Peter Nygard has unlawfully “trespassed” on Crown Land through his construction activities at Simms Point/Nygard Cay

Government Proposed 21-Year Lease Of Reclaimed Crown Land To Peter Nygard

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government proposed a 21-year lease of reclaimed Crown Land at Nygard Cay to its fashion mogul owner, with an annual rental rate pegged at $25,000.

Documents obtained by Tribune Business reveal that the Christie administration sought to justify the lease on the grounds that it was needed to support an “estimated $50 million touristic development” at Nygard Cay.

The August 3, 2012, letter from Richard Hardy, the Department of Lands and Surveys’ acting director, provides the first concrete confirmation that the Government was assessing its options for granting a Crown Land lease - the issue at the heart of recently-launched Judicial Review proceedings.

The letter, described as a Memorandum, does not go into detail about the nature of the tourism project proposed by Peter Nygard for his Lyford Cay property.

However, the $50 million sum referred to matches the figure discussed at a meeting between Mr Nygard and Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) officials, which was held two months’ prior to Mr Hardy’s letter.

Previously obtained notes of that June 2012 meeting revealed that Mr Nygard was proposing a $25-$30 million investment to rebuild his fire-destroyed Nygard Cay home, with the balance earmarked for a stem cell research and treatment facility targeted at medical tourism. It would thus appear this proposal is what Mr Hardy is referring to.

Mr Hardy’s memorandum, addressed to the permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, and which bears the director of investments’ (Joy Jibrilu) stamp, dated August 15, 2012, is headed: ‘ Proposed Lease of Land at Nygard Cay for a proposed touristic development’.

Referring to an August 1, 2012, missive he had received, containing two proposed “plans”, Mr Hardy disclosed that the minister responsible for Crown Lands - who is Prime Minister Perry Christie - had decided to lease a portion of the reclaimed seabed at Nygard Cay to Mr Nygard.

“It is noted in your second paragraph that the Minister Responsible for Crown Land has determined that appropriate acreage should be leased to Mr Peter Nygard to facilitate the proposed estimated $50 million touristic development,” Mr Hardy wrote.

Referring to one of the lease options presented to him, Mr Hardy said the “area coloured red is recommended on a 21 years renewable lease basis, at an annual rental of $25,000, (with reviews after seven and 14 years)”.

The Lands and Surveys acting director then effectively confirmed the acreage involved was Crown Land reclaimed from the sea.

He added: “In effect, this recommendation is in respect of the property between the December 1984 high water mark and the June high water mark.

“It does not include those areas..... which are covered by water (other than the northern lagoon) and are tidal, i.e. (4.779 acres minus tidal, non-lagoon, areas).”

A handwritten note at the bottom of Mr Hardy’s letter says a proposal was expected imminently, and that all these details “should factor into Cabinet/National Economic Council papers”.

While there is no evidence to suggest that the Nygard Cay lease was a ‘done deal’, the contents of Mr Hardy’s letter are likely to reignite the controversy surrounding its Canadian owner’s construction endeavours.

This is because the Save the Bays coalition, in its Judicial Review action, is challenging the Government’s alleged failure to prevent “unauthorised development” at Nygard Cay - the same development it claims has resulted in the seabed reclamation subject to the Crown Land lease.

In effect, if the coalition’s allegations are correct, the Christie administration’s plan to lease the reclaimed Crown Land to Mr Nygard, under cover of facilitating a tourism development, would be tantamount to legitimising/sanctioning wrongdoing.

Mr Nygard has argued that his Simms Point property has expanded through natural accretion, but this has been dismissed by both Save the Bays and the former Ingraham administration.

In the Attorney General’s draft defence and counterclaim, filed in response to a legal action initiated by Mr Nygard, the former government sought a court declaration that the Canadian fashion mogul had unlawfully “trespassed” on Crown Land through his construction activities.

Implying that Mr Nygard lacked the relevant permits and approvals, the Attorney General’s Office had also sought a court Order requiring Nygard Cay’s owner to remove - at his own expense - all the groins, docks and seabed infilling he has allegedly carried out, thus returning the coastline to its original 1984 boundaries.

The Christie administration’s Crown Land lease proposals thus represent a stunning U-turn on the position taken by its predecessor within three months of the 2012 general election. The $25,000 annual lease payment, which over 21 years would amount to a collective $525,000, also pales into insignificance alongside both the Government’s fiscal deficit and the alleged $25-$30 million valuation Save the Bays has placed on Mr Nygard’s reclaimed Crown Land.

And the coalition had previously warned that granting Nygard Cay’s owner his much-desired lease would set a bad precedent, sending signals to Bahamian and other foreign landowners that they could ‘do as they pleased’ with respect to developing their properties without reference to existing laws and regulations.

Further evidence that the Government was contemplating a Crown Land lease to Mr Nygard is contained in the August 16, 2013, affidavit by Hyacinth Smith, an attorney in the Attorney General’s Office.

The affidavit, sworn in support of the Government’s bid to have Save the Bays’ Judicial Review action thrown out, refers to “the consideration of any lease options by the Government” in relation to Nygard Cay.

Other documents filed in support of the Government’s application, though, have also revealed previously unknown facts related to the Nygard Cay situation.

• The former Ingraham administration obtained two $2.7 million-plus bids from construction firms to return Nygard Cay’s size, and coastline, to 1984 conditions. The work, it told Mr Nygard, would have to be paid by himself.
  
  
• The Christie administration issued Mr Nygard an annual dredging permit, via the Department of Lands and Surveys, for the period June 13, 2012, to March 12, 2013. The issuance came just six weeks after the general election.

A transcript of the court hearing at which Save the Bays obtained permission to file its Judicial Review action saw its attorney, Fred Smith QC, disclose the contents of a January 9, 2009, letter sent by the then-government to Mr Nygard.

Referring to talks with the fashion mogul’s then-attorney, Sidney Collie, the Government said it was its “intention to cause the coastline at Simms Point... to be reinstated”.

It added: “The Government has sought and obtained bids from two suitably qualified firms, Tycoon Management and Bahamas Marine Construction, in the amount of $2.75 million and $2.73 million respectively, to undertake the proposed reinstatement work.

“The two bids are being reviewed, and you will be advised of the successful bid shortly. It is the Government’s determination that the full cost of the work be borne by you.”

Tycoon Management is headed by James Curling, while Bahamas Marine is part of the Mosko Group of Companies.

Ms Smith’s affidavit for the Government, though, questions the “bona fides” behind the Save the Bays’ Judicial Review claim.

She alleges that the action is nothing more than the latest extension of the battle between Mr Nygard and his Lyford Cay neighbour, hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon, who is a prominent member of Save the Bays.

This, she added, “throws doubts on the bona fides of the Judicial Review claim”. And the application’s reference to the Bahamas Investment Authority meeting “speak clearly to the collateral interest of the coalition in opposing the consideration of any lease options by government with respect to the Nygard Cay matter, and a stem cell facility connected to Mr Nygard”.

All three of the Government, Mr Nygard and the latter’s attorney, Keod Smith, are seeking to have the Judicial Review action dismissed on legal technicalities.

For example, the Attorney General’s Office and Mr Smith are alleging that in obtaining leave to file its Judicial Review action at a hearing where only it was present, Save the Bays and its attorneys failed to properly disclose all material facts relevant to the case.

Indeed, Mr Smith’s summons blasted those behind the Judicial Review action as “busybodies with misguided complaints”.

Mr Nygard, for his part, wants the injunction halting all further construction works at Nygard Cay thrown out on the grounds that he is not a public official or body subject to Judicial Review. He is also seeking damages for the injunction.

And the Attorney General’s Office has blasted the document discovery order imposed on the Government as a “fishing expedition”.

April 26, 2013

Tribune242 

Caribbean Blog International

...it seems that there is an effort on the part of various South Florida Cuban interest groups ...and their political leaders ...to force The Bahamas to become a conduit for illegal Cuban immigrants seeking entry to the U.S.

Cuban migrants: Testing Bahamian foreign policy

By Simon

The strategic location of The Bahamas archipelago, sharing maritime borders with the U.S. and Cuba, has posed a particular test for Bahamian foreign policy since independence.

We are geographically bracketed between the two countries. We are also of necessity keen observers of decades of an acrimonious history between our immediate southern and northern neighbors.

As a much smaller country, we are sometimes caught in the whirlwind that is the U.S.-Cuban relationship. Still, though we are a small country, we have not been devoid of certain diplomatic tools.

Successive Bahamian governments have maintained a diplomatic posture enabling us to brace and defend ourselves when category-five-like hurricane winds blow back and forth between our immediate neighbors, threatening our good relations with both.

To buffet ourselves while maintaining our balance within our immediate neighborhood, we have adhered to two ballasts that have proved foundational and stabilizing, namely Bahamian national interests and international law.

Necessity has proven to be the mother of invention and neighborliness in our relations with Cuba and the U.S. We are good neighbors to both even as we insist on the inviolability of Bahamian sovereignty as do our American and Cuban friends of their sovereignty.

Our Bahamian national interests, which are often of mutual interest to our neighbors, include bilateral issues ranging from commercial ties to matters pertaining to the law of the sea.

The video

The latest test of our long-established policy foundations, diplomacy and good neighbor policy was a well-circulated video purporting to show the abuse of Cuban inmates at the detention center.

Without benefit of an official investigation most Bahamians who saw the video dismissed it as a hoax. Yet it was used as a pretext to launch a well-publicized attack on The Bahamas.

Given the specious nature of the video, many Bahamians were shocked and angered by the vicious attack on their country by a group of Cuban exiles in Miami calling themselves the Democracy Movement, an ironic name given their seeming contempt for our Bahamian democracy.

As a hypocritical aside: Think of the number of Cuban Americans supportive of the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba who have used the good graces of The Bahamas to travel to Cuba or to send money and messages to loved ones there.

The Florida-based mob accusing The Bahamas of the abuse and torture of inmates at the detention center in Nassau, and of cover-up, made it clear that they intended to inflict maximum damage on our tourism industry by calling on Americans not to visit The Bahamas.

There were shrill demonstrations in Florida lambasting The Bahamas, with all manner of nasty and hysterical signs including, reportedly, signage attacking Prime Minister Perry Christie.

When warranted, Bahamians, including this columnist, have not been reserved in criticizing the prime minister. But those who have sought to inflict harm on our country, and who have attacked our prime minister, need not be confused.

On this issue, the overwhelming majority of Bahamians stand behind our country, and just to emphasize, and in lieu of language unacceptable in a family newspaper: Don’t screw with our prime minister!

While the opposition is rightly justified in criticizing various elements of the government’s foreign policy, there should be no disagreement on the basic policy in question.

If there was a credible allegation of abuse, those demonstrating in Miami would be justified in calling for an investigation, not launching a damaging attack on a small, friendly nation.

Blackmail

But even with the most serious doubts being cast on the video allegations, many continued with their program of intimidation and attempt of blackmail against The Bahamas.

What arrogance and hubris by those who seek to inflict damage on our economy, while eagerly chasing the approximately $1 billion Bahamians spend annually in Florida.

They are a vocal minority who should be isolated as surely merchants in South Florida and local and state officials in Florida must be as alarmed and disgusted by these suggestions as are Bahamians.

Indeed, Cubans in South Florida particularly and Florida generally should not be lumped into a single cohort. Cuban-Americans are an increasingly diverse group, and an evolving demographic. Today, younger Cubans are tending towards greater liberalization of U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba.

Yet there remain prominent Cuban-American politicians at the municipal, state and federal levels in the U.S. who make common cause with those opposed to the fuller liberalization U.S. policy towards Cuba.

Many of these same politicians have often sought to run roughshod over Bahamian sovereignty, seeking to have U.S. immigration policy adopted in The Bahamas for Cubans – certainly not for Haitians – as if we are a mere appendage of the U.S.

Still, despite their outlandish rhetoric, various Cuban-American politicians know full well that The Bahamas is a democracy and that it has never been the policy of any government of whatever political stripe to practice or condone abuse and torture of detainees.

They know that in The Bahamas we are committed to the rule of law. They also know that despite the best efforts of any government in the world, including their own, abuses are likely to occur in institutions of incarceration, as they do regularly in the U.S.

They know too that The Bahamas has maintained the most cordial relations with the U.S. and has, indeed, cooperated with the U.S. in many ways for their mutual benefit including joint efforts against drug interdiction and illegal immigration.

The Bahamas must not allow a group of rabble-rousers pressing their interest to upend our good relations with the American government and the American people, including the good citizens of Florida.

Moderated

Meanwhile, despite the efforts of various prominent Cuban-American politicians, the American government moderated its open door policy to Cuba in an effort to stem the unregulated influx of immigrants from that country with the so-called “wet-foot dry-foot” policy.

Now, it seems there is an effort on the part of various South Florida Cuban interest groups and their political leaders to force The Bahamas to become a conduit for immigrants seeking entry to the U.S.

For our part, all illegal immigrants and all persons claiming political asylum of whatever nationality or racial or ethnic origin must be treated the same under Bahamian law.

As it continues to handle this test of the consistency of Bahamian foreign policy, the Christie administration should keep the domestic public informed while briefing our Caribbean sister states and others of the issues in play.

The government is rightly insistent that its talks are with the government of the United States of America, not a group of private citizens in Florida. We should talk also with friends in the U.S. Congress, including those from Florida.

If the government is to be faulted in this matter, it has to do with the matter of tone, and of its appointment fiasco of an ambassador to the U.S.

At times, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, who is understandably under a great deal of pressure, has struck the wrong tone. He should not allow himself to be seen to be rattled, and needs to be more tempered in some of his remarks. There are things best said by surrogates rather than a foreign minister.

As a small country, one of our strongest diplomatic tools is the quality of our diplomats. Capable diplomats are able to express energetically and articulately the country’s views on a given matter. With one or two exceptions, the diplomats appointed by the Christie administration are notably poor choices.

Had there not been a screw-up in the appointment of an ambassador to the U.S., there would have been someone in the chair to help shoulder the issue at hand.

Further, having Dr. Elliston Rahming remain as permanent representative to the OAS, while serving at the UN is a mistake which the government should quickly rescind.

This dual appointment will leave Rahming bouncing back and forth between New York City and Washington, D.C., with all manner of scheduling conflicts and unnecessary expense.

Our ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Eugene Newry, should be made ambassador to the OAS, which is resident in Washington, D.C., allowing for better policy coordination especially with our CARICOM partners.

In its WikiLeaks series, this journal noted comments reportedly made by Christie in his previous term that made it appear that he had basically ceded foreign policy to his foreign minister.

No prime minister should ever make such a statement to foreign diplomats as such an admission may be an invitation to mischief and manipulation by those diplomats.

But more importantly, a nation’s leader is potentially one of the most valuable assets in a country’s foreign policy. Before and now we are paying a price for Christie’s incuriosity and clear lack of understanding of the intricacies of foreign policy and diplomacy.

There are more diplomatic tests to come. There always are. To up our game we need the strongest possible team, including able personnel at Foreign Affairs, good diplomats in the field – and a prime minister more serious about and engaged in matters of foreign policy.

August 22, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Fire Fred Mitchell, says Opposition Leader Hubert Minnis call to Prime Minister Perry Christie

Minnis Calls For Christie To Fire Fred Mitchell Over Issue Of Cuban Detainees

Tribune242


OPPOSITION Leader Hubert Minnis has this afternoon called for Prime Minister Perry Christie to fire Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell from his Cabinet.

 

Speaking at a press conference at FNM Headquarters, Mr Minnis said: “It has become clear that Minister Mitchell has exhausted every ounce of credibility as Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

 

He called on the government to release a ‘full and unedited’ report of all investigations that have been conducted to date into Cuban detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

 

He said: “The Minister of Foreign Affairs has not given a full and honest account of what took place at the detention centre on May 20, 2013.

 

“The FNM has been advised that several senior government officials and ministers became aware fairly early that a major instance of abuse had taken place.”

 

August 21, 2013

 

Tribune242

 

Caribbean Blog International

 

The Free National Movement (FNM), Peter Nygard, stem cell and the stem cell legislation

FNM Focused on Stem Cell, Not Nygard

By The Bahama Journal

Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash doesn’t believe the party focused more on the controversy surrounding Peter Nygard, instead of the actual stem cell legislation.

The chairman said this while speaking to Jones and Co. host Wendall Jones during his appearance on the programme.

Mr. Cash said despite people only seeing the ‘blow-up’ over Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard’s interest in stem cell research being done in The Bahamas, FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis actually gave detailed reasons as to why the party disagrees with passing legislation for the medical practice.

“In reality, the leader of the opposition essentially said it is supported. But what he did was speak to the question of how to educate people,” he said.

“He spoke to the fact that there are many deficiencies, in terms of how to oversee the structure, how to answer the broader questions like The Bahamas’ position in the international community as a good, safe and reputable place for researchers to do business. He said he’s not comfortable that that structure had already existed.”

“So the government ought to facilitate a broader discussion and analysis. Bring the bill forward and put it to a committee so that they can be an appropriate framework for all of these questions to be answered.”

The FNM leader was suspended from the House of Assembly for two sittings on August 7th after he refused to apologize and withdraw a statement he made concerning Mr. Nygard’s and the prime minister’s relationship.

Since then, members of the government have taken the Opposition to task over the debacle surrounding Mr. Nygard.

Both the FNM’s deputy leader and chairman have openly supported the legislation, which was eventually passed that same day.

FNM Deputy Chairman Brensil Rolle defended the party saying that they never brought Mr. Nygard in the discussion, but that he allowed the PLP government to drag him in it.

“The FNM never deflected to Nygard,” he said.

“Mr. Nygard himself and the PLP government allowed Mr. Nygard to inject himself into the discussion.”

“The FNM doesn’t have any difficulty with stem cell or stem cell legislation. What the FNM and hundreds of Bahamians were offended by was the fact that a non-Bahamian was giving an impression to people that this was for him.”

Mr. Christie made the announcement that Mr. Nygard was helping the government with bringing stem cell researchers to The Bahamas while making remarks at the Jones Communication Network’s ’40 Under 40’ awards.

19 August, 2013

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International

...the dismal results of the 2013 Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams; incompetents leaving school ...and The Bahamas' draconian Immigration laws

Results Do Not Augur Well For The Future

Tribune242 Editorial:




DESPITE the government’s increased spending on education, public schools continue to release more students into the community without the required skills in reading, writing and arithmetic.

 

It is true that there is high unemployment, but it is also true that jobs exist that can’t be filled by many of those unemployed because they do not have the required skills.

 

Today, the government released the dismal results of the 2013 BJC and BGCSE results. In the past several years, embarrassed by the dropping grades, the government has refused to release the national grade average. However, we were told that those amazing grades were still hovering between D and D-.

 

Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald seemed desperate to find at least one spark of hope, but the best he could do was note a few subjects that inched up from C- to C or D to D+. Not good enough to sustain a growing country, crying out for qualified Bahamians.

 

Although Mr Fitzgerald was not concerned about the national average, he was concerned that youth leaving grade 12 were not “functionally literate or numerate”.

 

Mr Fitzgerald said that such a situation was a major concern to him, and his ministry. Of more importance, however, is the major concern for this country.

 

With incompetents leaving school, and draconian Immigration laws, government can talk about major investors coming in, but how are they to operate without a qualified labour force? Is the Bahamas to tread water until its citizens measure up, or is someone going to make the Immigration Ministry aware of the realities of its labour force, and the urgent need to supplement it with more qualified people of whatever nationality. The private schools cannot keep businesses supplied with the staff they need, public schools will have to start pulling their weight.

 

“Our concern,” said the Education Minister, “is that 30 per cent continue to fall through the cracks and not do well – that’s at the BJC level. By the time they get to the BGCSE level, we have, what we know, is almost 50 per cent of students who leave only with a leaving certificate – which means they don’t meet the requirement to graduate.”

 

All this certificate means is that each morning they walk through the front door, shout “present” when their name is called, and each afternoon they leave through the back door. In the interim, they fail to take any education with them. In other words, that certificate is only their attendance record.

 

These are the young people the country should worry about. They apply for a job, a worthless certificate in hand, as proof of qualifications. When turned down, they complain that they are being discriminated against — a foreigner is filling the post. The tragedy is that these students believe that this worthless piece of paper is a door opener to any job they might desire. It seems they are the only ones who don’t know that it might have been smarter to have left their certificate at home, and try to charm their way through an office door on “mother’s wit”.

 

At one time, we had good teachers — both Bahamian and foreign, but more foreign, because in certain subjects there were not enough Bahamians — sometimes there were none.

 

And then the Immigration crunch came. Foreign teachers were no longer recruited so that Bahamians who were qualifying in education could be accommodated. Some of these were good, some were mediocre, but others, as in all walks of life, just did not cut the mustard. Regardless, however, they entered the classroom.

 

With these unacceptable results, the first consideration has to be the teachers. Are they of the calibre to inspire the children to learn? Are they truly dedicated teachers who have a real interest in the success of their students, or are they clock watchers who are just treading water?

 

Then one has to look at the size of the classroom and the calibre of students being mixed together. Are the academic students being held back by others who would prefer learning a trade? If so, then these classes in fairness to both types of students should be divided — one concentrating on academics, the other on whichever skills a student might have a bent for.

 

The curriculum has also to be studied to make certain that it is wide enough to graduate an educated person. Reading, reading and more reading on a variety of subjects – including the history of these islands – should be encouraged. And high on the list, Ethics should be taught in all schools, as well as the duty of a good citizen.

 

And finally, those who make immigration decisions for schools and businesses have to be more realistic and not hold the country back to accommodate their idealistic dreams of what the work force should be, but is not.

 

Between poor school results and an immigration department out of tune with the needs of the country, the Bahamas faces an uphill struggle.

 

August 16, 2013

 

Tribune 242 Editorial

 

Caribbean Blog International

 

The Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) 2013 exam results show notable decline in grades...

National exam results worsen

Math, English scores decline

By Taneka Thompson
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com

Math and English test scores for the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams fell this year compared to 2012, according to data released by the Ministry of Education yesterday.

The average math grade is an E and the average English grade is a D.

The subjects are among 16 that showed a decline in grade point average (GPA) scores.

Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald said he is not satisfied with students’ declining scores, particularly in Math.

While the 2013 BGCSE English score remained at a D letter grade the subject saw a decline in GPA.

BGCSE math scores fell from E+ to E.

“We are concerned about the results in mathematics examinations,” Fitzgerald said at a press conference at the Ministry of Education.

“Our focus, we feel, or I feel to a large extent, has been on literacy. And as a result we have continued to see a steady increase in our English language results.

“In the Department of Education we must accept some responsibility for the deficiencies in our mathematics results and our ministry’s failure to implement required strategies to improve not only teaching but also our results in this area.”

Only 996 out of 7,140 students who took the BGCSE exams — or 13.9 percent — scored a C or above in five or more subjects.

This is a 5.17 percent increase compared to the 947 students who achieved this in the 2012 BGCSEs.

This year, 1,626 candidates got at least a D in five or more subjects. This is an increase of 2.01 percent over 2012, which saw 1,594 students achieve this.

The ministry’s report on the exams noted that 561 students got at least a C or above in English, math and a science subject.

This is a 4.75 percent decrease compared to 2012, which saw 589 students meet this achievement.

The data shows that the highest percentage of overall grades awarded — 28.76 — were in the C category. The results show that 7,776 C grades were scored.

“A cumulative percentage of grades awarded to A and C is slightly higher than 2012 where it increased from 47.76 percent to 48.57 percent,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said there is a concern over the increase in the number of grades awarded at the G and U level.

The total number of G grades given for the 2013 BGCSEs were 1,357 compared to 1,238 last year. Students received 931 U grades this year compared to 747 in 2012.

The ministry’s data shows that 11 subjects saw improvement in grade point average scores: biology; chemistry; commerce; economics; food and nutrition; history; music; office procedures; religious studies; Spanish and keyboarding.

Four subjects improved by a letter grade compared to 2012 scores: commerce rose to C- from D+; history rose to C from C-; music rose to C+ from C and religious studies rose to C from C-.

The data shows that out of the 27 subjects offered, 16 subjects saw a decrease in grade point average compared to 2012.

These are math; physics; English; French; geography; graphical communication; literature; art & design A; art & design B; art & design C; auto mechanics; bookkeeping/accounts; carpentry & joinery; clothing construction; combined science; and electrical installation.

Twelve subjects fell by a letter grade compared to last year: art & design A dropped to C from C+; art & design B fell to C+ from B-; art & design C fell to C- from C; auto mechanics fell to C- from C+; accounts fell to E+ from D; carpentry fell to C- from C.

Clothing construction fell to D from D+; combined science fell to D+ from C-; electrical installation fell to D from D+; French fell C- from C; graphical communication fell to C- from C and math fell to E from E+.

The ministry stopped issuing a national average four years ago. Officials said such a score did not accurately reflect test results because every student does not sit the same exams.

Fitzgerald said the ministry is focused on subject analysis based on test scores.

August 16, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Prime Minister Perry Christie is out of his depth when it comes to the environment

Local Attorney Says Prime Minister Is 'Out Of Touch' On Environment

Tribune242


Environmental attorney and consultant Romauld ‘Romi’ Ferreira took to the airwaves recently to express concern over what he called “out of date” thinking by Prime Minister Perry Christie who, he said, called concerns with the environment “foolishness.”

Ferreira and environmental activist Joseph Darville appeared on Ortland Bodie’s ‘Real Talk Live’ show on More 94.9 recently urging Bahamians to sign the Save The Bays petition calling for an Environmental Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and an end to unregulated development. Mr Ferreira, responded to Prime Minister Christie’s recent dismissal of environmental concerns at Clifton Bay as ‘foolishness,’ labeling those remarks as ‘out of touch’ and reflective of an outdated mode of thinking in The Bahamas.

“It is very regrettable when the Prime Minister of a country can utter a statement like ‘environmental concerns are foolishness’,” says Mr. Ferreira. “This is why this is the fight of our generation. We can’t expect the politicians of yesteryear who regard environmental issues as foolishness to fully appreciate and be cognizant of the issues. We thank Mr. Christie for all of his contributions - he is the longest serving Member of Parliament and he has done wonders, but clearly he is out of his depth when it comes to the environment.”

“Apparently, we’re talking foolishness when we say they (developers) are building in the Marine Protected Area that was proposed (in Bimini), we’re talking foolishness when we say that they’re building the dock on top of the coral reef and we’re talking foolishness when we say the law requires an Environmental Impact Assessment.”

Ferreira, one of several guests on the popular morning talk show, is a leading environmental attorney and consultant who was selected earlier this year by CARICOM to create model legislation for the energy sector for the Caribbean. “This is all the more reason why it takes persons and organizations to show him and elucidate to him that what he may consider foolishness, there are tens of thousands of people in The Bahamas and around the world that don’t think that it is foolishness,” he noted. “We’re not talking foolishness, they’re doing foolishness. I call on every right thinking Bahamian to open their eyes and see what’s happening.”

Also appearing on the show was fellow director of Save The Bays, Joseph Darville, who echoed the sentiment that the environment must be protected and unregulated development checked. “These developers are flocking to us like bees to honey because of what we have to offer as a nation,” said Darville, a retired high school principal and human rights and environmental activist. “What they are foisting on the Bahamian people is totally reprehensible. We are being enslaved by our own people.”

Mr Darville pointed out that organizations like Save The Bays are concerned primarily about the sustainable development of the Bahamas and the preservation of natural resources for generations to come - issues that are relevant to all Bahamians. He encouraged concerned members of the public to go online to www.savethebays.org to sign the organization’s petition to Prime Minister Christie, which has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures to address vital issues such as the lack of an Environmental Protection Act and the implementation of a Freedom of Information Act.

August 12, 2013

Tribune 242 

Caribbean Blog International