12272019 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2019

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‘Don’t be a victim’ over blacklistings

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE Bahamas “must not take the victim approach” over its French blacklisting, a risk management specialist is warning, but instead set a ten-year “vision” for how financial services and tax will evolve.

Emmanuel Komolafe told Tribune Business this nation “cannot keep playing defense” with its financial services industry, as it had done for the past two decades, and view remaining off national and multi-country blacklists as its main objective.

Calling for a strategic approach, he urged The Bahamas to envision what it wants its financial sector to look like a decade from now, and then lay out a road map for reaching that objective. Acknowledging that this nation needs to “evolve” with global trends,

• Would have placed increased burden on itself • By making non-profits ‘incapable’ of operating • Sector’s society services faced cut-back

EMMANUEL KOMOLAFE he argued that changes to its taxation system were among the reforms that need to be considered if it is to remain competitive.

“For the most part we’ve been on the defensive,” Mr Komolafe said of the country’s response to international tax and regulatory initiatives. “We need to sit down and look at the future, and see what we want to

Super Value chief ‘welcomes’ BPL’s extra 15% charge

By YOURI KEMP and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters

SUPER Value’s owner says he is prepared to sacrifice short-term for longterm gain if Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) extra 15 percent debt servicing charge helps create reduced bills long-term.

Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business BPL had to be “restarted again”, as he backed the National Utility Investment Bond fee - equivalent to 15 percent of a consumer’s monthly consumption rate - that will be added to bills come March 2020.

“I welcome that for it to go down 50 percent afterwards,” he said. “You know we have a super power plant, and if they run that right then our blackout problems are solved after 50 years. I know the Martians used to look down every night and laugh at our island in darkness, and now we have cured it I don’t know what they are thinking?”

“They had to get it restarted and get it right.

Nobody wants to pay 15 percent, but I think BPL and the government have pulled a miracle, because it takes that 15 percent to

SEE PAGE 5

Bahamas ‘behind 8-ball’ but not too late on marijuana

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas is “a bit behind the eight-ball” in developing a medical marijuana industry, the DNA’s former leader has conceded, arguing: “Let’s get started before it’s too late.”

Branville McCartney, pictured, who said legalising the drug had been among the party’s main 2017 general election pledges, told Tribune Business it still held the potential to become “a multi-billion dollar industry” that could even surpass tourism as The Bahamas’

largest industry.

Reacting to the initial draft report from the Bahamas National Commission on Marijuana, he voiced optimism that its work will “come to fruition” and pave the way for the Bahamian

SEE PAGE 5

be to stop this attrition and continuous attacks on the financial services industry.

“We cannot keep playing defense. At some point we have to take a step back and chart the way forward, being strategic in what we want to achieve rather than trying to simply avoid these lists. What we do must feed into what we want the industry to look like ten years from now.

“Do we need to reposition? Do we need to reform? Do we want to change the tax system?” he asked. “Hopefully we will not have another situation like this [France blacklisting] again, but there are no guarantees it will not happen.

“We have to decide the plan, and effectively

communicate that plan.

The landscape of financial services has changed, and continues to evolve, and we need to evolve with it. It’s also an opportunity whenever we experience things like this to regroup and focus on the future rather than only reacting.

“We should not take a victim approach to this, and instead take the position that we’ll reposition out industry, repurpose and regroup. Unfortunately it won’t be the same, but there will be opportunities as an industry. We cannot put our hands up and throw in the towel.”

France recently placed The Bahamas on its national “blacklist” on the

SEE PAGE 4

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Harbour Island’s outage ‘couldn’t have been worse’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FURIOUS Harbour Island hoteliers yesterday branded the 48-hour Christmas power outage “a disaster”, adding that it “couldn’t be any worse” with the island “packed to the teeth” with tourists.

Benjamin Simmons, the Ocean View Club’s general manager, told Tribune Business that the blackout - which began on Monday, and continued through Christmas Eve and much of Christmas Day - had “been a nightmare for the tourism product” and was “definitely a black mark” for the island’s visitor experience.

“It’s just awful,” he said.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words. It’s embarrassing for one. It is the single busiest point of the season, and everyone is just so unprepared for something like this to happen. Our generator was running for 36-48 hours, and caught fire just before Christmas Day. “It’s a disaster, and definitely a black mark from the

experience for Harbour Island... The long and short of it is, it’s been a nightmare for the tourism product.

Bad weather, this power situation, the island is full tilt; packed to the teeth. It couldn’t be any worse.

“The saving grace is that for the most part the visitors that come to our shores are repeat guests, and love the island for more than electricity. Our guests have been winding back, keeping the Christmas spirit and taking it in stride but it’s hard to run a business like this.”

Mr Simmons said his property had been forced to ration diesel for the generator as fresh supplies had not come in by boat, while those residents and businesses using propane generators had all “run out” by the time power was fully restored to Harbour Island yesterday evening.

He revealed that he even considered transporting the Ocean View Club’s 40 guests to his other property, the Other Side, on Eleuthera’s mainland for Christmas Day

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Friday, December 27, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Using 2020 vision for great success THE year 2020 - by virtue of the number - has caused many in business to pause and consider how best to clarify their vision for achieving greater returns in the New Year. With the many challenges facing today’s small and mediumsized enterprises, there are

still great opportunities for expansion, increasing market share and making a greater impact in the lives of Bahamians and the community at large.

Today, we stop by the company optometrist for the annual vision test. The question we ask, and attempt to

answer, is simply: What must we do differently in 2020 to maximise returns on our investments?

Focus on these seven points: 1. Focus on Technology Simply moving with the times means gaining a deeper understanding of

how technology advances your business. You do not need two or three technology geniuses around your business but, rather, the entire company operating at an above-average level in technological proficiencies.

Bring in the consultants, or use the technology gurus in your company, to coach the weaker ones towards this goal for the first quarter. You will not regret it.

2. Focus on Leadership Fortune 100 companies all agree that the single most critical component in company growth is leadership.

More crucial than firing all the weaklings at the bottom of the food chain is losing or terminating the threatening and nasty manager/ director/vice-president. The toxic vibes that some leaders bring into the workplace is more damaging than any computer glitch, cyber attack or accounting error. Find empowering leaders who can celebrate and promote the success of other leaders.

3. Focus on your Vision Since 20/20 is all about vision, sharpening your company’s view for this new decade may not be a bad idea. Get some help drafting a new and clearer vision for the organisation.

While you are at it, tidy up the mission statement, core values and company objectives. More important than drafting these statements is the communication plan that ensures every team

member understands their role in making the vision, mission and values come to life.

4. Focus on your policies The year 2020 might be a good time to clean up the employee manual. The policies and procedures that may be outdated, particularly regarding how you do business, should be revised. Do not be afraid to throw antiquated ideas out the window.

Convince yourself change is good.

5. Focus on the internal customer One of your top priorities this year must be a development and recognition plan for your most valuable players (MVPs) - your employees. Bonuses, merit increases, additional benefits, rewards programmes, public share offerings or anything else that might give them that extra boost. Your workers are worth it. Say it…

Mean it…Live it.

6. Focus on the faithful customer Since you spend four times’ more in marketing to get a new customer, why not spend a little of it on keeping your existing ones? Frequent customer incentives with discount cards, and consistent customer specials, work wonders in letting your loyal customers know they are valued and appreciated.

7. Focus on corporate social responsibility This is the year to do

IAN FERGUSON BY

more, and to be deliberate in impacting the world around you. Sharpen your commitment to youth and the environment through corporate social responsibility programmes that give back.

Every religious and philosophical thought agrees on the point that when we sow good seed, we reap a positive harvest. Our nation and generations of Bahamians yet unborn will thank you.

Wishing you a brighter and blessed 2020.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities.

He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

CENTRAL BANK UNVEILS DIGITAL B$ RESTRICTIONS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Central Bank has unveiled the limits it will impose on Bahamian digital currency holdings to protect financial stability and prevent “runs on bank deposits”.

The regulator, in a paper on the Project Sand Dollar initiative to create a Bahamian digital dollar, said these “ceilings” would differ according to user category and ensure that the project “does not operate in practice as a substitute for traditional bank deposits”.

While Central Bank-regulated financial institutions will have no limits placed on their digital currency holdings, businesses will be permitted to hold balances equivalent to the greater of $8,000 or five percent of their annual sales receipts.

A “maximum ceiling” of $1m will apply.

Companies employing the digital Bahamian dollar

to conduct transactions will also be subject to proposed limits of 1/8th of annual sales or $20,000 per dealing - whichever is greater. Similar “ceilings”, albeit lower, will also be imposed for individuals according to the level of due diligence they are subjected to.

Users who submit to “basic due diligence” will have their digital currency holdings capped at a maximum of $500, with monthly transactions limited to a collective $1,500 set against either verifiable receipts or payments.

Personal accounts, which would face a higher level of Know Your Customer (KYC) scrutiny, will face a maximum balance limit of $5,000 and annual transaction limits of $100,000 or $10,000 per month.

With the first test phase for Project Sand Dollar set to launch in Exuma today, before it expands to Abaco in February 2020, the Central Bank said it needed to balance ambitions for better financial services access and inclusion - especially among far-flung Family Island communities - and a more efficient, less costly domestic payments system with its financial stability objectives.

“One concern is that a CBDC (Central Bank digital currency) could compete with traditional banking services as a deposit alternative and draw resources out of banks,” the Central Bank said. “If it were to happen on any significant scale, it would leave the issuing central bank in the suboptimal position of having to reallocate domestic resources, a role that is best reserved for licensed financial institutions.

“A consideration, too, is whether holdings of digital currency would earn interest, which would be another reason for the public to view them like deposits.

Financial stability risks would also be highlighted by concerns that sudden, large shift of funds into CBDCs could present a form of bank run.”

To guard against such risks, the Central Bank said the limits placed on digital currency holdings for all users would ensure Project Sand Dollar “does not operate in practice as a substitute for traditional banking deposits”.

“Moreover, to be enabled for higher-value transactions, personal digital wallets will have to be linked to deposit accounts at domestic financial institutions, into which any excess holdings of the currency would have to be deposited,” the regulator continued.

“Because the ultimate goal of Project Sand Dollar

is financial inclusion, individuals would still be able to have mobile wallets without the need for a bank account, but with less functional capabilities. Without exception, though, all wallets held by businesses would have to be linked to established bank accounts.

To further remove similarities with deposits, interest will not be paid on any holdings of digital currency.”

The Central Bank said an early-warning system is also being incorporated into the Bahamian digital dollar to detect any “critical threats on individual banks’ liquidity”. It added: “It will deploy circuit breakers, if necessary, to prevent systemic instances of failures or runs on bank liquidity.”

Detailing how digital payments would work, the Central Bank said the dedicated point of sale terminals used by receiving merchants will scan QR codes on mobile phones or the digital Sand Dollar card to trigger transactions in “a secure tokenised environment”.

“Potential high volume originators of mobile payments for payroll, social assistance and other purposes will also have access to batch transactions processing capability, utilising the Sand Dollar infrastructure and platforms developed by the PSPs (payment services providers),” the Central Bank said.

“This includes the government, NIB and private businesses. These would be akin to batch transactions currently processed through the [banking system’s] ACH (Automated Clearing House) but with gross and net settlements occurring in digital currency.”

To facilitate the digital Bahamian dollar’s smooth roll-out and functioning, the regulator revealed that legal reforms allowing credit unions, payment services providers and money transmission businesses (MTBs) access to direct settlement accounts with the Central Bank will be passed in early 2020.

“The draft new Central Bank legislation contains provisions that would level the playing field even further,” the Central Bank said. “The Bank has signalled that it will allow direct participation of nonclearing banks in the ACH and RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) systems.

“Regulated credit unions, international banks, PSPs and MTBs would be permitted to establish settlement accounts directly with the Central Bank as opposed to having to negotiate settlement arrangements with commercial banks.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, December 27, 2019, PAGE 3

REGULATORS TO INVESTIGATE BPL FUEL CHARGE ‘MISCHIEF’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net REGULATORS are examining whether Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) customers have suffered “possible harm or mischief” after detecting “troubling trends” in how it has been calculating fuel charges.

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), in its just-released 2020 draft annual plan and budget, pledged to impose “clear regulatory oversight” over how BPL determines this portion of customer bills given that it can create “inefficiencies causing significant cost to consumers”.

Identifying this as a major 2020 priority, URCA revealed it plans to “develop a comprehensive methodology” for how such fuel charges are calculated and applied at both BPL and throughout the wider Bahamian energy industry.

It admitted it had wanted to undertake such a “regulatory intervention” in 2019, but was thwarted by a “lack

FREEPORT ENERGY REGULATION BATTLE AWAITING MARCH TRIAL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE battle to regulate Freeport’s energy sector will be fought before the Supreme Court on March 2020, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has revealed.

URCA, in its justunveiled 2020 draft annual plan and budget, disclosed that the fight to establish its authority to oversee electricity and all other utilities within the Port area will finally go to trial almost four years after Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) first filed its action.

The national regulator said it was “critical” that the dispute with the power company, and a similar action initiated by BISXlisted Cable Bahamas, “be resolved as soon as possible” to ensure that its jurisdiction to regulate both companies - and their respective industries - within Freeport was established beyond any doubt.

“Both matters commenced in 2016 and relate

of available resources” something that has plagued URCA’s efforts to oversee the Bahamian energy industry ever since it took on this responsibility in 2016.

However, the regulator said its New Year’s objectives are to ensure “the fuel charge accurately reflects the actual cost of fuel used

by BPL in providing electricity to its customers”, and that “the fuel charge only reflects the fair and efficient costs of fuel used, and does not pass on costs resulting from failures by BPL to properly manage its electricity system”.

“Over the course of 2019, URCA has reviewed the gazetted rules pertaining to the calculation and application of the fuel charge, and tracked the posted fuel charge for the period,” it said, “noting trends which are of concern to URCA, particularly in relation to costs experienced during BPL’s period of supply challenges in New Providence during 2019.

“In reviewing the need to address any possible harm

and/or mischief that may have been caused to consumers through the fuel charge during the period, URCA is currently seeking to address BPL’s power quality deficiencies during 2019 through a comprehensive investigation.”

URCA added that this probe will be able to address “any fuel charge impact” that BPL consumer suffered in 2019, and unveiled its “fuel cost recovery” regulation project for the new year.

“Moving forward, and noting that the fuel charge mechanism can result in inefficiencies causing significant cost to consumers, URCA considers it necessary to ensure that there is clear regulatory oversight of the fuel charge approach wherever it is employed in The Bahamas,” URCA said.

“URCA therefore proposes during 2020 to develop a comprehensive methodology for the derivation and application of fuel charges within the sector.”

The “fuel charge” portion

of BPL bills is designed as a pass-through, meaning that the utility passes on to consumers the full costs associated with purchasing the fuel used to generate electricity. It is supposed to be a ‘cost recovery’ mechanism, meaning that BPL earns no profits from the fuel charge.

However, there have long been suspicions that BPL uses the “fuel charge” to disguise inefficiencies elsewhere in its operations, and wraps other items into this levy that further burden Bahamian businesses and households besides the pure costs of fuel.

The language in URCA’s draft 2020 annual plan will likely reinforce such fears, and suggests there may be some credibility to these concerns. The issue is a vital one for Bahamian households and businesses, especially if they are being forced to unduly pay for BPL’s inefficiencies, as the fuel charge typically accounts for between 50-60 percent of total customer bills.

URCA’s ambitions are likely to be greeted with some scepticism, though, given its confession that the energy sector has operated without effective regulatory scrutiny despite being handed this responsibility in 2016 with passage of the Electricity Act. While this will be of little surprise to informed observers, URCA said: “The energy sector continues to operate without adequate regulatory oversight due to a need for URCA to more rapidly increase its capacity, to proactively address anticipated issues, to more effectively gather and analyse relevant information from all stakeholders, and to react quickly to failures detected within the sector.

“URCA will strengthen its monitoring and enforcement capacity within the energy sector team during 2020 by reallocating internal resources, targeted recruitment and use of external consultancies to ensure that the Utilities and Energy Department is fully

equipped to meet the needs of the sector.”

To meet these goals, URCA is projecting a 34 percent increase in its full-time workforce in 2020, which will grow from 29 to 39 staff. Turning specifically to energy sector regulation, it said total operating costs for this aspect of its work are forecast to increase by 13 percent year-over-year to $2.178m.

“Staff costs are anticipated to significantly increase by 35 percent as the human resources in the Utilities and Energy Department are increased to enhance URCA’s oversight of the energy sector,” the 2020 draft annual plan said.

“Conferences, training and travel costs are budgeted to increase by 86 percent due to the continued commitment to develop and upskill our staff through structured training, and providing opportunities to participate in regional regulatory workshops and conferences.”

to the jurisdiction of URCA to regulate persons in the Freeport area in Grand Bahama,” URCA said. “It is critical to URCA that these matters be resolved as soon as possible.

“In both cases, URCA’s jurisdiction to regulate inside the Freeport area is being challenged despite URCA’s statutory and regulatory mandate under the Communications Act and the Electricity Act. URCA considers that both enactments unambiguously require URCA to regulate the relevant sectors throughout The Bahamas, inclusive of Grand Bahama, to further the interests of all persons in The Bahamas.

“It is URCA’s intention to achieve its mission of ‘improving lives through effective utilities regulation’ throughout every island of The Bahamas, inclusive of Grand Bahama. The GB Power versus URCA matter is set down for trial to be heard in March 2020, and it is expected that the Cable Bahamas and others versus URCA matter will also be progressed significantly during 2020.”

The energy sector battle was sparked by GB Power’s original action, filed on July 7, 2016, which challenged URCA’s ability to license and regulate it on the basis that this “conflicts” with the provisions of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement as Freeport’s founding treaty.

GB Power’s position is that itself and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) “have been vested with the sole authority to operate utilities”, including

electricity generation and transmission and distribution, within the Port area until the Hawksbill Creek’s expiration in 2054.

It wants a Supreme Court declaration that the Electricity Act 2015 “contravenes the rights and privileges” granted to it by Freeport’s founding law, and that URCA has no authority over it - including its operations outside the Port area in east and west End. URCA, which took almost three years to respond, argued last year in legal filings of its own that Parliament was “constitutionally entitled” to override Freeport’s founding treaty when it passed the Electricity Act in 2015.

It is seeking its own Supreme Court declaration that the Electricity Act “applies in its entirety” to Freeport and “prevails” over the Hawksbill Creek Agreement provisions that GB Power is relying upon to resist its jurisdiction.

The national regulator is also arguing that GB Power’s stance in refusing to submit to its supervision and licensing powers is “undermining” the Electricity Act and the ability of URCA to perform its mandate in accordance with the National Energy Policy (NEP).

The stage is thus set for a precedent-setting legal fight that will determine whether URCA is truly the national regulator, or if the GBPA has the authority to regulate utilities within the Port area.

The outcome has major implications for the Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s survival and integrity, and

whether its provisions can be overridden by statutory Acts of Parliament, as well as other utility companies such as Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).

Cable Bahamas, the BISX-listed communications provider, is asking

the same questions as GB Power in its separate legal action - whether URCA has the jurisdiction to regulate its telephony and Internet businesses in the Port area, which are carried out through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cable Freeport.

URCA, meanwhile,

admitted in its draft 2020 annual plan that this year has seen “many challenges” within both the energy sector itself and its ability to regulate the industry. It added that it had faced “various challenges” from both GB Power and Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).

PAGE 4, Friday, December 27, 2019

Harbour Island’s outage ‘couldn’t have been worse’ FROM PAGE ONE

dinner but ultimately decided against it because the sea was too rough due to the bad weather.

Ultimately, the Ocean View Club’s generator was fixed to enable the property’s guests to enjoy dinner as planned, but Mr Simmons said he also “felt so sorry for all my workers”

THE TRIBUNE who were unable to cook the 70 turkeys and hams he had purchased for them as many have electric ovens.

“It’s really the people that make the product that have suffered far more than those purchasing it,” he added.

BPL last night issued a statement saying all its Harbour Island customers had been restored as of 5.15pm yesterday, but the 48-hour outage effectively represents a catastrophe for one of The Bahamas’ major tourist destinations given that it occurred at the holiday season’s peak.

Ashley Percentie, a member of the Harbour Island District Council, told Tribune Business that it was the worst situation he could recall with the island’s electricity supply since the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

“It’s back on now and we’re still trying to find out the cause of it,” he said. “It has had a detrimental effect on the island. A lot of small businesses were affected. It’s lasted, I would say, about two days. Some areas are back to normalcy. My house, the power came on at about 8pm last night.

“The island is packed with tourists, but people seem to love Harbour Island even if the power is off. A lot of homes that are being rented have back-up generators. The area’s MP, Ricky Mackey, has been working tirelessly to get the island back. He was instrumental in organising the trailer generators to come yesterday morning.”

BPL’s Facebook page was yesterday full of complaints from angry Briland residents and visitors concerning the power situation. Rachel Horvath ‪wrote: “I am a second homeowner on Eleuthera.

We arrived for our Christmas holidays at our house and our power went out on December 23.

“On the 24th, BPL came with a backhoe and dug up the cables near our house.

They fixed nothing and then took their holiday at noon. ‬Here we are Christmas Day with no power and no hope of having any before Friday.

We are fortunate to be staying at a neighbour’s or we have had to return to Canada to celebrate the holiday with power.

“We have had nothing but problems with BPL lately, with wrong billings, huge overcharges and lack of service. We could not be any less satisfied with your service of late. Please tell me you will at least send someone to fix our power on the 27.”

This prompted a reply

by Dwayne Lightbourne, who wrote: “Rachel Horvath, welcome to the dark ages... I mean Bahamas.”

BPL announced on Wednesday night that a “major fault on the cable supplying power to Harbour Island has resulted in the island having partial power for the past 48 hours”.

In response, Alexa Poteet wrote: “Lol ‘partial power’ with no thanks to BPL. If you’re staying at the Dunmore or Rock House with a back-up generator, you’re good. Day four of cold showers in the village for the rest of us.”

Irate Brilanders, some speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Christmas blackout represented “a complete failure” by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) and the government to fully

resolve Harbour Island’s long-standing electricity generation issues that have been known to all for years.

They revealed that the persistent loss of, and failure to maintain, BPL’s on-island generation capacity had forced Harbour Island to increasingly rely on electricity supply from the Hatchet Bay power plant on Eleuthera’s mainland.

This was brought to the island by two submarine cables, one that landed at the Three Island Dock and the other from Whale Point.

This newspaper was told that the main cable, to Three Island Dock, was cut when attempts were made to move the barge that collects Harbour Island’s garbage after it became stuck on the bank.

Several sources suggested this barge is owned by a company controlled by a relative of Mr Mackey, the local MP, but he declined to comment on this aspect when contacted by The Tribune yesterday. The cable cut, combined with insufficient on-island generation, thus created the perfect storm that led to the Christmas power outages.

Fred Mitchell, the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) chairman, seemed to allude to the barge incident in a statement yesterday. He said: “The residents in that community that rely heavily on tourism are questioning what the member of Parliament for North Eleuthera, Ricky Mackey, knows about this prolonged power failure and why he has not spoken out publicly on this matter and taken aggressive steps to address this in the middle of Harbour Island’s busiest season.”

BPL, for its part, acknowledged both the on-island generation issues and cable problems in its statement, although it did not specify the cause of the latter. “We have confirmed that mechanical defects were responsible for knocking the on-island rental generation offline.

Those rental generators have now been replaced,” BPL said.

“Our initial investigation into the incident appears to indicate that the cables connecting Harbour Island to the mainland at the Three Island Dock site failed some time after the generators came offline. The two incidents are not connected, and investigations into the cause of the failure of the cables is due to be completed by Friday of this week.

“Ultimately, it was the the breakdown of the rental generation, combined with failure of the cables, which caused the power supply difficulties on the island over the last few days.”

One Briland source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said seven of Harbour Island’s nine onisland generation units were out of action due to

mechanical breakdown and disrepair. They revealed that these units had been failing at a rate of one every two to three months, and said this situation had been known for at least six to eight months.

Questioning what BPL’s senior management knew about the situation, they added that the utility’s onisland personnel were required to send weekly reports to Rock Sound on the generation situation that were then passed on to the Nassau head office.

They also suggested that Nassau may have been misinformed about the nature of Harbour Island’s Christmas crisis, as senior BPL executives seemingly believed that the power was “going on and off” rather than being out continually.

“It was chaos on the island,” the source said. “I counted four to five yachts leaving Harbour Island myself from Valentine’s and Romora Bay. A house with 13 people left. Coral Sands was getting threats that if the power was not on this afternoon their hotel would be empty.

“They keep passing the buck and not fixing this problem on Harbour Island. As a local Brilander it gets you angry the way it is today.

When the previous government put the power plant in there, they had a company from the US that was maintaining the generators. When the new government came in they fired the company operating the generation plant.

“During the time they put engineers in, we never went without power for more than one hour. When those persons were operating the plant we had steady power for two years with no issues.

The moment they fired this group we went back to what we had faced for 20 years,” they added.

“No one replaced them and all of the engines went down. Every two to three months, one engine at a time went down, and the local technicians have no experience with the apparatus and switching equipment put in.

Where are you going to turn?

It’s like a game. They’re playing games with people’s lives, and playing politics instead of fixing the issue.

“Who are we to hold accountable? Imagine an island, the third best economy in The Bahamas, being in darkness for 48 hours.

No matter how you look at it, it was a complete failure on behalf of BPL and the government.”

The source added that one of the two trailer generators brought in also needed to be “synchronised” before it could be hooked up, resulting in it spending Christmas afternoon and evening waiting to produce power - a development that was effectively confirmed by BPL’s release.

‘Don’t be a victim’ over blacklistings FROM PAGE ONE basis that this country had been too slow in responding its its requests for legal co-operation and assistance on tax information

exchange matters, and also expressed dissatisfaction with the content.

Mr Komolafe argued that the French move should force The Bahamas to reassess its international

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and diplomatic relationships, especially since the government’s rationale for opening the embassy in Brussels at the European Union (EU) headquarters was to ensure this nation remained one step ahead of international regulatory initiatives impacting the financial services industry.

“We’ve passed various laws, changed the model to stay off the blacklists, but none of this has helped us to shed the tax haven label,” he told Tribune Business. “We’ve increased the cost of compliance, increased the cost of doing business, created attrition in the financial services industry.

“Our efforts have to count for something.

We’ve overhauled the financial services legislation and put in all these additional regulations. We must get something for it... In spite of what we believe is quite a robust regulatory framework, and we’ve been very co-operative as a financial services jurisdiction, people in the industry wonder what more is required of us to see The Bahamas continuing to end up on these lists.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, December 27, 2019, PAGE 5

EXUMA 56% ‘WILLING’ ON MOBILE PAYMENTS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MORE than half of Exuma residents are “likely” to use their mobile phones for financial transactions, making the island a fertile testing ground for the Central Bank’s digital Bahamian currency pilot.

The regulator’s survey of Exumian payments habits, unveiled prior to today’s pilot Project Sand Dollar launch, revealed that 96 percent of those surveyed own a mobile phone, with 40 percent already using these devices for bill payments or online transactions.

The survey of 519 residents, which was conducted both on the phone and door-to-door in July 2019, found that 56 percent

“were either likely or very likely” to use their mobile devices to pay bills in the future.

“The Exuma survey reveals a high rate of access to mobile devices, and a willingness of more than half of residents to undertake more payment on digital platforms,” the Central Bank said. “It is revealed also that more convenient access to financial services could induce more individuals to partake in traditional banking services.”

Some 93 percent of Exuma residents said they maintained a deposit account with a local bank, exceeding the 80 percent national average. However, just ten percent used online banking to access their deposit accounts.

“In an attempt to

determine if residents’ basic financial needs were being adequately addressed by banks, the survey queried individuals on the reason why any of them used web shop accounts,” the Central Bank said. “Half of the residents surveyed indicated that they did not own such accounts.

“Further, while 36 percent admitted that web shops were used strictly for gaming, some nine percent of respondents disclosed that they used these accounts for both gaming and savings, and three percent strictly for storing their savings.

The results showed that the greatest percentage (12 percent) of individuals who used web shop accounts for both gaming and savings were between 16-34 years-old.”

This same age group was also most likely to use their mobile device to make and receive financial payments, and conduct transactions. “As an indication of the potential for a wider embrace of digital services, respondents were asked whether they owned a mobile device,” the Central Bank said.

“The disclosed ownership rate was 96 percent.

Half of the owners indicated that they did not use their mobile devices to perform any transactions during the last six months, while 40 percent used their devices to pay bills and 39 percent used them to make purchases.

“Regarding the likelihood of individuals using their mobile devices to pay bills in the future, 37 percent of those surveyed were

so inclined. Nearly half of the younger respondents (16 and 34 years of age) were in this category.

Moreover, 37 percent of respondents said that they would be very likely to make a future purchase on their mobile device.”

Just two percent of those surveyed admitted to using web shop accounts for the movement of funds. “When asked about their willingness to use a mobile device to make or receive payments to conduct a number of activities, 56 percent of respondents stated that they were either likely or very likely to use a mobile device to pay a bill,” the Central Bank added.

“Comparatively, 43 percent of respondents stated that they were either unlikely or very unlikely to use a mobile device to pay

a bill... When questioned on their likeliness to use a mobile device to make a purchase, 34 percent of respondents said that they were very likely to do so, while 28 percent said that they would be very unlikely.

“Similar to the responses for making a purchase, 32 percent of respondents said they were very likely to receive a payment via mobile phone, while 28 percent said they were very unlikely to do so.”

The Central Bank added that opportunities existed to focus consumer education on cyber safety relating to financial services, and said: “For Project Sand Dollar, public awareness around security within the digital currency infrastructure will also have to be heavily emphasised.”

Bahamas ‘behind 8-ball’ but not too late on marijuana FROM PAGE ONE economy to further diversify by building an industry that would be majority-owned locally.

Mr McCartney, agreeing with the initial thoughts in the report, said: “I led the charge from 2016 for the decriminalisation of marijuana, its use particularly for medicinal purposes, and to build an economy.

“I think it’s a good step forward. It’s a preliminary report, a draft report that is not set in stone, but I look forward to it coming to fruition. You look at the model for Canada, and what the Canadians have done and how that economy has expanded as a result of the marijuana industry. We need to look at the industry itself, and ensure Bahamians and The Bahamas benefit from its primarily.”

The commission’s report did not go into detail on the likely economic benefits from developing a fully legalised, properly regulated medical marijuana industry in The Bahamas. It merely noted that the sector provided relatively high salaries elsewhere in the world and, besides jobs, the main benefits would be taxation and licensing fees for the government; the productive use of large areas of land; and the opportunity to create an industry that is majority Bahamian-owned.

“I certainly most welcome the draft report that was written,” Mr McCartney added. “I hope that it’s accepted and we can start moving post-haste with it. If we get it right certainly our economy should be boosted quite significantly, and no doubt that’s something we need as an industry.

“I just hope we can put in place the necessary elements to build this economy. We are a bit behind the 8-ball, but I don’t think it’s too late. We can get started and move. It’s the economy of the future, so let’s get started before it’s too late. I don’t think it’s too late at this stage, although it

could have been done earlier, but some progress has been made. It’s a matter of acting, and this administration needs to make sure it acts.”

The former DNA leader said he drew further encouragement from the prime minister’s publicly-stated position that he favours decriminalising possession of small amounts of marijuana and making the substance legal for medicinal and/or scientific purposes - a stance that mirrors his own.

“It can work hand in hand with the tourism industry, which is our number one industry,” Mr McCartney added of medical marijuana’s potential. “Certainly, I think the opportunities are endless in terms of medical marijuana and the industry being in The Bahamas, where we are able to produce the product.

“We are able to be in production, manufacturing the product and exporting it, and where the medical professionals are able to use it to treat persons in The Bahamas, especially those with chronic diseases that marijuana is known to help cure.

“I think it will boost the tourism industry by medical tourism, and produce more jobs through increased employment; certainly with the actual administration of the product through the doctors and the dispensing of it through the pharmaceutical industry.”

Mr McCartney added that medical marijuana “could be very instrumental in helping our government pay down its debt” via the additional tourism and export earnings, and taxation and licensing fees, that would be generated.

“It could surpass tourism,” he argued. “It could be, if we do it right, our number one industry. I would certainly look at that Canadian model. The companies involved in this industry are multi-billion dollar companies, and if you’re looking to invest

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those are companies you might want to invest in.”

The commission’s report recommended that Bahamian majority ownership of any local marijuana industry be stipulated, with a local equity stake that never drops below a minimum 51 percent. While joint ventures with foreign investors and companies would be permitted, their collective ownership interest should never exceed 49 percent.

Backing this suggestion, Mr McCartney told Tribune Business: “The government is going to have to ensure that happens. It’s a matter of regulation and the nature of the laws that the government puts in place to secure the industry for Bahamians.

“As an example, our number one industry, tourism, is not owned by Bahamians. Financial services, our number two industry, is not owned by Bahamians. We have an opportunity to get it right now, and allow Bahamians to have an opportunity to participate in this industry, which could be our number one industry in years to come.”

Mr McCartney said the DNA’s pre-election calls for the decriminalisation of marijuana had been used against the party, adding: “I guess it’s politics” now that both the government and opposition PLP appeared to be backing both the commission and its position.

RUPERT ROBERTS

PAUL MAYNARD

Super Value chief ‘welcomes’ BPL’s extra 15% charge FROM PAGE ONE make it work. That’s my thoughts.”

Mr Roberts spoke out after Dr Donovan Moxey, BPL’s chairman, finally clarified that the National Utility Investment Bond fee, which will service BPL’s new $650m debt, will be calculated as a percentage of every business and household’s energy consumption.

Many observers are likely to view BPL and the government as having been less than forthcoming on how much extra the private sector, especially, and many residential consumers will now have to pay to bail-out the state-owned utility monopoly from years of mismanagement, waste, inefficiency and corruption that brought it to near-collapse.

BPL’s advertisements have focused on the $27 increase that the “average household” will pay, giving some the impression that the debt servicing cost is a flat fee rather than a percentage, while ignoring how much the private sector will have to pay. It is also unclear whether the debt servicing charge will be calculated just on the consumption, or if VAT is included in the base, too.

Those with the largest monthly bills, such as hotels, food stores and companies where electricity has to be on 24/7, could thus find themselves potentially saddled with a significant hike in their electricity bills come early 2020 as the price Bahamians must pay for paying the interest/principal due to foreign and local investors who buy into the $650m bond issue that will

refinance BPL. Paul Maynard, the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union’s (BEWU) president, told Tribune Business he agreed that the state-owned utility had tried to lull consumers into a false sense of security over the debt servicing charge’s impact by focusing on the $27 for the “average household”.

“It’s a big increase,” he said. “Everybody is saying: Here comes the shoe. It’s dropped now. That’s the noise I’ve been hearing all day. This is not what people were led to believe. I said to BPL that you’ve got to be honest with people; you cannot pull figures out the sky. Businesses have got to plan. That 15 percent for a small business could be the difference between staying in business and having to pack up.”

PAGE 8, Friday, December 27, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THE CHILDREN AT RANFURLY

T

he Ranfurly Homes for Children has been a safe haven for thousands of Bahamian children since 1956. The Home provides a safe, structured environment for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected or abandoned.

YOU can make a difference in the lives of the children at Ranfurly. With your support children can have nutritious food, warm beds and a safe environment where they can discover the joy of being children. For years the children living and learning at Ranfurly have made great social and academic strides.

Their further development requires additional support in the form of a Transitional Home, planned for construction on the Ranfurly property.

This residence will cater to teenagers and young adults who are beyond school age, but need accommodation while they find work and gain independence from the Home.

We look forward to your continued support in this worthwhile endeavour.

MEMBERSHIP PACKAGES Individuals, Families & Corporate Sponsors Children Helping Children - $5 (Individual children from ages 6 - 18) Individuals Helping Children - $50 (Individual adults 18 years and over) Families Helping Children - $100

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BENEFITS

• Personal fulfillment in knowing you are impacting lives • Ranfurly children’s appreciation and positive response • Continued support provides stability and constant care

For more information visit: www.ranfurlyhome.org Please “Like” us on Facebook Ranfurly Home for Children, Mackey Street P.O. Box 1413 Nassau, Bahamas 242-393-3115

SUPPORT THE BLOOD BANK

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4 The Blood Bank will do FREE Pre-screening tests to make sure you are healthy enough to donate blood.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, December 26, 2019

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE PRIVATE ROADWAYS AND PARKING AREAS SITUATED IN THE HARBOUR BAY SHOPPING CENTRE BETWEEN EAST BAY STREET AND SHIRLEY STREET WILL BE CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY, 1ST OF JANUARY, 2020 IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP THEREOF.

THE OWNERS

, Eleuthera seeking qualified Restaurant Manager to join our Food & The Cove is Resort & a Spa, Eleuthera is seeking a essful candidate should have the following minimum requirements: qualified Restaurant Manager to join our Food & Beverage Team. The successful candidate should four-year College or university; or equivalent related work related experience have the following minimum requirements: od & beverage management experience and Sommelier preferred. Prefer 3+ skills and hotel/resort food and beverage operations experience. Must have lls, Bachelor’s excellent degree written and four-year verbal communication skills and be able to perform from College or universiasks with ease.

Computer skills required.

Strong ty; or equivalent related work related experience and/ guest service and team Must maintain current food handler’s certification. or training. Prior food & beverage management experience and Sommelier preferred. Prefer 3+ years’ prior supervisory skills and hotel/resort food and beverage ested applicants can forward their Resume and Cover Letter to: operations experience. Must have strong organiza tional skills, excellent written and verbal commuHuman.Resources@thecoveeleuthera.com nication skills and be able to perform and prioritize vanessa.taylor@thecoveeleuthera.com multiple tasks with ease. Computer skills required.

Strong guest service and team member relations skills.

Must maintain current food handler’s certification.

All interested applicants can forward their Resume and Cover Letter to:

Human.Resources@thecoveeleuthera.com vanessa.taylor@thecoveeleuthera.com

PAGE 10, Friday, December 27, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

MARKETS IN 2019: RECORD STOCKS, LOWER RATES, SO-SO IPOS

By ALEX VEIGA Associated Press ON January 3, the S&P 500 sank 2.5% when Apple warned of sagging demand for the iPhone, an inauspicious start to 2019 following a 14% drubbing in last year’s fourth quarter.

On January 4, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell said the central bank would be “patient” with its interest rate policy following four increases in 2018. The S&P 500 soared 3.4% and by the end of the month was up nearly 8%.

January’s swing helped set the tone for a year in which the market responded to every downturn with a more sustained upswing. Along the way, stocks kept setting records — 32 of them for the S&P 500 by Dec 20, and 19 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

By its final policy meeting in December, the Fed had completely reversed course and cut rates three times in what Powell called a pre-emptive move against any impact a sluggish global economy and the US-China trade war might have on US economic growth. The stock market, and most Fed observers not named Trump, approved of the Fed’s actions.

Investors’ uncertainty over trade policy eased by December as Washington

and Beijing reached a modest, interim agreement that averted a new round of tariffs on $160bn worth of Chinese imports and reduced existing import taxes on about $112bn in other Chinese goods.

While the pact left unresolved some of the thorniest issues between the two countries, investors appeared happy to have a de-escalation in trade tensions now and push off lingering concerns until 2020.

Through it all, the US economy and consumers’ appetite for spending remained resilient, supporting the market’s record-shattering, year-end rally.

ALMOST EVERYTHING’S A WINNER Investments around the world were winners in 2019 as central banks unleashed more stimulus to bolster the global economy against the damage created by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Not only did US stocks rise, so did high-quality bonds, low-quality bonds and foreign stocks. Among the few losers: junk bonds with the very lowest credit ratings, but a better performance from bonds with bad but not the worst ratings meant high-yield indexes still generally made gains.

KEEPS ON TICKING The US economy withstood a number of challenges in 2019. President Trump’s

trade war with China intensified as both sides increased tariffs. Fears of recession spiked in late summer and fall as exports fell and businesses, facing higher costs on imported goods, cut back spending on new machinery and equipment. Overseas economies also stumbled, with Germany nearly falling into recession and growth in the UK slowing amid Brexit uncertainty. Still, the US consumer kept spending as the unemployment rate hit a 50-year low and wage growth picked up for workers outside managerial ranks. Most economists expect modest growth in 2020.

MIXED REVIEWS For initial public offerings, 2019 was like a year in Hollywood: There were some phenomenal successes and some notable flops.

Ride-hailing giant Uber and rival Lyft were huge disappointments.

Videoconference company Zoom and workplace messaging company Slack each soared on their first day of trading, but while Zoom kept zooming Slack, well, slacked off after that. For non-tech companies, Beyond Meat and its plant-based burgers hit the spot while SmileDirectClub produced mostly frowns. WeWork’s botched IPO signaled a change in IPO investors’ mindset.

TECH IS CHIPPER Technology stocks soared in 2019 and far outpaced

every other sector in the S&P 500. Chipmakers, including Advanced Micro Devices and Lam Research, made some of the biggest gains, despite a trade war that threatened business in China. Apple and Microsoft had their biggest share gains in a decade and each topped $1tn in market value.

Energy stocks gained the least amid concerns that oil supply is outpacing demand.

EARNINGS EASE UP Corporate profits hit the brakes in 2019, a year after a big tax cut helped juice results. On top of no longer getting the benefit of the first year of lower tax rates, a slowing global economy weighed on company revenues. If S&P 500 companies end up reporting four straight quarters of declines for 2019, as analysts expect, it would be the first time that’s happened since 201516. Still, analysts tend to set low expectations that most companies are able to beat, so investors aren’t panicked by the slower profit growth.

CAN NEGATIVE BE A POSITIVE? Would you pay someone to lend money to them?

The practice has become more common around the world — $13tn in bonds globally had negative yields as of November, according to Deutsche Bank. Much of that total is from Japan, France and Germany, countries that account for nearly

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that WILLY DERECK LAFRANCE of South Beach, Nassau ,Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of December 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that JACKSON PAUL of Shirley Street P.O.Box SB-52895, Nassau ,Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of December 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

a quarter of all the world’s bonds. It’s the result of shock-therapy by the European Central Bank and others to try to jolt their economies and inflation higher.

THE FED’S U-TURN The Federal Reserve changed course on interest rate policy this year, cutting its benchmark rate three times after more than two years of increases.

Chairman Jerome Powell portrayed those cuts as “insurance” against a slowdown resulting from weak global growth. Prior to late 2015, the Fed had been keeping rates at a record low near zero to stimulate the economy. In December, the Fed said it was prepared to keep rates low at least through next year.

“HOME” RUN A strong labor market and a steady decline in mortgage rates stoked demand among would-be homeowners this year, driving U.S. home sales higher. A persistently limited supply of previously occupied homes for sale at a time when millennials are increasingly seeking to become homeowners also helped to stoke demand, even though affordability remained a challenge in many markets.

The housing trends favored US homebuilders, whose shares surged well above

the broader market.

CLICKS AGAIN OUTSHINE BRICKS Retailers had a mixed year as they continued beefing up their online sales strategies amid declining foot traffic. Department stores, and Macy’s in particular, fell sharply. Specialty retailers did much better, with electronics retailer Best Buy, car dealership chain CarMax and home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe’s among those making sharp gains. As the year wound down, retailers were hoping that low unemployment, higher wages and the record-setting stock market would translate into a robust holiday shopping season.

PROTEIN PUSH Plant-based meat has gone mainstream. Beyond Meat, which makes burgers and sausages from pea protein, had one of the most successful IPOs of the year.

Burger King’s soy-based Impossible Whopper was a big hit. Tyson Foods, Nestle and Kellogg all introduced plant-based meats. Health and animal welfare concerns are driving the trend.

US plant-based meat sales jumped 10% this year, to nearly $1bn; traditional meat sales rose 2% to $95bn in that same time, Nielsen says.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

TUESDAY, 24 DECEMBER 2019

NOTICE

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,186.97 | CHG: -10.91 | %CHG: -0.50 | YTD: 77.52 | YTD%: 3.67 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.10 2.60 2.00 5.47 11.75 6.17 4.50 11.01 2.81 4.35 10.21 7.90 16.99 9.40 3.63 14.20

52WK LOW 3.35 20.91 4.90 4.46 1.45 0.22 2.00 9.50 5.60 3.95 6.75 2.35 1.76 8.00 6.25 12.15 6.80 3.01 13.01

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 3.59 17.43 6.00 6.10 2.35 1.80 4.40 11.06 6.16 4.25 8.01 3.28 4.35 10.25 7.60 15.16 9.33 3.50 14.00

CLOSE 3.59 17.43 6.00 6.10 2.35 1.80 4.40 11.06 6.16 4.25 8.01 3.32 4.35 10.27 7.60 15.05 9.33 3.29 14.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.02 0.00 -0.11 0.00 -0.21 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME

1,000 578,128

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 1.760 0.369 0.070 0.000 -0.438 0.722 0.449 0.184 0.140 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.939 0.203 0.631

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 15.0 18.7 N/M 16.5 N/M N/M -10.0 15.3 13.7 23.1 57.2 32.5 9.3 15.9 10.4 18.4 9.9 16.2 22.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 4.74% 7.23% 0.00% 4.26% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 6.51% 3.57% 2.82% 0.00% 13.07% 1.38% 3.19% 3.16% 3.59% 2.14% 3.65% 4.36% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.06% 3.81% 1.91% 3.39% 2.23% 2.75% 4.99% 6.20% 7.18% -0.08% 2.88% 3.80% 4.56% 6.50% 3.35% 4.17% 5.77% 7.89% 10.91% 11.57% 17.57% 18.60% 4.72% 5.08% 13.44% 13.49% 5.38% 5.44% 3.28% 3.80% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%

NAV Date 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 25-Oct-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Nov-2019 30-Nov-2019 30-Nov-2019 30-Nov-2019 30-Nov-2019 30-Nov-2019

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.27 4.32 2.08 194.86 158.57 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.21 8.31 10.26 6.91 11.76 12.32 10.74 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.58 1.69 1.66 1.09 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.27 4.32 2.08 193.72 158.42 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.19 8.29 10.16 6.91 11.76 12.32 10.72 9.92 8.68 11.38

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

NOTICE is hereby given that ODLY BELLOT of Treasure Cay, Abaco, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of December, 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ASHELEY BRIDGETTE TILME of Bluebell Avenue P.O.Box SB-52895, Nassau ,Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of December 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JANET NORTH of 4IE Hearn Lane, Freeport ,Grand Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of December 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

PAGE 12, Friday, December 27, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Former Uber CEO Kalanick severs ties with ride-hailing giant NEW YORK Associated Press TRAVIS Kalanick, who built Uber into a ride-hailing giant, only to be ousted as CEO over the company’s sexist “bro” culture, is cashing out.

Kalanick disclosed on Tuesday that he has sold off all his Uber stock — estimated at more than $2.5bn — and is resigning from the board of directors, severing ties to the company he cofounded a decade ago.

“Uber has been a part of my life for the past ten years. At the close of the decade, and with the company now public, it seems like the right moment for me to focus on my current business and philanthropic pursuits,” the 43-yearold entrepreneur said in a statement.

Uber, based in San Francisco, transformed the way people get around and how they make a living, too, turbocharging the gig economy and undermining the taxi industry. Its nearly four million drivers around the globe have logged 15 billion trips since 2010, when Kalanick and Garrett Camp came up with the idea of hailing a ride from a smartphone after a trip to Paris when they couldn’t find a taxi.

But Kalanick was fired as CEO in the summer of 2017 with the company mired in lawsuits.

Uber under Kalanick

FORMER Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, pictured, will resign from the company’s board next week, effectively severing ties with the company he co-founded a decade ago. grew with incredible speed, but like a number of other tech startups, it ran into trouble with a corporate culture that appeared at times to be spinning out of control. Before his ouster as chief executive, Kalanick acknowledged he needed to “fundamentally change and grow up”.

His career at Uber seemed to fit a certain pattern seen in Silicon Valley: The brash and disruptive personalities who are great at creating startups can be ill-suited for the corner office when the company reaches maturity. Sometimes “adult supervision” in the form of experienced executives has to be brought in.

In one of the Uber’s biggest scandals, Kalanick was accused of presiding over a workplace environment that allowed rampant sexual harassment.

A former Uber engineer, Susan Fowler, leveled sexual harassment and sexism allegations in a 2017 blog post, saying a boss — not Kalanick — had propositioned her and higher-ups had ignored her complaints. Kalanick called the accusations “abhorrent” and hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate. Holder recommended reducing Kalanick’s responsibilities.

After multiple investigations, Uber fired 20 employees accused of sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation against those who complained. This month, the company paid $4.4m to settle a federal investigation over workplace misconduct.

The problems went beyond employee relations.

Waymo, the self-driving car company spun off from Google, sued Uber in 2017, alleging a top manager at Google stole pivotal technology from the company before leaving to run Uber’s self-driving car division.

Uber also gained a reputation under Kalanick for running roughshod over regulators, launching in markets before officials were able to draft rules and regulations to keep the ridehailing business in check.

During Kalanick’s tenure, The New York Times

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revealed that Uber used a phony version of its app to thwart authorities in cities where it was operating illegally. Uber’s software identified regulators who were posing as riders and blocked access to them. The US Justice Department is investigating.

“Many investors will be glad to see this dark chapter in the rear view mirror,” Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, said in a note to investors.

Kalanick, through a spokeswoman, declined to be interviewed on Tuesday.

Kalanick is not alone among visionary tech entrepreneurs who have stumbled after building startups from nothing.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has had too loose a grip on his Twitter habit and has been fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors with a tweet. He was also sued for defamation, but ultimately cleared, for going on Twitter and calling a British cave explorer “pedo guy” — short for “pedophile”.

Adam Neumann, the former CEO of WeWork, recently stepped aside after the workplace-sharing company canceled its initial public offering amid concerns about his judgment, including his use of WeWork stock to secure a $500m personal loan.

After Kalanick’s ouster, former Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was brought on as Uber’s chief executive to clean up its image and steer the company to its stock market debut in May. But Uber’s stock floundered and fell almost 11% in its first day of trading as a public company. It has tumbled more than 30% since.

“Let’s call it like it is: Uber stock has been a nightmare since the IPO coming out of the gates,” Ives said.

Kalanick had been one of Uber’s biggest shareholders, owning 9% of the company at the time of the IPO. Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst at Navigant Research, said it was not surprising Kalanick sold his stake.

“He, like everyone else, probably realises now that Uber and its competitors are unlikely to reach sustainable profitability in the foreseeable future,” Abuelsamid said. “Automated vehicles are not the saviour for ride hailing and won’t be mainstream for many years.

With that in mind, his Uber stake is probably as valuable as it will get for a long time, if not forever.”