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Farmers Harvest New Crop — Cars That Never Need Gas

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Nassau, 12 Jan 2016 – Pia Farmer averages 40 miles a day driving around town handling tasks related to business or serving as the honorary consul for Denmark, but it’s been more than a year since she stopped for gas.

Farmer drives a LEAF. Her fuel bill is zero, zip, nada.

“The only time I’ve pulled into a fuel station in the last year was to get a bottle of water,” says Farmer who believes that if others fall in love with the LEAF like she has, attendants at local stations could one day be as lonely as the Maytag repairman.

“I just drive, park, plug in when I get home and repeat the next day,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t even have to recharge. The battery is still close to full.”

Made by Nissan, the all-electric LEAF is about as far as you can get from a gas-guzzling, muffler-throbbing, souped up muscle car — and an equally far cry from the stodgy electric cars of yesteryear.

Yet it is surprisingly a combination of both. Roomy with comfortable seating for five, stylish and fast off the mark, it can hit 60 in under 10 seconds and 93 at top speed. Its promised range of 80 miles between charges can be extended to 100 miles with stop-and-go traffic, thanks to a design that allows the batteries to power up every time the brake is applied. “In other words,” says Farmer, “the traffic in Nassau that drives us crazy is ideal for the LEAF.” Charging can be done with either 110v for a slow charge or 240v for a quicker charge.

Farmer is so impressed with the car she originally chose for environmental reasons that she has talked her husband, John, and his partner into importing them and handling sales through Easy ecoCars, a division of Easy Car Sales on Carmichael Road.

“Denmark is known as a leader in environmental care,” said Mrs. Farmer. “Alternative energy from renewals, policies on climate, environmental education — it’s so much a part of the culture that being part-Danish (the other part, Bahamian), it was natural to be curious about an energy efficient car, especially with my husband being in the car business.” The Farmers other business, Custom Computers, is also cutting edge. “Smart devices, smart tablets, smart cars. It all seems to fit,” says the LEAF lover.

Although the LEAF seems like a solid solution for a city like Nassau with steep gas prices and no lack of stop and go traffic, not to mention a plethora of young drivers who would be attracted to the no-gear shifting, instant torque, fast-off-the-line speed, bringing in the LEAF was not a snap your fingers and it happens move.

There was sourcing the cars at the right price, getting in the software for the diagnostics, specialized training, planning charging stations — they want to do solar stations in key locations within three years. And they wanted to be able to sell the car complete with high tech features including Bluetooth and a Bose sound system, air conditioning, and standard safety features including air bags for all five seats, at around $20,000. Currently, that includes a duty rate of 25%. Standard vehicles attract a 65% duty rate. Beyond all that, they wanted to test the car. Eighteen months later, the Farmers were ready to launch.

With all the puzzle parts in place, Pia Farmer introduced the LEAF at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation Energy Security Forum in early December where it generated a lot of buzz. The first container with cars was not due in until a few weeks later, but there were already potential buyers leaving phone numbers and arranging for a test drive.

“Good for the earth, good for your pocket, bad for the mechanic because there are over 1,000 parts you will never need again and never have to have repaired,” said Farmer. “But we’d be happy to talk to mechanics about retraining…”

Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.

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Finance

Three Days to NIB Rate Increase for 2023

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By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

 

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 29, 2023 – On April 1st, the second round of increases on contributions at the National Insurance Board will kick in for the Turks and Caicos workforce.  Announced last year, the increases were instituted to keep the NIB from running out of money by 2027 as it services a population that is living longer with contributions that had not been increased in 30 years.

As the Government’s new financial year begins, increases at NIB will mean a higher cost for doing business and a higher cost for running the Government.

The private sector is expected to pay contributions at a rate of 11 percent on your taxable income. The hike is up from last year’s 10 per cent; six percent of which is to be paid by the Employer and five percent is to be paid by the Employee.  For wages of $2000, this will mean a $200 improvement in income per month to the NIB.  As for the burn on residents’ pockets, based on a minimum wage of $1200 monthly salary, that’s at least $60 dollars a month and $720 per year.

Public sector rates will move to 10.15 percent up from 9.15 per cent with the worker paying 4.575 per cent and the Government paying 5.575 per cent; that’s $54 a month and $648 a year at minimum wage.

The NIB rate as of April 1, 2023, will jump to 9 percent for self-employed individuals; For self-employed individuals at minimum wage, that is $108 dollars a month or $1296 per year.

As taxable incomes increase so will the contribution.

The increases follow a 2019 Actuarial review, undertaken every three years, which unearthed that the NIB was facing a dismal future, possible collapse. Contribution rates were growing at a rate much slower than NIB expenses, which included beneficiary payouts.  On that trajectory, the NIB’s earnings would be eclipsed by its income by 2027, forcing the worker protection plan to draw down on money saved for economic shocks like Covid-19.

Unsurprisingly, this was deemed untenable, and an immediate increase was recommended.

Despite this scramble to boost earnings, the NIB has simultaneously increased payouts.  Payouts for pensions, funeral grants, maternity grants and more will all attract bigger sums.

These incremental increases on contributions and payouts were all consultant recommendations, informed statements from the Board.

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Bahamas News

Work of NAECOB critical in ensuring high standards in education, says Minister Hanna-Martin

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By KATHRYN CAMPBELLBahamas Information Services
NASSAU, The Bahamas, March 29, 2023 – Over 100 schools in New Providence, public and private, and some 30 plus schools in Freeport have been inspected by The National Accreditation and Equivalency Council (NAECOB) to ensure high quality standards for the delivery of education.
“We will cover every island, every cay in this country to make certain that the facilities that we send our children to are adequate, conducive for learning, safe and sound for education,” said Thelma Grimes, chairperson, NAECOB.
“We are going to head to Cat Island and all the others before June.This is our announced visit. They [schools] have a chance to get things fixed that are not finished and [afterwards] we will have the unannounced.”
The Council informed the media of its progress during a briefing Monday, March 20, 2023 at its headquarters, Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.
Howard Newbold, Inspector and Council Member explained that the council’s seven inspectors are tasked with visiting every site or virtual space operating the following: primary/secondary schools, private/secondary, post-secondary, recognized, training, allied health and business institutions among others.
 Mr. Newbold said inspections include an examination of:
 -Safety and security standards-Human security which begins at the entrance to the property’-Physical security: safety mechanisms including smoke detectors, fire alarms and extinguishers (service date verification, and evacuation plan)-Primary grounds, playground equipment, swing sets and slides-Curriculum-Information management system (student records, staff schedules, registration certificate with NAECOB, business license, photos of the national leaders etc.)
The Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Institute thanked NAECOB for their efforts. She described their work as “critical” and a part of an overall national thrust to ensure that the quality of education in the country is at a high standard.“We’re the Ministry of Education and they’re our schools. We are accountable to NAECOB. They ensure that what is happening on the campuses throughout the nation meets the physical standards and the qualitative standards of education. You would have heard classroom size and teacher/student ratio. We may have challenges, and we do at the Ministry of Education but when these issues are brought to our attention we are obliged and compelled to seek resolution to ensure that the standards are met.
“This is a quality assurance measure for the Ministry itself and our schools to ensure that public and private and public schools meet these standards. We value that. Because the objective of the Ministry is to ensure that we meet the standards so that our young people who enter these institutions are afforded the best opportunity possible.
 “Education is a cultural value; a norm. We submit ourselves to the work of NAECOB to ensuring what happens is done at least to make the acceptable standards of the delivery of education in our schools,” she said.
Cassia Minnis, registration officer, said “registration” certifies that a local educational institution/provider has met the criteria to offer an educational service in The Bahamas as outlined in the Education Act. She said it is mandatory that all educational institutions/provider offering/proposing to offer an educational service in the Bahamas must be registered according to the NAECOB Act and the Education Act.
 She said NAECOB is aware of “small” schools operating within residential homes and warned that this is in contravention of the law.
She encouraged the public to view listings of all registered institutions on the website at naecob.org
NAECOB is responsible for registering and accrediting primary schools, secondary schools, post-secondary schools, and any institution that offers training in The Bahamas.
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PHOTO CAPTIONS

BIS Photos/Mark Ford

Header: Seated at the table, from left: – Lorraine Armbrister, Permanent Secretary; Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin; Dominique McCartney Russell, Acting Director; Cassia Minnis, Registration Officer; Thelma Grimes, Council Chairperson; Howard Newbold, Inspector, Council Member; Shena Williams, Council and Inspector; Dorothy Anderson, Inspector; T. Nicola McKay, Deputy Chairperson;  (seated behind) Willard Barr, Council and Inspector.

1st insert: Thelma Grimes, Council Chairperson

2nd insert: Howard Newbold, Inspector and Council Member

3rd insert: The Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training

4th insert: Cassia Minnis, Registration Officer

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Bahamas News

Bahamas Golden Jubilee Events Announced, Celebrations Across 33 Islands & Cays

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#TheBahamas, March 27, 2023 – As the 50th anniversary of our nation’s independence approaches, Bahamians everywhere are teeming with excitement and expectancy around the year-long celebrations set by The National Independence Secretariat.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister joined H.E Leslia Miller Brice, Chair of The National Independence Secretariat to unveil the Calendar of Events for the 50th Independence celebrations.

The calendar comprises a host of events, initiatives and recommendations for celebrations throughout all 33 islands of The Bahamas.

At this jubilant occasion the PM stated, “Celebrating independence is about acknowledging the greatness around us, the greatness within us, and the greatness ahead of us.

We are Bahamians. That identity is special.”

View the newly released calendar of events here:

https://celebrate-bahamas.com/calendar-of-events/…

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