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The Tribune
Volume:116 No.267, DECEMBER 14TH, 2018
Established 1903
Weekend
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
SPORTS: FROM DEATH’S DOOR TO THE BAHAMAS BOWL
SENSELESS
Father-of-three’s murder leaves families reeling
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
well known in the community as a family man. To Albert Delhomme, the shop’s owner, CartTHE Coconut Grove wright was more than just community was left in a customer, he was a friend. shock and disMr Delhomme belief in the was not in the aftermath of the shop when the murder of Mario shooting hapCartwright, a pened. However husband and he was visibly father of three shaken and cried small children in an interview who was shot with reportunexpectedly ers yesterday as he entered a because he said corner store on this “hit home”. DEAD: Mario Cartwright Wednesday. He told The Cartwright, Tribune he could a security guard who rou- have easily been the victim tinely visited Manda’s but possibly only missed Variety Store and Whole- death because he left the sale Snacks on First Street and Palm Tree Avenue, was SEE PAGE FIVE
THE Grand Lucayan’s managerial union has been accused of “feasting on an economic tragedy” by demanding an extra $650,000 payout after the hotel had already upped its offer by $500,000. Michael Scott, the government-owned property’s chairman, warned Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association president, Obie Ferguson, in a December 6 e-mail that the union’s position was “straining
the board’s goodwill to the point of exhaustion” because it was failing to grasp the resort’s limited financial realities as a government-owned hotel. He argued that the association was “feigning reasonableness” by suggesting it had reduced its voluntary separation (VSEP) payout demands by $1m when its opening $5.4m offer was “absurd from inception”. The e-mail exposes the gulf between the two parties over the VSEPs total worth and conditions.
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE hotel union’s threatened Atlantis strike vote has been withdrawn, its president confirmed yesterday, adding that he was now focusing on securing a new industry-wide deal. Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers union’s leader, said securing a new agreement with members of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association would ease “a lot of the challenges we are facing now”. He added that the union and Atlantis had agreed “to revert” to the status quo that existed between the two sides as at September 27 with the resort agreeing to abandon the “12-point” disciplinary system that had sparked the dispute. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
PROPERLY DRESSED OR IT’S ‘DON’T COME IN’
LUCAYAN UNION ‘FEASTING ON NATIONAL TRAGEDY’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
ATLANTIS STAFF CALL OFF STRIKE
By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net PEOPLE must be “properly dressed” when they come to the government building, Immigration Minister Brent Symonette said yesterday in answer to reports that women have been turned away from the Department of Immigration for wearing shorts. “Proper dress at immigration, or don’t come in,” Mr Symonette told The Tribune when contacted about the claims posted to social media. He added there are signs at the gate reiterating this rule and others which govern dress and behaviour at the facility.
THE STORE in Coconut Grove where Mario Cartwright was shot dead on Wednesday night. Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
SEE PAGE THREE
MINISTER’S KILLER HAS LIFE SENTENCE CUT By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
ONE of three men convicted of the murder of former Free National Movement Cabinet minister Charles “Chuck” Virgil two decades ago has had his life sentence reduced by the Court of Appeal. Appellate President Sir Hartman Longley and fellow Justices Stella CraneScott and Sir Michael Barnett said Anthony
CHARLES “CHUCK” VIRGIL Evans will now serve 40 years from the date of his conviction in July of 1999.
And that 40-year sentence, which is to run concurrently with a 25-year sentence for armed robbery, will have another two years and five months deducted to reflect the time he spent awaiting trial. Based on those numbers, Evans has already served over half of his new prison term. The appellate judges said their reasons for reducing Evans’ sentence was
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE SEVEN
A COMIC’S VIEW TRANSLATING THE CODE: WHAT MEN REALLY MEAN
SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Friday, December 14, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
CONFUSION AS SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS SENT TERMINATION LETTERS By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE government has terminated contracts for dozens of Family Island school bus drivers but intends to rehire the contractors and give them better terms of employment, Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd said yesterday. Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis had raised concerns about the termination exercise after viewing a letter that was given to one of the drivers. The letter cited a contract clause that empowered either the government
or the contractor to terminate the agreement with 60 days notice. The letter, written to Kevin Ferguson of Good Hands Private Charter, said: “The Ministry of Education contracted with you on June, 2015, to provide busing services for Route 15 (from Pinder’s Point, Hunters, Mack Town, Bahamia, Wellington Estate, East Sunset Subdivision/return) ... The ministry hereby gives you notice that as of December 12, 2018, your services will no longer be needed for Route 15.” Mr Davis frowned at the appearance the government was firing people during the Christmas season, but Mr Lloyd yesterday said the education system would
come to a halt without the bus drivers. “Upon coming to office, we were met with a great number of complaints from bus drivers about what they considered to be difficult circumstances under which they were engaged,” Mr Lloyd said. “They were unable to satisfactorily meet a profitable environment. We intend to adjust their contracts and renegotiate with them. What we decided to do is to bring all contracts to a conclusion and rework them.” The contractors affected are in Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Abaco and MICAL. Mr Lloyd said contractors in other islands will be dealt with if complaints arise.
MINISTER of Education Jeffrey Lloyd Some in the Progressive Liberal Party were concerned the government was terminating the contracts in order to give new ones to Free National Movement supporters. But Mr Lloyd said: “For the most part, the same contractors who have the contract, have reapplied to have it extended or renewed and they will likely get it again. There are few persons in those islands with the capacity to provide these services so mostly it will be the same fellas but with a cost point that is more reflective of the 21st century year in which we live.” Mr Davis said he doesn’t buy Mr Lloyd’s explanation, saying contracts need not be terminated to be renegotiated. He also pointed to the language of the letter, which said “your services will no longer be needed”. However, Mr Lloyd said the Tenders Board has
already approved resubmitted bids, leaving it to Cabinet to sign off on them. “There has been and will be no interruption in services,” he said. Under the previous arrangement, bus drivers made between $380 to $550 per day for 180 days of the year, Mr Lloyd said. “In some instances that was inadequate,” he added. “In other instances that was way over what was necessary. We had to bring some semblance to it all. When you consider the cost of fuel in Family Islands, the wear and tear on their buses, the insurance costs and the cost of paying a bus driver or two, they said it’s difficult to make a decent profit and we agreed.” Improving terms of contractors’ employment is not new for his ministry under the Minnis administration, Mr Lloyd said. He said the ministry has improved
the terms of employment for school lunch vendors and caterers and is in the process of improving the financial terms for security service companies. “With the lunch vendors, we had to adjust their provision of services because they were not receiving the margin they needed to provide quality lunch for our students,” he said. “We had to come to Cabinet and say this $3.85 we agreed to pay vendors for lunch is simply not going to cut it and we increased it to $4.85 (per lunch plate). Caterers are hired by social services to deliver lunch, but they come under the same rubric of cost. They have to provide a fruit, a vegetable, carbohydrates, protein and a drink. Guess what a vendor is going to do if she cannot provide all that? She’s going to cut corners, depriving the student.” The government outsources security services to security companies, paying them $80,000 to $90,000 per year for guarding public schools during two shifts, the 4pm to 12am shift and the 12am to 8am shift. That amount of money the companies receive “is not enough to deliver quality security services,” Mr Lloyd said. “We must treat our business people with respect,” he added. “Small business people are the ones who drive every economy. If you are making life difficult for them, you make life difficult for everybody.”
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, December 14, 2018, PAGE 3
You need to be properly dressed to come into immigration, says Brent Symonette. So, Brent, how would these outfits rate?
from page one Yesterday morning, a woman posted about her experience in a popular local Facebook group. “Just tried to walk in to immigration to pay for a work permit renewal and got turned away because I’m wearing shorts,” she wrote. “What year are we in? And who is so special in that rat-infested building that we need to be socalled ‘properly dressed’ to get in. This country is screwed up.” At the time, the post had 70 “likes” and more than 74 comments, many of which were in support of the woman. Another woman commented that she too had been turned away
from the Department of Immigration because she was wearing a sleeveless, knee-length dress that she had worn to work. However, Mr Symonette defended the rule. “We’re having people properly dressed to come into immigration, not sloppily dressed. Is that a problem?” he asked. “If you see what people wear and carry on when they come into (the Department of) Immigration — we’re trying to improve the ambience here. There’s a large sign outside that (speaks) about properly dressed, no swearing, no bunch of other stuff,” he continued. Mr Symonette elaborated that “properly dressed” refers to “respectable clothing”.
When asked about concerns that such rules perpetuate ‘slutshaming’, Mr Symonette replied: “Then fine. Then fine. And they’re applying to the government of The Bahamas for a permit from the government of The Bahamas? Please. That’s reflective as well.” Macmillan Dictionary defines slut-shaming as “criticism of a woman for any form of sexual behaviour that is disapproved of, such as having more than one sexual partner or wearing sexy clothes.” Mr Symonette, however, noted the rules apply to both men and women. “That goes for everybody,” he said. “Proper dress at immigration, or don’t come in. “I don’t see what a big issue
WE ARE BEHIND ON CANNABIS REFORM, SAYS BISHOP HALL By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net BISHOP Simeon Hall yesterday acknowledged that the country was “behind” on consultation for cannabis reform, but noted he was still optimistic. The cannabis committee he was appointed to chair with former Deputy Commissioner of Police Quinn McCartney in October has not yet convened a meeting. To date, there has been no confirmation whether the body has been fully constituted. Meanwhile, on Tuesday Saint Vincent and the Grenadines passed a bill to decriminalise the plant for medical use and scientific research. Health Minister Dr Duane Sands told reporters outside Cabinet last week the government was not in a race on policy matters. “It’s certainly a priority that this is done properly,” Dr Sands said, “there is no need I believe to rush into this thing headlong. “We need to get it right and you need to have the right people at the table. So when you talk about stakeholder involvement, we have seen to it that we want a representative group of individuals to opine on this matter. “Otherwise we’re going to get a skewed outcome and so if it takes it a little longer to get it right, let’s get it right.” CARICOM’s Regional Marijuana Commission (RMC) presented its report on the social, economic, health and legal issues surrounding marijuana in the region earlier this year. The RMC was asked by CARICOM in 2014 to fully ventilate the social, economic, health and legal issues surrounding marijuana use in the Caribbean. It also tasked member states to launch state-level
BISHOP Simeon Hall consultations on the subject. The final report was released in July, and called for an end to the prohibition of marijuana, and a regulatory framework that saw the plant treated similarly to tobacco and alcohol. The Bahamas stands to reap the greatest benefit from the full legalisation of marijuana production, sale and use with state control, according to CARICOM’s regional report, which estimated net benefits for the Bahamas was about $5.5m. However, those estimates were said to have been heavily influenced by data availability. In July, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced the establishment of a local marijuana committee, which he said would be given a three to four-month timeline to complete its mandate and furnish a report on the possible legalisation of medical marijuana. Dr Sands told media in November the committee
would be given “as long as it takes” to complete its mandate. In an interview with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States earlier this week, SVG Agriculture Minister Saboto Ceaser said the bill’s passage has poised the nation to become a global industry leader not only for high-quality production but research. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley last week told reporters the government would establish a framework for medical cannabis this month; however decriminalisation for recreational use would need a referendum. Her stance echoed positions offered by many governments in the region, who like the Bahamas, have heralded the need for careful research. Meanwhile, RMC Chairperson Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine reiterated the call for change in the region’s cannabis laws during a national consultation on cannabis in Dominica last month. Last week, Dr Sands added: “There is no race, marijuana has been around for thousands of years. I imagine it will be around for thousands of more years, and if the belief is that somehow a week or two weeks, or two months, is going to mean that all of a sudden, we’ve been left behind - and I’ve heard that argument proposed. I am not sure that it makes for good policy to rush.”
is about it. She felt offended, I’m sorry about that. Maybe the officer spoke to her in the wrong way. But before you get in the gate there’s a big sign that says about it.” There was a significant public outcry in late 2016 when The Tribune exclusively revealed some women were turned away from voter registration sites because of what officials called “improper” attire. In December 2016, then Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall defended the right of his staff not to process people because of their clothing, telling The Tribune that women registering to vote with “half their breasts out” was not permitted. This came after a pregnant
woman who did not want to be identified, told The Tribune she was told by registration officials at the Elizabeth Estates Post Office that she would not be allowed to register to vote on separate occasions because of what she was wearing at the time. Later a lawyer claimed she was “physically removed” from the Cable Beach Post Office by police, after she refused to accept she could not register because she “had on a sleeveless dress”. A subsequent outcry from the public and politicians prompted then Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage to announce a person’s attire should not bar them for voter registration.
PAGE 4, Friday, December 14, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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Public consultation a duty, not an afterthought ON DECEMBER 10 the upper chamber of government withdrew a bill it anticipated would zip through without so much as a challenge. Called the Non-Profit Organisations Bill, 2018, it required the same kind of transparency for churches and non-profit organisations as is now required of real estate firms and has, for years, been mandated from banks and other financial institutions – strict knowyour-client information. In the case of non-profits, the legislation would require organisations that nurture souls or feed the hungry or house the elderly or provide disaster relief to affected communities to reveal who their larger donors are and how they spend the donations. It was not the meat of the legislation that caused the Senate of The Bahamas to choke. It was the lack of public consultation and it became an embarrassment to an increasingly bold group of senators who, perhaps for the first time, are not acting as a body of ‘yes’ men and women, rubber stamping decisions by elected Members of Parliament in the Lower House which has traditionally taken the active role in making laws. The Senate, in layman’s terms, got caught with its pants down. After this government was swept into office in May last year on the promise of transparency, accountability, public consultation and good governance, it failed to live up to one of its own tenets and it did so with a bill that it should have recognised would set off every fire alarm in the nation. Requiring churches to reveal who donated and how it was spent and not allowing for public consultation on the matter and expecting those leaders and others in civil society not to express outrage was like throwing gasoline on a dry haystack, lighting a match and being surprised that it catches fire. Stakeholder engagement is as critical to good governance as is freedom of information or the right to freedom of speech or religion. Public consultation is a right of the people and a duty of the government, not an afterthought and we are very surprised the Bill requiring transparency among civil society
and non-profits made it as far as it did without an opportunity for the public to be engaged with lawmakers. It was foolhardy on the part of government to think it could slide this Act through in an attempt to round off a compendium of greater transparency requirements demanded by the OECD and the USbased FATF (Financial Action Task Force). The Tribune stance on this is very clear. This is not a position about the legislation itself, but about the people’s right to be consulted. Public consultation is not only a basic foundation of good governance, it is a building block that reduces resistance, improves compliance and builds trust. When the Attorney General Carl Bethel, an erstwhile intelligent man, stated bluntly the Senate - of which he is a member - would give the public a brief time to respond, but they would pass the Bill anyway, it was an insult that only served to further enrage an already affronted group of highly vocal and articulate persons, particularly those in associations like Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), whose sole role is to keep government in its place. How much smarter would it have been for the Attorney General to say “mea culpa, in our haste to make good with outside forces and ensure that The Bahamas’ name and reputation were clear and the country did not appear on any list that would harm our citizens and investors, we neglected a basic duty, to engage the public. We will now allow for that and we look forward to the opportunity to meet, discuss, listen and consider.” It is not too late for Sen. Bethel to offer such a sentiment. Tempers flare in emotional situations. When cooler heads prevail, the public is surprisingly forgiving. The FNM government helped to raise expectations by the promises it made prior to election. It was to be the People’s Time. It is still early in the life of this administration but the clock is ticking and people whose time it is are watching very closely.
Judge, jury and executioner ... EDITOR, The Tribune I am disappointed that Sandals Bahamas briskly decided to take on the roles of judge, jury and executioner in the matter pertaining to the New Jersey couple and the Bahamian butler. That the resort would terminate its employee and send him off to the authorities without thoroughly investigating the allegations (which appear to be bogus) is another glaring reminder that black Bahamians are still second class citizens in their own country and that one is automatically presumed guilty without the benefit of a trial and not the other way around. Sandals acted out of desperation when it terminated the butler without even hearing his side of the story. It was a damage-control move. The New Jersey couple looking to cash in
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net two years after the alleged incident looks suspicious. Why did they wait for two years to act? And why would the butler seek to molest a female guest while her fiancé is in the restroom a few feet away? Frankly I am shocked that the legal system in New York is entertaining this case. It is my opinion that these allegations are just that -- allegations. Yet the alleged victim’s words are being treated like the infallible truth by UK Daily Mail commenters. It appears that because the butler is black and the victim white, her word carries far more weight than that of the accused. The $30 million asking price is indicative of
Americans’ penchant for engaging in frivolous lawsuits for massive payouts. Americans love to use wealthy corporations and moneyed individuals in order to get rich quick. To me this incidents has all the marks of a money scam by these people in order to get rich. And in the process they are dragging this country’s name and reputation through the international mud. A group of Bahamian attorneys should take on the butler as a pro bono client and counter sue the New Jersey couple for $30 million for defamation and post traumatic stress syndrome. Bahamians are standing in solidarity with the butler, because the story being given by the couple is full of holes.
Too much privilege for the US embassy Sad but marriage EDITOR, The Tribune
STRANGE it could be, but did you see the equipment the US embassy donated to the Ministry of National Security? The ‘red gear’ is gear the riot squad wears to protect themselves. $450,000.00 worth… timing questionable I would suggest but it is now here. Previously the Chinese donated an armoured
vehicle, two. For one thing, an Embassy does not donate items that the hosts country, The Bahamas, has not requested! Draw your own conclusion with the labour issues still hot. To the Commissioner of Police - is any Embassy authorised to use a siren and flashing lights? When we hear a police car or ambulance we pull aside as is required - do we have to
pull aside now for a black BMW SUV? Public needs to be officially told as are we will be breaking the law or not? Can’t see why this embassy has been given such privilege if they have. Has a similar approval been given to the other embassies? ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau December 7, 2018
Way too fast for my liking EDITOR, The Tribune TRAFFIC - speeding and where are our $6million worth of new patrol cars? Another serious accident on Milo Butler - probably speeding or a serious mechanical fault. Airport Road - do you now have to drive over 45mph? Seems so as everything passes me and I am staying within the signed speed limit - never seen a police patrol car on that road. Heavy commercial vehicles fly by - must be doing 60 plus. West Bay no difference - from Baha Mar coming east everything goes at over 50mph. Big PR event few weeks back with the re-introduction of radar speed traps - must have broken the last set but where are the new set now? Drivers using cellphones and fender
benders - police and transport need to check the insurance companies as to why the cost of insurance is going up and? On insurance - have no problem insurance company allowing payment plans but this three-month deal has to be made illegal… people buy three-months to get licensed and then let it lapse…surely the insurance company and the police can link with their computers to know at all times which vehicles are insured and which are not? Who are authorised to use sirens and flashing lights? Governor General-ambulances, fire, Police…any Minister with police outrider escort…There is a growing number of black SUVs seen, and, oh, heard – are they legal? Who are legal? F MUSGROVE Nassau December 12, 2018
KEVIN EVANS Freeport Grand Bahama December 4, 2018
has lost its value EDITOR, The Tribune
of “NO” father or mother, or two fathers and/or two I WROTE this a while mothers. “The thou shall ago and I would like to nots” are being replaced bring out what Is important with “The thou shall.” to this article: In addition, sacValues Eroded By raments are being Affluence eroded. ‘“Holy Matri“Years ago, in a presiden- mony” is now debased by tial campaign, the slogan divorce and live-in lovers was “Vote for me and I will and “Holy orders” has lost assure you of a chicken in some of its special appeal every pot and a new car due to paedophile priests. in every garage.” We now Even penance is rarely have people with three-car practised. garages and four boats in Will we find the values the lagoon. that can defeat this affluMaterially, we may not ent Society and bring us to be richer than King Midas, eternal life? Only if we are but we are as greedy. Spir- able to read, listen, believe itually, however, we are and have faith in the One without a moral rudder. who spoke the truth. The ten Commandments The world confuses love (How many can quote with desire. Desire say, I them?), are no longer want sensual pleasure from devout to many Christians that person, when we say and I have been waiting for “I love him/her”. God is the day when the politically love, and that which takes correct liberal press takes us away from God cannot aim at the vernacular of the be love. Commandments. Real love in its true The Commandment of meaning does not depend “Honour thy father and upon feelings, desires, or mother” is losing its virtue, emotions. Love is essensince a family may consist tially a sacrifice. It flows
outward toward others. The counterfeit of love is selfishness. It sacrifices others to its own desires or emotions. According to Sister Lucy who said, “The final battle between Our Lord and Satan, will be over marriage and the family.” That battle, is now underway. Like I said, Marriage is a sacrament of God. And we love Our Lord by keeping his Commandments and sacraments. However, everything is relative. Relativism has taken over our minds. Nothing is true anymore. (Everyone is doing it, aren’t you?) Nothing is no longer black or white there are always shades of gray. All you have to do is to look at the babies being born today, in the newspaper, and find that most are no longer Mr and Mrs anymore. Marriage has lost its value, and everyone must ask why? CARLO OLIVERO Illinois, USA December 7, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, December 14, 2018, PAGE 5
‘They saying crime going down but at the end of the day if you out in the real world, ain’t nothing changing’ from page one shop to drop his daughter home before two gunmen entered the small business. The robbers held the cashier and packing boy up at the back of the shop and then raided the cash register of the day’s earnings of about $400, he said. “Me, my wife (and) my daughter, we always here,” the shopkeeper said. “But that day I picked my daughter up from here and drop her home and on my way back here there was traffic.” He said that’s how he knew something was wrong. “It’s not nice you know. He has a family, three kids. I think the oldest one is 12 and the last one is three,” an emotional Mr Delhomme said. “It’s crazy. “For me, it look like who ever was coming out was gonna get shot because it looked like they (the gunmen) were so young probably scary (or) probably know him. (He was a) good, good man. He is a guy you could ask him anything, he ain’t gonna tell you no. It’s always yes,” Mr Delhomme also said. According to police, shortly before 6pm two men entered the shop and robbed the store. The shooting came as they fled when a male customer entered the building as they were leaving. While Mr Delhomme said he has no concerns about safety, he said he would hope more police frequent in the area, this marking the third time his shop was robbed in nearly four years. But 79-year-old Alisha Stanisleus, owner of a small shop in close proximity of Manda’s Variety Store, said she’s very disturbed about the incident. Just seven month ago, the elderly woman was violently beaten by a man who tore her apron, which held money, off her body. Her store is not large or fully stocked. Admittedly, Ms Stanisleus said it isn’t what it used to be. Now all she offers is soft drinks, a few bags of chips, bottled tomatoes and gallon jugs of water. “I’m very disturbed about that. I don’t know what these young men are
THE SCENE at Coconut Grove yesterday and, below, how The Tribune reported the tragedy.
SENSELESS
dealing with,” she said. “But you know here in May I was going to lock my burglar bars outside there to come in here to lock up to go in my house, and just as I got inside here this fella come, because see I don’t have no cash register, my couple dollars because I have mostly dollar bills and thing, I does keep it in my pocket. When you have a cash register they figure you gat money in there. “So just as I was about to walk out there, this guy he comes and says ‘gimme ya apron with ya money in it.’ “I can’t remember whether he pushed me out the door or if I walked on the step but just as I got out the door, that young man he
pushed me off the step and then he grabbed me and then he start punching me up in my chest,” the elderly woman said. “I put my hand over my face and I began to scream and unto this day I don’t know what he looked like. A lady heard me screaming and she called the police.” She questioned whether crime was truly down as police and government officials have continually said. This was the same question asked by Renaldo Farrington, Cartwright’s nephew. He said: “They saying crime going down but at the end of the day if you out in the real world, ain’t nothing changing.”
WELLS CONFIRMS POST OFFICE HAS BEEN SHREDDING MAIL
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
TRANSPORT and Local Government Minister Renward Wells confirmed yesterday that the General Post Office has been shredding mail, but said the exercise has been consistent with international standards. He characterised the mail that has been shredded as “undeliverable.” Mr Wells said in 1974, the Bahamas acceded to the United Postal Union, which sprung from the 1874 Treaty of Bern and which sets rules and standards for the handling of mail among countries. He said from that sprung the country’s Post Office Act. He said: “The Post Office rules offer prescriptions for the treatment of undeliverable letters, post cards, small packets, printed and commercial papers or samples as well as parcels depending on their origin. In each case the law ultimately provides for their retention and resale (if they are of value) or for their destruction (if they are of no value). The conventional means of destruction is shredding. The rules authorise the postmaster general to make decisions as to their disposal (either immediate, after one month, after two months, or up to one year) on a case-by-case basis.” Mr Wells said the deliberate destruction of undeliverable mail
WE are working to international standards, says Renward Wells. happened last month November 1 and 2. “Customers can be assured that the Post Office Department takes the security and delivery of mail very seriously and that operations remain within the ambit of the law,” he said. “To assist our efforts, all customers are encouraged to clear their private post boxes regularly. The Ministry of Transport and Local Government under this minister has resolved that the standard of the post office will be restored to one that will regain the respect of our international partners. Postal workers and the Bahamian public have been in excess of three years without an adequate means for providing this essential service.” His statement came days after Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) President Kimsley Ferguson raised concerns about
shredding in a report by Eyewitness News. “Instructions were given by the postmistress to bring mail from various post offices to the East Hill Location to have them shredded,” Mr Ferguson said previously. “This is indeed a concern because I’ve been having challenges with my mail personally and so has the union. “We haven’t been getting them in a timely fashion. The concern is, they are pertinent documents that may be in the mail that may have been pending for some time that may either take the life of an individual into destruction or that can take them in a positive direction. I would like this information confirmed as to who would’ve given instructions.” On Wednesday, Mr Wells said his ministry would look into the claims raised by Mr Ferguson.
Mr Farrington said he is shocked and in a state of disbelief because a wife is now without her husband and three children are now fatherless.
According to Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash, police have one suspect in custody who they are treating as a person of interest and are following
significant leads in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.
PAGE 6, Friday, December 14, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Bethel: There’s no rush for us to pass NPO Bill By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE stalled Non-Profit Organisations Bill 2018 is under no immediate pressure for passage, according to Attorney General Carl Bethel, who yesterday revealed the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) doesn’t call for a full implementation until September 2019. “(This) bill is in line with our obligations and commitments to the FATF, not our obligations to the European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) which call for the December 31 deadline,” Mr Bethel clarified in an interview with The Tribune outside of Senate yesterday. The government this week successfully passed a compendium of
financial services industry bills to bolster its chances of avoiding a financial blacklisting. The December 31 deadline was presented by the EU and OECD bodies to several countries as a date for full compliance to the multilateral convention on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) the government signed last year to sidestep blacklisting. According to Mr Bethel, pictured right, the NPO Bill was initially only presented as a part of the EU/OECD slate, given the government’s focus on addressing all the “areas of
concern” pointed out by various international financial agencies. “As I said in my debate in the Senate on Monday, the NPO bill is not a BEPS bill. It is not a bill mandated by the European Union and the OECD for the purposes of substance or anything to do with the operations of the off-shore sector,” he said. “It is a bill that is in line with our obligations and commitments to the Financial Action Task Force, in terms of monitoring of the financial sector for preventing money laundering, financing of terrorism, proliferation financing
and any identified risk,” Mr Bethel added. “There is no deadline on that, in fact, we have until September 2019 in terms of the overall review of the effectiveness of our anti-terrorism regime here in the Bahamas. “So, there is no deadline or point this year where we must pass the bill, but we want to pass it early in the new year,” he contended. When asked by The Tribune what the timeline means for public consultation surrounding the NPO Bill, Mr Bethel said he hopes to present Cabinet with a consensus on intended changes in the coming days and “if that should all be achieved, harmoniously,” move for passage in the Senate next Monday. Civil Society Bahamas, a group of 300 non-profit and civil society groups, last weekend argued there
were numerous sections in the bill “which raise significant concerns for the future health of the civil society sector.” The consortium group warned many organisations will be unable to meet “the strict registration, accounting and record keeping demands” set out in the bill given that 40 percent of the industry is thought to operate on an annual budget of $25,000 or less. The group also questioned whether the registrar of NonProfit Organisations had the capacity to be converted from an information gatherer to a regulator, expressing fears that the legislation will exacerbate the current two-year wait for non-profit registration into “a significant backlog.” On Monday, Mr Bethel delayed passage of the bill to allow for some consultation in the face of push back.
SENATE AGREES BUSINESS LICENCE AMENDMENT BILL
By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
THE Senate has passed the Business Licence Amendment Bill 2018, aiding the Minnis administration’s push to repeal amendments it brought earlier this year. Free National Movement senators promoted the bill as a move to “properly address” benefits for small business, while opposition senators flagged it as nothing more than a political clean-up job. Provisions approved in June as a part of the Business Licence Amendment Bill 2017 reduced taxes from 1.5 percent to 1.25 percent for businesses with a turnover exceeding $50m and cut turnover times for approvals. However, these amendments also gave way for more prodding and stiffer regulations, which somewhat slowed the entire process. The new amendments approved by the Senate yesterday, remove regulations requiring companies to supply audited financials and certified bank statements, taking the business licence certification process back to the pre-July system. Opposition Senator JoBeth Coleby-Davis slammed the U-turn, insisting that public consultation would have prevented the need for any further revision. “However, the governing style of this FNM government is similar to that of a toddler who is learning how to potty train,” she claimed.” With a toddler, it takes them a couple of accidents and a couple of mistakes before they get it right, some learn faster than others. Though, in this case it seems like a toddler would learn how to independently use the potty before this FNM
JOBETH COLEBY-DAVIS government figures out how to govern this country.” Mrs Coleby-Davis contended that the government continues to err in its policies, only to return to the Bahamian people to ask for do-overs. “This goes back to what I mentioned in this place last week that this FNM government is making errors in policy and legislation that could be avoided if they are focused on governing this country and listening to the people and business community,” she said. Mrs Coleby-Davis added: “I am quite shocked that the FNM government who had all the answers while in opposition, now has all the excuses while in government. “Be careful not to become like the boy who cried wolf to the Bahamian people,” she warned, suggesting that at some point voters will lose interest and offer only a “deaf ear” to the FNM’s strategies and policies. “Madam President, we have been wasting so much time since May 10, 2017, undoing and renegotiating policies and legislation that this FNM government’s slogan might as well change to ‘It’s time to waste the people’s time.’” The criticism drew a direct response from Attorney General Carl Bethel, who castigated Mrs Coleby-Davis and her PLP colleagues for what he insisted was revisionist history.
Mr Bethel remarked that the PLP not only developed a culture “insulting the people,” they perfected it, referring to the former Christie administration’s handling of the 2013 gaming referendum. In that vote, voters rejected plans to regulate underground web shops. In turn, the Christie administration dismissed the vote as an opinion poll, and moved forward with plans to regulate the industry. “The PLP was a government of non-consultation,” Mr Bethel claimed. “There is nothing worse than, having consulted with the people, to spit the consultation back into their face. That is what a truly heartless government does.” He continued: “Do I need to remind the good senator of the (2013) referendum? They went to the Bahamian people, asked the Bahamian people, ‘Do you want gambling?’ and the Bahamian people said, ‘No.’ and you came right back and spat in the face of the voters and passed your law. “Shame. The people got up out of their houses, got in their cars, drove in some cases for miles, stood in lines in the hot sun, took time from their work and stood in …. I will show you, I have WhatsApp with me going like this (mimicking the actions of dipping one’s finger in ink, to signify having voted) … stood in line for hours and voted a resounding ‘no’. “And a cold, cruel, heartless, needy, ‘grabalicious’ government that wanted to get their hands on the tax dollars from legalised gambling, came in and spat in the face of the Bahamian people.” Once tempers subsided, the Senate passed the Business Licence Amendment Bill 2018. The Senate will continue Monday, its last session for 2018.
BANNISTER IS BLINDED BY POWER, SAYS GRAY By RIEL MAJOR
FORMER Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray released a voice note yesterday stating his “dismay and happiness” about Minister of Works Desmond Bannister’s “denial about what was taking place in the Ministry of Works.” Mr Gray’s remarks came after Mr Bannister released a statement dismissing the former MICAL MP’s earlier voice note regarding a proposed Contractors Association Bill, which he claimed would not be good for smaller contractors. Mr Bannister said Mr Gray’s remarks were “untrue and entirely without foundation.” Mr Gray said in his subsequent voice note: “Well I told my audience that I had it on good goods. That was being
considered and discussed at the ministry. The new bill of which I was speaking was, as I understood it, intended to repeal the old bill that we have done. “Despite what he thinks, that I didn’t know we did a bill…Of course I knew we did a Contractor’s Bill, but this government has a tendency of stop, review and cancel. It’s in that context I thought what I heard was that they were considering a new bill to benefit their friends and lovers. “Well, it’s in that context that I spoke about it. He denied it - that’s fine with me.” The former agriculture minister said he doesn’t listen to what the FNM says but he watches what they do. “Just like the VAT (increase), we never heard
about it until it was upon us and as long as the cords of my life should lengthen, I have an obligation to expose any sealed plot. “They can do what they like and say what they like but they are not going to intimidate me, and I think they know that. And so, let them take their best shot,” he said. Mr Gray continued: “Mr Bannister also said that I have failed or lost my seat. Well certainly I have some losses and I believe he has had many more than I have and I’m sure I’ve had a little more wins than he did but because he’s blinded by power now he can’t count well and I understand that.” Mr Gray suggested that Mr Bannister enjoy his time in power because “just like my time came and gone, yours will come and go.”
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, December 14, 2018, PAGE 7
Man found guilty of the murder of former FNM minister Charles Virgil has life sentence reduced from page one
FORMER Free National Movement Cabinet minister Charles “Chuck” Virgil.
because the 40-year sentence reflects his “lesser role” in Virgil’s death than that of his co-accused, Ellison Smith, who was the one who actually shot the deceased. The appellate judges said the judge who sentenced Evans “took very little amount or gave very little regard” to his “more limited involvement in the crime,” and said that in giving both men the maximum punishment of life imprisonment, the sentencing judge “treated both of them as equally culpable.” Additionally, the appellate judges said the “failure” by this country’s judicial system to have Evans’ appeal heard for more than eight years, while simultaneously hearing Smith’s appeal, notwithstanding the “many letters written to the court,” was a breach of Evans’ constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time, and that he should be “compensated for it.” Virgil’s body was found in a well field behind the Bahamas Electricity Corporation on Soldier Road on February 15, 1997. Virgil was accosted outside of his condominium on West Bay Street and forced into his car. Smith, Evans and another man, Charles Rahming, were convicted of the killing on July 10, 1999, and were sentenced to death as, at the time, the death penalty was mandatory for murder. Evans, Smith and Rahming appealed their convictions and sentences to the Court
of Appeal, which in March of 2000 allowed Rahming’s appeal, but dismissed Evans’ and Smith’s. Evans and Smith subsequently appealed their convictions and sentences to the London-based Privy Council, the country’s highest court. The appeals against their convictions were dismissed but their appeals against the death sentence were allowed. Their matters were remitted to the Supreme Court for resentencing. The resentencing for both Evans and Smith took place before then-Supreme Court Justice Jon Isaacs, now an appellate judge, on September 24, 2010. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder conviction. Evans and Smith then appealed their life sentences to the Court of Appeal; their appeals were lodged in November and December of 2010, respectively. For reasons that are unclear, Smith’s appeal was heard in 2015, but Evans’ was not heard, despite the fact that on all previous occasions, their matters were heard together. The record showed that Evans wrote to the appellate court on May 29, 2014; August 4, 2014; March 13, 2015; and February 22, 2017 asking for his appeal to be heard. Meanwhile, Smith’s appeal came before the appellate court on six occasions between 2012 and 2014, and a reserved judgment was
delivered on February 12, 2015. In that judgment, the appellate court, differently constituted, set aside Smith’s life sentence and substituted a sentence of 45 years for murder, stating that “as heinous and despicable” as Virgil’s murder was, it could not “reasonably or properly be characterised or said to be within that category of murders elliptically described as the ‘worst of the worst’, or ‘the rarest of the rare’ so as to be within the ‘wholly exceptional category of cases within this most serious class of offence.’” Based on Smith’s sentence being reduced, the appellate judges, in a written ruling posted online yesterday, suggested that it would be unfair to have Evans continue to serve a life sentence. “This court having in the Smith’s appeal imposed a sentence of 45 years for this offence, it would be wrong in principle to maintain the sentence of life imprisonment on (Evans),” the appellate judges said. “The parity principle requires that (Evans) receives a sentence of no more than 45 years for the murder conviction as there is nothing in the circumstances of this case to warrant a higher punishment on the appellant.” Marianne Cadet represented Evans on appeal. Vernal Collie represented the Crown. Marianne Cadet represented Evans on appeal. Vernal Collie represented the Crown.
PAGE 8, Friday, December 14, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Translating the code: What men really mean IN THE spirit of fair play a certain subject must be addressed. A couple of years ago in this column, I gave some insight to my younger Bahamian brethren as to what women really mean when they say certain things. If I remember correctly ,and if I do say so myself, it turned out to be a good read. Despite the raised eyebrows I received from my female coworkers and threats from two of my sister in laws to be shared out of Christmas diner in two house holds. Ouch! Fast forward the tape to last Wednesday, I’m standing on line @ BPL trying to pay my gargantuan power bill before they start the Christmas ‘load shedding’. In front of me were two women deep in conversation, the television on the wall which is usually on was off, so the women’s conversation in front of me would half to serve as entertainment. As I tuned in I could hear the jist of the conversation. One of the women was monologuing about how her husband really understands her after all these years. Random Woman “Girl I feel so sorry for my sweetie. He down to the wire, the NFL season soon
over, and the Dolphins ain’t makin’ no playoffs. (Major laughs on my part at this juncture.) “He tell me, if he team don’t make the playoffs he ga be lost without football, so lost he say he gurn renovate the guest bathroom, just to my liking. Girl I been on him like white on rice for years to do that ... He got a finish date too, he say two weeks after the Dolphins are eliminated I will have my new t’ings. That’s means in three weeks or so, I will have a new brand (More laughs from me at this point) bathroom. He loves me.” Ah, the naivete. Being a woman her natural instinct was to assume that this was some love offering from her loyal, devoted, loving husband. NOT! What her husband really meant was: “I can’t wait ‘til the Dolphins disappoint me once again, once the dust is officially settled. Then I’m off to watch the NBA, LeBron in the purple and gold. Once no big time parties going on, during NBA All Star weekend, I will renovate the guest bathroom so you will have nothing to nag me about during the NBA playoffs. The three day, weekend time frame will keep me focused and save me
MIAMI Dolphins fans cheer their team, during last weekend’s match against the New England Patriots
from having to watch the Oprah Network or another Lifetime original movie, because if I have to stomach another one, I’ll take my chances jumping of the bridge. So when the NBA post season starts, remember this gift and don’t ask me to do anything non basketball related until after the “ NBA Finals.” Right there and then, in BPL, the light bulb went on in my head. I had to think quick, after
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all I was in BPL current could go off at any moment. This would be the topic of my next column. Ladies what is good for the goose is also good for the gander, so with apologies to my homies. Ladies here is what we men really mean. HE SAYS: I’m going fishing! HE MEANS: I’m going to get dead drunk sitting on my boy’s dinghy. Beer in one hand fishing line in the next as the fish swim completely undisturbed. HE SAYS: It’s a guy thing! HE MEANS: There is no rational thought process connected to it. You will make nothing logical out of it. HE SAYS: Can I help with dinner?
HE MEANS: Well muddoes my food ain’t ready yet? I dead hungry, I should have stopped @ “KFC” or “Pizza Hut.” HE SAYS: “My wife doesn’t understand me.” HE MEANS: “She’s sick of my B.S.” HE SAYS: “Take a break honey. You’re working too hard.” HE MEANS: “Why you decide to clean and run that vacuum cleaner while the game on is beyond me.” HE SAYS: “We’re going to be late.” HE MEANS: “Buckle up now I have a reason to drive like a bat out of hell.” HE SAYS: “I’ve read all the classics.” HE MEANS: “I’ve been looking at Playboy since I was five, strictly for the articles.”
HE SAYS: “I got a lot done!” HE MEANS: “I killed it on Madden.” And finally if HE SAYS : “That’s interesting dear.” HE MEANS: ”Are you still talking?” Well there you go I hope it makes decoding what your man says a little more fun in the future. I on the other hand have to go. My wife calls, I wonder what I have to do now. I can never seem to catch a break, it’s so unfair. I was just off to the den to relax and read a “classic.” Be sure to look out for next weeks, A Comic’s View, for “T’was the Night Before Christmas” 2018. Get your egg nog ready !!!
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www.ub.edu.bs
PUBLIC NOTICE The public is advised that the University of The Bahamas Oakes Field Campus and Grosvenor Close Centre in New Providence and the UBNorth campus in Grand Bahama will close for the Christmas holidays at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, 14th December 2018. This includes the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre and Chapter One bookstore. Chapter One bookstore will operate as follows:15th December 2018 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. OPEN 17th – 22nd December 2018 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. OPEN 24th December 2018 - CHRISTMAS EVE 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. OPEN 25th & 26th December 2018 CLOSED 27th – 29th December 2018 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. OPEN 31st December 2018 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. OPEN 1st January 2019 CLOSED 2nd January 2019 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. OPEN UB will reopen and resume normal operations on Wednesday, 2nd January 2019.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, December 14, 2018, PAGE 9
Abaco group appeals Supreme Court order to pay $250,000 ‘security costs’ By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
AN Abaco-based advocacy group is contesting a Supreme Court judge’s order for it to pay the government and a US-based developer a combined $250,000 in “security costs” ahead of the group’s judicial review of the proposed construction of a marina at the heart of a solar-powered community. Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA) is appealing Justice Petra Hanna-Weekes’ order for the group to pay The Abaco Club $150,000, and government respondents $100,000 ahead of the group’s legal action against the proposed 44-slip private dock at Little Harbour. According to court documents, RDA is opposing The Abaco Club’s plans to construct the 44-slip dock, along with a supplies shop, private restaurant, 6,000 square foot covered car park, generator, desalination plant and waste treatment facility. The proposed development will measure 320 feet across the outside piers, 210 feet between the two parallel main piers, and will extend 270 feet into Little Harbour, with the intent for it to accommodate boats up to 60 feet. However, RDA fears if the project goes ahead it will completely change the environment and character of Little Harbour, a 50-home community that runs entirely off solar power. Besides its environmental concerns, RDA further claims that the government respondents decided not to carry out any, or any proper consultation before making decisions concerning the grants, permits and approvals required before the development can be constructed. The group further claims that the government respondents have withheld information so as to deprive the group of its statutory rights and/or legitimate expectations to contribute to any consultation process.
THE ABACO Club is owned and/or operated by Southworth Development LLC, a company based in Massachusetts. RDA’s vice-president David Pitcairn, in a sworn affidavit, alleged that RDA sent letters to all of the respondents on December 21, 2015 concerning the issue at hand, and that a response to those letters was requested by January 2, 2016.
However, Mr Pitcairn claims not a “single reply has ever been received to any of those letters, not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement.” The group also raised fears that the necessary permits for the proposed development would
be granted in secret, thus allowing for work on the proposed development to begin and it in turn becoming a fait accompli, or something that has been decided before those affected hear about it, giving them no choice but to accept it.
The nine government respondents later sought an order pursuant to Section 85 of the Companies Act, Chapter 308, that RDA pay it security costs totaling $150,000, arguing that because RDA is a “limited liability company,” it would be unable to pay the government respondents if it loses the court case. The 10th through 12th respondents, namely Abaco Club Investments LLC, Abaco Sporting Club Limited, and Winding Bay Development Ltd subsequently sought an order for RDA to pay security costs in the amount of $350,000, making similar assertions as the government respondents. In a written ruling stamped June 14, Justice Hanna-Weekes said an “appropriate award” was a “global quantum” of $250,000— $100,000 for the government respondents and $150,000 for the developer’s costs. She said the security costs are to be paid by cash, bond, or letter of credit from a commercially licensed bank within the Bahamas within 30 days of her ruling. She further ordered that the judicial review would be stayed pending that payment. RDA, represented by attorney Fred Smith, QC, subsequently appealed that decision. The matter was set to be heard before Court of Appeal Justices Jon Isaacs, Stella Crane-Scott and Roy Jones, however, the Crown indicated that it needed more time to better prepare itself for the matter, and the matter was adjourned to February 19 of next year. The Abaco Club is owned and/or operated by Southworth Development LLC, a company based in Massachusetts, and/or related companies such as Abaco Club Investments LLC, according to court documents. The Winding Bay-located development was acquired in late 2014 by a combination of Southworth Development and a group of existing homeowners, who purchased it from Ritz-Carlton and Marriott.
PAGE 10, Friday, December 14, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
UN CLIMATE TALKS INCH FORWARD AND NOW APPEAR HEADING FOR OVERTIME KATOWICE, Poland Associated Press
EFFORTS to agree on the fine print of the Paris climate accord drew closer yesterday, three years after the landmark agreement on curbing global warming, but negotiators remained deadlocked on the thorniest issues and appeared set for overtime. A summary text from the Polish diplomat chairing the talks is expected soon as the two-week UN climate summit in the southern Polish city of Katowice nears its scheduled end today. Diplomats and ministers had huddled behind closed doors, some overnight, weighing every word of the draft text covering issues such as how countries will count both
SIXTH YELLOW VEST PROTESTER DIES IN FRANCE PARIS Associated Press A SIXTH “yellow vest” protester In France has been killed, this one hit by a truck at a protest roadblock, authorities said yesterday as the movement rocking the country showed no signs of abating. Officials in the Vaucluse department said the driver was arrested and taken into custody after he tried to flee the scene near the southern city of Avignon. The Vaucluse prefect’s office said the injured protester received emergency treatment but died from his wounds overnight. The prefect urged the protesters — who wear the fluorescent safety vests that France requires drivers to keep in their cars — to use “the utmost caution,” especially at night, to avoid more accidents. On Wednesday night, French police were sent to reopen a major road in Burgundy where “people identifying themselves as yellow vests” blocked about 200 trucks for several hours, local authorities said. Eleven protesters were arrested and six of them were put into custody. In an effort to defuse the tensions sweeping the country, French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged he’s partially responsible for the anger behind the anti-government protests. He has announced a series of measures aimed at improving French workers’ spending power. But many protesters have expressed disappointment at the measures and are planning more protests across France on Saturday.
their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them. Along with the Paris accord rulebook, the other main issues at the talks are how much financial support poor countries will get to combat and adapt to climate change, and what kind of message to send about future work to curb climate change. Last week, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait blocked the endorsement of a scientific report on a key element of the Paris climate agreement: capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, if possible. That angered other countries and environmentalists, who accused the four oil-exporting nations of stalling progress toward the accord’s most ambitious emissions-cutting target.
Mohamed Adow, a climate expert at Christian Aid, said the discussions on financial support seemed to be moving in the right direction. Developing countries have been promised billions of dollars in aid to help them reduce their emissions and adapt to inevitable changes in the world’s climate. Some are also demanding money to make up for the damage already caused by global warming, arguing that rich industrial nations are to blame for most of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases humans have pumped into the atmosphere. “Real action requires real money for real solutions,” said Adow. “The European Union needs to separate itself from the
PARTICIPANTS attending the UN Climate Change Conference 2018.
laggards like Australia, Japan and the United States.” While US President Donald Trump has announced he’s pulling out of the Paris accord, American officials dangled the possibility that the US might consider rejoining if it gets more favorable terms. But China, a key broker of the 2015 Paris accord, dismissed the idea of revising core parts of the pact. “China and the US have worked together with all other countries to complete the negotiation and thus make the Paris Agreement a milestone achievement in global climate governance,” Beijing’s chief negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, told reporters. “We will not reopen negotiations on issues where we have already reached agreement.”
Marksmen shoot dead Christmas market killer STRASBOURG Associated Press
THE man authorities believe killed three people during a rampage near a Christmas market in Strasbourg died Thursday in a shootout with police at the end of a two-day manhunt, French authorities said. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terror cases in France, formally identified the man killed in the eastern French city as 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, a Strasbourg-born man with a long history of convictions for various crimes, including robberies. Chekatt also had been on a watch list of potential extremists. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, speaking earlier from Strasbourg, said police had spotted a man matching the suspect’s description in the city’s Neudorf neighborhood. “The moment they tried to arrest him, he turned around and opened fired. They replied,” killing the man, Castaner said. Chekatt was suspected of killing three people and wounding 13 near Strasbourg’s Christmas market on Tuesday night. Castaner said earlier yesterday that three of the injured had been released from hospital and three others were still fighting for their lives. “Our engagement against terrorism is total,” French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Brussels for a European Union summit, said in a tweet
FRENCH police forces take position in the Neudorf district of Strasbourg yesterday. Inset, Cherif Chekatt. thanking security forces. Five people have been arrested in connection with the investigation, including Chekatt’s parents and two of his brothers. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the fifth, who was arrested yesterday, was a member of Chekatt’s “entourage” but not a family member. Witnesses said the
gunman shouted “God is great!” in Arabic and sprayed gunfire from a security zone near the Christmas market on Tuesday. Security forces wounded the man but he managed to escape in a taxi, which dropped him off in Neudorf. More than 700 officers searched for Chekatt, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told CNews television. Authorities said Chekatt had 27 criminal convictions, the first one from when he was 13. Strasbourg mayor Roland Ries said police had acted on a tip from a woman. A local resident who witnessed the shootout said he heard shots and rushed to the window to see what was happening. He closed the shutters when he spotted the cornered suspect across the street. “I was very afraid for my children, I told them to
go away, and I went to the side,” Cem Akcakaya said. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online, said the Islamic State group’s Amaq news agency was claiming the gunman as a “soldier” of the group, although IS claims of responsibility have often been considered opportunistic. Security forces, including the elite Raid squad, spent hours searching in the Neudorf neighborhood where Chekatt had grown up based on “supposition only” he might have been hiding in a building nearby, a French police official said. France has raised its three-stage threat index to the highest level since the attack and deployed 1,800 additional soldiers across the country to help patrol streets and secure crowded events.
Residents of Strasbourg’s Neudorf neighborhood expressed relief after Chekatt was killed. “Everybody’s quite happy that the killer has been finally shot. I think now, the city and life can keep going on in Strasbourg,” resident Pierre Plasse said. One of the three who died in Tuesday’s attack was a Thai tourist, 45-yearold Anupong Suebsamarn, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry. Earlier, hundreds of people gathered in Strasbourg’s 500-year-old cathedral to mourn and seek comfort. “Evil does not prevail,” Archbishop Luc Ravel said. “And the message of Christmas has not been contradicted but rather confirmed by Tuesday’s dramatic night: Evil and good are both there, but in the end the good will have last word.”
SENATE DEFIES TRUMP AND VOTES TO END ASSISTANCE TO SAUDI ARABIA WASHIINGTON Associated Press
SENATORS voted yesterday to recommend that the US end its assistance to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen and put the blame for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi squarely on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a direct challenge to both the longtime Middle East ally and President Donald Trump’s handling of the relationship. The succession of bipartisan votes came two months after the Saudi journalist’s slaying at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and after Trump persistently equivocated over who was responsible. US intelligence officials concluded that bin Salman must have at least known of the plot, but Trump has repeatedly praised the kingdom. Senators made clear
PRESIDENT TRUMP where they put the blame. The resolution, passed by unanimous agreement, says the Senate believes the crown prince is “responsible for the murder” and calls for the Saudi Arabian government to “ensure appropriate accountability”. Senators voted 56-41 to recommend that the U.S. stop supporting the war in Yemen, a direct affront to the administration’s war powers abilities. The floor action brought
an unusual show of bipartisan resolve in the Senate over US foreign policy, even amid an uncertain outcome as the measures move to the House. Frustration with the crown prince and the White House prompted several Republicans to support the Yemen resolution as a way to rebuke the longtime ally. Seven Republicans and all Democrats voted for it. Some already had concerns about the war, which human rights groups say is wreaking havoc on the country and subjecting civilians, many of them children, to deadly disease and indiscriminate bombing. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who co-sponsored the Yemen resolution with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, called the vote a “historic moment.”
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, December 14, 2018, PAGE 11
COURT OF APPEAL DISMISSES APPEAL OF MAN WHO AIDED KILLING TEENAGER By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
A MAN has had his hopes dashed for contesting his near 20-year sentence for aiding the person responsible for killing the teenage son of convicted drug traffickers Dwight and Keva Major four years ago. Kevin Neely had appeared before the appellate court for a ruling on whether it would grant his request for more time to appeal his 18-year-sentence for the role he played in aiding the man responsible for killing 17-year-old Enrico Major in June 2014. During a previous hearing, Neely told appellate Justices Stella Crane-Scott, Roy Jones, and Milton Evans he was an “innocent” man sitting in prison for some four years to date for a crime he had “no knowledge” of or “no dealings with”. At the time, Neely said it is “hard” living as an inmate at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, stressing he has been made to endure threats while incarcerated and, based on that, he contemplated giving up. After hearing his matter called yesterday, Neely made his way to the prisoner’s dock, and after taking a seat, clasped his hands in a prayer-like fashion and lowered his head until his forehead rested on his hands, his eyes closed. However, Justice Milton Evans ruled Neely’s proposed grounds of appeal had no prospects of success, and consequently, his extension of time application was dismissed and his conviction and sentence affirmed. Major was killed weeks before his high school graduation. He was walking south on Baillou Hill Road near SC McPherson Junior High
SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER IN FREEPORT By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) with the Ministry of Tourism held an annual gift-giving event at Freeport Harbour on Tuesday spreading Christmas cheer to over 200 students on Grand Bahama. Despite chilly and breezy conditions, the students enjoyed the outing and were treated to a hot meal, drink, and cupcakes. And each child was presented with a gift from Santa Claus and Mrs Claus. The crew of the Norwegian Sky dressed up as Santa’s elves and provided festive entertainment. Drexel Arde of Norwegian Cruise Line said the company was pleased to be a part of such an event. “We love doing this. We have some 50 crew members here today, and it is a pleasure doing this every year,” he said. Nuvolari Chotoosingh, manager of maritime tourism with the Ministry of Tourism, said every year the FCCA holds its annual gift-giving event in the Caribbean region. “We do this every year in conjunction with FCCA, and we want to give something back to the kids on the island,” he said. “This is something the FCCA does throughout the Caribbean, which is the number one coolest region in the world. Leslie Newton, principal of Martin Town Primary School, commended FCCA and the Ministry of Tourism for hosting such a special event. “I think any event that gives back to the children is an awesome one, especially during this festive season. Today, we brought about 25 students, and they just love this event,” she said.
School on June 1, 2014 when he was confronted and stabbed. Dr Caryn Sands, a pathologist, testified during the trial that Major died of blood loss from the almost three-inch deep stab wound through his rib cage, which had severed an artery in his heart. She said that in her experience with such wounds, a person receiving that kind of injury would lose blood quickly because of a faster heartbeat as a result of activity and/or anxiety. The Crown’s case was that on the date in question, Neely and Dwayne Peter Lockhart chased Major and Ken Johnson down the street where Lockhart exited the vehicle being driven by Neely and gave further chase to Major behind a building. It was there that Lockhart stabbed Major in the back which resulted in his death. The evidence of Johnson, who managed to escape, was that when Lockhart exited the vehicle, Neely also left the vehicle and went to the area where Lockhart and Major went. Johnson also said he saw both Neely and Lockhart leave that area together and drive off in Neely’s vehicle. Lockhart, prior to the commencement of his trial, pleaded guilty to murdering Major and is currently serving a 24-year sentence after a deduction of one third for his early plea. Neely, meanwhile, denied any involvement in Major’s stabbing death.