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NASSAU AND BAHAMA ISLANDS’ LEADING NEWSPAPER
Wife accused in banker’s murder
Volume: 108 No.75 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 PRICE – 75¢ (Abaco and Grand Bahama $1.25)
WEATHER
SUN ANDSHOWERS
HIGH 83FLOW 70F
By CHESTER ROBARDSTribune Senior [email protected]
THE wife of murderedbanker Stephen Shermanappeared in court yesterdayaccused of conspiring to havehim killed.
Renae Knowles-Sherman,43, was arraigned and chargedwith conspiracy to commitmurder and abetment to mur-der.
Two other men werearraigned with her on thesame matter before ChiefMagistrate Roger Gomez.
Knowles-Sherman was notrequired to enter a plea andwill be served with a volun-tary bill of indictment on May16.
The two men who werearraigned with her were alsonot required to enter a pleaand will also be served with avoluntary bill of indictmenton May 16.
Janaldo Farrington wascharged with murdering MrSherman. He was also
charged with armed robbery,accused of stealing a mobilephone and cash from MrSherman and of robbing ajuvenile of cash.
Jermaine Russell wascharged with conspiracy tocommit murder and abetmentto murder.
Another man, CorderoBethel, 21, of Pinewood Gar-dens, was arraigned lastThursday for multiple chargesof armed robbery and alsobeing involved in the murderof Mr Sherman. During thearraignment he passed out onthe tile floor of Court Six.
All of those accused of MrSherman’s murder weredenied bail and were remand-ed to Her Majesty’s Prison.
A crowd of Mr Sherman’sfamily gathered outside themagistrate’s court complex onNassau Street, hecklingKnowles-Sherman as she wasled into the courthouse.
During her arraignment,Knowles-Sherman sat staring
Conspiracycharge overman’s killing
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THE WIFE of Steven Sherman, Renae Knowles-Sherman, is led into court yesterday, centre, with shack-les on her legs. She is accused of conspiring to kill her husband. Photo: Felipé Major/Tribune Staff
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By KHRISNA [email protected]
SCORES of people gath-ered yesterday on AndrosAvenue, minutes after thebody of a 19-year-old manwas left bullet-riddled andlying on a dirt road.
The victim, who a policesource has identified asRenardo Minnis, was knownto authorities.
An onlooker, who did notwant to be identified, said thevictim was known in the com-munity as a drug dealer, “whooften worked the streets”.
He said: “He was young,but he was out here selling hislil drugs. That boy wasn’thumble with it though, he wasbold and didn't respect hiselders.
“Yesterday he had a lilargument with someone andtoday they came back andshot him.”
Police last night said theycould not confirm a motiveor if the murder was drugrelated.
By CELESTE NIXONTribune Staff [email protected]
LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes said he istentatively hopeful about the progress of nego-tiations between KFC Nassau and union offi-cials.
Following several hours of talks yesterday,Mr Foulkes said some headway had beenmade, and he believes the dispute – which ledto the closure of all nine KFC locations in thecapital last week – can be brought to an end.
By SANCHESKA BROWNTribune Staff [email protected]
MINISTER of Sports Charles Maynard yes-terday dismissed claims made by the PLP thatthe national stadium was not up to par withinternational standards.
Mr Maynard was responding to FredMitchell, the Member of Parliament for FoxHill, who said the new track and the field mayhave to be “dug up” at a cost to the Bahamianpeople to comply with international regula-
By LAMECH JOHNSONTribune Staff [email protected]
A POLICEMAN accusedof abetting his colleague inthe assault of a prisoner whodied months later was acquit-ted in Supreme Court yester-day.
Constable Tavares Bowleg,charged with Corporal Dono-van Gardiner in connectionwith the death of 28-year-oldDesmond Key, was acquittedof his abetment charge yes-terday afternoon when Jus-tice Vera Watkins directedthe nine-member jury todeliver a not guilty verdict.
It is alleged that Gardinerbeat father-of-six DesmondKey with a baseball bat at theGrove police station in June2007 while Bowleg watched.
TEENAGERLEFT DEAD INROAD AFTERSHOOTING
PLP CRITICISM OFSTADIUM REJECTED
MINISTER HOPEFULOF KFC PROGRESS
POLICEMANACQUITTEDIN TRIAL
SSEEEE ppaaggee 99
SSEEEE ppaaggee 99
SSEEEE ppaaggee 99
SSEEEE ppaaggee 1122 SSEEEE ppaaggee 99
DEFENDING All-IslandSenior Young Chef champi-on Dwayne Sinclair emergedas the winner of the competi-tion’s 2012 New Providenceleg.
After the results wereannounced, the TempleChristian High School stu-dent said he plans to againcompete in the nationalchampionships, scheduled tobe held on March 15 when$3,300 in scholarships will beat stake.
"The competition again sawa number of new and inter-esting dishes,” said SharonFerguson, Ministry of Educa-tion home economics officerand co-ordinator for thechampionships.
The event, now in it’s 20thyear, is sponsored byMahatma Rice and RobinHood Flour, both distrib-uted in the Bahamas by AsaH Pritchard Ltd, and isorganised by Keith Parkerof PS Advertising and Pub-lic Relations.
Dwayne won with 709points, gaining 355 points forhis Island Crack Conch Can-nelloni with Lobster andCorn Relish and 354 pointsfor his Bahama Pina ColadaExplosion, judged "BestMahatma Rice" and "BestRobin Hood Flour" dishes,respectively.
Chef Ron Johnson ofSavory Art said: “Annually,the Junior Chef Competitionconsistently impresses me andother professionals in the culi-nary field. It is remarkable tosee the display of creativityand skill from high school stu-dents.
“I am assured in sayingthat the variety and types ofdishes they concoct areadvanced for their level; Ican’t even remember mak-ing these types of dishes atsuch a young age. Every yearthe level progresses, as itshould.
“Mr Dwayne Sinclair’sdishes were truly paramount
in terms of execution, cre-ativity and skill. For a splitsecond, I thought a profes-s ional chef was in thekitchen.
“It was amazing how hemaximised flavours and com-plemented them.
“For example, the way hewrapped his cooked ricearound the flattened conch(similar to sushi) and pre-sented it quietly put a smileon my face. I look forward toseeing his star rise in the culi-nary galaxy.”
The runner-up wasAntonique Williams of CVBethel Senior High Schoolwith 686 points.
She scored 352 for her Sun-shine Rice Roll and 334 forChocolate Strawberry Dou-ble Decker.
Third place went to DejaBurrows of Queen’s Collegewith 683 points.
Deja’s Island Conch andCrawfish Tart with a Mango-Curry Essence scored 351points.
Her Eleuthera Pineappleand Coconut Mahatma RiceFlan scored 332 points.
The top two go on to the20th annual MahatmaRice/Robin Hood FlourNational (All Island) SeniorYoung Chef Championship.
Schools choose their ownchampion young chefs, whocompete on each island or in adistrict.
Each island or districtsends its own champion tocompete for the title ofBahamas Champion YoungChef.
This year's final will behosted at CC SweetingSenior High School in Nas-sau.
Judging in New Providencewere chefs Carolyn Bowe andTiffany Barton of the Wynd-ham Resort; Ron Johnson ofSavory Art; private chefKeisha Bonimy; and EldredSaunders of the Culinary Hos-pitality Management Institute(CHMI).
LOCAL NEWS
PAGE 2, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 THE TRIBUNE
AM BEST
A- Excellent
Financial Strength Rating
SENIORAPPOINTMENTPatricia Hermanns, President & CEO of Family Guardian, has announced the appointment of Lyrone Burrows to the position of Senior Vice President,Operations for the FamGuard Group of Companies.
Lyrone Burrows joined Family Guardian in 2002 and most recently held the position of Vice President, Investments. In his new role, he will have responsibility for all of the Company’s customer service and insurance operations including BahamaHealth Group Operations.
Mr. Burrows holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Barry University,Florida, and the FLMI designation (with distinction).
The Company congratulates Mr. Burrows on his promotion.
NASSAU I FREEPORT I ABACO I ELEUTHERA I EXUMA I FINANCIAL CENTRE I CORPORATE CENTRE I www.famguardbahamas.com
A member of the FamGuard Group of CompaniesLyrone Burrows, BSc., FLMISenior Vice President, Operations
Champion chef ready todefend national title
TWO OF Dwayne Sinclair’s dishes, Island Crack Conch Cannelloni with Lobster and Corn Relish, left, and Bahama Pina Colada Explosion servedwith Bailey's Tamarind Ice Cream and a Coconut Benne Crumble.
DWAYNE SINCLAIR is pictured putting the finishing touches on hisBahama Pina Colada Explosion.
Photo: Deanndra Ferguson/PS News/Features
BY DENISE MAYCOCKTribune Freeport Reporter [email protected]
FREEPORT - Concernedresidents of Abaco are call-ing on the developers of Bak-ers Bay and the DiscoveryLand Company to recom-mence their monitoring of thereef systems around GuanaCay.
Environmental group Aba-co CARES said proper inde-pendent scientific studiesneed to be done to determinethe cause of sustained reefdamage.
A statement said: “AbacoCARES was formed by peo-ple who care about Abaco –whether it’s the environment,the use of harmful petroleumproducts to run power plants,or protecting the blue holes ofAbaco.
“We have a duty to protectthe beauty of Abaco becausethat is the main reason whypeople come here.
“All of us – locals by birth,Bahamians that have fallenin love with Abaco andmoved here, second home-owners who have chosen toinvest in Abaco, visitors toour beautiful Abaco, andmost important, the resortsof Abaco that employ somany of us – need to take alook at ourselves and see ifwe are doing all we can toprotect the environment ofAbaco. If the clean water isgone, our tourists will be gonetoo.”
The group claimed a studyhas shown that the reefsaround Guana Cay are being
damaged by the golf courseat Bakers Bay.
“Bakers Bay and Discov-ery Land Company need toknow, so they can honourtheir word to the Bahamianpeople,” the statement said.
According to the group,consistent scientific monitor-ing of the reefs is needed tofind the exact cause of theproblem, and identify a solu-tion.
“This cost money. Themonitoring of the reef wasstopped, and we are askingBakers Bay to recommencetheir monitoring of the reefs,and to use an independentcompany that is reputableand is agreed on by allinvolved,” the statementsaid.
The group said it is alsoimportant that the develop-ers be transparent about thefindings.
“Please keep your promis-es to your neighbours, thepeople of Guana Cay and theBahamian people.
“There are many opinionsgoing around and we feel it istime to take a stand and tohave the proper scientificstudies done, so that there isthe ‘scientific proof’ that is soneeded to see what is caus-ing harm to that portion ofthe reef.
“We all need to live togeth-er and work together for thebetterment of our environ-ment and Abaco. Let usbegin again by researching aproblem that has been iden-tified and find a solution toit.
“If money is needed to
fund this study and BakersBay will not fund it, weshould all find a way toaccomplish this much-need-ed task,” the statement said.
READERS of the Tribunehave lambasted the PLP forits “hypocritical” stance oncourting Haitian-Bahamianvoters.
This came after the partyheld a private meeting withHaitian rights advocates lastweek in a bid to drum up sup-port for their campaign – justweeks after accusing the FreeNational Movement ofmanipulating the politicalprocess to gain votes from thevery same bloc.
PLP leader Perry Christiemet with the United HaitianAssociation in the Bahamasat the Church of the Nazareneon Minnie Street last Thurs-day.
According to sources, themeeting was staged to mendrelations with the Haitiancommunity over party state-ments criticising Haitian pres-ident Michel Martelly – whomthe PLP alleged was broughtto Nassau to encourage Hait-ian-Bahamians to vote for theFNM.
‘San Souci Reader’ said thePLP’s behaviour is a perfectexample of “the pot callingthe kettle black”.
“Also, weren’t the PLP inFlorida recently, just beforethe Haitian president washere, trying to convinceBahamians living in FL tovote for the PLP?
“Not only that, didn’t they
say that the Bahamian gov-ernment should provide fundsfor them to travel and spreadtheir message? Please! Theyso annoying.
“If I look up ‘annoying’ inthe dictionary, I’d see theirpicture.”
‘Jackie’ said: “Wow, youhave to be kidding me! This isfoolishness.
“The leaders today have todo better.”
The PLP are “typical hyp-ocrites,” according to ‘JackAlbury’. “One week theywant to hang all Bahamiansof Haitian descent and thenext they are courting themfor their votes.”
Besides being citizens andhuman beings, Haitian-Bahamians “continue tomake their contribution to theBahamas, AND THEY ARENOT STUPID!” the readersaid.
“Occupy Nassau” said thePLP should be ashamed – andlumped the DNA in withthem after claims the newparty also held a quiet meet-ing with Haitian-Bahamianleaders.
“Shame, Shame on the PLPand DNA. All over the placeholding press conferencesaccusing the FNM of bring-ing the Haitian president hereto court the Bahamians ofHaitian descend to vote forthem.
“Now look who’s goingaround at night like Nicode-mus trying to get votes. MyGod, shame on them.”
While addressing FNMsupporters at the SouthernShores and Tall Pines con-stituency offices openinglast week, Mt Moriah MPTommy Turnquest said boththe PLP and DNA aremeeting with Hait ian-Bahamians, despite theiranti-immigrant stance inpublic.
He said: “All this meetingwith members of the Haitiancommunity is offensive.These people are Bahamiancitizens. They are registeredvoters. Don’t we proclaimthat we support oneBahamas?
“Can’t the DNA and thePLP meet with born-Bahami-ans and Bahamians whotrace their ancestry in theBahamas for two or moregenerations and deliver thesame message as they aredelivering to Bahamian citi-zens born of Haitian parents?Why are they seeking todivide us?
“The FNM only has thesame message for all Bahami-ans. We do believe in OneBahamas. We don’t classifycitizenship; we do not believethat some Bahamians shouldbe treated differently thanothers. We believe in equality,
fairness and equity.”Reader ‘Bahamian Face’
agreed, advising Haitian-
Bahamians to “vote FNM, it’sthe only party in this countrythat welcomes foreigners and
deals with illegal immigrantswith human skill and believesin humanity.”
FLASHBACK to the Tribune’s front page photograph showing Perry Christie as he arrived for a private meet-ing with Haitian leaders. The meeting came only weeks after the PLP accused the FNM of manipulating thepolitical process to gain votes from Bahamians of Haitian descent and in the wake of the Haitian President’svisit to the Bahamas.
LOCAL NEWS
THE TRIBUNE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012, PAGE 3
FREEPORT – A man issaid to be in critical conditionat the Rand Memorial Hos-pital after being electrocutedat the Grand Bahama Ship-yard.
Sources identified the 35-year-old victim as Ali Isusin, aRomanian resident of GrandBahama.
The Shipyard employeewas reportedly painting ananchor aboard the ship, YorkTown Express, when he acci-dentally touched an electricwire.
He was reportedly unre-sponsive when found.
According to police sourceson Grand Bahama, officialsfrom the Shipyard’s safetydepartment refused to co-operate with responding offi-cers, insisting no one hadcalled police and that the acci-dent was an industrial mat-ter.
However, according to astatement issued by the Ship-yard last night: “The RoyalBahamas Police Force weregiven full access to the yardand GBS (the Shipyard) hasco-operated fully with theirinvestigation, which is a rou-tine in any accident thatrequires emergency care.”
The statement said: “TheGrand Bahama Shipyardstrives every day to maintainan accident free zone; staffhad recently been congratu-lated for completing 247 dayswith out incident. The man-agement and staff wish ourfellow employee a speedyrecovery.”
By SANCHESKA BROWNTribune Staff [email protected]
PLP OFFICIALS confirmed they boy-cotted the opening of the National Sta-dium on Saturday, claiming it was an“obscene ceremony geared toward get-ting votes for the FNM”.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham offi-cially opened the new Thomas A Robin-son Stadium over the weekend and onlytwo opposition members showed up –Leader Perry Christie and DeputyLeader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.
PLP spokesman on Foreign Affairs,Fred Mitchell, said the PLP did not wantto be apart of the “political show” organ-ised by the FNM but they also wanted toensure they “respected the Chinese gov-ernment” which funded the facility.
“The PLP was represented at the high-est level by our leader and deputy leader.Mr Christie and Mr Davis went the open-ing out of principle. We wanted to make
sure no insult was perceived by the Chi-nese.
“The rest of the party however wantednothing to do with that political show.In a time like this when people are suf-fering, it is ridiculous to spend that mon-ey on a party,” he said.
“The Prime Minister and the govern-ment set the national priorities. How is$600,000 a national priority at this time?
“When Mr Christie negotiated for thestadium, it was in his view that it wouldbe a gift to the next generation of ath-letes. He wanted to enhance the talentand put the Bahamas on the world stage.
“The FNM took that idea and made itpolitical. The whole thing was a show toget the Prime Minister re-elected.”
PLP chairman Bradley Roberts saidhe hoped Bahamians enjoyed everyminute of the stadium opening – pointingout it was their money that paid for it.
“Bahamians might not have chosen tospend hundreds of thousands of dollarson a party when so many of our people
are in deep trouble and could use somehelp. But, as usual, the FNM didn’t con-sult with the people.”
Noting that the opening was timed tooccur just prior to elections, Mr Robertssaid he hopes Bahamians still remem-ber the years of FNM “mismanage-ment”.
He said: “Underneath the big show,the FNM is a party that cannot keepBahamians safe, a party which never putsBahamians first and a party which has noclue how to create jobs or invest in peo-ple. I think Bahamians know the differ-ence between a party which can put on abig show and a party which knows how togovern.”
Minister of Youth, Sports and CultureCharles Maynard said the PLP’s boy-cotting of the event was a clear exam-ple of their “childish, immature ways”.
During his remarks on Saturday, PrimeMinister Ingraham recognised the PLPfor helping to bring the stadium projectto fruition.
Readers hit out at hypocrisy ofChristie over Haitian meeting
PLP BOYCOTTED STADIUM OPENING
SHIPYARDWORKER
ELECTROCUTEDIN ACCIDENT
ABACO RESIDENTS DEMAND MONITORING OF REEF SYSTEMS
EDITOR, The Tribune.
IF YOU would have askedme a month ago who Ithought would win the gen-eral election, I would havetold you the Progressive Lib-eral Party (PLP). Perry GChristie and his so-called newPLP looked poised to topplePrime Minister Hubert Ingra-ham and his newly revampedFree National Movement(FNM) party at the polls.
Based on the mood of theBahamian electorate in NewProvidence and GrandBahama, many political ana-lysts had already predicted alandslide victory for the offi-cial opposition party.
I was thinking that the PLPwas poised to win at least 25constituencies.
But the recent turn ofevents surrounding the grant-ing of citizenship status tohundreds of Haitian Bahami-ans and the surprising visit ofHaitian President MichelMartelly to New Providencehave all of a sudden changedthe political landscape. All ofa sudden now it doesn’tappear as if victory forChristie is all that certain.
I say that because of thepowerful Haitian vote in NewProvidence, Grand Bahamaand in Abaco. Estimates vary,but according to someBahamian analysts, there arebetween 30,000 to 60,000 ille-gal Haitian immigrants livingin The Bahamas.
As to exactly how manyHaitian Bahamians living inthis country is anyone’s guess.To be sure, there are perhapsthousands of Haitians whowere born here to illegal Hait-ian immigrants. Many of theseHaitians are classified asstateless. They have nonationality. They have nobirth certificate, driver’slicense, National Insurancecard or passport, and theyknow absolutely nothingabout their parents’ home-land.
Many Bahamians are all upin arms over the recent reve-lations about hundreds ofHaitians receiving citizenshipstatus by the FNM govern-ment between 2007 and 2011and the recent irresponsiblecomments by Haitian Presi-dent Michel Martelly.
According to ForeignAffairs Minister BrentSymonette, about 2,600 legalimmigrants were regularisedby the Ingraham administra-tion.
Critics of the FNM believe
that the Ingraham adminis-tration is trying to booster itschances of winning the elec-tion by giving these Haitianscitizenship status. No one,however, can honestly accusethe FNM of any wrongdoing.Ingraham has done nothingillegal. As the government ofThe Bahamas, the FNM iswell within its right to grantcitizenship status to those itdeems to be eligible to receiveit.
We are all aware that thereare thousands of statelessHaitians living in this coun-try. The Bahamas is the onlycountry they know. Critics arecharging that giving away cit-izenship status to so manyHaitians will only endear theIngraham administration tothis powerful voting bloc. Ithink they are right.
But this is not the first gov-ernment to regularise hun-dreds of Haitians. FormerPLP administrations havedone the same thing. As itstands right now, without theoverwhelming support of theHaitian bloc, it would beextremely difficult to win anelection in this country.
As a master political strate-gist, Ingraham is well aware ofthis. Christie should know thisalso.
We have allowed the ille-gal Haitian immigration prob-lem to reach crisis propor-tions. Now all of a sudden,the Haitian community is inthe position to flex its politicalmuscle. I spoke to a 34-year-old Haitian Bahamian malerecently and he told me thathe will never support the PLP.
He told me that he receivedhis Bahamian citizenshipunder the FNM. He said thatthe PLP isn’t for Haitians, theFNM is. A friend of mine toldme the other day that herHaitian Bahamian co-workertold their boss that her peoplewill all support the FNM inthe upcoming election. Likethe 34-year-old HaitianBahamian man, the co-work-er believes that the PLP isagainst Haitians.
Many Bahamians don’trealise that these people(Haitian Bahamians) listensto the various radio talkshows like them. By listeningto these radio talk shows, theyare given the impression thatsome Bahamians, especiallycritics of the Ingraham admin-
istration, are xenophobic oroutright racists. While Iappreciate the fact that wemust protect our national sov-ereignty and borders, we mustbe very careful not to treatHaitians as sub-humans. Wemust be careful not to createan atmosphere of us versusthem. We should not seek tocreate an atmosphere that issimilar to South Africa’s Dis-trict nine.
President Martelly told hispeople at the Church of GodAuditorium to form a votingbloc and support the partythat looks out for their bestinterests. Personally, I believeMartelly was wrong to tellHaitian Bahamians to supportthe party that looks out fortheir interests. He shouldhave told them to vote for theparty that looks out for theinterests of all Bahamians, notjust Bahamians of Haitiandescent. Martelly has taken alot of flack over those com-ments. The Haitian Embassyin Nassau and a group calledUnited Haitian Associationof The Bahamas have defend-ed the Haitian president bysaying that his commentswere misunderstood. Howev-er, I don’t believe his com-ments were misconstrued bythose who heard them.
He explicitly admonishedhis people to support the par-ty that best serves their inter-ests. You cannot get anyclearer than that. Also, crit-ics of the FNM governmentshould not blame Ingrahamfor the controversial com-ments of the Haitian presi-dent. The prime minister didnot write his speech, nor didhe encouraged the presidentto make those comments.
In the final analysis, Ibelieve Ingraham loves TheBahamas. I don’t believe anyof the silly conspiracies andunfounded rumours circulat-ing throughout New Provi-dence about the FNM gov-ernment selling out the coun-try to Haitians in order to winthe election. Such foolish,irresponsible statements arejust as offensive as Martelly’scomments and will only drivemany more Haitians into thefold of the FNM. I believe theHaitian Bahamian communi-ty will punish the PLP at thepolls for the comments thatare being made by its sup-porters in the press.
KEVIN EVANSFreeport,Grand Bahama,February 18, 2012.
EDITORIAL/LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PAGE 4, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 THE TRIBUNE
The Tribune LimitedNULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI
Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master
LEON E. H. DUPUCH, Publisher/Editor 1903-1914
SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .
Publisher/Editor 1919-1972Contributing Editor 1972-1991
EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.Publisher/Editor 1972-
Published Daily Monday to Saturday
Shirley Street, P.O. Box N-3207, Nassau, BahamasInsurance Management Building., P.O. F-485, Freeport, Grand Bahama
AT THE end of January, public serviceunion president John Pinder gave PrimeMinister Ingraham 48 hours to come to thetable and outline what his governmentplanned to give his union to avoid a strike.
It is only months before a general elec-tion and Mr Pinder now thinks he is inthe driver’s seat. He is prepared to drive ahard bargain — regardless of the fact thatthe country’s economy is under pressureand cannot afford further increments.
But as union and government facedeach other – with an election squeezed inbetween – each knew what the other wasthinking. The government needed theunion’s votes, and the union intended tomake them pay blood money for it.
Mr Pinder said that while the unionknew that the country was faced with “itsfinancial challenges, so are our members,because the cost of living continues toincrease and gas prices continue toincrease”.
So what’s new? Workers in the privatesector are experiencing the same hard-ships, only they do not have the govern-ment protection assured the civil service.When their employer can no longer affordto keep them on staff, they are out beatingthe pavement looking for someone elseto take them in.
When the global economic crash camein 2008, all countries — large and small —had to belt tighten to meet the crisis. Thefirst place they started was massive layoffs in the civil service. One only has toturn on the television to see scuffles inthe streets between those who have losttheir jobs and governments that can nolonger afford to employ them.
In the Bahamas, where Mr Ingrahamwould have been certainly justified to trimthe civil service — for years acknowledgedby both PLP and FNM to be top heavy —he chose to protect their employment. Inthis world crisis, it was probably the onlycivil service that was untouched when itcame to a government looking for ways toreduce its deficit.
It is ironic that the civil service union,whose members are secure in their posi-tions, are now taking advantage of anapproaching election and threatening thegovernment.
They do not know how lucky they areand how much they owe to the decision ofthe Ingraham government to protect them.It’s the rest of us, without this special pro-tection, who are having to pay theirsalaries. And now at this crucial moment,when even their leaders acknowledge thatgovernment cannot afford it, they wantmore — and for obvious reasons theywant it before the election.
In a recent press briefing, Mr Pindersaid that Mr Ingraham admitted that hecould not commit to any general increase
for the general public service. “He saidthe country can’t afford it.”
But, said Mr Pinder, “we were able toat least get him to add another incrementto every person’s salary over the three-year period and the industrial agreementshould last if we are able to sign off onit.”
What surprised us was Mr Pinder’sadmission of an existing culture in thepublic service, which despite the coun-try’s economic climate, still expected anincrease in salaries before an election. Itrecalled a remark made by then deputyprime minister AD Hanna when givingevidence before the Commission ofInquiry into gambling in the sixties hesaid that “tiefing” was recognised as partof the perks of a hotel worker’s job.
“During an election year, they normal-ly get an increase in salary,” Mr Pindertold the press, “not so much to say theyare buying an election, but I believe inmost of our industrial agreements, rightaround that year, they normally wouldhave received something.
“While we know the country may befaced with its financial challenges, so areour members, because the cost of livingcontinues to increase and gas prices con-tinue to increase.”
The union, said Mr Pinder, will nowfocus its attention on getting other bene-fits for its members, many of whom are“right on the poverty line”.
“If we could get the government to atleast agree to increase the increment thatat least the minimum is $600 that's a goodhelp, since they can't give a generalincrease.”
In addition, Mr Pinder said he hopesthat a health insurance to cover cata-strophic illnesses can be agreed upon sothat members who pay high premiumscan increase their savings.
“As early as next week we will see ifthat decision has changed or if anythingcan be put in writing for us to sign offon,” said Mr Pinder. “He is prepared toput something in writing for us to be com-mitted to or for the government to becommitted to in the event there is achange.”
Mr Pinder might not see this union prac-tice as “buying an election,” but from ourpoint of view it is nothing less than extor-tion. It is no secret that before electionsunions extort wages that the country can-not afford. It is now time for this despica-ble practice to end.
We suggest that whichever governmentis returned, serious consideration be givento banning all union negotiations duringan election year. Negotiations shouldeither be completed before a govern-ment’s final term, or wait until after theelection has been held.
Haitians will punish
No union negotiations in election year
EDITOR, The Tribune.
RECENTLY, some PublicCivil Servants were requiredto take exams and go on inter-views for a couple of dollars.The problem is that some ofthese persons are almostready to retire and were theresome odd 17-30 plus years,then they have to go throughstress just to get a promotion.
They feel this is the onlyway out as some others neverneeded to take exams or beinterviewed they got promot-ed because of who they were,and who they knew.
I cry shame on the PublicService Department and feelthey should do something bet-ter with their time and stopthis slavery mentality some ofthem need to pasture them-selves and see what it feelslike to be degraded and frus-trated, and when you areretired you should take a restfrom the Public Service,because some of them frus-trated many when they, werein the chair in the Public Ser-vice. I say to them “Get lostand get a life.”.
CIVIL SERVANTSFRUSTRATED Nassau,February, 2012.
Shame onpublic servicepolicy
IN KEEPING with the USEmbassy’s ongoing efforts tosupport the empowerment ofwomen and girls, and inrecognition of the 50thanniversary of the Women’sSuffrage Movement in theBahamas, two Bahamianwomen were given theopportunity to participate inseparate professionalexchanges.
Yamacraw MP MelanieGriffin participated in anexchange focused on “Wom-en’s Leadership and PoliticalParticipation”, while GirlGuides Association FamilyIsland district commissionerKeva Nairn participated in aprogramme focused on “GirlScouts and Girl Guides:Building and DevelopingCapacity for Girl-ServingOrganisations”.
Both exchange opportuni-ties were organised by theUS Department of State’sOffice of International Visi-tor Leadership Programmes(IVLP).
On Tuesday, February 21,Mrs Griffin and Miss Nairnpaid a courtesy visit on theUS Chargé d’Affaires JohnDinkelman to discuss theirexperiences in the UnitedStates.
Mr Dinkelman affirmed theUS Embassy’s support foradvancing women’s issues inthe Bahamas and pro-grammes for underservedyouth.
Mrs Griffin was selected toparticipate in the programmebecause she is a second gen-eration female politician andbecause of her outstandingcontribution to the advance-ment of women in theBahamas.
Miss Nairn was selectedbecause of her commitment
to inspire and motivate youngpeople through her work withthe Bahamas Girl GuidesAssociation.
During Mrs Griffin’s 10-day vis i t to the UnitedStates, she and other womenleaders from six Caribbeancountries visited Washing-ton DC, the state of NewHampshire, and New YorkCity. They examined howinternational, national, andlocal organisations serve,protect , and empowerwomen in all facets of dailylife.
“The experience was greatand the information gainedand networking was invalu-able. The programme pre-sented the opportunity forrich exchange of ideas, cul-ture and best practices withwomen in leadership from sis-ter countries,” said Mrs Grif-fin.
Miss Nairn’s three-weekprogramme was designed toexplore the skills necessaryfor cultivating young femaleleaders and examine methodsof helping them develop theseskills, such as critical think-ing, self-awareness and team-building.
The programme includedvisits to Washington DC;Portland, Oregon; NewYork City; and Albany, NewYork.
Miss Nairn was also afford-ed the opportunity to partic-ipate in the Girl Scouts of theUSA’s National Conventioncelebrating the 100thanniversary of the GirlScouts, which was held inHouston, Texas.
“The programme reaf-firmed my purpose in life –to impact positive change inthe youth of the Bahamas,”Miss Nairn said.
LOCAL NEWS
THE TRIBUNE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012, PAGE 5
Embassysupportsexchangescheme toempowerwomen
AT THE launch of the schemeare pictured, from left, KevaNairn, US Chargé d’AffairesJohn Dinkelman, and MelanieGriffin.
Opinion by BARBARA RODGERS-NEWBOULD
BY NOW, most of us havereviewed our last year’s per-formance, recommitted our-selves to new year’s resolu-tions, and started the processof working toward this year’sgoals.
It’s an exciting time of theyear, a time of possibilities,because we are still teemingwith new ideas, armed withlessons learned from previousmistakes, and optimistic thatthis year will be better thanthe previous one.
If you are an astute busi-nessperson, no doubt youhave already begun strategis-ing on how to accomplishyour goals. From experience,I will venture a guess that pri-mary among those goals formany managers and busi-nesses, is increasing your bot-tom line; and the decision onhow to achieve this is one Ibelieve worth delving into.
For many, it will be cuttingcosts by eliminating unneces-sary spending and reducingoverhead expenses, an optionone can certainly not ignore inthese challenging economictimes.
For others, it may be reduc-ing inventory, concentrationon collecting overdue receiv-ables, and deferring expan-sion plans. But, whateverstrategy you use to improveyour bottom line, there is one
more option you may want toconsider that can be just aseffective and even morerewarding. That option isincreasing your employees’performance and productivitythrough employee develop-ment training.
This is not a novel idea, butone that companies some-times overlook in deferenceto the more expedient costcutting options.
For many managers, train-ing is not always a priority.…but, if an increase in the bot-tom line is the goal, it shouldbe!
While many employers andemployees acknowledge thelimited attention sometimesgiven to training, they willgenerally concede that thepositive effects on perfor-mance and productivity canbe far reaching. That is not tosay that one should ignore theskeptics who scoff at the ben-efits of training.
Recently, I spoke on theimportance of employeedevelopment training at a lun-cheon attended by personsfrom various professionalbackgrounds, and was sur-prised to find that there werestill a few persons who viewedtraining as beneficial only tothe employee. My firstthought was: “But isn’t thisone of the primary ways bywhich companies benefit?”
While training does bene-fit employees by enhancingtheir knowledge and skill sets,
it also increases a company’slevel of in-house expertiseand competence, necessaryfor raising the overall stan-dards of the organisation.
Training involves acquiringknowledge, behaviors, andskills to enhance perfor-mance. The decision to pro-vide development training foremployees should be regard-ed as a human capital invest-ment to enhance perfor-mance, standards, and bottomline results by increasingemployees’ capabilities.
Training is especially criti-cal during these challengingeconomic times, as there is agreater dependency onhuman resources to providethe capability and ingenuityto survive.
Talk to any of the ownersof local businesses and theywill tell you how importantcompetence and skills are inworking efficiently and reduc-ing costly errors.
I am not advocating thattraining is a panacea for allyour business challenges; but,it is an excellent place to start.
However, there is one pre-cautionary note I will add.Ensure your training is effec-tive.
What do I mean by effec-tive? In order for training tobe effective, it must be ongo-ing, with refresher sessions toreinforce learning and pre-vent lapses in behavior andperformance.
The training should also beapplicable to your particularbusiness, timely, and alignedwith your organisational goalsto make it a worthwhileinvestment.
Finally, for your training tobe effective, managementmust be supportive Manage-ment can demonstrate theircommitment to the trainingby allocating the necessaryresources and even attendtraining sessions.
So, as you embark on yourannual sojourn to achieveeven greater results in 2012,why not start by boostingyour performance. Considerinvesting in the people onwhom you are relying tomake it all happen – youremployees.
• Dr Barbara Rodgers-Newbold is the president ofBaranth Enterprises. She isa corporate training consul-tant and part-timecollege/university lecturer.She is also the Producer andHost of the Radio Show “ThePractice of Leadership.”Contact her at [email protected] or [email protected].
LOCAL NEWS
PAGE 8, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 THE TRIBUNE
AUDIT SENIORJames B. Gomez & Co. requires anAudit Senior with a minimum of four(4) years post qualifying experience.The successful applicant should possessa qualification that makes them eligiblefor membership inThe Bahamas Instituteof Chartered Accountants.
Suitable applicants should respond inwriting or by email to:
P. O. Box SS-6229Nassau, Bahamas
James B. Gomez & Co. is a memberfirm of DFK International, a worldwideassociation of independent accountingfirms and business advisors.
By DENISE MAYCOCKTribune Freeport Reporter [email protected]
FREEPORT – The GrandBahama Shipyard announcedplans for its second annualfishing tournament on March10 at the Grand BahamaYacht Club.
Ed Pavey, director of tech-nical planning, said fundsraised this year will benefittwo schools – the Freetownand High Rock PrimarySchools – in East GrandBahama.
He said the shipyard is hop-ing to raise some $40,000,tripling funds raised at lastyear’s tournament.
“We want to thank our cor-porate partners on the islandthat come through in a phe-nomenal way to make thistournament better,” he said.
Nagee Smith, a 3rd yearapprentice welder, said theyraised $13,000 last year whichwent towards facilitatingyouth sports programmes atthe Eight Mile Rock HighSchool, and in West End.
He said the third and fourthyear apprentices are assistingwith preparation of the event
at the Yacht Club on Mid-shipman Road.
The tournament will getunderway at 6am with regis-tration at Dock B. Boaterswill leave the marina at 7am,and should return no laterthan 5pm for weigh-in.
A Family Fun Day is alsoplanned and will start at11am. A Fish-Fry will begin at4pm, and an Awards ceremo-ny will take place at 7pm.There will be some $4,000 incash and other prizes.
Mr Smith said they selectedthe Freetown and High RockPrimary schools because theywanted to assist institutionsin less developed areas of thecommunity.
Mr Pavey said the fundsraised will be used to reno-vate and modernise the play-grounds at the schools, pur-chase computers, water cool-ers, and other equipment des-perately needed.
Persons interested in par-ticipating can pick up regis-tration forms at the MainGate of the Shipyard, Long’sMarine, Butler’s Food World,Coral Reef Beach Bar &Grill, GB Yacht Club,Bahamaislandsinfo.com web-
site as well as their Face Bookevent page.
The organisers plan to sup-ply each boat with fivepounds of bait.
First Place overall will get$1,000, second place $600 andthird place $400. With the bal-ance of prize money going for
largest aggregate catch (com-bined weight of all qualifyingfish) and individual catches.
Thomas Lockhart, DockMaster at GBYC, said theyare pleased to be able to assistthe shipyard by hosting thetournament at their facility.
“The shipyard has demon-
strated true commitment toGrand Bahama Island, and tothe future of this country withtheir apprentice programme,ensuring jobs for the youth andteaching these young peoplenot only a trade, but also howimportant it is to give back tothe community,” he said.
Eudell Roberts, Principalof High Rock Primary andSandrea Bullard, Principaland Free Town Primary, wereappreciative to the shipyardand their apprentices.
They said the donation willbe greatly appreciated bytheir students.
SHIPYARD HOSTSFISHING CONTEST
Train your wayto higher
performance
THE GRAND BAHAMA SHIPYARD will host its second annual fishing tournament at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club on March 10. Executivesand apprentices held a press conference on Thursday. Seen seated from left are Sandrea Bullard, principal of Freetown Primary; TournamentChairman Ed Pavey, director of technical planning at GB Shipyard; Nagee Smith, 3rd year apprentice; Thomas Lockhart, Dock Master at GBYacht Club, and Eudell Roberts, principal of High Rock Primary. Standing are third and fourth year apprentices.
BARBARA RODGERS-NEWBOULD advocates improving your employees’ skills through training.
Key died of his injuries sevenmonths later.
The announcement fromthe jury foreman came daysafter defence counsel IanCargill, Wayne Munroe andprosecutor Linda Evans helddiscussions with JusticeWatkins last Thursday in theabsence of the jury.
In yesterday’s proceedings,Justice Watkins returned witha decision based on her con-sideration of the submissionsmade by the three attorneys.
She ruled there was not suf-ficient evidence for a caseagainst Bowleg aiding or abet-ting the co-accused in assault-ing Desmond Key on thenight of June 17, 2007.
As a result, she directed thejury to return a 9-0 not guiltyverdict. However, regardingGardiner, she indicated therewas sufficient evidence for acase against the officeraccused of manslaughter.
Gardiner took the standyesterday afternoon to givehis side of the story regard-ing the night in question.
The policeman said his col-leagues for the 4pm-12 mid-night shift – Constables Bow-leg and Kevin Roberts – hadarrived from patrol “with ayoung man in custody.”
He said that Mr Key wasnot giving the officers anyinformation as to who he waswhich led to him doing an
“intense search” of the pris-oner’s car to find identifica-tion.
After finding Key’s pass-port in the glove compart-ment, he brought it back andput it to Key to confirm hisidentity. After instructing offi-cer Bowleg to run a search of“Desmond Key” in thepolice’s database, the resultsshowed two outstanding war-rants of committals for theprisoner.
The warrant, Gardinerexplained, ordered the sus-pect to be taken directly toHer Majesty’s Prison if pickedup by police.
At this revelation andspeaking to the prisonerabout it, the officer said Keytried to escape but was sub-dued by Bowleg though hebegan cursing and swearingand further resisting.
He said his involvementwith Key ended when hewrote a report in the station’sdiary which is handed to thenew officer in charge of thestation at the end of eachshift.
He denied ever having abaseball bat while in the cellwith Key. He further deniedhitting the prisoner with thebat in his side or his head. Healso added that no superiorofficer asked him about thenight in question until nearlythree weeks later.
Prosecutor Evans, in cross-examination, suggested to
Gardiner that he came to thecourt to deceive the jury andsaid he was making up thestory as he was going along.Gardiner disagreed with thisand her other suggestion thatConstable Roberts saw himwith a bat in his hand or see-ing him strike Key with it.
Ms Evans asked the officerif there was any particularreason as to why Key was not
in handcuffs while in thecharge room.
He replied that the chargeroom was an entrance to thecell block and said “we alwaystake off the cuff in case theprisoner has to sign some-thing.”
The prosecutor questionedif Key was in the room to signa statement or “something.”He said no and though he
explained it was “the norm,no special reason.” Gardineradmitting that Key could notbe moved from the stationwithout a physical copy of thewarrant, which he claimedwas delivered the same daythe prisoner was taken to thehospital.
The trial resumes todaywhen Bowleg is expected totake the witness stand.
LOCAL NEWS
THE TRIBUNE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012, PAGE 9
blankly, only changing hercountenance to speak to herlawyer and to scoff at a police-man whose mobile phonebegan to ring just before thejudge entered the courtroom.
She and her co-accused satwith their hands cuffedbehind their backs until themagistrate read the chargesagainst them.
Mr Sherman, the county’s
18th homicide, was shot todeath during a hold up out-side his Yamacraw homeshortly after 8pm on Friday,February 17. The gunmanreportedly got out of a silvercoloured Honda to rob MrSherman of his cell phonebefore he shot him and madehis escape in the same car.
It is reported that Mr Sher-man’s niece was also in thecar when the attack tookplace.
Persons believed to be closefriends of the man wereforced to restrain an hystericalwoman who claimed to be hissister as she shouted: “OhLord, my brother!”
Central Detective Unitchief Paul Rolle said Minniswas sitting near a wall, in theWright’s Lane area, nearWulff Road, when he wasshot around 11.45 am.
The body was still at thescene by 2pm as police con-tinued their investigations.
Mr Rolle said it was notknown if the victim was alone.
He said: “Officers respond-ed (after receiving reports ofgunshots) where they discov-ered a male lying on theground at the dead end. Thismale upon examination wasdetermined to have multiplegunshot wounds about thebody.
“EMS was contacted andresponded to pronounce themale to be deceased. As you’llsee, we have officers on thescene right now doing our ini-tial processing.”
Police are asking commu-nity members to contact themwith any information.
He said: “I do not see anyissues that cannot be resolved,it is a matter of both sidesunderstanding the implica-tions.”
As the official mediator,Mr Foulkes said he could notdisclose the details of thenegotiations, which arescheduled to resume todayat 8am at his East Hill Streetoffice.
On February 20, tensionsbetween KFC managementand the Bahamas Hotel,Catering and Allied WorkersUnion (BHCAWU) escalatedafter the fast food chain can-celled its voluntary recogni-tion of the union as the bar-gaining agent for KFCemployees.
Following the announce-ment, staff staged a sit-down,forcing the closure of thecompany’s New Providenceoutlets which affected morethan 300 employees.
Later that evening, MrFoulkes certified BHCAWUas the official bargainingagent for KFC staff.
KFC Nassau said al lstores will remain closeduntil a new industrial agree-ment is reached andemployees will not be paidduring this time.
The labour agreementbetween the two partiesexpired on September 24,2011, and negotiations on anew agreement began inDecember.
The fast-food chain hasargued that its current wageand benefits package is “twotimes higher than all otherfast food brands”.
Staff salaries were said tobe between 79 to 92.5 per centhigher than its fast food indus-try competitors.
According to a KFCadvertisement published ina newspaper yesterday seek-ing to clarify the circum-stances that led to the KFCNassau closures, KFC saidthe unions have placed jobsof the KFC employees indanger by failing to get thenecessary authorisation tostrike.
It said: “This illegal indus-trial action caused seriousfinancial harm to KFC’sbusiness and this recklessapproach by the union con-tinues to place all jobs injeopardy, and puts the sur-vival of the company atrisk.”
Mr Foulkes said he had notseen the ad, and given hisposition as mediator, he didnot wish to comment.
MINISTERHOPEFUL OF
KFCPROGRESS
ffrroomm ppaaggee oonneeffrroomm ppaaggee oonnee
ffrroomm ppaaggee oonnee
ffrroomm ppaaggee oonnee
WIFE ACCUSED INBANKER’S MURDER
POLICEMAN ACQUITTED IN TRIAL
FAMILY MEMBERS were overwhelmed with emotions yesterday after the murder of a teenager in the Wright’s Lane area, near Wulff Road.Crowds gathered at the scene, and family members wept, some collapsing with emotion. Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff
Teenager left dead inroad after shooting
LOCAL NEWS
PAGE 12, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 THE TRIBUNE
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tions.“This is obviously a fabri-
cation in the PLP’s mind.These statements are not true.I saw a press release in regardto these stories and their rea-soning is not true,” said Mr
Maynard.“In regard to the field, the
Federation Internationale deFootball Association (FIFA)at their own expense willcome here to do the inspec-tion and the certification.They haven’t done so yet. Wehave not reached out to them
yet. We are leaving that up tothe Sports Authority. Whenthey are ready FIFA willcome.
“When it comes to thetrack, the International Asso-ciation of Athletic Federa-tions (IAAF) has a list of cer-tified firms that come on theirbehalf to inspect. We are inthe process of receiving bidsfrom several firms. When thatis completed, they will carryout the inspection. Onceagain, that is something theSports Authority deals with.However, I can assure you weare up to standard.”
Mr Maynard also refutedclaims that the Ministry ofWorks did not carry out thenecessary inspections on thestadium. He brushed off thePLP’s comments as “politicaltactics.”
“All the inspections aredone. We have been doingthat over the past eightmonths. Everything is up tospecs. What needed to be
adjusted was adjusted. We arecompliant. I do not knowwhere the PLP is getting thestuff from,” he said.
“The 15,000 people thatcame to the opening saw itwas real display of nationalpride. It is a celebration of
the Bahamas, not anythingpolitical. I can assure you wedid everything we were sup-posed to in regard to the sta-dium.”
The Thomas A RobinsonStadium was officially openedon Saturday. It cost $50 mil-
lion to build and was official-ly handed over to theBahamas government lastyear. It took the Chinesealmost three years to com-plete.
• For more pictures, turnto the sport section, page 2E
ffrroomm ppaaggee oonnee
By LAMECH JOHNSONTribune Staff [email protected]
BISHOP Randy Fraser’sappeal against his unlawfulsex conviction began yester-day in the Court of Appeal.
Fraser, convicted lastNovember of having sex witha dependent between July2005 and February 2006, sat incourt as his attorney JiaramMangra argued that the con-
viction was “unjust and unrea-sonable” given the evidence.
Prosecutors argued that theminister abused his positionof trust by having sexual rela-tions with a 16-year-old girlwho he had agreed to counsel.
He was originally chargedwith the offence in the sum-mer of 2006, but was freed ayear later after a mistrial. Theretrial started in 2008.
After several delays,Deputy Chief Magistrate Car-
olita Bethell handed down aguilty verdict and sentencedFraser to three years at HerMajesty’s Prison.
Mr Mangra informed themagistrate at the ruling thathe intended to file an appeal,and sought to keep his clientout of prison until the com-pletion of the hearing.
However, appellate courtpresident Justice Anita Allen,with Justices Stanley John andAbdulai Conteh, ruled that
there were no exceptional cir-cumstances that would lead tothe bishop being granted bail.
Yesterday, Mr Mangraclaimed the magistrate hadmade an error in consideringevidence outside the periodof the alleged offence.
He said any incidents thattook place in July 2005 orFebruary 2006 should beexcluded.
The justices did not agree,though they acknowledged his
position. They asked theattorney if he thought therewas evidence to suggest inti-macy between the victim andFraser. He said no.
Justice John then broughtup the semen found inFraser’s office, and Mr Man-gra argued it had no connec-tion to the virtual com-plainant.
The justice asked the attor-ney if he was suggesting thatthe victim’s testimony did not
have any credibility, despitethere being physical evidenceto prove some form of sexualact took place.
The attorney respondedthat this evidence alone wasnot substantial.
He then argued that therewere a number of “materialinconsistencies” in the victim’stestimony, bringing her cred-ibility into question.
The hearing resumes todayat 10am.
Bishop Fraser launches appeal against conviction
PLP CRITICISM OF STADIUM REJECTED
FIREWORKS to mark the opening of the new national stadium - an occasion marked by Junkanoo-styledancers, celebrity guests and a full house crowd. Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff
