dna unveils first - ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu · 13/5/2011 · ly believe that if you put people...

NASSAU AND BAHAMA ISLANDS’ LEADING NEWSPAPER

Volume: 107 No.141 FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2011 PRICE – 75¢ (Abaco and Grand Bahama $1.25)

WEATHER

SUNSHINE,CLOUDS

HIGH 84FLOW 73F

SPOR

TS

SEE SPORTS IN SECTION E

A second for Leevan Sands

By PAUL G TURNQUESTTribune Staff [email protected]

BAMBOO TOWN Memberof Parliament BranvilleMcCartney unveiled nine of hisDemocratic National Allianceparty’s general election candi-dates at the official DNAlaunch last night.

Before a packed ballroomat the Wyndham NassauBahamas Resort, Mr Cartneyannounced the following can-didates: Chelphene Cunning-ham, Garden Hills; Floyd Arm-brister – Exuma; Sammy Poiti-er- South Beach; Farrel Goff –Clifton; Ben Albury – Mon-tagu; Adrian Laroda – MICAL;Roscoe Thompson – SouthAbaco; Charlene Paul – Eliza-beth and Alfred Poitier –Kennedy.

As the leader of this newpolitical party, Mr McCartneysaid that he would not be mak-ing any sweeping politicalpromises as he, like the generalpublic, is tired of the rhetoric of“talk with no action.” MrMcCartney said that his recordin public life thus far speaks foritself and he is not afraid “to

get the job done.”Mr McCartney said that the

DNA believes in delivering asimple, clear, and concise actionplan for the nation, with theone simple truth that they firm-ly believe that if you put peoplefirst, “everything else will takecare of itself.”

“Tonight, my fellowBahamians, I implore you tojoin with us and let us togetherbuild The Bahamas, which wedeserve after 44 years of major-ity rule and 38 years of inde-pendence. Tonight and everynight until the day of electionwe must say in one loudresounding voice –we will bethe change we want to see!Now more than ever, is thetime for change – a time for anew breed of governance tomove our country safely pastthis most pressing sociallyvolatile crossroad in our coun-try’s history,” he said.

Mr McCartney noted that inthe coming weeks and monthsthere would be a litany of per-sons saying that he is either tooyoung, or too inexperienced, orthat the “timing” is wrong for a

Official launchof new party

COOKIES ANDCREAM

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DNA unveils firstelection candidates

THE BAHAMAS BIGGEST

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By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune Staff [email protected]

FOUR of the seven children whowere trapped inside their burninghome remain in Intensive Care atPrincess Margaret Hospital sufferingfrom severe smoke inhalation.

At least one of the childrenreceived some burns during the trag-ic fire that claimed the lives of threeyoungsters living on Sandilands Vil-lage Road, The Tribune was told.

The four children – aged one, four,five and 10 – were said to be uncon-

By MEGAN REYNOLDSTribune Staff [email protected]

A FAMILY fair and fundraiser atArawak Cay tomorrow will help covermore than $1 million in medical bills for achild recovering from a deadly skin disor-der who lost her mother to breast cancerlast month.

Ravyn Deveaux, eight, returned homein February following ten weeks of treat-ment and two surgeries at the Joe DiMag-gio Children’s Hospital in Fort Lauderdalefor complications caused by Stevens–John-son Syndrome (SJS).

Ravyn developed the disease as a reac-tion to medication she had been pre-

By DENISE MAYCOCKTribune Freeport [email protected]

EXUMA resident Terry Bain,spokesman for the Save The Exuma Park(STEP) committee, was arrested by policein Farmer’s Cay yesterday.

His wife Ernestine told The Tribunethree officers came to their restaurant atOcean Cabin and took her husband intocustody around 4pm.

Mrs Bain believes his arrest is connect-ed with his ongoing opposition to thedredging and excavation at the Bell Islandin the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.

“He has been speaking out and doing alot of shows on the radio educating

SEE page 15 SEE page eight SEE page eight

CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED FIRE STILL IN INTENSIVE CARE

FUNDRAISER FOR BEREAVEDGIRL WITH SKIN DISORDER

STEP COMMITTEE SPOKESMANTERRY BAIN IS ARRESTED

By NOELLE NICOLLSTribune Staff [email protected]

CRISIS Centre advocateshave expressed concern overthe increasing prevalence ofdomestic violence, as policeofficials revealed they arresteda man in connection with anincident that left a womanparalysed.

Leon Bethel, head of theCentral Detective Unit, said thepolice are expecting formalcharges to be filed soon in con-nection with reports that awoman suffered injuries in adomestic dispute.

According to a Tribunesource, the man now in police

SEE page 15

ABUSIVE MEN ‘USINGMURDER IMAGES’ TOTHREATEN PARTNERS

SEE page eight

LAUNCH: DemocraticNational Alliance andBamboo Town MPBranville McCartneyspeaks to the capacitycrowd at the WyndhamNassau Bahamas Resortlast night. The DNA wasofficially launched andunveiled nine of its can-didates for the 2012general election.

Felipé Major/Tribune staff

LOCAL NEWS

PAGE 2, FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2011 THE TRIBUNE

NASSAU AND BAHAMA ISLANDS’ LEADING NEWSPAPER


FREEPORT – The newly-built Collegeof the Bahamas Northern Campus in GrandBahama was officially opened by PrimeMinister Hubert Ingraham yesterday.

Mr Ingraham commended COB’s lead-ership, particularly former college presi-dent Janyne Hodder, for responding to theurgent need for construction of the cam-pus by obtaining $10 million financingthrough the Royal Bank of Canada.

Construction began in 2008. The first twophases of the project include construction ofa 40,000 sq ft facility that comprises some 18classrooms, language, computer and sciencelaboratories, a library, bookstore, andadministrative offices.

Vernon Wells of Reef Construction wasthe general contractor and Dirk Saunders ofJackson Burnside Ltd was the architect.

The new campus is situated on 50 acres ofland in Lucaya Estates, donated by theGrand Bahama Port Authority.

Mr Ingraham thanked the Port Authori-ty for donating 200 acres of land to COB.He recognised the late chairman Edward StGeorge for the transfer of the initial 50acres of land.

COB chairman T Baswell Donaldson andCOB president Dr Betsy Vogel-Boze werealso present at the opening and addressedthose attending.

Mr Donaldson said the new campus isanother example of what can be achievedthrough public-private sector partnerships.

“On this occasion, nearly six years from

when we first officially broke ground in2005, we celebrate and we thank all ourpartners who made this day possible,” hesaid.

In her address, Dr Vogel-Boze revealedthat the campus in Grand Bahama will serveas the centre for the college’s baccalaureatedegree in maritime studies that will becomethe signature programme at the northerncampus.

“This is a natural fit considering that theBahamas is one of the top three ship reg-istries in the world,” she said.

Prime Minister Ingraham said it is sig-nificant that a flagship programme of thecampus in Grand Bahama will be in thearea of maritime studies.

He noted that the Bahamas is recognisedas a world-renowned international maritimecentre. And Grand Bahama, he said, isknown as a major centre for ship repair andcontainer transshipment.

“I understand from college officials thatthey have already collaborated with severalinternational institutions, including the StateUniversity of New York (SUNY) and Hol-land College, both of which seek to enterpartnerships with the College of the Bahamasin maritime studies,” Mr Ingraham said.

“Both institutions have certification ofthe International Maritime Organisationand both are prepared to offer their pro-grammes and allow their faculty to teachin Grand Bahama as well as host COB stu-dents on their respective campuses.”

Mr Ingraham said he believes this willencourage students from North Americato consider the Bahamas as a viable choicefor pursuing studies in maritime science.

Additionally, he noted that the presence

of the Ross University Medical School inGrand Bahama, offering medical studiesfor students from the US, and the emergingopportunity to make the northern campusa centre for maritime studies, demonstratesthe potential for Grand Bahama to developinto a major off-shore education sector,creating significant opportunities foremployment, income generation, businessdevelopment and additional study oppor-tunities for Bahamians.

The prime minister said tertiary educa-tion is becoming imperative for all whoseek to maximise opportunities in today’sworld.

He noted that the government is com-mitted to ensuring that Bahamians receivehigher education by providing more than $6million annually in scholarships for collegestudies for Bahamian students, including$1 million ear-marked for COB.

“It is what led us to take the enormousrisk of providing some $100 million in edu-cation loan guarantees, giving thousands ofstudents the opportunity to further pursuetertiary level education and career training.

“Though we are challenged by the non-repayment of many student loans, weremain fully committed to the young peopleof our country,” said the prime minister.

Future plans for the northern campusinclude a transformation to a fully residen-tial campus community that accommodatesstudents from throughout the Bahamas,especially the northern Bahamas.

The Grand Bahama campus has anenrolment of 600 students, 13 full-time fac-ulty, 20 non-faculty staff, and in the pastSpring semester, 42 part-time instructionalfaculty.

PM officially opens COB Northern Campus in Grand Bahama

PRIME Minister Hubert Ingraham at the official opening of theFreeport campus on Thursday.

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MINISTER of Education Desmond Bannister cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the official opening of the College of the Bahamas' Northern Cam-pus, Freeport. Pictured from left is COB president Dr Betsy Vogel-Boze; Ginger Moxey, vice- president of the Grand Bahama PortAuthority; Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Minister Bannister and COB council chairman T Baswell Donaldson.

By CELESTE NIXONTribune Staff [email protected]

THE Royal Bahamas PoliceForce is forging a relationshipwith an online and distancelearning institute as it seeks toencourage its officers to furthertheir education, skills and train-ing.

Law enforcement officersfrom the various agenciesattended a “lunch and learn”information session at policeheadquarters yesterday held bythe US-based Kaplan Univer-sity as part of the police’s planto fulfil its training mandate.

Kaplan University vice-pres-ident international Wade Brittwas on present to answer ques-tions about online studies, whatthey are like, why they can beright for police officers and

what courses are available.“We enjoy creating alliances

with different organisationsincluding civil and private busi-nesses where we can come inand speak to the staff about theopportunities they have to fur-ther their education online,”said Mr Britt.

According to Mr Britt, onlineeducation has been availablefor about ten years with numer-ous universities across the USembracing it as a beneficialchannel for education.

He said it is especially advan-tageous to employers to havetheir employees study online asthey are able to retain theirkey workers while their staffimprove their skills and knowl-edge.

In today’s global community,competition puts an “onus onthe individual to keep their

skills and knowledge as current,timely and up-to-date as possi-ble; you must be a life longlearner,” said Mr Britt.

Kaplan University has anumber of wide-ranging degreeand certificate programmes inthe criminal justice field includ-ing associate, bachelor andmasters of science in criminaljustice programmes.

Executive chairman of thePolice Staff Association DwightSmith said he is very excitedabout the opportunities thatKaplan University provides,especially as the force is movingtowards having “professionalofficers.”

“What we are trying to do asa police department, and

extending it to the wider com-munity, is to educate to thepoint that we are able to com-pete for top positions,” said MrSmith.

He explained that online ser-vices allow those who have full-time jobs or cannot afford uni-versity tuition abroad to con-tinue their education andobtain degrees.

LOCAL NEWS

THE TRIBUNE FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2011, PAGE 3

By CELESTE NIXONTribune Staff [email protected]

POLICE officials yesterdayreported a decline in fatalitiesand serious injuries due to traf-fic accidents since the enforce-ment of the seat belt law.

During a press briefing ontraffic statistics for the first partof 2011 at the Traffic Divisionyesterday, Superintendent Car-olyn Bowe announced thatsince the enforcement of theseat belt law traffic fatalitieshave noticeably decreased.

“Since 2011, the trafficdepartment has recorded 13traffic fatalities compared to the18 last year, and seen a decreasesince the enactment of the seatbelt law,” she said.

According to Supt Bowe,since January the departmenthas reported 4,058 fixed penal-ties ranging from driving on thewrong side of the road, drivingwithout properly working head

and break lights, running trafficlights, not obeying traffic signsand tinted windows. The depart-ment also conducted 15 roadchecks.

Addressing the many road-work projects going on through-out New Providence and thefrustrations they cause themotoring public, second officerin-charge of Traffic DennisSturrup said that with the cur-

rent road conditions it is evenmore important that motoristsadhere to road signs.

“Those diversion signs areput in place not only to ensurethe safety of the motorist, butalso for pedestrians and work-ers,” he said.

Mr Sturrup said the policehas and will continue to be“forceful” in enforcing lawsagainst persons who commit

infractions by not followingdiversion signs.

He added that “roadworksare important not only for ushere at Traffic, but throughoutthe length and breadth of theBahamas, therefore we cannotover emphasise the point thatwherever a diversion is, no mat-ter how small or inconvenient,we must ensure that it isadhered to.”

POLICE are still investigating the cause of Wednesday’sfire in the area of Fritz Lane and Strachan's Corner that lefttwo families homeless.

According to the head of the police’s Fire Services UnitSuperintendent Jeffrey Deleveaux, investigators have not yetpinpointed the cause of the blaze.

"At this time we don't know exactly," Mr Deleveaux said. He added that only two homes were destroyed in the fire

while others in the area received minimal damage. The fire chief said personnel from the Department of

Social Services as well as the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency (NEMA) are on the scene to offer assistance tothe displaced families.

The fire was the second of two in the capital which taxedfirefighters on Wednesday.

The first blaze occurred at Sandilands Village Road in theElizabeth constituency, killing three young children and leav-ing their four siblings in the Intensive Care Unit in hospital.

By NATARIO McKENZIETribune Staff [email protected]

ATTORNEYS representing the Judicial and Legal ServicesCommission and the Attorney General were granted leave yester-day to appeal a ruling on costs over the judicial review applicationof veteran prosecutor Cheryl Grant-Bethell.

Last month, Senior Justice Jon Isaacs ordered the government topay 90 per cent of the costs incurred by Mrs Grant-Bethell duringher application for a judicial review although the application itselfwas unsuccessful. She had filed an application for a judicial reviewof the JLSC’s decision not to appoint her to the post of Director ofPublic Prosecutions (DPP). Senior Justice Isaacs also ruled that theAttorney General should receive 20 per cent of his taxed costsfrom Mrs Grant-Bethell. The judge stated in his ruling yesterday: “Ihave no hesitation in granting both the JLSC and the AG leave toappeal my order as to costs because I think it is desirable for thestreams of justice to flow clearly; and it is for the appellate court todetermine whether an inferior tribunal has erred or not. It does notinure to the good administration of justice for my decision to standand if I acted arbitrarily or exercised my decision on irrelevantgrounds, the respondents must be allowed to test my decision.”

He further stated: “I do not abdicate my responsibility to act asa sieve nor do I second-guess my decision by enabling the respon-dents to appeal. If I am wrong, the Court of Appeal will say so andthat is the nature of our justice system. Even if I was to entertaindoubts as to the merits of the respondents’ appeals I should be slowto dismiss their applications.”

Senior Justice Isaacs noted that attorney Maurice Glinton, whorepresented Mrs Grant-Bethell, had submitted that the respon-dents would have to demonstrate that he, as the judge in this case,“made some error going to jurisdiction and they have not shown thatin their draft notices of appeal.”

Thomas Evans, QC, who represented the JLSC and Brian Simms,QC, who represented the Attorney General, argued that the judgeis only called upon to determine if the appeals have some chance ofsuccess, and that if he found that there was some merit in thegrounds laid out in the draft notices of appeals, to grant themleave to move ahead.

POLICE INVESTIGATE CAUSE OF FIRETHAT LEFT TWO FAMILIES HOMELESSDecline in traffic fatalities

after seatbelt enforcement

ATTORNEYS GET LEAVE TO APPEALGRANT-BETHEL COSTS RULING

DWIGHT SMITH, executive chairman of the Police Staff Association(left), and Wade Britt, vice-president international of Kaplan University.

Tim Clarke/Tribune staff

POLICE FORCE FORGES RELATIONSHIPWITH US-BASED KAPLAN UNIVERSITY

Share your newsThe Tribune wants to hearfrom people who aremaking news in theirneighbourhoods. Perhapsyou are raising funds for agood cause, campaigningfor improvements in thearea or have won anaward.If so, call us on 322-1986and share your story.

SUPERINTENDENT CAROLYN BOWE speaks to members of the media yesterday. Tim Clarke/Tribune staff

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I have today received theattached notice of revisedparking fees at GrandBahama International Air-port raising the charges from$144 to $700 per month forlong-term parking and to$30 per night for visitors.

The exorbitant amountthat is being charged is wayabove the norm for any air-port in the world that wantsprivate aircraft parked there.

My interpretation of thisnotice is that whoever decid-ed on the 400 per centincrease in fees had the solepurpose of pricing Freeportout of the private civil avia-tion market.

A small airport like GBIAshould be doing just theopposite to attract all thetraffic they can to add totheir income and by doingso help to fight the unem-ployment situation plaguingthe Island.

I cannot believe this moveby ASIG was sanctioned byeither the Bahamian Gov-ernment or Grand BahamaPort Authority due to theobvious negative affect forGrand Bahama.

The following are rates forsome of the facilities on oth-

er islands competing withGrand Bahama (they will bevery happy to see the newcharges at GBIA which canonly enhance their futurebusiness):

Executive Flight Support– Nassau, New Providence$10/night, $200/month

Odyssey, Nassau –$15/night, $265/month

Odyssey, Exuma – NoParking Fees

Cherokee Air – MarshHarbour, Abaco $10/night,$180/month

White Crown Aviation –North Eleuthera $10/night,$150/month

Freeport – GrandBahama $30/night,$700/month.

In addition, most of theother facilities waive theirfacility fee when fuel is pur-chased.

Maybe it is proposed tomake some income fromcharging “Overfly Fees” forpassing through GrandBahama airspace on the way

to another Bahamian air-port.

A side affect of the out-rageous new charges drivingaircraft away from GrandBahama is that volunteerslike myself, who for morethan 20 years have offeredmy services to Bahamas AirSea Rescue Association andhave successfully found amultitude of missing boatsand aircraft, contributing tosaving many lives, will nolonger be able to afford tooperate from GrandBahama.

CAPT JOHN P M ROBERTSFormer aviation manage-

ment positions: Bahamas Airways -

Deputy Operations Manag-er;

Bahama World Airlines -Director of Flight Opera-tions;

Sudan Airways - Directorof Flight Operations;

Saudi Arabian Airlines -General Manager; SpecialFlight Services (RoyalFlights).

Freeport,Grand Bahama,April 14, 2011.

EDITORIAL/LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


The Tribune LimitedNULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master

LEON E. H. DUPUCH, Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972Contributing Editor 1972-1991

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

Published Daily Monday to Saturday

Shirley Street, P.O. Box N-3207, Nassau, BahamasInsurance Management Building., P.O. F-485, Freeport, Grand Bahama

WEBSITEwww.tribune242.com – updated daily at 2pm

NUUK, Greenland — The United States,Russia and other nations have agreed tocoordinate Arctic search-and-rescue mis-sions, a small step toward international coop-eration in a fast-changing frontier threat-ened by looming fights over resources andmilitary dominion.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton said Thursday's agreement amongthe eight-nation Arctic Council highlightsthe growing importance of the Arctic, whereclimate change is creating new shippingroutes, fishing grounds and oil and gasdrilling opportunities. Russia, which has laiddisputed claim to much Arctic territory, par-ticipated in the very limited agreement tohelp stranded fishermen and the like.

A warming planet could open up vastamounts of wealth to be exploited, but dra-matically alter life as we know it. Over thecoming decades, rising sea levels are expect-ed to change coastlines and inundate smallislands, while altering the habitats of plantsand wildlife. Low-lying areas fromBangladesh to Florida could be among thehardest hit.

Clinton said the U.S. and the other coun-tries would pursue new tourism, shippingand industrial avenues "in a smart and sus-tainable way that preserves the Arctic envi-ronment and ecosystems." She said shelooked forward to "continued collaborationin the years to come."

The United States has said it wants thecooperation pact with Russia, Canada, Nor-way, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Ice-land to be a template for agreement on morepressing national security issues.

Four years ago, Russia staked its claim tosupremacy in the Arctic and to control asmuch as a quarter of the world's oil and gasreserves. Russia planted a titanium flag onthe ocean floor and argued that an under-water ridge connected the country directly tothe North Pole. The United States does notrecognize the Russian assertion and has itsown claims, along with Denmark, Norwayand Canada. Companies from ExxonMobilCorp. to Royal Dutch Shell plc also wantto get in on the action.

"The 21st Century will see a fight forresources, and Russia should not be defeat-ed in this fight," the country's ambassador toNATO, Dmitriy Rogozin, is quoted as sayingin a classified U.S. diplomatic cable pub-lished Thursday by the WikiLeaks website."NATO has sensed where the wind comesfrom. It comes from the North."

Cables relay the Russian view of a coldpeace in the Arctic, where "one cannotexclude that in the future there will be aredistribution of power, up to armed inter-vention," according to Russian Navy chief

Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky. And they warnof "the potential of increased military threatsin the Arctic," citing Russian aircraft carrieractivity of Norway's coast.

The biennial Arctic Council meeting istiptoeing around the tougher questions ofterritorial claims, while looking at ways tolessen the effect of greenhouse gases thatare making the Arctic region warm fasterthan the rest of the world. The countriesalso are pledging to develop a plan to pre-vent an oil spill in an environment that wouldmake cleanup a logistical nightmare.

Research points to ice melting faster thanexpected and global sea levels rising by 2 to5 feet this century; soot from truck engines,aircraft emissions, forest fires and fossil fuel-burning stoves contributing to the thaw; andpossibly a 25 per cent jump in mercury emis-sions this decade. These would threatenpolar bears, whales, seals and the mainlyindigenous communities who hunt those ani-mals for food.

The United States has yet to ratify theUnited Nations' 1982 Law of the Sea treatyregulating the ocean's use for military, trans-portation and mineral extraction purposes.One hundred sixty countries have acceded tothe pact and the Bush and Obama adminis-trations have lent their support, and Clintonon Thursday reiterated its importance. Butopposition in the Senate means the U.S.could be frozen out of some of the region'sspoils.

Other cables released Thursday show theU.S. intensifying its relationship with Den-mark's largely autonomous island of Green-land partly to strengthen the relationshipand ward off the Chinese, "who have shownincreasing interest in Greenland's naturalresources."

Greenland is described as "just one big oilstrike away" from independence, with U.S.companies poised to share in lucrative dealson the island's west coast, said to rivalAlaska's North Slope in oil and gas reserves.Denmark's former foreign minister, mean-while, jokingly threatened that U.S. inac-tion on Law of the Seas means "the rest of uswill have more to carve up in the Arctic."

Greenlanders are generally optimistic asthe government recently allowed a Scottishcompany to drill just outside of Nuuk. Yetthey see the melting ice hurting the hunt fortraditional food sources like reindeer andmusk ox, said Gorm Vold, a 33-year-oldGreenlandic government worker. A giantpost box filled with letters to Santa wasbehind him in the harbour.

"Perhaps Santa Claus will have to move alittle further north," Vold joked.

(This article was written by Bradley Klap-per of the Associated Press).

Parking fees atGB International

Airport areexorbitant

[email protected]

US, others to cooperate on Arctic rescues

EDITOR. The Tribune.

It was 5:50pm on Friday on the way home when I had to stop atthe light at Montagu. I was in the left lane and a car pulled up onmy right side, which I assumed was going to turn right; which iswhat is supposed to happen, however to my amazement the carsped off cutting in front of me forcing me to the left side of the road.

Thankfully the road is a little wide at that point so I was able toavoid an accident.

The best part: To my surprise it was a police car, licenceno.232507 with a vehicle no.14, with four occupants inside, nolights flashing, no horn blowing, they proceeded to join traffic upto Johnson Road where they turned off.

This is a regular occurrence at that juncture, but when thepolice break the law blatantly then how can we expect any morefrom the general public? That area is a mess with traffic, but I havenever seen police in that area, unless they are on the ramp makinga purchase.

It would be a delight if the police could put a little effort into thisarea.

Eastern Road resident,BILLY SANDSNassau,April 16, 2011.


Cable Beach Post Office parking lot – is it for the public oremployees of Sandals?

Finally people are complaining about the use of parking lotof the Post Office on Cable Beach by the employees andpatrons of Sandals Hotel.

Is the Post Master General unable, impotent to enforce theobvious?

With crime on the increase persons trying to pick up theirmail after dark have to park in unsecured areas away from thePost Office and then walk.

Where is the Minister or the MP? Can’t someone stop these people parking in this lot?

J ELLIOTNassau,April, 2011.


A recent article in The Nas-sau Guardian “FNM MPWants Land for Squatters,”indicated that land in Abacoshould be made available tothe residents of The Mud andPigeon Pea. Perhaps the MPcan answer a few questions.

• Who owns the land thatshould be made available?

• Does the proposal rewardillegal behaviour?

• Is this action justifiedbecause some of the squattersare Bahamians?

• Who will cover the costof infrastructure and con-struction of homes?

• What does he propose forthe thousands of Bahamianswho chose not to squat onland, but cannot afford to pur-chase property for them-selves?

I must be missing some-thing!

JEROME R PINDERNassau, May 10, 2011.

LAND FORSQUATTERS:QUESTIONS

FOR MP

When police break law how canwe expect more from the public?

Is post office parking lot for thepublic or Sandals employees?


I join with Bruce G Raine in asking the reason for the twoblack SUVs travelling at break neck speed, chasing every-body off the road twice a day every day.

In the mornings they speed down Prince Charles Drive onto Fox Hill Road, to Bernard Road, Village Road andShirley Street. And then in the evenings it is up East BayStreet on to the Eastern Road.

The excuse (reason) given for the prison bus is security.Good. We know who occupies the buses. However, wedon’t know who is hiding or is being hidden in the SUVswith the heavily tinted windows, trying to run us off thestreets.

Perhaps we will find out when –- God forbid – someone iscritically injured or killed.

ANTHONY CAPRONNassau,May 11, 2011.

What is the reason for speeding SUVs?

EDITOR, The Tribune

Re: Prison buses crashsparks investigation. – TheTribune, May 6, 2011

THERE is definitely noneed for the prison buses andpolice escorts to drive as ifthey’re all rushing to KFC.After all, prisoners who wishto abscond seem to know theywill have very little difficultyescaping from the police sta-tions themselves.

Hint to bus drivers: If yourbuses leave a place of origin afew minutes apart, it willprobably decrease the chanceof crashing into each otherquite significantly.

KEN W KNOWLES, MDNassau, May 8, 2011.

A HINT TOBUS DRIVERS

By DENISE MAYCOCKTribune [email protected]

FREEPORT – With morethan 300 traffic accidentsrecorded so far this year onGrand Bahama, traffic policehere conducted a road checkthis week resulting in some39 persons being ticketed forvarious road offences.

Asst Supt Kenwood Tay-lor, officer in-charge of theTraffic Division, said policewill continue to conduct exer-

cises every week to ensurethat persons are adhering tothe road traffic laws.

He reported that some 357traffic accidents have beenrecorded already in 2011.

Last year, a total of 1,121traffic accidents were record-ed on the island.

ASP Taylor said the policeare especially concernedabout ensuring that personsare wearing seat belts, obey-ing the traffic lights and signs,and adhering to the speedlimits.

Of the 39 ticketed offend-

ers, 13 were not wearing seatbelts. There was also onearrest for failing to give aname and address.

Even though the seat beltlaw has been in effect forsome time, it was only recent-ly enforced in March.

ASP Taylor said police willcontinue to increase policevisibility on the streets.

“We will be out in fullforce every week ensuringthat persons are wearing seatbelts and abiding by the lawsof the road,” he said.

ASP Loretta Mackey saidit is extremely importantthat drivers also ensure thattheir vehicles are road wor-thy.

LOCAL NEWS


AN FNM MP is calling on theGovernment to make the “right deci-sions” in helping Bahamians by mak-ing a large tract of land in Androsavailable to them at a minimal price.

South Abaco MP Edison Key, whoserves as the executive chairman ofthe Bahamas Agricultural and Indus-trial Corporation (BAIC), said hewould like to see the Governmentestablish a major new subdivision inNorth Andros built around the craftand agricultural sectors.

Creating new viable communitiesin Andros could be a remedy to the

problems of an overpopulated NewProvidence, he indicated.

Speaking at the Andros BusinessOutlook on

Wednesday, Mr Key said the lotsin the subdivision could be sold toBahamians at the cost of putting inthe infrastructure.

“My dream for Government totake 1,000 acres of Andros land, layit out in roads, with all the infra-structure, cable, telephones, and onlycharge for the infrastructure,” hesaid.

“It has been done before with

great success and we can do it again.It will encourage Androsians whowant to live and work here, to in factdo so.”

Referring to what was done inAbaco several years ago, Mr Keyexplained:

“We laid out quite a large subdi-vision there and Government onlycharged $300 a lot; almost half anacre each. Look at Crossing Rockstoday, one of the nicest

communities in the Bahamas.”Mr Key appealed to the Govern-

ment and the Androsians to “make

sure Andros doesn’t go back tosleep”.

“It is your time Andros, and weneed to make that happen.”

“(We) need to get the Govern-ment thinking right and to make theright decisions to make it happen,”he said.

“We have to do whatever we cando bring the Government to the real-isation that Nassau

has outgrown itself and is unable totake this nation to the next level, ifonly because it has run out of space;all Andros has is space.”

OFFICERS of the Abaco District have charged a 23-year-oldman of Soldier Road, New Providence, in connection with anumber of house-breakings on that island.

The suspect was arrested in Abaco on Tuesday by officers ofthe Central Detective Unit, Abaco.

Officers conducted a search of the culprit’s home and near-by bushes and found a number of reported stolen items.

The 23-year-old is expected be arraigned on several counts ofhouse-breaking at the Magistrate’s Court in Abaco.

OFFICERS of the Central Detec-tive Unit (CDU) are requesting thepublic’s assistance in locating 27-year-old Tony Smith who is wanted forquestioning in connection with anarmed robbery.

Smith’s last known address is Sum-mer Haven in New Providence.

He is described as having a mediumbrown complexion and a mediumbuild.

Anyone with information that canlead to the arrest of this suspect isasked to contact the police at 919, 911,322-3333 or CDU at 502-9991 or 502-9910 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.

MP calls for govt to make Andros area available to Bahamians at minimal price

MAN WANTED FOR QUESTIONING IN CONNECTION WITH ARMED ROBBERY

39 ticketed as GB policeconduct road check

ARREST IN CONNECTION WITH HOUSE-BREAKINGS

SOUTH ABACO MP Edison Key

LOCAL NEWS


PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY PRE-QUALIFICATION TENDER NOTICE

The Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, invites sealed Pre Qualification Tenders from Bahamian Contractors with experience in:

1. Construction of Hospitals and Specialised Healthcare Facilities2. General Construction valued at ten million dollars

(B$10MM) and above3. Installation of Infrastructure Works including Electrical,

Mechanical, and Civil Systems 4. Installation of Plumbing, Electrical, Air Conditioning, and

Medical Gas Systems for Healthcare and Industrial Facilities5. Valid Business License6. Financial Stability [minimum three (3) year audited financials &

bank references]7. National Insurance Board Letter of Compliance8. Public Liability Insurance not less than one million dollars

(B$1MM)9. Bonding capacity of four million dollars (B$4MM) with a named

Bond Surety10. Documented Construction Works Health & Safety Programme

The main work of this project includes major construction of a Critical Care Block with corresponding Infrastructure Works at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Nassau, The Bahamas of approximately 80,000 ft² inclusive of: six (6) Operating Theatres; Intensive Care Unit; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Core Laboratory; Central Sterile Supplies Depart-ment and Support Services.Pre-qualification documents may be collected as of Friday 6th May 2011 between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00pm, from the Public Hospitals Au-thority, Corporate Office, Building B. Interested parties may inspect the Pre Qualification Tender Documents and obtain further information, including eligibility to participate, at the ad-dress listed above.Contractors are also expected to be in good standing with the relevant Government Agencies. Only Contractors that are able to meet the above minimum requirements should respond.

Pre-qualification documents for the Critical Care Block should be submitted in duplicate in a sealed envelope or package identified as Contractor’s Prequalification Document, for the Critical Care Block and addressed to:

The Chairman, Tenders CommitteePublic Hospitals Authority

Corporate Office Building B3rd & West Terrace, Collins Avenue

P.O. Box N-8200Nassau, Bahamas

Telephone: (242) 502-1400Fax: (242) 323-1422

Tenders are to arrive at the Public Hospitals Authority no later than 4:00pm Friday 20th May 2011; and shall include the required B$500.00 payment for the Tender Document Package. Payments may be made via certified cheque, bank draft or money or-ders, payable to the Public Hospitals Authority. This Payment shall be refundable to companies whose pre-qualifications are rejected.Please note that your company Pre Qualification submittal must be com-pleted in full for any consideration for the same. Late submissions will not be accepted. Tenderers are invited to attend the pre-qualification ten-der opening.

The Public Hospitals Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals.

MINISTRY of Tourism and Aviation’s Peo-ple to People Unit’s new, themed tea partieshave become a sensation for visitors, attractinghundreds of guests for the year already.

The monthly tea parties at GovernmentHouse have received special themes since Jan-uary.

Initially, the major islands of the Bahamashad been the focus of the events, but People toPeople staff members have also included morecreative themes that have captured the interestsof visitors.

“Our island themes gave us the opportunityto educate our visitors on the major islandsand island groups of the Bahamas,” saidBernadette Bastian, who heads People to Peo-ple.

“We have been able to find exciting ways toinform our guests about the nature tourismopportunities of Grand Bahama, the Androsiaproduct of Andros, and other points of interest.Through all of this, they are seeing that each

island is different, and has something unique tooffer guests.”

Ms Bastian said the last tea party coincidedwith the wedding of Prince William to Cather-ine Middleton, which allowed for a Royal Wed-ding theme. The occasion attracted more than100 visitors from North America and Europe.

Peter Young, British Honorary Consul, whowas one of the special guests at the tea party,pointed out that there was great interest in thewedding. He said he was surprised by how inter-ested Americans were in the wedding.

“If you watched CNN, you would see thatthey had covered this for a couple weeks aheadof time, almost wall to wall,” he said.

Ms Bastian said the People to People unitrecently also conducted a special tea party forguests from a large, private group from Mexico– Enzacta International. She said the next pro-ject is a special tea party for COPA Airlines, thePanama affiliate of Continental Airlines, inJune.

By GENA GIBBS

ELEUTHERA – TheGovernment’s National Ener-gy Policy is the Bahamas’response to the universal phe-nomenon of climate changeand ocean expansion. Theepic event threatens to swal-low 80 per cent of the low-lying Family Islands, afteronly a two-degree rise inaverage global temperature.

On May 5, the NationalEnergy Policy was launchedas a national response toreducing the Bahamas’dependency on fossil fuels.

“This is not just a light bulbprogramme, where we aretrying to reduce the amountof diesel that BEC burns.This is in fact a matter of lifeand death for Bahamiansover the next 50 years. Donot just look at it as a simpleway to reduce your light bill.It’s a way of saving theBahamas,” said Phenton Ney-mour, Minister of State in theMinistry of the Environment.

Speaking to Eleutheransabout the energy policy thisweek, Mr Neymour said: “Alot of you here have heardabout the debate of climatechange around the world.Most of the industrialisedcountries use a lot of coal, alot of diesel, and the green-house gas effect is creating arise in the temperature of theEarth that’s causing the melt-ing of ice and the expansionof the sea.

“Now they estimate thatjust a two degree rise in tem-perature, two degrees Celsius,is going to cause the sea levelto rise about 10 feet. Whenone looks at the entireBahamas, one look just outthere, imagine that sea beingup 10 feet. Well, it’s recog-nised that a 10 feet rise in oursea level will result in about80 per cent of the Bahamasbeing covered by water. In

other words, the vast majori-ty of the Bahamas will begone.”

It appears the energy con-servation initiative, called“30/30 by 2030”, is also prov-ing to be an internationalmodel for reducing fossil fueldependency regionally. Gov-ernment is leading the way athome and abroad on how tomanage savings by changingenergy-saving habits andbehaviour, Mr Neymour said.

“This programme that wehave begun, to some it isviewed as a light bulb pro-gramme, but that’s not whatit's about. This programmereally is rooted in the protec-tion of our environment.When one looks at the con-sumption of energy, 99 percent of the energy that isderived in the Bahamas isderived using petroleumproducts, using gas or diesel.When one looks at burninggasoline, diesel, and coal,there are greenhouse gasesthat are emitted,” he said.

“We sat down and beganthe process of putting togeth-er a National Energy Policybecause we had to look for

the future. That NationalEnergy Policy was initiated.We had a group of about 30Bahamians together and webegan to formulate where theBahamas should go. And weput together an excellent pro-gramme in which we receivedexcellent remarks from theUnited States governmentand I got a nice complimentfrom the Swiss Ambassadorthis morning, who recognisedthat the Bahamas is well onits way to reducing theamount of petroleum, we areusing now.”

Mr Neymour explained toEleutherans that the Nation-al Energy Policy is a complexsolution, responding to thescientific facts supporting theeminent national, social, cul-tural, and economic extinc-tion of Bahamians over thenext 50 years.

“That’s why I encourage allBahamians to be ambas-sadors to the fact that wearound the world need toreduce the amount of gaso-line, diesel, and coal that weburn because, we, theBahamas, (will) no longerexist,” he said.

NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY IS ‘BAHAMASRESPONSE TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE'

CENTRAL ELEUTHERANS sit on the oceanfront of the Governor’s Har-bour Government Complex.

THE ROYAL WEDDING Tea Party drew a full house.

BAHAMAS VISITORS FIND TIME FOR TEA

AIRPORT ImprovementMagazine, a publicationfocused exclusively on airportconstruction, features the newUS Departures Terminal atLynden Pindling Internation-al Airport (LPIA) in itsMay/June issue.

The cover story on the247,000 sq ft state-of-the-artterminal includes interviewsfrom Stewart Steeves, pres-ident and CEO at NassauAirport DevelopmentCompany (NAD), and Sta-nis Smith, principal at Stan-tec Consulting Interna-tional, chief project archi-tects. The article highlightsthe eco-friendly aspectsof the project and thefocus on creating a“sense of place” in the

overall terminal design. Airport Improvement’s edi-

torial team contacted NADofficials shortly after the ter-minal opened in March to pro-duce an in-depth article onstage one of the $409.5 millionredevelopment project. Maga-zine publisher Paul Bowersexplained the decision to fea-ture LPIA on the cover.

“In part it was because of theextensive work that was done.

“There was so much greatinformation about the archi-tecture, artwork, new baggageand parking systems, andmore,” said Mr Bowers. “Wewere also interested becauseof the ownership model used,and last, but not least, becauseit is Nassau. It’s so beautifuland we wanted something for

the magazine’s cover thatwould draw our reader’s atten-tion.”

The business-to-businesspublication is read by morethan 5,900 airport operators,consultants and suppliers.According to the magazine’swebsite, the publication “selectsthe best, most innovative pro-jects for coverage.”

Work on stage two, con-struction of a new Internation-al Arrivals Terminal and Pier,is currently underway at LPIAand will be completed in theFall of 2012.

Stage three, construction of anew Domestic/InternationalDepartures and new Domes-tic Arrivals Terminal, will openin the Fall of 2013.

LOCAL NEWS



FREEPORT – IN an effort to increasethe number of skilled Bahamians work-ing at the Grand Bahama Shipyard, theClear Blue Maritime Agency has startedthe process of recruiting new young can-didates for training for various positionsat the facility.

The company, in conjunction with theshipyard, provides training in scaffold-ing, paint blasting and rigging.

Keith Cooper, public relations andmarketing officer at Clear Blue, said thecompany is looking for young men andwomen who are interested in working atthe shipyard and training for a semi-skilled and/or skilled position.

“One of the things we will be doing inthis regard is making a concerted effort togo to schools in the west Grand Bahamaarea, Freeport, and East End to recruityoung people.

“What we are trying to do is enlightenthe community of the opportunities avail-

able and we are delighted that the ship-yard has taken this initiative to putBahamians to work,” Mr Cooper said.

He said large numbers of expatriatesfrom various countries work at the ship-yard, but the goal is to bring in moreBahamians to fill positions on a perma-nent and seasonal basis.

Troy Garvey, manager of Clear Blue,said the company has reached its one-year milestone and is encouraging youngpeople to take advantage of the trainingand job opportunities at the shipyard.

“We have been instrumental in get-ting Bahamians scaffolders into the ship-yard last year and we are on our way tonewer heights as we are now in a positionto cross-train persons to be paint blasterssand riggers,” he said.

Mr Cooper reported that Clear Bluegraduated some 33 Bahamians last yearthrough the programme.

“We are beginning to recruit newyoung people to come to the programmefor the next training class that we havescheduled for later this summer,” he said.

Recruits, he said, are put through a

series of tests initially. Once they areassessed, they are enrolled in a safetyprogramme for a few weeks in the class-room.

They are then put in a live environ-ment for a hands-on demonstration andparticipation of how scaffolds are prop-erly built and secured safely so there areno accidents.

Mr Cooper said last year’s scaffoldgraduates were also certified through theUS Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration which qualifies them towork as scaffolders anywhere in theworld.

“This is a real benefit to the shipyardand to Bahamians, he said.

Mr Cooper said persons interested inthese opportunities can come to theoffice situated in the Expert CustomsBrokerage Building on West Settler’sWay to fill out an application.

Mr Garvey said Clear Blue is commit-ted to putting Bahamians first andempowering young people through train-ing so they can become certified for posi-tions at the shipyard.

NEW LPIA TERMINAL IS AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE COVER STORY

New young candidates to be recruitedfor training at Grand Bahama Shipyard

THE NEW US TERMINAL at LPIA has a starring role in Airport Improvement Magazine.

change in the political scene.These persons, Mr McCart-

ney said, will try to ridicule anddiscredit him.

However, he reminded thepublic that similar words weresaid by the UBP to the Bahami-an people leading up to the1967 elections.

“Well we all know that for

the people who were segregat-ed and being socially and eco-nomically oppressed, there wasno better time for change.Change came and 25 years lat-er, in 1992, Mr. Pindling said

the same thing to the Bahamianpeople – that the time was notright for an Ingraham led gov-ernment. But the people feltthat it was, and they voted forchange. Change came and the

country moved forward.“Now in 2011, people will

try to convince you, persuadeyou plead with you that this isnot the right time for the DNA.From now until the day whenvoters march into the votingbooth, there may be some cry-ing that the vision of the Demo-cratic National Alliance is not“well-timed.” The detractor tochange will do this because theyrecognise that the DNA is fastbecoming the people’s choicefor the next government of theBahamas,” he said.

Mr McCartney challengedthe public to “redefine what ispossible” in the Bahamas.

“And in the very near future– maybe even as soon as tomor-row – when they tell you thatMcCartney is too young, tooinexperienced, and too out ofhis time to lead you to abrighter future; that it is impos-sible for anyone other than TheProgressive Liberal Party orThe Free National Movementto win, you must be the gener-ation that says, like America,who against all odds elected itsfirst Black president; likeTrinidad, with its first womanPrime Minister; and even likeHaiti, electing “underdog”musician Michel Martelly aspresident, nothing is impossi-ble.

“We must be the generationthat fights for change and totruly redefine what is possible.Together, we – you and memust be that generation thatchanges the course of Bahami-an history by redefining the

possible,” he said.Reminding those in atten-

dance – a capacity crowd ofmore than 600 persons – andthe public listening and view-ing by radio and television thatthis upcoming election is fortheir children and their chil-dren’s children, Mr McCartneysaid that they should remem-ber Albert Einstein’s observa-tion that doing the same thingover and over again and expect-ing different results amounts toinsanity.

“For the sake of our chil-dren, and their children, wemust decide whether we wantchange or more of the same.We can no longer ignore thehandwriting on the wall. Thetime for change is now. If thatchange does not begin with us,then who will it begin with? If it

does not begin now, thenwhen?

“I am happy to have joinedyou tonight in what will beetched in the history books asone of the greatest demonstra-tions of deepening democracy,of courage, and of change inour country. And what I wish toemphasise most, is that this his-torical event would not be pos-sible without you…your sup-port and your belief in ourdream to create a Bahamaswhere future generations willlook back and understand andappreciate the stance that wehave taken and enjoy the fruitsof our labour.

“On behalf of my absolutelyfabulous wife, Lisa, and mychildren, I wish to thank youfor this opportunity to serve,”he said.

scribed for her seizures, andtwo weeks after she was diag-nosed in Nassau, she had to beairlifted to the Florida hospitalas lesions covered 60 per centof her skin.

At the time, her mother, Ter-ry Deveaux, described howRavyn was a bubbly, cheerfulgirl who was fun to be around,and as the disease developedfrom stomach-aches, to wateryeyes, before her skin started topeel, she remained in high spir-its.

“She never once com-plained,” Mrs Deveaux said.“She gives me strength.”

Mrs Deveaux and her hus-band Louis, 48, stayed at herbedside in the Intensive CareUnit as Ravyn’s bandages werechanged every hour.

“Sometimes myself or Terrywould lay in the bed to com-fort her,” Mr Deveaux said.

“She was on medicationevery two or three hours, andthey were consistently doingswabs and cultures.

“Most people don’t survive,especially with the degree ofskin loss that she had.”

Stevens–Johnson Syndromeattacks the eyes as well as theskin. Ravyn has lost her sight inboth eyes as a result of the dis-ease.

She had two cornea opera-tions on her right eye while in

hospital, and is awaiting acornea transplant in her lefteye.

As her skin healed, she wasable to leave the hospital, andreturn to her home in MalcolmRoad, Nassau, in February.

However, soon after herreturn, her mother was diag-nosed with breast cancer.

Mrs Deveaux received herfirst round of chemotherapytreatment in March but died onApril 4. She was buried on whatwould have been her 48th birth-day.

Her husband said he is nowliving “one day at a time,” andis focused on caring for theyoungest of his six children,including Ravyn, who he takesto Florida for follow-up treat-ments every month.

The bright third grader atKingsway Academy stillrequires skin treatments andeye treatments at the BascomPalmer Eye Institute in Floridawhere specialists are helpingher to restore the health of hereyes.

Mr Deveaux said her treat-ment will continue for anotheryear, and he hopes as sherecovers fully, his daughter’seyesight will return.

Her skin is now almost fullyhealed, but for a patch of dis-colouration, he said.

Despite her challenges,Ravyn has remained in remark-ably good spirits, and is lookingforward to tomorrow’sfundraiser.

He hopes she will meetanother survivor ofStevens–Johnson Syndromewho he has invited to speak atthe event, as she lost nearly 100per cent of her skin beforerecovering from the disease.

Mr Deveaux also hopes toraise awareness of SJS as inRavyn’s case there was no wayit could have been predicted orprevented, but the drugs sheneeded to slow progression ofthe disease were not availablein the country, and thereforeher late diagnosis and lack ofaccess to medication worsenedher condition.

Her parents searched forhospitals across South Americaand the United States whereRavyn could be treated, and

finally had no choice but tohave her airlifted to Florida atan enormous expense.

So far the cost of Ravyn’streatment has exceeded $1 mil-lion, and he is concerned anoth-er child with similar problemsmay not be able to afford treat-ment. Therefore he wants toestablish a foundation thatcould help them.

The Ravyn Deveaux SteakOut and Fair is the firstfundraiser for the family andwill be held on the fairgroundat Arawak Cay, West BayStreet, from 12-6pm tomorrow.

Tickets are $10 and availablefrom several locations in Nas-sau, including Deveaux Truck-ing on the corner of MarketStreet and Palm Tree Avenue.The full list of ticket purchaselocations is on the Facebookevent page for ‘The RavynDeveaux Mini Fair & SteakOut’ (www.facebook.com).

Around 5,000 tickets havealready been sold and the fam-ily are also seeking donations ofchicken, steak, and funding forcatering.

To make a donation call MrDeveaux at Deveaux Truckingon 323-8844, or 456-1292.

LOCAL NEWS


Bahamians on what has been going on in the Exuma Land and SeaPark,” she said.

Mrs Bain has contacted a lawyer for her husband.She claims officers had informed her that Environment Minister

Earl Deveaux had brought charges against Bain.When The Tribune contacted Police at Farmer’s Cay yesterday

to inquire about Bain’s arrest, an officer identified as ConstableRolle confirmed he had been arrested by CDU officers and was enroute by boat to the Police Station at George Town, Exuma.

When asked the nature of his arrest, Constable Rolle said hecould not disclose the reasons for Bain’s arrest. He directed TheTribune to speak with police at George Town.

However, when The Tribune contacted the George Town PoliceStation, an officer said they did not know the reason for Bain’sarrest and were still awaiting the arrival of the arresting officers andBain from Farmer’s Cay.

Bain, an Exuma environmental activist, has called for develop-ment in all national parks to be banned.

He has criticised the Bahamas National Trust for not opposingdredging and excavation at Bell Island in the Exuma Cays Landand Sea Park.

Protesters are outraged at the granting of permission to dredgeand excavate more than 13 acres of land and seabed around BellIsland in the Exuma park.

FROM page oneSTEP SPOKESMAN TERRY BAIN ARRESTED

FUNDRAISER FOR BEREAVED GIRLFROM page one

RAVYN DEVEAUX

FROM page one DNA unveils firstelection candidates

DNA LEADER Branville McCartney speaks last night.

LOCAL NEWS


8 Semi-Finalists:

Alladell Farrington

Charmaine Miller

Lesley Pinder

Delores Sukie

Vernell Brennen

Anita Dillet

Patricia Isaacs

Anita Collie-Pratt

Come cheer on MOMand find out who will be our lucky

three!

10:00 a.m

Saturday,

May 14th, 2011

at 284 Bay Street

scious but in stable conditionlast night.

Meanwhile, investigators sus-pect an electrical shortage start-ed the fire.

Dr Duane Sands, a consultantsurgeon at PMH and formerchief of surgery, told The Tri-bune yesterday: "The four chil-dren remain quite ill, they areall in the intensive care unit, suf-fering primarily from the smokeinhalation injuries. At least oneof the kids has burns, the pri-mary challenge is the smokeinhalation that they have all suf-fered."

The senator explained thatsmoke inhalation is a seriousinjury that can have devastatinglong-term effects.

"There's direct injury to theairway that causes swelling anddifficulty breathing ... but themore serious problem fromsmoke inhalation is the toxiceffect of the products of com-bustion and the damage to thelungs. There's carbon monoxideand other poisons that arereleased that can damage notonly the lungs but have adverseaffects on the entire body," saidDr Sands, who was on the sceneat Wednesday's fire.

Their father, who neighbourssaid was a self-employed elec-tronics repairman, was stillassisting police with their inves-tigation up to press time.

Neighbours who spoke to TheTribune were adamant that thechildren's father, identified asFritz, was a doting parent whonever left his children alone.Some concerned neighbours saidthe brood was left in the care ofanother adult while the fatherstepped away from the home.

"Everywhere he goes he carrythem on his truck," said neigh-bour Delaree Simms, as friendscarted debris and salvagedclothes out of the destroyedhome. "Every morning he getthem ready and carry them toschool.”

Landlord Patricia Morely, whorented the two-bedroom apart-ment to the family for the lastnine years, said: "They were qui-et, beautiful, mannerly – all thegood things you could say aboutthem. You hardly see those chil-dren. He would take them to

school, home and keep them inthe house.

“He loved those kids." Yesterday Assistant Commis-

sioner Glenn Miller said policewere trying to track down theperson who was said to bewatching the children.

"We are trying to find some-one who they were said to beleft with," ACP Miller said.

Neighbours said for some timehe raised the seven children –who had two different mothers –by himself.

One of the mothers wasreportedly deported to Haiti afew years ago while the other issaid to have left the country forNorth America.

Yesterday head of police fireservices Superintendent JeffreyDeleveaux said the fire was mostlikely caused by an electricalshortage.

"We are looking at all indica-tions that it was an electrical fire,the investigating officer hascome across evidence of an elec-trical shortage however we have

not yet pinned it down," said MrDeleveaux.

"We're looking at a computerthat was on a table in the frontroom," he said, when askedwhat was believed to be the spe-cific cause of the blaze.

The fire broke out around 3.40pm Wednesday and soonengulfed the lower portion ofthe two story apartment com-plex where the family lived.

Neighbours who saw the hugeflames and heard the children's

screams banded together in afruitless effort to rescue thegroup.

Firefighters arrived on scene ashort time later, extinguished theblaze and found the seven chil-dren in an "unresponsive state"in an eastern bedroom of theapartment.

The ages and identities of thedead children have not beenreleased by police, who areawaiting a positive identifica-tion.

custody was brought in by hisattorney about two weeks afterthe incident is alleged to haveoccurred.

Dr Sandra Pattersondescribed how abusive partnersare using an incident in whichimages of murder victim Nel-lie Mae Brown-Cox were cir-culated on the Internet as a wayof threatening their partners.

“We have become increas-ingly disturbed by the womenwho call our hotline and reportof partners who threaten themthat they will be ‘chopped uplike the Internet picture’ if theydo not do as they are told orthink of leaving them,” said DrPatterson at a Crisis Centrepress conference.

The memory of Ms Brown-Cox is being used by batterersto instil fear in their partners,said Dr Patterson, noting thetrend is unsurprising.

“Over the years I have beendoing this work, whenever any-thing horrendous happens to awoman in an intimate relation-ship, that incident is used byother batterers as a threat. I amwell aware of women whosepartners will drive them outwest and say, ‘look I am outhere, you are out here and noone will ever know where youare: Remember that lady whodisappeared?’ So it is fear andintimidation,” said Dr Patter-son.

The Crisis Centre and itspartners have been on theoffensive, spreading the mes-sage about building healthyrelationships, and educating thepublic through school initiativesand public forums on red flagbehaviour in “toxic” relation-ships.

Donna Nicolls, a Crisis Cen-tre counsellor, said: “Some ofthe red flags include any formof physical violence; posses-siveness, when someone feelsthey have ownership of the oth-er person and wants to dictatewhere you go, what you wearand who you speak to. Anyonewho uses the language of isola-tion, like you do not need any-body but me. That is usuallyconnected with someone whois uncomfortable around yourfamily and friends. Another redflag is a person who disregardsthe personal boundaries thatyou set; or one who usesdemeaning and negative talkabout you.”

Domestic violence is sup-ported by a culture of silenceand isolation, said Dr Patter-son. This creates very real prob-lems for victims, who are facedwith the most “dangerous time”at the final stage when theywant to leave the relationship.Dr Patterson said friends andfamily should be sensitive tothe fact that it is not a simpledecision to leave. “An exit” hasto be planned to minimise therisks.

“Our call today is to those ofyou who find yourselves in tox-ic relationships, in a relation-ship where you are threatenedwith harm, and where you feellike you are walking oneggshells, that there is help, thatyou need not live in fear,” saidDr Patterson. There is similar-ly help for partners whodemonstrate abusive behav-

iours. “We must not sit back and

watch this cycle of abuse con-tinue and senseless murderstake place. Domestic violence isa preventable crime. It does nothave to continue,” she said.

The Crisis Centre called onchurches to name “toxic behav-iour” from the pulpit, as behav-iour that is unacceptable andunchristian, in order to under-mine the number of Christiansusing the Bible to “sustaindomestic violence.”

Of people who seek profes-sional help from pastors, shesaid: “Hopefully it is a pastorwho is educated about domesticviolence and not a pastor whosays, ‘oh well you need to dobetter; are you obedientenough; are you doing all youcan around the house’. Hope-fully it will be a pastor whounderstands the whole issueand can advise you according-ly.”

Speaking about known per-petrators in the community, DrPatterson said it was theresponsibility of the judicial sys-tem to hold abusers account-able.

However, she said: “In somecountries what they do is theygo to the house the next morn-ing with their pots and pans andbang outside the house to letthe perpetrator know that theyknow what he is doing. Thereare not enough structures in thecommunity to shame batterers.It is not a negative thing to hit,unfortunately.”

ABUSIVE MEN ‘USING MURDERIMAGES’ TO THREATEN PARTNERS

FROM page one

FROM page one CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED FIRE STILL IN INTENSIVE CARE

A PHOTO OF THREE of the oldest children who were caught in a deadly home fireon Sandilands Village Road.

A JUVENILE was shot inthe feet in a drive-by shootingin Nassau Village on Wednes-day. The incident occurredaround 9.25pm.

According to police reports,a juvenile male was standingon the steps of the CastawayRestaurant when a white, heav-ily tinted Nissan Maxima occu-pied by some person/sunknown pulled up in front ofhim.

It is reported that the cul-prit/s fired gunshots at the vic-tim, injuring his feet.

The young man was taken tohospital by emergency medicalpersonnel where he is detainedin stable condition.

Police are appealing to per-sons with information that canlead to the arrest of the sus-pect/s to contact the police at919, 911, 322-3333 or the Cen-tral Detective Unit at 502-9991,502-9910 or Crime Stoppers at328-TIPS.

• POLICE are investigatingan armed robbery whichoccurred in the parking lot ofImperials Takeaway,Carmichael Road, yesterday.

According to police, thearmed robbery happenedaround 1am.

Initial reports indicate that a30-year-old man was in theparking lot when he wasapproached by a masked manarmed with a handgun.

The culprit robbed the vic-tim of an undetermined amountof cash, jewellery and his blackMercedes Benz, and fled thearea south on Iguana Way, offCarmichael Road.

JUVENILE SHOT

SECTION B • [email protected]

F R I D A Y , M A Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 1

T H E T R I B U N E

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By NEIL HARTNELLTribune Business Editor

The two unions repre-senting the BahamasTelecommunications Com-pany’s (BTC) staff havebeen slammed for launch-ing a “vexatious, scandalousand frivolous” legal actionin a bid to block the recent-ly-concluded sale of a 51 percent majority stake in thetelecoms carrier to Cable &Wireless Communications(CWC).

Detailing its reasons fordismissing the joint appeallaunched by the BahamasCommunications and Pub-lic Officers Union(BCPOU) and the BahamasCommunications and Pub-lic Managers Union(BPMU), the Court ofAppeal backed SupremeCourt Justice Neville Adder-ley’s finding that the twounions did not have anystanding to bring the action,describing it as “clearlysmacking of an abuse ofprocess”.

“This was an exceptionalcase in which the unionssought to set themselves upas the unsolicited and gra-tuitous champions of BaTel-Co, who they ironically suedas well,” the Court ofAppeal ruled.

“In truth, the court findsthat the unions had no rea-sonable cause of action and,further, that their writ asindorsed was vexatious,scandalous and frivolous. Tohave allowed it to proceedwould have been an abuseof the process of the court.”

And the court added:

‘VEXATIOUS, SCANDALOUS

AND FRIVOLOUS’:COURT SLAMS BTC

STAFF UNIONS

UNION LEADERS: BCPOU leader Bernard Evanswith William Carroll of the BCPOU in the Houseof Assembly in this file photo.

JULIAN FRANCIS

SEE page 5B


Interconnection negotia-tions between theBahamas’ two main tele-coms carriers appear to beincreasingly fraught, as theBahamas Telecommunica-tions Company (BTC) yes-terday hit back at rivalCable Bahamas for com-plaining to sector regula-tors that it was delayingreaching an agreement.

Instead, BTC alleged itwas Cable Bahamas whowas preventing the twoparties reaching an agree-ment vital to stimulatingcompetition in this nation’sfixed-line voice servicesmarket.

The newly-privatisedcarrier claimed its BISX-listed rival was a ‘no-show’at a scheduled February18, 2011, meeting to discussthe issue. It also allegedthat despite writing to itseven times between Janu-ary 11 and March 22, 2011,to discover what intercon-nection services Cable

BTC blastsCable overregulatorycomplaintInterconnect talks becoming increasingly fraught

SEE page 4B

By ALISON LOWEBusiness [email protected]

Electricity prices in March 2011 were 26 per cent high-er year-over-year than in the same month in 2010, theBahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) chairman hastold Tribune Business.

Electricity costsrise some 26%

Fuel surcharge forMarch 2011 ‘almostdouble’ same monthin previous year, andup 21.6% month-over-monthMICHAEL MOSS

SEE page 4B


Having invested $700,000 andhired close to 40 staff, Nassau’s only‘crab house’ has opened its door onCollins Avenue.

Owner Daniel Ferguson, a char-tered accountant and former presi-dent of the Bahamas Institute ofChartered Accountants (BICA), andowner of Copymax, which is located

$700k investment getsCrab House its claws

BIG INVESTMENT: The Crab House located on Collins Avenue.

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SEE page 2B


Major oil companies are intalks with the Bahamas Petro-leum Company (BPC) about“potentially coming in” to thisnation to drill for the largequantities of oil the companybelieves lie inside the mar-itime borders, according tothe company’s chief execu-tive.

Dr Paul Crevello made thisstatement on Wednesday dur-ing a presentation at theAndros Business Outlook, inwhich he pushed the case foroil drilling in the Bahamas,telling attendees the country“needs to be given the chanceto move into its next phase ofgrowth”.

He said the “potential rev-enue stream” to the Govern-ment from “even a modestdiscovery” could be in theorder of $2-$3 million a day or$250-500 million a year for asmuch as 15 years.

“This could spur develop-ment not only in Nassau butin the other islands, such asAndros. But we will neverknow the potential unless we

Firm in talkswith oil majors

SEE page 5B


More than one-quarter of theroughly $1 billion lent toBahamian businesses by com-mercial banks is in default, Tri-bune Business was told yester-day, a situation that was “verytroublesome” and likely to per-sist for another 12-18 months.

Speaking to the industry as a

whole, not his institution, PaulMcWeeney, Bank of theBahamas International’s man-aging director, said that whilethere were signs that the loanarrears situation was stabilsing,as evidenced by the $7 millionreduction in total bad loans to$1.14 billion during the 2011first quarter, the focus now hadto be placed upon the sector’sbusiness credit portfolio.

“It’s stabilised,” MrMcWeeney said of the overall,situation, “but there’s one areathat’s still very troublesome forus, the commercial loans sec-tor. If you isolate that, it’s stilltroublesome.

“Commercial loans are stillup. Total delinquency is in the25 per cent-plus range, and for

Business credit:25% in arrears

n Bank loans to private sector ‘very troublesome’, witharound 18% of total business loans non-performingn Situation to persist for 12-18 months, and shows howmany Bahamian firms ‘suffering’

SEE page 3B


The Central Bank of theBahamas has effectively saidthat only a concerted medi-um to long-term effort bythe Government, on boththe revenue and spendingfronts, will “significantly

improve” the fiscal deficitand national debt situations,despite a 25.2 per centreduction in the former toend-March 2011.

Although the fiscal deficitfor the first nine months ofthe 2010-2011 fiscal year wasdown by $63.9 million at$189.9 million, the CentralBank’s latest monthly eco-nomic and financial devel-opment report for Marchshowed the improvementwas driven “by [the] nearlytwo-fold rise” in non-importStamp duties to $202.4 mil-lion which resulted from the$1.7 billion Bahamas OilRefining Company (BOR-CO) sale.

The $230 million grossproceeds from the sale of amajority 51 per cent stakein the Bahamas Telecom-munications Company(BTC), if applied to thedeficit, would likely almost -if not actually - eliminate itfor this fiscal year.

Still, in dry, neutral lan-guage, given that it is a semi-autonomous public agencythat does not seek to offendthe Government unneces-sarily, the Central Bank saidthe deficit improvement thisyear was the result of one-off revenue inflows, andwarned that much moreneeded to be done to set thepublic finances back on thecorrect path.

It said: “In the fiscal sec-tor, revenues from a num-ber of one-time tax-relatedtransactions are projected tofavourably impact the Gov-ernment’s deficit over thecurrent fiscal year, withreceipts from the sale of its51 per cent interest in theBahamas Telecommunica-tions Company (BTC) pro-viding the bulk of the financ-ing.

“However, prospects fora significant improvementin the deficit and nationaldebt over the medium tolong-term will depend sig-nificantly on the rate ofgrowth in the domesticeconomy, as well as theeffectiveness of governmen-

t’s measures to enhance rev-enues and restrain thegrowth in expenditures.”

Breaking down the fiscalperformance for the firstnine months of 2010-2011,the Central Bank said theGovernment’s total rev-enues - buoyed by the BOR-CO sale, plus some $40 mil-lion-plus received fromBaha Mar - rose by 8.1 percent or $77.2 million year-over-year to $1.028 billion.

RevenuesTax revenues were up 18.9

per cent or $149 million as aresult of the roughly $120million in one-off inflowsreceived from these trans-actions, but the figures indi-cate that without these gov-ernment revenues wouldhave been less than in the2009-2010 fiscal year, againexposing the recurrent rev-enue weakness.

Non-tax earnings also fellby 43.9 per cent or $71.8 mil-lion for the nine months toend-March 31, “due to a77.5 per cent ($76.5 million)fall-off in income from ‘mis-cellaneous sources’ to trendlevels, following an extra-ordinary inflow in the priorperiod”.

The Central Bank added:“Total outlays rose by 1.1per cent ($13.3 million) to$1.218 billion, owing pri-marily to a 3.4 per cent($34.3 million) increase incurrent expenditure, result-ing mainly from an 18.5 percent $33 million) hike inpurchases of goods and ser-vices.

“Capital spending alsorose by 14.3 per cent ($16.3million, buoyed by analmost three-fold ($14.5 mil-lion) increase in asset acqui-sitions - mainly land pur-chases - combined with a 2.8per cent ($3 million) rise inspending for infrastructureprojects. In contrast, netlending contracted by 50 percent to $37.3 million.”

Assessing the wider econ-omy, the Central Bank saidthat whole foreign directinvestment and constructionactivities related to publicsector infrastructure projectshad helped to create stabili-ty, tourism output softenedin March.

Hotel revenues for a sam-ple of New Providence andParadise Island propertieswere down 4.1 per cent year-over-year for the 2011 firstquarter, although this var-ied significantly betweenresorts. Average daily roomrates fell 3 per cent to$252.71, while there was a0.9 percentage point fall inaverage room occupancy to66.3 per cent.

And, without a broad-based economic improve-ment, the Central Bank said“domestic demandremained anemic and theunemployment rate rela-tively high”.

Still, the Central Banksaid the Bahamian econo-my would produce “a mod-erate firming in real GDPgrowth” in 2011, generatedby improvements in bothtourism and the construc-tion industry.

BUSINESS

PAGE 2B, FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2011 THE TRIBUNE

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By SIMON COOPERRes Socius

Nobody is pre-tending thatwe are havingthe best busi-

ness year in the Bahamas.Many businesses are stillunder strain, and every weeka few close. But new busi-nesses also open up everyweek, too, and some are pos-itively flourishing. I decidedto go walkabout and find outwhy.

* The successful business-es I visited had clear visions ofwhere they were going, andbusiness plans that translatedthese into maps to follow tothe future. I don’t believe thatplans and visions are just thestuff that graduates learn inbusiness school. I think thateven the smallest businessenterprise needs these, too.Nothing fancy, though. Just astatement of intent and a planfor the next 12 months.

* Business plans need totranslate into short-termstrategies and marketing goalsto get out there and sell. Aprofessor at business school(who was also a top market-ing consultant) once told methat some of the best market-

ing plans he ever saw werewritten up in diaries. Itseemed too simple then. NowI am older, I believe. Thesethings are alive and well inthe Bahamas. I have seenthem here.

* No man is an island. Ithink I mentioned this before.Some of the most successfulpeople in the world rely onthe support of an under-standing partner and a circleof caring friends. I, for one,could not do without mine.Financial plans and budgetsare equally important. Morebusinesses go down due tocash flow than anything else,and that includes some cata-clysmic crashes. RichardBranson discovered this thehard way in his youth. Even

the humblest fishermen knowthey need reserves.

* Our employees arealmost as important as ourfriends and partners. We aretied together in a single fate.On my walkabout I foundbusinesses with bosses talk-ing to their employees every-where, and who also seemedto be their friends. Hiring theright staff and empoweringthem is a sine qua non of eco-nomic success, and we can dolittle without them. Use thispower, and they will help tideyou over low times, too.

* But there is somethingelse that I did not mentionyet. It is the powerful inner-self of every successful per-son. I am not just talking

about self-confidence, though.I am also talking about thepower to recognise when it isyou, yourself, who is theobstacle to progress, and thepersonal strength you need tosmash personal barriers andmove forward. I have foundthat when I do this, the clogsun-jam and I move forward.

Is there something in thisfor the Bahamas? Are weperhaps our own worst ene-my? Is it not true that, some-times, the stubborn islandstreak that brought us this farholds us back. Perhaps ournation needs inner strengthto unblock our collective riv-er, too, so that the waters ofgrowth and progress maybegin to flow again. This is aresponsibility we all share.

NB: Res Socius was found-ed by Simon Cooper in 2009,and is a business brokerageauthorised by the BahamasInvestment Authority. He hasextensive private and publicSME experience, and was for-merly chief executive of apublicly traded investmentcompany. He was awarded anMBA with distinction by Liv-erpool University in 2005.Contact him on 636-8831 orwrite to [email protected].

Overcoming all thebarriers to progress

SIMONCOOPER

Concerted fiscal actioncalled for by Central Bank

* Says combination of governmentrevenue/spending measures neededfor ‘significant improvement’ in debtand deficit* One-off inflows cut deficit for2010-2011’s first nine months by25% to $190m

in the same building, said the response to the Crab Houseand Seafood Emporium so far has “exceeded his expecta-tions”.

Also offering seafood dishes and, in a non-traditionaltwist which seeks to capitalise on Nassau’s recent craze forthe Japanese, a sushi bar, Mr Ferguson said he is keen tomake sure the restaurant’s initial popularity does not amountto a “honeymoon period”.

Commenting on the idea behind the investment, theaccountant and businessman said: “There aren’t any crabhouses in the Bahamas and I’ve always wondered why.

“I said what I would do is I would go into that venturebecause a lot of people I talked to, when I did a survey, lovedthe idea. But I also thought that if I just had crabs you’d havepeople who are allergic to shellfish, so let me couple it withseafood. Then I said since I am having seafood, one of myfavourite things is sushi, so I would stick in a little sushi bar.”

Eye-catchingThe eye-catching yellow and maroon-coloured restau-

rant on Collins Avenue and Sixth Terrace took about sixmonths to set up. Mr Ferguson came to the decision toinvest after unsuccessfully attempting to rent the space dur-ing the economic downturn.

“People weren’t able to sustain the rent, so I thoughtwhy not do something with it myself,” he said.

With the launch of the Crab House and Seafood Empo-rium, the business will not only stimulate Bahamian employ-ment but also spur demand for cottage industries in Fami-ly Islands such as Andros and Long Island, as it offers bothimported Alaskan crabs and Bahamian crab-based dishes.

“We are getting seafood and crabs from them (LongIsland and Andros) on a regular basis. We just got 30 dozencrabs from a lady in Long Island. We will be a place wherethey can sell to consistently, and it’s not like it’s somethingthey have to pay for - they can just go out and catch them,”said Mr Ferguson.

Upstairs, the Crab House and Seafood Emporium offersa lounge area and meeting rooms, and is expecting to takeon additional staff over the coming months.

$700k investment getsCrab House its clawsFROM page 1B


Androsians received 82per cent of the amount theycontributed to the NationalInsurance Board (NIB) backin the form of benefits in2010, its director said.

Addressing the AndrosBusiness Outlook 2011 onWednesday, AlgernonCargill noted that in 2010Androsians paid $1.107 mil-lion in contributions to theNIB and received $908,141in benefits.

These included $171,514in short-term benefits,$132,526 in unemploymentbenefits, $592,826 in long-term benefits and $11,275 inindustrial benefits.

Overall, the NIB collectedmore than $165 million incontributions and paid outabout $160 million in bene-fits in 2010 Bahamas-wide.

Mr Cargill described 2010as a “a year of greatdynamism at NIB”, in whichinvestment income exceed-ed $70 million.

Reserves at NIB nowstand at $1.6 billion, said MrCargill, noting that it did notexperience “any significanterosion in the value of theNational Insurance Fundowing to cautious interna-tional exposure”.

The Board is developingmore than $100 million incurrent infrastructure pro-jects throughout theBahamas, which will “attracthigher investment returnsthan the local investmentmarket can pay”.

Having to date construct-ed, equipped and formallyturned over to the Ministryof Health a total of 19 poly-clinics throughout the coun-try, Mr Cargill said the NIBis finalising plans to reno-vate the Fresh Creek Clinicand build a “large and mod-ern health facility forAndrosians in CentralAndro”.

This comes after NIBspent more than $500,000 torenovate the North AndrosClinic, and in excess of$200,000 on the Mangrove

Cay and Miriam GreenClinics in south Andros in2009.

Providing an update onthe first phase of the Nation-al Prescription Drug Plan(NPDP), which provides forfree prescription drugs forspecific categories of indi-viduals, Mr Cargill said pre-scriptions have so faramounted to 50,000 trans-actions for a total payout of$1 million since its launch inSeptember 2010.

Mr Cargill noted that thesecond phase of the NPDPwill be rolled out “shortly”,in which “all workers will berequired to pay into the pro-gramme and will thereforebe covered”.

“Our recommendation isthat the contribution rate(for workers/employers toNIB) increase by 1 per centto 10.8 per cent of the insur-able wage to fund thisextended benefit,” he said.

The NIB director addedthat a “second component”of the NDPD is a ‘HealthyPeople Programme’, whichaims to encourage healthylifestyles and thereby reducethe burden of illness, and inparticular “chronic non-communicable diseases”.

“An avenue for entrepre-neurship” has been createdin this way, as grants will beprovided by the NIB toBahamians able to offer pro-grams that will encouragehealth, enhance knowledgeof health risks and personalresponsibility for wellness.

“We will only invest inprograms that are most like-ly to bring good returns asregards to stimulating the

local economy, and helpingBahamians to becomehealthier, more productiveand to enjoy increasedfinancial security,” said MrCargill.

BUSINESS

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non-accrual [those 90 days ormore past due] it’s around 18per cent. It’s significant.”

Some $938.63 million and$192.55 million in Bahamiandollar and foreign currencyloans, respectively, were out-standing as at end-March 2011,meaning that total creditextended to the private sectorby the commercial bankingindustry was $1.13 billion.

According to data releasedby the Central Bank of theBahamas in its report on March2011 monthly economic devel-opments, that month total com-mercial loan arrears rose by$16.3 million or 6.6 per cent to$265.5 million. Most of that wasconcentrated in the 31-90 daysegment, which grew by $16.2million or 30.1 per cent.

For the 2011 first quarter as awhole, commercial loan delin-quencies rose by $10.3 millionor 4 per cent to $265.5 million,with credit 31-90 days past dueadvancing by $6.8 million or10.8 per cent, and non-per-forming loans up $$3.5 millionor 1.8 per cent.

“From a macroeconomicstandpoint, things have sta-bilised, but pockets are still fac-ing difficulties, and one area ofconcern is the commercial port-folio. Businesses are really suf-fering,” Mr McWeeney toldTribune Business, warning thatthe Bahamian banking sectorwas likely to be grappling withbad business loans “over thenext 12-18 months”.

The Bahamian bankingindustry’s commercial loansdata shows just how badly theprivate sector and businesscommunity has been affectedby the recession, and gives aninsight into the struggles manysmall and medium-sized busi-nesses are wrestling with on adaily basis.

The high level of bad privatesector loans has significantimplications for any Bahamianeconomic recovery, as debt-burdened businesses will bestruggling with bringing existingobligations current, and unableto invest in new staff or expan-sion. Some of these troubledcompanies will also likely goout of business, further nega-tively impacting unemploymentlevels.

To alleviate the situation, MrMcWeeney said the Bahamasneeded to see increased foreigndirect investment capital, suchas that from the $2.6 billionBaha Mar project, and theGovernment’s infrastructureproject funding filter downthrough the economy.

This way, employment andconsumer demand would bestimulated, and Bahamian com-panies might also win morecontracts for work.

The Bank of the BahamasInternational managing direc-tor acknowledged that manycompanies had exhausted theirsavings and, with consumerdemand weak, cash flow wasoften anemic.

“These businesses rely oncommercial projects to be inthe pipeline, and people aresaving. The savings rate hasincreased, as people are beingmore prudent in how theyspend their money,” MrMcWeeney added.

While this was good forsavers, it was bad for Bahamianbusinesses. Mr McWeeney saidthe fact foreign exchangereserves stood at $1.1-$1.2 bil-lion showed consumer demandwas not where it needed to be,with all the implications thatheld for government revenues.

“It’s a mixed bag of goods,”he told this newspaper. “What’sgood in one area is not goodfor another. Hopefully, in 18months we’ll be beyond this.

“Banks have done a good jobin absorbing the shock to theirretail portfolio, and now thefocus is on the commercialside,” Mr McWeeney told Tri-bune Business. “That portfolioneeds a lot of attention becausebusinesses are fairly weak.

“We can’t expect a majorturnaround during these uncer-tain times, but little steps aregood steps. Eventually, every-thing will come together. I’mconfident of that. It needs tobe reflected now in consumerconfidence and business confi-dence.”

Businesscredit:25% inarrears

FROM page 1B


Androsian tourism is like a “leg-less crab”, unable to “get up andrun” without much needed invest-ment, a senior tourism official haslamented, calling for investment inits transportation infrastructure,accommodation facilities, restau-rants and attractions, plus greaterlinkages with the outside world.

Addressing the Andros BusinessOutlook 2011, Benjamin Pratt,senior manager of the BahamasTourism Office, said that more col-laboration between the public andprivate sector is required if Androsis to achieve its tourism potential.

Referring to Andros as a crab,

with each element - hotel accom-modation, transportation infra-structure, food and beverage offer-ings - of its potential tourism productlike a leg which it does not have,Mr Pratt said: “In an ideal environ-ment, and under a set of desirablecircumstances where we have alleight legs functioning effectively,the industry thrives.

Employment“If any one of these is lost then we

experience the extent to which theindustry fails to produce the desiredresults: Increased visitor arrivals,higher expenditure and moreemployment creation.”

Mr Pratt said the major areas towhich additional investment or

attention must be paid if the island’stourism is to develop include: Air-port facilities, which must be madecapable of accommodating interna-tional airlines; port and marina facil-ities capable of docking cruise shipsand private yachts; accommodation,which must be of an adequate num-ber and quality; restaurants, whichmust serve a variety of “balanced”meals demanded by visitors ratherthan just “peas and rice”; and adven-ture facilities and attractions to “ful-fill the interests of guests of all agesand abilities” who do not just wantto “lay in their rooms or on thebeach”.

Given the importance of the trav-el industry and media in promotingdestinations to the world, Mr Prattsaid more linkages must be created

between Andros and these sectors.“Many of our hotel properties are

not connected in any way to thesetravel intermediaries, so the rest ofthe world does not know about us.It’s important for us to developthose connections with travel agents,wholesale travel agents and otherbooking agencies like Travelocityso as to influence the flow of trav-ellers in our direction,” said thetourism official.

Mr Pratt also suggested Androscould attract more “world classevents and meetings” if it had facil-ities capable of handling suchgroups. “If we do this then we willsee tourism thrive in Andros. Shouldwe not move in this direction, wewill be unable to move or survive,”he said.

Andros tourismlike ‘legless crab’

Androsians receive82% of NIB outlay

ALGERNON CARGILL

INSIGHTFor the stories behindthe news, read Insight

on Mondays

Oil prices surged to levelsnot seen since 2008 this year,rising between February toMarch 2011 from an aver-age of around $85 a barrel toover $105 a barrel.

In comparison, in March2010 the average price of abarrel of oil was around $73.In March 2009, it was at alower average of around$40.

Prior to this week’s tum-ble in commodities prices,

Mr Moss told Tribune Busi-ness that rising gasolineprices experienced byBahamian consumers didnot necessarily signify thatthey should anticipate anyfurther rises in their elec-tricity costs in the comingmonths.

“While gas prices havebeen going up, traditionallyfuel oil prices, diesel andheavy fuel oil, do not go upas appreciably in the sum-mer months as gasoline.Gasoline tends to take quite

a spike in the summer, whilefuel oil and diesel do notescalate as much,” Mr Mosssaid at that time.

With analysts now pre-dicting that oil prices couldhave “peaked” for the timebeing in light of persistenthigh prices, and weak GDPgrowth rates, from advancedeconomies leading to areduction in the expecteddemand for oil, Mr Mosssuggested his earlier opin-ion - that consumer electric-ity costs are unlikely to risesignificantly - has been rein-forced.

The Central Bank of theBahamas report for March2011 backed Mr Moss’s esti-mates, stating that the aver-age fuel surcharge for BECelectricity bills rose by 21.6per cent that month to 22.52cents per kilowatt hour,“almost double the previousyear’s value”.

And it added: “Averageprices of gasoline and dieselalso firmed by 4.2 per centand 4.8 per cent to $4.94 pergallon and $4.61 per gallonrespectively while, year-on-

year, the respective costs ofboth products advanced by24.8 per cent and 15.2 percent.”

Energy costs, the CentralBank said, were on an“upward” trend, eventhough inflation for the 12months to January - as mea-sured by the BahamianRetail Price Index - droppedby 0.3 percentage points to1.4 per cent.

“Recent increases in fueland other commodfity pricesare anticipated to add todomestic inflation during theyear, especially energy-relat-ed costs,” the Central Bankreport said.

After gaining $7 to $8 abarrel in April, prices forbenchmark Brent and WTIoil plummeted more than$16 a barrel over the courseof a week leading up to May6, to $109.13 and $97.18 perbarrel respectively.

In the US, crude oil forJune delivery fell $5.13, or4.9 per cent, to $98.75 a bar-rel on Thursday on the NewYork Mercantile Exchange.However, prices were up 29per cent from a year ago.

Gasoline for June deliv-ery dropped 25.9 cents, or7.7 per cent, to $3.12 a gal-lon in New York. The con-tract declined as much as 9percent, the biggest fall sinceFeb. 2, 2009.

However, this relief didnot come in time to deterother increases that will hitthe pockets of Bahamianconsumers through raisingthe cost of importing goodsto this nation.

Shipping companiesCrowley and SeaboardMarine, members of theFlorida-Bahamas Shipown-ers and Operators Associa-tion, yesterday announcedplans to increase freightrates by $100 per 20-footequivalent units.

The two increases willtake effect on June 15 andSeptember 18, 2011.

The Association hadalready increased its fuelsurcharges earlier this yearin a two-step increase thattook effect on April 17 andMay 8.

The two new rate increas-es will apply to all contractand tariff rates between theUS and Bahamas destina-tions, a statement said.

The increases come ontop of the increase in fuelsurcharges the associationimplemented on February20.

BUSINESS


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Bahamas would provide to BTC, the former only repliedonce and did not provide the requested information.

In response to BTC’s comments, Cable Bahamas con-firmed it had approached the former state-owned carrier inJuly 2010 to begin talks over an interconnection agreement,recognising this was vital if it was to offer competitive fixed-line voice services to Bahamian consumers.

Interconnection is vital to creating a competitive marketin this telecoms service, because it allows traffic originatingon one carrier’s network to terminate on a rival’s, thusenabling two different sets of customers to talk to oneanother.

Cable Bahamas last night told Tribune Business it was“perplexed” that BTC had chosen to raise the matter pub-licly, acknowledging that it had raised the interconnectionissue in a letter to the Utilities Regulation & CompetitionAuthority (URCA). It declined to comment on the contentsof that letter.

Many informed observers are unlikely to be surprisedthat the interconnection negotiations between BTC andCable Bahamas have run into difficulties, given that thesame happened when the former’s only legally licensedcompetitor, Systems Resource Group (SRG), tried to effectthe same.

Yet BTC and SRG are under new ownership/managementin the shape of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC)and Cable Bahamas respectively, and the current negotia-tions may serve as a litmus test for how smooth the rela-tionship between the two rivals - likely to dominate theBahamian communications market as a duopoly - will run inthe future. Marlon Johnson, BTC’s vice-president of salesand marketing, told Tribune Business yesterday that thecompany’s interconnection agreement with SRG (inheritedby Cable Bahamas) had expired, and the latter two appearedto be “challenged” in negotiating a new one that fell withinthe ambit of the newly-privatised carrier’s Reference Access& Interconnection Offer (RAIO).

BTC has been finalising the RAIO’s terms with URCAfor several months, and Mr Johnson said this would providethe framework within which the company would negotiateinterconnection deals with all other licensed telecoms car-riers, setting out the terms, conditions and pricing policiesboth sides would face.

“From our standpoint, we are pretty clear as to what theprocess is and what it ought to be,” Mr Johnson told TribuneBusiness. “We are disappointed our counterparts on theother side don’t see it that way.

“We have had dialogue with SRG/Cable Bahamas forquite some time. The old interconnection agreement withSRG has expired for some time now, and we have to movethem and all other operators to the RAIO framework.That’s mandated by the regulatory regime, and that’s toprotect BTC and all other regulated operators.”

BTC, Mr Johnson explained, had been pursuing twotracks - seeking to finalise its RAIO terms and conditionswith URCA, and negotiating with SRG/Cable Bahamas atthe same time on an interconnection agreement. The talks,he added, were centred on how the two sides interconnect-ed with each other, the services they would extend to eachother, and the tariffs they would seek to impose on theother side. “That’s what we’ve been attempting to do, andwe’re disappointed that the process has not, in our minds,advanced as quickly as it should have done because we’rewaiting on information from Cable Bahamas,” Mr Johnsontold Tribune Business.

“There are terms and services we need to know: Whatthey intend to do; what they want from BTC; what they willprovide to BTC; and the prices they will charge BTC. It’s thewhole nine yards, and an interconnection agreement is two-sided. It’s what they require, and what we require.”

He added: “We’re eager to get it done. We’re not inter-ested in procrastination and idle discussion. We want to sitdown and get this done to facilitate the needs of both sets ofcustomers in competition.

“Our hope is that we can get it resolved quickly. Wewant to get it in the context of the new RAIO environ-ment and framework, and that seems to be the challengethey [Cable Bahamas] have.”

BTC said Cable Bahamas had alleged it was not cooper-ating by failing to work expeditiously to facilitate connectionto BTC’s network. “It is sadly ironic that Cable Bahamaswould accuse BTC of ’anti-competitive delaying tactics’when they are the ones who do not show up for meetings,”said BTC in a press statement.

“Far from stonewalling, BTC is, in fact, waiting for aresponse from Cable Bahamas as to the services it expectsto provide in exchange for the services it has requestedfrom us. BTC requested that information in writing seventimes between January 11 and March 22. Only once was aresponse received, on March 9, for what Cable Bahamastermed a proposal of services, but the list was, in fact, the listof services Cable Bahamas would like to take from BTC.”

BTC added: “We have been in negotiations over inter-connection-related services since August of 2010. We fullyunderstand the importance of these matters. They are crit-ical building blocks in laying the foundation of how wemove forward in a competitive environment.

“And we are stunned that Cable Bahamas would nowcomplain that we, BTC, has ‘ignored URCA’s decision,’when it seems that Cable Bahamas’ definition of ‘mean-ingful’ as it applies to interconnection negotiations appearsto be one in which Cable Bahamas instructs BTC as towhat Cable Bahamas wants and BTC accedes.”

Tribune Business understands that Cable Bahamasbelieves BTC has not kept to the timelines outlined in theRAIO, and that negotiations should not take nine-12 monthsto complete. Still, Mr Johnson said the RAIO - as mandat-ed by URCA - was designed “to ensure transparency andfairness throughout” the entire Bahamian communicationsindustry, allowing rival carriers to access BTC’s network andcompensating the incumbent for this.

He added that the RAIO was intended to ensure thatBTC got an “appropriate return on investment” on its sunkcost base, with all parties paying a fair tariff.

Mr Johnson said BTC had invested “hundreds of mil-lions of dollars” in infrastructure over its history, but wasrequired under the new regulatory regime to use a cost-based mechanism to assess the tariffs it should levy on oth-er licensed carriers.

This, he explained, was intended to strike a balancebetween protecting competition and rival carriers, throughBTC not being allowed to impose mark-ups or rents, whileensuring competitors could not “ride BTC for free”.

“Our ultimate intention is getting this resolved, and theRAIO approved, so we can move to everyone’s aim of hav-ing a competitive, robust marketplace that benefits con-sumers,” Mr Johnson said.

BTC blasts Cable overregulatory complaintFROM page 1BElectricity costs

rise some 26%FROM page 1B

“Recent increases in fuel and othercommodfity prices are anticipated toadd to domestic inflation during theyear, especially energy-related costs.”

Shareyournews

The Tribune wants tohear from people whoare making news in theirneighbourhoods. Perhapsyou are raising funds fora good cause,campaigning forimprovements in the areaor have won an award.If so, call us on 322-1986and share your story.

“The unions were seekingto agitate by litigation a mat-ter in which they had nointerest: the vesting ofBaTelCo’s assets in BTC,and the divestiture by theGovernment of 51 per centof its shareholding in the lat-ter.......

“The raison d’etre of theunions’ writ was such thatno amount of ingenuity incrafting a statement of claimcould have saved it. Theunions simply did not havethe standing or interest topursue the respondents, andno amount of inventivenessor dexterity in drafting asubsequent statement ofclaim could have saved theiraction.”

The Court of Appeal saidthe unions’ challenge to theBTC sale “should not havebeen brought in the firstplace”.

Appeal Justice Conteh,writing the verdict on behalfof himself and fellowAppeal Justices, court pres-ident Anita Allen and Jus-tice Blackman, said the mainthrust of the unions’ casewas that the 1999-2000 vest-ing of BaTelCo’s assets, lia-bilities and rights in its suc-cessor, BTC, had unconsti-tutionally deprived the for-mer of its rightful property.

They further alleged thatthis divestment, initiated bythe 1999 Telecommunica-tions Act, had “unlawfullyabrogated” the 1966Bahamas Telecommunica-tions Corporation Act thatcreated BaTelCo.

Noting that the unionswere effectively seeking to“pick up the cudgel onbehalf of BaTelCo”, theCourt of Appeal said thekey question was whetherthey had any standing to doso - and whether, if theyhad, this should be allowed.

It added that when theunions were “galvanised intoaction” by the impendingsale to CWC, the unions’industrial agreements withBaTelCo had been main-tained in force under BTC.And subsequent agreementshad also been concludedwith BTC.

As a result, the defen-dants, BaTelCo, BTC andthe latter’s former executivechairman, Julian Francis,had urged that the writ bestruck out and dismissed, onthe grounds that it disclosed

no cause of action and theunions had no standing tobring the claim. JusticeAdderley in the lower courtagreed with their arguments,and did just that.

At the Court of Appealhearing, Justice Conteh saidthe main thrust of theunions’ arguments, as artic-ulated by attorneys MauriceGlinton and Paul Moss, wasan attempt to overturn theSupreme Court findings thatthey had no legal capacityor standing to bring theaction.

The two BTC unions suedby their respective trustees,but the Court of Appealfound that just being regis-tered as a trade union underthe Industrial Relations Actdid not give them “carteblanche authority to sue outand maintain any and allclaims unrelated to thescope of their statutoryobjects”.

And while both unionshad the capacity to sue overtheir industrial agreementswith BTC, they made nosuch claim in their writ,alluding merely to their alle-gation - that BaTelCo’sproperty was taken unlaw-fully - representing a breachof contract.

“It cannot equally bedoubted that the unions cansue and maintain a claimrelating to their headquar-ters, for example, or anyloans they might havemade,” the Court of Appealsaid. “These would beclaims in respect of their realor personal property ormoney, and section 27 of theIndustrial Relations Actexpressly imbues them withthe requisite capacity toinstitute and maintain suchclaims.

“But this is a far cry fromsaying that the IndustrialRelations Act does entitlethe union to sue, in relianceon the constitution, for thealleged expropriation ofBaTelCo’s property or thesale of any shares in BTC.”

The Court of Appealbacked the Supreme Courtverdict that the unions hadno standing to bring theaction, since none of theirprivate legal rights werebeing threatened orinfringed upon.

Noting that the unionshad not acted the vesting ofBaTelCo assets in the PublicUtilities Commission (PUC)when it was created, theCourt of Appeal said:“Indeed, in argument beforeus, Mr Glinton was hardpressed to show us anydirect interest of the unionimpacted by the vesting ofBaTelCo’s assets in BTC, orthe proposed sale by theGovernment of 51 per centof its shareholding in the lat-ter.

“He could not point toany, apart from his referenceto the unions having someunspecified interest in thefortunes of BaTelCo and theviability of BTC.”

The Court of Appealdescribed the inclusion ofBaTelCo as a defendant bythe unions as “bizarre”, andnoted that the propertydivestiture they were com-plaining about had hap-

pened nine years before.It added that the unions

had ‘no reasonable cause ofaction’, as the transfer ofBaTelCo’s assets and liabil-ities to BTC had been doneunder the authority of anAct of Parliament, thusmaking it lawful.

Suggesting that the unionsshould have sought toadvance their case via Judi-cial Review, rather than anordinary writ, the Court ofAppeal said they chose thelatter route “for reasons bestknown to them and theirlegal advisers”.

“When Mr Glinton for theunions was asked by thecourt why this was not done,he was unable to give anysatisfactory response otherthan that the action by writwas the method the unionspreferred,” the judgmentsaid.

“We could not help butconclude that the writ for-mat was resorted to by theunions for largely tacticalreasons, namely to obviateobtaining permission thatwould otherwise have beenrequired on an applicationfor Judicial Review.”

BUSINESS


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FROM page 1B ‘Vexatious, scandalousand frivolous’: Court

slams BTC staff unionsgo out and drill,” said Dr Crevello. He claimed recent dataobtain by BPC through its exploration efforts had determinedthat “supersize oil fields” of a size larger than fields in the oil-wealthy Middle East may exist in the southern Bahamas.

Dr Crevello declined to identify, when asked, which “majorcompanies” are interested in the opportunity to drill in theBahamas.

“We would not drill ourselves. We would bring in a supermajor who would have the breadth of science to do that. Wewould remove ourselves to become a minority partner. Theywould then become the operators, drill the wells and take on allof these responsibilities,” said the chief executive, speakingof the potential relationship between BPC and a more estab-lished oil company.

While describing how BPC would take a step back at thisstage, Dr Crevello sought to emphasise that BPC is committedto ensuring that any oil exploration or drilling activities wouldbe done with a view to protecting the environment from anydamage.

He said the company is presently having an EnvironmentalImpact Assessment (EIA) conducted and has its own “oil spillcapture system” under patent.

He also drew upon what he described as the “differences”between the type of drilling activity that was taking place in theGulf of Mexico prior to the massive oil spill that occurredthere last year, and that which would be called for in theBahamas, suggesting the latter would be inherently safer forgeological and other reasons.

“The Macondo [Deepwater Horizon oil well] was drilled inover 5,000 feet of water, in a very challenging environment. This[The Bahamas] would be a completely different environment,”said Dr Crevello.

BPC, which has a £220 million market capitalisation, statedin March 2011 its aspiration beginning to drill for oil in theBahamas by the first quarter of 2012. Its stock had received amajor boost after the company charged in a December 2010investor presentation that it was aiming for a 2011 fourth quar-ter start date to drill.

The company’s stock value later declined 30 per cent, afterMinister of the Environment, Earl Deveaux, confirmed at theend of March that it would be “nigh on impossible” for the Gov-ernment to enact the legislation that would enable oil drillingin this nation prior to the next general election, which mostobservers expect to take place in May 2012.

Mr Deveaux reiterated that the suspension of considerationof applications for licenses to explore and drill for oil, which theGovernment put in place in August 2010 after the Deep WaterHorizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatened Bahamianwaters, remains in place until such time as this nation "hasthe most rigid protocols in place".

In his presentation, Dr Crevello highlighted the history of oilexploration and the drilling of wells in the Bahamas - noting thefact that BPC is one of several companies that have sought tofind oil in this nation - as well as the fact that drilling activity isset to get underway in Cuba as early as this year.

It is anticipated that significant oil may be extracted from anarea in Cuba close to the southern Bahamian waters where BPCbelieves the most significant chance of striking oil in this nationexists.

Dr Crevello said there would be varied opportunities forgrowth and development in this nation stemming from oil-drilling activity if BPC gets the go-ahead to proceed. Thesewould come not only from royalties to the Government, butfrom the creation of more skilled employment and expansionof related industries.

“With success, Freeport and the deepwater port could buildup. We’ve talked to the authorities about the potential ofbuilding the FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading)ships[vessels used by the offshore industry for the processingand storage of oil until it can be offloaded] in Freeport’s drydock, so you’d have job creation associated with marine con-struction.

“With production (of oil), major companies will move into theBahamas and set up offices. There would be opportunities forenvironmentalists,” said Dr Crevello.

However, he added that a “challenge” would be a lack ofappropriate skill sets existing in the Bahamas at present totake up oil industry-related opportunities.

“We would have to train people up, starting now at the highschool level, get more people in the engineering stream, intopetroleum engineering and so on. The potential is there,” saidthe chief executive.

Firm in talkswith oil majorsFROM page 1B

ANNE D'INNOCENZIO,AP Retail WritersMICHELLE CHAPMAN,AP Retail WritersNEW YORK

Kohl's Corp.'s first-quar-ter net income climbed 6percent as its move to con-trol expenses like inventoryand strength in its store-label brands made up for amore modest revenueincrease overall.

The company also raisedits full-year earnings outlookThursday, partly on opti-mism it will be able to passon higher costs for rawmaterials like cotton.

Lingering cool tempera-tures in the Northeast andMidwest chilled sales of sea-sonal items like clothing.But the department storeretailer said it expects cloth-ing sales to improve as theweather warms up.

"We have strengthenedour marketing for the sec-ond quarter and believe thatwe will see some pent-updemand for seasonal busi-nesses," said Kevin Mansell,chairman, president andCEO said on a conferencecall with investors.

Focused"Our customer is very

focused on buying close toneed. And so when shedoesn't have need, whichshe really didn't have inMarch and April, she delaysbuying."

The chain is also countingon its new exclusive brandsfrom entertainers JenniferLopez and Marc Anthonyto draw customers. Kohl'ssays they're the first celebri-ty couple to simultaneouslydesign collections for oneretailer. The lines will launchthis fall.

Kohl's net income rose to$211 million, or 73 cents pershare, for the period endedApril 30 from $199 million,or 64 cents per share, a yearearlier.

Earnings met the expec-tations of analysts surveyedby FactSet.

Revenue rose 3 percent to$4.16 billion. Wall Streetforecast revenue of $4.26 bil-lion.

Kohl's shares rose a littlemore than 1 percent, or 70

cents, to $54.31.Revenue at stores open at

least a year increased 1.3percent for the quarter,below the 5.4 percent atMacy's Inc. and the 3.8 per-cent at J.C. Penney Co. Thefigure is important for retail-ers because it excludesstores that opened or closedduring the year.

Exclusive brands andstore labels like Simply VeraVera Wang and Food Net-work, which carry a highprofit margin and accountfor about 50 percent of thestore's business, fared well.

Mansell told investors thatKohl's is on track to have$1 billion in online sales thisyear.

The department storeoperator previously indicat-ed that its online revenueclimbed more than 50 per-cent last year. But Kohl'sstill lags its competitorsonline, according to CitiInvestment Research ana-lyst Deborah Weinswig in arecent report. Last year,Kohl's online sales account-ed for 3.9 percent of its busi-ness, compared with 6 per-cent for Macy's and 8.6 per-cent for J.C. Penney.

IncreaseClearly, Kohl's is aiming

to increase that. It bought its third online

shipping center in Marylandthat it plans to have runningin time to support the criticalholiday season. Kohl's saidin March that the Edge-wood, Md., center shouldopen in July, creating about1,200 jobs over the nextthree years.

As shopping increasinglymoves to the Web, Kohl's isbuilding smaller stores.About two-thirds of its newstores in 2011 will be what itconsiders "small," about64,000 square feet. That'sabout three-quarters the sizeof Kohl's typical stores.

"As more people shop athome and get it delivered tothem at home, you mightnot need as big a footprint,"Chief Financial Officer WesMcDonald said.

Mansell said competitionremains fierce among rivalsto get their share of shop-pers' dollars, but it will bemore intense this fall asretailers try to push throughmore price increases.

Mansell told investors thatwhen it pushed throughhigh-single-digit increase oncertain goods in men'sbasics, denim and children'swear, the number of itemssold declined in the low sin-gle digits, but dollar salesrose in the mid-single digits.

Kohl's, based inMenomonee Falls, Wis.,now expects full-year earn-ings of $4.25 to $4.40 pershare, up from $4.05 to $4.25per share.

It anticipates second-quar-ter earnings of 96 cents to$1.02 per share.

Analysts predicted full-year earnings of $4.36 pershare and second-quarterearnings of $1 per share.

The retailer, whose exclu-sive brands include DanaBuchman and Hang Ten,runs 1,097 stores in 49 states.

BUSINESS


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KOHL'S 1Q PROFIT CLIMBS, LIFTS FULL-YEAR OUTLOOK

(AP Photo/Morry Gash, file)PROFIT UP: In this filew photo taken Nov. 9, 2005, a sign from the Kohl’s Department store is displayedin Madison, Wis. Kohl’s Corp.’s first-quarter net income climbed 6 percent as the department store chaincontrolled expenses and expanded its online business. The company also lifted its full-year earnings out-look Thursday, May 12, 2011.

INTERNATIONALBUSINESS CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER,

AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON

The number of Americans applying for unemploymentbenefits plummeted last week, reversing nearly all the sharprise reported the previous week.

The number of laid-off workers seeking benefits dropped44,000 to a seasonally adjusted 434,000, the Labor Depart-ment said Thursday. That is the steepest weekly fall sinceFebruary 2010.

The drop suggests that the increase of 47,000 reported lastweek was mostly due to temporary factors. The state ofNew York reported that applications jumped by more than24,000 two weeks ago, because more school systems hadspring break than usual.

That led to a spike in temporary layoffs. A new extendedbenefits program in Oregon had caused applications to risein that state.

Still, the latest applications figure is far above the 375,000level typically consistent with sustainable job growth. Week-ly applications peaked during the recession at 659,000.

The tornadoes that devastated parts of Alabama led to ajump in applications in that state last week, a departmentspokesman said, though it wasn't enough to significantlyimpact the national numbers.

IncreaseThe four-week average of claims, a less volatile measure,

rose to 436,750, its fifth straight increase. The average hasjumped 46,500, or nearly 12 percent, since early April.

That rise has raised concerns among many economists thathiring could slow this month, weighing on the economy.More jobs are critical to boosting consumer incomes andspending. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percentof the economy.

Employers have been adding jobs at a healthy pace sinceFebruary. Companies have added 250,000 jobs each month,on average, in the past three months, the biggest hiringspree in five years.

The unemployment rate has dropped nearly a full per-centage point in the past five months, though it remains at9 percent.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefitsedged up by 5,000 to 3.8 million, the department said.

But that doesn't include millions of additional peoplereceiving emergency benefits under an extended benefitsprogram put in place during the recession.

All told, just under 8 million people received unemploy-ment benefits in the week ending April 23, the most recentdata available.

That's about 30,000 fewer than the previous week.

Drop in numberof Americans applying for

jobless benefits

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)JOB FAIR: n this May 3, 2011 photo, Army Sgt.1st Class LonellZimmerman, of Vineland, N.J., looks over some papers as he attendsa job fair aimed at helping military and former military memberstransition to civilian jobs, in Cherry Hill, N.J. The number of peopleapplying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week, reversingnearly all the sharp rise reported the previous week.

WASHINGTON

U.S. consumers spent more on gasoline, clothing and autos inApril, pushing retail sales up for a 10th straight month. But muchof the gain came from a surge in gasoline prices.

The Commerce Department says retail sales rose 0.5 percent inApril after a 0.9 percent increase in March. Excluding a 2.7 percentjump in gasoline sales reflecting higher prices, the increase inretail sales was a much smaller 0.2 percent.

Gasoline pump prices have been surging in recent months, withthe nationwide average hovering near $4 a gallon.

RETAIL SALES UP FOR 10TH STRAIGHT MONTH IN APRIL

BUSINESS


52wk-Hi 52wk-Low Securit y Previous Close Today's Close Change Daily Vol. EPS $ Div $ P/E Yield1.19 0.95 AML Foods Limited 1.18 1.18 0.00 0.155 0.080 7.6 6.78%10.63 9.05 Bahamas Property Fund 10.63 10.63 0.00 0.013 0.200 817.7 1.88%7.50 4.40 Bank of Bahamas 6.91 6.91 0.00 0.213 0.100 32.4 1.45%0.53 0.17 Benchmark 0.18 0.18 0.00 -0.877 0.000 N/M 0.00%2.84 2.70 Bahamas Waste 2.70 2.70 0.00 0.047 0.090 57.4 3.33%2.20 1.96 Fidelity Bank 1.96 1.96 0.00 0.016 0.040 122.5 2.04%12.00 8.69 Cable Bahamas 8.74 8.74 0.00 1.050 0.310 8.3 3.55%2.85 2.35 Colina Holdings 2.55 2.55 0.00 0.459 0.040 5.6 1.57%7.00 5.80 Commonwealth Bank (S1) 6.98 6.98 0.00 0.496 0.260 14.1 3.72%2.53 1.86 Consolidated Water BDRs 1.93 2.00 0.07 0.111 0.045 18.0 2.25%2.54 1.31 Doctor's Hospital 1.31 1.31 0.00 0.107 0.110 12.2 8.40%5.99 4.75 Famguard 5.40 5.40 0.00 0.357 0.240 15.1 4.44%9.00 5.65 Finco 6.00 6.00 0.00 0.682 0.000 8.8 0.00%9.85 8.60 FirstCaribbean Bank 8.60 8.60 0.00 0.494 0.350 17.4 4.07%6.00 4.57 Focol (S) 6.00 6.00 0.00 0.435 0.160 13.8 2.67%1.00 1.00 Focol Class B Preference 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.000 0.000 N/M 0.00%7.30 5.50 ICD Utilities 7.30 7.30 0.00 0.012 0.240 608.3 3.29%10.50 9.80 J. S. Johnson 9.82 9.82 0.00 0.859 0.640 11.4 6.52%10.00 10.00 Premier Real Estate 10.00 10.00 0.00 1.207 0.200 8.3 2.00%

52wk-Hi 52wk-Low Security Symbol Last Sale Change Daily Vol.

99.46 99.46 Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BAH29 99.46 0.00100.00 100.00 Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + FBB17 100.00 0.00

100.00 100.00 Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) + FBB22 100.00 0.00

100.00 100.00 Fidelity Bank Note 13 (Series C) + FBB13 100.00 0.00

100.00 100.00 Fidelity Bank Note 15 (Series D) + FBB15 100.00 0.00

52wk Hi 52wk Low Symbol Bid $ Ask $ Last Price Daily Vol EPS $ Div $ P/E Yield

FINDEX: YEAR END 2008 -12.31%

30 May 2013

20 November 2029

THURSDAY, 12 MAY 2011BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,435.34 | CHG 0.07 | %CHG 0.00 | YTD -64.17 | YTD % -4.28

BISX LISTED DEBT SECURITIES - (Bonds trade on a Percentage Pricing basis)Maturity

19 October 2017

7%

RoyalFidelity Merchant Bank & Trust Ltd. (Over-The-Counter Securities)29 May 2015

WWW.BISXBAHAMAS.COM | TELEPHONE: 242-677-BISX (2479) | FACSIMILE: 242-323-2320

19 October 2022

Prime + 1.75%

Prime + 1.75%

6.95%

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES AS OF:

7%

Interest

52wk-Hi 52wk-Low Symbol Bid $ Ask $ Last Price Daily Vol . EPS $ Div $ P/E Yield10.06 5.01 Bahamas Supermarkets N/A N/A 14.00 -2.945 0.000 N/M 0.00%0.55 0.40 RND Holdings 0.35 0.40 0.55 0.001 0.000 256.6 0.00%

41.00 29.00 ABDAB 30.13 31.59 29.00 4.540 0.000 9.03 0.00%0.55 0.40 RND Holdings 0.65 0.75 0.40 0.029 0.000 24.13 0.00%

52wk-Hi 52wk-Low Fund Name NAV YTD% Last 12 Months % NAV 3MTH1.5573 1.4674 CFAL Bond Fund 1.5573 2.04% 6.13% 1.5353653.0185 2.9020 CFAL MSI Preferred Fund 3.0185 2.41% 4.01% 2.9526631.5976 1.5289 CFAL Money Market Fund 1.5976 1.50% 4.50% 1.5808043.2025 2.6384 Royal Fidelity Bahamas G & I Fund 2.6384 -3.01% -13.12%13.6388 13.0484 Royal Fidelity Prime Income Fund 13.5016 1.08% 0.02%116.5808 103.9837 CFAL Global Bond Fund 116.5808 0.71% 8.38% 115.762221114.1289 101.7254 CFAL Global Equity Fund 114.1289 2.39% 7.89% 111.4697441.1608 1.0000 FG Financial Preferred Income Fund 1.1608 1.25% 5.20%1.1214 1.0000 FG Financial Growth Fund 1.1214 0.26% 4.18%1.1620 1.0000 FG Financial Diversified Fund 1.1620 1.12% 5.24%9.9952 9.5078 Royal Fidelity Bah Int'l Investment Fund Principal

Protected TIGRS, Series 1 9.8891 0.43% 4.27%11.2173 10.0000 Royal Fidelity Bah Int'l Investment Fund Principal

Protected TIGRS, Series 2 11.4985 4.04% 7.76%10.4288 9.1708 Royal Fidelity Bah Int'l Investment Fund Principal

Protected TIGRS, Series 3 10.6813 6.55% 7.65%8.4510 4.8105 Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund 8.8564 5.46% 11.17%

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

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P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings FINDEX - The Fidelity Bahamas Stock Index. January 1, 1994 = 100

(S) - 4-for-1 Stock Split - Effective Date 8/8/2007

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A look at economic developments and activity in major stockmarkets around the world Thursday:

___

BERLIN — Germany has signaled it could back more helpfor struggling Greece, the clearest official admission yet that theinternational bailout and austerity plan agreed to last year torestore confidence in the country is failing.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in par-liament that his government could back more aid if Greece con-tinues to find it impossible to raise funds by selling bonds.

___

LONDON — Stocks fell as investors worried about the stateof the global economy and whether Greece's debt crisis will hurtthe rest of Europe's financial sector.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.5percent while Germany's DAX fell 0.7 percent. The CAC-40 inFrance ended 0.9 percent lower.

___

TOKYO — Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank 1.5percent. South Korea's Kospi slid 2 percent, and Hong Kong'sHang Seng lost 0.9 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was off1.8 percent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4 percentto 2,844.08, and the Shenzhen Composite Index of China'ssmaller, second exchange fell 1.4 percent to 1,194.88.

___

BEIJING — China ordered most of its banks to increase theamount of money they hold in reserves in a new move to curbinflation after higher-than-expected price rises in April.

___

LONDON — British manufacturing rose 0.2 percent inMarch but a weak performance by the broader industrial sec-tor raised fears that its rebound was running out of steam,according to official data.

The Office for National Statistics said output of all produc-tion industries, which includes mining, quarrying and oil pro-duction, rose by 0.3 percent during March but just 0.2 percentfor the whole first quarter.

___

BRUSSELS — A European Union official says that theaverage interest rate for Portugal's bailout loans will be 5.7 per-cent — lower than what Ireland has to pay, but above Greece'srate.

___

FRANKFURT, Germany — The International MonetaryFund is urging Europe to push shaky banks to strengthen theirfinances as the best way to keep the debt crisis in Greece, Por-tugal and Ireland from hitting a growing eurozone economy.

___

TALLINN, Estonia — Economic growth in Estonia, theeuro area's newest member, powered ahead at a 2.1 percent ratein the first quarter from the previous three-month period, ledby strong exports, the nation's statistics agency said.

___

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia and India committedto doubling the value of trade between the two countries with-in five years to 40 billion Australian dollars ($42 billion) as theykicked off talks on a bilateral free trade deal.

GLOBALECONOMICNEWS

JUERGEN BAETZ,Associated PressBERLIN

Germany has signaled itcould back more help for strug-gling Greece, the clearest offi-cial admission yet that the inter-national bailout and austerityplan agreed last year to restoreconfidence in the country is fail-ing.

German Finance MinisterWolfgang Schaeuble saidThursday in parliament that hisgovernment could back moreaid if Greece continues to findit impossible to raise funds byselling bonds.

Schaeuble insisted that anyfurther assistance must be tiedto tough terms, arguing it is upto the Greeks to solve theirunderlying budgetary and struc-tural problems: "We won'tapprove additional measureswithout clear conditions."

Germany is Europe's biggesteconomy and is a central,though sometimes reluctant,player in resolving the debt cri-sis. Its economy is growingstrongly due to strong exportsand painful labor marketreforms made years ago, andmany people there resent hav-ing to bail out Greece's free-spending ways from the pastdecade. EU officials have indi-cated more help will be neededto help Greece honor its debtsbeyond 2013, when the currentbailout program expires.

They have not said publiclyhow much extra money Greecemight need, but hinted that theeurozone's 17 finance ministersare likely to make a broadannouncement on potential

new measures after their meet-ing in Brussels on Monday.

The final details, however,will have to wait for a reportby debt inspectors in Athens.

The International MonetaryFund, the European CentralBank and the European Com-mission are currently evaluatingGreece's progress on the termsof its euro110 billion ($158 bil-lion) bailout that saved it frombankruptcy. They will decideon whether to release the nextround of funds and their report,due next month, will estimateGreece's funding shortfall nextyear.

"If it appears that Greececannot return to the financialmarkets within the time frameassumed last year, then we haveto talk about what additionalmeasures Greece, first and fore-most, can take, what can bedone in addition to solve theproblem," Schaueble said.

Greece's crisis is the resultof years of inept governance,

widespread corruption andwaste that created bloated bud-get deficits and a public debtamounting to about 150 per-cent of economic output.

Despite drastic spending cutsalready implemented — withreductions to pensions andsalaries accompanied by anincrease in taxes and retirementages — investors still don't trustGreece to repay all its debts.As a result, its borrowing ratesare prohibitively high, freezingit out of bond markets.

If that situation continues,Greece would need more help.It is supposed to raise someeuro27 billion ($39 billion) oncapital markets next year, butthat seems unlikely.

Greece badly needs eco-nomic growth to support itsdebt reduction drive, but it isexpected to remain in recessionthis year. Official data onThursday showed unemploy-ment rose to 15.9 percent inFebruary from 15.1 percent inJanuary. Economists sayGreece has so much debt that itmay have to restructure it —give investors new bonds paythem less or later, so that thevalue of the debt is reduced.

A top European CentralBank official said Thursdayhowever that that is a bad idea.

Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, a member of thebank's six-member executivecouncil, says he's surprised bythe ease with which peopleadvocate restructuring.

"I am rather surprised to seethe flippancy with which somecommentators recommend thatthe government of an advancedeconomy should infringe its

legal and contractual obliga-tions," Gonzalez-Paramo said,"as though breaching the trustof investors and citizens werethe simplest and least costlysolution to the deeply-rootedstructural problems in Greece."

While debt restructuring isrelatively common for devel-oping countries, it would beentirely different for a richcountry that is closely connect-ed to other Europeaneconomies through trade andfinancial ties, said Gonzalez-Paramo. Greece's connectionsto other economies mean thattrouble there could spread andcause trouble far beyond itsborders, he said. The IMFwarned that the rest of Europeneeded to strengthen its banksto avoid the troubles in Greece— and debt stricken Irelandand Portugal — from spread-ing through the financial sys-tem. Many banks elsewhere inEurope hold bonds from thestricken countries, and havefinancial cushions consideredtoo thin to absorb big losses onthose bonds A top IMF officialsaid Greece should be able topay its debts with the help ofreforms and the current bailout,but left the door open to chang-ing that assessment after thereview due in June.

"We have to decide as we goalong whether we are still con-fident the Greek debt is sus-tainable or not and you canexpect the fund, together withour European partners, to takea position on this in about amonth's time," AntonioBorges, director of the IMF'sEuropean department, said at anews conference in Frankfurt.

(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)TIMES OF AUSTERITY: An empty travel agency with a banner promoting tourism, depicting the ancient statue of Diadumenos, right, in cen-tral Athens, Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Nearly a year after Greece was rescued from bankruptcy by an international bailout, the country's busi-nesses are reeling from stringent austerity measures imposed as a means to pull the economy out of its debt hole. As Greeks see their dis-posable income shrink, the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce says 65,000 small and medium-sized enterprises shut down last year.

GABRIELE STEINHAUSER,AP Business WriterBRUSSELS

Portugal will have to pay an average interest rate of 5.7 percentfor its bailout loans from other eurozone countries and the Euro-pean Union, an EU official said Thursday. That is lower thanwhat Ireland has to pay, but above Greece's rate.

The average maturity of the loans will be 7 1/2 years, in line withthe programs of the other two bailed out countries, the official said.He was speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal hasyet to be signed off by European finance ministers.

Other eurozone countries and the EU will provide two thirds, or?52 billion, of Portugal's ?78 billion loan package. The Washington-based International Monetary Fund is responsible for the remain-der and said last week it would charge an interest rate of between3.25 percent and 4.25 percent, depending on the maturity of theloans.

The cost of rescue loans has been a hotly debated topic inEurope's debt crisis, not only because citizens and politicians in thebailed out countries have complained that they are being ripped offin difficult times, but also because economists have warned that thehigh rates might make it even more difficult to pay off massivedebts.

Eurozone leaders agreed in March to lower the interest rate theycharge for emergency loans by one percentage point, and while thatdeal has not yet been implemented for the region's bailout fund, itwas taken into account for Portugal's rescue.

European interest rates for bailouts are determined by two fac-tors: the rate the bailout fund has to pay when raising money in themarket as well as a risk premium added by the fund.

While the premium has been lowered for Portugal, the country'sbailout comes at a time when market rates have been going up.That's one of the reasons why the 5.7 percent rate still looks muchhigher than what Greece is being charged — just above 4 percent,although that will likely also fluctuate because of market rates.

EU officials said last November that Ireland's average interestrate would be around 5.8 percent for 7 1/2 years. However, becauseof the rising market rates, Ireland has actually been paying more,as much as 6.18 percent.

The EU's Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said ear-lier this week he expected eurozone states to lower the risk pre-mium added to Ireland's loans "shortly" after Greece was alreadygiven a better deal in March.

Germany could backmore aid for Greece

INTERNATIONALBUSINESS

PORTUGAL BAILOUT INTERESTRATE BELOW IRELAND'S

BAILOUT PACKAGE: Officials prepare to announced details of a bailoutpackage being provided to Portugal, with right to left; Poul Thomsondeputy director of the International Monetary Fund European depart-ment, Juergen Kroeger representative of the European Commission, andRasmus Ruffer, of the European Central Bank, as they arrive for a jointnews conference Thursday, May 5, 2011 in Lisbon.

BUSINESS


NEW YORK

The dollar fell against theeuro Thursday, reversing gainsit made earlier in the day, afterthe government released con-sumer spending and jobs datathat painted a mixed picture ofthe economy.

The euro rose to $1.4231 lateThursday from $1.4196Wednesday. The euro had fall-en to as low as $1.4121 earlier inthe trading day after a Germanfinance minister said that hisgovernment could back moreaid to Greece. Greece receiveda hefty bailout last year.

In the U.S., the LaborDepartment said applicationsfor unemployment benefits felllast week to 434,000, after surg-ing the previous week. Econo-mists expected a bigger drop inclaims. Meanwhile, the Com-merce Department said highergas prices boosted retail sales0.5 percent in April. It's the10th straight month of gains.Excluding gas station sales, theincrease was only 0.2 percent.And the Labor Departmentsaid Thursday that the Produc-er Price Index rose 0.8 percentlast month, mostly because ofan increase in energy prices. It'sthe seventh month in a row thatcompanies had to pay more forraw materials.

In other trading Thursday,the British pound fell to $1.6286from $1.6343 Wednesday. Thedollar fell to 80.91 Japanese yenfrom 80.97 Japanese yen, andfell to 0.8851 Swiss franc from0.8880 Swiss franc. The dollarrose to 96.32 Canadian centsfrom 96.15 Canadian cents.

The U.S. dollar was mixedagainst other currencies aroundthe world, rising against the cur-rencies in South Korea, Aus-tralia and Brazil.

CHRISTOPHER S.RUGABER,AP Economics WritersMARTIN CRUTSINGER,AP Economics WritersWASHINGTON

Consumers spent more inApril, but most of their moneywent to pay higher food andgas prices.

The rising cost of basic neces-sities is threatening to slow eco-nomic growth in the comingmonths. But hiring gains arethe best in five years, commod-ity prices are easing, and gasprices could follow in the weeksahead.

Economists say the strongerjob market will offset theimpact of inflation and drivethe economy in the second halfof the year.

"If this is the full hit from therise in gas prices, it is no bigdeal," said Ian Shepherdson,chief U.S. economist for HighFrequency Economics.

More expensive gas boostedretail sales 0.5 percent in April,the 10th straight month ofgains. But excluding gas stationsales, the increase was only 0.2percent, the CommerceDepartment said Thursday.

Companies also paid morefor raw materials and factorygoods in April, mostly becauseenergy prices jumped for theseventh straight month.

The Labor Department saidits producer price index, whichmeasures price changes before

they reach the consumer, rose0.7 percent. But after taking outvolatile food and energy cate-gories, core wholesale pricesincreased only 0.3 percent, thesame gain as the previousmonth.

Fuel prices have been surgingin recent months. The nation-wide average for gas has hov-ered slightly below $4 per gal-lon. Economists are worriedthat higher fuel costs will leavemotorists with less money tospend on other discretionarygoods. That would slow eco-nomic growth.

Consumers are paying morefor food, too. Grocery storessales jumped 1.5 percent,according to the retail salesdata. That's triple the Marchincrease and a reflection ofhigher prices.

But commodity prices havedropped in recent days, hintingthat inflationary pressures couldcool in the coming months. Oilprices ticked up slightly Thurs-day to near $99 a barrel. Butthat's still down from nearly$114 a barrel last week. Cornprices fell sharply Wednesdayand have been little changedon Thursday.

Paul Dales, an economist atCapital Economics, said higherenergy and agricultural com-modity prices could push the12-month increase in wholesaleprices to 8 percent in the com-ing months. But it would likelybe a temporary spike.

"With commodity prices now

falling, both producer and con-sumer price inflation are likelyto drop sharply in the secondhalf of the year," Dales said.

The retail sales data wasn'tall bad. While April marked thesmallest increase in ninemonths, the government didrevise the previous two monthsto show stronger sales gains inMarch and February.

And the government reportwas at odds with sales datafrom 28 of the nation's biggestretail chains. The InternationalCouncil of Shopping Centerssaid those retailers enjoyedstrong sales last month. Andover the past two months, theysaw sales rise 5.25 percent com-pared to the same period a yearago. That's the strongest springsince 1999.

Many economists say abrighter outlook for hiringshould blunt the impact of infla-tion. Companies have added anaverage of 250,000 jobs a monthin the past three months, thebiggest hiring spree in fiveyears. The unemployment ratehas dropped nearly a full per-centage point since November.

Americans are growing moreoptimistic about the U.S. econ-omy. An Associated Press-GfKpoll shows that more than 2 outof 5 people believe the U.S.economy will get better, while athird think it will stay the sameand nearly a fourth think it willget worse. That's a reboundfrom last month's more pes-simistic attitude.

JEANNINE AVERSA,AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON

Federal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke and other regu-lators gave Congress an updateThursday on their efforts toimplement the biggest overhaulof America's financial rulessince the Great Depression.

In testimony to the SenateBanking Committee, Bernankesaid the Fed will unveil newregulations this summer thatwould protect the U.S. econo-my from another meltdown ofthe nation's largest banks andfinancial companies.

Congress directed the Fed towrite the rules when it passedlast year's financial regulatoryoverhaul. The law aims to pre-vent another financial crisis likethe one in 2008 that plungedthe U.S. economy deeper intorecession.

The rules will require bigbanks and others, such as WallStreet firms, hedge funds andinsurance companies, whosefailure could endanger theeconomy, to be subject to morestrict requirements for theamount of capital and cash theymust have on hand to cushionagainst potential losses if anoth-er financial crisis were to strike.

"Our goal is to produce awell-integrated set of rules thatmeaningfully reduces the prob-ability of failure of our largest,most complex financial firms,and that minimizes the lossesto the financial system and theeconomy if such a firm shouldfail," Bernanke said in the tes-timony. The Fed will allow thepublic, banks and other inter-ested parties to comment onthe proposed regulations beforeimplementing them in January2012.

Bernanke also acknowledgedthat some small banks could behurt if regulators allow them tocharge more than big banks forprocessing debt card transac-tions.

The higher fees, paid byretailers each time Americansswipe their cards, could makedebit cards issued by smallerbanks less attractive to mer-chants. "There's good reason

to be concerned about it,"Bernanke said. It could result insome smaller banks "being lessprofitable or even failing," hesaid. Currently, the fees typi-cally range between 1 and 2percent of each purchase, aver-aging 44 cents. The Fed hasproposed capping that at 12cents, though smaller bankscould charge more. Bankerswant lawmakers to delay the

change in hopes that it willeventually be killed or toneddown.

Separately, Bernanke andNeal Wolin, the TreasuryDepartment's No. 2 official,urged Congress to raise the$14.3 trillion limit on the Unit-ed States' borrowing authori-ty. "Using the debt limit as abargaining chip is quite risky,"Bernanke said. Republicans in

Congress want cuts in federalspending in exchange for anyincrease in the government'sborrowing authority.

Failing to raise the limitwould cause interest rates onmortgages and other consumerloans to rise, rattle financialmarkets and hurt the economy,he said.

Wolin said it would be"unthinkable."

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)TESTIMONY: In a Feb. 17, 2011 file photo Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Sen-ate Banking Committee. Bernanke and other regulators are updating Congress about their efforts to carry out the biggest overhaul of the nation’sfinancial rules since the Great Depression.

Regulators update Congresson huge financial overhaul

Job gains should offsethigher gas and food prices

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, file)FILLING UP: In this April 26, 2011 photo, Vu To finishes filling his gas tank at a Shell gas station in theSeattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash. Americans saw their incomes rise in March and this spurred higher spend-ing. But much of the extra money went to pay for more costly gasoline.

businessBRIEFDOLLAR SLIPSAGAINST EUROON ECONOMIC

REPORTS

By BRENT STUBBSSenior Sports [email protected]

The initialappearance inDaegu, SouthKorea, turnedout to be a very

successful one for both triplejumper Leevan ‘Superman’Sands and quarter-milerRamon Miller.

The duo were the onlyBahamians to test the facili-ties that will host the 2011IAAF World Championshipsin August. The stadium thatwas completed in May, 2001,is the largest stadium in Koreawith a seating capacity ofmore than 66,400.

Before a near capacitycrowd on hand at the DaeguPre-Championships Meetingyesterday, Sands soared to asecond place finish in his sig-nature event and Milleropened his international cam-paign with a fourth palce inhis specialty.

Hometown favouriteDeokhyeon Kim took advan-tage of the crowd support tosurge on top of the field inthe triple jump with a leap of16.99 metres or 55-feet, 9-inches.

But Sands was not too farbehind with his best mark of16.97m (55-8 1/4), the sameas that of Cuban AlexisCopello, who had to settle forthird.

Sands had a wind-aided17.39m (57-0 3/4) that wouldhave put him on top of theIAAF world performancechart. But instead, he has thesixth best legal mark of17.09m (56-1).

Teddy Tamgho of Francehas the world leading markof 17.49m (57-4 3/4) andCopello is second with 17.27m(56-8). Kim’s winning featyesterday has him in eighthplace.

Meanwhile, Miller ran45.57 for his fourth in themen’s 400. The race was wonby Yuzo Kanemaru of Japanin 45.23.

Americans David Neville(45.24) and Calvin Smith(45.36) trailed in second andthird respectively.

With his performance,Miller now joins GrandBahamian collegianDemetrius Pinder and Chris‘Bay’ Brown among the lead-ers on the IAAF standings.

Pinder, the national cham-pion, currently has the fifthbest time of 45.06 with Brownholding onto the 11th spot at45.37. Miller is now peggedat No.17.

The next Bahamian on the

400 list is Grand BahamianMichael Mathieu with 45.69at No.25.

So far, Pinder is the only

Bahamian this year to surpassthe A qualifying standards of

F R I D A Y , M A Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 1

T H E T R I B U N E S E C T I O N E

INSIDE • International sports news

Steak-out in support of Sumner’s medical expenses

See page 3e


WITH this possibly being the finalevent that he will get to compete inat the Thomas A Robinson Trackand Field Stadium, sprinter AdrianGriffith is hoping to have a fantasticshowing this weekend.

Griffith is one of the elite athletesin town to compete in the Ambas-sadors Athletic Club’s fourth annu-al Florida’s Natural Fritz Grant Invi-tational that starts tonight and wrapsup on Saturday.

“I just want to come out here andhave some fun,” said Griffith at alight workout session yesterday.“This will be my fourth year cominghere. I have the meet record, but Iwould be satisfied with just gettingthe W (win) and run a PB (personalbest).”

Coming into the meet, Griffith hascompeted in two meets so far thisyear, running a wind-aided 10.16 and

a legal 10.3 at the Penn Relays afterhe stumbled coming out of the box.

“This is home. This is my trackand this is what I come to do, sup-port Mr Grant,” said Griffith, thenational 100m champion who iscoached by honouree Grant when-ever he’s home.

“He has always supported me, soI always look forward to cominghome and putting on a show.”

With a personal best of 10.19,Griffith holds the meet record at10.29 and he will be going after hisfourth straight victory. His onlydefeat came in his first appearanceagainst Jamaican Loran Clarke.

While Griffith indicated that hewould like to have a rematch withClarke, he is expected to have hishands full with visually-impairedIrish Paralympian Jason Smyth.

“This is my track and he’s coming

on my territory,” said Griffith of themuch-anticipated match-up. “I’mgoing to teach him a lesson. He’s a

cool guy off the track, but this is myhome meet and I’m here to do mything.”

Griffith said the invitational hasalways proven to be a well-organ-ised event and he thanked BernardNewbold and Grant for ensuringthat it lives up to its billing.

This year’s meet is expected tobe one of the final major events tobe staged on the current stadiumwith the new national stadiumexpected to be completed by Juneand the BAAA Nationals beingmoved to Grand Bahama.

“This will be a chance for me tomake a statement because this willbe the last time that I will get tocompete in an event on this track,”Griffith said.

“We are going to Freeport forthe Nationals, which should be real-ly great because I heard they have afast track and everything is nice overthere. I just hope they can let usknow in advance if it’s definitelygoing to be there because this is May

and the meet is in June,” he said.With this being a banner year for

athletics, Grant is anticipating break-ing the 10-second barrier this year ashe goes on to compete at the IAAFWorld Championships and PanAmerican Games in August andOctober respectively.

“I’m not at a peak in age. I’m stillyoung and my body is still learninghow to sprint. Now I’m understand-ing what it’s all about to compete inthe event. So I’m just going to goout there and do what I have to do,”he said.

With national record holder Der-rick Atkins the only Bahamian torun under 10 seconds, Griffith feelsthat this should be his year to jointhe elite field that will help him to bea contender for an internationalmedal.

“It’s all about having that baseand understanding how technical the100 metres is,” Griffith said. “You

Griffith hoping for fantastic showing at Fritz Grant invite

SSEEEE ppaaggee 33EE

SSEEEE ppaaggee 33EE

ADRIAN GRIFFITH

Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting...

A second for ‘Superman’

TTRRAACCKK && FFIIEELLDD

Quarter-miler Ramon Miller finishes fourth

in the 400

RAMON MILLER (file photo) ran 45.57 for fourth place in the 400.

LEEVAN SANDS (file photo) soared to a second place finish in the triple jump.

can’t gas out a whole 100metres. Nobody runs a per-fect 100 metres.

“You just have to under-stand the different phrases.Once you understand that,the race becomes easy. That iswhy Bolt and Tyson Gay haveran the race so easy. Theyunderstand the technical sideof the race.”

While his focus is on run-ning the 100 this year, Grif-fith said he would like to seethe Bahamas contest themen’s 4 x 100 relay at theinternational meets this year.

“The word is that theydon’t have any faith in themen’s 4 x 100 qualifying,which I don’t think is right,”he said. “We went to Com-monwealth and ran with anokay team and still ran 39.25and the qualifying time was39.2.

“A lot of the guys are step-ping it up, so I know we arecapable of running 38. Comeon, Japan ran 38 at the lastWorlds and they got the

bronze. I’m sure we couldbeat Japan. We just need theright coach and the time toput into it,” said Griffith.

High jumper Trevor Barrysaid if the invitational thisweekend is the final event tobe staged in the current sta-dium, he is looking forwardto having a great time.

Conditions“The conditions doesn’t

change much,” he stated. “Iwould really like the nationalsto be staged here, butFreeport is just as nice. So it’sgood that they will get anopportunity to watch us com-pete at the Nationals.”


IF you attended local base-ball and softball games duringthe glory days up to the 1980s,you would remember thename Robert Sumner.

Affectionately called‘Bob,” Sumner was a fixturein the scorer’s booth wherehe served diligently as thechief statistician for both theBahamas Baseball Associa-tion at the Andre RodgersBaseball Stadium and theNew Providence SoftballAssociation at the John FKennedy Drive Park and ini-tially at the Churchill TenerKnowles National Stadium.

As a young reporter on thebeat, I remember many nightsattending those games and sit-ting up in the scorer’s booth,only to be instructed by Sum-ner whom, in my estimation,could be considered the beststatistician that I came in con-tact with.

Sumner wasn’t just a statis-tician for the league but hetaught me, and I’m sure thecountless other reporters whoattended the games, how to

properly score a game.Not only did we get lessons

in scoring, we also receivedthe tips on how to compilethe box scores, a stat that isno longer a common place onour sports pages.

These days, Sumner is indire need of support from themany people whose lives hetouched from the scorer’sbooth.

His wife, Naomi, has indi-cated that while her husbandis still actively working anddoing all of his regular chores,

except scoring a baseball orsoftball game, he has incurreda hefty medical bill after hewas diagnosed with cancer.

She noted that while theyhave established a medicalfund, his family and friendswill be hosting a steak-out toassist with his medical expens-es.

The steak-out is scheduledfor 1pm Saturday, June 3, atthe Holy Cross Anglican

Church in Highbury Park.Interested persons can con-tact Naomi at 434-6888 or362-2273 or his daughterOrduna at 392-3486.

Over the years that I’veknown him at the ball park,Sumner did his job with a lotof class. He was never one toget into any fuss or argumentwith a manager, coach, playeror fan over a hit, error or run.

For those of us who bene-

fited, this is a good time toshow our gratitude andappreciation by lending oursupport in helping Sumnerthrough this difficult periodin his life.

Let’s give him our contri-butions while he can appre-ciate it. I’m sure he will thankyou for it, just as you thankedhim for providing such accu-rate stats over the many yearsin the scorer’s booth.

LOCAL SPORTS

TRIBUNE SPORTS FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2011, PAGE 3E

SSOOFFTTBBAALLLLGGBBDDSSAA AACCTTIIOONNTHE Bahamas Government Depart-

mental Softball Association is scheduledto resume its 2011 regular season actionat the Baillou Hills Sporting Complexthis weekend. The following games areall set:

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss sscchheedduulleeNNoorrtthh ffiieelldd 1pm – CAD Nailers vs US Embassy

Diplomats (flip)2pm – Defence Force Floaters vs

Sandilands Shredders (flip)3:45m – Defence Force Cannons vs

BTC Lasers (Game 2)5pm – Police Chefs vs Customs Tax-

men (flip)SSoouutthh FFiieelldd2:15pm – BPSU Strikers vs Police Sup-

porters (L) (Game 2)3:45pm – Police Interceptors vs PHA

Injectors No.1SSuunnddaayy’’ss sscchheedduulleeNNoorrtthh ffiieelldd2pm – Defence Force Floaters vs

Embassy Diplomats (flip)3:30pm – CAD Nailers vs Sandilands

(flip)5pm – Finance Invaders vs BPSU

Strikers (L) (Game two)SSoouutthh ffiieelldd2pm – BTC Lasers vs PHA Injectors

(Game 1)3:30pm – Police Supporters vs Police

Royals (L) (Game one)

5pm – Police Chefs vs Prison Chal-lengers (flip)

SSOOFFTTBBAALLLLBBAANNKKEERRSS SSOOFFTTBBAALLLL RREESSUULLTTSSTHE Banker’s Softball League con-

tinued its regular season action Wednes-day with Scotiabank holding off Citibank10-9 as Lester Dean got the win on themound over Tim Sawyer.

Godfrey Burnside Jr went 4-for-4 witha run batted in for the winners. FelipeSweeting went 3-for-4 in the loss.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss sscchheedduullee10:30am – FCIB vs CitibankNoon – BAF vs CMC1:30pm – RBC vs Colina3pm – Scotia vs BOB

BBAASSKKEETTBBAALLLLNNIIAAGGAARRAA CCOOLLLLEEGGEE VVIISSIITTTHE Niagara College out of Canada is

slated to hold a recruitment session forbasketball players interested in attendingthe school 6:30pm today at the NewProvidence Community Centre, BlakeRoad.

The session will be conducted by coachGeno Bullard, an international recruit-ment officer, head coach of the West-minster Diplomats basketball teams andfounder of the No Bull Basketball Club.

TTEENNNNIISSFFAAMMIILLYY FFUUNN DDAAYYTHE Brajaxaba Family Fun Day starts

with a free clinic 9-11am at the NationalTennis Center. Interested persons whowant to learn to play the game are invit-ed to come.

Marion Bain, one of the organisers ofthe event, assured the public that there isno need to worry if they don’t have aracket.

Just show up in your sporting gear andthey will take care of you. The FamilyDoubles is set to start at noon.

AATTHHLLEETTIICCSSCCOOBB GGRRAADDUUAATTEESS RRUUNN//WWAALLKKTHE College of the Bahamas’ gradu-

ating class of 2011 is set to hold a funrun/walk race starting 6am Saturday atChapter One Bookstore, ThompsonBoulevard.

The race, which has an entrance feeof $10 for pre-registration all day todayand $12 on Saturday, will travel west onThompson Boulevard to the new six-lane round-a-bout, head north to Saun-ders Beach on to Bay Street, east on BayStreet to Nassau Street, south on NassauStreet to Thompson Boulevard and endup in front of Chapter One Bookstore.

Prizes will be presented to the firstthree finishers. T-shirts will be provid-ed to all participants. For more informa-tion, persons can contact Sonia Forbes at302-4577 or Bradley Cooper at 302-4592.

SSPPOORRTTSS IINN BBRRIIEEFF

PREPARATIONS areunderway for the ChamcemBoats Budweiser’s 7th Annu-al All Tackle Fishing Tour-nament to be held at the Fly-ing Fish Marina in ClarenceTown, Long Island, May26–28.

The three-day tournamentfeatures two winning cate-gories - the Greatest Com-bined Weight (over the 3 dayperiod) and the SingleLongest Fish - with cashprizes presented to all win-ners.

Organisers anticipate some50-60 anglers fishing in 10-15boats, but registration is ongo-ing and being updated daily.

“With DJ music and crowdsgalore, you can’t help buthave an amazing experience.Of course, for the crowd thatgathers to see the big catchof the day, the nightly sponsortrivia with free giveaways isalways a highlight. You justnever know what you’ll get –T-shirts, mugs, caps, pens andother goodies from sponsorslike Panama Jack, Coca Cola,Budweiser, there’s somethingfor everyone,” said a pressrelease.

Booths will be set up tohighlight local artisans fea-turing straw work, jewellery,and crafts. Of course freshconch salad, daiquiris, icedcoffees, and baked goods willbe on sale or you can visit theOuter Edge Grill for downhome cooking.

For the kids, an Ocean Mis-sion is being offered that willfeature a cruise around theClarence Town harbor 10amSaturday, May 28, identifyingmarine and ocean species,with environmental awarenessbeing a major part of thistour.

New this year, in the after-noon is a Kids Fishing On DaDock with a cash prize for thelargest fish. There is an entryfee.

“Once again the Guy Har-vey auction will run on Sat-urday evening prior to theawards ceremony featuringGuy Harvey T-shirts, printsand other goodies donated tothis event,” said the release.

“With 100 Jamz on site, andDJ “AC” providing liveupdates, this is an event to gethooked to. As a prelude tothe Long Island regatta, makeit a homecoming and enjoyLong Island at its best. Withthe major sponsor this yearbeing Budweiser, Bud Lightand Ron Ricardo, a good timeis ensured for all, anglers,sponsors and spectators alike.

7th Annual All Tackle

Fishing Tourney in Long Island

Steak-out in support ofstatistician Sumner’s

medical expenses

ROBERT SUMNER is in dire need of financial support after being diagnosed with cancer.

Saturday, June 3, at

Holy CrossAnglican

Church in Highbury

Park

Griffith hoping for afantastic showing at

Fritz Grant inviteFFRROOMM ppaaggee 11EE

45.25 for the 400 for the World Champi-onships that will be held in Daegu inAugust.

But with the Bahamas Association ofAthletic Associations’ National Champi-onships scheduled to be staged in GrandBahama in June, expect for the men’s 400once again to be one of the top events.

A 2nd for Leevan ‘Superman’

SandsFFRROOMM ppaaggee 11EE

LEEVAN SANDS with Jesse Jackson in Daegu, South Korea.

LEEVAN (far left), other athletes and mascotson the medal podium.