Bahamas News
Grand Bahama will be prepared for post-COVID, states Prime Minister Minnis
PRESS RELEASE (BIS) February 12, 2021 – During a one-day visit to Grand Bahama to tour the capital works projects currently underway, Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis on Thursday declared, Grand Bahama will be prepared for post-COVID.
While speaking with the media following a tour of West Grand Bahama and Central Grand Bahama, Prime Minister Minnis also said the curfew in Grand Bahama will be extended to 11pm shortly.
The Prime Minister arrived on Thursday morning accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works, the Hon. Desmond Bannister and Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie Campbell. He was greeted by Senator the Hon. J. Kwasi Thompson, Minister of State for Finance and for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Michael Pintard, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources; the Hon. Iram Lewis, Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction; Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe; Senator the Hon. Jasmine Darius; Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Harcourt Brown; and other senior government officials.
The purpose of his visit, he said, was to see the progress made following the “catastrophic events” of Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said, “It is essential that Grand Bahama and the rest of The Bahamas be prepared for the post-COVID era.”
The tour began in West End where the Prime Minister and delegation viewed the dock and saw plans for the boat ramps and fishing station; the convoy then went to Holmes Rock Junior High School, the Administrative/Government Complex in Eight Mile Rock, with a stop at the Eight Mile Rock High School where the Prime Minister greeted some members of staff and a few students.
Hugh Campbell Primary School was the first stop when the group came back to Freeport; and then it was on to the Garnet Levarity Justice Centre, the Post Office, the Department of Agriculture and to Pelican Bay.
Describing the Administrative Complex as “high end” the Prime Minister noted it is of the standard design that should be replicated in the other islands.
He expressed pleasure in the number of people involved in backyard farming and the program’s growth.
The Prime Minister added that the hospital should be ready for official opening next month. The same company that designed the Critical Care Block of the Princess Margaret Hospital when the Prime Minister was the Minister of Health is currently designing the new hospital for Grand Bahama.
Cabinet is expected to deliberate on the airport, as the paperwork has been completed, said Dr. Minnis, and they are prepared to take over and put a management team in place.
As for Our Lucayan, he said it is “somewhat disappointing” that the property has not been reopened yet “unfortunately, we were affected by COVID just like the rest of the world; hotels around the world have been closed down and we were caught with that also.”
He further stated that professionals have come in and reviewed the agreements that were negotiated to make sure that they were compliant with international standards — “we’re getting the best price we possibly can at this point in time.”
“I can’t give you a date at this particular time, but what I can say is that as we come out of this COVID era, the hotels will be ready, the airlines will return and the airport will be ready so Grand Bahama will be ready for this rebound in terms of COVID.”
Following lunch at Pelican Bay, the delegation travelled to East Grand Bahama to view the road repairs, Freetown Primary School repairs, McLean’s Town Clinic and the McLean’s Town Dock.
The Prime Minister departed Grand Bahama for New Providence on Thursday afternoon.
By Robyn Adderley
Photo Captions:
Header: The construction of two new boat ramps, fishing station and removal of conch shells were on the plans shown to Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis on Thursday morning by Garvin Greene of Dewitt Wright Construction.
1st insert: Following the tour of the Government Complex in Eight Mile Rock, Prime Minister Minnis told members of the press that it is a standard building that should be in all of the Family Islands, where all of the government offices are located in one structure.
2nd insert: The newly constructed Holmes Rock Junior High School was one of the stops the Prime Minister made during his tour of capital works projects in Grand Bahama on Thursday.
3rd insert: It is anticipated that newly renovated Rand Memorial Hospital will be ready for official opening in March, said the Prime Minister on Thursday during his tour of capital works projects in Grand Bahama. Leading the hospital tour was Administrator Sharon Williams.
(BIS Photos/Lisa Davis)
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – An American woman has been arrested in The Bahamas, accused of conspiring with two men, one of them alleged to be her lover, to murder her estranged husband.
The woman, 36 year old Lindsay Shiver and the two men, 28-year-old Terrance Bethel, the alleged lover and 29 year old Faron Newbold, were taken into custody last week following police investigation of a reported burglary at
Grabbers Bar and Grill restaurant on Great Guana Cay.
The police looked into their cell phones and found WhatsApp messages detailing the assassination plot to kill her husband.
The couple, who built a life in South Georgia have three children and are home owners on the island in the Abacos.
News outlets throughout the US have reported on the scandalous story, including that a nasty court battle over the couple’s reported, $5 Million dollar fortune and three children was underway. Shiver, an entrepreneur is a former beauty Alabama queen, her husband a former football player was an insurance executive.
According to US media, the husband, Robert, recently filed for divorce from Shivers after a decade of marriage upon discovering she had an alleged extra-martial affair with Bethel whom she met in The Bahamas.
While the husband claims infidelity on the part of his wife, the wife claims he was abusive.
The suspects Shiver, Bethel and Newbold appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley on Friday July 28th. Their next court date is set for October 5th.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – The Bahamas is now facing an unfortunate reality as sexual assault has become and is a growing issue since 2023. Women and girls are said to be living in fear for their safety from these perpetrators.
The Royal Bahamas Police force has reported on instances of assault in press releases found on their Facebook page.
One report spoke of a 50 year old they were searching for after he burglarized a home and sexually assaulted an elderly woman, 82 years old. She was reported to be asleep when he woke and assaulted her.
This took place on Tuesday July 11th, 2023 at the home in the Centreville area of Nassau.
There is another incident that took place on July 17th, 2023 which the police are seeking in catching the suspect as they investigate. It involves a man believed to the perpetrator in for an armed robbery and sexual assault.
According to preliminary data, he approached the victim, a female, with a firearm, robbed her and sexually assaulted
her. He proceeded to enter the house and robbed a male and escaped. This happened in the Cowpen Road area; also in Nassau.
The assaults continue to grow in number as the police reported that they were investigating two other incidents that took place on July 24th.
The first had to do with a female, 30 years old who reported she was driving on West on Marshall Road when two men approached her after she slowed down near Faith Avenue. One of the males with a firearm, forced her from her vehicle and took her to nearby bushes where they sexually assaulted her after which they escaped.
The second incident involved à 32 year old woman who was sexually assaulted by a male known to her. It is reported that she was walking in the Fleming Street area when she accepted transportation from the suspect, who drove her to a dirt road off Gladstone Road where he presented a firearm and proceeded to rape her.
Furthermore, another assault, this time involving a 9 year old girl, was reported. As revealed by preliminary information, the victim was playing with friends outside where she lives on Saturday July 29th, 2023 when the suspect, a 42 year old male of Summerset Estate, driving a white Nissan Skyline, arrived and gestured to her to enter the car.
She entered the car after which he took her to an unknown location, threatened her and sexually assaulted her. She was later found somewhere in Spikenard Road; this also happened in Nassau.
Fortunately, he was caught and arrested for abduction and sexual assault on Sunday July 30th by officers affiliated with the Drug Enforcement Unit.
There are other reports of sexual assault throughout The Bahamas as well as rape and attempted rape during the earlier parts of the year, dating back to as early as February.
CAPTION: Women Leaders, including Ann Marie Davis, wife of the Prime Minister filled the gallery of The Bahamas Senate this week as members of the upper chamber debated the Protection Against Violence Bill 2023. The debate came just as the country experiences a spike in sexual assaults against women and girls. Photo by Patrick Hanna, BIS.
#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – On August 3rd, 2023, Premier Misick met with the Leader of the
Opposition of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Honorable Michael Pintard. The discussion was highly productive, and they delved into matters of mutual concern between their neighboring nations. Hon. Pintard was accompanied by other opposition members, including Senator the Honorable Darren Handfield and Mr. Joshua Sears.
Group photo caption:
From Left to Right: Mr. Joshua Sears, Senator Hon. Darren Hendfield, Premier Hon. Charles Washington Misick, Bahamas Leader of the Bahamas Hon. Michael Pintard and Deputy Premier Hon. Erwin J. Saunders.
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