Bahamas News
Chinese Embassy Nassau donates assistive devices to the National Commission for Persons with Disability
Bahamas Information Services
July 2, 2025
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Officials of the Chinese Embassy, Nassau, led by Ambassador, Her Excellency Yan Jiarong, recently donated 7 wheelchairs, 14 walking canes, and 10 walkers to the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, marking the fourth consecutive year the Chinese Embassy has made a similar donation of assistive devices to the National Commission.
The donation was made in partnership with the Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister and collaboration of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting. Minister of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting, the Hon. Myles LaRoda, accepted on behalf of the National Commission. Minister LaRoda has remit for the community of Persons with Disabilities. Mrs. Ann-Marie Davis, Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister, attended the Handover Ceremony.
Assistive devices/technology are crucial for persons with disabilities as they enhance independence, participation, and overall well-being, by enabling individuals to perform daily tasks, access education and employment, and engage in community life, ultimately promoting inclusion and a higher quality of life. In short, assistive devices are not just tools, but rather instruments that empower individuals with disabilities to live fulfilling lives, participate fully in society, and reach their full potential.
Minister LaRoda applauded the collaboration that resulted in the donation, adding that ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities is essential in creating equitable environments where everyone can participate fully and independently.
“We are most grateful (as) just about every week there is a request from different segments of society for assistance,” Minister LaRoda said. “Assistive devices such as walkers, walking canes and wheelchairs, give members of the disabled community the freedom to move about. I
thank the Chinese Embassy and the citizens of the People’s Republic of China for their continued contributions to the most vulnerable of our society. I thank Mrs. Davis for championing their cause, and further take this opportunity to encourage other countries, NGOs and companies to partner with the Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister and Social Services — in particular the NCPD — to make their lives more enjoyable, to give them more freedom and for them to feel that they are a functioning part of our society. Accessibility is not only beneficial for those with disabilities; it enriches the experience for everyone, fostering a more inclusive society.”
Minister LaRoda took the opportunity to once again appeal to persons across the country to register their loved ones with disabilities with the NCPD and its Secretariat. He said global statistics indicate that 16 percent of a country’s population live with a disability.
“Which means that we should have about 64,000 Bahamians with some form of disability, (but) we are at just over 2,200 in terms of our registered numbers and so we have a far way to go. Every opportunity I get I like to stress that it is very important for us to realize the true numbers of persons in this country living with disabilities,” Mr. LaRoda added.
Mrs. Davis said the handover symbolized more than material contributions, but is a reminder that accessibility remains a cornerstone of inclusion, and of the importance of collective efforts to create a world where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive for causes that elevate humanity.
“They are a beacon of hope and a tangible representation of commitments to enable persons with disabilities to live with dignity and opportunity. In this act of giving, the Chinese Embassy and the Office of the Spouse reaffirm their dedication to the principles of equity and the universal right to access resources that facilitate growth, development, and well-being.
“Persons with disabilities are an integral part of our communities. They contribute to our societies in multifaceted ways, and it is our moral obligation to create environments that are accessible, supportive, and inclusive. The supplies donated today will strengthen the Commission’s ability to fulfill its mandate and meet the needs of those it serves, furthering the cause of empowerment and inclusion. Let us remember that accessibility remains a cornerstone of inclusivity. This handover ceremony serves to reinforce not only the Commission’s mission but also the broader societal commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind,” Mrs. Davis added.
Ambassador Yan said the donation was in tandem with the “shared commitment” China and The Bahamas attach to the development and protection of persons with disabilities. China has a disabled population of 85 million persons out of a general population of 1.4 billion persons.
“It is heartening always to see the strong commitment of Mrs. Davis, the ministry and the Department of Social Services to empowering persons with disabilities. Your efforts to train and mentor disabled entrepreneurs and also your collaboration with (the Disaster Risk Management Authority) to ensure safety, all of these efforts are highly appreciated and commended.
“This year marks the fourth consecutive year for the Chinese Embassy to make such a donation to the Commission and we will continue to do so. As we hand over today’s supplies, let us together reaffirm our shared commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of all persons with disabilities. China stands ready to work with The Bahamas and other global partners to build a community with a shared community for mankind. This community is the kind of community that upholds inclusion, respect and dignity for all.”
(BIS Photos/Patrick Hanna)
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
-
News4 days agoDDME Staff Strengthen Disaster Management Capacity Through Professional Development Workshop
-
News1 week agoMulti-Agency Enforcement Action Conducted in Five Cays
-
Caribbean News5 days agoLiberty Caribbean Supports Regional Forum on AI, Cyber Resilience and Digital Inclusion
-
News4 days agoThe Turks and Caicos Islands Set Positive Start to 2026 with Increase in January Stayover Arrivals