The Big Story

Demolition of unregulated structures in The Farm expected to continue today NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Immigration Elsworth Johnson said yesterday that the government’s decision to demolish the shantytown in The Farm, Abaco, is in the best interest of The Bahamas, notwithstanding appeals from the United Nations to forgoe the destruction of the homes in the community. “The work being...

More than 36,000 doses of the vaccine administered in-country NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Nearly two months after the government began administering the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, it will begin to roll out the second dose of the vaccine to eligible recipients beginning tomorrow. According to the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, the administration of the second dose of the vaccine, which...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A Baha Mar employee who received the COVID-19 vaccine and subsequently collapsed and died was not as a result of the vaccination, according to the Ministry of Health. In a statement, the ministry said the medical history of the individual “does not support the COVID-19 vaccine or any other vaccination as being the cause of death”. According...

Prime minister specifies govt is only moving on medicinal marijuana and expungement of records at this time NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government is expected to table a bill in Parliament in the next few weeks that would regulate medicinal marijuana in The Bahamas, said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis on Friday. "We are presently attempting to complete the medicinal marijuana...

“The Bahamas deserves a full assessment of whether or not this project is a good deal for its people” NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Opponents of Disney’s Lighthouse Point development maintain that the company’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) has “major deficiencies”, stating that this nation deserves a full assessment of whether or not the project is a good deal for the Bahamian...

“This chicken will come home to roost in due course” NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The nine-month fiscal snapshot released by the Minnis administration underscores the “dire set of circumstances” this nation is currently facing, according to Shadow Finance Minister Chester Cooper, who accused the administration of being lost and without a plan. The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) deputy leader and Exumas...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A 48-year-old woman of New Providence became the latest victim of the coronavirus on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health. There have been 213 COVID-19 deaths. There have been 50 COVID patients who died of other illnesses. A total of 26 deaths remains under investigation. Another 32 cases were recorded on Saturday — 26 on New...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A mortgage lender has reported its net profit for the three moths ended January 31, 2021 was down more than 60 percent compared to the corresponding period in the prior year. The BISX-listed Finance Corporation of The Bahamas (FINCO), in its first quarter financial statement, noted that the bank’s net profit for the three months ending January...

Remediation efforts, including cleaning assets to continue for several months NASSAU, BAHAMAS — “Major remediation” efforts undertaken since Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) fuel supply in April was contaminated, affecting 87,000 barrels of fuel, has safeguarded fuel needed for power generation, according to the power company. In a statement, the power company said while the details of the contamination incident...

New airport expected to be completed within next two years NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government today signed a multimillion-dollar contract for the redevelopment of Exuma International Airport and broke ground on the new infrastructure. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Minister of Tourism and Aviation Dionisio D'Aguilar, along with a delegation, traveled to the island for the signing and groundbreaking...

Current orders expire on May 23 Minnis: We are still watching the situation and will take a direction that is best for the nation NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday that the government remains on the fence on whether it will extend the current state of emergency, which is expected to expire on May 23. Speaking to...

Harbour Island committee unhappy with site’s managementELEUTHERA, BAHAMAS — Amid concerns that a North Eleuthera landfill has been improperly operated by a waste management company owned by the brother of area MP Howard Rickey Mackey, the MP has sought to defend the operation. Mackey owns the barge and some of the equipment involved in the government contract. In a recent...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The appointment of the first freedom of information commissioner and deputy freedom of information commissioner is a "big step forward" towards the enactment of a fully functioning Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), said Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) Executive Director Matt Aubrey. On Sunday, Attorney General Carl Bethel named retired Supreme Court Justice Keith Thompson and former...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — United Nations human rights experts today called on the Bahamas to halt planned demolitions this week of approximately 600 homes at two informal settlements known as the Farm and the Farm Road in Abaco. In a statement released this morning, the experts cited health and humanitarian concerns that "the community of largely Haitian descendants and migrants numbering...

Some Farm residents with nowhere to go say they will "wait and see" what happens ABACO, BAHAMAS — After placing final eviction notices on remaining shantytown homes in The Farm, Abaco, earmarked for demolition, the government is expected to tear down those unregulated structures today. The notices affixed to homes yesterday in English and Creole read: “Final demolition notice. To...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The sister of a woman believed to have been swept away during the deadly Hurricane Dorian in 2019 said yesterday that the last time she spoke to her then-26-year-old sister was hours before the storm ripped through Abaco. Dr Mpatrizzia Naclene Gozito testified in an inquest into 34 people presumed dead and reported to police as missing...

Paying off inherited past-due arrears had been govt’s justification for VAT rate hike $26M in payments remaining in schedule NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government settled $52.3 million in payment arrears in the nine months ending March 2021, according to the Ministry of Finance. The ministry, in its nine-month report on budgetary performance for the period July to March of fiscal...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday accused the Free National Movement (FNM) of "obfuscating" the intentions of the prime minister and the party regarding the upcoming general election. In a memo sent out on April 29, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) advised its heads of departments to submit the names of marines expected...