in total numbers. Kerzner’s investments in training and marketing are unparalleled in the country’s history.” But even more than that Sir Sol and “Butch” truly loved the Bahamian people. They gave generously to Bahamian causes, constructing a pool for St Anne’s school, among their many other donations. Cynthia “Mother” Pratt can attest to their generosity in her St Cecilia’s constituency. Whenever it was brought to their attention that a worthy Bahamian was in need, their helping hands were extended. “He opened doors and created opportunities for so many Bahamians and I am one who was fortunate to be among those whose lives are better because of him,” said Mr Carey. Sol Kerzner was the investor that the late Paul Adderley, The Bahamas’ former attorney general, warned not to sign an agreement with the Ingraham government, because when, he threatened, the PLP returned to government the agreement would be revoked. Despite the threats, Sir Sol signed the agreement. As a result, The Bahamas’ reputation was eventually established as a leader in tourism and thousands of Bahamians benefitted. Sir Sol never wanted to get sucked into our politics. However, Mr Adderley was soon back on the public platform. This time he was accusing Sir Sol of interfering in our elections, something a foreigner should never be allowed to do, Mr Adderley declared at the time. It was claimed that Sir Sol had broken the rules. According to Mr Adderley, Sir Sol had given Mr Adderley’s party — the PLP – $50,000 to help it fight the 1997 election. The inference was that it was an intended bribe to secure Sir Sol’s investment should the PLP win the election. The threat of revoking the FNM agreement with Kerzner was still on the table should the PLP become the next government. What a bombshell! So, if Sir Sol had
given the Opposition PLP $50m, can one imagine what he must have given the governing FNM? Mr Adderley teased to loud applause. Sir Sol had committed the cardinal sin — a foreigner interfering in a Bahamian election. This was enough to raise eyebrows and start Bahamian tongues wagging. And so the next day, The Tribune telephoned now retired Barrie Farrington, who at that time was senior vice president of administration at Sun International. Is it true that Sun gave $50,000 to the PLP for the 1997 election? we asked. Yes, said Mr Farrington. Why? Because they asked for it? How much did Sun give to the FNM? Nothing. Why? Because they did not ask for it. As simple as that. One asked and received. The other, not wanting to draw a foreigner into Bahamian politics, did not ask and, therefore, did not receive. Is it any wonder that many citizens hold tongue-twisting politicians in contempt? ****
Ambassador Collie meets President Trump Our newly-appointed Bahamas Ambassador to the US seems to be delighted that he had the dubious honour of shaking the hand of US President Donald Trump. Ambassador Sidney Collie was at the White House on November 29 to present his ambassadorial credentials. While there he also talked with Vice President Mike Pence. And what did they talk about? Well, so far that’s top secret. “I can’t disclose that,” Mr Collie told The Nassau Guardian. “I have to speak with the Prime Minister first, because I made a bold move both with the president and the vice president,” he said. “I wanted to make bold moves.” We hope the moves were not so bold that we shall see the US, now harbouring the world’s most recent problem, on our doorstep. The Bahamas has too many misfortunes of its own to even consider contending with a Trump in our midst. Our ambassador said President Trump told him that he loved The Bahamas. It is true that he knows The Bahamas — he did business here. He once owned the majority of Resorts International, which he sold to Merv Griffin, who in turn sold it in bankruptcy to Sol Kerzner, who turned it into the highly successful Atlantis at Paradise Island. Trump was also a very close friend and one time business partner of Phil Ruffin, who bought the Carnival Crystal Palace from Carnival Cruise line owner, Ted Arison. This is now a part of the Baha Mar complex. President Trump might “love” The Bahamas, but we hope that Mr Collie’s “bold move” will not encourage him to cast his eyes in our direction. We have enough problems without having to suffer what the American people are now trying to contend with. Trump and his frenetic “tweeting” belong in Trumpland, USA – not The Bahamas.
Bahamasair EDITOR, The Tribune.
AS a practice, Bahamasair does not respond to letters to the Editor, however, it was important to assure the travelling public that the airline takes its service obligations seriously. Aside from our stellar safety record, since the end of 2016 to date, Bahamasair is exceedingly proud of our on time performance that has been consistently at or above 70%. We acknowledge that from
time to time we will experience irregular operations, as is the case with any airline. As a result of this, we review our procedures on an ongoing basis to ensure that best possible, outcomes and customer experience. We, can therefore state without fear of contradiction that at no time during the launch of our inaugural flight into Houston was service compromised on this or any route on the day in question. Bahamasair wishes to
Thank you, Mr Ingraham EDITOR, The Tribune. IT would be easy to laugh off the inane and senseless statements emanating from the FNM government (generally in defence of equally inane and senseless actions) were they not so apparently committed to actions that will, at the least, be a distraction from the real issues of governance and, at most, cause this country irreparable harm. While it has long been clear that Brent Symonette is no economist, his latest intervention in the discipline makes clear that he seldom even talks to economists. I am personally starting to doubt whether he talks to people who talk to economists. Mr Symonette makes the dubious claim that we need this Commercial Enterprises bill to promote “higher incomes”, then gives us the example of call centres, an industry whose primary attraction to a jurisdiction is ‘competitive’ (ie low) wages. India is in fact now losing its competitive edge in the industry to places like Indonesia. Had Mr Symonette made even the most casual
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net enquiries into regional experience, he would find that Barbados, with wages about one half of those of The Bahamas, experimented with call centres at the end of the last century, only to have them march out en masse to lower wage jurisdictions Then again, if Mr Symonette were in the habit of seeking information before he speaks, he would not have risen in parliament and claimed the unemployment rate is 21 or 22 percent, when in fact it was 9.9 percent prior to the recent engagement of some 3,000 well paid workers at Baha Mar. It is likely around eight percent today. Information is unfortunately neither a strength of the FNM nor those elements of the media that support them. That is why it is so refreshing to hear interventions from the likes of Hubert Ingraham, who benefits from the fact that the media cannot so easily dismiss his statements as it does those of the PLP, which it has
worked so hard to delegitimise through stunning bias. While people like myself have still not gotten over our alarm and disappointment over Mr Ingraham’s immature departure in 2012 and his (decisive) endorsement of his hapless successor in 2017, his latest intervention was a reminder that, whatever those faults, he is at least a man who intelligently understands this country, its needs, opportunities and challenges (such as when he dismissed Dr Minnis’ dumb mischaracterisation of the Financial Services industry as ‘dying’). Without the sane intervention of people who actually know a little something about running the country, we end up with the spectre of a government ignoring and belittling a four billion dollar investment in our midst as somehow not ‘real’ while trying to push on us the desperate need to lay down the red carpet for investors of $250,000. Da people’s time! Go figure. ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, December 5, 2017.
AirBnB taxes EDITOR, The Tribune.
YOUR letter writer Bruce Raine is undermisinformed thank the travelling public standably as to existing tax fees and for its continued support required registration for as we strive to extend the persons renting residenreach of our nation into tial property as a tourist new and exciting markets. accommodation as for years It is our mission as the I suspect tourism has not national flag carrier to be managed this important a safe and dependable air- part of our tourism business line, where quality service or collected the fees or regis paramount and an excel- istered the properties. lent travel experience is our ‘There are many horror priority. stories of patrons of AirBnB where a visitor arrives to TRACY J COOPER what they thought was an ideal property close to the Managing Director, sea but some miles away and Bahamasair, the property is run-down December 5, 2017
and far from matching the property description. This is a disaster for tourism and our national customer service, but, it occurs. AirBnB acknowledges this can happen. Check the local listing of AirBnB and you have in many cases a job to ID where actually the property is located – the description is unclear so customer beware what is written could well be totally far from what actually the property is or its location. I recall as far back as the late 1980’s even possibly earlier, Tourism used to require these properties, Rentals to visitors to
be registered and there was an annual licence. Tourism, confirm or deny this is still the rules? You only become subject to VAT if your business tops $100,000.00 that means you have to be renting at $274.00 per day 365 days ... chances few are that lucky ... you have empty days and, of course, during hurricane season lost rentals. The real question is why shouldn’t there be alike small Bed & Breakfast properties and hotels Rules - Regulations and Licences? W THOMPSON Nassau, December 5, 2017.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 6, 2017, PAGE 5
MURDER SUSPECT ‘TOLD POLICE WHERE ACCUSED HID’ BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN police officer testified in the Freeport Supreme Court that murder accused Paul Belizaire directed officers to a residence in the Holmes Rock area where he and his co-accused hid in bushes awaiting the arrival of their intended “target.” Detective Corporal Gayshell Russell was one of the police officers called on Tuesday to give evidence in the trial of three men accused of a double murder and armed robbery that occurred on September 12, 2015, in Grand Bahama. Belizaire, Devaughn Hall, and Kevin Dames are three of the five men initially arrested and charged with the murders of Barry and Sheena Johnson, and stealing the couple’s GMC
truck and a set of keys. Two of the co-defendant, Allan Alcime and Virgil Hall, turned Crown witnesses after accepting plea deals with the Office of the Attorney General, which later withdrew the murder charges against them. Both, however, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and are serving time in prison. The husband and wife were shot to death at their triplex apartment in Deadman’s Reef, which borders the Holmes Rock community. They were discovered on the morning of September 13, 2015 by a tenant. Det Corp 2920 Russell, attached to the Criminal Records Office, was with several officers at the Eight Mile Rock Police Station at 5.07pm on September 18, 2015, to collect Belizaire to accompany them on inquiries. Det Russell recorded
the event on a Sony video camcorder. She said that Detective 772 Johnson cautioned Belizaire in her presence at the Eight Mile Rock Police Station before they left on inquiries. Belizaire directed them to a residence in Holmes Rock area, she said. “He pointed to a bushy area where he and other males awaited their target,” Det Russell testified. The witness also told the court that Belizaire directed them to a dirt road off the Warren Levarity Highway. Officer Russell, who identified Belizaire in court, said that the accused then pointed to a bushy area where they had parked a truck and discarded a set of keys. They went back to the EMR Police Station with Belizaire and later proceeded with the accused to the Central Detective Unit in Freeport where he was
left in the custody of the officers. Det Russell went to the Information Department at Police Headquarters, where she handed over the recorded tapes to Inspector Laing, who handed her a DVD of the recording. She placed her signature on the DVD, and burned a copy of it, and secured them for safekeeping. The witness said that on September 25, while at CRO she received certain information from ASP Dames and proceeded to the parking lot of the Garnet Levarity Justice Centre, where she photographed a 2002 Nissan Maxima with licence plate number 47845. She returned to CRO where she viewed the images taken with a digital camera on a computer and downloaded the images to a compact disc and put her
signature on it. In earlier court evidence by Crown witnesses Allan Alcime and Virgil Hall, the court heard that co-defendant Dames, the driver of a Nissan Maxima car, dropped them off in the Holmes Rock area on the night of the murders. The DVD video recording was entered as evidence, despite objections raised by Belizaire’s attorney Geoffrey Farquharson. The prosecution also attempted to enter a transcription of the DVD video recording as evidence, but Justice Estelle Gray-Evans would not allow it based on the objection raised by Mr Farquharson concerning its inadmissibility. Also testifying was Dwight Cartwright, human resources manager of Freeport Container Port. Mr Cartwright, who has been employed at the
container port for the past ten years, said a handheld radio found by police, was the one assigned to the deceased Barry Johnson, who was a supervisor at the container port. After identifying the radio to police, he placed his initials on it which he also identified in court. He said the hand-held radio was a Motorola Pro1950 Elite. The radio was discovered in bushes, off a dirt road where the GMC truck and a set of keys, which belonged to the Johnsons, were found by police. According to earlier testimony by Alcime and Virgil Hall, the foursome – Belizaire, Alcime, Devaughn Hall, and Virgil Hall – took the couple’s truck and fled the murder scene. The trial was adjourned to Thursday at 2.30pm in the Supreme Court.
‘WHERE’S MY BROTHER?’
CLOTILDE Jean-Charles with attorney Fred Smith yesterday. from page one to go to and number two, if that is the case we want proof that he was on a flight. We don’t have a problem if they took him there, we want to know when and where if they did, so we can start the process of bringing him back to his birth land, here in The Bahamas. We are not able to confirm whether he is alive or whether he is dead. “No one will speak to us and now we are led to believe the worse-case scenario because everyone is acting in a way that is improper. The point remains even if you go to jail for murder you still have a right to counsel and they won’t let the lawyer see him. Our concern as a family is, we want to know if he is alive or if they sent him away so we can make the arrangements we have to. We don’t know. If he was deported, he has our contacts, he would have called someone.” Attorney Fred Smith, QC, said he had “no idea” when he went to the Detention Centre on Monday to see his client that Mr JeanCharles was not there. “I came to see him yesterday (Monday) and I had no idea that he may or may
not have been here,” Mr Smith said. “Yesterday (Monday), I heard unofficially that he was deported but they need to produce to us a record of that. Where is Jean-Charles? This is not a prison, why can’t I see my client? I wrote the Department of Immigration on Hawkins Hill asking to see him and I got no reply. There is no protocol. I think he has disappeared and that is why they don’t want me to see him. As his family said, if he had been deported he would have called them over the last three weeks. People can’t disappear in The Bahamas anymore and that is what has happened. We want to know where he is.” On Monday, Mr Smith was physically removed from the Detention Centre after he was blocked from seeing Mr Jean-Charles. In an interview after the incident, Mr Smith said he went to the Detention Centre at 10am to see his client. On arrival, Mr Smith said he was given the run around after first being told to wait and then instructed to “make an appointment” at the Immigration Department on Hawkins Hill in order to see the detainee.
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff After exchanging words with immigration officers, Mr Smith was asked to leave the property, and after refusing, he was forcibly removed. Videos of the altercation went viral on social media. Yesterday, member of Parliament for Long Island Adrian Gibson said he stands with Mr Smith, because he too was turned away from the Detention Centre and not allowed to see his client last year. “I was stopped from seeing my client at the Detention Centre last year around this same time,” Mr Gibson, an attorney, said. “So I stand with Mr Smith. No one should be denied legal counsel whether they are at the prison or the Detention Centre. “Everyone, whether Bahamian or illegal, is entitled to have equal access to justice and legal counsel and to be denied that is a breach of the Constitution.” The Tribune attempted to contact Immigration Director William Pratt, but calls were not returned up to press time. When contacted on Monday, Immigration Minister Brent Symonette admitted that Mr Jean-Charles was not at the Detention Centre and
INTERNET RAPIST JAILED FOR 24 YEARS
from page one
Upon hearing his sentence, Daniels expressed verbal astonishment before taking a seat in the holding dock. Before doing so, however, he requested the transcripts of the trial, and indicated to the court his intent to appeal the ruling. Daniels stood trial before Justice Turner earlier this year on the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse which he denied at his formal arraignment in January 2015 and again at the commencement of his trial. It was the prosecution’s case that Daniels lured the
girl to his home on Carmichael Road through a fake Facebook profile. The court previously heard how the complainant’s Facebook friend “Quetell” suggested they both get tattoos at a parlour on Carmichael Road. The complainant, now 17, took a bus to the parlour and as she was on her way there, a man who spoke with an American accent called her phone from a private number and asked if she was still coming. The victim said when she arrived, she asked Daniels for “Quetell” – the name used for the fake Facebook profile – and was told she
was in another room. It was revealed in court Daniels started a tattoo on the girl’s stomach but did not complete it. Instead, he held her down and raped her. Police photographed the incomplete tattoo, which Justice Turner referred to yesterday as a “permanent scar” Daniels left on the complainant as part of his “elaborate” scheme. Daniels did not testify in his defence following the close of the prosecution’s case. Viola Barnett prosecuted the case for the Crown while Allan Emmanuel represented Daniels.
PAGE 6, Wednesday, December 6, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
Mitchell hits back at Bethel over claims of race-baiting By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net PLP chairman, Senator Fred Mitchell yesterday fired back at claims the party was “race baiting” in its opposition to the Commercial Enterprises Bill (CEB), asserting that all race related remarks during debate on the bill has emanated from the governing side. Mr Mitchell, who also serves as leader of opposition business in the Senate, was responding to comments by Attorney General Carl Bethel, who on Monday accused Official Opposition members of “stirring up xenophobic and irrational fears” through its campaign against the CEB. Mr Bethel, in his presentation to the Senate, insisted the “snide comments” and the labelling of the CEB as “Brent’s bill” by those in opposition was done so intentionally and insinuated racial undertones. Brent Symonette’s father, Sir Roland Symonette, was the Bahamas’ first premier and leader of the United Bahamian Party – the last minority led government. Mr Symonette, a
IRMA SAVES BAHAMAS FROM EU BLACKLIST from page one The Bahamas has long faced pressure to join other countries in the region and world in becoming a signatory to the agreement. The Free National Movement (FNM), shortly after the May general election, revealed its intention to do so, going against the Progressive Liberal Party’s policy. The Christie administration argued that the multilateral approach is more applicable to countries which have direct taxation regimes, unlike the Bahamas. During the recent House of Assembly session on the Commercial Enterprises Bill, Financial Services Minister Brent Symonette said while the bilateral approach the PLP supported is legitimate, the previous administration did not sign enough of such agreements in a particular timeframe to satisfy requirements, prompting the Minnis administration’s need to sign the multilateral agreement. Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said during yesterday’s weekly briefing that parliamentarians will today debate amendments to the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Act, the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Regulations and the International Tax Cooperation Act. Once passed, the government will have an enhanced legal framework to allow for the automatic exchange of financial account information by September 2018, he said. “All of what I just mentioned has a single goal and endgame: to prevent the Bahamas from being placed on the European Union’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes,” he said. “That simply means avoiding being blacklisted. “Now it is important for these bills to be passed so that when the minister of finance travels to San Marino next week, he will have the authority to (sign the agreement).” The Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters aims to tackle tax evasion and avoidance.
white Bahamian, is minister of financial services, trade and industry and immigration. However, in response Tuesday, Senator Mitchell said the “spurious allegations” by Mr Bethel were “beneath contempt”. In a short statement, Senator Mitchell contended the only people who referred to race during Monday’s debate in the Senate were Mr Bethel and his fellow FNMs. “In fact, Senator Bethel had to withdraw one of the references to race when he falsely accused the leader of opposition business of referring to someone’s colour,” the statement noted. “The FNM must get over their preoccupation with race but learn to live with the history of the country and their own history and the facts which they cannot change and how they now with the Commercial Enterprises Bill align themselves with the evil and dark forces of the country’s past. “In fact, no less a person than their now Leader Hubert Minnis, when he was threatened as leader of the FNM last year, said in his campaign that he would not allow Bay Street to take
over the FNM party from the ordinary man.” Tuesday’s statement concluded: “If history is good for the goose, it must also be good for the gander.” Debate on the CEB in the Senate got underway Monday, with the governing side presenting several arguments for viability of the legislation and the government’s intent to transform the economy of the country. The Minnis administration has stood firm in its bid to have the CEB legislated by Christmas, sustaining that the bill, along with several other economic policies being pushed, all stand as a launching point for the nation’s overall economic reform. In addition to the CEB, the government has made its intention to repeal and replace the Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016 and lay the ground work for its Over-the-Hill Rejuvenation Project. Legislation for the latter is set to be tabled next May. The PLP opposed the CEB when it was voted on in the Senate Monday night. The party also voted against the bill when it was passed in the House of Assembly.
SENATOR Fred MItchell.
Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
CABINET OFFICE ‘SHOULD HANDLE’ PROBE INTO ERROR IN FERREIRA DOCUMENT By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRESS Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday that Cabinet Office has “carriage” over determining how some functions were wrongly transferred from Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in an official document gazetted on August 22. It was revealed last week that the document dismissed as “fake news” recently by Dr Minnis in a previous interview with reporters was in fact legitimate. Mr Newbold said last
week that the document transferred matters to Dr Minnis that Cabinet did not agree to have moved. He said the error emanated from Cabinet Office – a position opposition members in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) disbelieve. Under the Constitution, only the prime minister can ascribe functions and responsibilities to ministers. Mr Newbold was asked yesterday if the Minnis administration has got to the bottom of how the “error” happened. “It’s a function of the Cabinet Office and so they have carriage of it,” he said.
“There haven’t been further discussions, certainly not between the prime minister and myself about it because it’s something the Cabinet Office should handle. Whatever needed to be done or was done, Cabinet Office would be responsible for that.” He was asked if this suggests Dr Minnis and members of his administration are not probing the matter to determine how the error occurred. “There is no suggestion that they don’t see that,” he said. “I simply say that it’s a function of the Cabinet Office and they are handling what needs to be done. Now you may want to speak directly with the
Cabinet Office, but no I’m not suggesting that.” In fact, The Tribune contacted the Cabinet Office multiple times last week and visited its Bay Street office seeking information. However, attempts to reach top officials at the office failed. One official told The Tribune documents on the matter – which should feature signatures showing who signed off on what was ultimately gazetted – are internal documents and not for public consumption. “You spoke with the Cabinet Office,” Mr Newbold said. “They didn’t necessarily release any details to you but I’m sure they’re
working on it.” Some members of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), including former State Minister for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez, don’t buy the idea that Cabinet Office erroneously transferred functions from Mr Ferreira to Dr Minnis. Instead, they believe the Minnis administration has not been completely honest about what happened. Mr Gomez insisted last week that nothing about matters transferred from one minister to another minister could be gazetted unless the prime minister puts his signature on documents sanctioning the transfer.
HOSPITALS’ FEE CHANGES PUT ON HOLD from page one
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Dr Sands said there have been 500 or more suggested changes in the fee structure of the hospital. In the first quarter of 2017, the PHA lost $9m and it is anticipated that for the fiscal year the authority’s deficit will climb to about $50m, Dr Sands said. To circumvent this, the health minister said there will be a reduction in some fees and an increase of other charges. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, he explained, will announce these changes, in 2018. “We have looked, we meaning the Public Hospitals Authority has been for over a year engaged in looking at how the revenue of the hospital can be brought in line with the expenses of the hospital,” Dr Sands said ahead of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. “There have been 500 or more suggested changes in the fee structure of the hospital. “One of those was a change in the storage fees of morticians who have agreed to accept remains for burial. Even though those fees have been in place since 1986, they hadn’t been collected and (there was) a recommended increase from $50 to $100 for a handling charge and a storage charge of $50 a day. “That created uproar and there was also some confusion about charges for autopsies and the
MINISTER of Health Dr Duane Sands. morticians thought that they would have to pay charges for the five or six per cent of people who get autopsies and while that wasn’t true we sat down and had a very, very candid discussion yesterday (Monday). “I would have listened to their concerns and as a result we decided to hold off for 60 days, during which time we are going to ensure everybody understands what the planned changes are. “In the New Year,
the prime minister will announce to the public some recommendations that my ministry has made to change the fee schedules completely. There will be a reduction or elimination in some fees and an increase in charges and other areas.” Dr Sands said a progressive approach must be taken in the country to return dignity to public health care. “The Public Hospitals Authority lost $9m in the first quarter of 2017. We
anticipate about a $50m deficit in this fiscal year. Across public health we anticipate another $10m or so. “Clearly the Bahamian people can’t sustain that. We need to pay attention to the quality of care that we deliver and if we are going to provide good quality equipment, adequate technology, adequate human resources staffing and otherwise we need to have the funds to do it. “I think we want to take a progressive approach so
that those who are able to pay bear most of the cost than those that can’t pay and those will be rolled out to the public hopefully so that ultimately the dignity and the well-being of the people of The Bahamas is improved. “This process has been in train for more than a year, probably a year and half or so. I have reviewed it and I think there are some reasonable recommendations. “It now has to be vetted thoroughly by the Cabinet of The Bahamas and strategic decisions made. There are some instances where you don’t want to charge anything at all and there are instances where we can improve.” As an example, Dr Sands said PMH’s charges in the Intensive Care Unit are about 10 percent or less of what it costs at Doctors Hospital even though there is comparable and some would say even better equipment at PMH. He said consequentially, PMH is losing millions of dollars of revenue. “We also don’t go after benefits from the Road Act, adequate benefits from the National Insurance Board or from existing major medical insurances even when the government of The Bahamas pays for it,” he said. On Monday, Dr Sands said the government couldn’t offset the millions of dollars in losses if officials didn’t make drastic changes and make them soon.
PAGE 8, Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Time we talked to a wider audience A
S the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence continues, most people working in the fields of gender and violence prevention are attending events ranging from special assemblies at high schools to conferences. At these events, we see and engage, for the most part, the same people. We sit through presentations on the same material, listen to the same comments and have the same sidebars with the people we talk to every time we meet in these spaces. There are many things we can do to make these meetings more beneficial to participants and impactful for the communities they serve. One often ignored and overlooked area we need to strengthen is multisector partnerships. Beyond holding events during traditional work hours on weekdays and bringing the same participants together, we forget to invite organisations and individuals working in different fields, but with direct access to the communities we need to reach. One of the most dangerously powerful entities in The Bahamas is the church. It has tremendous influence on its congregants and, by extension, elected and appointed representatives
of the people who sit in Parliament and the Senate. The Christian church has shown itself to have the power to make its vote the vote of the people through its interpretation of biblical text, access to resources and at least weekly opportunities to push its agenda. Many Bahamian people are more inclined to listen to a religious leader than a politician, academic, or advocate. Church masses and meetings are seen as mandatory while conference and information sessions tend to be seen as distractions, poor uses of time, or generally superfluous. When we take all of this into consideration, it becomes clear we need to partner with the church to reach the people. This doesn’t mean promoting conferences in the bulletin or newsletter, or asking to use church halls to hold meetings. It means having ongoing conversations with leadership about current events, draft legislation, programme development and community-building. This is not to be confused with the usual quest for the church’s approval. It is a completely separate process which would allow us to properly communicate with the church about national issues and its role in addressing them and engaging its congregation
THE TRIBUNE
BISHOP DELTON FERNANDER, who has said the Christian Council will focus on using teaching, preaching and prayer to reach young men. in the conversation and the Christian Council tends to can now challenge people or expanding a program, collective action required to make a nuisance of itself. It who say it is useless. My someone volunteered helphas historically been selec- participation in the course ful information or offered make positive change. Many politicians, civil tive in the issues it speaks revealed harsh truths about their own resources or society leaders and activists to and frequently, as in its the police force, the state of influence to give the person would agree The Bahamas most recent statement, sug- families and communities access. This is the power of gests prayer is a reasonable around us and the resources working across sectors. and impactful action on its available to assist those in While we are not likely to own. need. agree on every issue, there The Bahamas Christian I do not are many Council announced it will imagine I The Christian church areas of focus on men as they are in would have consensus. has shown itself to need of immediate atten- gained For examtion. While he mentioned the same have the power to ple, there the plan to hold panel dis- insight make its vote the vote are many cussions and meetings, from responses of the people through to domestic Bishop Fernander spoke speeches, about using teaching, essays, or its interpretation of violence. preaching and prayer to one-off There are biblical text, access to reach young men. events. I thousands While the church, as still have resources and at least of stories Bishop Fernander said, strong weekly opportunities of women “can’t be anything else than opinions being to push its agenda. what the church is,” it is about law turned Many Bahamian people away from important we recognise its enforcerole in developing and influ- ment, from are more inclined to police encing people. It is easy to the system stations listen to a religious criticise the church and its to the perbecause methods, but it is not going sonnel, but leader than a politician, they had anywhere, and Bahamian the course academic, or advocate. been there people continue to fund it was integral before and and look to it for direction. to deepenofficers How can we make better ing my understanding of were tired of helping them. use of the platform and our state and building rela- There are just as many space the church holds in tionships for collaboration. stories of religious leadBahamian society? Are Opening a police-focused ers encouraging women to we inviting religious lead- course to others allowed stay with abusive husbands ers to panel discussions, for honest yet difficult because the “family” is conferences and reporting conversations and helped paramount. sessions? While there will participants to see the value Meanwhile, civil socialways be those who teach in the work we are all doing. ety organisations work to and preach on what they do Yesterday, the Pan assist survivors, providing not fully understand, it is American Development them with counseling and important we make it pos- Foundation held a con- economic support, prioritizsible for them to gain access ference on its Women’s ing the life of the women to information, challenge Initiative for Non-Violence and their children. There is it in forums where there and Development (WIND) clearly no consensus there, can be immediate response programme and, again, but all entities can agree and debate and take mate- there were many police that violence — based on rial for colleagues and officers present. the texts, whether religious congregants. In addition, there were or legal, they use as guides The Pan American representatives from — is wrong. Let’s start Development Foundation various government depart- there. Make it a part of the in partnership with the US ments including Education message in sermons and Embassy has delivered and members of civil soci- teachings. Make it a part of Resistant and Prevention ety organisations. For many summer camps run by the Programme training to of us, the information pre- RBPF. Make it a part of the police officers, civil servants sented was not new, but the conversation when trainand members of civil soci- value was in the discussion ing volunteers. Find ways ety for the past few years. toward the end of the day. to work together on proWhile the programme We were able to hear gramming that can reach focuses on crime pre- about the work being all of the communities vention and community done and some of the bar- these organisations touch. policing, opening it to more riers to that work, or to Include each other in the than just police officers is expanding it. Interestingly, work being done. critical to its success. It was every time a participant We won’t make change through this programme raised an issue or made by continuing to talk to that I gained appreciation mention of a roadblock ourselves. If we continue for Urban Renewal and I to developing, funding, to only see the same faces every time we meet, we’re doing it wrong. Our challenge — perhaps the greatest and most pressing — is to expand our reach, step out of our comfort zones and engage the people we perceive to be our opponents. Even they have something to offer, if only their audience and the influence they maintain over it.
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PAGE 10, Wednesday, December 6, 2017
CONYERS RESIGNS OVER ALLEGATIONS
DETROIT (AP) — Democratic Rep John Conyers resigned from Congress on Tuesday after a nearly 53-year career, becoming the first Capitol Hill politician to lose his job in the torrent of sexual misconduct allegations sweeping through the nation’s workplaces. The 88-year-old civil rights leader and longestserving member of the House announced what he referred to as his “retirement” on Detroit talk radio, while continuing to deny he groped or sexually harassed women who worked for him. “My legacy can’t be compromised or diminished in any way by what we’re going through now,” said the congressman, who called into the radio show from the hospital where he was taken last week after complaining of lightheadedness. “This, too, shall pass. My legacy will continue through my children.” He endorsed his son John Conyers III to succeed him. Conyers, who was first elected in 1964 and went on to become a founding member in 1971 of the Congressional Black Caucus, easily won re-election last year to his 27th term in his heavily Democratic district in and around Detroit. But after being publicly accused by one woman after another in recent weeks, he faced growing calls to resign from colleagues in the House, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
COURT CONSIDERS RIGHT TO REFUSE TO BAKE CAKE WASHINGTON (AP) — On a sharply divided Supreme Court, the justice in the middle seemed conflicted Tuesday in the court’s high-stakes consideration of a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2012. The court’s fault lines were laid bare in a riveting argument that focused equally on baker Jack Phillips’ right to refuse to put his artistic talents to use in support of something in which he disagrees and the Colorado couple’s right to be treated like any other two people who wanted a cake to celebrate their marriage. Both views were reflected in the questions and comments of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the author of all the court’s major gayrights decisions and a fierce defender of free speech. The outcome seemed to rest with the 81-year-old justice. Phillips and the couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, were in the courtroom for arguments in the closely watched case that could affect other situations where there’s a clash between social conservatives’ claim of religious freedom and the LGBT community’s fight to preserve hard-won rights.
THE TRIBUNE
Bannon savages GOP as ‘cowards’ FAIRHOPE, ALA. Associated Press FORMER presidential adviser Steve Bannon savaged national Republican leaders Tuesday night in a fiery call to rally voters behind embattled Senate candidate Roy Moore as the battle for the GOP’s soul spilled into a dirt-floor barn deep in rural Alabama. Bannon, previously President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, called GOP leaders in Congress “cowards” and attacked the party’s 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a draft dodger as he defended Moore, who is fighting several allegations of sexual misconduct and a Washington establishment that wants him to lose the Dec 12 election. “The days of taking it silently are over,” Bannon declared at a rally that drew hundreds of Moore supporters to a local farm in the southwestern corner of the state. “They want to destroy Judge Roy Moore. You know why? They want to take your voice away,” Bannon said as Moore looked on. “If they can destroy Roy Moore, they can destroy you.” Even if he isn’t wellknown in this heavily Republican county, Bannon’s appearance was a welcome development for Moore, who has been shunned by the Republican Party’s biggest stars. Trump himself agreed to campaign later in the week in nearby Florida, but many national GOP leaders say the allegations against Moore are credible and he shouldn’t
serve in the Senate. Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Moore, if elected, would “immediately have an issue with the Ethics Committee” — a process that could lead to his ultimate expulsion from the Senate. Some Republicans, including Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, have already promised expulsion. Another Republican, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, sent a $100 check to Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones on Tuesday. He tweeted a picture of the check and the words, “Country over party.” And Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said this week that Moore would be “a stain on the GOP and the nation.” ‘’No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity,” Romney tweeted. Bannon was most aggressive Tuesday night with Romney, charging that Moore had more integrity and honor than Romney’s entire family. He noted that Moore graduated from the United States Military Academy, while Romney received a draft deferment for his missionary work in France. “You hid behind your religion,” Bannon said. ‘Do not talk to me about honor and integrity.” Moore, 70, is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including accusations that he molested two teenage girls and pursued romantic relationships with several others while in his 30s. He has denied the allegations.
IN this file photo dated July 22, 1963, Christine Keeler, a principal witnesses in the vice charges case against osteopath Dr Stephen Ward. The model at the centre of the Profumo Affair, a scandal that rocked the political establishment and forced a cabinet minister to resign, has died.
PROFUMO SCANDAL MODEL DIES LONDON Associated Press
CHRISTINE Keeler, the central figure in the sex-and-espionage Profumo scandal that rocked Cold War Britain, has died at 75. Her son, Seymour Platt, posted on Facebook that Keeler died Monday at a hospital near Farnborough in southern England. Platt said on Facebook that his mother died late Monday night after suffering for several years from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. “As many of you know my mother, Christine Keeler, fought many fights in her eventful life, some fights she lost but some she won,” he said. “She
earned her place in British history but at a huge personal price. We are all very proud of who she was.” Keeler was a model and nightclub dancer in 1963 when she had an affair with British War Secretary John Profumo. When it emerged that Keeler had also slept with a Soviet naval attache with ties to Russian intelligence, the collision of sex, wealth and national security issues caused a sensation and helped topple the Conservative government. Profumo eventually resigned in disgrace after lying to the House of Commons about his relationship with Keeler. He threatened at the time to
sue anyone who suggested there had been any inappropriate behavior with her. The stunning sex scandal shed light on a previously well-hidden world of sex and alcohol fueled orgies among the political elite. A naked photo of Keeler straddling the back of a chair is among the most famous UK images of the 1960s. She spent the rest of her life trying to escape her unwanted notoriety. Born in 1942, Keeler left school at 15 and shortly after started working as a showgirl on Greek Street in the heart of London’s Soho district, known at the time for its strip clubs and sleazy entertainment.
TRUMP TO RECOGNISE JERUSALEM AS ISRAEL CAPITAL WASHINGTON Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday despite intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that would upend decades of US policy and risk potentially violent protests. Trump will instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city, US officials said Tuesday. It remains unclear, however, when he might take that physical step, which is required by US law but has been waived on national security grounds for more than two decades. The officials said
numerous logistical and security details, as well as site determination and construction, will need to be finalised first. Because of those issues, the embassy is not likely to move for at least three or four years, presuming there is no future change in US policy. To that end, the officials said Trump will sign a waiver delaying the embassy move, which is required by US law every six months. He will continue to sign the waiver until preparations for the embassy move are complete. The officials said recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will be an acknowledgement of “historical and current reality” rather than a political statement and said the city’s physical
and political borders will not be compromised. They noted that almost all of Israel’s government agencies and parliament are in Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, where the US and other countries maintain embassies. The US officials spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not authorized to publicly preview Trump’s Wednesday announcement. Their comments mirrored those of officials who spoke on the issue last week. The declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a rhetorical volley that could have its own dangerous consequences. The United States has never endorsed the Jewish state’s claim of sovereignty over any part of
Jerusalem and has insisted its status be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiation. The mere consideration of Trump changing the status quo sparked a renewed US security warning on Tuesday. America’s consulate in Jerusalem ordered US personnel and their families to avoid visiting Jerusalem’s Old City or the West Bank, and urged American citizens in general to avoid places with increased police or military presence. Trump, as a presidential candidate, repeatedly promised to move the US embassy. However, US leaders have routinely and unceremoniously delayed such a move since President Bill Clinton signed a law in 1995
stipulating that the United States must relocate its diplomatic presence to Jerusalem unless the commander in chief issues a waiver on national security grounds. Key national security advisers — including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis — have urged caution, according to the officials, who said Trump has been receptive to some of their concerns. The concerns are real: Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could be viewed as America discarding its longstanding neutrality and siding with Israel at a time that the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been trying to midwife a new peace process into existence.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 6, 2017, PAGE 11
GOVT SEEKS SHORT-TERM ANSWER TO PROBLEMS AT POST OFFICE By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net WHILE the government continues its search for a new location to house the General Post Office, Transport and Local Government Minister Frankie Campbell said officials are working on short-term resolutions to make the current facility “habitable”. In the meantime, Mr Campbell said he is satisfied all Family Island mail is going out and work is being done to ensure that Christmas cards are received in the soonest possible time. However, the minister said he was not comfortable revealing a timeline of when this matter would be completely resolved. Employees of the General Post Office on East Hill Street have protested and refused to work in the building over poor conditions. Last week, Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) President Kingsley Ferguson told The Tribune that Christmas mail will “probably not be delivered” until the New Year. However, Mr Ferguson said he has been assured that work on the “rat and mould” infested building would begin this week. When the building is safe, he said the employees will “gladly” return to work.
“The wheel of government continued to move even in my absence,” Mr Campbell said referring to a two-week trip he took outside the country on government business. “I met with the heads of departments yesterday (Monday) and so I am advised that the Ministry of Works reps would have gone to the post office. They would have done some scope of works. “There is an understanding between the department and the union as to the minimum standards they are expecting and what works need to be done. I am expecting to get word today that the air-condition unit is on site so we are advancing towards resolving in the short-term making the environment habitable so that they would be able to bear with us in the mid-term as we work towards finding a permanent location.” Asked if the government has narrowed down any potential locations for the General Post Office’s relocation, Mr Campbell said: “The government has looked at a number of locations. We don’t want to prematurely make any announcements until we are satisfied that we’ve made sufficient advancement that it won’t fly back in our faces.” He thanked those employees who have continued to work under
extreme conditions and under extreme circumstances. He said it had to be for love of country, adding he was satisfied that it’s not primarily for the pay. Mr Campbell said the government was continuing to work for and on their behalf. Dozens of employees demonstrated in front of Parliament last month, after days of protesting on East Hill Street, demanding the government either make the building habitable or move them immediately. Rat infestation, heat from a broken air-conditioner and alleged rashes from handling mail are just a few of the problems the workers are protesting. Earlier this year, thenBPSU President John Pinder threatened industrial action if the government did not immediately relocate employees from the “unsanitary” building. At the time, he said his members were forced to work in a mould infested building with rats, termites and a leaking ceiling. Since then, Mr Ferguson, the union’s new leader, said things have become progressively worse and despite employees only working half days, many of them have reportedly developed respiratory issues because of the toxic environment.
POST office workers during their recent protest over conditions at the Post Office. Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff
PAGE 12, Wednesday, December 6, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
ITALY DONATES TO HURRICANE AID CAPTAINÂ Stephen Russell, director of the National Emergency Management Agency, accepted a cheque for $3,600 from Alberto G Suighi, honourary consul general for Italy, towards hurricane relief efforts. Also present was Chanelle Brown, head of the Economic Trade and Sustainable Development Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The donation was presented on behalf of the Italian community in the Bahamas and is the total proceeds of the Italian booth at the International Cultural
Wine and Food Festival held October 17-18 at the Botanical Gardens. Captain Russell indicated that getting health services up and running on Ragged Island is an immediate need, after the impact by Category 5 Hurricane Irma in September – leaving the island virtually uninhabitable. Mr Suighi was pleased that the donation would go towards the health services initiative on Ragged Island. The presentation was made Monday, November 27 at NEMA on Gladstone Road.
FROM left, Captain Russell, Chanelle Brown and Alberto Suighi. Photo: Lindsay Thompson/BIS
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