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  • Baha Mar Climate Week brings focus to conservation and climate action

    Baha Mar Climate Week brings focus to conservation and climate action

    The Bahamas is stepping up collective action against climate change, as the Baha Mar Resort Foundation officially launched Climate Week 2026, a landmark seven-day event that gathers stakeholders from across government, scientific research, conservation, civil society, and the arts to confront the growing climate risks threatening the island nation.

    Centered around the evocative theme *At the Edge of the Water*, the event runs from September 18 to 24, with a full lineup of activities spanning educational outreach, environmental restoration projects, and creative cultural programming all tied to advancing local climate action and protecting The Bahamas’ unique natural resources.

    The official opening plenary, held Monday at ECCHO on the Baha Mar resort campus, welcomed senior government environmental officials including Obie Roberts, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, and Dr. Rhianna Neely, Director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection. Co-hosted in partnership with the Bahamas Protected Areas Fund, the opening session delivered a frank assessment of the most pressing climate challenges facing the archipelago, alongside a detailed overview of ongoing conservation efforts being implemented across the country’s islands.

    In his opening remarks, Robert Sands, Senior Vice President of Baha Mar, emphasized the collective responsibility required to address the climate crisis: “Climate change presents very real challenges for The Bahamas. Addressing them will require government, the private sector, conservation organizations, non-profits, the creative community and Bahamians across our islands to play a part.”

    Programming for Climate Week actually got an early start last Friday, with the opening of the signature *At the Edge of the Water* art exhibition. The show features work from 24 local and regional artists, each exploring the deep, complex relationship between The Bahamas’ island communities and the surrounding waters that shape their culture, livelihoods, and daily life.

    On Saturday, the foundation continued hands-on action by partnering with the Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority and a local environmental non-profit to host a large-scale beach revegetation project at Nassau’s popular Saunders Beach, designed to restore natural coastal buffers that reduce erosion and storm surge risk.

    The remainder of the week’s schedule includes a range of targeted engagement activities: school outreach visits to teach K-12 students about climate science and local conservation, an interactive World Cafe dialogue session hosted in collaboration with the Organization for Responsible Governance, and a closing celebration titled *Poetry of the Natural World* — a poetry night and reception to be held at ECCHO on Thursday that will wrap up the week’s programming.

    Conservation is a core institutional priority for the Baha Mar Resort Foundation, forming one of its three foundational pillars alongside community development and cultural preservation. Beyond Climate Week, the foundation maintains a robust portfolio of ongoing environmental initiatives across The Bahamas, including large-scale mangrove and coral reef restoration projects, the national Queen Conch Education Program, and Baha Mar’s industry-leading Climate Friendly Travel initiative that works to decarbonize the country’s key tourism sector.

  • Mouldy ceilings, wet floors & rain buckets

    Mouldy ceilings, wet floors & rain buckets

    Two high-profile incidents across The Bahamas’ Family Islands have thrown long-simmering failures in the country’s rural healthcare system into the national spotlight, as nursing staff and public health advocates push for urgent government action to fix crumbling infrastructure and restore basic care access.

    In the northern Out Island of Bimini, graphic viral footage captured a patient being transported to a medical evacuation ferry in the open bed of a pickup truck, while a nurse stood alongside holding an umbrella to shield the patient from a torrential downpour. The patient was bound for South Bimini to catch an airlift to the main hospital hub in New Providence, but the island’s two clinic ambulances have remained idle and non-functional for more than a year, leaving medical teams with no other viable transport option. “It’s that bad,” the nurse can be heard saying in the circulating video.

    The incident sparked immediate national outrage, echoing identical incidents reported in Exuma and Long Island just one year prior, where patients also relied on open truck transport to reach emergency air services. Muriel Lightbourn, president of the Bahamas Nurses Union, slammed the unacceptable conditions, noting that vulnerable, already ill patients should never be forced to endure such treatment. “Could you imagine having to be placed on the back of a truck to get to seek medical help? Come on now,” she said, calling for immediate repairs to Bimini’s disabled ambulance fleet and emphasizing that all Bahamian residents are entitled to basic, dignified healthcare access.

    Responding to public pressure, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville announced that a specialized maintenance team from New Providence would travel to Bimini this week to inspect the two out-of-service vehicles. According to Darville, one of the ambulances is a brand-new unit that may only require new batteries, while the second is a previously donated vehicle. The minister also confirmed that the national Cabinet has already given approval to purchase 10 additional new ambulances to expand capacity across the Family Islands. Bimini and Berry Islands Member of Parliament Randy Rolle reiterated his commitment to restoring full ambulance service for the island, though he cautioned healthcare workers to prioritize patient privacy when sharing incidents on social media, noting that “the attention generated by social media should never overshadow our common goal, which is to provide Biminites and all Bahamians with the dignity, compassion and quality healthcare they deserve.” Lightbourn quickly pushed back on criticism of the nurse who recorded the video, arguing that the worker faced a no-win scenario: had she refused to arrange the transport, she would have faced disciplinary action for abandoning her duties, so speaking out about the crisis was the only ethical choice.

    Half a hundred miles south in Abaco, the crisis deepened as nursing staff at the $12 million Marsh Harbour Healthcare Centre launched a full sick-out to protest more than 12 months of unaddressed complaints about the facility’s unsafe working conditions. Nurses report widespread toxic mould covering facility ceilings, a permanently broken air conditioning system, non-flushing toilets, a lack of hot running water, chronic shortages of critical medical supplies, persistent roof leaks that require buckets to be placed throughout the building to catch dripping water, and dangerous understaffing that leaves the few working nurses overburdened and at risk.

    In a public social media post defending the industrial action, Abaco-based nurse Lashawn Johnson argued that nursing staff should not be forced to sacrifice their own physical health to prop up a failing system. “Please don’t tell us how much nurses are ‘valued’ while continuing to ignore the conditions we are working under,” Johnson wrote. “Value us with action. Hire enough staff. Provide adequate services.” She emphasized that staff are not seeking special treatment, only the basic, safe working conditions required to care for patients effectively.

    Minister Darville confirmed that the sick-out, which launched Sunday night, has disrupted routine care services at the centre, though the exact number of participating nurses remains unclear. The minister noted that remedial care arrangements have already been put in place to ensure local residents can still access emergency and essential care, and a formal contract for facility repairs has already been awarded. Following an initial assessment trip by a ministry team to Abaco last week, Darville attributed many of the facility’s issues to an ageing air conditioning system that has been pushed beyond its limits by extreme seasonal heat, leading to excess moisture buildup that has fostered mould growth. Representatives from the Ministry of Environment will travel to the facility in the coming days to conduct a full new air quality assessment, after a May 2024 assessment found air quality satisfactory, conditions have reportedly deteriorated significantly in the months since.

    Darville stated that he will not make a decision about a potential temporary closure of the centre until he receives the new air quality results, noting that he refuses to put staff or local community members at unnecessary risk. “I have to wait on the air quality control report. That’s very important for me because I don’t want to put my staff or the community in harm’s way,” he said, adding that multiple nurses have already reported experiencing negative health impacts from the facility’s unsafe conditions. “That’s the logistics how it’s going to be done is where I’m at, but it’s not that we have not acted.”

  • Adriel’s mother pursues UB dream in her honour

    Adriel’s mother pursues UB dream in her honour

    Nearly two years after 12-year-old Adriel Moxey was violently killed while walking home from school in the Bahamas, her mother Sasha Moxey is turning unimaginable grief into purpose by stepping into the college classroom her daughter was never able to attend. Now an art education major who has studied at the University of The Bahamas (UB) for roughly 18 months, Sasha says her daughter’s tragic death gave her the final push to act on long-discussed plans to pursue higher education that she had put off for years.

    “She would have been the one heading to college next, not me,” Sasha shared in an interview with The Tribune. “When she passed, I just thought, why wait? It’s time for me to go to school in her place.”

    Adriel, a seventh-grade student at Anatol Rodgers High School, vanished shortly after leaving campus on November 18, 2024. Two days later, searchers found her body in thick underbrush along Faith Avenue South, a wooded stretch of the route she walked home every day. Official police records confirmed the young student died from strangulation.

    In a court hearing earlier this year, 39-year-old Chris Ferguson accepted a guilty plea to charges of murder, unlawful sexual assault, and unlawful detention for the attack. Justice Guillimina Archer-Minns ultimately sentenced Ferguson to 40 years behind bars. Prosecutors and court documents laid out the chilling details of the crime: Ferguson followed Adriel along the secluded bush path, tricked her into believing he lived nearby, and lured her into the vegetation, where he assaulted her before strangling her to death with a belt. Ferguson returned to the site the next day to move her body, investigators confirmed.

    Before sentencing, Sasha publicly pushed for Ferguson to receive a mandatory life sentence, a demand she never backed down from. Today, she acknowledges that the legal process has reached its end, but the hole left by Adriel’s absence will never close.
    “In one sense, there’s closure: the trial is over, and I never have to see that man again,” Sasha explained. “But it will never truly be closed, because she should still be right here with me.”

    The start of each new school year amplifies that pain, she says. Watching local students gear up for their first day of classes brings back sharp memories of Adriel’s own back-to-school plans, including her wish for a new Sprayground backpack for the semester she never got to start. A mother of three surviving children, Sasha says there are still days when small moments trigger memories of Adriel’s laugh, their casual conversations, and her warm hugs.

    To keep from being consumed by grief, Sasha fills her days with university coursework, part-time work, and caring for her family. Art was a shared passion between mother and daughter: Adriel often helped her mother sell her paintings to visiting tourists, a memory Sasha carries with her into every studio class she takes now. As she works toward her art education degree, Sasha says she is focused on finishing her program and building a better future in Adriel’s name. While she had talked about attending college for years before the tragedy, Adriel’s death made her realize there was no time to put her dream on hold.

    “All I can do is take this one day at a time,” Sasha said. Even as nearly two years have passed, she makes no effort to pretend the pain has faded. “I will never get over losing her,” she said. “A piece of my life will always be missing, no matter how much time goes by.”

  • Tourist assault suspect was not licensed: Lundy

    Tourist assault suspect was not licensed: Lundy

    A disturbing assault incident involving an unlicensed independent jet ski operator and an American tourist has prompted Bahamian authorities to roll out sweeping new safety reforms for the island nation’s popular water tourism sector, Transport Minister Leon Lundy has confirmed. The alleged attacker, who posed as a legitimate jet ski service provider at Goodman’s Bay to approach the out-of-town visitor, lacked both the mandatory operating license and an official identification badge issued by the Bahamas Port Department, Lundy said in an official briefing. He added that the suspect was operating entirely outside the government’s authorized regulatory framework for jet ski services, noting that only trained, vetted operators with official credentials are legally allowed to solicit tourism customers at public beaches. It remains unclear as of press time whether the suspect has been taken into police custody following the alleged attack. The incident dates back to September 11, when 25-year-old Briana Bazel, a tourist from Ohio, was approached by the man after her pre-booked online jet ski excursion was canceled. According to Bazel’s account, the man introduced himself as a licensed jet ski operator and tour guide, and offered the visitor and her friend a discounted combined sightseeing and jet ski rental package. Later that evening, after the group continued socializing off the beach, Bazel alleged that the man became violent when she rejected his unwanted sexual advances, punching her in the face outside a local entertainment venue. Minister Lundy extended his formal sympathy to Bazel for the traumatic experience, and urged any tourist or local who feels threatened at beaches or other public spaces across the Bahamas to immediately report incidents to local law enforcement. “I actually do feel sorry for the lady with the event,” Lundy said. “And I want anybody in that type of situation to go ahead and report it to police first.” The minister pushed back against suggestions that government regulators have been slow to address known risks in the jet ski tourism sector, noting that new safety measures will be unveiled in the near term. “We’re doing what we must do as a ministry,” he said. “And you’ll see in short order that we’ll have some technology rolled out that’ll help assist and mitigate these situations from happening.” In addition to new digital tracking and verification tools, Lundy announced that the Port Department has launched a new partnership with the Bahamas Police Force’s Sex Crimes Unit to update mandatory operator training curricula. The updated training will include explicit guidance on appropriate professional boundaries and how to de-escalate potentially problematic interactions with tourists. Long before this latest high-profile incident, the U.S. State Department has issued repeated public warnings to American travelers about safety risks linked to unregulated jet ski and personal watercraft operations in the Bahamas. The most recent update to U.S. travel guidance for the region notes that many independent operators lack valid operating licenses and liability insurance, and specifically cites a pattern of reported sexual assaults, serious injuries, and fatalities tied to unregulated operators. U.S. government employees posted to or traveling in the region are strictly prohibited from renting jet skis or personal watercraft from unvetted independent operators. Warnings from U.S. officials have grown increasingly urgent in recent years, following a string of widely reported sexual assault allegations involving American tourists and unlicensed jet ski operators across the Bahamas. Industry analysts note the incident highlights longstanding gaps in regulatory oversight of the Caribbean nation’s $4.5 billion tourism industry, which attracts more than 7 million visitors annually. While major resorts and licensed tour operators maintain strict vetting for water sports staff, unregulated independent operators often operate freely at public beaches, targeting tourists with lower prices and unscheduled services. The new reforms announced by Lundy aim to close that gap by creating a verifiable system to confirm which operators hold valid credentials, reducing the risk of tourists falling victim to scams, violence, or exploitation.

  • Tourist bloodied in alleged assault after encounter with jet ski operator

    Tourist bloodied in alleged assault after encounter with jet ski operator

    A 25-year-old American tourist from Ohio is speaking out about a violent alleged assault that left her injured and uncertain about ever returning to The Bahamas, a popular Caribbean travel destination that has faced repeated questions over tourist safety in its unregulated beach tourism sector.

    Briana Bazel and her best friend had traveled to New Providence for what was supposed to be a celebratory first trip to The Bahamas – and the friend’s first journey outside the United States. The pair had pre-booked a jet ski excursion online before leaving the U.S., but their planned activity was canceled just two hours after they arrived on the island on September 10. Stranded without their planned activity, the women were waiting at Goodman’s Bay on September 11 when a man approached them, introducing himself as a licensed jet ski operator and tour guide. He offered the pair a package combining jet ski rides and island sightseeing, and even connected them with his cousin to act as their private taxi driver.

    Bazel claims the man and his cousin showed official-looking badges to convince the women they were legitimate, though she now doubts the credentials were authentic. For most of the day, the outing proceeded without incident: the group went sightseeing, stopped at local restaurants, and completed the jet ski ride as promised. Later that evening, the two women ran into the men again at the Green Parrot venue, and the group accepted an invitation to move on to a separate lounge on Palm Tree Avenue.

    It was there that the situation turned violent, according to Bazel. After Bazel mentioned to her friend that she was menstruating, the man’s demeanor shifted dramatically. He grew angry, telling Bazel outside the lounge (away from the loud indoor music) that he believed she used the comment as an excuse to reject his sexual advances. When Bazel explicitly clarified that she had never intended to have sex with him, the confrontation escalated: he grabbed her arm, and when she pulled away, he punched her directly in the face.

    “I immediately started bleeding as soon as he did it,” Bazel recalled from her home in Ohio, adding that bystanders outside the lounge did nothing to intervene. “Nobody did anything, nobody helped.” She ran back inside to find her friend, too afraid to fight back as the man grew increasingly aggressive. Staff from the lounge escorted the pair to a local police station, where Bazel filed an official complaint. A police officer then took her to a local hospital for treatment, and a hospital worker drove her back to her Airbnb accommodation. The punch cut through her upper lip after it collided with her tooth, leaving her with severe pain that made eating and drinking nearly impossible in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Though her injury has healed since her return to the U.S., the emotional impact of the incident has left her hesitant to travel back to the country.

    Bazel shared her experience in a viral TikTok video, which opens with footage of her bloodied face holding a tissue to her swollen lip. As of press time, the video has amassed more than 54,000 views, and dozens of other female tourists have since reached out to Bazel to share their own similar allegations of harassment or scams connected to the same man and his taxi driver cousin.

    Following the filing of Bazel’s complaint, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed the investigation is active and has issued a wanted poster for the suspect. Local officials have acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, though the industry regulatory process is still unfolding. Transport Minister Leon Lundy noted that it has not yet been confirmed whether the suspect is a licensed jet ski operator, a detail that sits at the center of growing concerns about unvetted operators in the Bahamas’ beach tourism sector. Lundy said the Ministry of Transport takes regulatory enforcement seriously, and will support the ongoing police investigation before taking any regulatory action within its authority once all facts are confirmed. He added that he hopes Bazel is receiving the care and support she needs, and encouraged any other victims of harassment or violence to come forward to file official complaints.

    Tourism Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin echoed that sentiment, saying she is deeply concerned about the social media conversation that has followed the incident, which has painted the Bahamas in a negative light. “My thoughts are with the young woman involved, and I sincerely hope she is receiving the care and support she needs following what must have been a very difficult experience,” Hanna-Martin said. “We are mindful of the impact incidents such as this can have on our tourism industry. We await the outcome of the police investigation and will allow the facts to guide any further action.”

    This latest allegation is not an isolated incident, and it reinforces warnings that the U.S. State Department has issued to American travelers for years. The State Department’s current travel advisory for the Bahamas explicitly warns of risks connected to unlicensed jet ski and personal watercraft operators, noting that many independent operators lack proper licensing and insurance, and have been linked to reports of sexual assault, serious injury, and death. U.S. government employees are officially prohibited from renting jet skis from unregulated independent operators in the country, and warnings were amplified after a string of reported sexual assaults involving American tourists and jet ski operators in recent years. Most recently, in April 2025, another American woman reported being raped by a jet ski operator near Junkanoo Beach, leading to formal charges against a suspect in that case.

    For Bazel, the future of any return to the Bahamas remains uncertain. She initially ruled out ever going back, but noted that she met many kind, welcoming Bahamian residents during the end of her trip, leaving her divided. “Until it seems like there’s going to be something done about it, I don’t think I would come back or even recommend people to go there,” she said.

  • Grand Bahama Junkanoo groups get funding boost

    Grand Bahama Junkanoo groups get funding boost

    The recently established National Junkanoo Authority has announced a substantial increase in seed funding for Grand Bahama-based Junkanoo groups ahead of the 2026/2027 parade season, injecting more than $100,000 into the iconic cultural celebration while acknowledging that full funding parity with larger New Providence groups has not yet been achieved.

    At an official contract signing ceremony held at Kingdom Worship Center, the authority formalized agreements with 10 competing groups set to participate in this year’s Explorer’s Way parade. The roster of contracted groups includes five top-tier A Groups, four B Groups, and one community-focused Fun Group. Most notably, the base funding for A Groups has been raised by $3,000, growing from the previous allocation of $12,000 to $15,000 per group, driving the overall increase in total regional funding.

    National Junkanoo Authority Chairman Dr. Christopher Curry emphasized that the funding bump is an intentional step to address longstanding funding gaps between New Providence and out-island Junkanoo communities. The organization’s core mission, he explained, is to work toward full parity and build a more equitable distribution of seed funding across all participating groups across the country. Even so, Dr. Curry confirmed in response to reporter questions that Grand Bahama groups still do not receive the same level of funding as the largest Junkanoo collectives based in Nassau.

    The increased investment has been broadly welcomed by Junkanoo group leaders, who have long described the steep cost of parade participation as a persistent financial burden that has forced organizers and members to cover preparation costs out of their own pockets for years. Chauncey Gray, leader of the Superstar Rockers – the 2025 parade’s winning group – called the creation of the National Junkanoo Authority a win that groups have advocated for over many years.

    “It is something we had been asking for,” Gray noted. “It’s taxing on the leaders to have to go out there and look for funding. And so, with the Authority it is going to help out a lot with the funding.” Gray added that the constant financial strain has directly contributed to declining membership across Grand Bahama’s Junkanoo community, as many participants can no longer afford to contribute personal funds to put on the parade. “We need for the members in the groups to stop digging in their pockets to put the parade on,” he said. “So more people now will get involved because we lose a lot of people every year because people just can’t find the funding and Junkanoo is very expensive. This is a move in the right direction, and we all welcome it with open arms.”

    Thomas Curry, leader of the Platinum Knights Junkanoo Group, echoed that sentiment, calling the additional funding “a step in the right direction.” Curry shared that his group had already spent four months preparing for the upcoming parade using personal funds from members, as they did not wait for delayed government funding to get started. He welcomed the $3,000 funding increase and shared his hope that full parity with Nassau-based groups will be achieved in coming years.

    Addressing concerns about the delayed timing of this year’s funding distribution, Dr. Curry explained that the authority only held its inaugural board meeting roughly four weeks ago, and a more structured, predictable funding timeline will be implemented for future seasons. With contracts now finalized, he said groups can move forward full steam with preparations, including advancing the construction of elaborate parade costumes and performance pieces in their workshops.

    The contract signing ceremony also marked the official launch of the 2026/2027 Junkanoo season on Grand Bahama. Leslia Miller-Brice, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, said her ministry centered stakeholder input in its work, starting with listening sessions with group leaders to gather data on group sustainability and the condition of workshop spaces, ensuring government policy is tailored to the actual needs of the Junkanoo community. She laid out five core commitments for the authority’s first term: “to listen, to protect, to professionalize, to expand, and to empower.”

    These commitments include formal protection of Junkanoo shacks as dedicated creative centers, expanding Junkanoo programming beyond the traditional single annual parade season, and empowering the multigenerational stewards who have kept the cultural tradition alive. Miller-Brice emphasized that Grand Bahama has a distinct Junkanoo identity separate from Nassau’s traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s Day celebrations, noting “Grand Bahama has its own sound, its own talent, its own Junkanoo story, and its own stage.”

    Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama, praised the Grand Bahama Junkanoo community for its resilience in keeping the tradition alive through repeated hurricane damage and ongoing economic hardship. She added that the creation of the National Junkanoo Authority provides a critical formal regulatory and organizational framework to “protect, support, and advance” the beloved cultural tradition across the country.

    Dr. Curry confirmed that the authority, which has only recently become fully operational, will continue holding listening sessions and consultations with Junkanoo groups across all islands as it refines its policies and long-term funding strategy.

  • Cyber criminals use AI to sharpen attacks

    Cyber criminals use AI to sharpen attacks

    At a recent cybersecurity summit focused on artificial intelligence held in the Bahamas, top industry specialists have sounded the alarm over a rapidly growing threat: cyber criminals are leveraging cutting-edge AI tools to launch more sophisticated, scalable, and personalized attacks than ever before, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) bearing the brunt of this new wave of malicious activity.

    Frank Gomez, a cybersecurity specialist at global IT management firm Kaseya, explained that generative AI and accessible large language models have eliminated historic barriers for bad actors. Individuals with limited technical expertise or language proficiency can now craft highly convincing attack campaigns that would have required significant skill and time just a few years ago. The evolution of AI-powered threats has grown exponentially over the past two to three years, Gomez noted, with attackers advancing their capabilities at a staggering pace — what would have taken a decade of skill building a decade ago can now be achieved in just 12 months thanks to readily available AI tools.

    Gomez highlighted a recent example where an organization saw all 300 of its employees receive individually tailored phishing emails. Just a few years ago, developing a personalized campaign of that scale would have taken roughly a full month of work by attackers; today, that same task can be completed in a fraction of the time. He added that SMEs have become the primary target for these AI-enabled attacks, as bad actors correctly assume most small and mid-sized businesses lack the robust security infrastructure of large corporations. Many SMEs still operate without advanced email filtering systems or tools that can monitor anomalous login activity across their networks, leaving them uniquely exposed. Compounding this risk, Gomez noted that over 50% of organizations hit by ransomware ultimately pay the demanded ransom, as they have no viable backup or recovery alternative to restore their operations.

    The warnings were delivered on the sidelines of the Fortify AI Cybersecurity Summit, hosted at Margaritaville, where hundreds of technology and cybersecurity professionals gathered to unpack the risks of unregulated rapid AI adoption and share strategies for stronger organizational defense. Emmanuel Oscar, senior systems engineering manager at leading cybersecurity firm Fortinet, echoed Gomez’s concerns, noting that the fast evolution of AI has drastically expanded the overall cyber threat landscape. Today, Oscar explained, attackers are already using AI to sharpen their coordinated campaigns, forcing cybersecurity defenders to turn to the same technology to keep pace. “Using AI to help the defenders defend against a very sophisticated threat actor that’s also leveraging AI,” Oscar said, adding that attackers are often more coordinated in their efforts than defensive teams.

    Oscar explained that cybersecurity firms across the industry are currently racing to develop AI-powered defensive tools that can detect and mitigate AI-enabled attacks, support overstretched cybersecurity analysts, and protect AI models themselves from common exploitation techniques such as prompt injection and jailbreaking. Crucially, Oscar added that many vulnerabilities among Bahamian companies do not stem from outdated technology alone — weak governance and a lack of leadership buy-in for cybersecurity are often the root cause of breaches. “Sometimes it’s not even a technical issue; it’s more of governance. It’s leadership,” he said. “Culture starts from the top and works itself down.” He called for cross-sector collaboration between public and private stakeholders to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity posture as it continues its digital transformation.

    Montino Roberts, executive chairman and founder of Professional Business Services, the organizer of the summit, said the event was designed to move beyond abstract discussions of AI risk and toward practical, hands-on training for organizations of all sizes. Roberts warned that AI can be weaponized with surprising ease, and its potential to disrupt business operations and compromise sensitive data is massive. Rather than relying solely on traditional lecture-style presentations, the summit incorporated live, interactive demonstrations of attack techniques, allowing participants to attempt to exploit an AI model themselves before learning how to block and defend against those same attacks.

    Roberts drew a parallel between this hands-on defensive training and the historic construction of Nassau’s Fort Charlotte, which has stood for more than 200 years as a defensive stronghold. “It wasn’t built to last because no one attacked it. It was just built so it could support those attacks. In the digital world, we’re trying to teach the same thing today,” he explained.

    Noelle Russell, CEO of the AI Leadership Institute, which partnered with PBS on the summit, added that organizations need to fundamentally reframe how they approach AI governance. Many businesses currently treat AI as a trusted co-pilot or collaborator, but Russell argued that all AI systems should be viewed through the lens of “zero trust” — “a zero trust contractor,” as she put it. She compared regulating AI systems to setting clear expectations and boundaries for employees: organizations do not control every action of their human workers, but they put clear guardrails, policies, and consequences in place to reduce risk. The same framework, she argued, is required for AI tools.

    “We don’t control humans, but we definitely give them guardrails,” Russell said. “We just have to get everyone’s mind focused on the same principles we apply to humans. We do now need to create the same policies and safety precautions for [AI] agents as well.”

  • Baha Mar offers 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave

    Baha Mar offers 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave

    A major Bahamas-based resort developer is setting a new benchmark for workplace family benefits in the Caribbean, announcing a generous 16-week fully paid parental leave policy that far exceeds both current national legislation and the Bahamian government’s ongoing labor reform proposals.

    Baha Mar President Graeme Davis confirmed the new policy in a company-wide address to staff, noting the policy will go into effect on June 29. Under the framework, all eligible full-time employees — including new mothers, new fathers, and workers welcoming a child via adoption — will receive 100% of their base salary for the full 16-week leave period.

    The policy rollout arrives amid ongoing work by the Davis administration to update the country’s decades-old Employment Act and Industrial Relations Act, a process that marks the first time the national government has proposed introducing a statutory paid paternity leave entitlement. Currently, Bahamian law does not guarantee any paid paternity leave for working parents. The only existing provision allows workers with at least six months of tenure to access one week of unpaid family leave per year for events including a new child, or the illness or death of an immediate family member. For maternity leave, current rules guarantee qualifying women a minimum of 12 weeks of leave, with employers required to cover just one-third of wages up to the National Insurance insurable wage cap, a benefit that can only be claimed once every three years.

    As part of its ongoing national reform process, the government has proposed expanding statutory maternity leave to 14 weeks and introducing just two weeks of paid paternity leave, available once every three years. Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle confirmed earlier in 2024 that amendment legislation is currently being drafted, with plans for additional stakeholder consultations before the bill moves to Cabinet and Parliament for a vote. By comparison, Baha Mar’s new policy offers eligible fathers eight times more paid leave than the government’s draft national proposal.

    Davis framed the new benefit as a core investment in the resort’s workforce and long-term competitiveness. The policy is designed to help employees feel “valued, supported, and empowered to thrive” both in their professional roles and personal lives, Davis explained. “By investing in your well-being, we continue to strengthen our culture, attract exceptional talent, and reinforce our commitment to being the employer of choice in The Bahamas and throughout the region,” he added.

    The new benefit is open to all employees who meet the tenure and eligibility requirements laid out in Baha Mar’s official parental leave policy. Company leadership teams have already begun receiving updated policy documents, frequently asked question guides, and implementation training materials to prepare for the June 29 launch.

    Baha Mar’s announcement comes amid ongoing debate over national labor reform in the Bahamas, with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation calling for a cautious, research-backed approach to expanded leave mandates. The chamber says it supports the principle of improved parental benefits for workers, but has raised significant concerns about the potential financial and operational burdens of mandatory expanded entitlements, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Small business owners would likely face unexpected extra costs to cover replacement staff, overtime for existing workers, and training for temporary employees, chamber officials argue. The organization has called for thorough feasibility studies and extended stakeholder consultations before any national mandates are implemented, and has raised questions about how expanded leave would be funded, as well as the potential long-term impact on the National Insurance Board.

    Dr Leo Rolle, the chamber’s executive director, previously emphasized that paternity leave reform requires a carefully researched, data-driven approach, warning that rushed reforms without adequate impact assessment could place unmanageable financial pressure on already stretched businesses.

    Despite these industry concerns, Minister Glover-Rolle praised Baha Mar’s move as a positive example of private sector leadership on worker support. She pointed to the policy as further proof that major Bahamian employers are expanding support for expectant and new parents, noting that the Central Bank of The Bahamas has also recently installed dedicated breastfeeding pods for new working mothers on its premises.

    The Bahamian government has spent roughly two years developing a comprehensive package of reforms to the nation’s core labor laws, with public consultations covering a wide range of workplace issues beyond parental leave, including expanded mental health leave, formal protections for remote work arrangements, and updates to general workplace safety standards.

  • Pintard demands answers over more than $400m

    Pintard demands answers over more than $400m

    A growing political controversy over public fund management has intensified in the Bahamas, as opposition leader Michael Pintard is demanding full transparency from the current administration over more than $400 million in unaccounted funds allocated to the country’s National Investment Fund (NIF).

    The government previously disclosed that it transferred roughly $700 million in excess borrowing proceeds into the NIF, a dedicated vehicle for infrastructure and national development projects. During a recent address to Parliament, Finance Minister Michael Halkitis outlined how $310.9 million of the total funds had been allocated to public infrastructure projects: $210.6 million went toward general building and road upgrades, while an additional $100.3 million was earmarked for aviation infrastructure improvements.

    What Halkitis did not address, Pintard argues, is the fate of the remaining $400 million that the government itself confirmed was moved into the fund. In his remarks to reporters, Pintard pushed the administration to release a full line-item breakdown of all NIF transactions and disclose the exact banking location of the unaccounted funds. “Rather than be distracted by the minister speaking about all of the projects that they are working on, we want to first start this discussion with where is the money? Account for the 700 million. Which account is it on?” Pintard said.

    Questions about the fund’s legitimacy deepened after Central Bank Governor John Rolle confirmed a key, troubling detail: despite the existence of an NIF-named account held at the Central Bank, the NIF’s legally mandated Board of Governors has never formally convened. Under the existing National Investment Funds Act, a board of governors is required to oversee the fund’s management, governance, and spending activities.

    To address this gap, Halkitis told Parliament that the Ministry of Finance has been administering NIF funds through the ministry and the national Treasury, under the framework of the Public Finance Management Act, while permanent governance structures for the NIF were being finalized. He added that the government sought formal legal guidance from the Office of the Attorney General to clarify how the Public Finance Management Act, the National Investment Funds Act, and Parliament’s official borrowing authority intersect in this scenario. Halkitis also confirmed that Parliament authorized up to $300 million in borrowing for the NIF in March 2025, and that the NIF’s Board of Directors was officially appointed effective June 30, 2025, though the government has acknowledged that some governance frameworks remain incomplete.

    This explanation has done little to ease opposition concerns, with Pintard rejecting the administration’s justification and accusing the government of operating outside the legal parameters laid out in NIF legislation. “His legal basis for moving millions of dollars out of the National Investment Fund was not the National Investment Act,” Pintard said. “They did not follow the law.” Pintard argues that the funds have been held directly by the Ministry of Finance without the independent oversight required under the NIF’s founding law, creating two alarming possibilities: either NIF resources were managed in violation of existing legislation, or the funds are being held in a separate Ministry of Finance account entirely outside the NIF structure. If the latter is true, Pintard noted, new questions emerge about how these transactions have been recorded in the government’s official fiscal accounts.

    In response to the growing lack of clarity, Pintard announced that the opposition-controlled Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has approved a formal investigation into the NIF, with the national Treasurer expected to be called to testify as early as next week. The opposition is pursuing multiple avenues to secure full disclosure, Pintard confirmed, including the PAC probe and potential future court action if necessary. “We will go to court at the appropriate time once we are armed with the right advice,” he said.

    Pintard pushed back against criticism that the opposition failed to aggressively question the government during the recent parliamentary sitting, noting that the PAC probe provides a formal, structured mechanism to thoroughly scrutinize all NIF transactions. For his part, Halkitis has stated that the government will fully cooperate with the committee’s investigation. Pintard emphasized that the opposition does not oppose the infrastructure projects the government has outlined, but insists on full accountability for how public funds are handled. “What we do not believe is that he’s giving a proper explanation on where the money came from and by what rules did he apply those money to those projects,” Pintard added.

  • Finance Minister: Cost of royal visit is still being worked out

    Finance Minister: Cost of royal visit is still being worked out

    As The Bahamas prepares to welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla for their first visit to the island nation since Charles ascended to the British throne in 2022, Bahamian officials remain unable to disclose how much public money will be spent on the trip, igniting fresh debate over the constitutional role of the monarchy and calls for reparations for colonial-era harms.

    Finance Minister Michael Halkitis confirmed last week that interagency working groups are still calculating the total financial burden of the royal tour, scheduled to take place between October 27 and November 4 as part of a broader Caribbean trip that will also include stops in Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where the monarch will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. While Halkitis confirmed a cost-sharing agreement is in place between the Bahamian government and the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Grant, which funds official royal duties, he said no final figures have been submitted for cabinet review.

    “I can’t put any numbers to it,” Halkitis told reporters. “I understand that the various agencies are meeting, the Ministry of Finance and some of the other agencies are meeting. I’ll get a report on what it is… When we get that information, we’ll share it.”

    Unlike visits from heads of state of foreign countries, this tour carries unique constitutional weight: King Charles remains the official Head of State of The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm that gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973 but retains the British monarch as its ceremonial head of government. This marks Charles’ second official trip to The Bahamas, and his first since succeeding his mother Queen Elizabeth II following her death in September 2022.

    The lack of transparency around costs has fueled online speculation and drawn sharp criticism from the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, which is organizing advocacy for reparations to address the harms of British chattel slavery and colonial rule in the country. The committee argues that requiring Bahamian taxpayers to cover any portion of the royal visit’s cost is unacceptable amid ongoing calls for the country to transition to a republican system of government that cuts formal ties to the British monarchy.

    “The time is now for reparations. The time is now for the republic,” the committee said in a statement. “And the time is long past for our governments to stop preparing this country for guests and then hand us the bill.”

    Public discussion around the upcoming visit has drawn comparisons to the 2022 royal tour of The Bahamas by Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, held to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For that trip, the Bahamian government earmarked $636,194 in public funds to cover event costs. Budget breakdowns from that tour showed most of the public funding went to local vendors and businesses on New Providence, with additional allocations covering accommodation for the royal party, security provisions, digital infrastructure upgrades for local schools, the official royal ball, a commemorative regatta, and charter flights on national carrier Bahamasair between the country’s major islands.