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VOLUME:117 No.23, DECEMBER 23RD, 2019

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‘PLP tried to buy the 2017 election’ Bannister accuses Christie regime of spending millions

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MINISTER of Works Desmond Bannister yesterday accused the Christie administration of trying “to buy an election” through doling out “tens and tens of millions of dollars” in contracts and jobs just 24 hours before it was voted out of office in May 2017.

“There were tens of millions of dollars of contracts signed the day before the election,” he said “There was one (for the Post Office),

one in Grand Bahama for the administrative building (in Eight Mile Rock), the roads in Andros. There were a number of them for millions and millions of dollars.

You have to think the worst about people who do that in terms of intending to purchase an election.

“We’ve honoured all those contracts. It required us to make commitments that we may not have necessarily thought were in the best interests of the Bahamian people.”

CANADIAN fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s three -month prison sentence for publishing sensitive emails stolen from a local advocacy group has been stayed out of fairness to allow him to appeal his conviction.

Court of Appeal Justice Roy Jones, in a written ruling, said to “remove any risk of unfairness”, he would stay Nygard’s 90-day sentence for breaching an injunction preventing him from publishing private

SEE PAGE THREE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel said the Bahamas Bar Council should stop acting “politically” and admit two Africans working in senior positions at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Bahamas Bar. In November the council rejected the applications of Nigerian Nikiruka JonesNebo and Ugandan David Bakibinga who have been serving as deputy director of public prosecutions and assistant director of public prosecutions for about seven months. Their hiring had upset some local lawyers who believed Bahamians should have filled the roles.

Without admission to the Bahamas Bar, the lawyers cannot argue cases in court as expected of

HAITIANS CAUGHT IN JOINT OP

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

correspondence that were stolen from Save the Bays.

Justice Jones granted the stay primarily because if Nygard ends up winning his appeal, the 90 days he would have spent in prison “cannot be undone” and the sentence would in turn render his appeal pointless.

However, Justice Jones said his decision to stay the custodial sentence was because Nygard has since “partially” purged his contempt by paying a $150,000 fine as well as the $15,000 penalty for late payment.

‘BAR MUST NOT BE POLITICAL’

SEE PAGE SIX

NYGARD TO ESCAPE PRISON SENTENCE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

HOME

SERVING UP A TREAT FOX Hill MP Shonel Ferguson was hard at work yesterday, helping serve at the Bahamas Feeding Network Christmas lunch. More pictures - Page 3 Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

NEARLY 200 Haitian migrants were apprehended during a joint operation by law enforcement officers in waters off Inagua.

According to a statement from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, authorities have stepped up enforcement efforts at the country’s southern border, because it continues “to be an area of concern” for the agency.

The RBDF said as a result of this and shared intelligence, 185 Haitian migrants were apprehended late Friday during a joint operation by the RBDF, Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT - a tripartite agreement between the US, Turks and Caicos and Bahamas) and Turks and Caicos authorities.

SEE PAGE FIVE

MAYNARD: WE’LL STILL HAVE LOAD SHEDDING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Electrical Workers Union president Paul Maynard believes load shedding at Bahamas Power and Light will still occasionally happen until an additional 90 megawatts of generation is brought on stream.

He spoke after BPL chairman Dr Donovan Moxey declared the load shedding era over following

PM MINNIS, right, with BPL chairman Donovan Moxey the installation of seven Wartsila engines that generate 130 megawatts of power.

Works Minister Desmond Bannister has indicated that millions will be spent to bring an additional 90 megawatts of capacity online by 2021 for a total of 222 megawatts.

Asked about Dr Moxey’s prediction, Mr Maynard said yesterday: “I wouldn’t say that if I were him. (The equipment) is still going to trip; 130 won’t hold you, wait until we get the 90. (Dr Moxey) is getting his advice

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FIVE

INSIGHT

WHY WE SHOULD CHERISH THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

SEE PAGE SEVEN

PAGE 2, Monday, December 23, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

MAN ‘SERIOUS’ AFTER SHOOTING A MAN is in hospital after he was shot on Friday.

Shortly before 9pm, a man was in the area of a business on Monastery Street off Bernard Road, when he was approached by a gunman who shot him. The injured man was taken to hospital by EMS where he is listed in serious but stable condition.

Police are also searching for the suspects behind three recent armed robberies. The latest happened shortly after 5am

on Sunday. A woman was at Gibbs Corner off East Street when she was approached by three men, one armed with a firearm, who robbed her of a handbag containing cash and other personal effects. The thieves escaped on foot.

A day earlier, shortly after 4am on Saturday two women were in a black Nissan Tida on Newbold Street, off Market Street, when a dark coloured Honda pulled up behind them. Two gunmen got

out of the Honda, ordered the women out of their vehicle and robbed them of a handbag containing cash and their Nissan Tida. A short time later the Nisan Tida was discovered by officers in the area of Celery Drive off Blue Hill Road.

On Friday shortly after 6am, a man was walking on Hamster Road when he was approached by a gunman who robbed him of a cell phone and wallet containing cash and other personal effects, before escaping on foot.

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 23, 2019, PAGE 3

FESTIVE FEEDING

THE BAHAMAS Feeding Network held its Christmas lunch yesterday

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Nygard escapes jail from page one Additionally, Nygard apologising in writing to the court for failing to attend the mitigation and sentencing hearings in the matter, as well as an undertaking not to breach the injunction going forward, worked to his benefit.

Justice Jones’ decision comes just over a month after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bowe-Darville sentenced Nygard to 90 days in prison and fined him $150,000 for breaching the injunction. That fine was ordered to be paid within seven days.

Justice Bowe-Darville further ordered that if Nygard, who was not present for the decision, did not turn himself over to the police voluntarily or pay the fine, he would spend an additional 30 days in prison and be fined $5,000 for each day the fine was unpaid.

Nygard was further ordered to apologise for breaching the attendance order and give verifiable reasons for his non-attendance within seven days of the order; undertake to discontinue his use of the emails in a legal matter in New York with seven days of the order; and pay a daily fine of $5,000 for each day the apology and the undertaking were unfulfilled.

It stemmed from claims

by Fred Smith, QC, that a number of emails containing precious client/ attorney information were stolen from his law firm, Callenders & Co, via some unknown means.

According to Justice Jones’ ruling, sometime in February of this year, Nygard’s attorney Keod Smith displayed emails between Fred Smith and others that contained privileged discussions about STB’s, Fred Smith’s and his law firm’s legal affairs with their attorneys.

The emails were later exhibited in an affidavit by Keod Smith, which was in support of various

WOMAN’S BODY FOUND AT CHUB CAY

POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman whose body was discovered on Saturday inside a home on Chub Cay. Police said they were called to a residence shortly after 2pm where the body of an unconscious woman was discovered. Medical personnel visited the scene and the woman was pronounced dead.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

applications by Nygard to set aside various orders concerning the mogul’s other contempt of court convictions and to be used in his own mitigation and sentencing hearing.

According to the ruling, one of Nygard’s attorneys in New York contacted Fred Smith and informed him that he had obtained some documents that appeared to have come from his file.

Fred Smith subsequently requested that Nygard’s lawyer send him copies of those documents and asked that he not distribute them.

STB, via its attorneys Harry B Sands, Lobosky and Co, consequently launched a new action in pursuit of an injunction that would prevent Nygard and Keod Smith from perusing, publishing, or disseminating that correspondence.

Justice Keith Thompson granted the injunction in February. It forbade Nygard from, either directly or through others acting on his behalf, using documents or correspondences belonging to Fred Smith, Callenders & Co and STB not already in the public domain.

On September 6, Wilson Elser, Nygard’s attorney in his New York lawsuit against fellow billionaire Louis Bacon, wrote to a

judge in New York asking for permission to use the documents in that case. Mr Elser had requested a pretrial conference because Nygard’s attorneys wanted to amend their claims based on those very same emails.

They wanted to use the documents in the New York proceedings.

Nonetheless, Mr Wilson’s access to the prohibited documents on Nygard’s behalf was a breach of the injunction issued in the Bahamas, and as such, Fred Smith, Callenders & Co and STB applied to have Nygard committed to prison for the act.

After a review of the evidence before her, Justice Bowe-Darville found that Nygard and his agents breached the injunction and that he was in contempt of court.

According to Justice Jones’ ruling, Nygard has since “partially purged his contempt” by paying the $150,000 fine as well as $50,000 that represents the daily amount to be paid while the fine is outstanding. He also apologised as ordered, claiming that his non-attendance was due to him not being cleared by his doctor, Patrick Lynden.

Nygard said as soon as Dr Lyden returns from a business and medical tour,

he would take a medical examination and give the court an update and additional information from Dr Lynden about the “state of my health and ability to travel for the purpose of attending court”.

Nonetheless, Nygard appealed the judge’s decision, asserting that the sentencing and the other requirements were “excessive”.

Jay Prober, Nygard’s Canadian attorney, echoed his client’s sentiments. He criticised Justice BoweDarville’s judgment and told The National Post that the degree of punishment was uncalled for.

“The decision is unfair, it is unreasonable and it’s unnecessary, and quite frankly it’s unheard of. I have never seen in civil contempt proceedings a jail sentence or a fine of that magnitude,” he said.

According to the appeal application, Nygard did not violate the February injunction. His lead attorney Carlton Martin insists not only that he abided by the February New York court injunction, but that he never dealt with the documents in question or correspondence.

Mr Martin further submitted that if Nygard was to serve the 90-day sentence

PETER NYGARD or any part of it, and then win his appeal, the damage could not be undone. Mr Martin further charged that Nygard’s reputation as a businessman would be damaged and his business would be irretrievably harmed.

Meanwhile, Julian Malins, QC, and Ferron Bethel, attorneys for Fred Smith and Callenders & Co accepted that Nygard’s appeal might be made partly futile if he were to serve his sentence before his appeal is concluded.

However, Messrs Malins and Bethel were quick to point out that staying Nygard’s 90-day sentence

would be useless because he is determined to remain out of the court’s jurisdiction.

They further pointed out the fact that several bench warrants have been issued for Nygard’s arrest from other committal proceedings that would effectively place him in custody should he enter the Bahamas.

Ultimately, Justice Jones ruled: “Undoubtedly, the giving by (Nygard) of the undertaking, apology and explanation with the payment of the $150,000 fine, can be reversed on a successful appeal. It is self-evident that serving a 90-day sentence cannot be undone. “(Nygard’s) compliance with the court’s orders in this case, even at this late stage, show in my view a willingness to respect the courts processes and some remorse for past behaviour.

For all these reasons, and to remove any risk of unfairness I grant Mr Nygard a stay of execution of the 90-day custodial sentence until the hearing of his appeal in this court.”

PAGE 4, Monday, December 23, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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Why are so few people born on Christmas Day? CHRISTMAS and New Year’s are days of celebration in many parts of the world when people gather with family and friends. One thing many typically don’t celebrate on those days is a birthday.

That’s because December 25 is the least popular day in the US. Australia and New Zealand to give birth. In England, Wales and Ireland, it’s the second-least popular, behind December 26, when Brits celebrate Boxing Day. So why do people have fewer babies on holidays like Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s – the second-least popular birthday in the US? I am personally interested in the question because my wife was a New Year’s Day baby. And as an economist, I find these data puzzles fascinating.

All of the least-favoured days in the US are tied to holidays, whether it’s Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth of July or Thanksgiving.

Depending on the year and place, between 30% and 40% fewer babies are born on December 25 than on the peak day of the year. One reason why these days have so few births is almost no cesarean births are scheduled by doctors to happen on public holidays or weekends. About one in three American babies are born this way.

And even in the case of vaginal births, doctors can induce labor, which helps control when babies are born. Inductions also typically don’t happen when doctors want to be out of the office celebrating the holidays with family and friends.

One reason why births on Christmas and New Year’s plummet is that for many people time management and scheduling is paramount.

Interestingly, in England, Wales and New Zealand, relatively few babies are born on April 1. While that date is not a national holiday, mothers might avoid giving birth on April Fools’ Day for fear of their children being taunted or bullied.

As for the most popular birthdays,

they tend to happen in the fall. In fact, the top 10 days to have a baby in the US are all in September, while in England, Wales, Ireland and New Zealand they’re in that month or October.

Fall birthdays make sense since many babies are conceived during the colder winter months. Conception is tied to shorter days and lower outside temperatures.

Unfortunately, similar data for nonEnglish-speaking countries are not widely available.

Research into when people were born is relatively new because for centuries no one needed or completed a birth certificate. In the U.S., birth certificates have been widely used only since the end of World War II. While some countries require all births to be registered, one out of every four children born in the world today does not officially exist, since there is no record of his or her birth.

The United Nations has some world data, which show popular birth months tend to shift by latitude. Countries at high latitudes, like Norway or Russia, have peak birth days in July or August.

Countries closer to the equator, like El Salvador, have peak birth days later in the year, like October.

As for my wife, she was born a few hours after her parents welcomed in another year. Her birth was a surprise to all the guests they invited over to celebrate the New Year. We joke that being born then is the best day, because there is always a party with fireworks for her birthday. It is also a great day because there are never any competing birthday parties.

So if you are born on a holiday like Christmas, New Year’s or even April Fools’ Day, take some comfort in knowing the relative rarity of your birth makes you even more special than you already are.

By Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University. This article first appeared on The Conversation

Lessons from abroad EDITOR, The Tribune THE recent results of the general elections in the UK are demonstrative of the simple fact that electorates, worldwide, are now trending towards conservative and nationalistic ideals. Prime Minister Boris Johnson out-foxed the opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn and defied the political pundits. His election and the massive mandate given to him and the Tories signals a return to common sense political and economic initiatives. The lessons for our home grown politicians and their allies are myriad, but not complicated.

The three major concerns for the electorate over in the United Kingdom were: the economy; health care services and immigration.

These are the same concerns in the same order, I submit, here in our wonderful nation.

The economy is in a slump and we had been black listed yet again.

Employment is nebulous and debilitating in that many who do have jobs are now the bulk of the working poor. In the private sector, I am told, accounts receivables are up while

revenue remains at sub par. The demands on social services and private charities are sky rocketing. The national debt is at an unacceptable level and no one is saying where VAT receipts are or have gone.

Taxes and user fees have also gone up since 2017 and 2020 may be no different. The Labour party in the UK advocated this same economic policy.... tax and spend.....continued state operation of utilities and more. The Minister of Finance and his team have led us to a fiscal cliff. The PLP should learn that less taxes; governmental regulations and a positive focused message of hope and help is the way forward.

Affordable health care is very important to the individual and to the whole nation if we are to protect our own well being and to ensure productivity at all levels. The costs for private insurance is too high in many cases and prohibitive for many individuals who need it the most.

The PHA and its staff are to be complimented for working under what I understand to be bad conditions; slave labour wages; reduced benefits and a bad political directorate over

these many years. Bahamians want a mixture of private affordable health care and subsidised public health care. Finding the right balance will not be easy, but it has got to be found.

Immigration is a political; economic and cultural can of worms and fire breathing dragons which have been kicked down the road by successive administrations. Political parties and their leaders must outline a clear-cut public policy stance on this issue in the New Year. We cannot go on like this where we don’t know who all are here; what they doing here; how many of them and their Bahamian born children are entitled to regularisation and the beat goes on.

We have a Trojan Horse, immigration wise, within our midst.

The slogan: ‘Minnis Got To Go’ has a good ring to it and would make a good mantra for the party faithful and those who wish to come in from the political cold. To God then in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau December 16, 2019

Miller’s crisis of conscience EDITOR, The Tribune PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis seems open to the prospect of Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller and the remaining members of the Rebel Four amalgamating with his party. By all accounts, Mr Miller is a devout Christian, who for decades worked at the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas. As a radio host at ZNS Radio and an announcer, his is one of the more recognisable voices throughout the archipelago. His entrance into frontline politics may have shocked quite a few of his followers, inclusive of the membership at his Resurrection Ministries International.

Like his fellow Parliamentarians Frederick McAlpine (Pineridge) and Mariam Emmanuel (MICAL), Miller is an ordained clergyman and a Pentecostal, I think. I commend Miller for attempting to lend a evangelical voice to the national discourse, although I am not too certain that Pentecostal pioneers William J Seymour and Charles Fox Parham would have dabbled in it had they been afforded the same opportunity as the Golden Isles MP. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with politics,

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net anymore than there’s anything wrong with nuclear power. With nuclear power, you can either generate much needed electricity or you can destroy a community. It all depends on the person using it. Politics in The Bahamas has gotten a bad name because we continue to elect individuals who don’t have the Christian values of Miller.

Whether it is philosophy, science, the arts, culture, industry, education or politics, every sphere of civilisation must submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Not one square inch of this vast universe is exempted.

Miller’s main reason for abandoning the Free National Movement (FNM) seems to be stemming from his Christian beliefs and principles. His disgruntlement with the FNM is probably because of him being axed as Parliamentary Secretary for opposing the VAT increase in 2018.

It’s no coincidence that the FNM’s greatest intramural opposition has come from Miller and McAlpine.

For the former, it may be his crisis of conscience and overall disillusionment with politics. Owing to the

immense influence of the Dake Annotated Reference Bible and the Scofield Study Bible, Pentecostals typically subscribe to the Futurist/Premillennial view of eschatology, that is rooted in Plymouth Brethren leader John Nelson Darby’s dispensationalism.

This branch of eschatology, unlike its main rival, Postmillennialism, that sees conditions improving due to the widespread dissemination of the gospel, argues that conditions will only deteriorate until the Parousia.

Second Timothy 3:13 says that evil men will become progressively worse.

Assuming Miller subscribes to the dispensationalist framework, his apparent disillusionment with the FNM -- a secular organisation made up of fallible, imperfect human beings, makes little sense. Consequently, if he were to join the PLP, he would be joining a party that is just as deeply flawed as the one he left. With The Bahamas’ deeply entrenched two party system, third parties and independents are traditionally non-factors. In light of this, Miller probably should’ve stayed out of frontline politics.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, December 16, 2019.

High priest Junkanoo EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE preamble to our Constitution states: AND WHEREAS the People of this Family of Islands recognizing that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self- discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law; Driving through our capital city today and being minded of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, I wonder why we even bother with the pretence of a Christmas Tree in our City Centre?

The space that it takes

up could well be used for at least another 50 gaudy Junkanoo bleachers, and the additional Junkanoo tickets that could be sold would just add to the joy of the franchisees Christmas earnings.

But can we really put ALL the blame on the franchisee? No, the franchisee is enabled, year in and year out, by each revolving government of The Bahamas, which pledges to uphold the Constitution and our Christian values. Are these Christian values? I guess so because we don’t hear a whisper from our Christian Council, nor yet any of its members.

No, let’s please just change the Constitution and wherever there is a reference to God, or Jesus Christ, or Christian anything just replace it with our high priest JUNKANOO. That is what we really worship, and we know from our Bible at Matthew 6:24 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon. We have chosen Mammon.

MONKEEDOO Nassau December 22, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 23, 2019, PAGE 5

Maynard: We’ll still have load shedding

PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis presses the button on the seven new Wartsila engines that will generate 130 megawatts of power. Donovan Moxey led members of the Minnis administration on a tour of BPL’s new plant on Friday.

Photos: Yontalay Bowe/BIS

from page one from the engineers and in my opinion the engineers are wrong. The generators will significantly cut down load shedding but it will still happen because the equipment at Blue Hill and Clifton Pier (plants) still ancient.”

Dr Moxey led members of the Minnis administration on a tour of BPL’s new plant on Friday.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the additional generation “will fix long-standing and vexing problems in New Providence”.

“Its machines were old and inadequate,” Dr Minnis also said. “BPL as we met it was in a state of collapse.

Its ability to reliably and consistently generate power was near total collapse. On coming to office, we made the reform of BPL a priority. The last administration chose not to make the tough decisions needed to reform the company and to introduce meaningful energy sector reform.”

For his part, Dr Moxey said on Friday: “These seven new Wartsila stateof-the-art engines will generate 130mw of power and provide consistent and reliable power to the grid, while minimising our overall carbon footprint.

Thanks to their versatility and ability to burn less extensive fuels the cost for our customers will go down as fuel savings expand. Most importantly,

these engines dramatically increase our generation capacity.”

He added: “We’ll be able to take other units offline to repair without impacting our overall generation as well as retire units that are less efficient and beyond their useful life. More than anything else it means we have much need capacity in our system. So come this summer when peak demand is at 260mw we will have over 300mw of available power.

“There will be an end to load shedding. This facility along with other facets of our turn-around strategy will help make load shedding a thing of the past in New Providence and that is something we can all celebrate.”

HAITIANS CAUGHT IN JOINT OP from page one “While on routine patrol, an OPBAT helicopter spotted a 30-foot low profile, wooden vessel at 5pm approximately 24 (nautical miles) off Little Inagua with an unknown number of persons onboard,” the RBDF said.

“Turks and Caicos authorities, OPBAT and the defence force operations were immediately alerted, and each entity directed an asset assigned to the area to intercept.”

HMBS Bahamas arrived

on scene shortly after 11pm with permission from Turks and Caicos foreign affairs officials to assist in removing the migrants from their unsafe sloop. Eighty-four migrants were taken aboard the USCG Cutter, which was transferred to TCI authorities, and the 101 migrants onboard HMBS Bahamas were transported to Mathew Town, Inagua for further processing by immigration authorities on that island.

The RBDF said it has been implementing measures to address threats and challenges of the influx of

migrants from Haiti, “especially as the southeasterly winds become more favourable for an easier sojourn into the Bahamas from Haiti and also in light of the more than two months of demonstrations that the neighbouring country has been experiencing in recent times.”

The agency also said: “The Royal Bahamas Defence Force is actively monitoring changes in illicit trends and patterns which are expected to occur and for which the RBDF must anticipate, adapt and adjust for proactively.”

ANOTHER TWO TRAFFIC DEATHS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net POLICE are investigating two traffic fatalities - one on Grand Bahama and the other on Andros - that occurred over the weekend.

Shortly after 1am yesterday, two cars collided at the intersection of Coral Road and Ponce de Leon Drive in Freeport.

Officers of the Traffic Division responded and discovered that

a blue Nissan Cube with its injured driver trapped inside, and a black Chevrolet Equinox had hit each other. Both vehicles were extensively damaged.

Fire Services officers were also called to the scene to assist in extricating the driver from the Nissan Cube, utilising the Jaws of Life. The victim had serious injuries and was taken by EMS to the Rand Memorial Hospital, where a doctor later pronounced him dead.

Hours earlier, police on

Andros were called to the scene of an accident on Queen’s Highway in Mangrove Cay. That accident occurred shortly before 9pm on Saturday when the driver of a Honda Accord ran into a utility pole. The man was taken to the Mangrove Cay Clinic where he later died.

Officers from the RBPF Traffic Department in New Providence will go to Mangrove Cay, South Andros, to continue investigations into that incident.

PAGE 6, Monday, December 23, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

PM wife raises money for Kenrika’s funeral

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PATRICIA Minnis

PATRICIA Minnis, the wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, helped to raise funds for the funeral of the murdered teen Kenrika Martin.

Mrs Minnis told The Tribune on Friday that Martin’s mother asked for assistance to pay for the funeral, which was Saturday. At the time, they were short of $1,500.

She added: “I was calling around to various women’s groups and various friends and families to help her bury her daughter on Saturday. There was a little shortfall up to yesterday (Thursday).

“I’ve been fully supporting Ms Lightbourne (Kenrika’s mother) and her family because there are some issues that if we help to resolve those issues within the family we can help these young girls who sometimes move away from the

family because of the issue in the family.”

Mrs Minnis said that she would attend the funeral if she is not travelling on that day.

The 17-year-old’s body was found at Stokes Cabana last month. Earlier this month, the body of another Nassau Village resident, Cleo Lockhart, a mother of six, was discovered on a track road.

Mrs Minnis called Nassau Village a “vulnerable community” and said she is working with Martin’s mother to have a mentor group in the area.

“In the new year, we’ll get in there and try to work with young women in there along with the churches and some other groups that are already in there working to get together. All of that community of young women and young mothers so that we can work on what is the change that is needed,” she said. Mrs Minnis also said she planned to contact Lockhart’s family.

MURDERED teen Kenrika Martin

PLP defends social security plan in wake of IDB report

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net ENGLERSTON MP Glenys Hanna Martin yesterday chastised the government for scrapping a $5m welfare reform project “without just cause”, calling it proof the government is more committed to “gimmicks” and “politically sexy” interventions than alleviating human suffering.

Mrs Hanna Martin, the shadow minister for social services, said the Minnis administration’s decision to halt the Social Safety Net Reform initiative was a “brutal” one to make, as she said such an “ad hoc” decision does nothing to address “the serious and complex issue of poverty” in the country.

Noting that the “politic rhetoric” spewed by the government on the issue “falls short of performance”, Mrs Hanna Martin asserted that “serious policy initiatives should not be lightly uprooted” when there is no plan to replace them.

Meanwhile, former Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin said the government’s decision, as outlined in a recent

Inter-American Development (IDB) report, is a “very telling story” of an administration that “continues to put the needs of the most vulnerable persons in our country on the back burner”.

The remarks by both former ministers came days after an IDB report on efforts to reform the Bahamas’ social safety net, which it helped to finance, revealed that the alreadylaunched initiative was “cancelled after the change in policy direction” that followed the May 2017 general election.

The document, which has been obtained by The Tribune, revealed that $5.374m in IDB financing had been spent by the time the project was stopped. That means poverty-stricken families and the Bahamian taxpayer have received almost no value from the investment.

It also represents monies taxpayers will now have to repay despite not gaining the intended benefits from them.

The decision to halt the Social Safety Net Reform initiative was taken under former Social Services and Urban Development Minister Lanisha Rolle, who

is now minister of youth, sports and culture. A previous IDB report, revealed

by Tribune Business last year, was also highly critical of the effort in finding that it achieved “none of the planned outcomes” with just 27 percent of the targeted 12,000 Bahamian households receiving cash grants.

However, the moredetailed and recent “project completion report” provides a different take, arguing that the minimal achievements had more to do with the project being halted mid-stream while also identifying the typical bureaucratic weaknesses in the Bahamian government.

“The project was cancelled after the change in policy direction based on the change in the political administration after the elections in May 2017,” the IDB report said. “Using social safety nets as a means of affecting these outcomes is no longer seen as a viable option for affecting these indicators.

“After the change in government, the programme was assessed and found not to be in line with the current policy direction, which is why most of the outcomes, which depended

on the government delivering transfers under the new rule, were not achieved.”

Some $9.6m worth of funding had initially been dedicated to alleviating poverty and welfare dependency, with $7.5m to come from the IDB and the balance from the government. While the project was halted before the final $4.386m was disbursed, some $5.374 had already been used.

During a press conference on the issue at the Progressive Liberal Party’s headquarters yesterday, Mrs Hanna Martin explained that the programme was premised “upon the fundamental principle of education as a means of escaping poverty” and recognising that despite universal access to education, more than half of the country’s children “are not meeting the graduation standard”.

Mrs Hanna Martin admitted that while the project was met with “some administrative difficulty”, primarily due to “the internal constraints and procedures inherent in the public service bureaucracy”, which to some degree affected coordination between the Ministries

MP GLENYS HANNA MARTIN of Health, Education and Social Services, they were issues “that could have easily been addressed and corrected.”

However, she said the government abandoned the project “at great cost to the Bahamian people, in excess of $5m, without just cause”, and “with no discernible plan in its stead to combat these serious issues which were disclosed in that report affecting our children in abject poverty conditions.”

She added that such a decision, coupled with the national budget and other policy approaches, shows a “greater commitment to ministerial travel than seriously alleviating human suffering” on the government’s part.

“We know that this is an administration more committed to gimmicks and ad hoc approaches and interventions that they believe are politically sexy, than a genuine and sustained commitment to addressing the serious and complex issue of poverty and its immense human suffering and negative outcomes,” she said.

“The politic rhetoric which infuses our national atmosphere falls short of performance. And as a consequence, our precious children suffer. Serious policy initiatives should not

be lightly uprooted, especially when there is no plan to replace it, and especially when we’re talking about our children.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Griffin noted that after two years of “stonewalling and outright falsehoods”, the “truth has finally been revealed about the termination in the project”.

She asserted that Mrs Rolle previously said the project was terminated by the bank, an assertion that was seconded by Health Minister Duane Sands. Mrs Griffin further noted that when asked repeatedly about the continuation of the programme, the response from the relevant minister was that it was full of problems and thus terminated by the IDB. “The minister’s defence was incredible, we now know, it was also untrue,” she said, adding: “I do not believe the effort was ever made to understand the programme and its value to the country.”

Mrs Griffin added that the programme, dubbed the RISE (Renewing, Inspiring, Sustaining, Empowering) project, was not a “willynilly, hurried approach” to what had become a “critical life-long existence for so many of our people on welfare”, but rather a “well-studied approach” to providing not just food to persons in poverty, but also “hope, education and a healthy way of life”.

“RISE spoke directly to the heart of our people with a life changing message that they could take control of their lives and the future of their families,” she said.

“More importantly, RISE had an exit plan to break the cycle of poverty on poor families. It was a message of hope and it was doable.”

‘BAR MUST NOT ACT IN A POLITICAL FASHION’ from page one

those roles. “We have recourse if (the Bar Council) continues to act politically,” Mr Bethel said yesterday. “This is pure politics. The reality is that the Office of DPP is very thin at the top. And several of my senior officers are moving off to other areas.

We advertised and selected the persons best suited to provide needed leadership and experience.”

The Bar Council rejected the applications after determining the applicants did not have the certifications for the Bar that are specified in the first schedule of the Legal Profession Act. The provision specifies which countries’ legal certifications are recognised in the Bahamas. The Tribune understands that Mrs Jones-Nebo and Mr Bakibinga did not have

certificates from recognised countries and, alternatively, did not have a legal education certificate from the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies.

Asked what the government’s recourse could be, Mr Bethel said: “The Bar Council can act or Parliament can act.”

In June, Cecilia Strachan, permanent secretary for the Office of the Attorney General, said vacancies were first advertised in the press in January 2017 and that those who applied did not meet the criteria. She said the positions were then advertised internationally in January 2018.

She said six people applied and were interviewed by senior OAG officials. The Judicial and Legal Services Commission reviewed their recommendation and made the final decision to select Mrs Jones-Nebo and Mr Bakibinga.

PAGE 8 MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2019

I

T IS a valid criticism of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries that they have more often failed than succeeded in coordinating their foreign policy actions.

This tendency has been displayed in the Organisation of American States (OAS) over the last three years, causing celebration among those countries that fear the voting power of the 14 CARICOM states when they act together. The belief that CARICOM states are divided has become so entrenched in the minds of other countries that one of their representatives maliciously told many delegations that Jamaica would sabotage a CARICOM

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

CARICOM finds its winning voice resolution when it was presented for a vote at the

body’s Permanent Council on December 18. There

was no truth whatsoever in the claim about Jamaica.

The allegation was made to create doubt in the solidarity of CARICOM behind its own resolution. But, the entertainment of the rumour by other countries is evidence of the belief that CARICOM is not a collective force.

On December 18, however, 13 of the 14 CARICOM countries spoke with one voice in presenting a resolution on the disturbing human rights situation in Bolivia, particularly violence against, and disregard for, the indigenous people following the installation of a non-elected government on November 12. Haiti was absent from the meeting.

Significantly, the CARICOM 13 consulted widely with other OAS member states, seeking broad consensus and accepting amendments to its draft from several countries that proclaim human rights as a major plank of their foreign policies.

However, the Brazilian Ambassador to the OAS, in a most unfortunate statement during the Permanent Council meeting, accused the 13 Caribbean countries, and the five nations that supported the resolution, of not being “genuinely concerned with advancing and protecting the human rights of indigenous peoples in Bolivia”. The Ambassador went on to boldly state, with not a shred of evidence to support his discourteous remark, that the Caribbeanproposed resolution, “will only serve to endorse the false arguments of certain malicious Bolivian political actors that there are racist components in the process that culminated in the departure of the previous government”.

What made the Ambassador think that he had the right to make such an offensive and false statement is inexplicable. But it falls into a pattern of derisory statements he has made in OAS Permanent Council meetings, about CARICOM countries, that harm the positive and constructive relationship that has always existed between Brazil and CARICOM countries.

Research would have shown any who were ignorant of the facts that CARICOM Heads of Government have been in the forefront for reparatory justice not only for African slavery but also for

genocide of the indigenous people and the centuries of discrimination against their survivors. Indeed, it is an article of faith among CARICOM governments that all acts of discrimination and violation of the human rights of indigenous people, including violence and arbitrary imprisonment must end.

That is why in the wake of credible reports, including by the global media, of serious violations of the human rights of the indigenous people in Bolivia, following the forced departure of President Evo Morales, and the installation of a new regime, 13 CARICOM countries produced a resolution for adoption by the OAS. In the drafting of the resolution, the CARICOM 13 were further disturbed by the findings of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after a visit to Bolivia. On December 10, the IACHR published a report expressing deep concerns about the human rights situation, including violence in racist and discriminatory ways.

It also pointed to a wave of violence, and to serious allegations that were made of human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions and arrests, massacres and murder, wounding of the civilian population, criminalisation and persecution of political opponents, and violations of freedom of expression.

The CARICOM 13 were supported by the governments of Argentina, Panama, Uruguay, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Contrary to the view of the Brazilian Ambassador, with whom neither CARICOM governments nor CARICOM Ambassadors sought any fight, the motivation of CARICOM countries was fully in keeping with the often-declared position on CARICOM leaders on the protection of the rights of indigenous people.

Far from being politically one-sided, the resolution never mentioned the political turbulence in Bolivia, nor did it take any side in the internal political wrangling. It was scrupulous in recalling both United Nations and OAS Conventions that assert the right of “indigenous peoples to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and

fundamental freedoms as recognised in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Human Rights Law”. The resolution also repeated the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which, in Article XII, states that “Indigenous people have the right not to be the object of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, or related intolerance. States shall adopt the preventive and corrective measures necessary for the full and effective protection of that right”.

And, it urged the authorities of Bolivia “to respect, comply with, and effectively implement, all their obligations under international law as they apply to indigenous peoples, particularly those related to human rights”.

It should be noted that, while CARICOM governments want early free and fair elections, independently supervised, so that the people of Bolivia can elect the government of their choice, every CARICOM country has chosen to recognise the current administration of Bolivia because they are the de facto government; they are fully in charge of the state apparatus. So, there is no question of any CARICOM country’s “veiled political motives” as was unfortunately alleged by the Brazilian Ambassador in a live global web broadcast of the Permanent Council meeting.

The resolution by the CARICOM 13 was carried by a majority of 18, with 4 votes against and 12 abstentions. It was a proud moment for CARICOM; for its unity; and for a clear manifestation of its commitment and determination to stand-up together for human rights for all, and for justice for those who are treated unjustly.

The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organization 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 entirely his own. Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 23, 2019, PAGE 11

Festive cheer flies into GB and Abaco PLANELOADS of rebuilding materials, food and holiday cheer were delivered to the hurricane-shattered islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco by the Paradise Fund as part of a “Christmas in Paradise” programme supported by Moore Bahamas Foundation.

Eight flights landed in Freeport and Abaco on Thursday and Friday, ferrying 10,000 lbs of toys, Christmas decorations, food and more basic relief supplies to families and communities still recovering from the blow of Hurricane Dorian, which devastated the two islands in September.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest thanked the Paradise Fund and Moore Bahamas for bringing “Christmas cheer” to the children of Grand

Bahama. “So many of these kids, because of the circumstances, their families are not going to be able to afford toys, they are not going to be able to afford the turkey and the ham and all of the things that go along with a traditional Bahamian Christmas, and these folks have come along to bring some of that cheer to these kids and to these families,” Mr Turnquest said while handing out presents at a party. “Moore Bahamas, Louis Bacon, we are so grateful for all the support.”

“The holiday fly-ins orchestrated by the Paradise Fund brought welcome merriment to Dorianimpacted families,” said Louis Bacon, chairman of Moore Charitable Foundation and Moore Bahamas, its local affiliate. “With deliveries of food and toys

– as well as supplies like building materials to repair fishing boats – they spread joy and hope to resilient families.”

Support for the Paradise Fund was part of $300,000 in new grants recently announced by Moore Bahamas to help address continuing humanitarian needs and accelerate the recovery of the Bahamas’ spectacular ecosystems and its economy. Mr Bacon has made a $1 million commitment to environmental and economic recovery from the devastation wrought by Dorian.

“These programmes will help us get our lives back in order, help bring our communities back together and let us start to restore a little bit of peace and comfort to the people of these islands,” Mr Turnquest said.

In addition to the

Paradise Fund, Moore Bahamas is providing the Ranfurly Home—which is working with children displaced by Dorian—with emergency staffing support. Moore Bahamas is also helping the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) to replenish the

supplies of several schools badly damaged by the hurricane.

Support by Moore Bahamas is allowing the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) to conduct ecosystem damage assessments of the maritime and mangrove habitats of Grand Bahama and Abaco. Partnerships

with Waves for Water and Waterkeeper Bahamas will focus on providing clean and safe drinking water in Grand Bahama. Funding will also support Waterkeeper Bahamas to monitor and assess the extent of a massive Dorian-related oil spill at a storage facility on Grand Bahama Island.

PAGE 12, Monday, December 23, 2019

How a dog gave gridiron player who survived mass shooting the belief to enjoy life again

THE TRIBUNE

DREW Pescaro and his dog Lily go shopping. Pescaro is a survivor of the mass shooting at UNC Charlotte in April.

A

S the teams battled it out on the football field in the Bahamas Bowl this weekend, one member of the team might have been reflecting on a year in which he could have died.

Drew Pescaro was one of six students shot on UNC Charlotte’s campus in April.

He was shot in the back and spent 27 days recovering in the hospital.

But as he recovered, he had the help of a very special friend.

Four months earlier, Drew came to the rescue himself – of an abandoned dog named Lily. She had been picked up by Peak Lab Rescue and then, the small terrier-schnauzerlabrador-shih tzu mutt was adopted last year on Christmas Day by Drew. He wanted a dog to help him with his anxiety. His parents told him to look around at other dogs before making a quick decision on Lily, but he already knew she was the one.

After his shooting, Lily bounced around from home to home, either staying with some of Drew’s fraternity brothers or his fiancee, Erin Wilson.

But when Drew got out of the hospital and arrived back at his parents’ house in Fuquay-Varina, Lily was waiting for him.

“May 27 was the day that I finally got to see her again for the first time, and I haven’t let go of her since,” he said.

Because of Lily’s impact on him, Drew worked to pay the favour back to Peak Lab Rescue. On Thursday, that meant a $50,000 cheque for the Apex rescue group from the Petco foundation.

Lily gave Drew a routine each day and someone to talk to that didn’t need to hear the story of the shooting again.

“It sounds crazy, but she’s a good person to talk to,” he said.

His dad, Edward, now says that it was obvious Drew made the right choice with Lily.

“They’re inseparable,” he said. “She has been really great for him.”

In August, Pescaro spoke at a news conference in the state legislative building in downtown Raleigh and showed the scars on his abdomen, advocating for a debate on gun control laws in North Carolina.

Afterward, his fiancee thought it would be nice to reach out to Peak to tell them how much Lily has helped Drew get along.

Sharon Gesser, Peak’s director of development, thought it was such an amazing story that she reached back out to Drew and asked whether he would write in to the Petco foundation Holiday Wishes campaign.

Holiday Wishes is the foundation’s annual

campaign that awards exceptional animal welfare organizations across the country with grants that go anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000. Adopters send in their stories of how their pet has brought joy to their life, and the foundation chooses 55 winners.

Karen Meader from the Petco foundation said that the grant campaign is a way to give back to adoption organizations.

“We just want to showcase to the public how important and how meaningful the adoption of a pet can be; and we really want to inspire the community to think adoption first.”

Meader said that they cried when they first read Drew’s story.

“How Lily pulled him through, that meant so much to us,” she said.

Peak Lab Rescue is one of four organisations to win a $50,000 prize, which Ms Gesser said will go a long way for them. Their group of employees screamed when the amount on the cheque was revealed Thursday.

The group keeps around 80 to 100 dogs in its system at a time, and just had its 7,000th dog adopted.

“But that doesn’t mean we don’t get by on slim margins,” Ms Gesser said.

The group uses around 900 pounds of dog food every month and had to take in more dogs than usual last year after the hurricanes.

“It’s kind of thankless work,” Ms Gesser said.

“But this validates what we do.”

Along with the grant to Peak Lab Rescue, Drew and Lily got their own gifts. He got a new pair of BOBS shoes — a partner with Petco foundation for the Holiday Wishes campaign — and a $500 shopping spree for his dog.

Pescaro said that she likes bones, so he wanted to get her the biggest one possible to see her try to carry it around. He and Erin also used the spree to buy a Panthers jersey for Lily, fish-and chicken-flavored dog food, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and plenty of toys.

They even let Lily decide on some of the items, holding out squeaky toys until she picked which one she liked best. Sitting in a new bed in a shopping cart, she either laid her head down on the ones she didn’t want or bit into them if she liked them. She chose a purple one.

Pescaro just finished his first semester back at UNCC since the shooting and said that with the support of his friends and family, it went well. He became the fundraising chair of his fraternity and even got to play flag football again.

And after the announcement, he got another surprise when Tiffany Franchi from Peak Lab Rescue offered her wedding planning services to him and fiancee Erin Wilson for free.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 23, 2019, PAGE 13

VENDORS HOPEFUL OF SALES RISE DESPITE SLOW START

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

CHRISTMAS vendors at RM Bailey Park say while sales remain slow they are hopeful gift purchases will increase as the holiday approaches.

Many of the retailers told The Tribune they are optimistic the Bahamian public will patronise their stalls despite the gradual decline in holiday shopping.

They also acknowledged the different challenges they believe have contributed to the decrease in toy and merchandise sales over the years.

Martha Wallace, one of the founding members of the RM Bailey Park Vendors Association, said on Friday that though sales “haven’t started moving as yet,” she hoped that the

upcoming weekend will “bring in a boom”. “We just had the hurricane and a lot of us are trying to assist other persons, so I think that’s the challenge this year mainly because you can see it’s really a bigger decline now than (in) previous years.”

Another vendor, who requested anonymity, also said Hurricane Dorian played a major role in the slow shopping season.

The toy retailer, who has been selling on the park for 18 years, told The Tribune that business was bad because the storm left a number of Bahamians “financially challenged”.

The vendor thinks that the recent slump in sales is a phenomenon caused by the harsh economic climate both locally and abroad.

“I’ve travelled to the US

for the past 18 years every Thanksgiving and even in Walmart I’ve noticed it was the slowest season and purchasing time that I‘ve ever seen. So it may not just be Nassau, it may be a worldwide challenge. But like everything else, we just have to have faith and hope that everything goes well.”

Other vendors were optimistic sales would pick up as Bahamian shoppers tend to wait for the last minute to make purchases.

“We expect Bahamians to support us as the days go on and you know Bahamian people are last minute,” Christine Turnquest told The Tribune. “As a matter of fact, people in general are last minute. Christmas just started for us and we just started to set up here so we really can’t say the season has declined,” she said.

PAGE 14, Monday, December 23, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

TWO CRUISE SHIPS COLLIDE IN MEXICO TWO Carnival Corp cruise ships collided in the port of Mexico’s Caribbean resort of Cozumel, crushing the stern of a 952-foot-long vessel and leaving passengers stunned at the loud impact. One person was slightly injured while evacuating a dining room on the massive ship named Carnival Glory, according to Carnival, the world’s largest cruise operator. “Carnival Glory was maneuvering to dock (on Friday) when it made contact with Carnival Legend which was already alongside,” the company said in a statement. “We are assessing the damage but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship.”

THE TWO huge cruise ships collide in Mexico. No one was seriously hurt and there were no issues regarding the seaworthiness of either ship

Pelosi pushed to yield on impeachment delay WASHINGTON Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally

THE White House argued yesterdy that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put herself in an untenable position by stalling House-passed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in hopes of shaping the upcoming Senate trial.

The House voted on Wednesday to impeach Trump, who became only the third president in US history to be formally charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Pelosi has declined to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate until Republicans provide details on witnesses and testimony, forestalling a trial that is

Please be advised that

BETTY K. AGENCIES LIMITED WILL CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC

Tuesday, December 24th, 2019 at 12:00 noon & WILL RE-OPEN ON

Monday, December 30th, 2019 at 8:00 a.m IN OBSERVANCE OF

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF AAnd

Tuesday, December 31st, 2019 at 12:00 & WILL RE-OPEN ON Thursday, January 2nd, 2020 at 8:00 a.m In Observance of The New Year’s Day Holiday WE WOUKD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED PATRONAGE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Merry Christmas & A Prosperous New Year

likely to result in Trump’s acquittal on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

Meanwhile, an influential senator and key Trump ally predicted that the drive for new testimony by Pelosi, D-Calif. and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would be for naught.

“She will yield. There’s no way she can hold this position,” said Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

“We think her case is going nowhere.’’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Schumer have been at an impasse over the issue of new testimony, leaving open the possibility of a protracted delay until the articles are delivered.

Trump complained Saturday that the holdup was “unfair” and claimed that Democrats were violating the Constitution, as the delay threatened to prolong the pain of impeachment and cast uncertainty on the timing of the vote Trump is set to claim as vindication.

Schumer told reporters in New York that ``the Senate is yearning to give President Trump due process, which means that documents and witnesses should come forward.. What is a trial with no witnesses and no documents. It’s a sham trial.”

Short called Pelosi’s delay unacceptable, saying she’s “trampling” Trump’s rights to “rush this through, and now we’re going to hold it up to demand a longer process in the Senate with more witnesses.”

“If her case is so air-tight ... why does she need more witnesses to make her case?’’ Short said.

White House officials have highlighted Democrats’ arguments that removing Trump was an “urgent” matter before the House impeachment vote, as they seek to put pressure on Pelosi to send the

articles of impeachment to the Senate.

McConnell has all but promised an easy acquittal of the president, and he appears to have secured Republican support for his plans to impose a framework drawn from the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.

That trial featured a 100-0 vote on arrangements that established two weeks of presentations and argument before a partisan tally in which then-minority Republicans called a limited number of witnesses.

That has sparked a fight with Pelosi and Schumer, who are demanding trial witnesses who refused to appear during House committee hearings, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton.

A Trump ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Pelosi would fail in her quest “to get Mitch McConnell to bend to her will to shape the trial.’’ Graham is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and was a House manager, comparable to a prosecutor, during the Senate’s impeachment trial of Clinton.

“She’ll eventually send the articles because public opinion will crush the Democrats,’’ said Graham.

Asked whether he expected witnesses in the Senate, he replied: : “No, I don’t.”

At one point, Trump had demanded the testimony of witnesses of his own, like Democrats Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and the intelligence community whistleblower whose summer complaint sparked the impeachment probe.

But he has since relented after concerted lobbying

by McConnell and other Senate Republicans who pushed him to accept the swift acquittal from the Senate and not to risk injecting uncertainty into the process by calling witnesses.

UK FIRM STOPS WORK AT CHINESE FACTORY OVER PRISON LABOUR CLAIM LONDON Associated Press THE UK-BASED grocery chain Tesco said it halted production at a factory in China after a British newspaper reported the factory used forced labour to produce charity Christmas cards for the supermarket.

Tesco said it also launched an investigation of the Chinese supplier it hired to make the holiday cards, Zheijiang Yunguang Printing, after the Sunday Times raised questions about the factory’s labour practices.

The newspaper said the potentially problematic province of the cards came to light when a 6-yearold girl in south London found a card in her box already had a message written inside. It read: “We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qinqpu prison China forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organisation.”

The writer asked whoever received the note to contact Peter Humphrey, a former British journalist who was detained in China while working as a corporate investigator and spent time at the same Shanghai prison.

The London girl’s father, Ben Widdicombe, said they at first thought the message was a “prank.”

“On reflection, we realised it was actually potentially quite a serious thing,” Widdicombe said.

“So I felt very shocked, but also a responsibility to pass it on to Peter Humphrey as the author asked me to do.”

He said the message was eye opening: “It hits home there are injustices in the world and difficult situations that we know about and read about each and every day.”

Humphrey told the BBC he thinks he knows who wrote the message. He said he won’t identify the person for fear the inmate would face retribution.

AUSTRALIA’S PM DEFENDS CLIMATE STANCE AMID WILDFIRE DISASTER PERTH, Australia Associated Press

AUSTRALIA’S embattled Prime Minister defended his government’s climate policy earlier today, as authorities warned the wildfires crisis ravaging the country’s most populous state could fester for months.

Around 200 wildfires were burning in four states, with New South Wales accounting for more than half of them, including 60 fires not contained.

The disaster has led to renewed criticism that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has not taken enough action on climate change.

Morrison rejected calls to downsize Australia’s lucrative coal industry. Australia

A FIRE in New South Wales is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas. “I am not going to write off the jobs of thousands of Australians by walking away from traditional industries,” he said.

Morrison made the rounds on several Australian television networks in the aftermath of his much

criticised family vacation to Hawaii during the wildfires crisis. He eventually cut short his holiday and returned to Sydney over the weekend before visiting evacuation and emergency control centers and the families of two firefighters killed battling blazes last Thursday southwest of Sydney.