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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. 134 75 CENTSWEDNESDAY - AUGUST 21ST, 2019

Gov’t to BorrowMore Money for BPL

eputy PrimeMinister andMinister ofFinance Peter

Turnquest said yesterdaythat the government willhave to again borrow toacquire the necessaryfunds to meet BahamasPower and Light’s (BPL)needs.This, of course,

includes new generatorsand maintenance in theface of consistent loadshedding in NewProvidence.Minister Turnquest

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

4 DPM and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest g See page 3...

D Gov’t Monitoring Threatsof Global Recession

Deputy Prime MinisterPeter Turnquest said theMinistry of Finance ismonitoring the globalmarket for the possibilityof a recession, particular-

ly in the United States. His comments came

after Bank of Americaand Goldman Sachswarned of a rising risk ofrecession. Last Wednesday, the

Down Jones IndustrialAverage fell by some 800

points marking its worseday of 2019 and prompt-ing CNBC to declare thatthe markets are in tur-moil. Speaking to reporters

yesterday, Minister

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

g See page 3...

D’Aguilar Clarifies Claimsover Airline Certificate

Minister of Tourism andAviation DionisioD’Aguilar yesterday shotdown claims that theprocess for SkyBahamasto apply for an air operat-ing certificate is what hasled to the airline’s demise. The Bahamas Civil

Aviation Authority con-tends that SkyBahamashas failed to meet the ninerequirements needed to

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4... 4 Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar

Man Charged for MP’sBrother’s Murder

Twenty- two-year-o ldLynden Williams wasformally charged in theMagistrate’s Court for themurder of Cabrio Wells,the younger brother of

Minister of Transport andLocal GovernmentRenward Wells. The prosecution

agreed to proceed with avoluntary bill of indict-ment and the RidgelandPark resident was notrequired to enter a plea.

During the hearing,Williams’ attorneyrevealed to ChiefMagistrate JoyannFerguson-Pratt allega-tions of his client beingattack by two police.

BY EARYEL BOWLEG Journal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

BPSU Wants Full PaymentBahamas Public ServicesUnion (BPSU) PresidentKimsley Ferguson isdemanding the full lump

sum payment for publicofficers to assist withback-to-school expenses.During a meeting at

BPSU headquarters onMonday evening,Ferguson explained that

he wasn’t going to makeany moves until he spoketo Prime Minister Dr.Hubert Minnis about thematter during a meeting

BY EARYEL BOWLEG Journal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

Newly ReNovated

StoNed CRab opeNS iN Gb

4 Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest helps proprietor Olivia Pages officially open TheStoned Crab Taino Restaurant and Beach Bar, employing over 40 Bahamians and estimatedto cost over $3.5 million to refurbish. Pictured are (left to right) Brenford Christie, partner withMcKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, Ian Rolle, President of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, DPMPeter Turnquest, Olivia Pages and Benjamin Powers, The Stoned Crab Food and Beverage

Manager. (Photo/Derek Carroll/Barefoot Marketing)

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/21/2019 12:03 AM Page 1

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Wednesday - August 21st, 2019

Legal Notice

Two Men Shot Dead in Pinewood

Compass Point Ownerto Meet with Gov’t

Compass Point ownerLeigh Rodney will begranted the meeting hewanted with the govern-ment, according toMinister of TourismDionisio D’Aguilar.Minister D’Aguilar

agreed to the talk –despite long insisting hewill not be bullied andthat Mr. Rodney shouldinstead speak with thelicensing board.The resort owner has

threatened to close hisWest Bay Street propertyif the government doesnot make it easier to dobusiness in The Bahamas.While a meeting date

has not been set, the min-ister said he is imposingsome conditions on thatmeeting.“As a government min-

ister, I don’t want to be

dealing with a singleoperator. Some of hiscomplaints and issues as itrelate to the ease of doingbusiness industry wideand as you know govern-ment has to be widelyconsultative,” Minister D’Aguilar said.“So, I’m encouraging

him to come as part of theBahamas Hotel andTourism Association orThe Bahamas Chamber ofCommerce.“These are all private

sector organizations thathave this concern and Idon’t want to limit myselfto having a discussionwith one operator. Heshould come as a bodyand I’ll certainly ensurethat those persons are inthe room when we have ameeting.” The Compass Point

Resort has been a fixtureon West Bay Street formore than two decades.

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

4 Compass Point Beach Resort

Police are investigating ashooting incident onMonday which left twomen dead and a womanwith injuries.

According to police,shortly before 11 p.m., agroup of men were sittingin a yard on Maple Street,Pinewood Gardens, when

they were approached bythree armed men, whoopened fire in their direc-tion, injuring two of themand a woman, who was

inside the home, beforerunning away. Paramedics were

called to the scene andattempted to revive the

men, but were unsuccess-ful. The two men were pro-

nounced dead on scene,while the woman was

transported to hospitaland listed in stable condi-tion.Investigations contin-

ue.

BTC Gifts MOE2,500 TabletsTechnology giant BTC( B a h a m a sTe l e commun i ca t i on sCompany) donated 2,500tablets to the Ministry ofEducation (MOE) to beused in public schoolsthroughout the country.BTC's CEO GarfieldSinclair said it's an initia-tive that is an excellentpublic private partnershipthat will revolutionizeeducation. It is a donation that

will continue to propelthe Ministry of Educationinto its goal of ensuringthat students have accessto technology that willpush them forward in the21st century. Mr. Sinclair made the

announcement recently atthe Public SchoolsAdministrators conclave. Mr. Sinclair added the

BTC fully supportsMOE's project to providetechnology in the class-rooms, creating "smartclassrooms" for educatorsand students. "A digital country

requires digitally inspirededucation,” Mr. Sinclairsaid."We are ahead of

schedule in connecting127 schools and givingthem high speed connec-tivity to the internet.

"It is actually an excel-lent private and publicpartnership because weare really connectingthese schools to the exist-ing government of TheBahamas WAN and at theend of this, what we aregoing to have are studentswho will hopefully bewell advanced as part ofthis digital educationprocess. "We know that access

to the internet has aninextricable link to GDPgrowth. It also equipsyoung minds for a digitaleconomy."So, we're talking

about eventually, hope-fully facilitating smartschools with smart cities,smart government andreally driving TheBahamas into the 21stcentury."The fact of the matter

is you're not going to beable to do that without thekind of connectivity thatwe are providing."In September 2018,

MOE launched its $17million technologyupgrade with the signingof a contract with BTCfor a “massive technologyupgrade”. The project has been

dubbed "One NetworkProject". Education Minister

Jeffrey Lloyd said theproject will allow for

"tech-smart campusesthroughout the entirecountry"."I am talking about the

day that must come with-in the next year or so,where the entire educa-tional system is wired likean Estonia, Finland,South Korea,” Mr. Lloydsaid."We'll be the first of its

kind in the Caribbeanwhere there will be expe-riential learning, aug-mented reality, artificialintelligence, robotics,personalized learning,distance learning."Technology is going

to further empower, youand I, administrators, andteachers, in providing thekind of support and assis-tance and instructionsneeded for students." Minister Lloyd added

that the initiative will alsohelp to improve the grad-uation rate as students onislands that may have ashortfall in teachers willbe able to learn throughvirtual classrooms.The Ministry of

Education also signedcontracts with CableBahamas, WalkersIndustries Limited andSam’s BusinessesMachines, all in an effortto facilitate the creationof wireless internet con-nectivity in the schoolsystem.

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/21/2019 12:03 AM Page 2

A3The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - August 21st, 2019NationalNEWS

financial Services Min. attendsGB General Staff Meeting

FREEPORT, The Bahamas -- On Monday August 19, 2019, Minister of Financial Services, Trade, Industry and Immigration the Hon. Elsworth Johnson attended a Mass GeneralStaff Meeting in Grand Bahama. The Minister was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary, David Davis and Director of Bahamas Immigration Clarence A. Russell. Duringthe meeting, Minister Johnson laid out his mandate for the Ministry moving forward. Certificates of Appreciation were also presented to all Officers who graciously participated

in this year’s Independence Parade 2019. (Photo/BIS)

More Money for BPLdisclosed outside Cabinetthat the government islooking to do what is nec-essary to get on top ofwhat even the prime min-ister accepted as a crisisat BPL.“No finances will be

speared if there is a solu-tion that can be broughtin the short term. BPL hasput forth a plan whichappears to be workable.

It seems to be a sensiblesolution and we’re work-ing towards that to theextent that if they needassistance to make thathappen and if it can beaccelerated, then certain-ly we will find theresources to do that,” hesaid.“This is because we

recognized that it is anational issue particularlyhere in New Providenceas our major economic

hub and so whatever ittakes to ensure that wecan get reliable consistentsupply of energy back assoon as possible, we willdo that.” The deputy prime min-

ister’s comments followthose made by the primeminister on Mondaywhen he told reporterswhatever BPL needs,BPL will get.The DPM sought to

make it clear that the bor-

rowing fits within theparameters of the fiscalresponsibility legislation.The recently passed

law requires the govern-ment to be transparent ininstances of unexpectedexpenditures.“We will come to par-

liament, explain what isnecessary, why we havedone what we have done,if it is an after the factdisclosure and again pres-ent a plan to get us back

on track to our overall fis-cal plan as soon as possi-ble,” Minister Turnquestsaid. Just last year, a resolutionwas passed in parliamentgiving the governmentleeway to borrow $100million for BPL’s mainte-nance.However, it was later

revealed that some $95million went to the newWartsila plant set to comeon stream in December.

When asked to respondto those who may havelost confidence in thegovernment as a result,Mr. Turnquest said, “Wellagain, I don’t know that Ican answer that ques-tion.” “That would be a ques-

tion that is better posed toBPL because they wouldhave been the ones thathas raised that money so Iwould have referred tothem,” he added.

gg Continued from / PAGE 1...

Gov’t Monitoring Recession ThreatsTurnquest said theMinistry of Finance hasprepared for unexpectedhits to the global market.“As we look to the

future, I believe the U.S.economy is still perform-

ing relatively strong,although there are signson the horizon that theremay be some issues tocome,” he said.“As we in the Ministry

of Finance make ourplans, we take thosethings into consideration

and we try to ensure thatwe govern ourselvesconservatively to takeinto account the worst-case scenario.” This, the finance min-

ister added, means thecountry needs to watchits spending and plan to

ensure consistency withits projections. “We watch our cash

flow to make sure wedon’t get caught out andwe always have someheadroom in order to beable to meet any unex-pected shots,” Minister

Turnquest said.“Again, somethings

we can’t control and soits just a matter of usbeing conservative andresponsible and makingsure we are managingour resources as best aswe can, taking into

account things that canhappen on a long termhorizon.” U.S. President Donald

Trump has shot downthose claims saying thatthe United States is veryfar from a recession.

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Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 8/21/2019 12:03 AM Page 3

A4 The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - August 21st, 2019 NationalNEWS

D’Aguilar Clarifies Claimsover Airline Certificate

Man Charged for MP’s Brother’s

BPSU Wants Full Payment

receive the certificate.It’s been downhill from

there as 35 of the airline’semployees recently filed atrade dispute claimingthey are owed salaries andother entitled benefits.

He added to that theairline which has beengrounded since July 8was evicted from itsLPIA office on August17. “Certainly, the action

that would have beentaken by NAD which is

the airport, would havebeen building for sometime,” MinisterD’Aguilar said.“NAD took

SkyBahamas to court fornone payment andreceived an award or theability to take the action

that they have done,” theminister of tourism said. “So, I guess the bills

have been mounting,operational difficultieshave been mounting andwe are where we are.” When asked if he

thinks the airline will

have a hard time gettingback on its feet, the min-ister said, “The operatorwill have to evaluate thatand they will have to seewhat the capital require-ments are to reenter themarket, build their brandback, attract customers

back to see what amountof capital will be neces-sary to do it and whetherthey have the capital todo it and the willingnessto do it.” Captain Randy Butler

is the CEO ofSkyBahamas.

on Tuesday. However, after receiv-

ing a number of calls, hefelt it was best to at leastinform union membersabout a scheduled meet-ing with the prime minis-ter. When asked if he did-

n’t get a response fromDr. Minnis on the matter,he stated they’ll have nochoice but to take a posi-tion in order to get a

response. However, Mr.Ferguson is choosing tobe patient.“I said to the prime

minister that I will wait. IfI’m the shepherd of thisparticular flock, we’regoing to wait until we geta response from the primeminister,” Mr. Fergusonsaid. “I believe that the

prime minister is an hon-ourable gentleman and Ibelieve that a responsefrom him on Tuesday will

be forthcoming.” In a statement earlier

this week, the Ministry ofFinance clarified thenegotiation with BPSUand expressed that therewas a previous meetingwith the union to discussthe government’s abilityto finance a payment topublic officers for back toschool preparations. “The government

sought to negotiate a goodfaith resolution whichwould be presented to

Cabinet for approval. Theunion proposed a lumpsum payment of $1,200for the benefit of publicofficers. The total valueof payments was estimat-ed by the government atapproximately $20 mil-lion,” the statement read.“Considering the gov-

ernment’s cash flowneeds, the Ministry ofFinance offered to rec-ommend to Cabinet,splitting the payment intotwo lump sums of $600

each, in August andDecember, 2019. Theunion refused to considerthe offer, indicating$1,200 was already aconcession. The BPSUwas advised that due tothe scale of the fundingrequirements, meeting anend of month demandwould be a challenge inall instances.”

The presidentexpressed that the unionwill get a good deal con-cerning the industrial

agreement. “We’re believing God

that He’s going to dowhat His people needsand we know that peopleare crying becausethey’re burdened andwe’re asking for somerelief on their behalf,”Mr. Ferguson said. “There’s some discus-

sion that would’ve takenplace and we are justwaiting for the responseand the discussion thatwould have taken place.”

The attorney claimedthat on August 15, duringa police interview,Williams informed himthat police placed a fish

bag over his head whilehandcuffed and he waskicked about his bodyand head. He added thatWilliams had to bite thebag in order to breath. Although Williams said

he knew nothing about themurder, the police warnedhim to confess if he want-ed to live.His attorney saw marks

on his hand, right shoulderand back during the police

interview and showeddetectives. The interviewstopped so Williams couldbe taken to hospital.His counselor was sup-

posed to be notified whenthe interview resumed.

However, the interviewwas continued without alawyer present. In court, Williams com-

plained about experienc-ing pain on his left armand back. The magistrate

ordered that instead ofgoing to the hospital thathe be seen by the prisonphysician as soon as it isreasonably practical.He is expected back in

court on October 22.

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