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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. 31 - NO. 23 75 CENTSTHURSDAY - JANUARY 31ST, 2019

Taxi DriversStrikeSit Outside Parliament

embers of TheBahamas TaxiCab Union arein full strike

mode in the face of whatthey say is a completedisregard and disrespectfrom the government.Yesterday, bleachers in

Rawson Square weretaken over by 150 taxidrivers, who were eagerlyawaited an impromptumeeting the PrimeMinister following failedattempts to speak withgovernment officials overa number of longstandingissues. Speaking for the

group, Union president

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

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DPM: Rolle’s “InheritanceC L A I M S U N T R U E ”Deputy Prime Ministerand Minister of Finance,Peter Turnquest has put torest renewed claims of thegovernment’s alleged roleand knowledge of a pur-ported inheritance of upto $79 billion to DerekRolle.As the decades old

story goes, Rolle – nowdeceased – inherited afortune from a deceasedAmerican couple.However, it was

BY JAMEELHA MISSICKJournal Staff Writer

4 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance,Peter Turnquest (File photo)

D N A : O U T L I N E SCORRUPTION IN GOV’T

The Democratic NationalAlliance’s (DNA)Spokesperson for GoodGovernance GeoffreyDeleveaux yesterday out-

lined a number of per-ceived corrupt practicesin the MinnisAdministration. Thiscomes off the heels ofT r a n s p a r e n c y

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

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BAHAMAS STAGNATED BY CORRUPTIONThe Bahamas dropped inrank in TransparencyInternational’s Corruption

Perception Index this pastMonday after droppingby one in the ranking. This list of 179 coun-

tries placed the countrythis time at 29.

Executive Director ofthe Organization forResponsible Governance(ORG), Matt Albury, saidthat The Bahamas basi-cally has the same score

as it did last year; howev-er other countries havechanged positions.“What The Bahamas

falls into is this categoryof countries that are really

stagnating on issue if cor-ruption.”, he said. He added, “and in the

scope of things, you can

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

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PM LEADS LOAN DEBATE IN HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

4 Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis led debate on two resolutions during the afternoon sitting ofThe House of Assembly on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. One Resolution is for loan of $30 million from theInter-American Development Bank for the purpose of financing the government's Digital Transformation to

strengthen the country's competitiveness in a global economy. The other Resolution is for a standby Loan Facilityfrom the Inter-American Development Bank in the amount of $100 million to alleviate the impact a severe or cata-

strophic natural disaster could have on the country's finances. (BIS Photo/Yontalay Bowe)

Cooper SlamsGov’t BorrowingThe Opposition is not insupport of resolutionsdebated in the House ofAssembly yesterday inrelation to the governmentacquiring more loansfrom the InterAmericanDevelopment Bank(IDB).Progressive Liberal

Party (PLP) DeputyLeader, Chester Cooper,said while the PLP sup-ports digital reform anddisaster mitigation, it sim-ply cannot support theresolution since there hasbeen nothing to justify theborrowing.“As to what’s been

done with all the fundsalready borrowed by thisgovernment, this govern-ment has said over

`and repeatedly that we siton a fiscal cliff, you saidthe cupboard is bare, yousaid the PLP has bor-rowed too much, and nowthis, we will not supportit,” he said.“The reality on the

BY JAMEELHA MISSICKJournal Staff Writer

4 (PLP) Deputy Leader,Chester Cooper

(File photo)

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Two trade disputes havebeen filed on behalf ofthe teachers at C VBethel Senior HighSchool, President of TheBahamas Union ofTeachers, Belinda Wilsonconfirmed yesterday.Through a lengthy

whatsapp message, Mrs.Wilson responded toEducation MinisterJefferey Lloyds com-ments to reporters, onTuesday, regardingteachers who sat out ofthe classroom followingan alleged attack on ateacher by two male stu-dents.Mr. Lloyd told

reporters outside ofCabinet that the decisionteachers took was “ille-gal and contrary to theindustrial agreement”.

However, Mrs. Wilsonsaid in her statement thatshe took grave exceptionto the Minister’s asser-tions. “The teachers at C. V.

Bethel yesterday were inmeetings with the princi-pal and district superin-tendent going throughthe draft health, safetyand discipline plan thatthe teachers spent anenormous amount of timeputting together. “I take grave excep-

tion when the Minister ofEducation is givingincorrect information,”Mrs. Wilson said. She also sought to

clarify that the teachers,who were traumatized bythe incident. We’reworking along with theadministration at theschool to put a plan ofaction in place. “The teachers devised

a plan as per our collec-tive bargaining agree-ment and they haveagreed to work alongwith administration forthe plan to be successful. “Some aspects of the

plan will ensure thatrules regulations andpolicies are adhered to bythe students. Teachersare rostered themselvesin strategic places on thecampus,” Mrs. Wilsonsaid. She chided the

Minister, suggesting thatmore suitable administra-tors be placed in posi-tions, as she stated mat-ters school related can beresolved at a better pacethan they currently are. “In fact, I implore the

Minister of Education tocause his administratorsto be truly evaluated totest their suitability forthese positions.

“So many of the mat-ters can be resolved in amore timely manner ifthey would focus onoperating their schoolsefficiently and ceasefrom trying to preventthe Bahamas Union ofTeachers from represent-ing our members,” Mrs.Wilson said. In the House of

Assembly yesterday, Mr.Lloyd reiterated his sen-timent of the illegality of

the teachers to stay out ofthe classroom in theensuing days after thealtercation. “It is important to

note, the school systemin The Bahamas is a safeplace for learning andteaching. “Notwithstanding this

assurance, the ministrycontinues to review, eval-uate and adjust wherenecessary to the evolvingconsideration regarding

safety and welfare.“Mr. Speaker, this

House is informed ofthe relationship betweenthe ministry and itsteachers, governed by the2015 IndustrialAgreement which is stillin force, states theprocess by which griev-ances should be handled. “This labour with-

drawal did not observethat process,” Mr. Lloydsaid.

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Thursday - January 31st, 2019

MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY

The Bahamian Government in collaboration with the United StatesEmbassy (Nassau) invites all qualified persons who are interested inapplying for a four-year degree scholarship at the United States

Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, United States, to submit theirapplications to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Headquarters,

Coral Harbour Base by 31st January, 2019.

To qualify, applicants must:

Be a Bahamian citizen•Be between the ages of 17-22 years old•Be unmarried and with no dependents•Be willing to serve in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for a•minimum of five years on completion.Must be physically fit•Must be able to swim•Have SAT scores of 600 in both Math and English (or ACT •minimum o 26 in Mathematics and 27 in English).•Have a high school diploma•Possess excellent English skills•

Bachelor’s Degree Programs are offered in:

Civil Engineering•Cyber Systems•Electrical Engineering•Naval Architecture•Operations Research•Marine and Environmental Sciences•Government•Mechanical Engineering•Management•

Deadline for submission of application is 31st January, 2019.

Deadline for registration for SAT examination is 8th February, 2019foe the 9th March, 2019 test date (results from March test are onlyaccepted if results from previous test are received by 1st March,

2019).

Students may register at:https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/international

The USCGA code number for the SAT exam is 5807.

Deadline for ACT registration is 11th January, 2019 for 8th February,2019 test date.

Students can register at https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act-non-us.html

The USCGA code number for the ACT exam is 0600.

Applicants can make application to sit the SAT/ACT at local SATCenters in New Providence as follows: Aquinas College, St.Andrew’s School, St. Anne’s School, The University of TheBahamas, Government High School and Queen’s College.

For further information, please contact the Royal Bahamas DefenceForce Human Resource Officer, Lieutenant Commander MichaelHanna at telephone 362-3705 or 362-3711 or via email at

michaelhanna@rbdf.gov.bs or visit the website www.rbdf.gov.bs

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG)ACADEMY 4 YEAR MILITARY DEGREE

PROGRAM

Trade Disputes Filed ForC.V. Bethel Teachers

Cooper Slams Gov’t Borrowingground is that people arehurting, they do notbelieve that their life isany better off now than itwas in 2017, they don’tbelieve that this economyis working for them, theysee all this borrowing andthey don’t see how it ben-efits them,” he added. Mr. Cooper said it is

concerning that the fundsmay not be used to financeexpenses associated with

permanent reconstructionof infrastructure, consid-ering past experiences.He added that the PLP

does not believe that themechanisms beingdeployed are the rightapproach of disaster miti-gation.“Therefore we believe

that it is a risky proposi-tion for this government tocontinue to borrow morein US dollars, that has tobe supported by thereserves of our country,

when there is high liquidi-ty in the domestic sectorand the commitmentsassociated with these risksare in B dollars,” he said. “Again Mr. Speaker, I

find much of what weheard today, the continuedborrowing as hypocriticalas they come.”The PLP Deputy said

the government could usethe same energy spentborrowing from the IDB,to improve the country’seconomic state.

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A3The Bahama Journal

Thursday - January 31st, 2019NationalNEWS

West Bay Street between Blake Road and Tropical GardensRoad will be closed to traffic on Thursday, January 24th2019 between the hours of 9:30am and 8:00pm. The

motoring public is asked to adhere to all posted diversionroutes. Provisions will be made to accommodate all necessary local traffic during the duration of the work.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused to the publicduring this period. For further information or assistance

please contact any of the following:

Bill Simmons Construction & Heavy Equipment Co. Ltd -Tel. 323-7920

Ministry of Public Works - Tel. 322-4830/1 or Email - publicworks@bahamas.gov.bs

Water & Sewerage Corporation - Tel. 302-5599 or Visit our Website - www.wsc.com.bs

West Bay Street Road Rehabilitation Project

Important Notice

Traffic Diversion

TaxiDriversStrike

Wesley Ferguson saidgovernment after govern-ment promised taxi driv-ers the world, but that inthe end, they’ve gottennothing.“Every taxi stand and

every taxi driver is suffer-ing under the under theheavy hands of every enti-ty in The Bahamas, every-one has the upper hand ontaxi drivers. “They have pushed the

taxi drivers to being thelowest of the lowest.“Taxi drivers have been

disrespected, they havebeen marginalized, theyhave been minimized andevery negative connota-tion that you can thinkabout. “Taxi drivers have suf-

fered over the last 61years and we were quiet,we sat down and we tookit,” said Mr. Ferguson. The main bone of con-

tention for the 1,135strong Taxi Cab Union istour companies stationedat the Lynden PindlingInternational Airport.“Some Minister decid-

ed that they are going toallow SUV’s or deliverycars to operate like taxis,well taxis are governed bya specific law, our lawsare in the books.” “If this government

decides that they aregoing to abide by the lawand want the taxi driversto abide by the law, thenthe government is alsoresponsible to uphold thelaw and to also abide byit.“Delivery cars are nowoperating from the airporton a caller system whichis totally illegal.“The letter of the law

says that they must oper-ate from a place of busi-ness, pre-arrangement, aletter or by telephone, nothustling for taxi workhead up,” the union presi-dent said. The union is also

decrying working condi-tions down at Baha Marwhere Mr. Ferguson saidtaxi drivers are forced towork in unhealthy work-ing conditions.He further opined that

there is the added claimthat taxi drivers are posi-

tioned far from theresort’s entrance with nomeans of communication.When it comes to the

Prince George Wharf, Mr.Ferguson said the area isa prison.“You have Dell securi-

ties that put taxi driversoff the dock for askingthe tourists if they want ataxi. They put taxi driversoff for as much as threemonths at the dock imme-diately.“The law says that the

only entity that is respon-sible for the disciplinarymeasures of taxi drivers isthe Road TrafficDepartment; that isgazette.“So there is no way theMinistry of Tourism coldcontrive their own tribu-nal and put taxi drivers offthe dock in a minute. “No recourse, no fair

trial, no representationand 100 per cent of thetime the taxi driver isguilty,” he said. The union said mem-

bers plan is to sit outsidethe House of Assemblyuntil the Prime Ministermeets with them.

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A4 The Bahama Journal

Thursday - January 31st, 2019 NationalNEWS

DPM: Rolle’s “Inheritancealleged that his effortsto obtain the inheritancewere thwarted by thegovernment, who alongwith so- called unscrupu-lous bankers – had con-spired to hide and stealthe money.Then there was the

claim that the Minnisadministration rushed thedormant accounts billthrough Parliament toabscond with the multi-billion-dollar inheritance.Mr. Turnquest told

members of the House ofAssembly yesterday inan official communica-tion that “neither theMinistry of Finance northe Central Bank – norany other governmententity - were or are awareof this alleged inheri-

tance that was supposed-ly left to Mr. DerekRolle. “Further, and it would

follow from this, neitherthe Central Bank nor anyother public entity hashad or does have knowl-edge or possession ofany funds related to thisalleged inheritance,” headded. “Neither the Ministry

of Finance, the CentralBank, the AttorneyGeneral, the Ministry ofNational Security norany other relevantagency have beenapproached by anydomestic or internationalentity on any matterrelated to the investiga-tion of this issue.“Further, the govern-

ment is not aware of anylegal action that has been

commenced in TheBahamas or any otherjurisdiction in respect towhat is alleged to be thelargest theft of moniesever recorded,” the min-ister said.“One would certainly

believe that there is morethan sufficient incentivefor this matter to havebeen advanced over thelast twenty years.”“There would be liter-

ally thousands of lawyersfrom across the worldwho would fly to theBahamas – or the rele-vant jurisdiction – todayto commence action if$79 billion was on theline.”According to Minister

Turnquest, as far as thegovernment’s concerned,the story’s completelyuntrue.

BAHAMAS STAGNATED BY CORRUPTIONusually say ‘Well, that’snot that much of a con-cern’.”“What me must know,

if you talk to the averageBahamian on the streets,they all understand thatcorruption is an integratedpart of our culture, and wewould all agree that politi-cians, elected officials,and government leaderswho take advantage oftheir opportunity to bene-fit themselves , is some-thing we would all want tostand against.”, he said. Mr. Albury noted that

corruption has a very longcontinuum that comesback to the everyday citi-zen and their comfort in

dealing with governmentswhere its okay to paysomeone to move forwardin a government line, hideitems in luggage to avoidpaying customs duty, andexpect to be hired basedon a family name ratherthan skill. “That support of a cul-

ture of corruption, which Ithink is what we recognizeas a day to day part of TheBahamas, is in line withwhat happens at the top.”,he said.“We see a number of

things that have been doneby the current governmentand by other groups inthese last couple of years.You would see that thegovernment did move for-ward and tabled an

Integrity CommissionsBill. One that would setup an independent entitythat could receive andprosecute instances ofcorruption, and this isclearly a global stan-dard.”, he added.However, this bill has

been tabled and has notbeen moved in over ayear. He also noted that there

was an independentdeputy of public prosecu-tions that was put for-ward, adding that this is agood indicator that thereis discussion on procure-ment processes. “Those are all good

indicators that do reflectthat corruption is some-thing we need to address,

but its not being done incomprehensive way bythe government.”, he said.Last year, results of a

nationwide poll by marketand opinion research firmPublic Domain showedthat 54 percent of respon-dents believed the level ofcorruption increased inthe country betweenOctober 2016 andOctober 2017.In a press release,

Managing Director ofT r a n s p a r e n c yInternational PatriciaMoreira said, “Withmany democratic institu-tions under threat acrossthe globe – often by lead-ers with authoritarian orpopulist tendencies – weneed to do more to

strengthen checks andbalances and protect citi-zens’ rights.”“Corruption chips

away at democracy toproduce a vicious cycle,where corruption under-mines democratic institu-tions and, in turn, weakinstitutions are less ableto control corruption.”,she added.T r a n s p a r e n c y

International called on allgovernments to imple-ment four main steps “tomake real progressagainst corruption andstrengthen democracyaround the world”.These steps include

strengthening institutionsresponsible for maintain-ing checks and balances

over political power andensuring their ability tooperate without intimida-tion. The next is to close the

implementation gapbetween anti-corruptionlegislation, practice andenforcement.The third was to sup-

port civil society organi-zations which enhancepolitical engagement andpublic oversight overgovernment spending,particularly at the locallevel. The final step is to

support a free and inde-pendent media andensure the safety of jour-nalists and their ability towork without intimida-tion or harassment.

DNA: OUTLINESCORRUPTIONI N G O V ’ T

I n t e r n a t i o n a l ’ sCorruptions PerceptionsIndex (CPI) released ear-lier this week. Mr. Deleveaux said

that the recent rankingshows a lack of true com-mitment by the govern-ment to transparent andaccountable governance. He said, “even though

the current administra-tion had campaigned ontransparency andaccountability in gover-nance on the 2017 cam-paign trail, their gover-nance to date has beenmarred by scandals, con-flicts of interest and inac-tion; proving that theyare no different fromtheir predecessors in gov-ernment.”He added, “Bahamians

will recall the tragic caseof the OBAN deal andthe Prime Minister’sacknowledgement ofineptitude and fraud aswell as the subsequentadmission by theMinister of Education

that the governmentbreached the law in thehandling of the matter.”He also noted that the

Minister of Health alsopublicly acknowledgedapproving a contractwithout the requisiteCabinet approval whiletwo senior CabinetMinisters were alsoimplicated in mattersbefore the court. The conflict of interest

and lack of transparencythat plagued the reloca-tion of the main PostOffice, he said, remainsfresh in the minds of theBahamian people. “We are still awaiting

the probe into the BPLordeal as promised by thePrime Minister and whenone considers the ineffec-tiveness and political sti-fling of the PublicAccounts Committee ofthe Parliament as a checkand balance to govern-ment spending, TheBahamas’ ranking on theCPI comes as no sur-prise.”, he said. He added that the gov-

ernment should be awarethat its actions are beingmonitored by bothdomestic and internation-al observers.He said that the DNA

party implores the gov-ernment to fulfil theircampaign promise ofgood governance, trans-parency and accountabil-ity.“They should go

beyond the political rhet-oric and wage war oncorruption and the per-ception of corruption inour nation. On behalf ofthe Bahamian people, wedemand the full imple-mentation of theFreedom of InformationAct and the IntegrityCommission Act.”, hesaid. “We encourage the

government to fullyembrace the DNA’s plat-form for good gover-nance by enacting andenforcing Whistle-blow-er and Campaign Financelegislation among otherswithout delay.”, headded.

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A5The Bahama Journal

Thursday - January 31st, 2019EditorialNEWS

E D I T O R I A L

The Bahama Journal Is An Independent Newspaper - Published Week Days By The Communicators & Associates In Affiliation With Jones Communications Ltd.

University Drive - P.O. Box N-8610Telephone: 242-325-3082 - Fax: 242-356-7256

Kimaley P. JonesVice President/Operations

Wendall K. Jones Publisher/Chief Executive Officer

GOV’T UNACCOUNTABLEThe Bahamian people are still await-ing a full explanation from the Minnisadministration on why the governmentof the Bahamas fell out of step with theCaribbean Community (CARICOM)and decided to interfere in the internalpolitical affairs of Venezuela.Since the achievement of independ-

ence in 1973, non-interference hasbeen the policy of successive govern-ments of the Bahamas.While the Bahamas has a small pop-

ulation of some 400-thousand people, itis important that our people understandwhat their government is about in inter-national affairs. As a full member ofCARICOM, our voice must not only beheard, but we must maintain a highlevel of solidarity and integrity withnations of the region on matters ofmutual interest.We cannot be seen to be following

the crowd in the developed countries,but must maintain a consistent policy.Even in the Pindling era, the Bahamasdid not support the invasion of Grenadaby the U.S government when Cubanswere engaged in the construction of anairport in that country. When crises developed in Nicaragua,

Panama, El Salvador, Chile and othercountries in South America in the lastthree decades, the non-interferencestance of the Bahamas remained stead-fast.When the vote was taken in the

Organization of American States (OAS)the Bahamas should have abstained. What we should have done was to

reiterate the position of the Bahamaswhich is: when it comes to matters offoreign policy, we will not interfere norwill we intervene with what is going onin sovereign states. At the end of theday, the Venezuelan people will decide.Caribbean leaders are slamming the

Trump administration for interfering inVenezuela, with the prime minister ofSt. Vincent and the Grenadines accus-ing the U.S. of “carrying out a coup d’etat,” and Antigua and Barbuda label-ing the U.S. recognition of oppositionleader Juan Guaidó as president overNicolás Maduro “a brazen regimechange.”“The majority of countries that are in

Caricom do not accept Juan Guaidó asthe interim president,” Antigua PrimeMinister Gaston Browne told the mediathis week, referring to the 15-memberCaribbean Community. “In fact, webelieve that it is an extremely danger-ous precedent ... which has absolutelyno basis in law, it has no constitutionalbacking, it has no support of interna-tional law, and it’s really an affront todemocracy within the hemisphere.”Browne’s strong stance, along with

that of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalvesof St. Vincent and the Grenadines,comes as Venezuela’s political turmoildeepens and the feud between Maduroand U.S. President Donald Trumpforces countries in and out of the hemi-sphere to take sides. The U.S this week ordered all non-

emergency U.S. diplomats in Venezuelato leave. As word began arriving inCaracas, Caricom leaders met in anemergency video-conference call tohash out a statement condemning therecent developments. Among the coun-tries absent from the call: Haiti, whichthat same day recognized Juan Guaidóas the legitimate president of Venezuela

in an Organization of American Statesdeclaration.Amid anti-Maduro protests, 35-year-

old leader of the opposition and head ofthe National Assembly, Juan Guaidodeclared himself acting president in amove welcomed by huge crowds ofprotesters and several world leaders,including the United States. The development came a week after

Maduro was sworn in for a second termin office, following disputed electionsthat were widely regarded by some inthe international community as a shampoll. Following an emergency meeting via

video-conference yesterday evening,under the chairmanship of St Kitts andNevis’ Prime Minister Dr TimothyHarris, CARICOM Heads called for apeaceful resolution to the “unsatisfacto-ry situation” in neighbouringVenezuela. While the leaders reaffirmed their

guiding principles of non-interferenceand non-intervention in the affairs ofstates, respect for sovereignty, adher-ence to the rule of law, and respect forhuman rights and democracy, they reit-erated “the long-standing political cri-sis, which has been exacerbated byrecent events, can only be resolvedpeacefully through meaningful dia-logue and diplomacy.” As such, PrimeMinister Harris, in his capacity asChairman of CARICOM, sought anurgent meeting with the United Nations(UN) Secretary-General AntónioGuterres to request the UN’s assistancein resolving the issue. “Venezuela, of course, is part of the

Caribbean region and any adversedevelopment there would have seriousramifications for the peace and orderlydevelopment of Member States withinthe region. So we will continue to holda watching brief and constructivelyengage with the principal actors inVenezuela and the actors everywhere toensure that we preserve the region as azone of peace,” he said. In an official statement issued imme-

diately after the meeting, CARICOMHeads emphasized the importance ofmaintaining the Caribbean as a Zone ofPeace, citing Article 2 (4) of the UNCharter which calls for Members Statesto refrain from the threat or the use offorce and Article 21 of the Charter ofthe Organization of American Stateswhich refers to territorial inviolability.In this regard, the Caribbean leaders

are also calling on external forces torefrain from doing anything to destabi-lize the situation and called on allactors, internal and external, “to avoidactions which would escalate analready explosive situation to the detri-ment of the people of the BolivarianRepublic of Venezuela and which couldhave far-reaching negative conse-quences for the wider region.” Following Guaido’s declaration that

he was Venezuela’s interim leader andthe support he received from the US,Canada, and some Latin American andEuropean countries, Maduro remainedresolute and ordered US diplomats outof the country within 72 hours. He subsequently recalled

Venezuela’s diplomats fromWashington, but the US is adamant itsdiplomats in Caracas will stay. Madurohas so far received the backing ofRussia, Cuba and China.

Understanding thePolice Culture

In the discussions of the recent policeshootings in the Bahamas, we assume thatpolice are there to protect and serve thepopulation. After all, it says that right onthe patrol car doors. We believe if there istrust and respect between police and thecommunity then many of the problems ofcrime and incivility would be resolved.According to police statistics there wereeight fatal police-involved shootings in2018. The newspapers, who keep track ofthese things place it at eleven.

So, there is controversy evenabout how many Bahamians have died inconfrontations with police. The citizensare left to figure out what is going on. Whyare so many young men (exclusively)dying in shootouts with police; shootoutsthat they invariably lose? What is it inpolice culture which impels police toresort to the use of deadly force seeming-ly, for disputed reasons? Despite the pub-lic outcry over these shootings and, theobvious glee of some persons, who believethat criminals, real and alleged got whatthey deserved, the violence persists. Butwhat is happening on our streets does notcome as a surprise to students of policingand its history. Citizens are taught from anearly age that police are their friends; theirprotectors and, that unless you are a crim-inal there is nothing to fear from them.

This view of course is a naiveone; naïve because It displays a fundamen-tal misunderstanding of why there ispolice in the first place. As Mitraniexplains: “This way of viewing the prob-lem rests on a misunderstanding of the ori-gins of the police and what they were cre-ated to do. The police were not created toprotect and serve the population. Theywere not created to stop crime, at least notas most people understand it. And theywere certainly not created to promote jus-tice. They were created to protect the newform of wage-labour capitalism thatemerged in the mid- to late-19th centuryfrom the threat posed by that system’s off-spring, the working class”.

Unsurprisingly, police are associ-ated with law, order, discipline and serviceto the community.: the Bahamian publicwould beg to differ. Rather, what we areseeing is incivility, thuggery, questionableand sometimes outright criminal behav-iours with little recourse to aggrieved per-sons. Everything has a beginning so, letstrace the lineage of the force and try to fig-ure what’s going on and why. To do thiswe will quote from the History of theRoyal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Itstates: “Prior to the abolition of slavery in1834 there was a system of night patrols inNew Providence called the Night Guard.The men forming this were not constablesbut were also supervised by the localMagistrate. Their duties were primarily toprotect the homes and businesses of thefree population at night. In addition, theWest India Regiment was stationed inNassau to take care of any serious breachof peace throughout The Bahamas. Thesemen were trained soldiers recruited fromdifferent ethnic groups in Africa and TheCaribbean. They lived in Barracks in iso-lation from the populations to ensure theirloyalty in the event of local slave upris-ing. In addition, their duties also includedthe protection of the Islands from ForeignInvaders. At that time, the barracks wassituated on the site where the HiltonBritish Colonial Hotel now stands.”Mitrani posits: “The new institution wasnot a response to an increase in crime, andit really didn’t lead to new methods fordealing with crime. The most commonway for authorities to solve a crime, beforeand since the invention of police, has beenfor someone to tell them who did it.Besides, crime has to do with the acts ofindividuals, and the ruling elites whoinvented the police were responding tochallenges posed by collective action”.Therefore, until the mid-sixties, most sen-ior officers on the RBPF were English.

Most of the other ranks hailedfrom various Caribbean countries. I onceinterviewed a Caribbean national who wasrecruited to serve here. He recalled theracism towards all black Bahamiansincluding black police; and recounted howhe and his wife were made to sleep on theopen deck of a mailboat transporting himto his family island post. He revealed that90% of his training was dedicated to footdrill and musketry. No training was done

to make police servants of the people.Indeed, police were trained to patrol withtheir hands clasped behind their backs asthis imperious stance (his words) wasintended to convey the power of police.The clasped hands also served anotherpurpose designed to reinforce control ofthe masses. In low light, the reflection castby the shiny tunic buttons formed the signof the cross to anyone coming towards apatrolling policeman at night. Indeed,these officers lived in isolation from thenatives they sought to control and, in theprocess, built the policing culture we seetoday.

In this environment, police con-sidered themselves different from the pop-ulation and by using uniforms, drill, andprocedures known only to them they fur-ther enhanced this elite, isolationist narra-tive. They also established a unique espritde corps, the “thin blue line” and sawthemselves as the only institution whocould control criminals and thus save soci-ety. Early police also increasingly sawthemselves as a paramilitary institutionand began to adopt a more militaristic andbrusquer attitude towards the native popu-lation. This was inevitable; after all, thefirst commandant of the RBPF was a for-mer British Royal Marine, hence, the redtrouser stripes which are worn with prideeven today. Nowadays, very little haschanged. To be sure, some attempts havebeen made to make police more approach-able. But, the litany of citizens’ complaintsof abuse by some police continues unabat-ed. Even when these incidents are video-taped and go viral very little appears to bedone; and the assaults and misconductgoes on. The police culture is reinforcedand revigorated by the practice of policealmost always hanging out with current orformer police officers, an environmentwhere they feel less threatened. If policeexpect to get actionable intelligence froman aggrieved population, good luck withthat. So, they are left to rely on snitchesand confidential informants whose evi-dence is regularly rejected by the courts.

We are where we are today inpolice citizens relations because of apolicing culture which still believes thatits mission is control of the underclasses.Ironically, long after that reason has fadedinto obscurity. Add to this, a growingresentment of police in all forms; an edu-cated population who knows its rights;plus, criminals who have no qualms aboutengaging police in gun battles and, thestress level for police increases exponen-tially. Police involved shootings, however,is the manifestation of another, deeplyrooted, more dangerous problem. Onewhich I believe is ignored because the“macho” culture of the police forbids it.Specifically, police are stressed; stressedbeyond what it is reasonable to expect anyhuman being to endure for long periods oftime, even in war zones. We know fromthe research that; unalleviated stress isdangerous. A recent report from SaintLucia bears this out. Saint Lucians haveexperienced 125 murders from 2015 todate including two thus far in 2019.According to the report Saint Lucians are“traumatised” and fearful. Admittedly,Saint Lucia’s population is smaller thanthat of the Bahamas, (178, 000 in 2017).But the murder rate which has traumatisedthat nation is not by any measure compa-rable to horrendous murder rate of theBahamas.

Imagine then, the effect of themany years of murders on the mentalhealth of Bahamians especially our lawenforcement. The recent alliterations ofthe Commissioner of Police to “war andcasualties of war” therefore must be giventhe attention it deserves. Are police on awar footing and therefore we can expectmore police involved shootings? or, arethey waging a war against criminals but,will treat honest law-abiding Bahamianswith respect and civility? we don’t know.What we do know by observing the deteri-oration in the lives and unusual behaviourof our friends, sons and daughters who arepolice is that the stress of their jobs isunrelenting and can be destructive. Noamount of training has prepared them forthe policing problems they now face.According to Ellison: “Stress reactionsand burnout also are seen more frequently

“We shouldn’t expect the police to be something they’re not. As his-torians, we ought to know that origins matter, and the police were

created by the ruling class to control working class and poor people,not help them. They’ve continued to play that role ever since.”

-- Sam Mitrani, December 29th, 2014

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A6 The Bahama Journal

Thursday - January 31st, 2019 NationalNEWS

UWI Medical Students Pay CourtesyCALL ON THE PRIME MINISTER

4 University of the West Indies medical students shared a light moment with Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis in a courtesy call on January 30, 2019at Office of the Prime Minister. Pictured with the Prime Minister are Shanel Adderley, Paige Ambrister, Montez Armbrister, Athena Bain, Philan Bethel, Carlesha Blades,Shaundra Blyden, Ashley Burrows, Jenna Butler, Lonelle Butler, Dae-via Carey, Jacintha Clarke, Nariska Cooper, Cristy Creighton, Simone Dames, Gary Deal-Laroda,Rashanda Deveaux, Kezia Dillett, Tai Dorsett, Dominic Duncombe, Celeste Gray, Nicolette Greenslade, Andrille Hillhouse, Chana Imlach, Yasmine Ingraham, Colton

Jones, Tonya Lewis, Tia Mackey, Gabrielle McKinney, Cito Moore, Ariana Neely, Randia Oliver, Kezia Rolle, Jay Sargent, Vestra Sears, Avoni Seymour, Shannon Smith,Destiny Stuart, Rasheika Swain, Juanteria Symonette, and Neko Turner. (BIS Photos/Yontalay Bowe)

Rice seafood salad and coconut croquem-bouche winning dishes in Senior HighS c h o o l Y o u n g C h e f C o m p e t i t i o nAt the onset, eight seniorhigh school students wereall deemed winners, butafter two nerve wreckinghours of preparing, cook-ing, tasting and serving,Labrano McPhee Jr.emerged the overall win-ner of the 2019 SeniorHigh School Young ChefCompetition.The students’ assign-

ment was to plan, prepareand serve a dish madefrom Mahatma Rice and aflour dish made fromRobin Hood Flour.McPhee, a student of

Anatol Rodgers SeniorHigh School, concoctedcold rice seafood salad andcoconut croquembouche.The judges, who are all

professional chefs, gaveMcPhee high scores forthe flavor, good textureand creativity of his dish-es. They said his was a job“well” done as he showedpoise, and presented clean,organized work.The annual New

Providence District contestsponsored by Robin HoodFlour and Mahatma Ricewas held Tuesday at C.C.Sweeting Senior HighSchool. This year’s themeis ‘Creatively EmbracingIndigenous Foods throughInnovation for SustainableDevelopment.’Before the statisticians

tallied the scores, thejudges, Chefs DevanMcPhee, Celeste Smith,

Lester Dean, and DevinJohnson inspected theingredients, assessed thestudents’ performance,tasted the dishes and lis-tened to the explanationsoffered.The students were

judged on hygiene, sanita-tion, dress, indigenousfood items and skillsdemonstrated.Raquel Turnquest,

Acting Education Officer,Family and ConsumerScience Unit, the Ministryof Education, explainedthe judging criteria.“If they make use of a

grill, a stand-mixer, makepasta from scratch, roll outa pasta dough, whether ornot they have a time-plan,

how they are working inthe kitchen, whatever tech-niques they bring to thefore, that’s what they gainpoints on.“They actually produce

eight plates – 4 rice dishes,4 flour dishes [using] anybrand of Mahatma,whether it’s brown rice,jasmine, long grain or par-boil.”The students’ presenta-

tions varied from SweetIsland Rice Cake toPotter’s Cay Benewaffle,Junkanoo Shrimp Ricewith Au Jus Sauce, toGuava Fritter with GuavaMint Sauce, Ju-Ju Squaresand Tropical Clouds.Chef Johnson advised

the students and their

coaches, to stay “true” and“native” when they partici-pate in competitions.“I want to see more

native cooking presentedin a modern way,” he said.“We don’t live in

France, Italy or theseparts of the world. Let’suse our indigenous prod-ucts and indigenousnames. You lose pointswhen you use these ter-minologies and they arenot perfected properly. Isee things like swiss roll,au jus and croquem-bouche. You have to dothem the right way or elseyou will get hit harder.Let’s use local terminolo-gy, and make up yourown words.”

The results are:Santone Pugh, DorisJohnson (8th place);Audia Roker, DorisJohnson (7th place);Aahyah Johnson, C.C.Sweeting (6th place);Jaria Strachan, KingswayAcademy (5th place);Anthony Coakley, C.C.Sweeting (4th place);Nashea Rolle, St. John’sCollege (3rd place); andAntonesha Thompson,C.R. Walker (2nd place).Mr. McPhee will go on

to compete with FamilyIsland students in the sen-ior high school nationalround of the competitionon Thursday, March 14,2019 at Anatol RodgersSecondary School.

in patrol officers who musthandle large number ofcalls that involve seriousproblems which they arenot equipped by trainingor mandate to solve”(Katherine W. Ellison,1983, 60).

Police involvedshootings also have a pub-lic order dimension.Research by Bohrer andChaney noted:” Perceptionsby the public of officer-involved shootings usually

are as wide and diverse asthe population, often drivenby media coverage, andsometimes influenced by along-standing bias and mis-trust of government.Documented cases of riots,property damage, and lossof life have occurred incommunities where resi-dents have perceived apolice shooting as unjusti-fied. Some members of thepublic seem to automatical-ly assume that the officerdid something wrongbefore any investigationinto the incident begins.

Conversely, others believethat if the police shot some-body, the individual mustnot have given the officerany choice”. FellowBahamians, we have seencrowd violence and heardof alleged police assaults inthe aftermath of policeinvolved shootings. Therecent events in MasonsAddition is one of these.This bears out the researchon these matters and, it mayget worse. It may get worsebecause of the currentstrategies by police toregain control of crime and

the methods being used toachieve these goals. All ofthis will be naught howev-er, if our police collapseunder the stress of their dif-ficult jobs whilst trying tofulfil some political imper-ative. Police for the mostpart are professionals; theyknow how to police; theydon’t need to be micromanaged like amateurs. Butthere must be oversight andopen, transparent investiga-tions into all policeinvolved shootings by per-sons specially trained toperform these tasks.

Then and onlythen will citizens accept theprimacy of police and treatthem with the trust andrespect they deserve whilst,freely accepting that policeare very necessary agentsof social control. Finally,can we place the entireblame for police shootingson police officers? Putanother way, do somepolice officers intentionallyuse lethal force when lessforce would do? Researchby Jonathan Wender a soci-ologist at the University ofWashington and a former

police sergeant addressesthe issue of police stressand notes: “Put plainly,when cops mess up, theexplanations offered tend tobe ethical and political,when the more empiricallysolid explanations are muchsimpler than that—they arebasic failures of human per-formance under stress”. Sothere; we know the magni-tude of the problem andpossibly some of its causes.What is required now is afulsome effort by theresponsible persons andagencies to address it.

Understanding the Police Culture Contd.gg Continued from / PAGE 5...

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