Monthly Archives: July 2017

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Team Bahamas picked up its first set of medals - both bronze from Mya Beneby in the womens -57 kilogram and and an injured Karra Hanna in the womens +70 kg - as Judo completed the first sporting discipline on day one of the sixth Commonwealth Games.

Contested just before the start of the opening ceremonies last night at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, Team Bahamas ended up ninth out of 17 countries on the medal chart. England emerged as the overall champions with four gold medals and a bronze, while Australia got second with one gold and three bronze and Scotland came in third with one gold, two silver and a bronze.

Head coach DArcy Rahming Jr said for a sport that is relatively new to the country, the performances by Team Bahamas were fantastic.

For us to walk away from the Commonwealth Youth Games just shows the level of talent and ability that we have in the country, said Rahming, of the mini Olympic style games that is being held in the Caribbean for the first time.

Judo is played between another human being and the only way to get experience is to travel. To move to the next level, we need to put some more resources in the system, then we can take our promising athletes here so that they can get the experience to jump to the next level.

Beneby, competing in her first major international meet, said she was quite pleased with her performance, considering that she faced some competitors who are black belts, while shes just a brown belt. She lost to Scotlands Emma Forrest in her semifinal match.

My first match was really good. I beat a black belt, she said. My second match, I didnt do very well, but I won my last match to win a bronze medal.

It was really quick. I fought her a few times and all of the times I fought her, I beat her. So I knew how she fights. When I went on the mat, I just bowed and I tried to take her out early when I got my grip. I followed my coaches instructions.

Beneby, a 14-year-old student of Bahamas Elite Sports Academy, admitted she would have preferred to fight for the gold, but she cant be disappointed as a first year competitor who came out with the bronze.

I thank God, Beneby said.

Another disappointment came in the womens +70kg where Karra Hanna had the potential to go to the final after she was leading, but she suffered a shoulder injury and could not get up of the mat before the decision was awarded to Aoife McCallion from Northern Ireland.

I really wanted to continue, but it was just too painful, Hanna said. I had suffered a slight (right) knee injury in my first match (against Imogen Jo Ranner of England that she won).

Im painful right now, but Im glad that I was still able to win a medal. I really wanted to win the gold for my country. I guess I just have to get better prepared for the next time I get to compete.

Simon Zulu, the 17-year-old gold medalist in the mens -60kg for Zambia, said theres no greater feeling than earning the gold medal for his country. He out-lasted Georgios Balarjishvili from Cyprus in their final match.

I feel so good. I never knew that I would have been so successful, Zulu said. My coaches here have been working very hard with me to get me ready for the competition.

The competition was really tough, but I did my best. The guy was tough. Thats all I could say. This competition was good and its Paradise here. Its a nice place.

The one day of competition also had an effect on 17-year-old Mosa Thetsane from South Africa. He injured his right knee in his first match in the mens -60kg, but he never gave way, limping his way to the bronze medal.

After the injury in the first match, I lost the second match, but I am glad that I could still fight for a medal, Thetsane said. I never thought that I could get this type of injury and I never knew that I could make it this far.

Its been a long journey to get here, but its been a lot of fun. The Bahamas is so beautiful, the building, people and everything. Im really enjoying it.

Although she gave it her best shot, Jasmine Russell fell short of getting on the podium to receive a medal in the womens -48kg. She lost to Antim Yadav of India in the Repachage and had to settle for seventh place.

The competition was hard, said the 14-year-old St Augustines College student, who is just in her first year in the sport. The girl had more experience than me. I just need to practice harder. I feel good about the opportunity to compete here. But I have to train harder.

The gold medal in the division went to Sian Bobrowska of England, who had a sensational victory over Fiona Ulann Todman from Scotland in the final.

It was really good. I fought really hard today, Bobrowska said. This was my best performance for the year. I felt really good, really strong in all of my matches, especially the final.

It was tough because of the heat here, but I think I did very well to adapt to win the gold in these conditions here. It was a really good experience. I really like it.

Englands head coach Nicole Nunn sung the praises of her seven-member team for their overall triumph.

The kids have been fantastic, she said. Our competitors all performed brilliantly and I think we all had a fantastic time. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves so far.

Its so great to be here. Its a long flight. They have never done a long flight like that before, but everyone has been fantastic and hospitable and the food has been great, so I think thats why they performed so well today.

Nunn said now that their competition is over, they will have some fun playing in the beach as they wait and watch the rest of Team England performs this week.

Note: The Bahamas was also represented by Davante Sweeting in the mens -60kg; Taliano Ferguson in the mens -73kg; Kyon Cumberbatch in the mens -90kg; Daleon Sweeting in the mens +90kg and Breanna Major in the womens -70kg. None of them advanced to the medal round.

Ferguson, by the way, also had to get medical attention for an apparent right shoulder injury that he sustained during his Repechage match against Luke Walker from Trinidad & Tobago.

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Bahamas Lands Two Bronze - Bahamas Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas needs "considerably" more foreign direct investment (FDI) than the $522 million inflows it attracted in 2016, a governance reformer yesterday describing this as "critical" to faster economic growth.

Robert Myers, a principal with the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), told Tribune Business that "stimulating FDI is vital" if the Bahamas is to hit the 5.5 per cent annual GDP growth rate identified as key to workforce stability.

He was speaking after the World Investment Report 2017, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), revealed that Baha Mar's construction resumption boosted FDI flows to the Bahamas by 27.8 per cent in 2016.

The Bahamas attracted the second highest FDI inflow among small island developing states (SIDS), coming in behind only Jamaica, which gained $900 million in capital from overseas in 2016.

"Although flows into the 10 Caribbean economies in the group slipped to $2 billion (down 13 per cent), they still absorbed almost 60 per cent of total inflows to the 29 SIDS members. The largest recipient economy in this region was Jamaica, followed by the Bahamas and Barbados," the World Investment Report said.

"In the Bahamas, FDI flows bounced back by 28 per cent to $522 million, as FDI in construction picked up. Yet the volume remained less than one-third of its previous peaks ($1.6 billion in 2014 and $1.5 billion in 2011)."

The report shows how the Bahamas 'put its eggs in one basket' with respect to Baha Mar, with the $4.2 billion Cable Beach-based resort project effectively 'the only game in town' when it came to FDI, and generating employment and economic activity, for the past five years.

The FDI flows measured by the World Investment Report bear this out, as the peaks coincide with Baha Mar's 2011 construction start and the 2014 'race to the finish' that ultimately failed. The project's 2015 Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing, and subsequent protracted legal battle, coincide with a sharp decline in capital invested in the Bahamas.

Between 2011 and 2014, FDI inflows to the Bahamas never dropped below $1 billion. Starting at $1.533 billion in 2011, they remained relatively constant at $1.073 billion and $1.133 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively, before hitting $1.599 billion in 2014.

However, FDI inflows dropped by almost 75 per cent year-over-year in 2015 to hit $408 million, before recovering somewhat to $522 million due to Baha Mar's construction resumption and payments to creditors in late 2016.

"While FDI in some leading FDI host economies (the Bahamas, Maldives and Mauritius) bounced back, the majority saw their fragile FDI diminish," the World Investment Report said of SIDS generally. "

"The top five FDI recipients in 2016 - Jamaica, the Bahamas, Maldives, Mauritius and Fiji, in that order - accounted for 70 per cent of total FDI received by all SIDS."

While the Bahamas' rebound may look encouraging, the report said Caribbean rivals such as Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago were using FDI more effectively to help diversify their economies.

And it added: "Prospects for attracting more FDI for sustainable development remain dim. A sharp fall in the value of announced greenfield projects from 2015 to 2016 underscores the continuing challenge for SIDS of securing FDI."

Mr Myers, responding to the report's findings, suggested that the Bahamas needed at least $1 billion-plus annually in FDI if it was to have any chance of generating 5.5 per cent annual GDP growth.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified that percentage as the threshold for slashing the existing 11.6 per cent unemployment rate in half, and the economy being able to absorb all high school graduates into its workforce with ease.

"It's not enough," Mr Myers told Tribune Business of the Bahamas' increased 2016 FDI inflow. "We've got to get our GDP up to 5.5 per cent."

He explained that the Bahamian economy's current model, with its focus on services exports via tourism and financial services, and narrow domestic investor base, meant it remained heavily reliant on FDI to generate much of its growth.

Mr Myers also highlighted structural impediments to domestic growth, including exchange controls and a relatively high interest rate environment, coupled with a thin manufacturing and export base.

"FDI is a big one for us because manufacturing is absolutely zero to none. It's very low," he told Tribune Business. "All you have is fish and exports like Polymers, aragonite, sand and salt.

"There's also some petroleum products that really skew our GDP. It's money, money out and it doesn't positively impact our economy that much."

Emphasising that the Bahamas will continue to be heavily reliant on foreign capital for the foreseeable future, Mr Myers added: "FDI is a big driver of our economy and always has been.

"We've got to grow the economy, and FDI is a very large part of that. It's a driver of our overall GDP, which needs to be at 5.5 per cent. GDP growth is the gorilla in the room, and FDI is one part of that GDP gorilla.

"We haven't done any specific modelling to understand that number, but I think that over a sustained period of time, if FDI could be $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion a year that's a start."

Original post:

Bahamas needs 'much' more FDI than $522m | The Tribune - Bahamas Tribune

MIAMI Bahamians in South Florida, persons of Bahamian descent and friends of The Bahamas recently gathered at St. Matthews Missionary Baptist Church, Miami for an Independence Ecumenical Service to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Independence of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Among the speakers at the event, His Excellency Mr. Reuben Rahming, The Bahamas/CARICOM Ambassador-designate, received enthusiastic cheers when he told those in attendance that, the greatest asset of The Bahamas is not sun sand or sea, but WE (the people).

The service themed, Towards The Rising Sun, began Sunday afternoon with an opening prayer followed by a warm welcome provided by the First Lady of the Church, Mrs. Evelyn Brown, wife of Pastor Rev. Dr. Vincent Brown.

Other speakers at the service included Mr. Richard Treco, Consul General of The Bahamas to Florida and Senator, The Honourable Fred Mitchell, former Minister of Foreign Affairs. The keynote speaker of the evening was Rev. Dr. Jerome Symonette, of Restoring Grace Community Church, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

During the fast-paced service, The Bahamas Consulate General Office, Florida, honored a number of persons from the local Bahamian community and one of the highlights of the service was a solo by Acneal L. Williams, Masters of Classical Voice Program at Howard University (currently interning with the local Consulate office).

South Florida Bahamians Honored The Bahamas Consulate General, Florida on Sunday honored persons from the local Bahamian Community, during the Annual Bahamas Independence Ecumenical Service which this year celebrated the countrys 44th Birthday. Pictured Left to right: Acneal Williams, Honoree; Esther Panza, Honoree; Evelande Gideon, Honoree; Deacon Earl Ferguson, Honoree; Richard Treco, Consul General of The Bahamas to Florida; Earlston McPhee, Honoree; Reuben Rahming, Bahamas/CARICOM Ambassador-designate; Deanna Christensen, Presenter; Janet Jackson, Honoree; Julien K. Collie, Honoree; Rudolph Green, Honoree and David Moss, Presenter.

In addition to the speakers, a wide array of clergymen from The Bahamas or with a Bahamian background, as well as dignitaries and members of the local diplomatic corps were in attendance some participating in the service.

Those in attendance included from the Diplomatic Corps, Consul General Franz Hall, Jamaica;Consul Dave Spence, Trinidad & Tobagoand Commissioner Thomas Dorsett West Park Florida. Clergymen included Rev. David Ellis, Pastor Mike Brennen, Pastor Byron Braynen, Bishop Dexter Rolle (Bimini), Rev. Carroll Storr, Bishop Francis Curry, McQuaise Hepburn, Minister Horace Hord, Fr. Denrick Rolle, Rev. Leslie McMillan, Rev. Charles Thompson, and Rev. James Ferguson.

The Ecumenical service was one of a number of events planned by the local South Florida Bahamian community to celebrate the 44th birthday of The Bahamas as a nation.

On Saturday, July 8th, Bahamians in Florida celebrated with a picnic at the Virginia Cay Beach, Miami.

This Saturday, July 22nd, The Independence celebration events will continue with the National Association of The Bahamas (NAB) Annual Scholarship Ball, which will take place at the Shulas Hotel and Golf Club, Miami.

The black tie affair is priced at $100.00 and tickets are available by calling NABs President, Rosamon Gomez at 954-236-9292.

The rest is here:

Bahamians in South Florida celebrates country's 44th Independence Anniversary - South Florida Caribbean News

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Bahamas, July 19, 2017 Nassau National Security Minister Marvin Dames said he has already informed all law enforcers that the days of cloaking crooked officers are over. Dames was addressing media questions on the recent arrests of corrections officers and defense force marines for illegal drug and arms possession.

No longer will those wanting to join enforcement be able to bring a letter from their MPs to get a job; Minister Dames said recruitment standards are going to go by the book and this should secure higher caliber men and women to serve the public.

The Minister was quick to explain that the majority of law enforcers are against illicit activities among the branches, so they welcome the arrests to clean house.

#MagneticMediaNews

#MarvinDames

#badapplesoutsaysDames

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Bad apples out says Bahamas Natl Security Minister Magnetic Media - Magnetic Media (press release)

Government officials at the Privy Council Office struggled with the complexity of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Christmas vacation to the Bahamas, according to newly released documents.

That complexity may have added to the costs of the trip and may be contributing to what has become a lengthy investigation into the trip by the House of Commons ethics commissioner.

READ MORE:Justin Trudeaus trip to Aga Khans island cost taxpayers over $125K

A significant part of that complexity was the result of the fact that Canada did not have a single full-time diplomat in the Bahamas who could help co-ordinate what the documents show was a mad, last-minute scramble to provide Trudeau with the security, communications, and other support the prime minister must have at all times.

The new documents obtained by Global News show that officials in the Privy Council Office (PCO) first began planning for the trip on Dec. 15, less than two weeks ahead of his departure.

Diplomatic, logistical, communications and security arrangements had to be made and were complex enough that the co-ordinator of the prime ministers travel eventually thanked the two dozen PCO and Global Affairs diplomats who worked on the file for arranging this challenging trip.

The documents also show that Trudeaus entourage travelled to the Bahamas with an official diplomatic note.

Diplomatic notes are routine formal written communications between governments and can be for mundane matters, such as requesting a meeting between government officials, or for more sensitive matters, such as requesting help with security. They are frequently used by Trudeaus staff, as they were for former prime minister Stephen Harpers staff, to help facilitate prime ministerial travel.

The documents do not spell out who was in that entourage covered by the diplomatic note.

Liberal Party President Anna Gainey and her spouse, as well as Liberal MP Seamus ORegan and his spouse, joined Trudeau at the Aga Khans island. None of them had their entry into the Bahamas eased by a diplomatic note, Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad said Wednesday.

READ MORE:Justin Trudeau recuses himself from choice of ethics watchdog in wake of Aga Khan trip

Global News obtained 88-pages of heavily censored documents from the PCO, the department that supports the work of the prime minister, under a federal Access to Information Act request. The request, filed January 5, asked each of the PCO, the RCMP and DND to provide information about resources that were used by each department to support the visit by Trudeau, his family, and their guests to Bell Island, an island owned by the Aga Khan, the billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader who has been a friend of the Trudeau family since the prime minister was a young boy.

WATCH: TomMulcair calls Trudeaus Bahamas trip an illegal vacation

The RCMP and DND have yet to respond to access-to-information requests filed more than seven months ago.

As for Trudeau, for months, he has resisted providing any details about the trip or about the investigation by House of Commons Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, when asked by reporters or parliamentarians.

READ MORE:Why Justin Trudeaus trip to the Aga Khans island matters

Trudeau has been under investigation by Dawson after she acknowledged that two separate complaints filed by Conservative MPs in January warranted an investigation by her office.

The first complaint, from Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, alleges that Trudeaus acceptance of lodging and transportation assistance from his host, the Aga Khan, represents a conflict of interest given that the Aga Khan Foundation has been the recipient of tens of millions of dollars in grants from the Canadian government over the last decade to help with its foreign aid work. The Aga Khan is a board member of the foundation that bears his name.

Another complaint, from Conservative MP Blaine Calkins, alleges Trudeau violated a rule in the federal Conflict of Interest Act that prohibits prime ministers from travelling on private aircraft. While Trudeau travelled from Ottawa to Nassau on an RCAF jet, he made the 150-km trip from Nassau to the Aga Khans private island on the Aga Khans private helicopter.

Under the Conflict of Interest Act, the only exceptions for any cabinet minister to accept transportation on a private or commercial aircraft is prior permission from the ethics commissioner or emergency circumstances connected to the ministers official duties.

Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson prepares to appear at a Commons committee, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday June 10, 2014. Dawson has been investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Bahamas vacation since January.

Trudeau has never said if he sought and received prior permission from the ethics commissioner. Moreover, he has invariably described the trip as a private visit not related to his official duties.

Trudeau is in jeopardy of becoming the first sitting prime minister to have been found in violation of a federal statute while in office.

The prime ministers in a lot of hot water on this, Calkins said Tuesday in an interview in Edmonton.

Calkins said he has received no communication from Dawson or her investigators since filing the complaint.

In the meantime, Trudeau extended Dawsons appointment as ethics commissioner but has recused himself from the selection of her successor, passing that job to a cabinet minister who, nonetheless, holds her job at the pleasure of the prime minister.

The whole thing seems to be a bit odd and taxpayers need to be worried about this, Calkins said.

The bureaucrats in the PCO appeared to have understood Trudeaus Bahamas travel to be a private visit as well. An extensive e-mail exchange involving PCO employees as well as Global Affairs Canada diplomats has a subject line which includes Nassau BAHAMAS Private Visit of the Prime Minister.

And yet, when Catherine Mathieu, the PCO manager of the prime ministers tour, made an official request to the department of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship for a diplomatic note that would ease entry into the Bahamas for a PCO technician, Mathieu did not characterize the trip as a private visit. Instead, she explained the diplomatic note was required for an employee travelling to the Bahamas from December 23, 2016 until January 5, 2017 for the Prime Ministers official visit.

PCO request for a Diplomatic Note for PMs Official Visit by David Akin on Scribd

In any event, as part of a discussion between Mathieu and a government official whose name has been blacked out by a government censor, that unnamed official notes that teams from both DND and the RCMP had arranged for diplomatic notes to ease their entry into the country.

On Dec. 15, Jean-Philippe Lafond, the manager of official travel at Passport Canada in Gatineau, Que., advised Mathieu that Bahamian authorities received a Dip Note for the entourage of the PM. That entourage appears to be a reference to Canadian government officials, including the RCMP and DND.

READ MORE:Justin Trudeau isnt the first politician to ride in the Aga Khans helicopter

While officials with Canadas foreign service in Ottawa played a key role in organizing transportation of diplomatic red bags to the Bahamas, it was foreign service officers in Kingston, Jamaica who played the key role on the ground in the Bahamas.

We do not have [government of Canada] employees based in Bahamas.We only have a Consulate led by an Honorary Consul whos[sic] appointment has yet to be approved by PCO, wrote Damin Kotzev, the second secretary at the Jamaica High Commission. We have therefore nobody with diplomatic accreditation to Bahamas based on the Island.

The lack of a diplomatic presence in the Bahamas made it difficult, for example, to find a large enough vehicle to transport officials and their diplomatic bags travelling through Nassau.

The last-minute nature of the planning may also have led to higher costs.

The documents show there were attempts to co-ordinate travel and logistics between PCO and the RCMP, for example, but it is not clear if those attempts were successful.

2017Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Originally posted here:

New documents on Trudeau's Bahamas trip raise fresh questions on long-running ethics investigation - Globalnews.ca