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VOLUME:116 No.268, DECEMBER 17TH, 2018

HO US E & 16 THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

INSIGHT - IS THERE A THIRD WAY FOR US ALL? PAGES

Where’s my son?

Suspect ‘held’ 13 days ago goes missing

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said the Royal Bahamas Police Force has launched a full-scale investigation into the whereabouts of Marvin Pratt, 40, a Gambier Village resident whose family believes he is in police custody.

Mr Pratt’s family said he was arrested 13 days ago and has not been heard from since.

The matter has been picked up by Rights Bahamas who said it will launch judicial review proceedings on behalf of Mr Pratt if police don’t reveal his whereabouts shortly.

The group said in a statement over the weekend: “As far as his family

knows, Pratt has not been charged with any crime, meaning that if he is still in police custody, his detention is illegal and a contravention of his fundamental rights under the Bahamas Constitution.

“Acquaintances of the family who have seen Pratt in detention say he appears to have been beaten while in custody.

Despite trying several times to find out what has happened to Marvin, the family have been repeatedly stonewalled by police. As far as they know, he has not been given the opportunity to consult with an attorney and has not been allowed to apply for bail – further gross violations of his constitutional rights.

SEE PAGE THREE

DON’T SAY IT TOO LOUDLY - ‘UPGRADE’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Attorney General will today unveil “the first positive news for financial services in a decade” by revealing that The Bahamas’ compliance with global anti-financial crime standards has been upgraded.

Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business he will inform the Senate that the Financial Action Task Force’s Caribbean affiliate has positively re-evaluated this nation’s adherence to

its 40 “recommendations” or technical standards - for combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

He added, though, that the re-rating again highlighted the “urgency” for regulating Bahamian non-profit organisations, describing the sector as “an enormous black hole” that had prevented this nation from receiving an even higher upgrade due to the failure to-date to pass legislation for its oversight.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

HOME

WOMAN IN 80S ASSAULTED IN HOME RAID

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net AN elderly woman was sexually assaulted during an armed robbery attack on Saturday, police said.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Shanta Knowles said the incident took place shortly after 2pm in a home in the eastern district of New Providence.

She said the woman was held at bay, robbed of cash and sexually assaulted before the assailant fled the house.

She said police believe the incident was random and not connected to any other recent instance of sexual assault.

SEE PAGE FIVE

DRIVE-BY SHOOTER KILLS 1, INJURES 2

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

HEARTBREAK A FAMILY has suffered a double tragedy after the mother of Ashlee Hilton, Katharine Hilton, died less than two weeks after her daughter was shot dead along with her fiance, Neil Deveaux, near the entrance to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre in Fox Hill on December 3. Mrs Hilton, pictured with her daughter, had been battling illness for some time.

ONE man is dead and two others are said to be in serious condition in hospital following a shooting in Ridgeland Park over the weekend.

Meanwhile, another man is said to be in critical condition after being shot by a police officer less than an hour after the first incident.

Concerning the triple shooting, according to police reports, shortly before 8pm on Saturday, three men were standing in front of a home on Roland Street, when the sound of gunshots were heard.

SEE PAGE THREE

IT’S A COVER-UP - FOR US TOO

CHURCHES SET TO FIGHT ON NPO BILL

THE Department of Immigration’s dress code has sparked public debate, with people divided over whether the rules are an example of old-fashioned beliefs and institutional misogyny while others see no issue with the standard.

On Thursday, Immigration Minister Brent Symonette said people must be “properly dressed” when they come into the government building, in response to reports that women have

THE Government believes it has “accommodated 80-90 percent” of concerns over plans to regulate the non-proft sector - but remains on a collision course with the church.

Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, told Tribune Business that the Christian Council and Bahamian churches were seeking “a complete exemption” from the Non-Profit Organisations Bill and its provisions.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

MORGAN ADDERLEY, in the outfit she was turned away in. been turned away from the site for wearing shorts.

When asked to elaborate on “properly dressed”, Mr Symonette said “respectable clothing” and added the

rules are applicable to men and women.

On Friday, The Tribune canvassed the Department of Immigration and witnessed women being denied entry — including our reporter, who was dressed in office wear: a sleeveless blouse and slacks.

“I was coming to tell you can’t come in either,” a security guard told our reporter. When pressed on the matter, the security guard admitted the rules are a matter of the officers’ discretion.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SIX

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PAGE 2, Monday, December 17, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Hitting the high notes

THE ROYAL Bahamas Police Force Christmas Beat Retreat yesterday under the theme Christmas through the eye of a child. Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 17, 2018, PAGE 3

Where’s my son? from page one “Our law enforcement officials must learn that they cannot arbitrarily detain and hold people for extended periods of time. These repressive thuglike tactics are illegal and should not be tolerated in any democratic society. If no answers are forthcoming in the very short term, Rights Bahamas will launch judicial review proceedings on behalf of Marvin Pratt immediately.”

A neighbour, Rose Francis, 55, told The Tribune she saw four police officers chase Mr Pratt and arrest him around 10am on December 4 on Holly Hock Road.

She claimed: “I was cleaning a man’s bathroom and when I was going home that morning I saw the police coming and I saw Marvin, so I said ‘Marvin run, run, run, the man, the man,’ and they ran behind him, put him in a jeep, and the officer told me if I open my (expletive) mouth he gon’ kill me.”

Nonetheless, ACP Fernander was careful not to definitively say whether Mr Pratt was arrested and taken into custody.

“The investigation started when we got information from the family,” he told this newspaper, adding the investigation will determine if Mr Pratt was arrested.

“We should have something sometime this week. Officers have already met the family. There is a lot of hearsay going on, this one telling them that, but we are doing our background to see if he was picked up.”

ACP Fernander said determining whether someone is in police custody can sometimes be challenging because people may give fake names.

However, Mr Pratt’s mother, Barbara Saunders, said her son is too well-known to police to have

his identity mistaken. She said her son has served time in prison on drug related matters.

“He bad and he good,” she said.

She said police have visited her home in recent days, asking for a picture of Mr Pratt’s room and for a picture of him.

“Superintendent Rahming, homicide detective, came (Saturday) night saying he came for a picture,” she said. “I ain’ give the man no picture.

They get my child. They want a picture so they could say if he dead or alive. Who does come in the night? They came the night before too. Sergeant Major came on Friday to take a picture of Marvin’s room but my kids ain’ let him take no picture. Marvin been locked up a few times and I know they have his picture.”

Ms Saunders said she is worried.

“If he right or wrong, I just need to see him and know where he is,” she said. “Someone who know him who was in the cell told one of my nieces they saw him in there and his face was beaten and bruised. I don’t care if you good or you bad, you need rights.”

She said she and her granddaughter went looking for Mr Pratt at the Drug Enforcement Unit after he went missing.

“I went and said ‘do y’all have a Marvin Saunders or a Marvin Pratt,’ because I know sometimes these fellas does change their names,” she said. “But they know him good. The DEU man said, ‘y’all come to sign his bail hey?’ I said ‘yes’ and he went in the back and when he come back he had a face only a mother could love and we had to get out of there. When I ask him if they had Marvin there and he asked if y’all come to sign for him, that means they had him right? So why he change his tone after checking in the back? Every station we call, nothing, the hospital, the prison, nothing.”

MARVIN PRATT

DRIVE-BY SHOOTER KILLS 1, INJURES 2 from page one

All three men were shot, and transported to hospital, where one of them died. The other two victims were said to be in serious condition.

That incident pushed the murder count to 86 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

Police reported that less than an hour later, officers responded to Wulff Road near Minnie Street after

receiving reports of a man being armed with a firearm.

While engaging the suspect, he produced a black firearm and pointed it in the direction of the officers. The officers, being in fear for their lives, shot the suspect, who was taken to hospital in critical condition, police said.

Last week, acting Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour praised the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s crime fighting strategies as he repeated a familiar

refrain from law enforcement officials – that major crime categories continue to trend downward.

He indicated to reporters that Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson’s policing plan has been effective, noting a decrease in not only murders, but in other crime categories.

“At the beginning of the year the Commissioner of Police mandated to ensure that he put in place a mechanism which (is) called the Commissioner’s

Policing Plan for the year which speaks to how we intend to go about fighting crime and its vices here in The Bahamas,” said the acting commissioner on the sidelines of an Interpol anti-smuggling workshop.

“For the most part, the mechanism that we have employed under the direction of the commissioner of police would have been put in place and the fact that we have seen a reduction in not only murders but a number of our crime stats is an indication

FUGITIVE FROM US CAUGHT AT AIRPORT

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN declared a fugitive in the United States was caught at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on Saturday attempting to flee the country, police said.

It is not clear when Don Martin, 45, entered The Bahamas, but he went missing in Atlanta this month, days before a jury found him guilty of rape,

aggravated sexual battery, child molestation and cruelty to children in the first degree.

He is said to have committed the crime against a 13-year-old. He fled Atlanta five days into his trial.

According to local police, authorities were called to the international terminal of LPIA shortly after 5pm on Saturday. Martin is originally from Martin Town, Grand Bahama, police said, and

it is expected he will be extradited back to the US. In a media release about the case, the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney recounted the criminal case against Martin, noting it began after Atlanta police responded to a private residence on 2011 about a sexual battery call.

The victim told authorities Martin molested her

more than 30 times between 2005 and 2011 and recalled being sexually assaulted on her 12th birthday.

Martin was released on a $15,000 bond with an ankle monitor shortly after his arrest in 2014.

The Tribune asked Bahamian police if they were on the lookout for Martin over a week ago, but officers did not respond at the time.

MAN HELD AFTER MARIJUANA FIND DRUG Enforcement Unit officers in Grand Bahama arrested one man and seized more than 20 pounds of suspected marijuana in two separate incidents.

Shortly after 6pm on Saturday, DEU officers were in the area of East Atlantic Drive when they arrested a 33-year-old Freeport man found in possession of 10 pounds of suspected marijuana in his vehicle. The

drugs have a street value of $10,000, police said.

Officers also found a .38 revolver and four rounds of ammunition in the car.

In a second incident, DEU officers acting on information went to Gough Lane and found 10.5 pounds of suspected marijuana in an abandoned building. The drugs have an estimated street value of $10,500.

No arrests were made in the second incident.

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that the mechanism that was put in place is in fact working.

I just came out of a meeting (this morning) with the team and we meet every Tuesday morning and we are encouraged by the signs that we are seeing and we’ll continue to see going into the end of the year.”

He added: “One of the things you hear us say from time to time is that amount of crimes happening are

caused by a small percentage of our population and so the vast majority Bahamian people are determined not to cause these elements of criminality to wreak havoc on the wider community and so in partnership with us all the programmes that we would have put in place in the partnership with members of the public we will continue to see a decrease in the elements of criminality.”

PAGE 4, Monday, December 17, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Turmoil in Europe and importance of safeguarding our own democracy THE continuing violent demonstrations on the streets of Paris and other French cities in reaction to economic and other reforms have caused chaos amidst nationwide anger. Similar riots in other parts of the EU as well, provoked by dissatisfaction with government policies, have reflected widespread unrest on the continent.

Against a background of the rise of populism and nationalism precipitated by globalisation that is perceived to have caused economic disparity, together with the damaging effects of mass migration following Germany’s acceptance of a million migrants in 2015 and an increase of anti-EU sentiment, Europe is now beset by division, disruption and discontent. A series of horrific terrorist attacks in various European countries over the last few years, most recently this week in Strasbourg, has served to make matters even worse.

Europe’s history is characterised by constant conflict. Countries have shown themselves incapable of living in peace with one another while religion has tended to divide rather than unite, and competition among European imperialist nations, which by the end of the 19th century ruled over half the world’s population, exacerbated the continent’s internecine rivalries. Thus, the founding principle of the EU was that nationalism causes war, even though trans-national ideologies like fascism and communism have been responsible for the worst wars in the modern era.

After the defeat of fascism and the end of the Second World War in 1945, the benefit from the rebuilding of Germany, France and others under the Marshall Plan was that the subsequent half century saw Europe at its best, with development of economic co-operation and a free trade area in all non-communist countries so that the continent became wealthy, stable, politically liberal and a magnet to the world’s migrants seeking a better life or to escape persecution in their own countries.

To some historians, however, the ambition of an EU elite to bring about bureaucratic centralisation and an illdefined ever-closer political union in place of a successful trading relationship in a European Economic Community was a mistake because it disregarded the political mood of EU member states who ultimately were unlikely to accept such a single power structure. This has resulted in growing euroscepticism and the election of anti-EU governments in countries like Hungary, Poland and, most recently, Italy. It also seems to be at the core of Britain’s forthcoming

departure from the EU despite the strength of the economic arguments for her to remain in the bloc.

While we observe the chaos in Europe, we reflect, by way of extreme contrast, on our own good fortune in living in a well-ordered, politically stable and mainly peaceful country like The Bahamas with its adherence to democracy and the rule of law. While we can rely on our giant neighbour to ensure the security of our nation, we need ourselves to support and protect our democracy and our way of life.

In doing that, it is incumbent on the citizenry to hold the political class to account and expose any wrongdoing.

This is a critical function of the Fourth Estate and is also the role of various local organisations dedicated to the protection of civil liberties.

The behaviour of governments in small countries like ours, depends crucially on their leaders who exercise considerable powers. We believe during its first 18 months in office there have been too many examples of this FNM administration’s lack of political acumen in dealing with important issues, in particular determining when and where prime ministerial intervention has been appropriate in bringing influence to bear to resolve differences and competing interests.

A recent example was the doctors’ strike and the need to avoid undermining the authority of the Public Health Authority. Another important current issue is the Non-Profit Organisations Bill. This major piece of legislation has now been delayed to allow incorporation of suggestions by Civil Society, but the Bill as it stands is flawed and inappropriate. It is too prescriptive, gives too many powers to a regulator and the reporting requirements are too extensive and demanding while the penalties for non-compliance are draconian. Apparently, this has been fast-tracked without proper consultation at the demand of the OECD against the threat of ‘blacklisting’. But we would have hoped the FNM leadership could have handled this better rather than submitting too readily to such demands in relation to our sovereign country’s domestic legislation when the OECD and EU seem constantly to move the goal posts.

In a democracy, while elected political leaders should always be held publicly accountable for their actions, the media should be vigilant and vigorous in seeking to curb the excesses of government and how it exercises its powers.

We assure our readers this newspaper remains in the vanguard of those committed to this important task.

We’re no fools - we’re just tired EDITOR, The Tribune

not fools – we are tired.

How many are watching PM so correct on the the streets of Paris…do we future for electricity but we have to go to the streets cannot forget the 80MW with Yellow Jackets to get Standby generator RFP… reprieve from this millstone or the pre-RFP contractor - around our necks? is still in place therefore the The hundreds of secRFP was ‘not issued’? ond-handed Japanese cars To boot somehow the - question are they up to US 80MW has been increased standards on emissions? If not to a further 10-12MW our CO2 emission levels are without any RFP. We are going to shoot to the heaven.

LNG - where does Shell intend to flush the fresh water needed for the converter? Highly polluted where Mr Heastie?

PM Minnis finally has been won over – Solar first, sir.

W SMITH Nassau December 10, 2018

My thanks to an inspiring Knight EDITOR, The Tribune Bastian pays tribute to Mr Denis Knight.

Former Lecturer at the College of the Bahamas.

D--------- Dedicated.

E--------- Extra Effort.

N--------- Never ending patience.

I---------- Intense attention to detail.

S--------- Sensitive and self-sacrificing KNIGHT As an architectural student in the early 80’s at the College of the Bahamas under the able leaderships of Mr Amos Ferguson it was required that all students do art courses. It was in the art department that I

met Mr Denis Knight who worked well as a team along with Mr Stanley Burnside as an art lecturer.

I never met a man who was so immensely patient and knowledgeable about his ceramic craft.

It is at this time that I wish healing and comfort to the Knight family.

Denis Knight spent 92 glorious years on this side of heaven.

May his soul rest in perpetual peace until he meets his master in the Glorious bye and bye. Rest on my friend.

I will see you in Heaven some sweet day.

FORMER COB STUDENT Nassau December 10, 2018

Courts need to show the way EDITOR, The Tribune IN THE last fortnight, social media has been obsessed by the PM’s silly remarks about Bahamians having lost their fear of crime under his watch.

While foolish remarks by our prime minister have long since become as newsworthy as the sunrise, it is sad to see the focus of the discussion about crime once again misdirecting itself: this time onto the absurd distinction of whether 90 or 110 Bahamians were slaughtered with illegal guns in a given year.

The fact is that, whatever the ultimate causes underlying crime, the two proximate causes are obviously the easy availability of illegal firearms (as demonstrated by the latest killing in the course of a commonplace robbery in Coconut Grove), and the courts’ constant bailing of repeat offenders.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net While the media spends its energies reacting to the latest politicisation of crime, apparently nobody takes notice of stories like that appearing on page 7 of last Thursday’s Guardian, where a man charged with two gun murders (including that of an eight-year-old boy) was merely fined for breach of his bail conditions (removing his ankle bracelet) rather than reimprisoned. The combined fines and penalties totaled some $8,000. One wonders whether magistrates in such cases consider where bailed individuals will find the money to pay their fines, and whether financial, rather than custodial, penalties may actually be an inducement to further criminal activity.

Elsewhere in the media, two men received sentences of three years for possession of an AK-47 assault rifle (a high-powered weapon used in war zones).

Again, stories like these are given little prominence (and no editorial comment) while silly statements by politicians occupy the headlines.

The media should stay focused.

The criminal courts are our immediate problem. They set societywide behavioral norms by their sentencing and their bad bail decisions result in most of the criminal mayhem being experienced in the modern Bahamas. If they are controlled better, violent crime in The Bahamas will not cease, but it will drop dramatically.

Then some silly politician can claim the credit.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau December 14, 2018

Too many guns are coming in from US EDITOR, The Tribune THERE is a craft which politicians need to learn when to talk and when to simply shut up and be quiet!

Murder rate? Perfect example…yes probably 2018 we will have under 100 murder cases but is that really something to shout about?

2016 over 100…followed in 2017 another 100 and over 150 arrested and charged so the victims and the doers over 350 people in the criminal element.

Take a statistical position of odds…how many

persons with criminal intent are there? We constantly hear of a few a small group - how big? 300-400-500?

Between 2016-2017 we have collectively 350 persons so I ask how many more are there that might commit a murder or the odds of being a victim?

Statistically the murder rate had to be reducing so there is nothing to crow about.

Guns seemingly pour in from the US and the US seemingly can’t stop it they produce the guns not The Bahamas. Why don’t we read the riot act to the US…look every year you

write us up in your, US, annual reports but our report on the US will start with…the US TSA-US Customs seem unable to control the trafficking of firearms to The Bahamas.

The majority of murders are with US manufactured guns.

Would a boycott by Ministers of Embassy functions and contact send a stronger message? It is worth a try as nothing else seems to work and they continue to criticise. Have no contact at all.

P YOUNG Nassau December 10, 2018

Don’t they know it’s Christmas?

EDITOR, The Tribune SOCIAL media is awash with commentary about the time chosen by “someone” to do road works to East Bay Street between the Bridge and Who Knows Where. Not that that little stretch doesn’t need repaving, but OMG does it have to be done at the busiest time of the year when people have the least amount of time available to sit and dither in traffic?

In 1984, Bob Geldorf and Midge Ure wrote the lyrics for a major hit song, in response to reports on the inane reporting of the famine in Ethiopia and named it

“Do they know it’s Christmas.” The group known as “Band Aid” sang the lyrics, one star for each verse.

Well, we don’t have a food famine in Nassau, but sure as the devil we do have a time famine and one has to wonder if the civil servants planning such roadworks know that December would not be a good time to be doing roadwork anywhere in Nassau?

Do they know its Christmastime at all?

MONKEEDOO Nassau, December 13, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Woman killed as car pulled out had alcohol troubles

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MOTORIST, pulling out of her driveway, rolled over and killed a 51-yearold woman at Sheila Close off Joe Farrington Road shortly before 8pm on Saturday, police said.

Relatives of the deceased, Juliette Annette Armstrong, are not certain what happened but suspect she was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Armstrong’s sister, Antoinette Butler Smith, said the family understands Armstrong was lying on the ground in front of her yard when the fatal accident occurred.

“We think she was under the influence again and fell asleep or was lying in the front of the neighbour’s side of the apartment complex,” Ms Butler Smith said. “When the neighbour

came home she didn’t see her lying there and ran over her. That’s the story we were told.”

According to police, the incident occurred shortly before 8pm on Saturday when a woman was “pulling out of her driveway” and realised she had “rolled over something”.

“She made a check and discovered the body of an adult female lying near the vehicle,” police said.

Armstrong was pronounced dead at the scene.

The family is heartbroken, but know their loved one was troubled.

“She always was walking the streets and getting picked up so it’s believable,” Ms Butler Smith said about the account of what happened. She pleaded for more to be done to combat alcoholism, which she said was the root of her sister’s problems.

“We tried over and over

to get her admitted to Sandilands but we were told they cannot force her to come, she have to come of her own free will,” she said.

“But that’s wrong because my sister was a street walking alcoholic and a danger to herself. She was knocked down twice and was admitted to PMH. They said she had to commit a crime to be admitted.

“That’s foolishness and the poor lady that hit her now has to live with that for the rest of her life, that’s not fair. The law needs to change regarding help for the disease. The stigma surrounding alcoholism has to be addressed and we have to call it what it is, a disease. Our society is taking this matter too casually.

More people die around the world from accidents and incidents regarding alcohol than any other illegal substance. It’s a legal bomb.”

Mrs Butler-Smith said

her sister refused help for her issues.

“I’m devastated that she had to go out like this,” she said. “I was praying for some miracle or intervention. We always knew if her behaviour of walking the streets continued this was inevitable. It’s devastating for us and her only son, he’s inconsolable.”

Armstrong was humble and kind, Mrs Butler-Smith said, but she struggled with depression that worsened when her mother died.

“She was self-employed and lost her working mind from depression over the loss of our mother,” Mrs Butler-Smith said. “Then after that she couldn’t pay her bank note and lost her home. The drinking cost her everything, it destroyed her self-worth.”

Armstrong’s death is the 60th traffic fatality of the year. An investigation is continuing.

Monday, December 17, 2018, PAGE 5

JULIETTE ANNETTE ARMSTRONG, who has died, aged 51.

SEVEN DOMINICAN FISHERMEN GUILTY OF POACHING THREE days after they were apprehended by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, seven Dominican fishermen were charged before the courts on Friday for poaching in Bahamian waters.

The RBDF patrol craft P-129 apprehended the Dominicans aboard two small go-fast type boats approximately 20 feet in length. The incident took place around noon last Tuesday in the area of Little Inagua. RBDF officers allegedly found the

DOMINICAN poachers at court.

FOUR YEARS IN JAIL FOR SHOPBREAKING

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A GRAND Bahama man was sentenced to four years and six months in prison after pleading guilty in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court on Friday to charges of shopbreaking, stealing, and causing damage.

Moses Storr, 35, who has no known address, appeared before Magistrate Charlton Smith in Court Two on two counts of shopbreaking, two counts of causing damage, and stealing. One of his crimes included the recent break-in at Royal Bank of Canada in Grand Bahama.

He pleaded guilty to breaking into a security company and stealing two firearms, which he later sold for less than $100 each.

Magistrate Smith said that the offence was an egregious one.

“Two firearms are floating in the public that can cause deadly affliction for persons out there,” he told the accused.

Storr told the magistrate that he was employed at the security company he had broken into and stolen the two firearms. He sold one of the guns for $70, and the second for $40.

“Where are the guns?” asked Magistrate Smith.

The accused said he went

MOSES STORR to an area known as “the ghetto” and sold the guns.

“Did you give police the information?” The judge asked. “No,” Storr replied.

When asked to whom he had sold the firearms, Storr said that he did not know the persons.

Storr told Magistrate Smith that it was difficult for him to find employment after losing his job as a security officer. He said that he has a drug habit, and had been to the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre for his drug addiction.

Magistrate Smith asked Storr what kind of drugs he takes. Storr said he has been using “rock cocaine” for the past two to three years.

Storr also pleaded guilty to shopbreaking and causing damage in connection with the break-in at the Royal Bank of Canada, in Freeport, on December 7.

He also pleaded guilty to

causing damage at Krosstown premises.

Magistrate Smith told Storr that he was giving him credit for saving the court’s time and pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

He convicted him of the offences and sentenced him to four years and six months imprisonment for shopbreaking and stealing two firearms from the security company; two years imprisonment for shopbreaking and causing damage at Royal Bank of Canada, and one year imprisonment for causing damage at Krosstown.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

In other court matters, four men were charged with firearms and ammunition possession.

Mario Lowe, 27, of Explorers Way, Freeport; Pharaoh Shepherd, 20, of Rum Cay Place, Hawksbill; Terry Pratt, 31, of East Explorers Way, Freeport; and Glen White, 33, of Pinta Avenue, were charged before Magistrate Rengin Johnson for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Lowe pleaded guilty to the charges. He will be sentenced today. Pratt, White, and Shepherd pleaded not guilty to the charges, and their cases were adjourned to February 11, 2019, for trial.

WOMAN IN 80S ASSAULTED IN HOME RAID from page one A source told The Tribune the woman is in her mid-80s.

Though rare, sexual crimes against the elderly are not unprecedented. In 2014, a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer was charged with attempting to

rape a 78-year-old woman.

That same year, a man was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison for raping a 69-year-old woman.

The National Task Force for Gender Based Violence determined in 2016 that the Bahamas ranks number one for recorded rapes in the Caribbean region. From

2008 to 2012, annual police reports documented 9,045 instances where women were assaulted.

From 2003 to 2013, there were 1,109 reported rapes, The Tribune reported in 2016. In January of this year, police said reported cases of unlawful sexual intercourse increased between 2016 and 2017 from 87 to 107.

poachers with approximately 150 pounds of scaled fish and lobster on board.

Fausto Garcia, Gabriel Pailora, Carlos Duran, Ramon Lopez, Carlos Rodriguez, Elias Simon and Juan Duran all appeared before Magistrate Cara Turnquest in Court #11 and were charged with four offences under the Fisheries Resources Act: illegal foreign fishing within an exclusive fishery zone; possession of grouper during the closed season; and two counts of possession

of a prohibited apparatus, namely an air compressor tank and spear guns.

In Friday’s hearing, all of the Dominicans pleaded guilty and were subsequently convicted and fined a total of $413,000 or face a custodial sentence.

Prison sentences are to run concurrently.

For count one, they were fined $50,000 each or nine months in prison; and $3,000 each or six months in prison for counts two, three and four.

Prior to this incident, the

Royal Bahamas Defence Force apprehended a total of 172 Dominican poachers and four Dominican fishing vessels with over 100,000 pounds of fisheries products in June, July and October of this year. The poachers were all charged and found guilty by the courts for various fishing violations, and sentenced to time ranging from six months to 18 months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Total fines awarded were approximately $7m.

PAGE 6, Monday, December 17, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Tribune reporter fails the Brent test too as immigration department insists people are ‘properly dressed’ from page one Another woman, wearing a knee-length sleeveless dress, was also turned away at the door.

“When I reach inside, they stopped me. They said I can’t come in there without a jacket on me,” the 24-year-old said.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was given no specific reason as to why her attire was inappropriate, but was directed to a sign.

The notice, erected on an exterior wall, reads: “No swearing; no loitering; no short, shorts; no sleeveless tee’s; no hats; no shades; no weapons.”

The officer noted the sign had gone up in the “last month or so” but said the rules had been “verbally communicated” for at least the past five years.

As this conversation occurred, a man walked past in shorts. When The Tribune pointed this out, the officer noted the sign reads “short shorts”.

The 24-year-old woman eventually had to borrow a jacket from a stranger in order to enter the premises.

Another woman, who wished to be identified as Ms Thompson, supported the rule.

“Once you come into a business place, I think you should have a mind-set to dress (appropriately) and not to have on no short sleeve, nothing what’s too short, nothing that’s open and revealing,” the 27-yearold said. “Because this is a business place and you should at least be covered.

“The sign should not have been there because people should have kept that in they head to know that ‘hey you’re going to a business place’.”

When asked her response to those who would say the phrase “properly dressed” is difficult to define, she said: “I don’t think it’s that hard to define. But if you

TRIBUNE reporter Morgan Adderley, left, who was told she would not have passed the immigration office dress code, looks at the notice explaining the rules. Inset, left, the rules. Below left, this lady would not have been allowed in if she had not had a jacket with her.

Below, the entrance to the immigration offices.

Pictures: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

know you wearing a sleeveless shirt, I think you should just have on a lil’ shawl or a lil’ sweater, lil’ jacket, however.”

Ms Thompson herself

was wearing a shirt with holes in the design, but she noted that she had brought a sweater.

Mr Symonette defended the rule to The Tribune.

“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

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Death Notice Inge Fliniaux, 81

of Denmark, Paris, France and Nassau, Bahamas passed peacefully away on Monday, 3rd December, 2018 at The Madson Clinic in Paris, France.

Inge was pre-deceased by her parents, Svend Aage and Ruth Anderson and her sister Liz Christiansen.

Left behind to cherish her memories are her “Bahamian husband”, Samuel Knowles; Nephews, Ole Christiansen (wife Randy); Grand niece, Cecilie Christiansen and Torben Christiansen (wife Reggae).

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

PUBLIC NOTICE Mr. Demetrius Bastian is no longer employed by Sunshine Finance Ltd.

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 “slut-shaming”, 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.”

Mr Symonette also noted the rules apply to both men and women.

“That goes for everybody,” he said. “Proper dress at immigration, or don’t come in.”

MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2018

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS HUBERT Minnis shakes hands with Kwasi Thompson, Minister of State for Grand Bahama. Well meaning people who say the right things but that does not convert into action on the ground.

By FREDERICK R M SMITH, QC

L

IKE many I remain an ardent supporter of the FNM, but like many, I too am frustrated, exasperated and discouraged at the dissonance exhibited by my party.

I continue to hear many of its leaders, including the Prime Minister, speak of progressive change and reaching for preelection commitments made. I remain confident in Doc’s sincere expressions of democratic reform.

Sadly, little has changed, except for the passage of more and more inquisitorial and arguably unconstitutional legislation and polices that were never mentioned in our manifesto.

True, Rome was not built in a day; and the resurrection of Freeport may arguably take three!

But if we are to win the next election - and 2022 is just around the corner - we must be bold and progressive, particularly in Grand Bahama. Grand Bahama should be a crucible of experimentation and change (like it was successfully in 1955). Government should take extreme progressive steps and cut the red tape and roll out the red carpet. The FNM does not have to re-invent the wheel! Freeport, armed with the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and some tax extensions, will create prosperity for the entire Bahamas and our FNM will remain in power for decades, term after term.

If this government does not resurrect Freeport it may very well lose the next election. Freeport is the key to the nation’s future and success. Until and unless Nassuvians experience Freeport they have a visceral difficulty understanding this.

The PM and Min. of GB, Kwasi Thompson are well meaning and say the right things, but that does not convert into action on the ground, and more to the point immigration continues to be an albatross drowning Grand Bahamas’ exponential potential.

There are many promising signs on the horizon for the once Magic City, but none will come to fruition unless the government gets control of the Immigration Boogie-Man in Freeport!

If it does not, heaven forbid, but the PLP, like Freddie KruegerMitchell may be back to terrorise us!

The world is changing, why aren’t we?

But all is not lost. Hope springs eternal in FNM Country. We are survivors. If the FNM won’t effect fundamental change, then maybe a Third Force needs to do so!

The world is changing all around us, yet politics in The Bahamas remains mired in the early 1970s. Social conservativism, religious fundamentalism, economic paternalism, xenophobic immigration policies – our national discourse is trapped in an unprogressive time capsule, endlessly rehashing the same tired old ideas and priorities, concerns and hang-ups that have dominated since before independence.

Young, progressive individuals enter politics all the time, but they are quickly swallowed up by The Machine, transformed into unthinking automata, slaves to the will of their political masters. The fact is, there is no changing the status quo through membership of either the FNM or PLP as the Westminster system, especially in small developing states, leaves no room for individual action.

Each elected member is chosen by, serves at the pleasure of and remains beholden to the party leader for the duration of their political career. Outspoken members can object, but the result is removal from positions of influence and income and political impotence for the duration of their term. Troublemakers are unlikely to be chosen to run a second time.

Whereas in England, Australia

The rise of a Third Force, thinking outside the box could change it all or other large Commonwealth countries, it is theoretically possible to mount a coup against, or at least apply pressure to a leader from within a party. Thirty nine seats is simply too few for this to be a realistic possibility here.

Just ask Andre Rollins or Loretta Butler-Turner – both undoubtedly well-intentioned, both doomed to failure before they began.

Lessons from history If new, progressive ideas are to enter the political bloodstream, they must be introduced as part of a movement from outside the main parties. But, according to accepted wisdom, this too is impossible. Politics in The Bahamas remains a de facto two-party system and anyone seeking to affect change independent of the FNM or PLP is simply wasting time and money. But it does not have to be so.

True, our history is littered with the carcasses of failed political projects – the Bahamas Democratic Movement, the Coalition for Democratic Reform, the National Development Party, the Workers’ Party and on and on.

After contesting two elections in which it won no seats, the most recent example, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), now appears to be on its last legs.

Such political disasters are often portrayed as cautionary tales, warnings to would-be nation builders against striking out on a different path.

But this is to forget the lesson of one particular cluster of successive ‘third force’ movements, which achieved such amazing success that for a short time they actually held the title of Official Opposition, relegating the FNM to the status of ‘also-ran’. In the 1977 general elections, the upstart Bahamian Democratic Party shocked the political establishment, receiving 27 percent of the votes and winning six seats. The PLP won 30 seats and the FNM just 2. The BDP did include a number of established political figures like former premier Sir Roland Symonette, but it was also home to progressive liberals with daring, unorthodox ideas.

The BDP and its offshoots, the Social Democratic Party and the Free National Democratic Movement, were hotbeds of creative thinking, bold vision and courageous political activism. This was short lived, and by the time of the 1992 election, these groups had

been reabsorbed into the FNM which went on to win the government for the first time.

Fleeting though it was, this extraordinary political moment showed the potential of ‘rogue’ outsider movements to have a substantial impact on the political landscape, disrupting the status quo by injecting progressive, enlightened ideas into the mix.

It is no mistake the unification of all this restless, combative energy was immediately followed by the first change in government in the history of an independent Bahamas. The FNM owes a profound though unacknowledged debt in this regard.

Rethinking tactics Most Third Force movements fail to make an impact because they agree to play the game according to the Big Boys’ rulebook. For example, outsider parties have felt pressure to field a full slate of candidates in order to be taken seriously as a viable option. They universally fail to convince a majority of voters to make them the government, and pour untold time and resources down the drain in the process.

But we don’t need to actually win an election to create change.

If the aim is to force the executive - whichever party may be in power - to consider ideas, policies and initiatives that are unpopular with the current political class, it is enough to disrupt the balance of power by becoming the potential “spoiler” of any party’s plans and aspirations.

All a Third Party or even a loose alliance of progressive independents need do is target a handful, say eight to 10 winnable seats, and convince the voters therein that their interests would be best served by empowering parliamentarians who are beholden to no-one but their constituents.

In the past, independent MPs have failed to make an impact on behalf of their communities, because a lone voice in the wilderness is not enough to sway a government’s decision-making process. But a group of eight MPs has the power to make or break any vote in Parliament, to scrap any piece of legislation the government may want to pass, to bring the executive to its knees when it comes to passing the annual budget, unless and until its concerns are taken seriously, its ideas passed into law, its policy suggestions incorporated into the running of government.

Such a group need not go to the expense and trouble of forming an official party, ratifying a constitution or writing a manifesto. It need not work to attract candidates that agree on all points of politics and governance. Its members need only set aside their differences and focus on a core set of ideas upon which they agree, commit to working together to push for these ideas, and exert pressure in Parliament to ensure that their shared vision for the country has a voice at the table, regardless of which party is in office. And more to the point, have the confidence of the big election financial donors, thus starving the PLP and FNM of large scale political election funding.

Many in this category donate to political organisations already, but are routinely left feeling frustrated and impotent when the ideas and initiatives they support are cast aside following each election. This is not to suggest a quid pro quo arrangement regarding government contracts or favours; that would be tantamount to corruption. But, if a person has been convinced to financially support a political organisation on the basis of supposed shared ideals they have a right to feel betrayed when those ideals are summarily abandoned, sacrificed on the alter of power, as soon as the cheque is cashed.

The forgotten in our midst

In my view, what The Bahamas is screaming out for is a group of political hopefuls who can coalesce around a set of ideas that directly challenge the institutional biases, stagnant policies and sterile perspective of the status quo and point to a new path toward peace, success and prosperity.

We need politicians who want an open and liberal economy, where regulation, red tape and bureaucracy are kept to a minimum and Bahamians can borrow capital easily, move money overseas at will and invest in foreign and domestic enterprises as they see fit.

Politicians who want to ease the stranglehold of racist immigration policies and invite the world’s best and brightest in groundbreaking fields and emerging technologies to our shores.

Politicians who actually believe in freedom of information, transparency, accountability and small government.

Politicians who are not afraid to think outside of the box and want to break the grip of the current political elite on all aspects of this society, whether moral, economic or legislative.

I know there are financial interests in this country which would support such an agenda and would be more than willing to fund an intrepid group of parliamentarians whose aim for once is not to ‘take over’ and become the new boss, but rather to exert just enough strategic pressure to ensure that daring, progressive, unpopular ideas can enter into the conversation and have a chance at helping to mould a future for The Bahamas that would benefit of us all.

We owe this to our future!

The hardship and neglect suffered by Grand Bahama over the past 50 years makes that island’s six seats the ideal target for such a movement. Usually considered FNM country, the fact is Grand Bahama is so fed up with being ignored, overlooked, forgotten that any message of hope and meaningful change will be enthusiastically received. It is also true that on the whole, Grand Bahamians tend to be less conservative in their views, and more tolerant and broadminded in their perspective, than the average Nassuvian or Family Islander. They are far more accepting of the notion that we need fundamental, radical change because they feel the effects of five decades of stagnation more than most.

It would not be too difficult to find three or four constituencies in Abaco or Nassau that also feel they have been forgotten, neglected or wronged by the political establishment as a whole, either left to fend for themselves in poverty or marginalised, left out of the national conversation because of ethnicity, cultural distinctiveness or the unwelcome nature of their ideas.

Money talks But resonating with a target audience is not enough, as the DNA can testify. To win elections in The Bahamas, you need money.

For this reason, perhaps the most important audience for such an alliance are individuals, business interests and social groups that possess financial power but lack political clout.

Rage against The Machine

PAGE 8 MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2018

A

CURIOUS double standard is bein g applied by the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) by its decision to sell its operations in nine Caribbean countries to Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) of Trinidad and Tobago.

In Canada banks cannot be sold to foreigners without the expressed approval of the government of Canada. The Canadian banking act is quite specific in two relevant areas.

Firstly, no bank or bank branch can carry on business in Canada without obtaining the approval of the Finance Minister and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI). This is especially important in the context of the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, insisting his government’s agreement is required before BNS can sell its Antigua holdings to RFHL or any other potential buyer.

Secondly, while the Canadian OSFI assesses applications for the incorporation of banks and makes recommendations to the Finance Minister, it is the Minister who has the ultimate responsibility for approving the incorporation of banks and foreign bank branches. Importantly, in discharging responsibility to approve a bank, an important consideration is whether such approval is in the “best interests of the Canadian financial system”.

Despite these existent circumstances in Canada, BNS is attempting to sell its holdings in nine Caribbean jurisdictions without consultation with, nor approval from, the governments concerned.

Clearly, while a standard exists, and is operated, in Canada with respect to government approvals, BNS appears to be expecting the nine Caribbean countries to accept a lower standard. Those nine countries are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St KittsNevis, St Lucia, St Maarten, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

In the case of Guyana, both the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr Gobind Ganga and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon have stated should the sale of BNS’ holdings be sold to RFHL - which already has a presence in the country - the latter would own at least 53 percent of total assets in the banking sector and more than 50 percent of total deposits. That situation troubles

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Scotiabank’s obligation for decades of profits

PRIME Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne.

Opposition Leader and former President, Bharrat Jagdeo as much as it worries the government since RFHL would be able to exert control over interest rates and lending policies.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda’s resistance to sale of BNS’ holdings in Antigua to RFHL is different, but equally important.

Like every other Caribbean country, Antigua and Barbuda’s financial services sector has been subject to a process of ‘de-risking’ by which global banks in the United States, the UK and parts of Europe have withdrawn correspondent banking relations (CBRs). CBRs are vital to bank transactions. Without them, bills for goods and services incurred overseas cannot be settled and monies for goods and services, earned from overseas cannot be received.

In other words, CBRs are crucial to the Caribbean’s participation in the global

financial and trading system. Without them, economies would wither, companies would collapse and unemployment and poverty would rise.

In part the domestic banking sectors in Antigua and Barbuda - and other Eastern Caribbean countries - have lost CBRs and could lose more, because they are regarded as too small and not capable of producing enormous profits that would compensate global banks for ‘risking’ continued operations in their countries.

This is one of the reasons given by BNS for disposing of its operations in the nine countries. BNS said, “these transactions are not material to Scotiabank” which is “trying to shed regulatory burdens”. These burdens, incidentally, are imposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Financial Action Task Force, both external to the Caribbean.

By calling for BNS to sell its Antigua holdings to a consortium, comprising the government and local banks, the Antigua and Barbuda government says it is seeking “to strengthen the local banking sector, improve its resilience, and enhance the nation’s utilization of its own wealth, including keeping profits at home for reinvestment in economic growth and social development”.

A sale of BNS’ holdings in Antigua to RHFL would not achieve the objective of enlarging the indigenous banks and increasing their capacity, making them more attractive for global banks to continue to provide CBRs. Indeed, for Antigua and Barbuda and other Eastern Caribbean countries, the situation would worsen since they would lose BNS’ built-in CBRs with its headquarters in Canada; their indigenous banks would not be strengthened; and they would be faced with another bank (RHFL) which requires CBR’s to conduct business.

Therefore, the Antigua and Barbuda concern with enlarging the capacity of its indigenous banks and enhancing their resilience is a legitimate concern in the best interest of its financial system.

There is a further consideration. In none of the nine jurisdictions - which BNS calls “non-core markets” for its business - is anything more than branches being sold.

BNS is not selling the Scotia brand or any association with Scotiabank, so ‘goodwill’ is questionable. It is selling assets and liabilities of a branch.

In this connection, it is important to note the Antigua branch is not capitalised, and figures available in the auditor’s (KPMG) statement of 8 January 2016, reveal that EC$59.41 M was transferred to head office.

Further, in 2017 the branch declared profits of EC$28.24 M, but listed EC$30.2 M as “due to Head Office”, leaving retained earnings in 2017 of EC$4.785 M, down from EC$6.521 M in 2016. All of this seems to suggest the Antigua branch has been transferring the bulk of its retained profits to BNS’ Head Office.

BNS operated in Antigua for over 50 years. It derived all the money to meet its costs and make yearly profits that it transferred to its headquarters in Canada from clients in Antigua and Barbuda; none of that money, except for the initial small capital expenditure, many decades ago, came from outside. To the very end, it transferred relatively large profits made in the small Antigua and Barbuda market to its parent company.

Surely, in its desire to leave “to focus the Bank’s efforts on markets with significant scale”, BNS should recognise a moral obligation to sell its Antigua holdings to local entities, giving the country’s financial sector a chance to thrive.

The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own. Responses and previous commentaries at: www.sirronaldsanders.com

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2018 PAGE 9 PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis meeting students from The Bahamas Academy earlier this year. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

W

ITH the year 2018 wrapping up, it is quite normal to evaluate how the government has performed throughout the year. Naturally, those opposed to the government take advantage of the opportunity to tell their compatriots, “I told you so”, and supporters loyally defend their party, for better or worse.

Likewise, there are those on the fence who may give the benefit of the doubt as they are only two years into a five-year contract with the Bahamian people.

The question quite obviously becomes: “How much time is too much for the government to prove it was the right choice on election day?”

While the government certainly has no qualms about talking itself up, the proof is in the pudding, and this one has yet to rise, as the government has done itself much more harm than good thus far.

Bahamian governments typically do not get to be judged across the five years promised to them upon being elected. Far from it, the Bahamian people have incredibly short attention spans if they are not won over within the first few years of a term.

It can often be seen the administrations that fell out of favour early on went on to be voted out on election day.

Certainly, we can recall the belief the Progressive Liberal Party had to depart had permeated society halfway through their last term. Subsequently the Bahamian people shut the door on former prime minister Perry Christie, pulling the curtains on his 40-year political career in an emphatically embarrassing fashion.

Fortunately the current administration sit across the aisle from a Progressive Liberal Party the Bahamian people still have great disdain for.

However, while three years is ample time to capture the hearts of the Bahamian people, it is also sufficient to seal one’s political fate and hand the country back to an opposition party waiting in the wings.

The mistake the Minnis administration continues to make is to have a complete lack of accountability.

Most recently, their repeal of the Business Licence Act amendments - vehemently rebuked by the business community for onerous conditions, particularly on small businesses – ran counter to Prime Minister Minnis’ pledge to make it easier for Bahamian people to do business. Adding insult to injury, the government heralded their repeal as a measure of goodwill to the Bahamian people.

This position was laughable, as most right-thinking people saw this latest fumble as a result of the government’s hard-headedness.

Far too often, they seek to pander to the electorate as if we are of low intelligence and won’t be insulted by being consistently patronised. That is far from the truth.

The Bahamian people voted the Free National Movement to govern the country

Another year like this and it could be game over for Minnis & Co as a rejection of the same outdated school of thought.

Information sharing among the electorate has grown to epic levels with the proliferation of social media and as Bahamians become more tech savvy. Online activism has also been encouraging citizens to form opinions on national issues and voice them within digital communities.

No longer will party politics continue to doom our country’s prospects. And it is because leaders continue to underestimate the quiet revolution taking place that the walls of this archaic system will eventually come tumbling down.

Certainly, the Minnis administration’s resume - while still a work in progress - has not done enough to win the favour of the majority of the Bahamian people. This much has been quantified by marketing research company Public Domain, which revealed the increasing dissatisfaction with the government this year.

It would hardly be a surprise if the populace was surveyed today and showed increased disenchantment with the Minnis administration.

Possibly biting off more than they can chew, the government promised the Bahamian people the earth, moon and stars – all while still blundering through the most minute matters of governance.

The prime minister dragging his feet on THE BAHAMIAN people shut the door on former prime minister Perry Christie.

the promised probe into BPL, the government’s inability to decrease electricity costs and make good on its campaign promise to solarise the country, increasing VAT, poor negotiations on their purchase of the Grand Lucayan – and the list can go on – all will potentially come back to haunt this administration.

In the final analysis, the reality is three years are still left in this term. And as nightmarish as the prospect of this government trending downwards may be, we should all be hopeful there is some master plan guiding them.

Thankfully, as the year comes to an end, renewal is on the horizon. As Parliament breaks, it is our hope this administration returns refreshed with their sleeves rolled up ready to shepherd the country to greener pastures.

Undoubtedly, a repeat of 2018, while it could have been a lot worse, surely cannot be afforded if the Minnis administration wants to even be considered as a viable option in the next election.

Whether that approach is practical or not, it is just how the Bahamian people operate.

PAGE 10, Monday, December 17, 2018

THE TRIBUNE INSIGHT

Full Military Funeral Service For Police Sergeant #456 Fredrick Dewitt Nottage, 51

of Lynden Pindling Estates, will be held on Wednesday December 19th 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Shirley Street. Officiating will be Canon Crosley Walkine, assisted by other ministers of the Clergy. Interment will be held on Friday, December 21st, 2018 at Tarpum Bay Public Cemetery, Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera.

Left to cherish his fond memories are his Wife: Ethnee Veronica Nottage née Stubbs; Daughters: Nicole Nottage, Corporal #3575 Crystal Nottage and Zoe Nottage; Son: Fredrick Jr., Adopted son: Joey Missick; Mother: Rowena Culmer; Sisters: Beulah Rolle, Veronica Micklewhite, Ardell Johnson, Debra Moxey, Cynthia Nottage and Edith Nottage; Brothers: James Munnings, Charles Rolle, Leon Nottage, Petty Officer Deon Nottage of The Royal Bahamas Defense Force and Bishop Thomas Nottage Sr.; Mother-in-law: Ena Stubbs and family; Brothers-in-law: David Micklewhite; Charles Johnson Sr.; John Moxey, Ricardo Stubbs, Marvin Whitney; Sisters-in-law: Edena Stubbs-Whitney, Lorene Stubbs, Brenda Evans, Dena Rolle; Monica Nottage; Penelope Nottage; Pamela Nottage of Miami, USA; Aunts: Edith and Susan McIntosh, Virginia Delancey and McQuella Fellow; Uncles: Herbert Allen and Donald McIntosh of the USA; God-children: France Campbell, Denim Wilson; Numerous nieces and nephews; Cousins: Henry Jean McCartney; Brenda Carey; Kenneth McCartney; Constance McCartney-Ferguson; Ena McCartney; Priscilla McCartney; Beulah Dean; Freddy McCartney; Kirk McCartney; Ricardo Rolle; Yappee Rolle; Nigel Rolle; Greg Rolle; Nathan Rolle; Van Rolle; Kevin Rolle; Gloria Rolle; Madge Rolle; Winston Rolle; Coral Delancey; Tiffany Delancey-Ferguson; Michelle Carey; Patrice Ingraham; Tara Fellow; Ellyniece (Pinky) Nottage; Leonardo Nottage; Leon Bert Nottage Jr.; Crystal, Christine and Kenai of Miami, Fla. Quebell Rolle; Kermit and Betty Paul; Cheryl Carey; Urandle Graham; Kayla Micklewhite; Kenny Micklewhite; Nadia and Giraldo Johnson; Denzel Diaz; Sandy and Samantha Carey; Llewlyn Nottage; Entrice Knowles; Mekell Deveaux; Deangelo and Lily Nottage; Jessica Nottage; Brittnee Darling; Javaughn and McNeil Johnson; Makeva Dean; Shanda Brown; Claire Brown; Levell Martin; Bishop Francis Curry; Other Relatives and friends: Rev. Dr. Samuel Saunders & family, Mr. Wendell Newton, Henry Theodore Allen & family; Dewitt & Pastor Remelda Carey & family; Peter & Barbara Carey and family; Minister of Social Services, the Hon. Mr. Frankie Campbell & Family, Cle Symonette and family; children of Otis & Mary Cooper; Mavis Johnson; Gordon & Ruth Carey; Mizpah Major and family; Mary Nottage & family; Lillis Hunt & family; Sheila McCartney; Bert & Iris Carey and family; Philip & Joan Hilton and family; Charles & Merlene Clarke and family; Sharon Carey Nottage & family; Barbara Carey and family; Charlamae Forbes & family; Christopher and Harriet Wallace; Manley Wilson & family; Don and Alicha Bain; Shema Saunders-Darling & family; The A & B squad of 1986, Rose Rigby & family; the Lynden Pindling Estates neighbourhood, Mr. Anthony Ferguson, Commissioner of Police and his senior executive team; Supt. Christopher Wright and team of Quakoo Street Police Station; the entire membership of the Royal Bahamas Police Force; Rev. Dr. Sammy Saunders; Rev. Fr. James Moultrie; Archdeacon James Palacious and Rev. Angela Palacious; Archdeacon Kingsley Knowles; Fr. Don Haynes; Fr. Lynden Douglas, the vestry, Senior Choir, ACM, CYM and members of St. Matthews Anglican Church; Fr. Whitfield Hutchinson, Dr. Nicholas Fox; Management and staff of Insurance Management.

Family and friends may pay their last respects at The Paul H. Farquharson’s Center (Police Headquarters), East Street North on Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at the church on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until service time.

Funeral Service for Leopold Garth Wright, 66 of Tuckaway Road off Village Road, will be held on Thursday 20th December, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Agnes Anglican Church, Baillou Hill Road. Officiating will be Fr. I. Ranfurly Brown assisted by other ministers of the Clergy. Interment will follow in St. Agnes Cemetery, Nassau Street.

Left to cherish his fond memories are his loving mother: Maxine Wright; children: Leopold Garth Wright III (Vivia Messias) and Melisa Simone Wright; Grandchildren: Blair Thompson; Decarus, Roberto, Leopold Isaac, Viviana Grace and Olivia Rose Wright; His lifelong partner: Dorothy Bain; Aunt: Icelyn Pratt; Cousins: Glen and Valerie Miller and Family, The Honourable J. Henry Q.C. and Family; the children of the late Wilfred Stanley Coakley and Merle Coakely; the children of the late Samuel and Sarah Coakley and the children of the late Marguerite Dahl; Brothers: Colin Wright (Dellareese); Christopher Wright (Sonia); Berne Wright (Tanya); Mervin Wright (Violet); Keith Wright, Jackie Wright (Lynn); Kendal Wright; Robert ‘Bobby’ Wright and Ted Wright; Sisters: Linda Smith (Lloyd); Buena Wright; Anita Ramsey (Alfred); Susan Cargill (Patrick); Kimberly Thurston (Mitchell); and Bridgette Williams (Lester); Numerous Nieces and Nephews including: Britt McKay (Keith), Anyel Colebrooke, Ondre and Christian Cargill; Aliah and Alrae Ramsey; Nekiah Wright-Haven (Everette), Rondell, Cohen and Starrion Wright; Kaylisa Greenslade; Christie Wright and Christin Wright, Erica, Tani, Tanae, Giovanni, Deshawn and Tekashna Wright; Relatives and Family Friends: 12345 Charles Clarke and Family; Sandra Christie and the Christie Family; Mrs. Peggy Lundy; the Fresh Creek, Andros Family; the Honourable Philip ‘Brave’ Davis; Gaye Knowles, Cecil and Jan Smith; Percy ‘Vola’ Francis; Samuel ‘Bookie’ Johnson and Inez Johnson; Dr. Daniel Johnson; Dr. Philip ‘Slimy’ Thompson; Algernon Allen Sr.; 12Stan Davis; Rudy Cooper; Ken Sands; EJ of Harbour Island; Ronnie Armbrister; Jayson and Elsie Moxey; The ‘Pa B’s Crew; Ivan Rolle, Ryan Dorsett; Charlie Deveaux; Fred ‘Papa’ Smith; Godfrey Brown; The South Side Junkanoo Group; the Saxons Superstars Junkanoo Group; The Usher Board of St. Agnes; the ACM of St. Agnes and the St. Agnes Church Family; Dr. Freddie Smith and the Dialysis Unit (PMH); PCT Tina Watson (Caregiver); and other friends too numerous to mention.

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians #44 Nassau Street on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at the church on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until service time.

Kids glued to their phones?

We’re right to be worried

By JEAN TWENGE Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University PARENTS who fear their kids are spending too much time in front of screens now have more reason for concern.

New research funded by the US National Institutes of Health found brain changes among kids using screens more than seven hours a day and lower cognitive skills among those using screens more than two hours a day.

When studies find links between screen time and negative outcomes, some have argued this is just the latest moral panic over technology.

After all, didn’t the parents of baby boomers and Gen Xers worry their kids were watching too much TV or talking on the phone too much? Those kids turned out OK, right?

So how are portable electronic devices, the chosen technology of today’s kids and teens – a generation I call “iGen” – any different?

New research I’ve conducted on the relationship between portable device use and sleep provides some answers.

Everywhere, all the time It almost goes without saying that today’s portable devices – including smartphones and tablets – are fundamentally different than the living room television sets and rotary phones of the past.

Since researchers have been tracking TV watching habits, the average U.S. teen has never spent more than two-and-a-half hours a day watching TV. Yet as of 2016, the average teen spent about six hours a day immersed in digital media – more than twice as much time.

This large amount of time spent using digital media is enough to crowd out time once spent on other activities, such as interacting with friends face to face, reading or going out.

And unlike the telephone, digital media apps are designed to hook you. As former Silicon Valley executive Tristan Harris said of smartphone apps: “Your telephone in the 1970s didn’t have a thousand engineers … updating the way your telephone worked every day to be more and more persuasive.”

Second, unlike TV or landline phones, portable devices can be carried everywhere: to school, where teachers say they are a near-constant distraction, and into social situations, where a conversation can instantly be upended by reaching for a buzzing phone. (There’s even a word for this: phubbing, a portmanteau of “phone” and “snubbing.”)

Sure enough, people have reported enjoying a restaurant dinner with friends less when their phones were available, compared with when they weren’t.

The sleep factor Across many studies, kids and teens who spend more time with screens – including both TV and portable devices – also sleep less.

That could be because they spend so much time engaged with their devices that

it’s coming at the expense of sleep. But there’s also a physiological reason: The blue light emitted by electronic screens tricks our brains into thinking it’s still daytime, and then we don’t produce enough of the sleep hormone melatonin to fall asleep quickly and get high-quality sleep.

Once again, some might argue TV is just as bad: after all, it also takes up time and emits blue light.

But in a new paper, my co-authors and I decided to parse the two. We studied links between sleep and TV watching as well as links between sleep and portable device use. Then we compared the results.

Drawing from a large survey of parents administered by the US Census Bureau, we found that two-to-10-year-olds who spent four or more hours a day on portable electronic devices – versus no time – were twice as likely to be significantly sleep deprived. TV time was also connected to less sleep, but not as strongly or consistently.

Among teens ages 14 to 17, those who spent four or more hours a day on portable electronic devices – versus no time – were 44 percent more likely to not sleep enough.

However, once portable device time was statistically controlled, watching TV or playing video games on a console had little link to sleep time.

Why would portable devices be more strongly associated with losing sleep?

For one thing, TV is simply not as psychologically stimulating as a portable device like a smartphone, which, unlike a TV, doesn’t exist to simply consume media.

Smartphones have also become a huge part of social life, whether it’s texting with friends or interacting with them on social media.

And unlike TV, smartphones and tablets can be silently carried into the bedroom or even the bed, resulting in some teens using them throughout the night – what some call “vamping”.

That might explain why sleep deprivation among teens spiked after 2012 – just as smartphone use became common.

The lesser of two evils?

To be clear, we did find that watching many hours of TV was associated with less sleep, especially among elementary-school age children. Watching over three hours a day of TV is also associated with depression – though more weakly than portable device use.

So parents were right to worry about kids watching too much TV in the 1970s and 1980s. But their worries might not have been as justified as today’s parents’ concerns about smartphones.

So what is a parent – or anyone who wants to sleep well – to do?

First, it’s best for smartphones and tablets to stay out of the bedroom after “lightsout” time. Nor is it a great idea to use the devices within an hour of bedtime, as their blue light influences the brain’s ability to produce melatonin. Finally, as a general rule, two hours a day or less spent on portable devices is a good guideline. These rules apply to parents, too – not only kids.

Just don’t binge-watch TV instead.

* theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 17, 2018, PAGE 11

I was singled out as a thief by Sun Oil, says former employee

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A FORMER Sun Oil employee is suing that company for accusing him of stealing over 41,000 gallons of gasoline a year ago, suggesting he was made out to be the fall guy in the matter.

Michael Clarke claims the FOCOL Holdings subsidiary blamed him for stealing approximately 41,277 gallons of motor gasoline from a ship “as a means of deflecting from and disguising the truth about what happened to the oil.”

According to court documents filed in support of the suit, Mr Clarke said he initially discovered the shortfall of 41,277 gallons of gasoline in February 2017, but claims the “highly prohibited” act of washing the tanks while the gasoline was being discharged from the ship by the vessel’s first mate caused the gasoline to be washed overboard.

Mr Clarke said despite Sun Oil being privy to “credible” information about the tanks being washed - and it being “practically impossible” for him to have stolen so much gasoline given all the “safeguards” in place - he was still “singled out” as a “fraudster” and a “thief”

by Sun Oil representatives during a meeting with about 40 staff members.

As a result of the accusations, which he said ultimately forced him to resign, Mr Clarke claims Sun Oil consequently tarnished his “otherwise spotless” reputation in the industry.

As a result, Mr Clarke is seeking damages for breach of contract; injury and for hurting his professional reputation; wrongful dismissal; severance pay for 29 and a half years and pay in lieu of notice; equitable relief and costs.

According to Mr Clarke’s statement of claim, he worked as an “experienced professional” in the local oil industry for several years.

He said around 11pm on or about February 2, 2017, he was contacted by Kareem Smith, the fleet supervisor, to report to work immediately and to “hurry” in offloading a ship named the Atlantic Sun that had come in from Freeport behind schedule.

Mr Clarke reported to work and carried out Mr Smith’s instructions by hastily processing the ship.

Mr Clarke reviewed the ship’s bill of laden and also carried out the required checks. The following day, while conducting a reconciliation of the inventory received and the bill of laden, Mr Clarke discovered a shortfall of 41,277 gallons of motor gasoline.

Mr Clarke immediately contacted Jonathan Pratt, his immediate supervisor, who has also taken legal action against Sun Oil in relation to the matter, and told him about the situation. On February 4, 2017,

Mr Pratt reported to work and conducted his own calculations concerning the information he received from Mr Clarke and agreed with his conclusion.

Mr Clarke also informed Mr Pratt that on the evening he commenced the offloading of the ship, he observed several irregularities and violations to the procedure.

Those irregularities, Mr Clarke claims, were him meeting workers from Meezan Construction already on Sun Oil’s premises, notwithstanding there being no personnel from the Bahamas Customs Department or Aided Industries present to oversee the offloading process.

Additionally, Mr Clarke reported that sometime around 7pm on February 3, 2017 when he returned for closure, he discovered that the first mate of the ship had started washing the tanks while he was still in the process of discharging the gasoline from the ship.

According to Mr Clarke, washing the ship’s tanks at the same time while fuel is being discharged from the ship is a serious violation of protocol as it may result in fuel being washed overboard. Mr Clarke’s statement of claim said he, along with two other people who witnessed the incident, will give evidence in court to that effect.

Nonetheless, Mr Clarke asserts the violation of protocol by the chief mate of the Atlantic Sun directly resulted in the gallons of motor gasoline being washed or pumped overboard into the ocean.

Sun Oil conducted an internal investigation between February 4 and the 27, during which time Mr Clarke continued his regular work schedules without interruption.

On the 27th of that month, however, a staff meeting was held, during which a Mr Adderley said Mr Clarke and Mr Pratt committed acts of fraud in order to facilitate and aid in the theft of the gasoline.

Mr Clarke said some 40 staff members were present during the meeting, inclusive of line staff, personnel from local gas stations and management personnel such as Sun Oil President Anthony Robinson; Managing Director Dexter Adderley; Human Resources Manager Esther Gibson; Deputy General Manager Clifton Rolle and Operations Manager Ian Smith.

On February 28, 2017, Mr Adderley instructed Mr Clarke to go to the Central Detective Unit (CDU) and give a report in relation to the matter. Mr Clarke said he did so, but under the impression that he was appearing as a representative of Sun Oil to provide assistance and guidance in the investigation.

Instead, Mr Clarke said upon arriving at CDU, he was immediately arrested, stripped of his cell phone

THE ATLANTIC Sun which came in from Freeport behind schedule. and personal items and taken into custody in relation to a complaint made against him by Sun Oil for stealing by reason of employment. He was placed in a holding cell at CDU and later questioned and released.

On or around March 1, 2017, Mr Clarke said he received a letter from Mr Adderley, stating he was suspended from work “until further notice” while CDU officers investigated the matter.

Mr Clarke claims that during the 30-day suspension, no investigations of Sun Oil’s premises or the Atlantic Sun were carried out by CDU officers. He further claims neither the captain, first officer, crew nor staff of the Atlantic Sun were arrested, detained or questioned.

Conversely, Mr Clarke claims the “sole focus” of the CDU’s investigation was on himself and Mr Pratt as a result of Sun Oil’s complaint.

While on suspension, Mr Clarke said he spoke to several employees at Sun Oil who told him it was “general gossip” among the staff that he was suspended for stealing the oil and that he was being

investigated for prosecutorial purposes.

Mr Clarke said on or about April 1, 2017, he received a letter from Mr Adderley to return to work. Mr Clarke said he then asked about the outcome of the investigation, to which Mr Adderley replied by saying that it was still pending.

Mr Clarke said he told Mr Adderley that the way the matter was being dealt with by Sun Oil’s management had caused him to feel deeply embarrassed and depressed, and that he would consequently need more time off from work.

Mr Clarke said his request was granted.

Upon returning to work on or about April 10, Mr Clarke attempted to resume normal duties and functions, but said he could not perform his job properly due to the “overwhelming feeling of being stigmatized by staff members as a thief.”

On April 12, 2017, Mr Clarke’s attorneys wrote a letter to Mr Adderley setting out their client’s claims and concerns and a request for a formal meeting to address the issues.

On or about April 18, Mr Clarke reported to work

but said he again felt like he could not effectively perform his duties. He told Mr Adderley that in order for him to resume his duties without being branded as a “fraudster and a thief,” he would need a formal letter of vindication from the allegations of misconduct and more importantly, the “stigma of stealing by reason of employment attached to his professional reputation” as a result of the statements made in the general meeting as well as the suspension.

Mr Clarke claims Mr Adderley refused to do so,

and instead provided him with a “brief letter” stating the investigation was ongoing and that he had to return to work. Additionally, on April 24, Mr Adderley wrote Mr Clarke and advised him that if he did not return to work and resume his normal duties, he would be deemed to have abandoned his position and resigned from the company.

Mr Clarke said he took Mr Adderley’s letter to mean his concerns were being “deliberately ignored” and that he was being “constructively dismissed” from the company. And as a result of his view that he was being constructively dismissed, Mr Clarke submitted a letter of resignation to Sun Oil. On May 23, 2017 Sun Oil provided Mr Clarke with a letter setting out details of its final payments to him in the amount of $517.19 as full and final settlement of all monies claiming to be due and owing to him from the company.

Nonetheless, Mr Clarke maintains Sun Oil, via Mr Adderley, had the “necessary information” or access to that information to satisfactorily conclude that he could not have stolen the gasoline under the circumstances.

Mr Clarke is represented

by Troy Kellman of Hanna, Kellman and Associates.

PAGE 12, Monday, December 17, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Witness says gunman asked victim ‘You remember me?’ before shooting

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A MAN had just bought tobacco products from a local tuck shop before he was shot dead in the Woods Alley area as part of an alleged murder plot two years ago, a Supreme Court jury has heard.

Shop-owner Alban Curry said Kenyari Lightbourne purchased what is locally known as a “grabba leaf”, with plans to return to purchase soda and snacks moments before being shot to death on June 21, 2016.

The shooter, meanwhile, was said to be cordial at the very least, exchanging “good mornings” to at least two residents of Woods Alley while on his way to execute the deceased in cold blood.

And moments before he shot Lightbourne, the gunman was said to have asked the deceased: “How it go?” and “You remember me?”

The revelations were revealed during Daran Neely’s, Jahmaro Edgecombe’s and Sean Brown’s trial before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson

JAHMARO Edgecombe pictured at a previous court appearance and, below, Sean Brown, AKA Fire. concerning Lightbourne’s death.

On the date in question, Lightbourne was shot multiple times while walking through his neighbourhood

off Market Street. He died at the scene.

Neely and Edgecombe aka “Bingy”, the alleged gunman, were arraigned within months of each other in 2016 in connection with Lightbourne’s death. Brown, alias “Fire”, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Taking the witness stand before Justice GrantThompson, Mr Curry said on the morning of the killing he’d served a few customers before he heard a voice on his porch that he recognised as Lightbourne’s.

Mr Curry said he knew Lightbourne all of his life as he, Lightbourne’s father Deval McKenzie, and the victim’s uncle Richard McKenzie grew up together.

Mr Curry said he opened his front door and began to converse with Lightbourne about him buying tobacco.

He said he had just deposited the money he got from selling the tobacco into his wallet, and had put his head down when he heard three “booming sounds” that he recognised as gunshots.

He said when he looked out of his front window, he saw a person running away from his wall. Mr Curry said he didn’t see the person’s face, but said the individual wore a black t-shirt, jeans and a beanie hat. He said the man ran towards the rear of his house before taking a shortcut out of the area that leads to Valley Close.

Mr Curry said he ran from the window, got on the phone and quickly dialed

919. He said when he went to his front wall to see what was happening outside, he noticed that his neighbours were in an “uproar”. He said he subsequently saw Lightbourne on the ground in a pool of blood with gunshot wounds to his head and hand.

Mr Curry said at the time, Lightbourne was “convulsing”, gasping for air and mumbling, and had a lot of blood coming out of his mouth.

Mr Curry rushed back inside and called for an ambulance, however, he said no ambulance came, and Lightbourne died lying on the ground.

Another witness, Lionel Pinder, who was working in the yard opposite Mr Curry’s yard with a woman, Deidre Williams, when Lightbourne and three other males appeared, all of whom he was familiar with.

Mr Pinder said none of the people in the group said anything as they walked by.

About five minutes later, another male who he never seen before, who appeared to be following the group, walked past himself and Ms Williams.

Mr Pinder said as the male walked past, he said “good morning”, to which Mr Pinder said both he and Ms Williams responded by saying “good morning” in return. Mr Pinder said the male walked straight in front of the yard, looked left and right, then came back in the yard and asked who in the area sold cigarettes.

Mr Pinder said he and

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Ms Williams directed the male to Mr Curry’s tuck shop, where he went inside, bought a cigarette and came back to the pair asking for a lighter.

After assisting the male in lighting his cigarettes, Mr Pinder said the male walked back to the front of the yard close to a garbage bin and looked in the direction the group of guys went. Then, Mr Pinder said, the male went in an easterly direction around the house.

Mr Pinder said he became wary of the male’s movements, which he said included him walking around the house and continuously looking down the road, and said he also observed the man had one of his hands in his pocket.

Mr Pinder said he discreetly kept his eyes on the man’s pocketed hand while continuing to rake the yard.

As he did so, Lightbourne ended up walking back in their direction, with plans to go to Mr Curry’s store, at the same time the male was standing behind the garbage bin.

Mr Pinder said while raking, he heard the male who had asked him for a lighter say to Lightbourne: “You remember me?

How it go, how it go? You remember me?” Mr Pinder said at the same time as he heard those words, he turned around, but as soon as he did so, he heard a gunshot.

Mr Pinder said when he looked towards where he heard the gunshot, he saw Lightbourne holding up his hand trying to protect his head and face. Mr Pinder said he heard a second shot, prompting him to run inside for safety.

Mr Pinder said as his back was turned, he heard two more gunshots. He said he locked his door behind him and stood against a concrete wall, meanwhile, the male from earlier walked past and went through a shortcut.

Mr Pinder said the male was wearing a black beanie, Oakley shades, a black shirt and long, black jeans. He said his hands were always in his pockets.

The matter continues.

Neely is represented by Wayne Munroe, QC and Jomo Campbell, David Cash represents Edgecombe, and Nathan Smith represents Sean Brown.

Racquel Whyms and AlLeecia Delancy represent the Crown.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 17, 2018, PAGE 13

TALKS ADOPT ‘RULEBOOK’ TO PUT PARIS CLIMATE DEAL INTO ACTION KATOWICE, Poland Associated Press

ALMOST 200 nations, including the world’s top greenhouse gas producers, China and the United States, have adopted a set of rules meant to breathe life into the 2015 Paris climate accord by setting out how countries should report their emissions and efforts to reduce them.

But negotiators delayed other key decisions until next year — a move that frustrated environmentalists and countries that wanted more ambitious goals in light of scientists’ warnings that the world must shift sharply away from fossil fuels in the coming decade.

“The majority of the rulebook for the Paris agreement has been created, which is something to

be thankful for,” said Mohamed Adow, a climate policy expert at Christian Aid. “But the fact countries had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the finish line shows that some nations have not woken up” to the dire consequences of global warming as outlined in a report by the UN Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. Officials at the talks, which ended late Saturday in the Polish city of Katowice, agreed upon universal rules on how nations can cut emissions. Poor countries secured assurances on financial support to help them reduce emissions, adapt to changes such as rising sea levels and pay for damage that has already happened.

“Through this package, you have made a thousand little steps forward together,” said Michal

Kurtyka, a senior Polish official who led the talks.

While each country would likely find some parts of the agreement it did not like, he said, efforts were made to balance the interests of all parties.

“We will all have to give in order to gain,” he said. “We will all have to be courageous to look into the future and make yet another step for the sake of humanity.”

The talks took place against a backdrop of growing concern among scientists that global warming is proceeding faster than governments are responding to it. Last month, a study found that global warming will worsen disasters such as the deadly California wildfires and the powerful hurricanes that have hit the United States this year.

HEADS of the delegations react at the end of the final session.

The recent report by the IPCC concluded that while it’s possible to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, doing so would require a dramatic overhaul of the global economy.

Alarmed by efforts to include that idea in the final text of the meeting, the oil-exporting nations of the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait blocked an endorsement of the IPCC report midway through this month’s talks. That prompted uproar from vulnerable countries like small island nations and environmental groups.

The final text omitted a previous reference to specific reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and merely welcomed the “timely completion” of the IPCC report, not its conclusions.

White House digging in on demand for $5bn border wall WASHINGTON Associated Press

THE White House yesterday pushed the federal government closer to the brink of a partial shutdown later this week, digging in on its demand for $5 billion to build a border wall as congressional Democrats stood firm against it.

“We will do whatever is necessary to build the border wall to stop this ongoing crisis of immigration,” said White House senior adviser Stephen Miller.

Asked if that meant having a government shutdown, he said: “If it comes to it, absolutely.”

Trump said last week he would be “proud” to have a shutdown to get Congress to approve a $5 billion down payment to fulfill his campaign promise to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. But the president doesn’t have the votes from the Republican-controlled Congress to support funding for the wall at that level.

Democratic congressional leaders, Sen Chuck Schumer and Rep Nancy Pelosi, have proposed no more than $1.6 billion, as outlined in a bipartisan Senate bill. The money would not go for the wall but for fencing upgrades and other border security. Democrats also offered to simply keep funding at its current level, $1.3 billion.

Showing no signs of budging, Schumer said it was up to Trump to decide whether parts of the federal government shut down at midnight on Friday over his border wall, sending thousands of federal employees home without pay during the holidays.

About one-quarter of the government would be affected, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Agriculture, State and Justice, as well as national parks. “He is not going to get the wall in any form,” Schumer said.

Both parties in Congress have suggested that Trump would likely need to make the next move to resolve the impasse. The House is taking an extended weekend break, returning Wednesday night. The Senate returns on Monday after a threeday absence.

Trump had neither accepted nor rejected

PRESIDENT Trump doesn’t have the votes to support funding the wall. the Democrats’ proposal as of Friday, according to the Democrats, telling them he would take a look. Trump will need Democratic votes either way, now or in the new year, for passage.

Wyoming Sen John Barrasso said Republicans remain hopeful they can come up with a proposal that can be acceptable to Trump and pass both chambers. “There are a lot of things you need to do with border security,” he said. “One is a physical barrier but also the technology, the manpower, the enforcement, all of those things, and our current laws are in some ways an incentive for people to come to this country illegally, and they go through great risk and possibly great harm.”

YELLOW VEST PROTESTERS STILL BLOCK FRENCH TRAFFIC PARIS Associated Press

YELLOW vest protesters occupied dozens of traffic roundabouts across France yesterday even as their movement for economic justice appeared to be losing momentum on the fifth straight weekend of protests.

The road blockades remained despite a call by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner to free the roundabouts from the traffic chaos created by the protests. Eight people have died in incidents tied to the yellow vest movement, mostly from traffic accidents linked to roads blocked by protesters.

The demonstrators are demanding more measures to help France’s workers and retirees and want top officials in President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government to resign, including Macron himself.

Protesters occupying a roundabout near the southern city of Orange pledged to keep holding more demonstrations.

PAGE 14, Monday, December 17, 2018

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames at the ceremony for 34 recruits who completed fire training at the Police College in Freeport. Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

THE TRIBUNE

Dames promises new crime-fighting techniques in 2019

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WHILE he said on Friday he is pleased by the results of new policing strategies implemented under the Minnis administration, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said “we are a very long way from getting it done,” and indicated that new crime-fighting technology would be rolled out in the first quarter of 2019.

In addition to the establishment of the Gun and Gang Unit and Rapid Response Team, the minister indicated that new technological tools would be introduced to all field officers before June 2019.

“As criminality evolves and becomes more sophisticated, the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas is committed to ensuring and providing cutting-edge technology associated with worldwide industry standards – drones, body cams, and shot spotters are just a few of the crime-fighting tools that government will be providing to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and Defence Force and other law enforcement agencies around the Bahamas to further reduce crime levels in the nation. We will begin rolling those in during the first quarter of next year,” he said.

Minister Dames said the Shot Spotter technology, which costs the government $1.9 million during this fiscal year, will be implemented in New Providence during the first quarter of 2019.

“We hope to sign in just about a week’s time a contract with Shot Spotter to provide gunshot detection technology throughout New Providence and look to do so in Grand Bahama during the fiscal period of next year,” he said.

He explained that this technology would improve response time as it can triangulate the location of a gunshot and instantaneously send the information to police vehicles on the streets.

Over the next three years, he said that the technology would be deployed in strategic areas throughout New Providence and expanded to Grand Bahama during 2019.

Mr Dames indicated that an additional $4.1 million has also been approved for a multi-agency drone programme.

“Request for proposals have already been issued, and we hope that in the

very near future The Bahamas will acquire drones with medium and longterm range used as part of a comprehensive crime-fighting strategy throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” he said.

Mr Dames also noted that the Ministry of National Security has forged a partnership with the University of The Bahamas in the training of officers.

“In January 2019, a new relationship between UB and Ministry of National Security will emerge. This partnership will assist in the professional development of officers as a part of a management and leadership programme for mid and senior level law enforcement officers,” he said.

The minister commended Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson and his executive team for their efforts.

Mr Dames stated that the commissioner has used the strategic deployment of officers to ensure sufficient manpower is available to provide policing services throughout all islands of the Bahamas.

As a result, some officers will be deployed to Grand Bahama and other parts of the country, he said.

“Government is fully aware it will take more than additional officers on the ground to sustain the current downward trend of crime levels in the country.

“We are cognizant of the fact that with intelligent and thoughtful human resources management, the police force will make tremendous inroads in the prevention and detection of crime and violence,” he stated.

Mr Dames stressed that law enforcement agencies will not operate in silos but will form a formidable seamless strategy that enforces the laws of the country.

The minister also noted that while officers will be deployed to core policing functions, they will be employing civilians in non-traditional areas that rely on the expertise of industry professionals.

His comments came at a ceremony for 34 recruits who completed fire training at the Police College in Freeport, making them the first Fire Squad to graduate in a passing out ceremony in over a decade from the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH WARNS OVER EXPANDED RECALLS

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

IN the wake of expanded recalls, the Ministry of Health is purchasing and distributing medication that does not contain the ingredient Valsartan, which is found in several blood pressure medications, the ministry said in a press release.

The statement said: “The Ministry of Health advised the public in July regarding notification received from the international pharmaceutical regulatory agencies related to contamination of the active pharmaceutical ingredient contained in Valsartan, an ingredient in several blood pressure medications. The ministry assured the public at that time that a thorough assessment of all the various manufacturer brands that have been supplied to the public sector and been completed and notices of the recall had been sent to all local vendors.

“Multiple generic Valsartan brands were identified and confirmed as having been in circulation at that

time. All public sector pharmacies were advised of the items, and directed to remove the stock from circulation. Additionally, all patients believed to have received the drug were to be contacted for medication exchange. Further, a press release was sent to advise the wider public of the recall and the need for having their medications reviewed and exchanged as required.

“In August, due to ongoing investigations by the Food and Drug Agency in the US and others notification of an expanded recall was received. This promoted a decision being taken by the ministry to purchase and distribute only non-generic Valsartan out of an abundance of caution; due to the magnitude of the impact of the contaminant in the API, being a potential cancer causing agent.

“The ministry remains vigilant in its monitoring of this and all other global recalls and will continue to take action to protect the health of the public.

We will advise if there are any further significant developments.”

PAGE 16, Monday, December 17, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Kids have fun in the sun

ISLAND Luck Cares hosts kids carnival over the weekend. Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff