Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, right, is pictured with the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville during a press conference in Grand Bahama on Friday morning, February 26. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell said Friday that the two Cubans ordered released by the courts last week are being sought by the Department of Immigration. He said that since their release the two men, Carlos Pupo and Lazara Seara Marin have disappeared and there have reportedly been sighting of them in Bimini. He said authorities are on the alert and they have also advised U.S. officials of the potential of the two men smuggling themselves into the United States.

The Minister has stated publicly that the two are a risk to national security and should not have been released from prison.

Minister Mitchell’s comments came as he met with members of the press in the Conference Room of the Ministry for Grand Bahama. He was joined by the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Micheal Darville.

He said that one of the reasons why he wanted to come and speak to the media in Grand Bahama is because during the past week they have had a vigorous debate on the question of immigration in The Bahamas surrounding the court-ordered release of two Cuban nationals “who are still being searched for by the Department of Immigration and in the course of it I made several presentations in the House of Assembly with regards to how Immigration works and what the rules are with regards to Immigration.

“I want to thank the public generally for its broad support of the Immigration Policy and defending the borders. As I said in my statements in the House of Assembly, there is about 99% support across the country for these measures,” he stated.

The Immigration Minister also made it clear that they will continue to try and defend our borders to be sure that only those persons who live here, who have the right to live and work here are actually within the Bahamian borders.

Also he stated that the Immigration Department will seek always to defend the rights of Bahamians and also to enforce the Immigration laws in such a way that it excludes those persons who are a risk to our country either those who came here lawfully or those who come here unlawfully.

The Minister pointed to a number of arrests in Grand Bahama saying this should confirm to the public what has become an increasing pattern of people coming lawfully into The Bahamas, flying up to Grand Bahama or Bimini and then seeking to make their way into the United States.

“This is one of the reasons why the Immigration Policies, as they now are, have been implemented, to become stricter so that we can know who is in The Bahamas, because we have an obligation to the countries who are next to The Bahamas or adjacent to The Bahamas to say who is here because we do not want them to pose a risk to countries that are adjacent to us, so enforcement efforts will continue to that,” he said.

Mr. Mitchell also took issue with a column that appeared in a newspaper Thursday in which an allegation was made that monies, as ‘bribes’ passed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist with a prisoner detained in Haiti: “I want to say in front of The Bahamian public that that is absolutely false. We have no evidence of any such thing and the assertion by Adrian Gibson in The Tribune is irresponsible, it is false and it is misleading.

“It is important for us to defend the integrity of institutions. I did explain, and I explain again that what often happens is that people who find themselves in situations where they are indigent overseas will ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate monies being passed from their families to them.

“That is all we know: I am advised on this matter, money passing hands through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for onward transmission to Port-au-Prince. So there is nothing unusual in the transaction and certainly, I am advised that no one in Ministry of Foreign Affairs was complicit in or knowledgeable of any bribe money being paid to anybody in Haiti. That is a completely irresponsible statement for that individual to make in a daily newspaper,” he stated.

By Simon Lewis

Bahamas Information Services

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

GRAND Bahama police are investigating three separate drowning incidents that occurred in Grand Bahama and Bimini.

According to reports, shortly after 1pm Saturday, police received information that a 53-year-old American male visitor died while diving in the area of Turtle Rock, situated off South Bimini.

The second incident occurred in West Grand Bahama. Shortly after 4pm Saturday, police received information that a 56-year-old man of Eight Mile Rock reportedly drowned while diving in the area of Sweetings Key.

On Friday, a 59-year-old American visitor who arrived in Grand Bahama by cruise ship apparently drowned while diving at Paradise Cove in Deadman’s Reef, police said.

According to reports, the incident occurred shortly after 2pm when a man on a diving expedition was found dead in the water.

EMS personnel was summoned and reported that the diver had died.

Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner said yesterday the Christie administration owes every Bahamian an apology for campaigning against the 2002 constitutional referendum.
"One of the things that I would also challenge is the fact that the Perry Christie led-government of today needs to come out in their own words in the very active way that they fought against the referendum in [2002] and to state emphatically that they made a major error in keeping Bahamian women where we are," said Butler-Turner when called for comment.
"They were the catalyst that caused us now to be looking back 14 years later on a huge mistake that they created.
"They should apologize emphatically because I think all of that plays into the mind-set of the electorate.
"To date, I have not heard them say that they were wrong.
"I think that would go a very long way in settling the minds of people.
"They used it for political expediency and they themselves were very unprogressive, campaigning against this in the first referendum."
Butler-Turner was referring to the failed 2002 constitutional referendum.
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), the then opposition, headed by Christie, voted in support of the bills in the House, then openly campaigned against them.
In that vote, on the question of eliminating gender discriminating language from the constitution, 29,906 people voted "yes" and 58,055 people voted "no".
The government is now revisiting the issue.
Parliamentarians are expected to vote on four constitutional amendment bills on Wednesday. The bills would pave the way for a referendum on gender equality.
The bills have been in committee since 2014.
Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage recently told The Nassau Guardian that the referendum, which has been delayed several times since 2013, will take place before the end of July.
However, some MPs, including St. Anne's MP Hubert Chipman, Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells and Marco City MP Greg Moss, have expressed concerns over question four, which seeks to end discrimination based on sex.
The MPs, and many other Bahamians, fear the bill could lead to same-sex marriage in the country.
The Constitutional Commission had proposed an amendment to the question to include a definition of "sex" as male and female at birth. However, Nottage said last Wednesday that the four bills will not be amended.
Butler-Turner said she finds the argument regarding same-sex marriage and bill number four difficult to wrap her mind around.
"In this day and age, one must realize that everything can be challenged legally," she said.
"The arguments that this will open the door for gay marriages and other alternative lifestyles and what have you, I hold none of those concerns.
"The former chief justice (Sir Michael Barnett) said that at some point the Bahamas judiciary will be challenged, but what will help to substantiate any of those things happening, like same-sex marriage, are the constitutional laws of The Bahamas which clearly define what marriage is and what sex is."
Sir Michael said in 2013 that he had "no doubt" that the courts in The Bahamas will soon have to address the issue of same-sex marriage.
Butler-Turner said, "I find it very difficult that we're not going to move forward together in a unified way. At least, that is how it appears.
"I think we are going to continue to live in very dark and archaic ages where women cannot hold their heads high in terms of who they are and what they are able to bring to the further development of this country."

Dear Editor,

For more than 45 years, the Free National Movement (FNM) has been the party of functional literacy in government. You may disagree philosophically with any given policy advocated by the party, but you always knew that it would be planned in a considered, rational manner, and implemented only after due diligence had been satisfied, accountability ensured and best practices put into place.

From 1992 to 2002, this responsible method was a breath of fresh air in a country that had stagnated terribly under the misconceived, reckless and haphazard approach to governance adopted by the Pindling-led administration, which gave rise to many negative unintended consequences that we still struggle with today. This is the whole point of intelligent, considered and responsible government: to minimize the possibility of unforeseen results from policies, which, though they may be well intended, end up doing far more harm than good to the body politic.

Enter current FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis and his plan for tax-free zones Over the Hill as publicly pronounced by him in various media. As a sound byte, this plan is great. Take one nanosecond to look below the surface, however, and you will see that it has no basis in objective reality whatsoever.

The plan, to the extent you can penetrate its diaphanous contours, is nothing more than a series of ill-thought-out fiscal maneuvers with little, if any, reflection given to the larger scale implications for the renewal of this historic section of the City of Nassau – no provision for urban planning; no provision for the restoration and designation of historic buildings and monuments; and, no thought given to any public/private sector partnership vehicle which might drive revitalization of the inner city.

What Minnis has done in this instance – indeed, what he always seems to do – is “dumb down” the once rational and mature approach of the FNM, indulging in all sorts of delusions and fantasies that are designed to push the buttons of the masses for political ends. In some other quarters it might be referred to as a confidence trick.

Indeed, you would have to believe in magic to accept that things will go as Minnis predicts. His plan is nothing more than political slight-of-hand, public relations sorcery and economic voodoo. Not only will it fail to meet the stated aim of empowering the less fortunate, it could lead to all sorts of trouble for our already ailing national economy to boot.

Firstly, the vast majority of people who live in these depressed areas are by definition struggling financially. Many are unemployed and some are totally destitute. Does Minnis really expect these individuals to somehow find the funds to take advantage of duty-free building materials? I can hear the echoes in the streets as mom and pop forgo food and utilities to stockpile paint, lumber, PVC pipe and windows.

When every day is a struggle to make ends meet, put food on the table, turn utilities on, find clothes to wear, as I say, housing repairs are so far out of your reach that duty exemptions mean nothing. To believe otherwise is to reveal a level of misconception about the reality of Over the Hill that is truly shocking and more than a bit frightening in an aspiring national leader. Indeed for me to trace a picture for your readers of what urban life is like in this setting I draw upon my frequent trips through this section of the City of Nassau which continue to this day.

In doing this I am struck by the fact there are still many streets, such as Hospital Lane, which stand as vestigial reminders of a tight-knit and flourishing community which no doubt existed 60, 70 years ago.

Of course the ravages of time, the neglect of successive governments, the scourge of drugs, the exodus of Bahamians to the suburbs around the island and the incursion of huge numbers of immigrants from Haiti, Jamaica and elsewhere have conspired to change the socio-economic mosaic of this area.

The well-kept streets with the busy corner stores are now the exception in an unrelenting morass of decay, poverty, drugs and social dislocation of one form or another. So, editor, will throwing out a few tax exemptions like a prescription cure this ailment ?

No, the struggling day laborers of Bain Town, Grants Town, Englerston, Farm Road, will not suddenly and miraculously transform into captains of industry, regardless of what magical incantation Minnis intends to chant over their heads. I am afraid that there is no Obeah you can work, no voodoo witchcraft you can practice to turn these dystopian streets into a kind of Pleasantville.

What will happen is that others with greater means and no scruples to speak of will thank Minnis for creating a “fiscal black hole” in the heart of New Providence and countless new opportunities for “enterprising businessmen” to cheat and swindle the public.

Still own your grandma’s house on Hay Street? Well, why not take advantage of The Minnis Square Deal to import your duty-free supplies, using them to build your new home in Lyford Cay? Why not use this new advantage and start a black market business providing construction materials at a sweet price to shady contractors? Everybody wins, right? Except of course for the Public Treasury, which will be robbed of millions of tax dollars annually.

Considering the challenges facing anyone seeking to identify clear land title in The Bahamas, and in particular in the inner city, how does Minnis plan to stop those with dubious or totally fictional ownership claims from taking advantage of his deal? How will the rightful owners be able to prove they should qualify for the exemptions?

What about the slumlords of these neighborhoods, who for years have swindled illegal immigrants and their fellow Bahamians alike, charging money for substandard, unsanitary and downright dangerous accommodations? They will win big, as their land will suddenly become extremely valuable in the eyes of developers keen to take advantage of Minnis’ lotto.

Perhaps the worst probable outcome of his harebrained scheme will be the gentrification of portions of Over the Hill. The rest of the world has long known that social “improvement” of this kind never works to the benefit of those who live in lower-income neighborhoods.

As property values and rents begin to rise, members of the community and small family owned businesses would be displaced to make way for waves of middle-class residential units, high-end shops, designer boutiques, trendy restaurants and chic nightclubs. Crack houses will give way to a Starbucks or two. At the very least you will see the westward expansion of the Palmdale and Centreville shopping complexes and the inevitable, if not ubiquitous, explosion of Chinese food stores and restaurants.

Those who live in these communities today will soon find themselves too poor to live there, too broke to shop there, not skilled enough to work there. Is this how Minnis believes he will empower struggling families – by forcing them out of their neighborhoods and into the street?

An analogous case in point, though probably not to the extreme length I foreshadow here, and close to home, is Harbour Island, the playground of the rich and famous where the homes and properties of many Bahamians have been bought up cheaply to accommodate the expansion needs of this resort island. The result has been displacement and relocation of numerous Brilanders to the mainland of Eleuthera and elsewhere in The Bahamas at great inconvenience and expense. A corollary to this is that any enterprising Brilander looking for commercial or beachfront real estate in Harbour Island will find those opportunities in theory only.

There is no question that as a country we need to address the realities of the inner city. But pulling politically beneficial white rabbits out of hats can never be the answer. That is the approach of the other side. Indeed, before approaching the issue of renewal of the inner city we need a demographic study to determine the population component of this area as there has been a significant shift of Bahamians to the suburbs, leaving the inner city largely populated by émigré Haitian and Jamaican nationals.

The proper way, the FNM way, is to carefully consider all the options including cutting-edge approaches developed abroad; prudently and realistically weigh up the pros and cons of each prospective approach; and, engage in stakeholder and public consultation before settling on a plan. Surely the key must be thoughtful redevelopment, not naked commercialization.

We need a plan. Right now all we have is a sound byte, or an idea to be charitable to Minnis. An idea without a plan is a hallucination. Minnis needs to add several valances to make it a plan, specifically a structure and a vision to become meaningful. Such a plan has to be integrated with a lateral approach on crime reduction, education and training, a regulatory matrix for an incentives regime and greater transparency in our investments milieu.

When Minnis speaks as leader he speaks for the FNM. I am an FNM. I consider the plan as conceived (and I add that there is precious little written material to promote it ) as dangerous sophistry. I am not a racist and anyone who knows my historical antecedents in Exuma would know that to be the case. However, if we are to promote these ideas we cannot be seen to prey on the emotions of the vulnerable and the disadvantaged. This is my whole point, editor. So to be as plain as I can be so that there is no misunderstanding on this critical issue, I am not against renewal of the inner city: I am against sham programs.As an FNM I believe we have to keep it real.

-Michael Scott