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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. 129 75 CENTSWEDNESDAY - AUGUST 14TH, 2019
New EconomicVibrancy
vibrant economyis expected tocontinue thedownward trend
in unemployment num-bers, according toMinister of LabourSenator Dion Foulkes. The 2019 Labour
Force Survey, that lookedat a six month timeframe,from November last yearto May 2019, indicatesthat unemploymentdropped to a record lowin 10 years, to a single
BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer
gg Hosts Pm and Cabinet to offiCial lunCHeon
4 Governor General Cornelius A. Smith hosted Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis and Cabinet ministers to an official luncheon at Government House on August 13, 2019. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson)
g See page 2... 4 Labour Minister Dion Foulkes
Workforce DisparityConcerns Gov’t
The latest unemploymentfigures still showing agap between the numberof men versus womenemployed in the country,as research revealed thatthe jobless rate forwomen is at 9.9 percent
compared to 9.2 percentfor men. Minister of Labour
Dion Foulkes acknowl-edged yesterday that thisis cause for concern,adding that he and theminister of finance areanalyzing the numbers to
BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer
g See page 4...
Some School Repairs 75% CompleteMinister of EducationJeffrey Lloyd revealed onTuesday that 75 percentof school repairs havebeen completed on ninepublic schools in the capi-tal. Before entering the
weekly Cabinet meeting,
he gave further updatesthat school renovationsare either on or ahead ofschedule. Lloyd said he is
pleased with the work ofcontractors, especially onschools in NewProvidence. Schools iden-tified as being in criticalcondition and are now on
BY EARYEL BOWLEG Journal Staff Writer
g See page 4... 4 Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd
ANationwide
Plastic Ban 2020 Effective January 1,2020, the governmentwill implement itsnationwide plastic ban onsingle-use plastics and
styrofoam food contain-ers.The Ministry of
Environment andHousing is also placingthis ban on the distribu-
BY DEANDRE WILLIAMSONJournal Staff Writer
g See page 3...
Half of Morton’sIssues ResolvedMinister of LabourSenator Dion Foulkesconfirmed that followingan all day frank meeting,eight hours to be exact,50 percent of the issues
plaguing the BahamasIndustrial Manufacturersand Allied WorkersUnion's (BIMAWU) andits concerns regardingMorton Salt have beenaddressed.
BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer
g See page 4...
Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/13/2019 11:55 PM Page 1
A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal
Wednesday - August 14th, 2019
Legal Notice
More Parents ChoosingSchool Pickup ServicesMore parents are hiringprivate transportationservices to handle thetasks of picking up anddropping off their chil-dren to school. The Bahama Journal
interviewed JenniferJohnson, owner ofBahamas Kids Taxi, and
Jeffrey Myers, owner ofJasmine’s Transit, whoboth explained that it isnot because of a lack ofavailable transportationfor parents, but time isthe main issue.“I think it’s convenient
because sometimes youdon’t have time to leavework and then the time-frame that you have toleave work to go make
that dash and pick upyour child and the trafficon the road is ridiculoussince everyone has asmall car,” Johnson said.Myers added, “The
problem would be thetime of the day when it’stime for pickup or dropoff is your work time andso in many cases, theycan’t make it.” When it comes to
gaining trust from par-ents, Myers doesn’t havethat problem as he estab-lishes a relationship withthe client to ensure anease of mind.“Most of my business-
es, in the years of thatI’ve been in it, it has beenby word of mouth andmost of the business I gothad been passed on byparent to parent,” Myers
admitted. “How I interact with
the kids speak for itselfand I let them deal withparent.” Although both agree
that this service isbecoming increasinglypopular, it is not highlyadvertised. Johnsonrevealed that this is toprotect the children’s pri-vacy, which is a major
concern for mostly thechild rather than theirparents.“All the children do
not want their friends toknow you’re in pickupservice. For me, how Itreat my children or thekids who are in my serv-ice, they are like my chil-dren. You will neverknow that is not mychild.”
BY EARYEL BOWLEG Journal Staff Writer
Man Shot Deadin Coconut GrovePolice are investigating a shootingincident that left a man dead andtwo others with injuries. According to police, shortly
before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, a groupof persons were sitting in a yard onAmos Ferguson Street, offPalmetto Avenue, Coconut Grove,when they were approached by two
armed men who opened fired intheir direction, injuring three ofthem, before making good theirescape. One man was pronounced dead
on scene, while the other two weretransported to hospital and listed instable condition.Investigations are ongoing.
EconomicVibrancydigit. "We are extremely
pleased and very happy,the entire government,with the results of thelabour survey,” Mr.Foulkes said. "There was a signifi-
cant decrease for that sixmonth period. We arenow down to 9.7 percent,which is extremelygood." The labour minister is
optimistic that the manyprojects across the coun-try are anticipated tobring new jobs and con-tinue to decrease theunemployment rate in thecountry. "The Wind
Development, oppositethe prime minister'soffice, that's a majordevelopment. We alsohave at Hurricane Hole, amajor development that'sgoing on. They'vealready broken groundand we anticipate thatfrom both of those devel-
opments there will be newjobs,” Mr. Foulkes said. "When The Pointe is
completed that will beclose to 600 to 700 perma-nent jobs at The Pointe."So, we are very opti-
mistic about the state ofthe economy." As for the increase in
unemployment in Abaco,both labour minister andDeputy Prime Ministerand Minister of FinancePeter Turnquest said theywere concerned andrevealed that there aresome major projects in thepipeline for Abaco. "In Abaco, I think what
you are seeing there issome slowing down in theBakers Bay work, so thatwill be kind of expected asthey wrap up the develop-ment phase over there,”Mr. Turnquest said. "But we're working to
continue to try and spurother developments.There is a project that isslated for South Abacothat will hopefully take up
some of this capacity thatwill be shifting and[then] we can get thosenumbers turned around.”According to Mr.
Foulkes, "There are twoor three major develop-ments that are being pro-posed for Abaco. I do notwant to preempt theCabinet and the primeminister's announcementof those developments,but we are satisfied thatover the next 12 monthsthat Abaco will be ingood shape economical-ly." Following the initial
release of the LabourForce Survey, last week,the deputy prime ministernoted that the govern-ment will not rest on itslaurels and added thatimprovements in theoverall numbers ofemployed persons willincrease with major proj-ects in New Providence,Grand Bahama andEleuthera and will pro-vide some relief.
gg Continued from / PAGE 1...
Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/13/2019 11:55 PM Page 2
A3The Bahama Journal
Wednesday - August 14th, 2019NationalNEWS
Memorial Held for BahamianEntertainer, the late Sly RokerA memorial service washeld this past Saturday,August 10th at 11:30amat the Balmoral Club (onSanford Drive) forBahamian Entertainer thelate Sly Roker. The event was attended
by family, friends andmembers of the localmusic industry. Speakersincluded Isaiah Taylor,leader of the GrammyAward winning group“Baha Men”, familymembers, 100 Jamz SalesManager Kevin Darvilleas well as locals i n g e r / s o n g w r i t e rNehemiah Hield who alsoperformed a soul stirringrendition of the FrankSinatra classic “I Did ItMy Way”. Former RadioPersonality and Pastor ofCharisma Church Kevin“Minister K” Harris gavea word of encouragementand prayed for the chil-
dren of Sly Roker. A public viewing was
also held on SaturdayAugust 10th, MondayAugust 12th and again onTuesday August 13th2019 at RestviewMortuary on SoldierRoad and Prince CharlesDrive. Sylvester “Sly” Roker
died in Turks & Caicos onJuly 17th, 2019. He issurvived by many sib-lings, children and grand-children who loved himdearly.Sly is well known for
his contribution toBahamian music, particu-larly in the 70s and 80swhere he performed onthe music circuit allthrough the BahamasIslands and international-ly as well. He spent a lotof his time in the 80s atCompass Point studiosworking with musicians
such as Robert Palmerand Johnny Kemp. There are very few
Bahamian musiciansfrom ‘back in the day’that don’t know orhaven’t worked with Sly.He was loved andrespected by the enter-tainment community herein the Bahamas.In 2016, he was honoredduring the 43rdIndependence celebra-tions for his contributionto The Bahamas throughmusic.Over the last 12 years,
Sly spent most of his timein Turks & Caicos wherehe enjoyed a simpler, qui-eter, island life. Hereconnected with many ofhis childhood friends andfamily and was proud to‘retire’ in Turks andCaicos where beautifuland peaceful beacheswere at his back door.
4 Isaiah Taylor, leader of the Grammy Award winning group “Baha Men” bringing remarks at the Memorial Service for Sly Roker on August 10.
Plastic Ban 2020 tion, manufacture, pos-session, sale, and use ofplastic and styrofoamfood and non-biodegrad-able plastic carryoutbags and the release ofballoons into the atmos-
phere.Details of the ban are
outlined in theE n v i r o n m e n t a lProtection Bill 2019. The bill indicates that
no person shall import,distribute, manufacture,possess, sell, supply or
use in The Bahamas sty-rofoam cups, styrofoamplates and other similarstyrofoam foodware usedto contain food, plasticknives, plastic forks,plastic spoons and plas-tic straws.The bill also explained
that no person shallrelease any number ofballoons at or about thesame time if such bal-loons are filled with gasthat causes them to risein the air.Any person commit-
ting the offences is liable
on summary convictionto a fine not exceeding$2,000 and in the case ofa continuing offence, toa further fine of $500 foreach day or part thereofduring which the offencecontinues.“In respect of a sec-
ond or subsequentoffence to a fine notexceeding $3,000 and inthe case of a continuingoffence, to a further fineof $700 for each day orpart thereof duringwhich the offence con-tinues,” the bill read.
gg Continued from / PAGE 1...
Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/13/2019 11:55 PM Page 3
A4 The Bahama Journal
Wednesday - August 14th, 2019 NationalNEWS
Workforce Disparity
Some School Repairs 75% Complete
Morton’s Issues
track to being ready forthe opening of the newschool year. “Because of the nature
of the repairs, because ofthe timeframe, that’s whywe were very very, veryselective in those contac-tors,” Lloyd said.
“People who are capa-ble of doing it, who canmount the requiredresources, who didn’tneed mobilization inorder to get started andthose nine contractorswho are very experiencedworked with the Ministryof Education, the govern-ment, and the Ministry of
Works over many years.Very experienced, verycapable, and that’s whythey were chosen to exe-cute this critical work. “ Lloyd revealed that the
ministry did not exceedits $45 million budget. However, school
buildings are not the onlyprojects being addressed
this year. When asked about
adding sex education, theminister objected to theidea. The ministerbelieves family healthexists to cover issuesconcerning sexual health,but his ministry is look-ing at other improve-ments to the school cur-
riculum. “As you know, one of
the items on the agendaof the Free NationalMovement’s governmentin education in this termis a reformed curriculumthat is very much under-way and obviously allsubject matters are underreview, so that it can be
relevant for the 21st cen-tury and family life edu-cation is one of those,”Lloyd said.“Absolutely, we’re
looking at everythinginvolving reproductivehealth, particularly in anera where there are somany transmitted dis-eases.”
determine why this is thecase. "We are concerned
about the disparity in theunemployment betweenmen and women and bothmyself and the minister offinance, we are analyzingthat to find out why that isso,” Mr. Foulkes said. "Anecdotally, it may
relate to the constructionindustry where we have avery vibrant industry andthat industry tends toattract more men thanwomen. I don't knowwhether that is theanswer, but that is some-thing that we are lookingat." As the overall employ-
ment rate went up, there isthe added encouragementthat the number of dis-couraged workers wentdown. On the other hand,the minister of labour said
he is extremely pleasedwith the May 2019Labour Force Survey, ashe said there was a signif-icant decrease in the sixmonth period November2018 to May 2019. "In addition to the
unemployment ratedecreasing, the questionof discouraged workersalso went down and as Isaid, six months ago, inaddition to looking at theraw data for the unem-ployment rate, you mustalso look at the discour-aged workers rate," hesaid. Mr. Foulkes added that
this decrease is encourag-ing as it means moreBahamians are searchingand finding employment."Both in Grand
Bahama, in the Freeportarea, and in NewProvidence there was adecrease in the amount ofdiscouraged workers
which means that morepeople who are unem-ployed are out in the mar-ketplace looking for workand feel encouraged thatthey can find jobs whichsubstantially affects theunemployment rate,” Mr.Foulkes said. "To have both of them
go down at the same timeis extremely significant.So, obviously we are onthe right track. "We think the economy
is very stable and givenall of the economic proj-ects that are on the draw-ing board, we feel that weare doing a good job." Discouraged workers
fell by two percent com-pared to the Labour ForceSurvey of November2018 that saw 2,030 dis-couraged workers whencompared to May 2019with 1,990 discouragedworkers across the coun-try.
Mr. Foulkes toldreporters before the week-ly Cabinet meeting thatMorton Salt Executivesand officials of BIMAWUhad reached decisions onhalf of the longstandingissues. The labour minister,
however, did reveal thatthe “big” issues still haveto be worked out. "There are some 15
issues outstanding, we set-tled some of them,” Mr.Foulkes said. "Some of the issues that
are outstanding are signif-icant, with respect to thehealth insurance and alsowith respect to the salaryissues."One of the good things
that came out of the meet-ing is that both sides wereable to put their positionsand clear the air on whythe demands are what theyare and why the counteroffers are what they are." He added that he was
pleased that both sideswere able to have thefrank discussion and will-ing to return to the tableto conclude the discus-
sions. "I want to be very cau-
tious. I don't want to givethe wrong perception. Thebig issues are still out-standing, which are thesalary increases and theamount proposed for theinsurance coverage forthe health insurance forthe workers," Mr. Foulkessaid. BIMAWU President
Jennifer Brown, follow-ing last Thursday's meet-ing, was hoping to finishtalks on Friday. Howeverthe two sides are set meetagain next month.
gg Continued from / PAGE 1...
4 Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd assists with roof repairs at DW DavisJunior High School. (Photo/Jeffrey Lloyd)
4 Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd inspects the progress of schoolrepairs. (Photo/Jeffrey Lloyd)
gg Continued from / PAGE 1...
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Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/13/2019 11:55 PM Page 4
