Daily Archives: October 27, 2020

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Nicholas Holzerland is about to take a very long trip for a very good cause.

The 23-year-old St. Pete native embarks on a 400-plus-mile solo paddleboard journey Tuesday as a way to raise money for foster children at the Crossroads Hope Academy.

"I prefer to do things alone with nature," says Holzerland. "I want to be with it and grow with it and eat off the land."

Holzerland will paddle from the Peace River in Bartow, down the southwest coast of Florida, to the Bahamas. He hopes to make the journey alone, on a catamaran-style paddleboard in three to four weeks.

"So I'm bringing 400 pounds, including me, on this board," Holzerland says about the crate of gear he'll carry with him. "You can still actually paddle with ease, and it's really stable."

His Paddle for People mission started when Crossroads Hope Academy contacted his business, It's Time Kayak, about an outing.

The foster school for boys struggles with extracurricular funds, so Holzerland decided to help.

With his epic journey, he hopes to raise $6,000, so the school can afford one water sports outing per month for a whole year.

For more information on this epic journey, click here.

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St. Pete native to paddleboard more than 400 miles from Tampa Bay area to Bahamas - ABC Action News

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson said that the union is closely monitoring the situation at the Freeport Primary School in Grand Bahama after a teacher there tested positive for COVID-19.

On Friday, the school was dismissed around 1pm, and parents were asked to immediately collect their children.

When contacted on Saturday, Mrs Wilson said: The health and safety of teachers and students are paramount for me as the president and the union will ensure that their safety is first.

Its the unions expectation that the school will be cleaned and sanitised, teachers and students who are close contacts would be quarantined and that contact tracing will be conducted in a timely manner.

She also said: I can confirm that a teacher from Freeport Primary School tested positive for COVID-19 and school was dismissed.

According to reports in the Freeport News, District Superintendent Ivan Butler indicated Friday that the teacher became ill a few weeks ago but was not at school, and later tested positive with the coronavirus.

The teacher, he said, was not at school for the past two weeks adding that no one at the school was in any kind of danger.

Mrs Wilson said that Dr Frank Bartlett, chairman of the GB COVID-19 task force, met with staff at the school on Friday.

She noted that the union is monitoring the situation closely. The unions area vice president, Quinton Laroda, has met with Dr Bartlett and with Ministry of Education officials in Grand Bahama.

The area vice president Laroda has been in meetings and will continue to be in dialogue with the medical professional and the district superintendent. I am being updated regularly by the school representative and the area vice president and we will monitor the situation, she said.

Freeport Primary uses a hybrid model where students are engaged in face-to-face instructions three days of the week, and two days of online virtual learning.

Earlier this month, Dr Bartlett noted that the task force would be reviewing the strategic plans for the schools and will conduct evaluations of the 18 schools that are using the hybrid and the face-to-face models.

He noted that the main concern was with the face-to-face model due to the risk associated with contracting the disease. He said that the challenge and fear is the possibility that students will bring potential diseases into the school.

In a statement released Friday, Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson urged residents to be encouraged as the number of COVID-19 cases increased after the Ministry of Health reported 19 new cases for Grand Bahama for October 22. This came after several weeks of a decline on the island.

He stressed that persons should wear masks when they leave home, wash hands frequently and thoroughly, sanitize frequently touched surfaces, and avoid large gatherings.

Mr Thompson said businesses must continue to enforce health protocols with employees and customers.

We are all grateful that our COVID-19 infections have been down for several weeks. I take this opportunity to commend residents for your collective efforts and self-discipline which contributed to the decrease in new cases here on the island since the most recent surge.

However, the Ministry of Health reported 19 new cases for Grand Bahama in its daily COVID-19 report for October 22, 2020. This number indicates an increase which we should all be concerned about and that we must get ahead of.

As we now resume many of our daily activities and move into a greater sense of normalcy, I encourage Grand Bahamians not to let your guards down. While we may all be battling COVID-19 fatigue we must keep this fight at the forefront of our minds. Remember that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic and must continue to practice health protocols to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

Although we are close to completing the renovations to our hospital, health facilities are still very vulnerable. Our economy is still feeling the effects of previous lockdowns, and no one wants any further restrictions.

This means you should wear your masks when you leave home, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, sanitize frequently touched surfaces often, and avoid large gatherings. Businesses must continue to enforce health protocols with employees and customers.

In addition, I encourage the public to only rely on official sources for accurate news and updates. It is critical that we remain calm and avoid sharing false news as we navigate this new reality, Mr Thompson said.

The rest is here:

Teacher tests positive at school in Grand Bahama - Bahamas Tribune

WASHINGTON, Oct 22, CMC The Bahamas, one of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, with a high number of cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) says the pandemic has severely affected its tourism-dependent economy.

Addressing the 50th General Assembly of the Organisation of American States, the countrys Permanent Representative, Sidney Collie, said while The Bahamas is no stranger to exogenous shocks, in recent times it has had to deal with a number of major hurricanes during the period 2015 to 2019; including Hurricane Dorian, the largest Atlantic storm in recorded history.

He said with respect to the current 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, an additional three named storms will result in the most active hurricane season on record and that the frequency and intensity of these storms are no doubt aggravated by climate change; an existential threat for our region.

He said the current on-going COVID-19 pandemic has severely challenged The Bahamas and all countries of the region. Collie said that with the countrys economy relying heavily on tourism, the closure of the borders and restriction in the movement of people has resulted in a severe slowdown of economic activity.

Moreover, he said the growing challenges have highlighted the importance of moving beyond antiquated methodologies including the use of the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in determining access to concessional financing.

Such methodologies give no consideration to a countrys vulnerability to existential threats and ability to recover from external shocks, the Bahamian diplomat said, expressing thanks to the OAS for its commitment to advocate for a review of the per capita income criterion.

Collie noted Nassau is of the view that when compared with other multilateral bodies, the OAS maintains a comparative advantage and provides value-added in the areas of capacity building, technical cooperation, and support for human development which are more important now than ever before.

He said The Bahamas remains steadfast in its belief in the Organizations capacity to assist Member States in building resilience as the hemisphere confront the reality of the many challenges that continue to evolve in theeconomic, social, and environmental spheres in the lives of the citizens of the Americas.

Foreign Minister Darren A. Henfield, was unanimously elected as President of the 50th General Assembly and urged member countries to hold an open, frank, and constructive dialogue.

A time when every single country has had to urgently reset priorities to protect the health and survival of their citizens, to achieve food security, address social security needs, achieve diversification and technological modernization of their economies, while managing a complex pandemic together with resultant disruptions in the supply chain of basic medical and protective equipment, Henfield said.

The OAS meeting ends later on Wednesday.

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COVID has severely affected the tourism dependent economy says Bahamas - NYCaribNews

Former United States Supreme Court Justice ThurgoodMarshall once said, "History teaches that gravethreats to liberty often come in times of urgency, whenconstitutional rights seem too extravagant toendure."1

Recently, the Government of The Bahamas announced an ambitiousrental assistance programme to assist tenants who have beeneconomically affected by COVID-19 and are unable to satisfy theircontractual obligation to pay rent. According to the Prime Ministerof The Bahamas, tenants who qualify for the programme would havethe following benefits during the months of April, May and June20202:

In order to qualify for the programme, tenantsmust3:

It should be noted that such programme has no impact oncommercial leases or residential rentals over $2,000.00 per month.Thus, landlords in such circumstances could distrain for rent orproceed to have tenants evicted4.

As governments around the world grapple with the impact ofCOVID-19 and its legal implications, some legal pundits havequestioned the legality/constitutionality of rental assistanceprogrammes which abrogate contractual rights. The impact of statesof emergency on lease agreements is well documented. In the UnitedKingdom, during World Wars I and II, legislation was enacted whichessentially modified obligations arising under lease agreements. In1916, the (Emergency Powers) (Amendment) Act, 1916 was enacted,which allowed tenants to apply to the court for leave to have theirtenancies terminated. The court had an absolute discretion toterminate a lease notwithstanding any provisions within the leasedealing with termination. Further, termination of the lease couldtake place on such notice or terms that the court deemedfit5. See Revill v. Bethel [1918] 1 K.B. 638.

Similarly, according to the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act, 1939,also enacted in The United Kingdom, landlords were barred fromtaking possession of property or recovering rent during a state ofemergency without leave of the court6. In the EnglishCourt of Appeal decision of Re Affairs of Kirby [1944] K.B. 2139,Scott LJ said the following in interpreting theAct7:

"..both legal proceedings and measures of self-helpavailable to landlords for recovery of rent or of possession ofland for non-payment of rent are forbidden without leave of thecourt, and the effect of that Act was to create in the tenant aquasi-right to possession and to immunity from rent or mesneprofits which continued so long as the court did not give thelandlord leave to proceed by either road courts orself-help."

See also the Court of Appeal decision in Humberston EstatesLimited v Allen et al [1941] 2 K.B. 317.

In 1941, the United Kingdom enacted the Liabilities (War-TimeAdjustment) Act, 1941 which had the effect of suspending theexecution of a landlord's judgment for possession. The purposeof the Act was intended to be a middle course for debtors who wereindebted to creditors as a result of World War II, without imposingthe harsh stigma of having such persons adjudgedbankrupt8.

In many constitutional democracies, such as The Bahamas, thestate has powers to authorise measures which are reasonablyjustified during the subsistence of a state ofemergency9. Given the broad scope of Article 29(2) ofthe Bahamian Constitution, these measures could include theimplementation of a rental assistance programme.

The rental assistance programme foreshadowed by the Governmentof The Bahamas is clearly important to the public health and safetyof the community and reasonably justified during the COVID-19pandemic. If landlords can evict tenants with no or limited income,jurisdictions like The Bahamas would likely see a sharp increase inhomelessness. As a result, governments would have to open sheltersto accommodate such persons, where social distancing would beimpractical.

If an outbreak were to occur at a shelter the public healthimpact could be cataclysmic, leading to a surge in COVID-19 casesand creating broader challenges. In fact, governments like TheBahamas may be forced to take the draconian step of compulsorilyacquiring properties to house homeless persons 10.

Notwithstanding the emergency powers available to states,jurisdictions like The Bahamas must ensure that they do not actcapriciously. It is incumbent on The Bahamas and otherjurisdictions to enact legislation giving effect to rentalassistance. Any abrogation of rights under a lease should be donethrough the enactment of robust legislation and not a policy.

In the absence of legislation, any attempt by the Government toimplement and enforce such programme would be illegal. Presently,no legislation has been enacted in The Bahamas giving effect to therental assistance programme.

In the wake of COVID-19, jurisdictions globally will have tore-evaluate laws relating to landlords and tenants. Nations shouldconsider enacting legislation similar to those previously mentionedin this article in order to protect the interests of both landlordsand tenants. Lastly, landlords should consider including termswithin lease agreements specifically relating to states ofemergency.

During a state of emergency, governments can implement rentalassistance measures which allows for statutory modification ofrights under a lease. However, such actions must not be undertakenin a cavalier manner and well considered legislation ought to beenacted in support of the same.

Footnotes

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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The Potential Impact Of COVID-19 On Leases In The Bahamas - Real Estate and Construction - Bahamas - Mondaq News Alerts

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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted commercial activity on aglobal scale, challenging contracting parties' ability tofulfil their legal obligations. Force majeure clauses andfrustration principles may provide some relief to those which mayotherwise incur liability because of non-performance.

A force majeure clause enables the parties to acontract to suspend or terminate their obligations where theoccurrence of exceptional events or circumstances make theperformance of the contract impossible or radically different fromthat which was undertaken by the contract.

There is no presumption of a force majeure event andparties that wish to include a force majeure clause in acontract should specifically define the kinds of superveningoccurrences that would constitute a 'forcemajeure' or 'superior force'. Parties could tailorthe clause to include events that may be unique to theircircumstances. Occurrences generally accepted as a forcemajeure include: riot, war, rebellion, governmentrestrictions, earthquakes, floods, fires, strikes and civilunrest.

Unforeseen events that could disrupt a contract are myriad sothe courts may have to interpret a force majeure clause todetermine whether the particular occurrence is covered.Judges will construe a force majeure clause with closeattention to the words in the clause and with regard to the generalterms of the contract. The effect of the clause may vary with eachinstrument as certain events in a force majeure clause maynot always be beyond a party's sphere of control.

Force majeure clauses sometimes include a catch allphrase such as "... or any other cause beyond theparties' control". While in some cases the courtshave allowed parties to use this phrase for events not stated orunrelated to those in the force majeure clause1, inother cases they have rejected certain occurrences even where therewas a catch all phrase2.

Where a force majeure clause covers a particular event,a party relying upon the clause may not be excused from the contactmerely because the performance of the contractual obligation ismore difficult or less profitable3. A defaulting party who wishes torely upon a force majeure clause will have the burden ofproving that the serious event has made it impossible to perform orradically changed his ability to meet his contractualobligation.

Whether the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a forcemajeure will depend on a contract's wording. It may becovered under a force majeure clause if words such as'pandemic', 'epidemic' or 'disease' areused.

'Act of God' is often used in force majeureclauses, and it is widely felt that the COVID-19 pandemic fallswithin the ambit of this term. 'Act of God' has beenlegally defined as: "such a direct and violent and suddenand irresistible act of nature as the defendant could not, by anyamount of ability, foresee would happen, or, if he could foreseethat it would happen, he could not by any amount of care and skillresist, so as to prevent its effect"4. It has also beenheld to cover one-off events which "involved no humanagency"5. Acts of God have generally beenconfined to natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.

While it could be argued that COVID-19 is a factor of nature, itseems unlikely that the courts would affirm that it is an act ofGod because it has historically been applied to geographicphenomena. Also, the nature of the pandemic may not be seen assufficiently direct or violent so as to make persons unable toavoid its effects.

Frustration is a common law doctrine that is similar in natureto force majeure, but somewhat narrower in scope. Itrecognises that an event may occur through no fault of the parties,which may make a party unable to carry out its obligations under acontract.

Even if there is no force majeure clause in a contract,a party may be relieved from its obligations if it can establishthat a frustrating event has occurred. Whether a particular radicaldevelopment is deemed sufficient to frustrate a contract willgenerally depend on past decisions of the courts. While there is nospecific test to establish frustration, it may generally arisewhere:

Hurricanes, earthquakes, strikes and civil unrest have beenfound to be sufficient to frustrate the performance of acontract.

In Hepburn v. Taylor6,where a defendant sought to rely onthe doctrine of frustration in his defence, the court stated thatthe circumstance rendering it impossible for a party to fulfil itscontractual obligations must not be due to that party's fault,and that frustration must not be self-induced.

In Millennium Telecommunications Limited v. BahamasTelecommunications Company Ltd.7, the court affirmed the principlesthat a frustrating event must be beyond the parties'contemplation when the contract is agreed. The court also statedthat the impediment should not be the fault of either party, socircumstances caused by negligence or oversight will not constitutefrustration.

There does not appear to be any clear case law precedent forCOVID-19, so it is uncertain whether the pandemic will be deemed afrustrating event by the courts.

It may be found that the pandemic is a frustrating event becauseof the level of disruption that it has caused to the world'seconomy. It should be noted that parties which have entered intocontracts since the spread of COVID-19 began may be unable toassert frustration because of foreseeability.

Even if the disease itself is not deemed to be enough tofrustrate a contract, the consequences flowing from it suchas government curfews and shutdowns will likely be seen asenough to render carrying out a contract impossible. Manycommercial entities were forced to close pursuant to emergencypower orders and so performance of commercial activity becameimpossible through no fault of their own.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to lead to a wave of legaldisputes as to which party bears the risks of non-performance. Theapplication of force majeure and frustration legalprinciples in court decisions in the near future will likely betterdefine the rights of contracting parties affected by thepandemic.

In the wake of the pandemic, many companies and individuals havesought to place force majeure clauses in commercialcontracts and have included the abovementioned words as protectionin case they cannot perform their contractual obligations due toCOVID-19 or other similar challenges.

Contractual terms, particularly those of great importance to acontracting party's business, should be checked to ensure thata force majeure clause is included. In order to protectthe parties from difficulties that may arise from a pandemic, theforce majeure clause should include such key words as'pandemic', 'epidemic', 'disease','government restrictions' and 'state ofemergency'.

Footnotes

1 Chadrisv Isbrandtsen-Moller Co. Inc. [1951] 1 KB 240.

2Tandarin Aviation Holdings Ltd. v Aero Toy Sore LLC [2010] 2Lloyd's Rep 668.

3Tennants (Lancashire) Ltd v G S Wilson & Co Ltd [1917] AC485.

4 Nugentv Smith (1876) 1 CPD 423 at 426.

5 Transcoplc v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council [2003] UKHL61.

6 [1997]BHS J. No. 90.

7 [2017]1 BHS J. No. 88.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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COVID-19: Force Majeure And Frustration Of Contracts - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Bahamas - Mondaq News Alerts

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield said yesterday The Bahamas could be headed for the worst period of the pandemic.

Henfield led debate in the House of Assembly on a resolution to extend the emergency orders to November 30.

He said public health experts predicted months ago the winter months could worsen the situation as more people in the northern hemisphere remain indoors where the virus spreads more easily.

The pandemic is not close to being over, he said.

It will last well into next year. In fact, the world and The Bahamas may be currently heading into the worst period of the pandemic.

In the Americas, Europe, and parts of Asia, the outbreak is getting worse. Across Europe, new and greater restrictions and lockdowns, and curfews are being implemented.

Henfield continued: Sadly, the predictions of the public health experts are being proven correct.

COVID-19 cases are soaring across the northern hemisphere.

Again, record cases are being recorded in North America and Europe.

The global COVID-19 public health emergency is getting worse.

Henfield said while cases of the virus on many of the Family Islands remain low, New Providence continues to be challenged.

But he said on other Family Islands, the number of infections is on the rise because some from New Providence are helping to spread the virus.

The minister said the Bahamian people should prepare for cycles of tightening and loosening as the number of infections fluctuates in parts of the country.

He said as cases of the virus rise in a particular area, the government will introduce area-specific restrictions to save lives.

As it relates to the extension, Henfield said the governments objective is to only put in place necessary restrictions.

He also said the emergency orders are not intended to concentrate power in the hands of the competent authority, but to give the Cabinet an opportunity to manage the virus based on the advice of medical experts.

We do not like lockdowns, Henfield said.

A lockdown is a last resort tool in our arsenal of measures.

Members of the House and the public should be aware of the national and regional lockdowns currently taking place around the world, including in Europe.

According to Henfield, anyone who asserts the emergency powers are unnecessary in the face of the health crisis is being irresponsible.

He said it has been disappointing when some in our country fail to offer well-considered and intelligible ideas to help fight the pandemic.

Henfield said in many countries, the government and opposition have agreed of the emergency orders, and in some countries, the official opposition has called on even greater restrictive measures than those the government proposed.

Exhaustion

Henfield said the government understands that residents wish to return to their lives pre-COVID, and there is exhausting with the ongoing restrictions.

This is understandable, the minister said.We are social creatures.

We derive meaning and happiness and support from close, intimate bonds with others.

While this frustration is understandable, we as a people must also be wise.

The Bahamas recorded another 56 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.

Of the new infections, there were 34 cases in New Providence, nine in Grand Bahama, four in Eleuthera, one in Abaco, one in Exuma, and seven cases with unknown locations.

Total cases increased to 6,466, of which 2,307 remain active.

Another 3,987 cases have recovered.

This represents 61 percent of cases.

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Henfield: Worst could be yet to come - EyeWitness News

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) Executive Chairman Adrian Gibson told Parliament yesterday that the government has paid out $500 million to reverse osmosis plant operators over the past two decades.

Gibson said those payments were due to what he described as bad contracts and poor negotiation.

The WSC is expected to return to the court on Friday for legal proceedings concerning an injunction preventing water plant operator, Aqua Design Bahamas Limited, from shutting off or interfering with the water supply in Eleuthera despite the corporations arrears.

Yesterday, the company fired back that the corporation has been delinquent in paying for the service provided, and nonresponsive despite multiple attempts to resolve the matter.

It is beyond cold and callous. It is simply inhumane and a flagrant and barbaric atrocity against the people of the Bahamas and most especially the people of Central Eleuthera, said Gibson in Parliament.

According to Gibson, the government made 12 payments to the company this year, noting that $1 million was paid in September and another $700,000 as recently as a week ago.

Last Friday the WSC obtained a Supreme Court injunction against Aqua Design Bahamas Ltd, asserting that it deliberately and egregiously shut off the water supply to the people of Central Eleuthera.

The Order includes a penal notice which declares that the said company and its agents may be held to be in contempt of court, and may also be imprisoned or fined or have your assets seized, should the Order be disobeyed or breached.

The Supreme Courts Order directs that the Defendant company is forthwith compelled to immediately reinstate production and supply of water to the Central Eleuthera Settlements and to cease and desist the demobilization process thereunder.

Gibson suggested that issues with the company were longstanding and sought to direct blame with previous Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administrations.

According to Gibson, the company was able to secure 15-20 year contracts, although WSC had to buy the necessary land, pay for electricity, and grant concessions. Gibson described them as ridiculous and grossly skewed.

According to Gibson, the company signed its first agreement back in 2002 under the first Christie administration, noting that of the nine plants it operates, eight were contracts under a PLP administration. The company has made some $70 million to-date in The Bahamas, he said.

Gibson also sought to clarify yesterday that the government owes WSC $7.9 million and not $79 million as previously asserted by the PLP.

In a statement, Suez-Water Technologies & Solutions explained that it contracts with Aqua Design Bahamas, Ltd., as Suezs legal entity in The Bahamas that provides desalinated water in several locations.

The statement read: WSC has consistently, and for many years, been delinquent in paying for the service provided. With regard to Central Eleuthera, there have been multiple attempts to work diligently with W&SC to avoid having to cease production at the plant and resolve the matter.

However, they have generally been non-responsive. We have sent multiple communications over the course of several months, but it was only after the plant was shut down that W&SC acted.

The company added: Rest assured, we did not make the decision lightly. By not paying their bills, W&SC has risked water supply for the people of Eleuthera, and their non-payment has now brought this to a head at an unfortunate time. On October 23, we were ordered to restart production as part of an injunction made by W&SC. We complied with that order, but, given a number of inaccurate statements, we will be challenging the order.

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$500 million paid to reverse osmosis operators over last 20 years says Gibson - EyeWitness News

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Long Island MP Adrian Gibson said it is his prayer that COVID-19 testing will be made free or become as affordable as possible in The Bahamas.

Mr Speaker, I recognize that medical care facilities across the country have noticeably increased testing, he said during debate in Parliament on a resolution to extend the orders to November 30.

I applaud them for their efforts. I am also pleased to learn of proposed public, private partnerships that would secure access to rapid antigen tests, particularly given that testing is one of the best defensive measures against COVID-19.

There are many instances of persons being deemed asymptomatic and so, tests will show where the virus is.

However, Mr Speaker it is my solemn wish, my prayer that testing would soon be free or become as affordable as possible for Bahamians, particularly with the economic situation.

The government and private healthcare facilities have increased testing and testing accessibility is a key part of their strategies.

For example, Doctors Hospital recently expanded its testing accessibility to the Town Centre Mall.

Free mass testing was a key part of the Progressive Liberal Partys (PLP) COVID action plan.

On Sunday, 297 more COVID-19 tests were completed, of which 56 returned positive results for the virus.

In total, nearly 34,400 tests have been completed in The Bahamas.

The figure includes public and private facilities.

Gibson also recommended that health authorities resume advising about COVID hotspots, a key feature of the Ministry of Health presentations in months past.

One can possibly guess where the hotspots are, however, I think it would be quite useful for Bahamians to have some official indications of which areas to avoid or exercise greater caution, the Long Island MP said.

Gibson said he supports the extension of the emergency orders and encouraged Bahamians to be patient and proactive.

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Long Island MP wants free COVID testing for Bahamians - EyeWitness News

Expert insights on the launch of the Sand Dollar, the national digital currency developed by The Central Bank of the Bahamas. The first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the world to be fully deployed, the Sand Dollar is a digital version of the Bahamian dollar.

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Q3 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

Johannes Kaske, Sales Director Germany at METACO:

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital funds returned 5.9% in the third quarter of 2020, compared to a gain of 8.9% for the S&P 500 in the same period. This year has been particularly challenging for value investors. Growth stocks have surged as value has struggled. For Greenlight, one of Wall Street's most established value-focused investment funds, Read More

It is great to see a first productive CBDC in the Bahamas. This is an important step towards accelerated digital transformation and CBDC adoption. It is also interesting to see that it is mainly intended to provide financial access to the Bahamas increasingly unbanked population due to the banking sector downsizing physical branches.

In this vein, it appears to have a slightly different purpose as compared to CBDC initiatives from major economic areas like China, Europe or the United States. In those areas, I see the potential of innovating financial markets with automated payments, more efficient payment infrastructures or new types of assets to be a more important driver of efforts.

However, as the Sand Dollar is backed by the Central Bank of the Bahamas and tied to the BSD--and thus the USD--it might fuel new tokenization projects, as the Sand Dollar would be a regulated alternative to non-governmental third party stablecoins. Still, large scale institutional adoption of tokenization will likely require a digital version of a major global currency.

In my opinion, central banks across the globe are likely to intensify their CBDC efforts and will monitor the developments and adoption of the Sand Dollar and further CBDCs very closely.

Konstantin Richter, CEO and Founder of Blockdaemon

As one of the first CBDCs to be officially launched, the Bahama's release of the Sand Dollar is leading the way in CBDC development. However it has been, until recently, overshadowed by progress in other CBDCs and larger economies, with China and Europe recently announcing developments with the digital Yuan and digital Euro. The project started in 2018 and seems to be largely aligned with the needs of the Bahamian population in enabling mobile transfers of Sand Dollars, and implementing security practices that align with mobile transactions. The buy-in that the Central Bank of the Bahamas has achieved from private sector players will be sure to garner significant levels of adoption and support.

One of the markers of success of the Sand Dollar, laid out by the Central Bank will be whether it can fully serve communities who do not currently have access to digital payments or banking infrastructure. As with any CBDC, success comes from adoption and it will be interesting to see how quickly levels of adoption will grow among citizens.

At their heart, the drivers for using a digital currency lie within the realms of convenience and risk. The Sand Dollar is pegged to the Bahamian dollar which is in turn pegged to the USD, this opens up opportunities for exchanging both BSD and USD for the Sand Dollar which could potentially tap into the US market. Overall, the launch of the Sand Dollar solidifies the advances that have been made thus far in digital currencies and pioneers concepts in furthering transactional efficiency and accessibility.

Antony Welfare, Chief Commercial Officer, NEM Software

As society moves increasingly away from cash, the development and implementation of CBDCs continues to pick up pace. It makes sense that in a monetary system which is becoming increasingly digital, financial authorities would enact digital versions of their own currency.

The launch of the Bahamian Digital Currency, the Sand Dollar, is an important step towards the transformation of our global financial system to one fit for purpose in 2020. It is promising to see more central banks making strides forward in this space, and to see the Bahama Central Bank taking this groundbreaking step towards introducing a CBDC alongside other jurisdictions, such as Lithuania, Estonia and China.

It will be interesting to see how the Sand Dollar will compare against the emergence of future private stablecoin projects, such as that of Libra, and whether there will be space on the market for both forms of digital currency to exist in parallel among retail users.

Luciano Nonnis, Founder, DXone

In a way, it is fitting that an archipelago-nation with hundreds of islands would roll out a CDBC, for such a digital currency can really be a uniting force and more efficient for the regulator and central bank.

I expect nations such as the U.S., China, Russia, and those of the European Union to keep a close eye on the development out of the Bahamas. The Sand Dollar initiative was first trialed on the smaller islands of Exuma and Abaco in December 2019, so you see it took about 10 months to roll out the digital currency once pilots were underway.

The country chose Exuma because it is composed of Great Exuma and its surrounding cays. The central bank believed it best represented the geography of the greater Bahamas. In this respect, Bahamas serves as a great pilot for global central bank digital currencies, as the nation in some ways might be seen as a microcosm of the worlds many nations and continents,

As with all central bank digital currencies, it is important to note this is not a cryptocurrency built on a blockchain in the way that Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin, envisaged the technology.

While cryptocurrencies are deployed over decentralised networks, the central bank digital currencies of all nations are centralised. So anyone who tells you this is a win for decentralised cryptocurrency doesnt know what they are talking about. Bitcoin is decentralised and stateless. CBDCs are centralised and issued by governments.

In its FAQ on its website, the Bahamas make this clear: the central bank digital currency is not like Bitcoin. It is issued by a central party; i.e. the Central Bank of The Bahamas and is backed by Bahamian fiat. In a way, the CBDC is more akin to a public sector version of a centralised stablecoin a la Tether.

The payment system has been designed to be more secure than existing payments mechanisms, according to the nation, but one must ask: is physical cash really a broken medium? Man has used physical forms of currencyfrom gold and silver to fiat paperfor millenia. Whats so insecure about that? I suppose from a regulators perspective there is no AML and KYC for cash transactions, and thats what the push for CBDCs is all about.

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Central Bank Of The Bahamas Launches The Sand Dollar - ValueWalk

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Mount Tabor Church Senior Pastor Bishop Neil Ellis yesterday said he was referring to a senior civil servant and not the prime minister when he spoke about the religious belief of an official during a fiery sermon.

On Sunday, Ellis gave a scathing rebuke of the Minnis-led administration as he expressed opposition to the extension of the emergency powers orders for another month.

The sermon was widely circulated on social media, with many people criticizing Ellis comments against the prime minister.

In an interview with Eyewitness News, Ellis said: I was very disappointed to learn that my remarks made in that regard were attributed to the prime minister and for that I deeply regret because I know the prime minister personally.

I know of his commitment to and his love for the Catholic church. I know his involvement with the work, I know his relationship with the bishop and so definitely those remarks were not attributed to him.

I also know of a senior civil servant who has said to me personally and who has said publicly that he does not believe in God, and thats where those remarks were attributed.

Ellis noted that he made the comment while he was talking about The Bahamas economy, noting that the country must be very careful, especially when the person sitting in the chair does not believe in God.

Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson has publicly stated that he is an atheist.

Following the sermon,Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer said he was baffled by Ellis speech and blasted Ellis for what he said was a nasty political attack on the prime minister, adding that Minnis is a Christian and member of the Catholic community.

But Ellis maintained that this was a misinterpretation and apologized to the prime minister for the mixup.

I deeply regret that those remarks were attributed to him otherwise, but that is not where those remarks were directed and I want to say to him Im sorry they pulled him into that and I deeply regret that and If Ive caused any kind of harm or bad feelings on his behalf, thats our prime minister and I would be the first to apologize for that misinterpretation, he said.

These things can always be misinterpreted. If they were interpreted in that manner, Im bringing you the clarification as to what I meant, who the remarks were attributed to, but the big thing here is they were not attributed to our prime minister who I know to be a devout Catholic here in The Bahamas.

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell also chimed in on the issue, calling Culmers tone and tenor of Culmers comments disrespectful and deplorable.

The FNM Chairman should apologize, Mitchell said.

Right thinking Bahamians understand that we live in a democracy, one central feature of which is civil discourse.

The comments of the bishop were directed at the state of our democracy and the fact that a case has not been made for extending the state of public emergency and delegating power to one person alone.

These are salient points to be raised in a civil discourse in a democracy.

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Bishop Ellis says the target of his does not believe in God comment is a senior official not PM - EyeWitness News