75 CENTS E 44 U WESDNESDAY -t MARCHi 13THl, 2019l

espite argumentsadvanced by theA t t o r n e yGeneral, Carl

Bethel, Sven Giegold, aGerman Member of theEuropean Parliament,with responsibility formoney laundering, is notbacking down from hisposition made, almosttwo weeks ago, that TheBahamas must do more toaddress money launder-ing. Mr. Giegold went as

far as to demand that TheBahamas carry out money

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A L L T H E N E W S Y O U N E E D T O R E A D I N T H E M O R N I N G

VOL. 31 - NO. 44 75 CENTSWEDNESDAY - MARCH 13TH, 2019

EU StillEvaluating Bahamas

g See page 4... 4 Attorney General, Carl Bethel

Gov’tFights ToProtectFinancialSector

4 Member of the European Parliament, Sven Giegold

The EU’s dreaded black-list has been released andas hoped or anticipated bysenior government offi-cials, The Bahamas hasnot been named.Confirming this to

reporters yesterday morn-ing Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister ofFinance Peter Turnquestsaid this validates thehard work put in to

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

4 Deputy Prime Ministerand Minister of Finance,

Peter Turnquest

The Oppositiondemands answerson Grand Lucayan

Opposition DeputyLeader Chester Coopersaid the government’shandling of the GrandLucayan sale and the myr-iad of issues involvedwould be laughable if the

stakes are not so high.His comments come

just one day after themanagers of BahamasHotel ManagerialAssociation went to courtbecause they were notpleased with the payout


g See page 4...

Bahamian delegation attends 63rd session

of the Commission on the status of Women

4 Seventy Representatives from 35 non-governmental organizations in The Bahamas are in New Yorkattending the Sixty-Third Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) being held at the

United Nations Headquarters. Some of the Representatives, pictured above during a group shot with Ministerof Social Services and Urban development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell, have been busy participating in a

series of Side Events since the start of CSW63 Monday. (BIS Photo/Matt Maura)

Bishop SupportsCapital Punishment

Very few issues havedivided a nation as muchas talk of the death penal-ty even within TheBahamas ChristianCouncil, there are strongheld views on both sides

of the divide.The controversial death

penalty has a proponentbut, for Christian CouncilPresident Bishop DeltonFernander, it’s not justabout throwing supportbehind the capital punish-


g See page 4...

g See page 4...

D

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 3/12/2019 10:05 PM Page 1

The Bahamas Chamber ofCommerce andEmployers Confederation(BCCEC) is gearing up tohost its fifth BahamasEnergy Security Forum.The Forum serves as a

platform to discuss andexchange ideas, policiesand initiatives that areintended to improve thestate of energy in thecountry as well as itsimpact on the environ-ment. BCCEC CEO, Jeffrey

Beckles, said the issue ofenergy the issue of energyas it relates to theBahamas is that it is"everybody’s businessand while it is one of thehottest topics in the com-munity". He said BCCECfinds it necessary toensure that they work in acollaborative way withpolicy makers, powersuppliers and all creativethinkers and engineers toensure The Bahamas hasa sustainable energy plat-form. "The issue of reform is

one that is also heavily onour minds, in that we allwould agree that we have

not had the mostresourceful use of ourenergy system in consis-tency and one of thethings we are committedto doing is ensuring thatwe partner with our stake-holders and partners, real-ly to understand the wayforward," Mr. Becklessaid. He added that although

the country has a relative-ly small population, itselectrical provider servic-es millions of people. "As we look at the

whole issue of energy,electricity and all formsof energy, no Bahamian isuntouched by the energyissue sometimes. "We have a tendency to

look at it in the contextthat we are only 400,000people, but we see it asbeing a country of 6.5million people becausewe must take into accountevery single visitor thatcomes to The Bahamasand how energy affectstheir experience and theirexperience affects theeconomy, because theirexperience determineshow they spend. "Energy is directly

related to the success andthe growth of our econo-my. So, we at the chamber

are pleased to partnerwith stakeholders toensure that there is truereform and that there is alegislative framework inplace to ensure that regu-lations are in place,because we aim to growthe economy outside thecontext of sustainableenergy," Mr. Becklessaid. Chair of the Energy

and EnvironmentCommittee at theBCCEC, Deborah Dealsaid to ensure true reformis met, the chamber haspartnered with severalstakeholders- private sec-tor affiliates- who theyhope will give feedbackduring the forum on thetopic "We've Got ThePower". "Energy affects us all.

We decided to start theGreen Initiative and thatis where the private sectorcan actually be in controlof their own energy, ener-gy consumption and inturn energy cost. "We also by doing that,

we are actually helpingwith our carbon emis-sions. Thirty percent ofyour energy is stolen fromyou, I call them ghostthieves, but if we elimi-nated that 30 percent

every single person in thiscountry, from our electri-cal consumption, wewould be able to lowerour carbon emissions bythat 30 percent," Ms. Dealsaid.

The forum is scheduledfor March 19, at SuperClubs Brezes Resort. Presentations are antic-

ipated from a number ofprivate sector businesses,inlcuding Chirstopher J

Burgess, Project Managerof Rocky MountainInstitute, Carbon WarRoom in the US, PaiFarmer founder of EasyCar Sales adn StephenBereaux CEO of URCA.


A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Wednesday - March 13th, 2019

Chamber To Host5th Energy Forum

Data SecurityFor Consumers As the world becomesmore digital, there is agreater concern for pro-tection of personal datawhen it comes to the useof smart products. Keeping personal

information like address-es, National Insurancenumbers and bank infor-mation from hackers, isbecoming a growing con-cern for consumers in thedigital world. For this reason, the

Ministry of Labour's TriadGroup, which includes theConsumer ProtectionCommission (CPC), incelebrating WorldConsumer Rights Week,and will embark on edu-cating the public on datasecurity. During a press confer-

ence to announce theCPC's week of activities,which began yesterday,CPC Research Officer,Lavade Darling, said thatthe Data Commission willbe a part of the slate ofactivities, bringing a bet-ter awareness of wherethe country is in protect-ing consumers data. Mr. Darling said with

this year's WorldConsumer Rights Dayfocus on the theme"Trusted Smart Products",its an amalgamation ofpast themes beginningfrom 2017. "The theme really

began in 2017; it's adevelopment of previous

themes. In 2017 we had"Building a Digital WorldThat Consumers CanTrust". In 2018 it was"Making DigitalMarketplaces Fairer. "The international

movement has really beenfocusing on the digitalrevolution, digital prod-ucts, smart products actu-ally for the past threeyears. "The major concern as

it relates to smart productsis that they are connectedby default. Automaticallyyour smart watch, auto-matically your smart T.V.your smart phone, theyautomatically connect toto the internet. Not only are they con-

necting to the internet,they are talking to oneanother; it's called theinternet of things. So, theconcerns really about datasecurity, who are theytalking to? who is yourdata being shared with?"Mr. Darling said. As companies like BPL

and Water and Sewerageare set to go paperless-leaving everything to theworldwide web- there isskepticism with makingpurchases and or pay-ments online using creditcards. Mr. Darling said itis also a concern of theinternational movement. "It's a major consumer

protection issue whentalking about data protec-tion, security of yourdata. The data belongs toyou, that's your personalinformation.

"Smart phones now,they contain a lot of infor-mation, they have all ofyour digital information,they have all your finan-cial information, your per-sonal information, all ofthat information is actual-ly stored in your smartproducts. "The threat begins

when a hacker hacks intoyour smart watch, becauseit does not have the secu-rity mechanism of yoursmart phone but becausethat watch is connected tothe other connected itemsin your home it presents apossible security breachor security threat. "That's what the inter-

national movement isactually concernedabout," Mr. Darling said. The Bahamas joins the

world in celebratingWorld Consumer Rightsweek, March 11 - 15. According to

Executive Director ofConsumer ProtectionCommission andChairman of WorldConsumer Rights Week,Ricardo Deveaux, theweek will be used to high-light the real impact of thedigital world, as well asgeared towards highlight-ing how important it is toput consumers needs andwants at the heart of thedevelopment of digitalproducts and services."From smart phones,

and meters to wearablefitness trackers, voice


g See page 3...


A3The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - March 13th, 2019NationalNEWS

Minister Campbell addresses RoundTable on Good Practices and PoliciesUNITED NATIONS,New York -- TheGovernment of TheBahamas believes thatgood practices and poli-cies are those that are con-sistent, innovative andcomprehensive, Ministerof Social Services andUrban Development, theHon. Frankie A. Campbellsaid on Monday, March11, 2019.

Addressing aMinisterial Round Tableon “Good practices andpolicies for the design,provision and implemen-tation of social protectionsystems, public servicesand sustainable infrastruc-ture including for the pro-motion of women’s repre-sentation in various sec-tors and all levels,”Minister Campbell out-

lined a number of initia-tives the Government ofThe Bahamas has under-taken through his ministryand its many Departmentsand Divisions, and in col-laboration with the coun-try’s many non-govern-mental organizations, tomeet objectives.“We are satisfied that

good practices and poli-cies are those that are con-

sistent and so our effortsare, and have been gearedtowards ensuring thatthere are long term imple-mentation plans and bene-fits,” Minister Campbellsaid.“We also believe that

good practices are thosethat are innovative. Thosethat will cause and allowus to think out of the boxin terms of funding which

is usually an impedimentto women and girls, par-ticularly those in the morerural areas, to becomeempowered and to be ableto live out their dreamsper se.“Additionally, good

practices and policieshave to be comprehensivein nature and in order forthem to be comprehen-sive, we must hear from

our stakeholders and sowe have gone out andhave held various discus-sions and consultationswith our stakeholders andnon-governmental organi-zations to ensure that asmany voices come to thefore to ensure that we canimplement as comprehen-sive a programme as pos-sible.”Minister Campbell said

4 Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A.Campbell meets with officials from the National Women’s Advisory Council priorto the start of the Ministers Round Table held on Monday (March 11, 2019) at

the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Pictured (at left) is: CoralieAdderley, NWAC President and J. Denise Lewis-Johnson, NWAC Member.

(BIS Photo/Matt Maura)

officials at the Ministry ofSocial Services andUrban Development havebeen working diligentlyto expand public/privatepartnerships while closelyworking with the coun-try’s non-governmentalorganizations – quite anumber of whom areincluded in TheBahamas’ delegation tothe Sixty-Third Sessionof the Commission on theStatus of Women(CSW63).“We have nurtured

those partnerships to theextent that we are nowworking towards havingthe various groups focuson a particular subjectmatter to avoid duplica-tion of efforts,” MinisterCampbell said.“We realize that there

must be inclusion. There

are many minority groupsthat for a very long time,have not had a voice andso we seek, through ourNGOs that we have part-nered with – and whomwe have given somefinancial assistance toalbeit limited based onresources, but to show thecommitment - to ensurethat they are able to causethose voices that are notordinarily heard, to havean opportunity to beheard.“We also realize that

best practices must beconnected toDevelopment Goals bothlocally, regionally andinternationally. Goals thatare led by theGovernment and so as theMinister, I have sought toact as that liaison betweenmy NGOs, my

Department (Departmentof Gender and FamilyAffairs, Ministry ofSocial Services andUrban Development) andthe Cabinet of TheBahamas, to ensure thatas we plan, there is con-sideration - particularlyfor the financial needs -so that these goals can bemet.“The best practices are

those practices that areshared. Anything that iskept to oneself, is not sogood because only youknow about it and so weare currently engaged inthe dissemination ofinformation and are aboutto launch a series of pub-lic service announcementso that persons will knowwhat is available and howthey can be accessed,”Minister Campbell added.

activated assistance, smartTV’s and smart securitysystems, Apps usage andprivacy, many of the prod-ucts we use are increas-ingly becoming connectedby default. "The Ministry of

Labour, Triad Group,which includes ConsumerProtection Commission,Bahamas Bureau ofStandards and Quality andConsumer Affairs Unit(Price Control), have part-nered with the UtilitiesRegulation and

Competition Authority(URCA), DataCommission, BPL, Waterand SewerageCorporation, BTC, Aliv,Security SystemsInternational and KravenBahamas to assist us dur-ing the week in exhibitingvarious products and serv-ices. "We understand what

consumers want and needfrom a connected worldand will continue toemphasize the importanceof consumers havingaccess to digital productsand services that they can

trust," Mr. Deveauxsaid. Also During this week,

Business and Commercestudents in various juniorand senior schools willget first hand knowledgethrough presentations onconsumer educationawareness and smartproducts. A special ceremony

and exhibition at the Mallat Marathon is scheduledfor Wednesday and willlead the way to WorldConsumer Rights Daywhich will be celebratedon Friday March 15.

Data SecurityFor Consumers gg Continued from / PAGE 2...

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offered by the HotelCorporation. “We are now learning

that a settlement for man-agers who wish to departthe resort is being arbitrat-ed by the IndustrialTribunal in GrandBahama, and the volun-tary separation involvedin this tranche of layoffswill cost taxpayers $3-$5million.“This is in addition to

the more than $3 millionalready paid to separatedline staff, plus a reported$3.5 million for renova-tions.“We can add to that

amount the $30 million in

cash paid to Hutchisonupfront for the hotelbefore the sale was com-pleted.“Added to that amount

is the reported $35 millionmortgage the governmenthas executed withHutchison, and the associ-ated closing costs of thesale.“On top of that is the

running total of govern-ment subsidized operatingcosts for the hotel, at lastestimation by the govern-ment to be just shy of $2million per month.“Since we do not know,

and the Minister ofFinance is yet to say, weshould probably place thatamount at around $14 mil-lion, ” said Mr. Coope.

He added that the min-ister must say whether thisis accurately reflected ingovernment expenditurein a mid-year budget onwhich the government hassuppressed debate.He said that now is the

time for the Minister ofFinance to disclose thecost of this entire ordeal. “What exactly is the

cost so far? How many taxdollars, exactly, are weprojected to spend beforethe sale closes?“While the Minister of

Finance is at it, we alsoask that he states howmany bidders for the pur-chase of the hotel havesigned non-disclosureagreements versus thenumber of bidders who

have actually submittedproposals.“What it the revised

timeline for the sale? Itseems clear that even the

last date guessed at by thegovernment will not bemet,” said the Deputyleader of the PLP.He further opined that

the lack of transparencyand accountability are abreach of trust by Dr.Minnis and the FNM.

A4 The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - March 13th, 2019 NationalNEWS

EU Still Evaluating Bahamaslaundering convictions. As a result of the

demand, the AttorneyGeneral wrote theEuropean Union, high-lighting convictions car-ried out in The Bahamas.According to the Mr.Bethel, 40 persons weretaken before the courts onmoney launderingcharges, with 20 of thembeing convicted between2016 and the end of 2018. Mr. Bethel stated that

millions of dollars havebeen confiscated as aresult and pumped into theconfiscated assets fund. While appearing as a

special call in guest onLove 97's Issues of theDay, yesterday and in adirect response to the let-ter sent by the AttorneyGeneral to the EU, theCoordinator on theEconomic and MonetaryAffairs Committee for theGreens Group, Giegold,acknowledged that theconviction figures werenot a part of theCommission's evaluationexercise, but that they willbe taken into account. However, beyond this,

Giegold said there arequite a number of issuesthat still have to beaddressed, all of whichBahamian officials are

aware of. "This evaluation from

December 2018 is only anevaluation of the law.What we actually need isactual implementationacross the board of theseissues. "What is of course of

particularly disturbing isthat police authorities inour member states aresaying when they askedfor [precise] informationon beneficial owners ofcompanies and other enti-ties established in TheBahamas, they regularlydidn't get sufficientresponses. "But [what] we need to

see is the real implemen-

tation of the changeswhich have been made,which I acknowledge, areup to the global stan-dards" Mr. Giegold said. Further, also despite

the fact that one of theAttorney General's argu-ments is that theOrganization forEconomic Co-operationand Development(OECD) and theFinancial Action TaskForce (FATF) praised TheBahamas for the progressmade fighting moneylaundering, Mr. Giegoldsaid The Bahamas muststill make a choice ofwhether it wants to be anormal financial center

cleaning up across theboard or only adapting tocertain outside pressures. When asked by the

show's host, WendallJones, about criticismsmade that the EU contin-ues to shift the goal posts,Mr. Giegold said that isnot the objective. "I can only say clearly

that of course the worldof global financial mar-kets have changed dra-matically. "When we spoke about

tax evasion and moneylaundering 30 years ago,it was done differentlythan today. So, forinstance it is very clearthat the whole issue or

crypto currencies willbecome a centerpiece ofnew standards. "This issue is so far not

seriously addressed, butit's a global threat tosecurity and has to beaddressed; not only inyour country, globally sothe standards will devel-op and they will sharp-en", Mr. Giegold said. Prior to Mr. Giegolds

comments on the talkshow, Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister ofFinance, Peter Turnquestrevealed that TheBahamas avoided thisround of the dreadedblacklist.

The Opposition demands answers on Grand Lucayan

Bishop Supports Capital ment.It is a matter of how it

can be administered andhe is leaning on the sideof lethal injection.Bishop Fernander said,

“If the law is on the bookand if the person fits thecategory and has gonethrough all of the appeals,I am always one forclemency. “As we are seeing

today the system can beskewed towards thosewho have money andthose who do not havemoney and these thingsshould be taken very seri-ously and it should be thelast resort.” The Christian Council

President’s comments fol-low those of ExecutiveDirector of “TogetherAgainst the DeathPenalty” Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, who recently urgedthe Minnis-administrationto break away from thedeath penalty as well aswhat he called the fakesolidarity that seems to bepreventing The Bahamas

from becoming an aboli-tionist state.Mr. Chenuil- Hazan

also believed keeping thelaw and not using it is abad practice. BishopFernander thinks suchcomments are misguided. “I think he is far

removed from theCaribbean and when hecomes to The Bahamasand begins those conversa-tions, he will see the real-ity that on the ground itisn’t fake, there is a seri-ous support for the deathpenalty in the Bahamas. “Now some may be

moving away from hang-ing and more towards acalling for lethal injection,but the laws will have tobe changed for that to takeplace. I believe when hecomes to The Bahamas,that it’s not fake, there is areal support for the deathpenalty, “ said BishopFernander. Then there are the con-

cerns of international bod-ies possibly shunning TheBahamas for using thedeath penalty. To that,Bishop Fernander said

small developing coun-tries like The Bahamastend to be bullied.“They haven’t really

found the secret to work-ing with third worldnations, which is educa-tion, coming along,empowering, gettinginvolved in the societies;that’s how you changemindsets, that’s how youchange a nations view ofsomething.“It’s not coming in like

that bully in the classroomthat puts you in the class-room and say give meyour lunch money or elsewe’re going to beat you;and that’s always the stickthey hold over us.“They say we’re going

to cut you out of this if youdon’t sign this and I thinkthe temperature in TheBahamas has changedtremendously towardsinternational organiza-tions,” he said. David Mitchell was the

last man executed in TheBahamas in 2000.Mitchell was convicted ofkilling two Germantourists.

Gov’t Fights To Protect Financial Sectorimprove the country’sfinancial sector, but by thesame token, there’s still alot to be done.“Now we move into

the implementation phaseof all of the legislationthat we’ve put in placewhich is going to requirea significant effort form anumber of parties as wellas from industry.“However, as we have

demonstrated the wholeof 2018, we are up to thechallenge and we arecommitted to doing whatwe have to do to ensurethat the financial servicesindustry is in fact protect-ed,” Minister Turnquestsaid. As for concerns that

the EU will continue toadd even more financialrestrictions, the Ministeraccepts that this is a verydynamic environment

that’s always changing.“As the evolution of

transactions and financialservices products comeabout, there are differentstandards that come up tooperate those kinds ofdevelopments. I think itwould be reasonable toexpect that there will befurther requirements aswe go along.“Again the important

thing is that the Bahamasis at the table and we are

participating in the dis-cussions and are keepingabreast of the develop-ments and not allowingourselves to fall behindlike we did in the past,”said Mr. Turnquest. The government plans

to bring additional legis-lation to comply with EUstandards.The Bahamas

Financial Services Boardis equally pleased TheBahamas has not been

included on the list ofnon-cooperative tax juris-dictions.Through a public pri-

vate sector workinggroup, the industry hasprovided input to policymakers with respect tothe business implicationsof the various measures.This has led to several

pieces of legislationbeing passed - namely thecompendium passed inDecember.

The BFSB as well asthe Association ofInternational Banks andTrust Companiespledged their support ofthe government, takingthe necessary steps toavoid adverse impact toThe Bahamas as an inter-national financial centreand to pursue initiativesthat position the jurisdic-tion for sustainablegrowth and development.

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75 CENTS E 44 U WESDNESDAY -t MARCHi 13THl, 2019l