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A L L T H E N E W S Y O U N E E D T O R E A D I N T H E M O R N I N G

VOL. 30 - NO. 285 75 CENTSTHURSDAY - DECEMBER 20TH, 2018

P H A A N D C P S AREACH AGREEMENTThe Public HospitalsAuthority (PHA) joinedwith the ConsultantPhysicians StaffAssociation (CPSA) toannounce that both par-ties have agreed in princi-ple to all aspects of theproposed industrial agree-ment.

The process to com-plete negotiations withrespect to the agreementwas completed this pastFriday.

In a release, all partiessaid that they are satisfiedthat the agreementreflects the best interestsof healthcare delivery andthe Bahamian people.

The industrial agree-

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

4 CPSA President, Dr. Locksley Munroe (File photo)g See page 2...

Local OrganizationsT o P r o t e s t W T OA group of local organi-zations and activists arecoming together to protestagainst The Bahamas’2019 accession to theWorld Trade Organization(WTO), while calling onthe government to putforth a referendum on theissue.

The group callingthemselves BahamiansAgainst WTO, said theywill fight the governmenttooth and nail.

During a press confer-

ence yesterday, the groupof persons, with spokes-woman, Maria Daxon,said the WTO amounts tonothing but “a surrenderof our birthrights asBahamians.

“We the inheritors ofand successors to thesefamily of islands, are heretoday to put the govern-ment of The Bahamas onnotice.

“The goal and purposebeing to halt and defeatthis government’s objec-tives of submitting theCommonwealth of TheBahamas to the World

Trade Organization. “We contend that this

nor any government ofThe Bahamas has theauthority to surrender toany foreign body thepower to govern ouraffairs without a mandatefrom the people to do so.

“We stand here unitedin our defense of ourBahamian sovereignty,”Ms. Daxon said.

The group, which com-prises of persons such asKendal Colebrooke, ofGrand Bahama and OmarSmith, said that there

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

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Police Arrest F i v e I n G B

Bahamas aviation CounCil & mota meeting

4 The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (MOTA) and the Bahamas Aviation Council met December 17, 2018 in the MOTA Conference Room. Group photo: Front rowseated from left: Mike Zidziunas, SUN FUN and Bahamas Flying Ambassador; Rick Asper, Aviation Professional and Bahamas Aviation Council Chairman; the Hon.Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister, MOTA; Charles Albury, Permanent Secretary, MOTA; Ellison ‘Tommy’ Thompson, Deputy Director General, MOTA. Standing center, Greg

Rolle, Sr. Director, MOTA, USA, Sports & Vertical Markets. (File Photo)

Five drug suspectswere taken into custody inGrand Bahama in separate

incidents for possessionof dangerous drugs and alarge amount of currency.

Officers of the DrugEnforcement Unit wereon mobile patrol in Grand

Bahama on Tuesday,shortly before 8pm, whenthey spotted and stopped asilver Chrysler Town and

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

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HOMICIDES DOWNThe country’s homicidecount reached a record-breaking low this year,being the first year under100 since 2010, accordingto Police CommissionerAnthony Ferguson yester-day afternoon.

Mr. Ferguson assuredthe public that there is noneed to be fearful, but alsoadvised them to mind thecompany they keep.

He said, “the policeknow a lot of things, andthey are not at liberty tocome out and investigatesome matters. We havesome community mem-

bers that distribute infor-mation to the public in aneffort to cause confusion.”

He added, “As yourcommissioner, I assureyou that you are not tar-geted.”

According to the policestatistics, the year 2011

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

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Country van with twomen.

Once they made asearch of the van, officersdiscovered $15,000 inU.S. and Bahamian cur-rency. According to policethe suspects could notgive a satisfactory reasonfor the money and were

subsequently arrested.In another incident, a

man was arrested at ahome on John Rutt Lane,Hudson Estates after offi-cers executed a searchwarrant at the resident anddiscovered a quantity ofsuspected marijuana.

He was subsequentlyarrested and taken intopolice custody.

Then in two other inci-

dents, DEU officers, whileon Adventurers Way,arrested two males in sep-arate incidents, for posses-sion of a quantity of sus-pected marijuana.

Investigations areongoing in all matters.

Police are also inves-tigating a shooting inci-dent that left an adultmale with non-life threat-ening injuries.

According to policepress liaison AssistantSuperintendent ShantaKnowles, shortly after9pm Tuesday, a male pre-sented himself to thePrincess MargaretHospital and reportedthat he had been shot.

The male stated thatshortly after 8pm, he wasat Tayoo Close andMarshall Road, when he

got into an argument withanother man, who shothim before getting into adark coloured vehicleand speeding away.

The male is listed instable condition at aPMH.

Investigation areongoing.

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Thursday - December 20th, 2018

Twenty-four audio visualprofessionals in TheBahamas became the firstgraduates of the ZamarAcademy on December14 after successfully com-pleting an Avixa-led CTS(Certified TechnologySpecialist) course. It is thefirst time that global-levelprofessional AV traininghas been made availablein The Bahamas asopposed to either flyingabroad or taking onlineclasses to achieve thislevel of certification.

Zamar GroupCompanies Ltd., a leadingmajor event, staging,audio visual and produc-tion management compa-ny in the Bahamas, decid-ed to make this invest-ment in their staff with theaim of increasing the tech-nical knowledge andcapacity of its team andproviding them with thelatest information in tech-nology related to theirfield of work. The 24 staffmembers spent three com-plete days in intense theo-ry and practical training,led by Avixa’s SeniorStaff Instructor Tom Kehr.

“In the few days that Ihave been able to spendwith those that run Zamargroup, to see them takethis to this level - dedicat-ing three days for overhalf of their staff - that isno minor investment,”said Kehr.

“It’s not just an invest-

ment in the company; it isan investment in the peo-ple that work for them.They value them enoughto send them for threedays of training. Thesecourses adhere to theISO17’024 (accreditation)and we are the only oneswho offer it. It certifiescompetency - it isn’t hereto make u a CTS, but tovalidate that you really area CTS. It can bring quite acomfort factor to a knowl-edgeable client.”

Avixa is the trade asso-ciation representing theprofessional audio visualand information commu-nication industries world-wide. As an audio visualintegrated experienceassociation, Kehr said, thelogistics of technologyspace and content com-bine to bring the most pro-fessional presentations toclients.

“We go through a lot of

things in three days as stu-dents cover live events,permanent installs, look-ing at the set up in aclassroom, board room,or conference room to thelarge-scale events thatthey work with atZamar,” he said.

“We cover everythingfrom screen sizes toacoustics to lighting. Wemake sure we give themthe tools to take it up anotch. When they are onsite in front of a client,they can solve problems,they can deal with thespace, and they can makeit all work.”

Zamar President &CEO Andrew Gardinerproudly spoke on thelaunch of the ZamarAcademy, promisingeven more excitingcourses and events toimprove the performanceof his team in 2019.

“Zamar Academy will

improve your technicalskills, but it also offers amore holistic approach aswe will offer training thatcovers areas such as workethics, time management,conflict resolution andhealthy eating, offering acomplete look at yourprofessional develop-ment,” Mr. Gardiner said.

Senior Vice PresidentKay Gardiner said thedecision to create theacademy was intended tobuild the repertoire of thestaff to a level thatZamar’s clients could“see the difference”.

Zamar’s services incl-ude lighting, audio,video, rigging, stagedesign and development,audio-visual meetingsupport, and simultane-ous translation equip-ment. Established in1985, Zamar GroupCompanies Limited is agroup of service-

related entities inclusiveof Zamar Audio Visualand Productions (Zamar),Island PearlsInternational (IPI) andThe Berry Company Ltd.The group of companiesemploys more than55 full-time persons inNew Providence withexpertise in various areasfrom business adminis-tration to technical serv-ices.

The CTS graduateswere presented with theircertificates at Zamar’sPinnacle AwardsCelebration at theAtlantis ballroom thispast Friday. Kenya Wells,Human Resources,Training & CorporateAffairs Manager present-ed the company’s firstZamar Academy awards.

The celebration wasalso a staff appreciationand end-of year event, inwhich outstanding staff

members were honored.They included: Employeeof the Year CristanoBurgos (WarehouseM a i n t e n a n c eTechnician); Technicianof the Year John Felix(Technician); andManager of the YearLubin Bernadin (LightingManager).

Although the end ofyear celebration is noth-ing new for Zamar, theevent was deemed extraspecial this year becauseof the launch of the acad-emy as well as the institu-tion of the President’sAward. Mr. Gardinerproudly presented KendalJohnson, SeniorOperations Manager withthe award for providingstellar service and settingthe standard all yearround, and his contribu-tion to the company formore than 15 years.

Zamar has servicedboth local and interna-tional clients with bothsmall and large meetingsand events. Internationalaffiliates include Avixa,AV Alliance, theInternational Live EventsAssociation, and MeetingP r o f e s s i o n a l sInternational. As many ofthe company’s clients arehotels, it is also a memberof the Society forIncentive TravelExcellence and theBahamas Hotel &Tourism Association.

T WENT Y - FOUR NEWLY CERT I F I EDTECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST MAKE HISTORY

4 Pictured are the graduates along with memebers of Zamar Group of Companies. (file photo)

PHA AND CPSA REACH AGREEMENTment covers more than130 consultant physiciansengaged by the PHA andselect clinics managed bythe Department of PublicHealth.

The agreement isexpected to be retroactivefrom July 1, 2016 until

June 30, 2021 given that itis approved formally bythe PHA board.

CPSA President Dr.Locksley Munroe said,“The CPSA is pleasedwith our engagement withthe PHA at this point inour negotiation process.We are committed toensure that high quality

healthcare is delivered tothe Bahamian public. Theindustrial proposal that wehave worked through withthe PHA seeks to ensurethat this standard of care isnot only sustainable butthat it continues toimprove in the future.”

He added, “The propos-al addresses some two

hundred clauses which,by in large, we were ableto agree to with the PHArather smoothly. We havealso now agreed to thefinancial clauses thatwere a point of con-tention however, weappreciate the economicclimate of our country atthis time and note that

this was by no means themain objective of ourindustrial agreement.”

“We expect that thisagreement will allowsenior physicians to havea more vital role in deliv-ering healthcare, partner-ing with the PHA in thedecision-making process-es of our healthcare sys-

tem.”, he said.Lyrone Burrows,

Deputy ManagingDirector and leadNegotiator for the PHAindicated they continueto maintain an open dia-logue with the CPSA andall other unions withwhom they work with.

Police Arrest Five In GB

Local Organizations To Protest WTOmust be a clearer under-standing of what the WTOwill do or not do forBahamians.

“Here’s a question weneed to ask the govern-ment: If the WTO is sogood, how is it this is notin their Manifesto, how isit that they didn’t talkabout this on their cam-paign trail?” Mr.Colebrooke said.

Omar Smith added thatBahamians should lookclosely at the cause andeffects of The Bahamasbecoming a part of theWTO.

“The government of

The Bahamas is intent ontaking this country intothe WTO. Which averageBahamian knows what arethe implications of usjoining this organization?

“They are out every-where talking about thepositives of this particularorganization and us join-ing; what are the nega-tives? Why are they pro-moting this?

“Did they run on thiscampaign? Did they runon this mandate? I say ifthey are so confident thatthis is so good, and theBahamian people want it;then put it to theBahamian people, let usdecide.

Because once we join,there is no turning back,”Mr. Smith said.

Attorney Paul Mossand Samuel Strachan,along with the other groupmembers are calling onthe government to put theissue to a referendum.

“The advent of theWTO will so fundamental-ly change every aspect ofthis country that it isimperative the governmentputs to the people a refer-endum on this issue.

“We say that becausewe believe that this coun-try is a democracy and themajority will rule. If themajority votes that that’swhat they want, then we’ll

have to go along with it. “But right now, this is

not their mandate, theyhave no mandate to dothis; this is what they aredoing of their own and wesay that it ought to be putto a referendum and that’swhat we are going to holdthem to,” Mr. Moss said

Mr. Strachan suggestedthat the Free NationalMovement government isin breach of the contractthat it was elected on.

“There was a contractput forward by the FNMcalled Manifesto, and themajority of persons agreedto that; so, we have a con-tract. There is no mentionin that Manifesto on the

aggressive accession to theWTO.

“That means you arebreaking your contract.What we’re asking theadministration to do is, ifyou are going to vary interms of the contract,return to the negotiationtable, put your positionforward, we discuss, weagree again or we disagreeand we move forward.

“You cannot, singlehandedly change or varythe terms of a contractwithout breaching thatcontract. You havebreached your contract.Either you return to thenegotiation table or weexpect your resignation

forthwith,” Mr. Strachansaid

The new year will seethe group, who also made aclarion call to allBahamians, march inprotest on January 10,2019.

Pastor Glendon Rolle ofthe Peoples Foundationalso made a clarion call toall pastors and churches tojoin in the march.

The Bahamas reactivat-ed and accelerated itsaccession to the WorldTrade Organizationprocess in the latter part of2017 after a six year break.

Tentative accession tothe WTO is set forDecember 2019.

HOMICIDES DOWNsaw some 127 homicides, 2012 had 111,2013 saw 119, 2014 had 122, 2016 record-ed 111, 2017 had 122, and this year withjust two more weeks to go the count standsat 89.

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A3The Bahama Journal

Thursday - December 20th, 2018NationalNEWS

29TH SENIOR CITIZENSCHRISTMAS PARTY

4 Saturday, December 15th was an exciting day for hundreds of senior citizens as Mt. Olive Baptist Church hosted the 29th Annual Senior Citizens’ Christmas Partyfor seniors, held at Town Square, Meadow and Augusta Streets, Bain Town. Co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of West Nassau, the program included Carol singing, asumptuous Lunch, and entertainment by many groups, including Woodcock Primary School Choir, the Royal Bahamas Police Force Pop Band, Ms. Bodine Johnson andthe Region Bells. A Christmas gift was also presented to each Senior Citizen. A meal and gift were also delivered to the home-bound seniors. Mrs. Alfreda Cleare of

Eneas Street received the Senior Citizen of the year Award. File Photos show some of the activities

Mississippi State University introduces newMaster’s programme to Bahamian Educators

Even after 35 years ofexistence, The BahamasNational Youth Choir,currently under the direc-tion of Dexter Fernandercontinues to serve as anincubator for upcomingBahamian Musicians. Inthe words of current cho-risters “the choir providesthe opportunity to notonly preform, but to learnand grow.”

In preparation for their10th Annual ChristmasConcert held December18th at Trinity MethodistChurch, the choir wel-comed Dr. Christy Lee,an Assistant Professor atMississippi StateUniversity. Dr. Lee, along-time friend of theBahamas National YouthChoir says she is alwaysimpressed with how theyoung people of the choirpresent their culture andtheir music. “The biggestthing that impresses me isthat you (the choir)would do so many styles.Most choirs will do one

thing really well, the clas-sical or their folk music.But from the first concertI saw, you (the choir) dideverything, and you (thechoir) did everythingequally well and is whatrepresents you guys (thechoir) so beautifully” Dr.Lee said.

Dr. Lee, who flew in toaccompany the choir attheir Christmas concert,noted that her favoritepieces presented this yearwere ‘Feliz Navidad’arranged by JoseFeliciano and ‘We areChristmas’ arranged byKevin Johnson and SarahStephens. Additionally,Dr. Lee is pleased toannounce that she is inThe Bahamas doingrecruitment for bothUndergraduate andGraduate level degrees atMississippi StateUniversity.

“At the undergraduatelevel, we have a Bachelorof Music Education and aBachelor of Arts in

music, much like those atthe University of TheBahamas. We also have anew program that’s aMaster of MusicEducation” said Dr Lee.“The program has threetracks, there’s instrumen-tal for band directors,choral for choir directorsand then elementarymusic for those who wantto teach younger chil-dren. It’s designed to betaken over three summersso that if you’reemployed or alreadyteaching, you don’t haveto leave your job to do theprogram” she continued.

The Master of Music isa hybrid programdesigned to supportmusic professionals inthe advancement of boththeir pedagogical andmusical skills. Includedin the degree is perform-ance practice, conduct-ing, pedagogy, curricu-lum, music theory, histo-ry, and the essentials ofresearch in music educa-

tion. Choir Director Dexter

Fernander is especiallyhappy about this amazingopportunity forBahamians. “It is crucialto both individual growthas well as the improve-ment of the choir. It givesthis institution a bench-mark for internationalstandards and also cur-rent industry trends” saidFernander. When asked “whyMississippi State?”, heresponded, “Mississippistate University isbecoming a ‘trend setter’for music education asmost of their facultyyearly present at interna-tional music confer-ences.”The Bahamas NationalYouth Choir looks for-ward to a working rela-tionship MississippiState University for theadvancement andenhancement ofBahamian Artists.

4 Dr. Christy Lee at the Piano during The BahamasNational Youth Choir’s Christmas Concert

(Photo Credit: Donald Knowles)

Scholarship Awarded toYoung Eleuthera Resident“You always give morethan you take.” These arewords that Jeff Moorelived by and became oneof the many lessons heimparted to his children.Jeff was a family man andresident of Liberty,Missouri. He became aboard member of BahamasMethodist Habitat andbegan visiting Eleuthera in2004, forming lastingbonds with its residents.He and his wife, Rae trav-eled to the island everychance they got and alsoinvited their Eleuthera

friends to visit their familyin Missouri. Jeff realized akindness and potential inthe people of JamesCistern, Eleuthera in par-ticular and aspired to pro-vide opportunities to helpthem improve their lives.His relationship with theresidents of Eleutheraendured and remainsthrough The Jeff and RaeMoore Scholarship Fund(TJRMSF). The fund,something he passionatelyspoke of during his visitsto the island, was estab-lished by his family and

friends after his passing in2016. The intent of thefund is to provide financialaid to young residents ofJames Cistern who areinterested in further educa-tion and training. Becauseof Jeff’s support and confi-dence in the One EleutheraFoundation (OEF), it wasdecided to name OEF asthe managing organizationof the scholarship fund.

Micah Bethel, age 21,of James Cistern, is thefirst scholarship recipient.He has been accepted toEast Mississippi

Community College forJanuary 2019. Micah plansto pursue a career in engi-neering and hopes to pur-sue his passion of playingbaseball. He dreams of oneday playing in the MajorLeague. Micah was pre-sented with his scholarshipon December 12, 2018 atthe One EleutheraFoundation’s office inRock Sound. He was elat-ed when the scholarshipannouncement was made.“I feel good and excited.This will help me get clos-er to my dreams. I’m very

grateful for it”, expressedMicah. His mother, AvisBethel, added, “I reallywant to encourage personsout there that are desiringto further their educationand are having issues withfinances to please don’tgive up. A big thank you toThe Jeff and Rae MooreScholarship Fund and alsoto the One EleutheraFoundation for makingthis possible for Micah.”

Rae Moore continuesher husband’s work on theisland and expressed herjoy at Micah’s award, “It

makes my heart happy thatJeff is living on earth whiledoing other great things inheaven! I know he is over-joyed that he is making adifference in his belovedEleuthera.”

Applicants are invitedwho have been acceptedinto a tertiary educationprogramme and whoreside in James Cistern,Eleuthera. For furtherinformation on scholarshipeligibility or to contributeto the fund please emailgrants@oneeleuthera.orgor call (242) 334-4700.

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 12/19/2018 8:54 PM Page 3

A4 The Bahama Journal

Thursday - December 20th, 2018 NationalNEWS

RoYal CaRiBBean exeCutives make CouRtesY Call on the PRime ministeR

4 Royal Caribbean executives paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Hubert Minnis today at the Office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister ispictured centre right, with Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley, centre left; also present was Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Grand

Bahama, Senator the Hon. Kwasi Thompson, second left, among other executives in the delegation. (Bis Photo/Yontalay Bowe)

The Islands Of The Bahamas SnagsTwo Top Best Caribbean AwardsThe Islands Of TheBahamas continues todominate tourism in theCaribbean. So saysCaribbean Journal whichbestowed on the destina-tion two key awards in itsCaribbean Travel Awards2018: Best CaribbeanDestination and BestCaribbean TourismMinister. CaribbeanJournal is the world’slargest website coveringCaribbean travel andtourism.

Editor and Publishero fCaribbean Journal Alexander Britell said, “Theregion’s tourism offeringhas never been morediverse or more ener-

getic. It’s a message tothe world that theCaribbean isn’t just back— it’s better than ever.”

But it is better in TheBahamas, and accordingto officials, the destinationhad the most impressivegrowth in the region.

“While several destina-tions have had particularlystrong growth in 2018,none has been moreimpressive — or morebroadly impactful — thanThe Bahamas,” officialssaid on the destination’swebsite.

“That’s because whilethe destination has seensurging airlift growth (anda powerful increase inarrivals, thanks to the full-

fledged debut of the BahaMar mega resort), thisyear has seen somethingunique for the destination:universal growth. Thatmeans growth that hasbeen felt beyond the tradi-tional pole of Nassau andNew Providence. Indeed,islands across the OutIslands (and, crucially,Grand Bahama) are seeingstrong growth — a clearsign that The Bahamas’tourism growth is beingrealized across 700islands and cays. Andthat’s a very powerfulthing.”

Just recently, Ministryof Tourism and Aviationofficials reported thatstopover arrivals have

soared by some 18 per-cent from January toOctober 2018. Expediatravel has also reportedthat room night saleshave grown by 30 per-cent and forward book-ings are up by 9.2 per-cent.

The Caribbean Journalsays part of this successis due to Minister ofTourism and AviationDionisio D’Aguilar.

“While The Bahamas’impressive growth hascome from myriadsources, the destination’ssurge has been expertlystewarded by TourismMinister DionisioD’Aguilar, who tookover in the role in 2017,”

officials said. “From adding new

hotels to helping tosecure crucial new flightsto, importantly, making aconcerted effort to giveThe Bahamas an activeregional presence in theCaribbean, both at thepublic and private sectorlevels, D’Aguilar hasbeen at the heart of thecountry’s impressivegrowth.”

Minister D’Aguilarsaid that new and refur-bished hotel offerings arethe key to the successThe Islands Of TheBahamas has had overthe past year.

“We will continue towork to reach millenials

as well as repeat visitorslooking for authentic,unique Bahamian experi-ences through the naturalbeauty of all of ourislands, strategic partner-ships and promotions,media relations andattractive programs fortravelers,” he said.

“Our priority will beto continue to positionThe Islands Of TheBahamas as a premiertravel destination.”

These latest awardscome on the heels of TheIslands Of The Bahamasbeing awarded the WorldTravel Awards’ World’sLeading Luxury IslandDestination and theWorld’s LeadingWedding Destination.

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