Customs Officer Accused Of Terrorizing Investors

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, Bahamas

09/02/2004

Customs officials have reassigned a senior officer who had been stationed at Ocean Cay, near Bimini after he clashed with an executive of the AES Corporation, which operates an aragonite mining operation there.

 

In a report to Customs Comptroller John Rolle, Sandy Stubbs, the officer involved in the recent incident, said he feared for his life due to the "aggressive attitude and action" of AES Project Director Aaron Samson.

 

But Mr. Samson, whose company is also seeking the government's permission to build a liquefied natural gas plant on the cay, has denied that he was out of order in dealing with the customs officer, who he claimed was "terrorizing" AES workers.

 

The Customs Comptroller said that his officers are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and who may have acted improperly.

 

The whole matter stemmed from another incident that happened weeks earlier.

 

AES officials reportedly believe that Mr. Stubbs, who was stationed on the cay on a rotational one-month basis, was a good friend of a Bahamian AES worker who had been suspended by his supervisor. It is believed that Mr. Stubbs held a grudge against company officials.

 

Following the suspension, Mr. Stubbs allegedly ordered that AES Operations Manager Bruce Fitzgerald and diesel mechanic, Johnny Stott, be deported even after Immigration authorities on Bimini assured him that the expatriates had the necessary documents for their employment in The Bahamas.

 

But Mr. Stubbs insists that he was following proper procedures.  He reportedly confined the men to their quarters for hours then redirected an AES charter plane back to the United States with the workers on board.

 

Mr. Samson flew to Ocean Cay the following day to deal with the matter, which was reported to Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller and made an informal complaint to the Customs Department.

 

In his report, Mr. Stubbs said that Mr. Samson asked him to meet him at the AES office so that he could call the Minister, who had reportedly asked Mr. Samson to get the customs officer on the phone.

 

But Mr. Stubbs said he wanted to first call Customs headquarters in Nassau to inform authorities about the situation.

 

"I spoke to Mr. Miller and relayed the incident to him," he wrote. "Mr. Miller agreed with me for following instructions and procedures. However, he did ask if I could be more lenient with them (AES). He then went on to tell me about the LNG project in details and the benefits of such a project."

 

Minister Miller recently told the Bahama Journal that AES is "very close" to getting approval for the LNG project and the government expects to bring in millions of dollars annually as a result of the investment.

 

Mr. Stubbs said Minister Miller also asked him to come and see him when he came to Nassau.

 

Minister Miller confirmed to the Journal that he did speak with Mr. Stubbs regarding the incident, but he suggested that Mr. Stubbs may have exaggerated it.

 

The Minister also said he asked the customs officer to treat the foreign investors "in a delicate manner and with respect".

 

"I stated to him that I was concerned that you are ill treating foreigners," Minister Miller said. "I spoke with him for less than a minute. I asked him to be careful how he deals with foreign investors."

 

He also confirmed that Mr. Stubbs had locked away the foreign workers.

But Mr. Stubbs, in his report, claimed to be the victim.

 

Mr. Stubbs said after being approached by Mr. Samson, "I asked him if he was threatening a government official. He then asked me what kind of official do I think I am? He told me again that I was on his Cay. His and Leslie Miller."

 

He continued, "As I walked to the Customs office, he continued to follow me shouting at me and using degrading remarks to refer to me."

 

Mr. Stubbs also said in his report that, "After the phone conversation [with Minister Miller] Mr. Samson in an angry and loud voice, asked me who do I think I am and how dare I embarrass his people! I told him I was only doing my job and following procedures. He then said he don't quite care about procedures.

 

"He told me that he was having a meeting with his staff at the cafeteria and that I dare not come around there if I know what's good for me. I continued to walk to my office in silence and then proceeded to write this report."

 

But Mr. Samson said, "I categorically deny that I threatened him. It was an unfortunate incident. I got involved so that an unruly official would stop terrorizing and threatening my employees."

New Offer For Bahamas Telecommunications Company - BTC

New Offer For BTC

Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, Bahamas

06/02/2004

The final bidder pushed out of the race to purchase a minority ownership in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company is preparing a new offer to make to the government, the Journal has learnt.

 

But the Tenders Commission is not now open to any new proposals, as it has started another phase of privatisation, which would take on another form from the effort initiated more than five years ago.

 

Still, Blue Telecommunications plans to approach the government with a more fine-tuned and "more convincing" plan.

Company officials are hopeful that the government would at least be willing to entertain them.

  

The group's President Lindbergh Smith on Thursday was not prepared to speak to such reports.  But he did hint that his company is still interested in having a stake in BTC.  "The Minister of State for Finance alluded to the fact that BTC still has to be privatised," Mr. Smith told the Journal. "As a Bahamian, I am encouraged by the fact that the government is still committed to privatisation."

 

Financial Secretary Ruth Millar, who chairs the Tenders Commission, has told the Journal that the government has given the Commission a new mandate to review other options for privatisation of the telephone company.  But Mrs. Millar declined to say much else.

 

One source close to the Commission said Thursday that it is "utter nonsense" for Blue to still be working toward a plan for BTC.

 

"Their plan was rejected because it was not in the best interest of BTC or The Bahamas," he said.  "The Commission has been instructed to end that entire phase."

 

In rejecting Blue, the Commission revealed that there were serious concerns regarding the company's financial structure.

 

Blue reportedly planned to help pay for its stake in BTC by using the phone company's assets to borrow.

 

But a Blue official has since denied this saying that was, "totally untrue.  That was not so.  It was totally speculation that was pushed by some of the members of the Commission who do not favour privatising BTC."

 

According to the official, it was Blue's original plan to borrow on the assets of the company.

 

"The government was not comfortable with that and wanted a clearer transaction," he explained.

 

He said that in its revised plan, Blue was prepared to do an all-cash transaction.  While Blue is reportedly preparing its comeback, BahamaTel Consortium, which was headed by Tom Bain, has given up on BTC altogether.

 

Shortly after the government rejected the BahamaTel offer due to what Mrs. Millar called a deficient business plan, Mr. Bain told the Journal that his group had come to the end of the line.

 

State Minister for Finance James Smith has said that the government is "shifting gears" as it relates to the privatisation of BTC.

 

In the meantime, he said BTC has to "continue to do things to develop and expand its managerial capabilities, develop its staff, while at the same time look for efficient ways of government having to divest its interests."

 

The plan of the former government was to privatise the then Batelco and give it time to prepare for competition before opening the market.

 

But with that process failed, the new government is looking more toward liberalization of the telecommunications sector with its Telecommunications Sector Policy reportedly being revamped.

 

The idea now is reportedly to prepare BTC for the onslaught of competition that is surely to come in the near future.

 

Speaking at the Bahamas Business Outlook seminar on January 20, Minister Smith said the privatisation process "ought not to be abandoned since a privatised BTC would not only provide additional funds to government for debt reduction in 2004, but should also provide increased capacity for expanding technology including high speed data transmission capabilities which are essential to the e-commerce development effort." 

Andros Island Seen as The Breadbasket of The Bahamas

The Potential of Andros as The Breadbasket to Feed The Entire Bahamas

Farming clearly should be and will be the lifeblood of Andros...

North Andros to Feed the Nation

 

By Gladstone Thurston

BahamaSeaWeed@groups.msn.com

Bahamas Information Services

February 6, 2004

 

 

Nicholl’s Town, Andros – The North Andros High School came in for commendations from Agriculture Minister V Alfred
Gray in its quest to feed the nation.

North Andros High is “the model for farming in all the secondary schools in The Bahamas,” added Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Peet, the Member of Parliament for the area.

“I am pushing to get additional scholarships at the College of the Bahamas for those who want to take farming seriously,” Mr Peet told students.  “Until we can elevate farming to the level of respectability where it belongs, then many of you will still look at farming as a blue-collar work for somebody else to do.”

Mastic Point Primary won the H Newbold floating trophy for excellence in farming, a programme spearheaded by North Andros High last year.  Red Bay Primary was second, and Bowen Sound Primary came in third.  All primary schools in the district including those in the Berry Islands participated.

Ministers Peet and Gray led a delegation from Nassau to the North Andros High School agriculture rally and exhibition on Thursday staged by the North Andros High 4H Club in collaboration with the agriculture science department.

Also present were Deputy Permanent Secretary/Ministry of Agriculture Ursula Chisholm, Agriculture Extension Officer Stephen Adderley, District Superintendent Harcourt Davis, Administrator Dr Huntly P Christie, and Chief Councillor Alphonso Smith.  Joel Lewis is the principal at North Andros High.

“(The agriculture exhibition) comes at a time when we feel that providing food for ourselves is very, very necessary,” said agriculture science teacher and 4H Club co-ordinator Rai Budhu.  “We hope to motivate you to strive towards self sufficiency.

“It is important for a nation to be self sufficient in food.  A country, which is unable to provide its own food, can be in great problems.  You can eat every day the things that are produced right here in North Andros.”

Agriculture exhibits at the school’s sprawling farms, adjacent to its campus, featured a wide variety of edibles – pumpkins, cassavas, yams, potatoes, broccolis, cauliflowers, tomatoes, grapefruits and nonis - the latest cash crop.

Chickens, pigs, goats and ducks are also raised as part of the programme.

Already North Andros High provides a Nassau-based hotel and restaurant with fresh fruit and vegetables.

“I see Andros as the breadbasket of today and tomorrow,” noted Agriculture Extension Officer Mr Adderley.  “While there is limited farming going on at present, the potential for Andros is as a breadbasket to feed the whole nation.”

Mr Peet said the government is going to do much more to empower Bahamians, “especially you here in Andros where farming clearly should be and will be the lifeblood of Andros.

“Farming is something to look forward to.  It is a profession, which pays, and you would be doing a very valuable service to yourselves, The Bahamas and the world.

“The farmers in Andros have been frustrated for years.  We are about to ease that pressure for all farmers because farmers need to be respected and given the tools to earn a decent living.

“This exhibition is a very good example of the importance and the value that North Andros High is putting on farming.”

Agriculture Minister Gray urged Bahamians to consider agriculture as “serious business.”

He pointed out that farming provides an avenue through which the country’s economic base could be broadened while contributing to the country’s food security.

He warned of the “almost total reliance” of the country on a single industry – tourism, “an industry that is very sensitive to and is always driven by external forces over which we in The Bahamas have little or no control.

“It is important therefore for us to expand the pillars of our economy to include the agriculture and fishing industries.”

Another reason for agricultural economic expansion has to do with The Bahamas becoming more self-reliant.

“The fact is that we as a country rely too heavily on imports,” said Minister Gray.

In its effort to motivate farmers, the government has put in place a package of incentives, which include the provision of farmland, assistance in land clearing, duty-free exemption on equipment, and loan guarantees.

Mr Gray said he will be recommending to the government the granting of ‘start-up’ money for persons “who are serious about becoming involved in agriculture and who are willing to farm for produce, which are in high demands.

“I challenge you, therefore, to become partners with the government in making agriculture and fishing strong pillars in our country’s economic life,” said Mr Gray.

“I can assure you that those who are willing to become so involved would find this government’s attitude very embracing and supportive.”

The Bahamas Government to Rescue Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX)

Gov't To Rescue BISX Again

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

03/02/2004

The Cabinet plans to rescue the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) if its shareholders agree to match the $450,000 the government intends to provide it through the Central Bank, the Journal has learnt.

 

This financial shot in the arm would come nearly two years after BISX asked for $2 million in public funds.

 

A committee that was appointed to look into the affairs of BISX recently recommended that the Government of The Bahamas through the Central Bank "commit to continue its financial support of BISX for an additional amount of $450,000 over the next three years."

 

It also recommended "it be proposed to the existing and prospective shareholders of BISX that an additional minimum amount of $450,000 to match the government's support be subscribed for by way of a rights offering."

 

Minister of State for Finance James Smith said Monday that Committee Chairman Julian Francis "was told to go back and speak with the private owners [of BISX] and see if they are in accord with the recommendations [of his committee]."

 

A Bahama Journal source close to the matter said Monday that "the switch has already been flicked and things are beginning to happen for BISX."

 

Recognizing the great need for an institution like BISX to the country's developing economy, the committee, recommended late last year that the exchange receive help.  This would not be the first time that BISX would be receiving financial assistance from a government-related agency.

 

In 2002, the Central Bank gave BISX $150,000.

 

Start-up costs and losses experienced during the first two years of operations resulted in BISX approaching the government in mid 2001 to provide substantial financial assistance to support the continued functioning of the exchange.

 

When the government announces the decision to help BISX, it will surely be met by some criticism from members of the private sector, some of whom argue that the government should not be in the business of bailing out private companies.  Even an official in the Ministry of Finance seems to share this view.

 

In observations presented to the Minister shortly after the latest report on BISX was released, she wrote, "The recommendation for a further $450,000 of government financial support is divergent to the mandate of BISX being capable of operating without government subvention.  It is hoped that with the restructuring of BISX along with the implementation of the other aforementioned recommendations that BISX would become a more efficient, fully operational exchange that requires no government subvention."

 

The BISX report indicated that the existing shareholders in BISX are unwilling to inject any new capital in the exchange.  But it said that existing shareholders and new shareholders might be willing to support the exchange if certain changes were implemented.

 

An earlier Journal story on the committee's findings revealed that lavish spending on items such as furnishings compounded the exchange's financial problems.

 

The report also pointed to a number of reasons why BISX faced financial troubles, including the exchange's cost structure, significant cost overruns on management consultancy fees and the lack of anticipated public policy support.

Bahamasair Board plans to sue Shell Bahamas Limited

Bahamasair Suing Shell

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

02/02/2004

Bahamasair's board plans to sue Shell Bahamas Limited, claiming that the oil company has been unfairly charging the airline for use of its pipeline needed for refueling planes at the Nassau International Airport.

 

The Journal has learnt that the airline's attorney, Damian Gomez, recently presented a writ to commence the action against Shell, but the board was not pleased and asked him to strengthen the document.

 

An airline official said that should the board be successful in its actions, "the fuel bill would go down considerably."

 

The airline continues to pay Shell for fuel as well as for use of the pipeline or hydrant system that provides the fuel.

 

An earlier Journal report that revealed details of the dispute points out that the development of the hydrant was initiated by the former government in an attempt to reduce congestion on the ramp, caused by all the service vehicles around an aircraft at any given time.

 

This development reportedly was supposed to offer multiple fuel pits at each gate with an extension around the Family Island pier having small fuel carts at each gate eliminating the need for huge fuel trucks maneuvering around the aircraft.

 

The fee was introduced by the members of the consortium Esso, Shell and Texaco in 1995 after the redevelopment of the hydrant system at Nassau International Airport. Initially it was referred to as a hydrant fee, intended to recover the investment of $2.8 million spent to develop the system.

 

But Bahamasair officials say that they should not have to pay this refueling charge because Shell has already recovered the investment. They claim that the airline has been charged wrongfully to the tune of at least $1 million.

 

The airline official said, "It's important that we do anything we can to cut costs."  He claimed that the fee actually amounts to about $600,000 a year and Bahamasair should not continue to pay it.

 

But a Shell source pointed out that the gas company has to continue to pay maintenance charges for the airport facility.

 

"Bahamasair fails to understand that Shell has to make a profit," he said.  The board will undoubtedly face strong opposition from Shell as it proceeds with its action.

 

The board also reportedly wants fuel prices to be reduced, but the airline source said the main action at hand involved recouping the money Bahamasair paid to Shell that it should not have paid.

 

In an earlier interview with the Journal, Shell's attorney, Campbell Cleare, said that Shell would probably have been willing to reduce the cost per gallon of its gasoline to the airline by one or two cents. But he said at the time that Bahamasair was demanding as much as a 10 cents per gallon reduction, which would result in a loss to Shell of over $1 million per year.

 

Mr. Clear told the Bahama Journal then that, "This is not price gouging. The prices are reasonable. Shell deserves to make a reasonable profit. There's absolutely no other carrier that's complaining. Bahamasair is trying to squeeze Shell into an unfair position."

 

Bahamasair officials declined to go on the record late last week regarding their planned action before the courts.

 

The board has been taking a number of measures geared at saving the cash-strapped flag carrier millions of dollars. The battle against Shell is seen as one avenue for helping to trim expenditure and ease Bahamasair's burden on the taxpayers' purse.

Bahamas-Haiti Relations Cordial

Bahamian-Haitian Relation's Cordial

 

By Gladstone Thurston

Bahamas Information Services

BahamaSeaWeed@groups.msn.com

01/February/2004

 

 

Kingston, Jamaica - Relations between the Bahamas and Haiti remains very cordial, Ambassador Dr Eugene Neury said.

 

He insisted there were no anti-Bahamas or Caricom demonstration outside the Bahamas' embassy following last week's meeting with Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti.

 

Dr Neury also denied reports that Haitians were unhappy that the Bahamas and Caricom were "interfering" in their internal political affairs.

 

"On the contrary", said Dr Neury, "the average Haitian is happy that people care enough for them to (mediate a settlement to the political impasse that has threatened to send Haiti into civil war)."

 

Dr Neury was a member of Prime Minister Perry Christie's delegation to the third in a series of talks aimed at saving the fledgling Haitian democracy.

 

Also from the Bahamas were Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, Education Minister and Attorney General Alfred Sears, Ministry of Foreign Affairs undersecretary Carlton Wright.

 

Five Caricom prime ministers, and representatives from the United States, Canada, the OAS, the European Commission, and the European Presidency hammered out a series of political reforms with President Aristide during their meeting at Jamaica House in Kingston on Saturday.

 

Dr Neury said Haitians "love the fact that people are paying attention to try to help them get out of this predicament. They feel that this is what neighbours do. A friend in need is a friend indeed."

 

Following the third meeting - the first in Nassau and the second in Haiti ¯ "there are good reasons to look with optimism to the future", said Dr Neury.

 

"If the president can achieve the things that he has committed himself to then I think the whole region, especially the Bahamas, will benefit."

 

Haitians admire the Bahamas as a successful neighbour "very much", he said

 

"The average Haitian does not want to come to the Bahamas", Dr Neury added.  "That's a Bahamian perception. However, the Haitians would like for their country to be like the Bahamas in terms of the economic success.

 

"Most Haitians in Haiti have a very serious perception of the integration of their brothers and sisters in the Bahamas.  The presence of Haitians in the Bahamas has economically helped the Haitian population back home.

 

"It is very much like when the people in the days of the project in the United States sent money back home to the Bahamas. Haitians send back literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars from the Bahamas to Haiti every year.

 

"But that's earned money. It isn't as though they went there and took the money. So Haitians admire the Bahamas. It is wrong to think it any other way."

 

Dr Neury described Bahamians as "a very accommodating people.  In percentage terms, the Bahamas probably more than any other country in the world has successfully integrated thousands of Haitians and their families without any bloodshed and without any violence."

 

Dr Neury said the gathering of thousands of Haitians on the park opposite the Bahamas' embassy in Haiti had nothing to do with any ill-will towards either the Bahamas or Caricom as was earlier reported.

 

"There was no confrontation", he insisted. "I was at the embassy."

 

He denied that his vehicle was jostled by the angry crowd.

 

"My car never stopped for one moment and in fact the leaders from the opposition groups opened the way for my car", said Dr Neury. "There was some misinterpretation of what people were seeing.

 

"It is insulting to suggest that the people from the opposition were not aware that the Bahamas' embassy including its gate is a foreign country and that to attack a foreign embassy is to attack the country which that embassy represents."

 

Except for Haiti, no other country stands to benefit more from these negotiations than the Bahamas.  After three meeting Dr Neury was asked for a prognosis.

 

"This is the first time that any international group has been able, on such a sustained even short period of time, to achieve what has been achieved in the last two weeks, and the whole international community benefits from this."

 

But, unless the opposition in Haiti accepts the reforms including the release of political prisoners and police protection for opposition demonstrations, and compromise on its insistence that President Aristide steps down, then there will be no movement.

 

"You have to understand the Haitian mentality of bargaining", said Dr Neury.  "Haitians are masters at bargaining."

AES Corp. Clears Hurdle For LNG Pipeline

By Candia Dames

Nassau, Bahamas

candiadames@hotmail.com

23/01/2004

The AES Corporation has cleared another important hurdle in its bid to lay a liquefied natural gas pipeline between The Bahamas and southeastern Florida.

 

The U.S. Federal Regulatory Commission on Thursday gave the company final approval for its Ocean Express pipeline project, Reuters News Service reported.

 

Now AES has to secure the go-ahead from the Bahamas Government before it could begin the project.

 

But that could take some time.

 

Two months ago, Keod Smith, Ambassador to the Environment and Chairman of the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission (BEST), urged the government to move "very slowly" before making a decision regarding the three proposals for LNG projects before it.

 

Mr. Smith said that the necessary legislation is not in place to guard against possible environmental impacts.

 

His comments came after the BEST Commission viewed the environmental impact assessment for the proposed AES project.

 

That assessment said that laying a liquefied natural gas pipeline from Ocean Cay, near Bimini, to Florida presents the greatest potential for impact to marine resources, as it will cause temporary disturbance to the ocean floor.

 

But the EIA also said that the $550 million project is not expected to impact critical habitats of any endangered or at risk species.

 

The report said the development of a LNG gas terminal and desalination plant on Ocean Cay would provide economic and social benefits to Bimini and the Bahamian government as well as providing a much needed additional supply of natural gas to South Florida and potable water and natural gas to Bimini.

 

The 54-mile pipeline would transport up to 842 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. The pipeline would connect with the Florida Gas Transmission Co. pipeline system in Broward County, Florida.

 

The Ocean Express pipeline would connect with, and receive natural gas transported by a 40-mile Bahamian-jurisdiction pipeline, which is owned by another AES affiliate, that extends to Ocean Cay.

 

Ocean Cay, a 90-acre man-made industrial island, would be the site of a liquefied natural gas storage and re-gasification facility that would receive LNG from foreign suppliers.

 

The AES pipeline would deliver natural gas to markets in Florida and over the interstate pipeline grid to other parts of the country. AES has said it plans to have the pipeline start delivering gas to customers by November 2005.

 

AES Project Director Aaron Samson has said that The Bahamas is the single best place in the world to bring LNG into southeast Florida and has continuously promised that his company is adhering to the strictest environmental standards.

 

Two other companies, El Paso and Tractebel North America Inc. also propose to establish liquefied natural gas pipelines between The Bahamas and Florida.

 

But Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller has said that it appears that El Paso is out of the race given that it has been reporting financial troubles.