The Tribune

By LARRY SMITH

ANGRY questions are being raised about the tragic deaths of two Canadian retirees in a recent traffic accident on Exuma.

In a letter to Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade this week, Bahamas Humane Society President Kim Aranha has asked whether charges will ever be filed against the hit and run driver.

Ron and Jill Gandza, both in their 50s, from St. Catharines, Ontario, were killed at about 10pm on April 25 while walking home from the Peace & Plenty Hotel. A car driven by a 26-year-old Exumian slammed into them – hurling Mrs Gandza 10 feet off the road and striking her husband with such force that his head smashed the car windshield.

The driver then fled, leaving Mr Gandza lying dead in the middle of the road and his wife critically injured in the bush. A passerby arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and contacted the clinic.

According to former Ministry of Tourism official Cordell Thompson, who lives in Rolleville and knows the passerby who tried to help, “the accident occurred about a three-minute walk from the clinic, yet it took over 40 minutes for them to receive attention. The emergency phone number here is never answered. This is a tale of horrors.”

Jill Gandza later died of her injuries. She was a retired nurse at Niagara Health System. Ron Gandza worked for General Motors in St Catherine’s. They had been visiting the Bahamas for years and recently bought a small retirement home in George Town.

Meanwhile, the driver of the hit and run vehicle received minor injuries and was later treated at the clinic. He was initially picked up for questioning by the police, but in the days after the accident he was seen attending the George Town regatta.

On April 29, Police Inspector Harry Williams told The Tribune that “we are past the initial stage of the investigation and no one is expected to be charged.”

But on May 2 Inspector Chrislyn Skippings said charges would soon be brought against the driver, who lives in Bahama Sound.

Superintendent Macktavaus Daniels, of the George Town Police Station, also said charges would be laid, but added there was “no evidence” that the driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident. The driver has never been publicly identified, but works as a ferry boat operator.

“Surely the brutal force that impacted Ron and caused his head to break the windshield of the car that hit him is evidence that the car was moving at high speed,” Aranha said. “Was a test performed to check the driver’s blood alcohol level?”

Almost a month after the accident, no charges have been filed, and official treatment of the case has both appalled and baffled friends and relatives of the dead couple.

“The bodies were held in Exuma (at a local funeral home) whilst ‘undergoing investigation’,” Aranha said. “Their unit was sealed off from friends wishing to secure their personal belongings. Then their bodies were in Nassau, weren’t in Nassau, were in Nassau. Every five minutes, a different story.”

Aranha, who was a close friend of the Gandzas, said the family also received multiple conflicting stories from different police sources.

“One thing for sure is that the driver was out of custody in time to enjoy the George Town Regatta party, whilst Jill and Ron were lying dead on a slab in a morgue,” she said.

“In Nassau, the family was asked for money to help speed up the autopsies so the bodies could be cremated in time for them to take the ashes back to Canada. But death certificates were not forthcoming for several days, and the bodies were not cremated until the family had long returned to their jobs in Canada,” Aranha said.

Aranha also asked the Commissioner whether the driver had a valid drivers license, and whether the car was licensed and insured. “I beg you to use your authority to see that due process is followed in this case, and that friends and family of the deceased are fully informed as to the particulars of that process.”

She concluded that “the lack of accountability in the deaths of two innocent people is simply astounding”.

One Exuma resident told me the lack of action was most likely due to islanders closing ranks against outsiders: “It’s like Dodge City here. So many things happen by stealth.”

A memorial tribute to Ron and Jill Gandza is scheduled for 5:30pm on Saturday, May 25, at Compass Point. A memorial fund has also been set up at the Bahamas Humane Society to receive donations for an animal care facility in their name.

Algernon Cargill and the NIB Controversy

It came as no surprise that NIB Director Algernon Cargill was fired last week, after months of political controversy and the expenditure by the government of a million dollars on supporting opinions.

Despite the huge sums spent on the investigation which extended for five months, the Board cited a conflict of interest over NIB’s rental of an apartment owned by Cargill’s brother, and Cargill’s disclosure of “confidential information” in a court affidavit as reasons for his dismissal.

We have no intention of litigating this case here. Cargill and his lawyer, Alfred Sears, are handling that in the Supreme Court. However, we do think it would be useful to look at NIB’s record, based on official documents that have been published over the past several years.

In a little over three decades, starting from scratch, NIB has built up the biggest cash pile in Bahamian history – totalling some $1.65 billion at the end of 2011.

Most of this cash is invested in local and international blue chips and government bonds. Foreign currency holdings total $102 million, or about 7 per cent of the portfolio, and there are substantial loans to various government entities. The fund also owns nine office buildings leased to government agencies. Certificates of deposit represent about 19 per cent of the portfolio.

There were 31,000 pensioners receiving NIB cheques in 2011, and some $184 million in claims were paid out while contributions grew by 14 per cent to $190.5 million.

But the key statistic is this: administrative expenses dropped from almost 23 per cent to 21.6 per cent in 2011 – a decline of over 5 per cent. These expenses were 20 per cent in 2002 but had risen to 27 per cent by 2006.

Even though benefit payments closely match contribution income, NIB continues to generate annual surpluses as investment income remains well in excess of administrative expenses. There was a surplus of $42.6 million in 2011.

According to the 2010 actuarial review, “For years the National Insurance Board has been plagued with high administrative costs. When compared with inflation which averaged 2% per annum, operating costs grew by an average of 6.7% per annum between 2001 and 2006. These costs are excessive and immediate attention aimed at reducing operating expenses is recommended as one means of enhancing long-term sustainability.”

The review called upon the Board to:

• Reduce administrative costs;

• Increase the wage ceiling;

• Revise investment guidelines so that new opportunities both locally and abroad may be accessed;

• Increase the percentage of employers and self-employed persons who contribute;

• Introduce harsher penalties for late and/or non-payment of contributions;

• and implement recommended changes to benefit provisions.

The record shows that this good advice was followed during Algernon Cargill’s stewardship of NIB.

The review concluded that “The actions and decisions of policy makers today - both good and bad – will determine whether or not the National Insurance system will be relevant and sustainable for future generations...the most important ingredient for success, therefore, is honest and responsible government.”

As for the allegations of conflict of interest, the prime minister himself has given his view on the issue: “This is a country of around 350,000 people and you are bound to have conflicts when it comes to choices,” Perry Christie said recently. “Where are you going to get the moral authority from to come to me and say I am renting a place from somebody’s brother or cousin?”

Cargill has filed an application for judicial review to have the findings of the audit set aside.

• What do you think? Send comments to larry@tribunemedia.net or visit www.bahamapundit.com.