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This week in the Bahamas Commentary by Elcott Coleby: Oct 12 - 16
By Elcott Coleby
Oct 16, 2015 - 4:37:30 PM

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Prime Minister Christie committed to “organized” rebuilding process

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie addressed a myriad on issues at his Wednesday press conference at his Cable Beach office and in so doing declared that The Bahamas Government has made a commitment to reconstruct, to rebuild and to establish an organized process to do so, in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Joaquin.

Below are excerpts from Mr. Christie on a number of related issues.

Post Hurricane construction and building team:

In announcing the appointment of former Director of Works Ms. Melanie Roach as the head of the reconstruction and building team, Prime Minister Christie said that “The Bahamas has a very dynamic capital development budget that the Ministry of Works and their officials must continue to implement in our country; so we thought we have to bring specific focus to the combined efforts of the private and public sectors, and that Ms. Roach will lead that charge, supported by engineering teams from the Ministry of Works, from the Ministry of Housing, (and) from the private sector.”

Post Hurricane rebuilding cost:

"We have not yet quantified the cost of the damages or the cost of repairs; but I can tell you that when I looked at some of the figures, we were over $60 million dollars and we were still having assessments come in," Prime Minister Christie said.

Borrowing to fund rebuilding and construction:

"I have already asked the Ministry of Finance to review the opportunities for borrowing money from the Caribbean Development Bank, from concessional financing made available by the Chinese to the region, and other traditional sources because the country cannot wait; and that even if we were to have the most successful fundraising campaign, these initial requirements must be met by the government." 

This is a particularly smart policy decision by a savvy and astute leader because the aggregate interest rates on the current national debt are significantly higher than the interest rates on loans sourced through the Chinese government would attract. Borrowing through the Caribbean Development under the China infrastructure development program will save The Bahamas tens of millions of dollars long term. Some have suggested the use of VAT revenue to fund the reconstruction in the southern islands. This is an ill-advised policy proposal as The Bahamas will be better served if the government continues to draw down on loans that attract higher interest rates.

Public subventions to impacted businesses and families:

Prime Minster Christie pointed out that assessments will also be made as to whom the Government would build homes for during this process.

"There are others we will help partially and there are others who will just do it on their own; so the question is being able to make the best assessments and to be able to move ahead with a programme that is very broad. Obviously, we are going to have to raise monies and there are situations that I have seen this time that causes me to believe that we even have to help some people who are in business."

During the briefing, several government agencies and utilities presented snapshots of their assessments so far.

Presentations were delivered by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) and the Ministry of Works (MOW).

Government Immediate Relief Services:

The Prime Minister reported that the Department of Public Health stated that Health Relief Assessment Teams were deployed to Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, with a team of five doctors and seven nurses being sent out as early as Sunday, October 4, 2015.


Government releases exigency order

The exigency order Prime Minister Christie announced in Parliament on Wednesday of last week was released this past weekend.

Effective from the 3rd October and valid for ninety days, the order allows for the duty and VAT free importation of building materials, plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture, appliances, generators and vehicles into Acklins, Crooked Island, Cat Island, Long Cay, Mayaguana, Ragged Island, Exuma, Inagua, San Salvador, Rum Cay, Long Island and Samana Cay. Imported items must be certified by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Prime Minister Christie said that the government would extend the order if necessary.

Additionally, the government has waived landing fees and departure tax for non-commercial flights bringing in hurricane relief goods and customs processing fees on imports into the islands that are covered by the order.

Crooked Island, Long Cay and Acklins were declared sufferance port areas for three months; this means that dutiable goods are detained for a specified period of time until the duty is paid.

Imports by registered charitable organizations are also customs and VAT-exempt.

Government issues eight conditional web shop gaming licenses

At the close of business on Thursday of this week, the Minister of Tourism, true to his word, released the identities of the eight conditional license holders for the operation of web shops. They are as follow:

FML Group of Companies Ltd. (t/a FML Web Shop)

GLK Limited (t/a A Sure Win)

Jarol Investments Limited (t/a Chances Games)

Paradise Games Bahamas Limited (t/a Paradise Games)

Playtech Systems Limited (t/a Island Luck)

T.I.G. Investments Limited (t/a Percy’s at The Island Game)

The Four Point Group (t/a Asue Draw + Spin)

Bahama Dreams Web Café Limited (t/a Bahama Dreams)

The statement said that on October 19, 2015, each applicant will be notified of an award or disqualification, as appropriate pursuant to Section 85(22) of the Act. On November 2, 2015 the Statement of Condition review period ends and Gaming House Operator Conditional Licenses will be issued by the Gaming Board under Section 32(5).

Upon issuance, annual license and monitoring fees will be assessed as follows:

Operator: $250,000.00

Premises: $ 2,000.00 per Premises

Agent: $ 1,000.00 per Agent

The effective closure date for the disqualified Applicant will be October 26th 2015.

This conditional issuance does not stop there as the successful applicants must now complete a series of regulatory requirements before receiving a plenary Gaming House Operator License.


Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL’s) report on “all party talks”

The Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL’s) for the Baha Mar resort, Edmund Rahming of KryS Global and Alastair Beveridge and Nick Cropper of AlixPartners, updated the public on the progress made after two days of closed door meetings with all stakeholder groups.

In a press release on the 11th October, JPL's Alastair Beveridge said the following:

"The talks this week are another important step on the road to resolution. We would like to thank all parties for their good faith participation in and constructive approach during the meetings. Whilst there is still work to be done, it is clear that all involved are focused on quickly reaching a viable solution to ensure that the Baha Mar resort is able to open for business for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the Bahamian people. We will continue to work with all stakeholders as we explore the best route forward and will issue further updates as talks continue".

The JPLs chaired the all-party talks that involved Government representatives; the financier, the Export-Import Bank of China; China Construction America Bahamas Ltd. and parent company, China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd.; and the resort's founder and Investor, Mr. Sarkis Izmirlian.


PM Christie promises National Heroes Park and honours regulations

The work of the committee responsible for National Heroes Day as a national holiday continues. That committee was established in 1989 with the Hon. Fred Mitchell, the Hon. Loretta Butler Turner and Canon Sebastian Campbell to formally honour Sir Milo Butler.

So having secured the second Monday in October to honour Bahamian heroes, the lobbying continues. At a ceremony held at the Botanical Gardens on Monday, 12th October, the Committee chair, Canon Campbell, called for a heroes’ park, an official honours system, afrocentric education and an official national dress.

Acting Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Tellis Bethel proposed the naming of the body of water that delineates our territorial borders the Lucayan Sea in honour of the original inhabitants of the Bahama chain of islands.

In delivering his keynote address, Prime Minister Christie announced that by January 10th 2016, a heroes’ park would have been identified, complete with a cemetery and the attendant regulations governing the country’s local honours system would be legislated.


Minister Hanna-Martin stands behind the Met Office

Following any catastrophe there is usually enough blame to go around and Joaquin was no different. Notwithstanding the relatively weighty evidence to the contrary, the Bahamas Department of Meteorology was the target of unfair criticism and baseless attacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin. Some accused the department of failing to advise the public on the storm’s development in a timely manner and a foreign hurricane center accused the department of having a faulty Doppler radar system. All of those claims to date proved to be inaccurate and the various critics are yet to provide one shred of evidence to support their claims.

This week the Minister of Transport and Aviation, Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin spoke, throwing her full support and commendation behind her department in concurrence with the observation of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

“Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency who were here recently in a briefing with NEMA took the opportunity to commend the Department of Meteorology for the work that they did and for the actions they took in giving out warnings when it was not their advice to do so and observe that the meteorologists in the region were watching this storm and out of that has come a commendation for the department and so I want to throw my commendation to them for all the good work they have done.”

The Minister also urged vigilance because of irregular weather patterns due to climate change from global warming and in light of the country’s vulnerability due to its location - within the hurricane zone.

“It (Joaquin) was described as drifting and wobbly and the end result is that it tells us that being in a hurricane zone as we are, we have to be extremely vigilant at all times even if it’s, you know, it looks like something you can discount – it’s something that we have to ensure that we keep our “P’s” and “Q’s” (about) because we are peculiarly

Vulnerable,” said the Minister.

Just for the record, The Bahamas Department of Meteorology tracked and reported regularly on Joaquin from the time it was a tropical depression until it fizzled in the North Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, 3rd October. NEMA released all 27 weather bulletins prepared by the Met Office to all of its stakeholders.


PM Christie supports postponing November convention

The general consensus was that to host a political convention in the midst of thousands of Bahamians struggling to come to grips of the tragedy wrought by hurricane Joaquin as they worked feverishly to rebuild their lives, their communities and their economies smacked of arrogance and insensitivity.

In the end the Prime Minister (party leader) and the Labour Minister (convention chairman) from the government side agreed and the party’s chairman agreed to postpone the November national convention until around April 2016.

Prime Minister Christie told the media on Tuesday morning that for him “personally the answer is yes” for postponing the convention even though as government leader he was relying on the “good judgment” of the leaders of the party.

Mr. Christie explained why he thought the convention should be postponed.

“During the next several months in The Bahamas there must be extraordinary focus placed on those islands and where some big decisions have to be made on those islands with respect to infrastructure; whether or not people should continue to live in particular areas if they (currently) live in those areas” said the Prime Minister.

In a press release the party concurred with the Prime Minister that this huge national undertaking required the full attention and focus of the national government at this time and a distraction such as a political convention must take a secondary role.

“The party’s leadership has determined that the level of devastation caused by hurricane Joaquin and the scope of the recovery, the rebuilding and restoration efforts - especially of the physical infrastructure - necessarily require the full attention and focus of the government at this time.

“Bringing a measure of normalcy and comfort to the lives of the residents of the southern Bahamas and assisting them with rebuilding their lives and their communities are of paramount importance to the government at this time.

“Politics must necessarily and wisely take a secondary role to this critical national undertaking” said chairman Roberts in a press statement on Tuesday night.


Strachan leads industry Dialogue 101

Continuing her mandate to transform The Bahamas into a “state of the art arbitration center,” Financial Services Minister the Hon. Hope Strachan welcomed two industry experts, Professor Jan Paulsson and Attorney Clyde Lea on Tuesday past to the Ministry’s Dialogue 101 to discuss what arbitration means to the legal profession.

The Minister expressed her commitment to “ensuring that a strategic and comprehensive capacity building programme is firmly entrenched in the National Development Plan for The Bahamas International Arbitration Centre.”

Further, Strachan announced that her ministry has invited the Principal Legal Officer of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to conduct a lecture and technical workshop on the impact of the Model Law and the development of The Bahamas International Arbitration Centre. This workshop is scheduled for 13th & 14th November.

Another important step The Bahamas has taken in establishing this jurisdiction as an international center for arbitration was the 1st October, 2015 meeting between Bahamas Foreign Minister, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, Mrs. Bertha Cooper-Rousseau and the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, H.E. Hugo Sibliesz. The trio discussed The Bahamas becoming a State Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Minister Strachan advised luncheon delegates that the country was in the “advanced stages of satisfying the necessary procedural steps for The Bahamas to become a Member State of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

This membership, said the Minister, “would be an honour for The Bahamas and would significantly boost its profile within the international arbitral community.”


Halkitis: Joaquin threw “monkey wrench” in government’s recovery plans

The Bahamas chapter of the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants played host to that body’s 2015 regional convention which officially opened at the Melia Resort on Wednesday, 14th October.

Delivering the keynote address was State Minister for Finance the Hon. Michael Halkitis. Commenting on the impact of Hurricane Joaquin on the country’s public finances, Halkitis bluntly said that Joaquin threw a “monkey wrench” in the governments recovery plans for 2015 and projected reprioritized budget allocations, especially in respect of the government’s infrastructural planning.

“We have to also consider for example, if there was a coastal road, now is this the time that we commit to move that infrastructure further inland to be able to withstand future storms.

“We will have to put a cost to it, put a timetable (to it), and then we look at how we’re going to finance it.”

The State Minister foreshadowed some fiscal reprioritizing from less critical areas to fund the critical rebuilding efforts in the southern Bahamas resulting in some “movement within the current budget structure.”


In Passing…

Peter Deveaux-Isaacs has been recently appointed Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of National Health Insurance. The Prime Minister feels that his training in diplomacy positions him as an excellent mediator in negotiations that have sometimes become challenging between consultants and key stakeholders. Mr. Deveaux-Isaacs was educated at Saint Augustine’s College, Iowa State University and Holborn College. He was also a Teaching and Research Assistant at Iowa State University. He has received extensive training in Diplomacy and National and International Security matters in the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, Chile, Mexico, Japan, Canada and Argentina, Brazil and the Caribbean.

The Bahamas was elected Chair of the Committee of the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs during a meeting at the OAS on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. Our representative will be in the person of His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Ambassador to the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS).The Bahamas' nomination was moved by Ecuador and seconded by the United States. The Committee is tasked with managing, investing, mobilizing resources for and identifying potential uses for the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs. The use of the Fund is confined to assisting Member States with their domestic developmental goals in human resource development. The priority areas were established by the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) in response to the Summits of the Americas and the General Assembly of the Organization.

The donations for Hurricane relief continued this week with a group of webshop proprietors donating $250,000 to the relief efforts; Sebas Sebastian also donated several trailer homes. The Ministry of Tourism teamed up with Eastern Airlines to donate over 30,000 lbs of supplies; the Ministry of Agriculture donated supplies to NEMA; the Colina group of companies joined in the effort with $100,000 in goods and cash and the Progressive Liberal Party donated $50,000 to the cause.

Former PLP Senator and Greek immigrant Alexander P. Mailis was eulogized at the Greek Orthodox Church on West Street and later laid to rest on Monday, 12th October at the family’s farm near Adelaide beach. Prime Minister Christie paid tribute to Mr. Mailis. He was 99 years old.

As Grand Bahama continues its economic resurgence, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has launched yet again another advertising campaign highlighting the ecological riches, natural wonders, exhilarating adventures and vibrant culture that make life grand on Grand Bahama Island. It is the multilingual “LIFE IS GRAND” campaign.

Prime Minister Christie delivered the commencement address on Friday to the latest graduates of the LJM Maritime Academy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Immigration advised of the relocation of its Consular Division on Friday, 16th October. To facilitate this, the Division will be closed temporarily from the 19th – 20th October 2015. It reopens on 21st October 2015 at Charlotte House, on Shirley Street. Its telephone number, 397-9300, remains unchanged.

Prime Minister Christie committed to “organized” rebuilding process

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie addressed a myriad on issues at his Wednesday press conference at his Cable Beach office and in so doing declared that The Bahamas Government has made a commitment to reconstruct, to rebuild and to establish an organized process to do so, in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Joaquin.

 

Below are excerpts from Mr. Christie on a number of related issues.

Post Hurricane construction and building team:

In announcing the appointment of former Director of Works Ms. Melanie Roach as the head of the reconstruction and building team, Prime Minister Christie said that “The Bahamas has a very dynamic capital development budget that the Ministry of Works and their officials must continue to implement in our country; so we thought we have to bring specific focus to the combined efforts of the private and public sectors, and that Ms. Roach will lead that charge, supported by engineering teams from the Ministry of Works, from the Ministry of Housing, (and) from the private sector.”

 

Post Hurricane rebuilding cost:

"We have not yet quantified the cost of the damages or the cost of repairs; but I can tell you that when I looked at some of the figures, we were over $60 million dollars and we were still having assessments come in," Prime Minister Christie said.

 

Borrowing to fund rebuilding and construction:

"I have already asked the Ministry of Finance to review the opportunities for borrowing money from the Caribbean Development Bank, from concessional financing made available by the Chinese to the region, and other traditional sources because the country cannot wait; and that even if we were to have the most successful fundraising campaign, these initial requirements must be met by the government."

 

This is a particularly smart policy decision by a savvy and astute leader because the aggregate interest rates on the current national debt are significantly higher than the interest rates on loans sourced through the Chinese government would attract. Borrowing through the Caribbean Development under the China infrastructure development program will save The Bahamas tens of millions of dollars long term. Some have suggested the use of VAT revenue to fund the reconstruction in the southern islands. This is an ill-advised policy proposal as The Bahamas will be better served if the government continues to draw down on loans that attract higher interest rates.

 

Public subventions to impacted businesses and families:

Prime Minster Christie pointed out that assessments will also be made as to whom the Government would build homes for during this process.

"There are others we will help partially and there are others who will just do it on their own; so the question is being able to make the best assessments and to be able to move ahead with a programme that is very broad. Obviously, we are going to have to raise monies and there are situations that I have seen this time that causes me to believe that we even have to help some people who are in business."

During the briefing, several government agencies and utilities presented snapshots of their assessments so far.

Presentations were delivered by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) and the Ministry of Works (MOW).

 

Government Immediate Relief Services:

The Prime Minister reported that the Department of Public Health stated that Health Relief Assessment Teams were deployed to Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, with a team of five doctors and seven nurses being sent out as early as Sunday, October 4, 2015.



Government releases exigency order

The exigency order Prime Minister Christie announced in Parliament on Wednesday of last week was released this past weekend.

Effective from the 3rd October and valid for ninety days, the order allows for the duty and VAT free importation of building materials, plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture, appliances, generators and vehicles into Acklins, Crooked Island, Cat Island, Long Cay, Mayaguana, Ragged Island, Exuma, Inagua, San Salvador, Rum Cay, Long Island and Samana Cay. Imported items must be certified by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Prime Minister Christie said that the government would extend the order if necessary.

Additionally, the government has waived landing fees and departure tax for non-commercial flights bringing in hurricane relief goods and customs processing fees on imports into the islands that are covered by the order.

Crooked Island, Long Cay and Acklins were declared sufferance port areas for three months; this means that dutiable goods are detained for a specified period of time until the duty is paid.

Imports by registered charitable organizations are also customs and VAT-exempt.


Government issues eight conditional web shop gaming licenses

At the close of business on Thursday of this week, the Minister of Tourism, true to his word, released the identities of the eight conditional license holders for the operation of web shops. They are as follow:

FML Group of Companies Ltd. (t/a FML Web Shop)

GLK Limited (t/a A Sure Win)

Jarol Investments Limited (t/a Chances Games)

Paradise Games Bahamas Limited (t/a Paradise Games)

Playtech Systems Limited (t/a Island Luck)

T.I.G. Investments Limited (t/a Percy’s at The Island Game)

The Four Point Group (t/a Asue Draw + Spin)

Bahama Dreams Web Café Limited (t/a Bahama Dreams)

The statement said that on October 19, 2015, each applicant will be notified of an award or disqualification, as appropriate pursuant to Section 85(22) of the Act. On November 2, 2015 the Statement of Condition review period ends and Gaming House Operator Conditional Licenses will be issued by the Gaming Board under Section 32(5).

Upon issuance, annual license and monitoring fees will be assessed as follows:

Operator: $250,000.00

Premises: $ 2,000.00 per Premises

Agent: $ 1,000.00 per Agent

The effective closure date for the disqualified Applicant will be October 26th 2015.

This conditional issuance does not stop there as the successful applicants must now complete a series of regulatory requirements before receiving a plenary Gaming House Operator License.

 

Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL’s) report on “all party talks”

The Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL’s) for the Baha Mar resort, Edmund Rahming of KryS Global and Alastair Beveridge and Nick Cropper of AlixPartners, updated the public on the progress made after two days of closed door meetings with all stakeholder groups.

In a press release on the 11th October, JPL's Alastair Beveridge said the following:

"The talks this week are another important step on the road to resolution. We would like to thank all parties for their good faith participation in and constructive approach during the meetings. Whilst there is still work to be done, it is clear that all involved are focused on quickly reaching a viable solution to ensure that the Baha Mar resort is able to open for business for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the Bahamian people. We will continue to work with all stakeholders as we explore the best route forward and will issue further updates as talks continue".

The JPLs chaired the all-party talks that involved Government representatives; the financier, the Export-Import Bank of China; China Construction America Bahamas Ltd. and parent company, China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd.; and the resort's founder and Investor, Mr. Sarkis Izmirlian.


PM Christie promises National Heroes Park and honours regulations

The work of the committee responsible for National Heroes Day as a national holiday continues. That committee was established in 1989 with the Hon. Fred Mitchell, the Hon. Loretta Butler Turner and Canon Sebastian Campbell to formally honour Sir Milo Butler.

So having secured the second Monday in October to honour Bahamian heroes, the lobbying continues. At a ceremony held at the Botanical Gardens on Monday, 12th October, the Committee chair, Canon Campbell, called for a heroes’ park, an official honours system, afrocentric education and an official national dress.

Acting Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Tellis Bethel proposed the naming of the body of water that delineates our territorial borders the Lucayan Sea in honour of the original inhabitants of the Bahama chain of islands.

In delivering his keynote address, Prime Minister Christie announced that by January 10th 2016, a heroes’ park would have been identified, complete with a cemetery and the attendant regulations governing the country’s local honours system would be legislated.


Minister Hanna-Martin stands behind the Met Office

Following any catastrophe there is usually enough blame to go around and Joaquin was no different. Notwithstanding the relatively weighty evidence to the contrary, the Bahamas Department of Meteorology was the target of unfair criticism and baseless attacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin. Some accused the department of failing to advise the public on the storm’s development in a timely manner and a foreign hurricane center accused the department of having a faulty Doppler radar system. All of those claims to date proved to be inaccurate and the various critics are yet to provide one shred of evidence to support their claims.

This week the Minister of Transport and Aviation, Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin spoke, throwing her full support and commendation behind her department in concurrence with the observation of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

“Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency who were here recently in a briefing with NEMA took the opportunity to commend the Department of Meteorology for the work that they did and for the actions they took in giving out warnings when it was not their advice to do so and observe that the meteorologists in the region were watching this storm and out of that has come a commendation for the department and so I want to throw my commendation to them for all the good work they have done.”

The Minister also urged vigilance because of irregular weather patterns due to climate change from global warming and in light of the country’s vulnerability due to its location - within the hurricane zone.

“It (Joaquin) was described as drifting and wobbly and the end result is that it tells us that being in a hurricane zone as we are, we have to be extremely vigilant at all times even if it’s, you know, it looks like something you can discount – it’s something that we have to ensure that we keep our “P’s” and “Q’s” (about) because we are peculiarly

Vulnerable,” said the Minister.

Just for the record, The Bahamas Department of Meteorology tracked and reported regularly on Joaquin from the time it was a tropical depression until it fizzled in the North Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, 3rd October. NEMA released all 27 weather bulletins prepared by the Met Office to all of its stakeholders.


PM Christie supports postponing November convention

The general consensus was that to host a political convention in the midst of thousands of Bahamians struggling to come to grips of the tragedy wrought by hurricane Joaquin as they worked feverishly to rebuild their lives, their communities and their economies smacked of arrogance and insensitivity.

In the end the Prime Minister (party leader) and the Labour Minister (convention chairman) from the government side agreed and the party’s chairman agreed to postpone the November national convention until around April 2016.

Prime Minister Christie told the media on Tuesday morning that for him “personally the answer is yes” for postponing the convention even though as government leader he was relying on the “good judgment” of the leaders of the party.

Mr. Christie explained why he thought the convention should be postponed.

“During the next several months in The Bahamas there must be extraordinary focus placed on those islands and where some big decisions have to be made on those islands with respect to infrastructure; whether or not people should continue to live in particular areas if they (currently) live in those areas” said the Prime Minister.

In a press release the party concurred with the Prime Minister that this huge national undertaking required the full attention and focus of the national government at this time and a distraction such as a political convention must take a secondary role.

“The party’s leadership has determined that the level of devastation caused by hurricane Joaquin and the scope of the recovery, the rebuilding and restoration efforts - especially of the physical infrastructure - necessarily require the full attention and focus of the government at this time.

“Bringing a measure of normalcy and comfort to the lives of the residents of the southern Bahamas and assisting them with rebuilding their lives and their communities are of paramount importance to the government at this time.

“Politics must necessarily and wisely take a secondary role to this critical national undertaking” said chairman Roberts in a press statement on Tuesday night.


Strachan leads industry Dialogue 101

Continuing her mandate to transform The Bahamas into a “state of the art arbitration center,” Financial Services Minister the Hon. Hope Strachan welcomed two industry experts, Professor Jan Paulsson and Attorney Clyde Lea on Tuesday past to the Ministry’s Dialogue 101 to discuss what arbitration means to the legal profession.

The Minister expressed her commitment to “ensuring that a strategic and comprehensive capacity building programme is firmly entrenched in the National Development Plan for The Bahamas International Arbitration Centre.”

Further, Strachan announced that her ministry has invited the Principal Legal Officer of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to conduct a lecture and technical workshop on the impact of the Model Law and the development of The Bahamas International Arbitration Centre. This workshop is scheduled for 13th & 14th November.

Another important step The Bahamas has taken in establishing this jurisdiction as an international center for arbitration was the 1st October, 2015 meeting between Bahamas Foreign Minister, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, Mrs. Bertha Cooper-Rousseau and the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, H.E. Hugo Sibliesz. The trio discussed The Bahamas becoming a State Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Minister Strachan advised luncheon delegates that the country was in the “advanced stages of satisfying the necessary procedural steps for The Bahamas to become a Member State of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

This membership, said the Minister, “would be an honour for The Bahamas and would significantly boost its profile within the international arbitral community.”


Halkitis: Joaquin threw “monkey wrench” in government’s recovery plans

The Bahamas chapter of the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants played host to that body’s 2015 regional convention which officially opened at the Melia Resort on Wednesday, 14th October.

Delivering the keynote address was State Minister for Finance the Hon. Michael Halkitis. Commenting on the impact of Hurricane Joaquin on the country’s public finances, Halkitis bluntly said that Joaquin threw a “monkey wrench” in the governments recovery plans for 2015 and projected reprioritized budget allocations, especially in respect of the government’s infrastructural planning.

“We have to also consider for example, if there was a coastal road, now is this the time that we commit to move that infrastructure further inland to be able to withstand future storms.

“We will have to put a cost to it, put a timetable (to it), and then we look at how we’re going to finance it.”

The State Minister foreshadowed some fiscal reprioritizing from less critical areas to fund the critical rebuilding efforts in the southern Bahamas resulting in some “movement within the current budget structure.”


In Passing…

Peter Deveaux-Isaacs has been recently appointed Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of National Health Insurance. The Prime Minister feels that his training in diplomacy positions him as an excellent mediator in negotiations that have sometimes become challenging between consultants and key stakeholders. Mr. Deveaux-Isaacs was educated at Saint Augustine’s College, Iowa State University and Holborn College. He was also a Teaching and Research Assistant at Iowa State University. He has received extensive training in Diplomacy and National and International Security matters in the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, Chile, Mexico, Japan, Canada and Argentina, Brazil and the Caribbean.

The Bahamas was elected Chair of the Committee of the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs during a meeting at the OAS on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. Our representative will be in the person of His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Ambassador to the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS).The Bahamas' nomination was moved by Ecuador and seconded by the United States. The Committee is tasked with managing, investing, mobilizing resources for and identifying potential uses for the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs. The use of the Fund is confined to assisting Member States with their domestic developmental goals in human resource development. The priority areas were established by the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) in response to the Summits of the Americas and the General Assembly of the Organization.

The donations for Hurricane relief continued this week with a group of webshop proprietors donating $250,000 to the relief efforts; Sebas Sebastian also donated several trailer homes. The Ministry of Tourism teamed up with Eastern Airlines to donate over 30,000 lbs of supplies; the Ministry of Agriculture donated supplies to NEMA; the Colina group of companies joined in the effort with $100,000 in goods and cash and the Progressive Liberal Party donated $50,000 to the cause.

Former PLP Senator and Greek immigrant Alexander P. Mailis was eulogized at the Greek Orthodox Church on West Street and later laid to rest on Monday, 12th October at the family’s farm near Adelaide beach. Prime Minister Christie paid tribute to Mr. Mailis. He was 99 years old.

As Grand Bahama continues its economic resurgence, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has launched yet again another advertising campaign highlighting the ecological riches, natural wonders, exhilarating adventures and vibrant culture that make life grand on Grand Bahama Island. It is the multilingual “LIFE IS GRAND” campaign.

Prime Minister Christie delivered the commencement address on Friday to the latest graduates of the LJM Maritime Academy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Immigration advised of the relocation of its Consular Division on Friday, 16th October. To facilitate this, the Division will be closed temporarily from the 19th – 20th October 2015. It reopens on 21st October 2015 at Charlotte House, on Shirley Street. Its telephone number, 397-9300, remains unchanged.

Prime Minister Christie committed to “organized” rebuilding process

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie addressed a myriad on issues at his Wednesday press conference at his Cable Beach office and in so doing declared that The Bahamas Government has made a commitment to reconstruct, to rebuild and to establish an organized process to do so, in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Joaquin.

Below are excerpts from Mr. Christie on a number of related issues.

Post Hurricane construction and building team:

In announcing the appointment of former Director of Works Ms. Melanie Roach as the head of the reconstruction and building team, Prime Minister Christie said that “The Bahamas has a very dynamic capital development budget that the Ministry of Works and their officials must continue to implement in our country; so we thought we have to bring specific focus to the combined efforts of the private and public sectors, and that Ms. Roach will lead that charge, supported by engineering teams from the Ministry of Works, from the Ministry of Housing, (and) from the private sector.”

Post Hurricane rebuilding cost:

"We have not yet quantified the cost of the damages or the cost of repairs; but I can tell you that when I looked at some of the figures, we were over $60 million dollars and we were still having assessments come in," Prime Minister Christie said.

Borrowing to fund rebuilding and construction:

"I have already asked the Ministry of Finance to review the opportunities for borrowing money from the Caribbean Development Bank, from concessional financing made available by the Chinese to the region, and other traditional sources because the country cannot wait; and that even if we were to have the most successful fundraising campaign, these initial requirements must be met by the government."

This is a particularly smart policy decision by a savvy and astute leader because the aggregate interest rates on the current national debt are significantly higher than the interest rates on loans sourced through the Chinese government would attract. Borrowing through the Caribbean Development under the China infrastructure development program will save The Bahamas tens of millions of dollars long term. Some have suggested the use of VAT revenue to fund the reconstruction in the southern islands. This is an ill-advised policy proposal as The Bahamas will be better served if the government continues to draw down on loans that attract higher interest rates.

Public subventions to impacted businesses and families:

Prime Minster Christie pointed out that assessments will also be made as to whom the Government would build homes for during this process.

"There are others we will help partially and there are others who will just do it on their own; so the question is being able to make the best assessments and to be able to move ahead with a programme that is very broad. Obviously, we are going to have to raise monies and there are situations that I have seen this time that causes me to believe that we even have to help some people who are in business."

During the briefing, several government agencies and utilities presented snapshots of their assessments so far.

Presentations were delivered by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) and the Ministry of Works (MOW).

Government Immediate Relief Services:

The Prime Minister reported that the Department of Public Health stated that Health Relief Assessment Teams were deployed to Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, with a team of five doctors and seven nurses being sent out as early as Sunday, October 4, 2015.

Government releases exigency order

The exigency order Prime Minister Christie announced in Parliament on Wednesday of last week was released this past weekend.

Effective from the 3rd October and valid for ninety days, the order allows for the duty and VAT free importation of building materials, plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture, appliances, generators and vehicles into Acklins, Crooked Island, Cat Island, Long Cay, Mayaguana, Ragged Island, Exuma, Inagua, San Salvador, Rum Cay, Long Island and Samana Cay. Imported items must be certified by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Prime Minister Christie said that the government would extend the order if necessary.

Additionally, the government has waived landing fees and departure tax for non-commercial flights bringing in hurricane relief goods and customs processing fees on imports into the islands that are covered by the order.

Crooked Island, Long Cay and Acklins were declared sufferance port areas for three months; this means that dutiable goods are detained for a specified period of time until the duty is paid.

Imports by registered charitable organizations are also customs and VAT-exempt.

Government issues eight conditional web shop gaming licenses

At the close of business on Thursday of this week, the Minister of Tourism, true to his word, released the identities of the eight conditional license holders for the operation of web shops. They are as follow:

FML Group of Companies Ltd. (t/a FML Web Shop)

GLK Limited (t/a A Sure Win)

Jarol Investments Limited (t/a Chances Games)

Paradise Games Bahamas Limited (t/a Paradise Games)

Playtech Systems Limited (t/a Island Luck)

T.I.G. Investments Limited (t/a Percy’s at The Island Game)

The Four Point Group (t/a Asue Draw + Spin)

Bahama Dreams Web Café Limited (t/a Bahama Dreams)

The statement said that on October 19, 2015, each applicant will be notified of an award or disqualification, as appropriate pursuant to Section 85(22) of the Act. On November 2, 2015 the Statement of Condition review period ends and Gaming House Operator Conditional Licenses will be issued by the Gaming Board under Section 32(5).

Upon issuance, annual license and monitoring fees will be assessed as follows:

Operator: $250,000.00

Premises: $ 2,000.00 per Premises

Agent: $ 1,000.00 per Agent

The effective closure date for the disqualified Applicant will be October 26th 2015.

This conditional issuance does not stop there as the successful applicants must now complete a series of regulatory requirements before receiving a plenary Gaming House Operator License.

 

Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL’s) report on “all party talks”

The Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL’s) for the Baha Mar resort, Edmund Rahming of KryS Global and Alastair Beveridge and Nick Cropper of AlixPartners, updated the public on the progress made after two days of closed door meetings with all stakeholder groups.

In a press release on the 11th October, JPL's Alastair Beveridge said the following:

"The talks this week are another important step on the road to resolution. We would like to thank all parties for their good faith participation in and constructive approach during the meetings. Whilst there is still work to be done, it is clear that all involved are focused on quickly reaching a viable solution to ensure that the Baha Mar resort is able to open for business for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the Bahamian people. We will continue to work with all stakeholders as we explore the best route forward and will issue further updates as talks continue".

The JPLs chaired the all-party talks that involved Government representatives; the financier, the Export-Import Bank of China; China Construction America Bahamas Ltd. and parent company, China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd.; and the resort's founder and Investor, Mr. Sarkis Izmirlian.

PM Christie promises National Heroes Park and honours regulations

The work of the committee responsible for National Heroes Day as a national holiday continues. That committee was established in 1989 with the Hon. Fred Mitchell, the Hon. Loretta Butler Turner and Canon Sebastian Campbell to formally honour Sir Milo Butler.

So having secured the second Monday in October to honour Bahamian heroes, the lobbying continues. At a ceremony held at the Botanical Gardens on Monday, 12th October, the Committee chair, Canon Campbell, called for a heroes’ park, an official honours system, afrocentric education and an official national dress.

Acting Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Tellis Bethel proposed the naming of the body of water that delineates our territorial borders the Lucayan Sea in honour of the original inhabitants of the Bahama chain of islands.

In delivering his keynote address, Prime Minister Christie announced that by January 10th 2016, a heroes’ park would have been identified, complete with a cemetery and the attendant regulations governing the country’s local honours system would be legislated.


Minister Hanna-Martin stands behind the Met Office

Following any catastrophe there is usually enough blame to go around and Joaquin was no different. Notwithstanding the relatively weighty evidence to the contrary, the Bahamas Department of Meteorology was the target of unfair criticism and baseless attacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin. Some accused the department of failing to advise the public on the storm’s development in a timely manner and a foreign hurricane center accused the department of having a faulty Doppler radar system. All of those claims to date proved to be inaccurate and the various critics are yet to provide one shred of evidence to support their claims.

This week the Minister of Transport and Aviation, Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin spoke, throwing her full support and commendation behind her department in concurrence with the observation of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

“Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency who were here recently in a briefing with NEMA took the opportunity to commend the Department of Meteorology for the work that they did and for the actions they took in giving out warnings when it was not their advice to do so and observe that the meteorologists in the region were watching this storm and out of that has come a commendation for the department and so I want to throw my commendation to them for all the good work they have done.”

The Minister also urged vigilance because of irregular weather patterns due to climate change from global warming and in light of the country’s vulnerability due to its location - within the hurricane zone.

“It (Joaquin) was described as drifting and wobbly and the end result is that it tells us that being in a hurricane zone as we are, we have to be extremely vigilant at all times even if it’s, you know, it looks like something you can discount – it’s something that we have to ensure that we keep our “P’s” and “Q’s” (about) because we are peculiarly

Vulnerable,” said the Minister.

Just for the record, The Bahamas Department of Meteorology tracked and reported regularly on Joaquin from the time it was a tropical depression until it fizzled in the North Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, 3rd October. NEMA released all 27 weather bulletins prepared by the Met Office to all of its stakeholders.


PM Christie supports postponing November convention

The general consensus was that to host a political convention in the midst of thousands of Bahamians struggling to come to grips of the tragedy wrought by hurricane Joaquin as they worked feverishly to rebuild their lives, their communities and their economies smacked of arrogance and insensitivity.

In the end the Prime Minister (party leader) and the Labour Minister (convention chairman) from the government side agreed and the party’s chairman agreed to postpone the November national convention until around April 2016.

Prime Minister Christie told the media on Tuesday morning that for him “personally the answer is yes” for postponing the convention even though as government leader he was relying on the “good judgment” of the leaders of the party.

Mr. Christie explained why he thought the convention should be postponed.

“During the next several months in The Bahamas there must be extraordinary focus placed on those islands and where some big decisions have to be made on those islands with respect to infrastructure; whether or not people should continue to live in particular areas if they (currently) live in those areas” said the Prime Minister.

In a press release the party concurred with the Prime Minister that this huge national undertaking required the full attention and focus of the national government at this time and a distraction such as a political convention must take a secondary role.

“The party’s leadership has determined that the level of devastation caused by hurricane Joaquin and the scope of the recovery, the rebuilding and restoration efforts - especially of the physical infrastructure - necessarily require the full attention and focus of the government at this time.

“Bringing a measure of normalcy and comfort to the lives of the residents of the southern Bahamas and assisting them with rebuilding their lives and their communities are of paramount importance to the government at this time.

“Politics must necessarily and wisely take a secondary role to this critical national undertaking” said chairman Roberts in a press statement on Tuesday night.


Strachan leads industry Dialogue 101

Continuing her mandate to transform The Bahamas into a “state of the art arbitration center,” Financial Services Minister the Hon. Hope Strachan welcomed two industry experts, Professor Jan Paulsson and Attorney Clyde Lea on Tuesday past to the Ministry’s Dialogue 101 to discuss what arbitration means to the legal profession.

The Minister expressed her commitment to “ensuring that a strategic and comprehensive capacity building programme is firmly entrenched in the National Development Plan for The Bahamas International Arbitration Centre.”

Further, Strachan announced that her ministry has invited the Principal Legal Officer of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to conduct a lecture and technical workshop on the impact of the Model Law and the development of The Bahamas International Arbitration Centre. This workshop is scheduled for 13th & 14th November.

Another important step The Bahamas has taken in establishing this jurisdiction as an international center for arbitration was the 1st October, 2015 meeting between Bahamas Foreign Minister, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, Mrs. Bertha Cooper-Rousseau and the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, H.E. Hugo Sibliesz. The trio discussed The Bahamas becoming a State Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Minister Strachan advised luncheon delegates that the country was in the “advanced stages of satisfying the necessary procedural steps for The Bahamas to become a Member State of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

This membership, said the Minister, “would be an honour for The Bahamas and would significantly boost its profile within the international arbitral community.”


Halkitis: Joaquin threw “monkey wrench” in government’s recovery plans

The Bahamas chapter of the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants played host to that body’s 2015 regional convention which officially opened at the Melia Resort on Wednesday, 14th October.

Delivering the keynote address was State Minister for Finance the Hon. Michael Halkitis. Commenting on the impact of Hurricane Joaquin on the country’s public finances, Halkitis bluntly said that Joaquin threw a “monkey wrench” in the governments recovery plans for 2015 and projected reprioritized budget allocations, especially in respect of the government’s infrastructural planning.

“We have to also consider for example, if there was a coastal road, now is this the time that we commit to move that infrastructure further inland to be able to withstand future storms.

“We will have to put a cost to it, put a timetable (to it), and then we look at how we’re going to finance it.”

The State Minister foreshadowed some fiscal reprioritizing from less critical areas to fund the critical rebuilding efforts in the southern Bahamas resulting in some “movement within the current budget structure.”

In Passing…

Peter Deveaux-Isaacs has been recently appointed Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of National Health Insurance. The Prime Minister feels that his training in diplomacy positions him as an excellent mediator in negotiations that have sometimes become challenging between consultants and key stakeholders. Mr. Deveaux-Isaacs was educated at Saint Augustine’s College, Iowa State University and Holborn College. He was also a Teaching and Research Assistant at Iowa State University. He has received extensive training in Diplomacy and National and International Security matters in the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, Chile, Mexico, Japan, Canada and Argentina, Brazil and the Caribbean.

The Bahamas was elected Chair of the Committee of the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs during a meeting at the OAS on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. Our representative will be in the person of His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Ambassador to the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS).The Bahamas' nomination was moved by Ecuador and seconded by the United States. The Committee is tasked with managing, investing, mobilizing resources for and identifying potential uses for the Capital Fund for the OAS Scholarship and Training Programs. The use of the Fund is confined to assisting Member States with their domestic developmental goals in human resource development. The priority areas were established by the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) in response to the Summits of the Americas and the General Assembly of the Organization.

The donations for Hurricane relief continued this week with a group of webshop proprietors donating $250,000 to the relief efforts; Sebas Sebastian also donated several trailer homes. The Ministry of Tourism teamed up with Eastern Airlines to donate over 30,000 lbs of supplies; the Ministry of Agriculture donated supplies to NEMA; the Colina group of companies joined in the effort with $100,000 in goods and cash and the Progressive Liberal Party donated $50,000 to the cause.

Former PLP Senator and Greek immigrant Alexander P. Mailis was eulogized at the Greek Orthodox Church on West Street and later laid to rest on Monday, 12th October at the family’s farm near Adelaide beach. Prime Minister Christie paid tribute to Mr. Mailis. He was 99 years old.

As Grand Bahama continues its economic resurgence, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has launched yet again another advertising campaign highlighting the ecological riches, natural wonders, exhilarating adventures and vibrant culture that make life grand on Grand Bahama Island. It is the multilingual “LIFE IS GRAND” campaign.

Prime Minister Christie delivered the commencement address on Friday to the latest graduates of the LJM Maritime Academy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Immigration advised of the relocation of its Consular Division on Friday, 16th October. To facilitate this, the Division will be closed temporarily from the 19th – 20th October 2015. It reopens on 21st October 2015 at Charlotte House, on Shirley Street. Its telephone number, 397-9300, remains unchanged.




About the author: Elcott Coleby is a Deputy Director at the Bahamas Information Services. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry (B.Sc) and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). He provides frequent commentary on public policy and communicates the works of the government. Address all comments to the following email: egcoleby44@gmail.com


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