The Big Story

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...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Renowned religious leader Bishop Walter Hanchell, president of Great Commission Ministries and chairman of Citizens for Justice, has been fighting cancer following a diagnosis in early March. In Parliament on Wednesday, Englerston MP Glenys Hanna-Martin called on the nation to pray for Hanchell. “I’m inviting the nation to pray for this man, Bishop Walter Hanchell, because Bishop...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Some $5.2 million in payment fraud complaints were made in 2020, the Central Bank of The Bahamas has revealed, with debit cards amounting for nearly 70 percent of those cases. The bank and trust company regulator’s 2020 annual report revealed that the total number of reported fraud cases processed by commercial banks for cheques, debit and credit cards...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Infrastructure, resources and personnel could be in place to fully establish The Bahamas sex offenders registry within two months, according to Minister of National Security Marvin Dames. According to the Sexual Offenders Regulations 2019, the minister would make a disclosure to the public to “heighten their awareness of the presence of the sexual offender in or near...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government did not consult the official opposition when it chose and appointed the new Freedom of Information (FOI) commissioner, according to Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis. On Sunday, Attorney General Carl Bethel named retired Supreme Court Justice Keith Thompson and former Assistant Director of Legal Affairs (ADLA) Shane Miller as the first freedom of information commissioner...

Court decision may allow some family members to get death certificates nearly two years after tragic storm Just 25 human remains of 59 recovered have been identified, pathologist notes NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Her Majesty's Coroner yesterday heard the final testimonies in the first part of an inquest into people presumed to have died during Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. Witnesses...

Aubry: This is prime time for Bahamas to look at economic diversification, digitization and expenditure NASSAU, BAHAMAS — As the country continues to battle the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, a governor reformer said yesterday that this nation must craft policies for a resilient future. Matt Aubry, the Organization for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Eyewitness News...

Opposition leader says private discussion between Minnis and Moultrie should have been held before the matter was made public NASSAU, BAHAMAS —  Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday warned that the “administrative impasse” between the House of Assembly speaker and the government could lead to an interruption in the legislative agenda. Davis was responding to declarations made by House Speaker...

Speaker says Parliament having an “Ephesians 6:12 moment” Moultrie clarifies his “war” comments do not mean for young men to take up arms NASSAU, BAHAMAS — House Speaker Halson Moultrie on Wednesday accused the executive branch of the government of dragging the Parliament “like a dinghy boat” as he once again demanded for the independence of the House. Moultrie, who...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Tempers flared in the House of Assembly yesterday with both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly lashing out at party leaders. A shouting match between Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Don Saunders and Opposition Leader Philip Davis saw the Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP escorted out of Parliament...

Airlines must pay to fly in Bahamas’ airspace Govt projects $300-350 million intake over next 10 years NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas, for the first time in its history, is assuming management of its sovereign airspace in a move that could yield $300 to $350 million over the next 10 years, according to Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar. The...

Govt social assistance expenditure up 650.3% compared to same period in prior year NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The country’s fiscal deficit in the nine months ending March of this year ballooned nearly 250 percent compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year, widening from $251.3 million to a massive $878.2 million, according to the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — While the government saw an improvement in its revenue intake during the third quarter of the fiscal year due to the continued relaxation of COVID-19 restrictive measures and the restart of the tourism sector, total revenue still saw a nearly 30 percent decline over the same period in the previous fiscal year. According to the Ministry of...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The United States will export at least 10 percent of its stock of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries by July 4, according to Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt, a senior advisor to President Joe Biden’s coronavirus response team. While it remains unclear which countries will be the beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine from the US, Slavit said the...