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INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000533 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON POL PGOV BF
SUBJECT:  NASSAU MONTHLY - AUGUST 2009 
 
REF: 08 STATE 38297 
 
¶1.  (U) This is a monthly report on a variety of topics of interest 
which do not merit full reporting cables. 
 
-- Cabinet Minister Shuffle Imminent 
-- Weak Tourist Industry Results in Wave of Hotel and Resort 
Closings 
-- Unemployment Rates Skyrocket 
-- Customs Department Rife With Corruption 
-- Police Arrests Taint Embattled Force 
-- Illegal Immigration Media Campaign Targets Haitians in The 
Bahamas 
-- Labor Union Scandals Continue to Grab Headlines 
-- Turtle Protection Act Passes, Angering Fishermen (See Reftel) 
-- Miss Universe Pageant A Success Despite Low Turnout 
 
---------------------------------- 
Cabinet Minister Shuffle Imminent 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶1. (U) A possible Cabinet Minister Shuffle is expected as early 
reports indicate the Minister of Youth Sports and Culture, Desmond 
Bannister, and the Minister of State for Lands and Local Government, 
Byron Woodside, may step down.  Media reports indicate that Sidney 
Collie could replace either Bannister or Woodside.  Collie had 
previously resigned as the Minister of Lands and Local Government in 
the wake of a local government election scandal.  Media reports also 
indicate the Prime Minister may move the Minister of State for 
Social Services, Loretta Butler-Turner and Minister of State for 
Public Utilities, Phenton Neymour.  The rumored shuffle was reported 
as a "traditional half way" shuffle. 
 
----------------------------- 
Weak Tourist Industry Results 
in Wave of Hotel and Resort 
Closings 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The tourism industry continued to suffer this month as 
several hotel chains and resorts closed.  The Wyndham Nassau resort 
will close between August and October for refurbishments and hotel 
upgrades.  This period represents a traditionally slow operating 
period for hotels.  The Port Lucaya Resort and Yacht Club on Grand 
Bahama announced 29 layoffs due to the economic down turn.  In 
addition, the Riu Paradise Island hotel announced it would close for 
three months, leaving 300 employees out of work. Guest complaints 
about the quality of the accommodations in addition to dwindling 
tourism are believed to be responsible for the Riu closure.  Further 
closures are expected in September. 
 
---------------------------- 
Unemployment Rates Skyrocket 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The Department of Statistics recently released new 
unemployment figures which are significantly worse than the 2008 
unemployment rates.  The national unemployment rate is now at 14.2%. 
The unemployment rate in Grand Bahama is 17.4%.  Minister of State 
for Finance, Zhivargo Laing, referred to unemployment in Grand 
Bahama as "reflective of what we know to be a very bad situation." 
Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce President Greg Moss said the real 
unemployment rate is actually much higher because the statistics 
released do not account for discouraged workers.  Because The 
Bahamas relies so heavily on tourism, the significant number of 
hotel and resort closures will continue to have a major effect on 
unemployment rates. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Customs Department Rife With Corruption 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Sixteen Department of Customs officials face allegations of 
bribery, stealing, falsifying documents, evasion of customs duties 
and assault dating back to 2001.  The 16 officers were suspended 
from work with full pay and given 14 days to show cause for why they 
should not be dismissed.  Public Services Union President John 
Pinder accused the GCOB of violating an industrial agreement by 
failing to follow proper procedures when it decided to transfer and 
interdict nearly 30 customs officers in the sting.  Acting Customs 
Comptroller Glenn Gomez said rampant corruption existed in the 
Customs Department.  According to Gomez, 50 of the department's 450 
officers were under investigation for some sort of suspected 
corruption. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Police Arrests Taint Embattled Force 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U) Several high profile arrests of police officers have made 
headlines in the last month.  The officers were charged with various 
crimes including extortion, assault, sex with minors and drug 
possession. Post is taking note of all such cases for the purposes 
 
NASSAU 00000533  002 OF 002 
 
 
of Leahy vetting and consular lookouts.  These cases come in the 
midst of a crime wave in which police have been faulted for not 
adequately protecting the public.  Chairman of the Police 
Association Inspector Bradley Sands pointed to internal management 
problems for the lack of police focus. 
 
----------------------------- 
Labor Union Scandals Continue 
to Grab Headlines 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) A spate of labor related issues made headlines throughout 
August. A Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union election 
was nullified by a Supreme Court ruling because it was not 
supervised by the Registrar of Trade Unions.  The issue is currently 
being heard by the Supreme Court to determine the correct date for 
holding nominations.  Later in the month, an angry mob stormed the 
Bank of the Bahamas to demand why Union chiefs had been allowed to 
withdraw $500,000 from Union funds without the consent of the 
President.  Union President Roy Colebrook said he plans to take 
legal action. A massive sick out by the Bahamas Nurses Union over a 
health insurance dispute resulted in the GCOB announcing it would 
prosecute Doctors who falsified sick notes.  According to the 
Medical Act of 1974, the doctors could face fines, suspension and a 
loss of license if found guilty. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Illegal Immigration Media Campaign 
Targets Haitians in The Bahamas 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Embassy officials conducted a media campaign to address the 
dangers of illegal immigration in response to a wave of illegal 
immigrant interdictions and Haitian sloop tragedies.  The Embassy 
issued a press release after the most recent tragedy off the Turks 
and Caicos Islands which resulted in 15 dead and 67 missing.  The 
press release was picked up by three of the major daily newspapers. 
Warning posters were translated into Creole and circulated into the 
Haitian community in The Bahamas. EmbOffs also participated in 
interviews on several popular radio programs across New Providence 
and the Family Islands, including Grand Bahama, Great Inagua, and 
Exuma. 
 
----------------------------- 
Turtle Protection Act Passes, 
Angering Fishermen 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) The GCOB passed the Turtle Protection Act to ban harvesting 
and exporting all species of turtles.  Those wishing to use turtle 
products for scientific or educational purposes must now apply for a 
permit to do so.  In response, a meeting was called to address the 
concerns of fishermen and others opposed to the ban.  The meeting 
will reportedly culminate in the creation of a Commercial 
Fisherman's Association. The World Conservation Union considers all 
sea turtles threatened or endangered.  By passing the ban, the GCOB 
is now in compliance with its commitments as a signatory to the 
Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora.  Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Larry 
Cartwright said he believed the overwhelming majority of Bahamians 
were in support of the ban. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Miss Universe Pageant A Success 
Despite Low Turnout 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Despite lower ticket sales than expected, The Bahamas hosted 
a very successful Miss Universe pageant over several weeks in 
August.  Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said he will 
soon disclose how much the government spent on the Pageant. 
Opposition parliamentarians have questioned whether the exposure was 
worth the cost and whether it was Kerzner International and NBC that 
benefitted more than the Bahamian people.  Tourism insiders 
estimated that a billion people worldwide watched the pageant. The 
telecast was interspersed with eight minutes of features on key 
tourism attractions throughout the Bahamian archipelago.  Vanderpool 
Wallace said the telecast alone represented a full return on 
investment.  The GCOB intends to use the success as a springboard to 
lobby to host other major events.  Senior Ministry of Tourism 
Officials told PolOff that the government's official tourism website 
received four to five times the normal number of hits immediately 
after the pageant. 
 
ZUNIGA-BROWN