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Vol. 32, Issue 39 QUEENS/LONG ISLAND/BRONX/MANHATTAN September 24-30, 2021
BAHAMAS
CHANGES
COURSE
New gov’t plans major overhaul of the
management of the COVID-19 pandemic
By Bert Wilkinson
Fresh from trouncing the
administration of former Prime
Minister Hubert Minnis, The
Bahamas’ new government is
slowly settling into office but
says it plans a major overhaul of
the management of the COVID-
19 pandemic that was so badly
mishandled by the previous outfit
and move to minimize corruption
in the award of major
state contracts.
First, it will cancel a set of
emergency operational measures,
which have been in place
since the first quarter of last
year and which, analysts say,
had contributed significantly to
the unpopularity of the Free
National Movement (FNM) and
its 32-7 defeat at snap general
elections held last Thursday.
Sensing that the FNM was
losing the battle for political
hearts and minds, Minnis called
general elections eight months
before fresh polls were constitutionally
due, figuring that he
would catch the now governing
Progressive Labor Party (PLP)
off guard with a snap poll. Like
many before him including
late Trinidadian Prime Minister
Patrick Manning who went
the same route and lost, those
plans backfired spectacularly
with most of the FNM ministers
losing their seats. Minnis,
a medical doctor, is now even
under severe pressure to quit the
leadership of the FNM as well as
his ambitions to lead the FNM
in parliament with its less than
handful of seats.
Freshly minted Prime Minister
Phillip Davis, 70, a prominent
attorney, says the cabinet
will immediately overhaul the
pandemic system and improve
conditions at the main state
and other hospitals. After a
tour of the main one in Nassau,
the capital on Tuesday, Davis
described conditions as “dismal
and bleak,” vowing that the situation
has to change.
“The healthcare system is
a high priority for us. At the
moment, the system is such
that it has been overwhelmed
by the COVID cases. That has to
be addressed first to determine
exactly what we do. I have to sit
down now with my minister of
health and we will craft a way
forward. In the immediate term,
we will have some short-term
solutions to what we see here. It
is accepted by all that the state
of the hospital is dismal and we
need to address it.”
Attorney General Ryan Pindar
Migrants face tough choices
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. are seen at a makeshift border camp along
the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, U.S., Sept. 22, 2021. See story on Page 3.
REUTERS/Marco Bello
Hochul orders release of 191 inmates at Rikers
By Nelson A. King
New York Gov. Kathy
Hochul on Friday signed the
“Less Is More” act and ordered
the immediate release of 191
inmates housed at Rikers
Island in an attempt to reduce
the state’s prison population,
according to CBS News.
“New York State incarcerates
more people for parole
violations than anywhere in
the country. That is a point of
shame for us, and it needs to
be fixed. It’s going to be fixed
today,” said Hochul at a press
conference.
“Our fellow New Yorkers
on parole deserve to re-enter
society with our support and
respect — re-incarcerating
parolees for technical violations
traps them and doesn’t
help our communities,” she
added.
The “Less Is More” act is
aimed at rewarding parolees
who have successfully re-entered
their community and
reducing overcrowding at correctional
facilities by speeding
up the time between hearing
dates and devising alternative
corrections for technical parole
violations, CBS News said.
In addition to releasing 191
inmates, Hochul said an additional
200 convicted inmates
who have less than 60 to 90
days left in their sentence will
be allowed to leave Rikers and
moved to a different state facility,
according to CBS News.
It said the major changes in
criminal justice have all been
made and will be implemented
“in cooperation with the city of
New York.”
According to CBS News, Rikers
Island is scheduled to close
by 2027, “putting an end to
some of its longstanding issues
of violence and neglect.”
However, the network said
lawmakers who visited the
facility said Thursday they saw
cockroaches, rotting food and
urine on the floor.
They also reported that
inmates were crowded together
without access to showers,
food or clean spaces, CBS
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