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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. 17 75 CENTSWEDNESDAY - JANUARY 23RD, 2019

Ministry of Labour & ChaMber of

CoMMerCe to strengthen PartnershiP

4 Strengthening Ties - Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, Mr. Jeffrey Becklesrecently paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Labour, Senator the Hon. Dion Foulkes. Pictured at the courtesy call are from left to right Ms. Cecilia Strachan,Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour; Minister Foulkes; Mrs. Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson, Vice Chair of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and

Employers Confederation and Mr. Beckles. (File photo)

CORRECTINGTHE ECONOMY

o u r i s mM i n i s t e rD i o n s i oD ’ A g u i l a rsays, “ since

the coming to office ofthe Free NationalMovement government inMay 2017, some 10,000jobs have been created.

He said the Tourismsector saw an upswing inemployment betweenMay and November2018.

Referring to theLabour report released onMonday, Mr. D’Aguilar

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

4 Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar (File photo)

Tourism Ministry MustAvoid Another Fyre Fiasco

People are talking, that’sthe one thing that hascome out of the fiascocalled The Fyre Festival -a high end luxury concertset for the Exumas in

Spring 2017 that failedmiserably, according toMinister of TourismDioniso D’Aguilar.

Speaking withreporters outsideTuesday’s weekly cabi-net meeting, he said yes,the situation was most

unfortunate, but at thetime, tourism officialsreally did what they hadto do and that’s facilitatethe event in terms of cus-toms, license, etc.

“We do that all the

BY JAMEELHA MISSICKJournal Staff Writer

g See page 3...

Safety-Net For Gaming AddictsBahamas GamingOperators Association(BGOA) Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Gershan Major,

told Rotarians yesterdayof efforts to ensure thatthere is a safety net inplace to protect thosemost vulnerable engagingin gaming.

“We have today, over

200 persons on a self-exclusion list,” he said.

“Those individuals aresome of who excludedthemselves, some ofwhom the operatorsexcluded,” he added.

“These individuals alsoare getting the type of pro-fessional intervention thatthe responsible gamingpolicy demands throughthe Bahamas GamingOperators Association.

“We have in place apartnership withSandilands RehabilitationCenter, where we havefunded five of their pro-

BY JAMEELHA MISSICKJournal Staff Writer

AGREE-MENT INPRINCIPLEFOR GRANDLUCAYANSTAFF

Bahamas Hotel andManagerial Union and themanagement of the GrandLucayan Resort, LucayanRenewal Holdings Ltd.,are still meeting and talk-ing things over when it

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

g See page 3...

HOUSE TODEBATE LANDRESOLUTIONFOR AFFORD-ABLE HOMESThe Government willseek approval for the con-veyance of 1.2 acres ofland in the Fox Hill com-munity under a resolutionto be introduced in theHouse of Assembly today.

The land will be devel-oped for the sale of serv-

g See page 6...g See page 4...

g See page 2...

TT

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 1/23/2019 12:30 AM Page 1

said, “ most of thosegains came from the pri-vate sector. The FNM’strategy is to create pri-vate sector jobs.

“I was also encouragedby the number of entrepre-neurs that started theirown businesses that fac-tored into the report; sowe are correcting thiseconomy.

“The failed strategiesof trying to createemployment through giv-ing government jobs,which then leads togreater government debtand further downgradehas been halted and weare now doing it the rightway of allowing the pri-

vate sector to grow and toflourish,” said the tourismminister.

The opposition con-tends that the latest labourstatistics tell a sad tale,but despite the .7 per centuptick in unemployment,Labour Minister DionFoulkes seems pleasedwith the way things areheaded.

He said, “in Abaco,there was a 3 per centdecrease in the unemploy-ment rate, something thatis very significant.

“In Grand Bahama, thisis the second consecutivesurvey that has shown adecrease in the unemploy-ment rate in GrandBahamas; so we’re verypleased about that.

“One of the things weare focusing on as a gov-ernment is to increaseemployment for youngpeople and this survey,although it was only onepercentage point showsan uptick of employmentfor young people betweenthe ages of 15 and 25 thatwas revealed in the sur-vey; so we are extremelypleased about that,” Mr.Foulkes said.

As for discouragedworkers, the past sixmonths showed that thisgroup dropped by 6.7 percent overall.

A closer look at thenumbers coming out ofNew Providence andGrand Bahama shows thatnumber fell by 9.1 per

cent and 9.8 per centrespectively.

“This is an area that isnot well understood by alot of people. The ILOdescribes a discouraged

worker as a person who isnot looking for a job,because they believe thereis no jobs out there.

“That is what a dis-couraged worker is, a dis-

couraged worker is notformulated and is notincluded in the unemploy-ment statistics,” he said.

The next labour forcesurvey is due in May.

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Wednesday - January 23rd, 2019

MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY

The Bahamian Government in collaboration with the United StatesEmbassy (Nassau) invites all qualified persons who are interested inapplying for a four-year degree scholarship at the United States

Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, United States, to submit theirapplications to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Headquarters,

Coral Harbour Base by 31st January, 2019.

To qualify, applicants must:

Be a Bahamian citizen•Be between the ages of 17-22 years old•Be unmarried and with no dependents•Be willing to serve in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for a•minimum of five years on completion.Must be physically fit•Must be able to swim•Have SAT scores of 600 in both Math and English (or ACT •minimum o 26 in Mathematics and 27 in English).•Have a high school diploma•Possess excellent English skills•

Bachelor’s Degree Programs are offered in:

Civil Engineering•Cyber Systems•Electrical Engineering•Naval Architecture•Operations Research•Marine and Environmental Sciences•Government•Mechanical Engineering•Management•

Deadline for submission of application is 31st January, 2019.

Deadline for registration for SAT examination is 8th February, 2019foe the 9th March, 2019 test date (results from March test are onlyaccepted if results from previous test are received by 1st March,

2019).

Students may register at:https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/international

The USCGA code number for the SAT exam is 5807.

Deadline for ACT registration is 11th January, 2019 for 8th February,2019 test date.

Students can register at https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act-non-us.html

The USCGA code number for the ACT exam is 0600.

Applicants can make application to sit the SAT/ACT at local SATCenters in New Providence as follows: Aquinas College, St.Andrew’s School, St. Anne’s School, The University of TheBahamas, Government High School and Queen’s College.

For further information, please contact the Royal Bahamas DefenceForce Human Resource Officer, Lieutenant Commander MichaelHanna at telephone 362-3705 or 362-3711 or via email at

michaelhanna@rbdf.gov.bs or visit the website www.rbdf.gov.bs

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG)ACADEMY 4 YEAR MILITARY DEGREE

PROGRAM

ON-SITE HOTEL FOR LPIAThe Nassau Airport

D e v e l o p m e n tCompany's (NAD) ismoving ahead with plansfor and on-site hotel atthe Lynden PindlingInternational Airport.

NAD has issued arequest for proposals

outlining submissionguidelines to prospectiveproponents.

According to NAD,the successful proponentwill design, finance,construct and operate athree star or more hotelthat should meet the

needs of both domesticand international travel-ers. The proposed site for theproject is 4.68 acres ofvacant land, just north-east of the current U.S.Departure terminalbuilding.

Interested parties canfind details on the sub-mission requirement aswell as deadlines for theRFP and all other docu-ments online atWWW.NASSAULPIA.COM/RFP-PUBLIC.

Persons can also

email LPIAHOTEL-RFP@NAS.BS torequest and electroniccopy of the document.

Potential proponentsare required to registerfor a mandatory pre-sub-mission meeting and sitevisit.

Participants have theoption of registering forthe meeting on eitherThursday February 21,2019 or Friday February22, 2019. Final proposalsubmissions will be dueon Friday May 24, 2019.

CORRECTING THE ECON-gg Continued from / PAGE 1...

GOT NEWS?Please call The BahamaJournal’s News TIP LINE at 356-7254 and let us know!

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 1/23/2019 12:30 AM Page 2

A3The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - January 23rd, 2019NationalNEWS

Ministry of Labour & Chamber ofCommerce To Strengthen PartnershipThe Minister of Labour,Senator the HonourableDion Foulkes and thenewly appointed ChiefExecutive Officer of TheBahamas Chamber ofCommerce andE m p l o y e r sConfederation, Mr.Jeffrey Beckles bothpledged to furtherstrengthen the partner-ship that exists betweenthe two organizations forthe betterment ofBahamians and the localbusiness community.This renewed com-

mitment came as Mr.Beckles made a cour-

tesy call on MinisterFoulkes on Monday,January 21, 2019 at theMinister’s office inCharlotte House onShirley and CharlotteStreets. MinisterFoulkes was accompa-nied by Ms. CeciliaStrachan, PermanentSecretary in the Ministryof Labour. Mr. Beckleswas joined by Mrs.Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson, Vice Chair ofThe Bahamas Chamberof Commerce andE m p l o y e r sConfederation. Bothparties discussed awide range of topicspertaining to the localbusiness community.

AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLEFOR GRAND LUCAYAN STAFFcomes to VoluntarySeparation Packages(VSEP’s) for the line staffat the resort in GrandBahama.

Minister of Labour,Senator Dion Foulkes,confirmed with reportersjust before the weeklyCabinet meeting that thereis an “agreement in princi-ple” with the line staff

union. “The union executives

for the last week or sohave been in consultationwith the management atthe hotel.

“We have a global fig-ure that we have agreed[on] with them. We aretrying to work out the spe-cific payout for 160 per-sons, just to make sure

that it is accurate,” Sen.Foulkes said.

Mr. Foulkes also con-firmed that there is alsodiscussion on back pay forthe line staff employees.However, he declined togive further comment onthe amount that may ormay not be agreed on.

“Some of the moniesthat are owed to some of

the employees at the hotelgo back for several years,so we want to ensure thatit is accurate.

“We do not have a set-tlement with the manage-ment union at this point,but we hope to have thatsoon.

“I prefer not to com-ment on that at this time,because that is the subject

of discussion between theunion and the manage-ment. When they settlethat, then I’ll be happyto,” Mr. Foulkes said.

Just last week whilegiving an update on thenegotiations, President ofThe Bahamas HotelManagerial Association,Obie Ferguson said thatthe union “will not be

moved by nonsense”.According to the union

president, $1 million hadbeen shaved off the settle-ment, taking it to $4 mil-lion plus an annuity ofwhat was negotiated from7 per cent to 4 per cent ofworker’s pay.

Mr. Ferguson addedthat workers are stillstanding firm.

Tourism Ministry MustAvoid Another Fyre Fiascotime for many projects.Unfortunately, probablya greater level of duediligence should havebeen done to ensure thatthe disaster that hap-pened while the Ministryof Tourism wasn’t com-plicit it the failure, itcertainly caused thecountry some reputa-

tional damage,” he said.That aside, the

Minister accepts that hisministry must avoid arepeat of something ofthis magnitude.

“Moving forward wereally have to be mindfulof that and don’t accepteverybody willinglythrough the door that

came in. And maybe theprevious minister proba-bly in his exuberance tomake the deal done,went all in. And [in]hindsight that was a mis-take,” he said.

Expected to rivalCalifornia’s CoachellaMusic and Arts Festival,the hyped up Fyre

Festival went downhilldue to rapidly depletingcash flow.

Festival attendees inhopes of receiving anexclusive, luxury experi-ence instead met aremote island with littleto no running water,electricity, or food.

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A4 The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - January 23rd, 2019 NationalNEWS

Labour Ministry signs contract to establishparameters for vehicle road-worthinessThe Ministry of Labourhas entered into a Pre-Export Verification ofConformity (PVoC)agreement with EAACompany Ltd. of Japan, toestablish parameters forroad-worthiness of allvehicles imported fromJapan into The Bahamas.

The Hon. DionFoulkes, Minister ofLabour, described theagreement as a “milestoneachievement” during thecontract signing ceremonyMonday, January 21, 2019at the Ministry of Labour,Charlotte and ShirleyStreets.

The contract, whichcomes at no expense tothe government or taxpay-ers, will begin with a one-year initial pilot pro-gramme. As of Monday,January 21, 2019, a 90-day period follows tofinalize the implementa-tion process and publiceducation. The $150inspection fee will be cov-

ered by the exporters inJapan. The Bureau ofStandards and Quality(BBSQ) receives $20 foreach inspection.

Minister Foulkesremarked that Japan hassuffered several nuclearaccidents, the latest in2011 in Fukushima, and itis “imperative” that poten-tially radiated used vehi-cles are not allowed toenter The Bahamas.

The PVoC programmespecifically addresses therisk through a mandatoryrequirement for radiationinspection on everyinspected vehicle.

The contract alsoincludes inspection byEAA of the following:Steering wheel alignment,breaking force, noiselevel, exhaust gas andpipe emissions, brightnessof head lamps, horn soundlevel, engine, cooling sys-tem, fuel system, trans-mission system, propellershaft, final draft system,

axle housing, suspensionsystem, axles, wheels andtyres, mileage meter,warning lights, frame andvehicle body.

“Many countriesaround the world havemoved and are movingtoward the introduction ofimport regulations thatrequire the pre-shipmentinspection of used motorvehicle imports. There isstrong evidence to supportthat such a PVoC pro-gramme serves to keep theroads of the countries freeof potentially unsafe vehi-cles,” said MinisterFoulkes.

“These regulated pro-grammes are generallyself-funding and can pro-vide a source of incomefor National StandardsBodies (such as BBSQ),through administrationfees. This in turn providesincome to allow theRegulatory Authority toadminister the pre-exportinspection programme

(without the need for sep-arate funding).”

Minister Foulkes saidbased on statistics fromArawak PortDevelopment, the vastmajority of vehicles wereimported from Japan withmore than 11,000 passen-ger and commercial unitsin 2016, 18,469 in 2017and 17,191 in 2018 withanticipation for importnumbers to be similar tothat of 2017 and 2018 in2019.

“From these statistics,the need to ensure theseimports are ‘roadworthy’,prior to leaving the coun-tries of origin, is essentialto protect The Bahamasfrom continuing to be a“dumping ground” forunsafe motor vehicles,”he said.

Renee Ferguson-Bufford, Director, BBSQ,said many vehicles, oneyear after being imported,are being dumped on theside of the road, and left

for the government tomove.

“We want to ensure,[we’ve had a lot of acci-dents with many of thesecars] moving forward thatwe are not a dumpingground for such vehicles,”said the Director.

“We will begin to workwith Road Traffic[Department], a part ofour National TechnicalCommittee, [Ministry of]Public Works, Customs[Department], Ministry ofFinance and other regula-tory bodies and used cardealerships. Road Trafficis now looking at theirlaws to ensure complianceto these specifications.”

According to LeeSayer, EAA Vice-President/Director, if avehicle does not passinspection it will berejected and required to bebrought to standard orrenegotiated with theimporter for a replace-ment.

“Every vehicle thatpasses inspection willreceive a certificate ofcompliance. Each vehiclewill have window stickersplaced on the vehicle. Oneof the stickers will be cer-tification that has passedthe radiation inspection.The vehicle itself also willhave an EAA road readi-ness inspection stickerplaced on it. As animporter you will haveaccess, if you have thechassis number of thevehicle, to our websitedatabase to which youwill be able to determinethe inspection confirma-tion. The regulatoryauthority will also haveseparate access to thedatabase also any otherregulatory stakeholder inThe Bahamas,” said Mr.Sayer.

EAA is a used vehicleinspection specialist thatwas established in 2007.Its headquarters are basedin Yokohama, Japan.

4 Lionel Fredrick Albury, President, Bahamas Motor Dealers Association andPresident of the Auto Mall Group of Companies, is pictured at the microphone,flanked by (from left) Renee Ferguson-Bufford, Director, Bureau of Standardsand Quality; Cecilia Strachan, Permanent Secretary; the Hon Dion Foulkes,

Minister of Labour and Lee Sayer, Vice-President/Director, EAA.

4 The Hon. Dion Foulkes, Minister of Labour (3rd from left) and Lee Sayer,Vice President/Director, EAA, are pictured following contract signing ceremony.Also shown from left: Renee Ferguson-Bufford, Director, Bureau of Standardsand Quality, Cecilia Strachan, Permanent Secretary; and Toyohiko Hashino,

Manager, EAA. BIS Photos/Patrick Hanna

Safety-Net For Gaming Addictsfessional clinicians tospecifically study in thearea of gambling addic-tion.

“The more personswho show themselves asneeding help, the broaderthe safety net that wewant to have to providethose types of interven-tions,” he said.

There have been talks

of a national lottery,despite the governmentimposing increased taxeson gaming operators.

In terms of feedbackfrom gaming operators,Mr. Major said the BGOAhas not given the issueany consideration at thispoint, as its simply anassertion.

“The government is

the government, the gov-ernment will be minded todo what it needs to do rel-ative to whatever report itneeds to get to makeinformed decisions.”

“The industry will con-tinue to operate as a regu-lated concern,” he added.

The BGOA’s mandateis awareness, educationand advocacy.

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Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 1/23/2019 12:30 AM Page 4

A5The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - January 23rd, 2019EditorialNEWS

E D I T O R I A L

The Bahama Journal Is An Independent Newspaper - Published Week Days By The Communicators & Associates In Affiliation With Jones Communications Ltd.

University Drive - P.O. Box N-8610Telephone: 242-325-3082 - Fax: 242-356-7256

Kimaley P. JonesVice President/Operations

Wendall K. Jones Publisher/Chief Executive Officer

UNBELIEVABLENUMBERS

The unemployment figures released bythe Department of Statistics has manyBahamians wondering if and what theycan believe. These figures show thatwhile unemployment has increased inthe Bahamas from 10 per cent to 10.7percent as of November last year, thatemployment has increased in GrandBahama. This is unbelievable, giventhe level of distress and human suffer-ing in the nation’s second city.

The Department said, “two of thethree most populated islands that weresurveyed experienced decreases intheir unemployment rates, and oneexperienced an increase,.

“At the time of the survey, the ratein Grand Bahama was 11.9 per cent;and in Abaco 7.7 per cent.” TheMinister of Finance, Peter Turnquest,obviously encouraged by the newsalso said that the numbers of discour-aged workers also decreased, pointingto greater confidence in economicprospects among job seekers.”

If the government’s numbers are cor-rect, then we would be happy.However, the improvement of theeconomy has to be seen and felt amongthe people. When people are scream-ing and crying because of hunger andwhen Bahamians are losing theirhomes and are unable to pay electricitybills and rent due, then these numbersand the optimism being espoused bypoliticians are unimportant.

Two days ago, there were reports ofGrand Bahamians who are consideringsuicide because they were unable tofeed their children. No one in theBahamas over the last five decadesconsidered suicide due to a bad econo-my.

Last night, many residents ofFreeport meet at the FlamingoRestaurant at Castaways, includingclergymen, to find ways and means ofhelping these individuals who are indistress. This was the prevailing atti-

tude of our people over the years.When their fellowmen were in need,they came to their rescue.

The situation in Grand Bahama andother parts of the Bahamas showsclearly that the leadership of our coun-try is not connecting with the econom-ic plight of the people. If they were,there would be a higher concentrationby the Ministry of Social Services tobring relief to residents who are inpoverty stricken conditions. We ques-tion what has happened to the UrbanRenewal program in Grand Bahama.Why are we not hearing from the poli-cy makers on this?

In addition, there is a need to re-engineer the economy of the Bahamasto bring about a degree of food securi-ty. The Bahamas has never had afamine because the people dependedon the land and the sea to feed them-selves. Even during World Wars,Bahamians were able to feed them-selves.

The islands in the south, fromEleuthera to Inagua were consideredthe breadbasket islands of theBahamas. However, with mass tourismand the mass migration from thoseislands after majority rule in 1967,there has been a depopulation of thoseislands, with people moving to NewProvidence and Freeport, GrandBahama.

So, the economy of the Bahamaschanged drastically. We became a con-sumer society where people neededincome from a job to sustain them-selves. The time is now for the govern-ment of the Bahamas to put in placepolicies and programmes to repopulatethe southern islands. This can happenwith the development of seaports forcruise passengers to visit those islandsand also with the empowerment ofBahamians to return to the land and thesea to feed themselves and those whovisit our shores.

Auditor GeneralReports: Time to End

the CharadeThe mandate of the Auditor General as stated inThe Constitution of The Bahamas Article 136 isas follows:

The Auditor-General shall submit his•reports made under paragraph (3) of thisArticle without undue delay to the Speaker(or, if the office of Speaker is vacant or theSpeaker is for any reason unable to per-form the functions of his office, to theDeputy Speaker) who shall cause them tobe laid before the House of Assemblywithout undue delay.In the exercise of his functions under the•provisions of paragraphs (30 and (4) ofthis Article, the Auditor-General shall notbe subject to the direction or control ofany other person or authority.The accounts of the department of the•Auditor General shall be audited andreported on by the Minister of Finance.

Another year and another auditor general reportyears after the event. One may be forgiven ifthey view this as a pointless exercise, especial-ly as very few persons appear to have ever beenheld accountable for their wrongdoings. It isinconceivable that the frequency and extent ofalleged thievery can go on and on and onlysmall level thieves face the courts.

So, whilst these reports some years after thefact make good political theatre, the underlyingproblems remain unaddressed. How can it bethat the Auditor General’s Office can stateunequivocally that millions of our funds aremisappropriated yet no one is brought toaccount? This may be because the wrongdoersare civil servants and not politicians and, thatremediation is not a priority. According to theInternational Financial Reporting Standards(IFRS).

“Naturally, the vulnerabilities in the company’ssystem revealed after the theft should beaddressed first, and any holes in the systemshould be closed. Job duties should beanalysed, and some tasks may need to be reas-signed to prevent any single employee fromhaving too much control over a function.Segregating duties is one of the most basicfraud prevention controls that all companiesshould implement, and, this is a very cheapmethod of fraud prevention if it is done correct-ly”.

In the Tribune reporting of January15, 2018entitled “Auditors uncover $450k bonus fraud”we see once more laid out in detail the nature ofthe fraud. If you read the article through youwill see that it was affected by the very samesystems failures the remediations recommend-ed by the IFRS was intended to prevent. Ibelieve that if the frauds detected by theAuditor General (AG) over the years, involvingvirtually all the government’s revenue centreswere totalled, it would probably be in in themillions of dollars.

The question must be asked why? Why, afterall the thefts and misappropriations document-ed is there not a professionally staffed account-ing department in every ministry, whose prop-erly prepared accounts can be audited by theAG’s staff on a timelier basis? These account-ants will also detect in good time, efforts bydishonest staff to commit fraud. This is a prob-lem which has existed across administrationsbut, has been left to fester and proliferate. It isunconscionable to expect the AG with his min-imally staffed and underfunded department tounravel these matters long after the fact. It isalso criminally negligent to allow the flagranttheft of our funds to continue year on yearwithout legal consequences. The Bahamas canuse the stolen funds to grow the economy andease the taxpayer’s burdens but, I guess I ambeing altruistic. Okay, we know incontrovert-ibly that government revenue has been stolenover significant periods of time so, let’s explorewhy nothing is being done to bring the culpritsto justice.

Not believing anyone was a big victim.

There are some misguided persons who believethat government funds are endless. So, what ifthey thief a bit, no one will miss it. That’s aspirit of criminality, avarice and covetousness.But they are right about the not missing it part.The lack of consistent oversight and protectionof our funds is a disgrace. The idea that no oneis a big victim is also selfish and short-sighted.Stolen funds represent a drain on the govern-ments consolidated fund. It funds unfundedpension liabilities estimated to be around $26million. Civil servants expect their salaries,gratuities and pensions to come from the fund.With all the fraud being perpetrated on publicfunds, theft puts the safety of these benefits at

risk. At risk because of rampant dishonesty andtheft literally, of your pension funds!

Attorneys advise against legal action.

One of the most effective shields against civilservants being prosecuted in our courts isGeneral Orders (GO). The passage of timebefore the fraud is discovered and, the inten-tional absence of a paper trail makes a prosecu-tion problematic.

The wrongdoers know this, and unions use it asa defence. So, employees are either transferredor interdicted in accordance with GO. In someinstances, criminal staff are given the option ofhaving the pilfered funds deducted from theirsalaries; this solution challenges logic. It isdoomed to fail as, now the employee must dou-ble down on their thievery to replace the fundsdeducted! If, the fraudster is a kleptomaniac ora degenerate gambler then, heaven help us.

In each of these instances the public loses; thetransferred employee is given another venue tocontinue their fraud; and, the interdictedemployee is put on half pay. Eventually inter-est [or files] is lost forestalling the prosecutionof the alleged fraudster. There is more thananecdotal evidence to conclude that neither ofthese options is in our interest. Indeed, someinterdicted employees are being paid long afterthey have found employment outside the serv-ice and in several cases have died.

Emotional ties with the employee.

The Bahamas is a small society and, we alldevelop close workplace relationships. In somecases, friendships cover the course of manyyears. It is not unusual to find family membersworking together in some government depart-ments. So, department heads will find it diffi-cult to deal effectively with fraud in theirdepartments especially as friends will not “rat”on each other. This is where you must rely oneffective accounting and management systemswhich alerts department heads to fraud andother staff wrongdoing. Another serious issueis that deferential department heads will usual-ly pass critical staff dishonesty issues to theirMinsters. This creates a whole raft of humanresource problems; undermines staff moraleand creates “untouchables” within a depart-ment. Since Ministers hardly ever make otherthan politically expedient decisions, especiallyif it involves a constituent, the culprits remainin place, unpunished and emboldened. Indeed,Bahamian funds and operations are placed atrisk when political appointees are sent to headhighly technical departments with no trainingor experience in how they operate. They usual-ly seek to cover their deficiencies with bullyingtactics, bluster and arrogance; a deadly combi-nation in any environment.

Not trusting the judicial system.

There is growing public perception that thelegal system is not fit for purpose. There aretoo many instances when clear cases of fraudare brought to the courts and never prosecutedbecause of the non-appearance of witnesses,police and otherwise. Public servants, especial-ly heads of departments are busy people.

It is unfair to repeatedly ask them to appear tocourt for a case that is not called. The glacialpace of our legal system, therefore, militatesagainst civil servants being brought to justicefor financial wrongdoings in the rare instancesthat they are charged. So, what do we do?Clearly, the accounting systems and methodsmust be overhauled and improved. TheBahamas cannot afford the continued “leak-ages” of public revenue because proper focusand resources are not being provided. What Ifind incredible is the lack of urgency beinggiven to the prevalence of systemic fraudacross multiple government ministries; ram-pant fraud which endangers the financial healthof the country.

Imagine the national development projects wecan undertake without seeking expensive bankloans if this criminal activity is remediated. Iknow that once the most recent auditor gener-al’s report is widely disseminated our politi-cians will propose all manner of fixes for theproblem. They might even begin another policeinvestigation with probably no results, just likein the past. For sure, eventually some small frywill be hammered in the courts, but the under-lying problem will remain unaddressed; this isunhelpful. The necessary financial means andpolitical will must be exerted if these scan-dalous episodes in our public life are to beended. Our elected officials and law enforce-ment need to step up and solve this vexingproblem.

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A6 The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - January 23rd, 2019 NationalNEWS

HOUSE TO DEBATE LAND RESOLU-TION FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES

iced lots, and is part of theGovernment’s commit-ment to develop new sub-divisions to address thedemand for affordablehousing and homeowner-ship.

The focus of theDepartment of Housing ison installing the necessaryinfrastructure on land tobe developed and sold atcost to first time home-owners in NewProvidence and theFamily Islands, ratherthan selling already con-

structed homes.The availability of

these serviced lots willallow more Bahamiansaccess to affordablehomes, said Minister ofthe Environment andHousing RomauldFerreira who will lead thedebate on the Resolution.“The Ministry began pre-liminary work on thisproperty in early 2014,those works included theinitial clearing of theproperty for the surveyingof the proposed site anddesign of a small subdivi-sion,” said Mr. Ferreira.

“The subdivision willcomprise 10 serviced lotsthat will be sold to youngBahamians and will becalled the Lionel DavisSubdivision.” These newserviced lots are part ofthe Government’s newaccess to affordablehomes programme.

The late Lionel Davisserved as the Member ofParliament for the FoxHill constituency from1968 to 1977. He was oneof the founding membersof the modern day FoxHill Festival.

Under the Access to

Affordable Homes Act2018, owners of servicedlots in a government-approved subdivision mayapply to the Minister ofFinance for exemptionfrom customs duties andexcise tax on all materialsnecessary to construct asingle-family dwellinghome.

The Ministry of theEnvironment and Housinglaunched its serviced lotsinitiative in July 2018with the opening of SunsetClose Subdivision.

This serviced lots ini-tiative gives Bahamians

who ordinarily could notafford a home of theirown, access to affordablehousing.

Serviced lot owners areable to construct their ownhomes using their owncontractor and architect oruse pre-existing housingplans offered by theGovernment.

The serviced lots inSunset Close were sold forunder $20,000 to policeofficers, defence forceofficers, customs officersand teachers, said Mr.Ferreira. A number ofmortgages have also been

approved for the construc-tion of homes.

The lots in LionelDavis Subdivision areexpected to be sold for asimilar price, he added.

The Minister empha-sized that serviced lots areavailable to all Bahamianswho qualify, includingcivil servants.

The Department ofHousing has identifiedland for subdivisiondevelopment in Abaco,Andros, San Salvador andCarmichael VillageSubdivision in NewProvidence.

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