Christie to offer again for leader at PLP’s November convention

All speculations in the print and electronic media, social media, around the cooler and in the barber shops came to an end on Wednesday when Prime Minister Christie announced his intent to offer once again for leader of the governing Progressive Liberal Party during its 41^st National Convention scheduled for the first week of November at the Melia Resort. He made the announcement at a Town Hall Meeting in North Andros on Thursday.

Referring to the large crowd on hand, the Prime Minister told the crowd that the media should have been there to see the crowd and suggested that speculations surrounding his leadership were “foolishness” designed to distract his government.

“The radio stations say people tired of Christie. He should have been here tonight with you all. We have no time to be distracted by foolishness” said Christie. He said he would go in as leader and come out of convention as leader.

It is now clear that the Prime Minister will lead the governing Progressive Liberal Party into the 2017general elections.

A crowd of about 300 people showed up at the North Andros High School for the town hall meeting.

Delaware court dismisses Baha Mar Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition

Leaving only the offshore call center, Northshore Mainland Services, with a legitimate case in the jurisdiction of the United States, Delaware bankruptcy court judge Kevin Carey dismissed the Chapter 11 petition filed by the remaining fourteen Bahamian incorporated companies that make up Baha Mar. He handed down the judgment at noon on Tuesday, 15^th September.

In his ruling judge Carey opined that a continuation of the Chapter 11 proceedings in Delaware was unlikely to bring the parties back to the negotiating table in the short term. He added that that the Baha Mar creditors had “a legitimate expectation” that any solvency proceedings involving the project would take place in The Bahamas legal jurisdiction. This ruling was consistent with that of Bahamas Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder.

Bahamas Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie welcomed the news which his government had sought through the courts.

“The Government welcomes the decision today of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court to dismiss the Chapter 11 proceedings against the Bahamian Baha Mar entities. In so doing, the Bankruptcy Court agreed that the future of the Baha Mar resort should be determined in the proceedings in the Supreme Court of The Bahamas, in which Justice Winder has appointed provisional liquidators” said the Prime Minister.

He reiterated the primary objective of his government.

“The Government’s primary objective is and has always been to see the Resort completed, opened and operating as soon as possible. The Delaware Bankruptcy Court’s decision advances that objective and recognizes that the interests of the Bahamian Baha Mar entities and their creditors will be best served by the Bahamian proceedings and by negotiations” continued Mr. Christie.

The Prime Minister again invited all parties to join it in “cooperating with the provisional liquidators to bring about a prompt resolution of this matter in the interests of the Bahamian people.”

In its response, Baha Mar expressed disappointment with the ruling and said that the company is weighing its legal options.

The Provisional Liquidators issued a statement essentially saying that the ruling does not affect their Supreme Court mandate to craft the way forward for Baha Mar.

The opposition FNM said that only “time will tell” if the decision to appoint Provisional Liquidators was the right one and the governing PLP hailed the decision as a “major victory for the Bahamian people.”

Police concludes BEC bribery investigation

Some nine months after the US Department of Justice reported that French energy giant Alstom SA agreed in a plea bargain to pay $772 million to settle bribery allegations involving several foreign governments, the local investigation into possible bribery of a BEC board member was concluded by the police and turned over to the office of the Attorney General.

The settlement was announced on 22^nd December 2014.

At the beginning of the investigation, Bahamas Attorney General Senator Allyson Maynard-Gibson pointed out that the investigation by the US State Department took many years before it secured a conviction. She also noted that the naming of a Bahamian official in court documents does not translate into automatic prosecution in The Bahamas as due process must be afforded the accused.

The Attorney General believes her team is nearing the completion of this due process

and once again called on the public to allow the government to do its job in concluding this issue.

“We are at the end of the road” said Maynard-Gibson.

“Allow please the prosecutors, the excellent professionals, to do their jobs. I want to reassure the public that we take this matter very seriously.”

This week in Parliament

Following is a short summary of the House proceedings on Wednesday, 16^th September 2015.

In the wake of the Delaware bankruptcy court ruling by Judge Kevin Carey, dismissing the bankruptcy petition by fourteen Bahamian incorporated companies that make up Baha Mar, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie responded a second time in as many days, this time updating House members on the government’s policy position regarding the way forward for the stalled $3.5 billion resort on Cable Beach.

“The government is pleased that the bankruptcy court in Delaware shares the government’s view that the future of the Baha Mar resort should be determined not in or by a court in Delaware, but rather here in The Bahamas by our own Supreme Court, especially now that the court here has appointed a Provisional Liquidator” said Mr. Christie.

The Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez communicated to the House on the list of activities to commemorate the combined Caribbean Wellness Day (CWD) and Caribbean Wellness Week (CWW) and delivered an update on the government’s current preparatory work for the introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI) in January 2016.

Extension of hours at poly clinics in preparation for NHI is as follows:

Agape Health Clinic – hours extended to 8pm

Elizabeth Estates Health Clinic – open from 8am to midnight as at the 5^th October

Fleming Street Health Clinic – open from 8am to midnight at the 28^th September

South Beach Health Clinic – open from 8am to midnight as at the 28^th September

Flamingo Gardens Health Clinic – open from 8am to midnight at the 28^th September

Eight Mile Rock Clinic – hours extended to 9PM

Rand Memorial General Hospital Practice Clinic – hours allocated from 4pm to 11pm

Minister Gomez also advised the House of his ministry’s intent to officially open two new health clinics in September – one in Adelaide and the other in Fox Hill.

State Minister for Legal Affairs the Hon. Damian Gomez led the second reading and committal of the Antiterrorism Amendment Bill 2015 pursuant to chapter 107 of the Statute Laws of The Bahamas. This bill is intended to further aid in the combating, prevention and suppression of the financing of terrorism. Its passage into law effectively completes the fulfillment of the Bahamas’ international obligations under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 and 1373 on terrorism and the anti money laundering and anti-terrorism initiatives of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Nine Bahamian prisoners pardoned by Cuban government

On the occasion of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Cuba during September 19 - 22, the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba agreed to the release of 3522 prisoners. Nine Bahamians were among that number released on humanitarian grounds.

While the identities and the nature of the crimes committed by the nine men were not released, the Bahamas Foreign Ministry indicated the category of crimes that did not qualify for consideration under the pardon agreement.

“With few exceptions for humanitarian reasons” said the statement, “this did not include persons sanctioned for the crimes of: Murder, Homicide, Rape, Pederasty with Violence, Corruption of Minors, Theft and Illegal Slaughter of Cattle, Drug Trafficking, Robbery with Violence and Intimidation against persons in their aggravated forms, nor those crimes committed against the security of the State.”

The men flew to Nassau from Cuba on Wednesday of this week.

The Bahamas government thanked the government of Cuba for what it called “this gesture of goodwill that stands as a symbol of our good and cordial relations” and Bahamas Ambassador to the Vatican, HE Sean McWeeny conveyed the country’s appreciation to his Holiness the Pope.

Co-chairs of Urban Renewal meet with the PAC

The co-chairs of the Urban Renewal Commission, Algernon Allen and Cynthia Pratt, met before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at the House of Assembly on Thursday, 17^th September.

Commenting on his findings from the interviews, the chairman of the PAC, the Hon. Hubert Chipman, characterized the program as “disjointed” and “interesting,” stating that Urban Renewal offices in Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and Cat Island do not report to Nassau, the Urban Renewal Foundation sits outside of Urban Renewal and expressed surprise that the co-chairs have very little fiduciary responsibility for Urban Renewal.

“A lot of things pass through Urban Renewal, the co-chairs have no responsibility for Grand Bahama, Cat Island or Eleuthera – their authority only goes up to $10,000. What we found very interesting was the Foundation sits outside Urban Renewal, even though they raise funds in the name of Urban Renewal Foundation” said chairman Chipman.

Speaking with the media, co-chair Allen said that “from the perspective of the commission, as co-chairs that all monies spent by us in seeking to further the objectives, the aims of Urban Renewal, were spent appropriately.”

For clarity on the administration of funds allocated to Urban Renewal - since this is just a government program and not a corporate sole - the funds are managed and administered by the statute Chief Accounting Officer in the Ministry which is the Permanent Secretary. The law governing the expenditure of public funds is clear under the Financial Administration and Audit Act.

Department of Corrections gets donation from US Embassy for K-9 Unit

To strengthen its security protocol and its K-9 Unit, especially in detecting smuggled contraband into the correctional facility, the US Embassy donated a vehicle and gear to assist the Department of Corrections to assist in its crime fight.

The short handover ceremony took place at the Department of Corrections on Thursday, 17^th September.

Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Embassy, Kristin Gilmore, believed the donation to be a testament to the strong relations that exist between the United States and The Bahamas and that the gear is necessary for training purposes as the department prepares for worst case scenarios.

Receiving the vehicle and gear was Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Bernard Nottage who thanked the embassy and underscored the increasing importance of K-9 Units in the fight against crime.

“Dogs are an increasingly more important part of our security and the prison has been a leader in this really and in fact now that we are introducing a K-9 Unit to the customs department, the prison is seeking to help to train them and prepare them for this job.

“At our airports, at our docks, at our marinas we are satisfied that from time to time there is contraband coming in and what we are most concerned about is the drugs, the guns and the ammunition” said the Minister.

In passing…

Cuban Ambassador HE Ernesto Soberon Guzman paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House on Wednesday morning before the House convened. HE Guzman was returning home after a four-year tour of duty that he described as being like home because of the many cultural similarities. House Speaker, the Hon. Kendal Major presented Mr. Guzman with a book authored by the late Dr. Myles Munroe as a gift.

Under the direction of the inimitable Cleophas Adderly, the Bahamas National Youth Choir celebrated 25 years of developing, promoting and exporting Bahamian art and culture. They held a concert in the foyer of the Central Bank of The Bahamas on the occasion of the Official Opening of their 25^th Anniversary art exhibition at the Central Bank of The Bahamas. In attendance were the Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Hon. Dr. Daniel Johnson and the Governor General of The Bahamas, Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling. The art exhibition opened on the 17^th September.

Our latest class of legal professionals from the Eugene Dupuch Law School will participate in graduation exercises on Saturday evening at 6pm at the Melia Resort on Cable Beach. Congratulations guys.

Safety and Security staff at the Lynden Pindling International Airport received their certificates on Friday, 18 September upon the completion of an intensive two week course in x-ray screening techniques and quality control conducted by the United States’ Transportation and Security Administration (TSA). The closing ceremony was held at the JL Building on Blake Road.

“I see myself running for political office in 2017” said Public Service Union boss John Pinder. He said that whichever party he joins must adopt the “firm and feasible” national plan he is currently drafting.

As the Ministry of Tourism continues its efforts to strengthen its co-branding and sports tourism initiative, twenty-four Miami Heat dancers are in town this week for photo shoots and to provide invaluable exposure for and promotion of The Bahamas. This is part of the five-year promotional agreement the Heat signed with the Ministry of Tourism in 2013.

The training and preparation for the launch of National Health Insurance continued this week with a workshop for health professionals at the St. Joseph’s Parish Community Center on Thursday. One of the principal focuses was the discharge process. A baseline study conducted at each of the country’s public health facility revealed that patients felt the discharge process was too long, especially the form and patients wanted for information about their health status. Dr. Philipe said that the solution was an integrated health care system inclusive of Discharge Plan Portfolio forms where patients can be tracked in real time whether they were in of the hospitals or at any of the satellite health clinics.

A retirement reception was held on Wednesday, September 16, for Basil Rahming, retired Deputy Controller of the Road Traffic Department and former Senior Police Officer. The event was held in the Conference Room of the Administrator's Office. Mr. Rahming was recognized and thanked for his contribution to not only the traffic department, but the Grand Bahama Road Safety Committee as well.

With the recent graduation of 200 young persons from the National Training Agency on Wednesday, 17^th September at Holy Trinity Community Center, the total number of graduates from the jobs readiness and skills training program now stands at 2,000. The programs offered are endorsed by the reputed City and Guilds of the United Kingdom. Delivering the keynote address to the fourth cohort was Labour and National Insurance Minister the Hon. D. Shane Gibson who delivered this direct and simple charge: “I can assure you that if you continue to work hard, you will continue to be successful. Hard work is the key to success.” Well said Minister.

Paul Vahldiek and the Deep Water Cay Holdings Limited donated to the Royal Bahamas Police Force an 18' Marquesa Police Patrol Boat on September 17 to assist in providing 24-hour policing at the eastern end of the island. The Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville accepted the gift on behalf of the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Dr. Bernard Nottage and Commissioner of Police, Ellison Greenslade, who could not attend. The ceremony took place at the East End Police Station.