BY
THE HONOURABLE ALLYSON MAYNARD-GIBSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

June 15, 2006
 
 
 
 
 

Attorney General and Minister of Justice
Budget Contribution
June 2006
 

 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE JUDICIARY.
 
 

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely grateful and proud to stand here today on behalf of the good people of the greatest constituency in The Bahamas, the Pinewood constituency in support of the Budget which the Honourable Prime Minister so ably presented on the morning of June 1st.

The Budget Mr. Speaker, indicates a government, which is focused, a government with a social conscience and a government with heart and a determination to wipe the tear from every eye.
As has been indicated Mr. Speaker, crime and the fear of crime are significant issues for every Bahamian.  Law and Order is an essential component in the solution to these issues.

Perhaps the most significant initiative in addressing the issues of law and order is the Swift Justice initiative.
 
 
 
 

Swift Justice

Mr. Speaker, since assuming the position as Attorney General, I have initiated with the concurrence of  other supporting partners  a model called Swift Justice.

Mr. Speaker, Swift justice is a principle that is as old as mankind.  A consequence of the ineffective delivery of justice is increased crime. The Bahamas is our country and we are all responsible for protecting and preserving our birthright.

Swift justice requires the involvement and support of all Bahamians.
 

The Swift Justice initiative provides a keener focus to the work to the criminal prosecutions side of the Office of the Attorney General. The programme seeks not only to prosecute the matters that have been in the system for an inordinate length of time but to review the systems that we currently have in place for bringing matters on for trials before the courts. We will continue to provide exemplary service to those we are committed to serve.  We believe that this “swift justice” model could be implemented throughout the region.

The swift justice initiative began as a pilot project.  Our approach to these cases involves collaboration between the institutions and agencies within the criminal justice system and the involvement of victims and their families. We are committed to the following maxim: “swiftly caught, swiftly tried, and swiftly punished.”

Swift justice it requires team effort and it requires all of our judicial institutions, including the police, the probation department, the courts, the prison and of course the Attorney General’s Office to work together in a seamless fashion. The baton of information must be passed swiftly from hand to hand until we reach the ultimate goal – justice for the victims and their families and for society as a whole.

In order to implement the level of cooperation necessary to achieve swift justice, representatives from each of the partnership agencies meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General regularly. These meetings are to ensure through effective communication that progress is being made toward the goal of the team. I want to thank the Commissioner of Police for his full and enthusiastic personal support of Swift Justice…and for the personnel and other resources that he has dedicated to Swift Justice.

The integrated “swift justice’ programme is designed to strengthen transparency and accountability.

Let me give you a few short examples of what is being done in the swift justice pilot project.

• It has been determined that it would be appropriate in serious cases such as murder, armed robbery, rape, sexual offences and other similar serious matters for these cases to proceed directly to the Supreme Court by Voluntary Bill of Indictment. In other words, there is no need in the circumstances of these particular cases to hold a preliminary inquiry in the Magistrates Court.

• Weekly meetings occur to ensure that forensic witnesses, where necessary, are properly briefed, notified and in place to give their evidence at the appropriate time.

• The weekly meetings allow for coordination and planning well in advance. The police witnesses in each case are identified well in advance and they would be kept abreast of the progress of the case to trial so that they can be properly prepared to attend court at the appropriate time. Schedules would be taken into consideration. We cannot have a police officer away on vacation or deployed to another island when a matter requiring his testimony comes up. Nor can we have him or her showing up at trial exhausted and unprepared because he or she has been on duty the night before.

• The weekly meetings allow the legal officers of the Attorney General’s Office, who prosecute the cases, to work more efficiently with the police, who investigate the case. The aim of the collaboration between legal minds and the police is to ensure that these cases do not fail due to “technicalities” or lack of proper planning.

We anticipate that rather than in the extreme case, a matter taking six (6) years to proceed from charging to trial in the Supreme Court all matters will move rapidly to trial.

During the month of AUGUST we plan to schedule comprehensive training sessions with the Central Detective Unit relative to the Voluntary Bill of Indictment Process.

In the case of the Central Detective Unit which has more criminal matters and no legal in-house attorney to vet their files prior to submission to the courts, we intend to boost the quality of the evidence. Under the Swift Justice programme they will be provided with assistance relative to these matters from within the chambers at the regularly scheduled meetings. Additionally the government has committed to providing an in-house attorney to the Royal Bahamas Police Force who can provide immediate assistance to the Central Detective Unit.

As a matter of policy government is also reviewing, with the Judiciary, the amount of judges devoted to crime and also to increasing the complement of attorneys within the criminal side of the chambers. The Director of Public Prosecutions Department is also committed to providing training to all of the prosecutors generally and also specifically in the area of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism activity in recognition of the evolving global standards and requirements.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

As members know, capital punishment remains a constitutionally valid punishment in The Bahamas.

I take this opportunity to reaffirm that we will make every effort to ensure that time lines for trials and appeals are honoured.  Our laws and the manner in which they are administered are for the protection of everyone within our borders. Swift Justice will lead to greater coordination and collaboration and honouring of time lines. The practice of
playing the system” must be and will be stopped.  Appeals will be pursued in a timely fashion.

The Supreme Court has decided that it will initiate a process of sentencing hearings both in relation to those already on death row and in relation to those to be sentenced once convicted of murder.  The Department of Social Services is a part of the Swift Justice initiative.  The Minister of Social Services has committed to allocating personnel and equipment so that reports can be ready for sentencing hearings. OAG will be present at all of these sentencing hearings and OAG will make submissions at those hearings.

OTHER KEY MATTERS IN DELIVERY OF SWIFT JUSTICE

Community Courts and the Appointment of Lay Magistrates.

As part of the swift justice protocol, the Government promised to make justice more accessible to everyone, a committee appointed by the Chief Justice to look into the establishment of Community Courts has reported.
The Government is pleased to say that Community Courts will be established in the East/North-eastern and South/Southern Districts of New Providence.
Community Elders such as JPs will be invited to serve. This will be an opportunity for award winning Urban Renewal Programme to be extended to Swift Justice within communities. Members will recall that in my contribution on the Police Act I gave a definition of Community Policing…  “Community policing is a philosophy and an organizational strategy that promotes a new partnership between people and their police.  It is based on the premise that both the police and the community must work together to identify, prioritise and solve contemporary problems such as crime, drugs, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and overall neighbourhood decay, with the goal of improving the overall quality of life in the area.”
The Honourable Member for Montagu requested the source of the quote:
Book…Community Policing: How to Get Started.
Authors: Torjanowick and Bucqueroux
Publishers: Anderson Publishing Co.
Edition: 1998

Community Courts are based on the principle that it takes a village to raise a child. Community elders  who hear complaints in relation to matters such as graffiti and other similar offences will be able to immediately deal with “…social and physical disorder, and overall neighbourhood decay, with the goal of improving the overall quality of life in the area.”

Urban renewal is about community building. Community Courts is about Community Building. Community building by the community...improving the overall quality of life in the area.

An example of what the community court might do is mandate that a young person who painted a wall with graffiti might be ordered to remove the graffiti by repainting the wall immediately. We shall count on the support of the Bar in the implementation of these courts.

Traffic Matters
Quite apart from the unacceptable number of deaths from traffic matters, which my colleague the Minister of Transport will address, the number of traffic cases in the Magistrates Court contributes significantly to the backlog and hinders the ability of Magistrates to swiftly deal with other matters.

A decision has been taken to appoint Lay Magistrates specifically to deal with minor traffic matters, such as speeding, running red lights and parking offences.   A Committee comprising the Judiciary, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance and OAG will advise on its effective implementation.

I want to indicate the following:
1. there will be courts specifically allocated to deal with these matters;
2. if persons choose trial rather than payment of a fine, the trial will commence within weeks; not months or years;
3. Magistrates will be asked to fully implement the law in terms of suspension of licences pending payment of fines and increase of penalty in the event that a person who pleads not guilty is at the end of the trial found guilty of the offence; and,
4. there will be a computer link to Road Traffic so that persons who have not paid their fines will not be able to obtain a drivers licence while payment remains outstanding.
As the Chief Justice has already indicated, if we are able to remove minor matters such as graffiti offences to Community Courts and minor traffic matters to Lay Magistrates, Magisterial time will be freed up to enable them to deal swiftly with other pressing and more serious matters before the courts.

Citizens involvement in Swift Justice
We want to remind ourselves everyday that swift justice is something to which citizens, including victims of crime and those accused of crime are entitled.

Persons accused, if they assert their innocence, want to have their names swiftly cleared.  Victims of crime want swift closure.

Since becoming Attorney General I have met many people who are deeply concerned about how long matters are taking to be tried. Their lives and their family’s lives have been forever changed by the crime. Many of them feel that the system does not adequately protect the rights of victims of crime. We must never forget that everytime that a matter is set down and does not proceed, innocent people, families, experience again the deep pain of that crime. They are frustrated by trials being adjourned because witnesses don’t turn up, or the accused does not have a lawyer, or the accused is not in court and others incidents, many of which are avoidable if there is proper coordination of all agencies and if we are determined not to let persons “play the system”.  Victims have rights.

To further enhance the delivery of Swift Justice and the involvement of citizens as stakeholders, an advisory committee to the Minister will be announced next week. I am a servant of the people and I want to ensure that as much as I can I get feedback from the people about what we are doing and about on their feelings about Swift Justice.

The business community, through The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to work with the Royal Bahamas Police Force and OAG to enhance the success of the Swift Justice initiative.  Members of this place will know that many business persons have surveillance cameras in their work places and in their homes.  Together with the police we will explain to enterprise owners how their surveillance cameras may be set up so that the film used in those cameras will be admissible in court.

Court Facilities and Swift Justice
Mr. Speaker, in The Nassau Guardian on June 14th  (this week) I read comments of a Eugene Dupuch Law School Tutor, Ellsworth Johnson. As I read them it confirmed to me the need to quickly get on with building our Law School so that more Ellsworth Johnsons can fly. Equally as important it gives the reasons why we must start the Judicial Complex this year.

I agree with him that “dilapidated interiors will cause Bahamians to develop a sense of hopelessness in the judicial system” and that "You will have no respect for such a treasured institution, if you see that it is dilapidated"  and that “They need to bite the bullet and just build proper courts and stop telling people that you are going to do it. I don't know how they are going to tax people for it, but when people lose respect for the judicial system, they will settle matters themselves."

Mr. Speaker, $1.5 Million dollars has been put in this Budget so that the state of the art Judicial Complex can start this year.  The Judicial Complex that will accommodate the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Industrial Tribunal and their respective Registrars.

Ministry of Works will continue upgrades and repairs as required to existing buildings pending the completion of the Judicial Complex.
 

The Nassau Street Magistrate Court Complex
The construction of a new $5.3 million dollars State-of-the-Art twelve (12) courtroom magistrate complex on Nassau Street is well on the way. This complex, with facilities for magistrates, staff, the public and inmates is expected to be completed in November of this year (2006).

We also expect this year to relocate the Magistrate’s Court in Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama.
 

Court Reporters and Swift Justice

The Court Reporter’s Unit is critical to the administration of justice.  The performance of the Unit impacts Swift Justice. The prosecutors at OAG are not able to prosecute matters the subject of completed preliminary enquiries until transcripts of the enquiries are completed.

The performance of the unit also impacts the civil courts.  It is simply unsatisfactory for litigants to wait for  sometimes more than a year to receive a transcript.

In meetings with the Union and the reporters, it has been agreed that:
1. recommended salary increases will be implemented ASAP
2. reporters currently on staff will be regularized in terms of appointment to contract or remaining as permanent and pensionable
3. the reporters formerly employed by the consultant will be immediately engaged on contract by the government
4. every attempt will be made to fully staff the court reporting unit
5. we will engage a consultant to advise on the most efficient way to operate the unit
6. we will together with the union make every effort to equip and train our reporters to become real time reporters in the shortest possible time

Our young people should be aware that there is a very significant future in Court Reporting and a great demand right now for Court Reporters.

New Appointments
Funds have been allocated for new appointments in New Providence as well as the Northern Region (Grand Bahama and Abaco) to accommodate additional judicial officers and support staff including court security, cashers, bailiffs, clerks and court reporters.  We are now in talks with the RBPF an the matter of court security.  Security of Judges and court personnel is critical. The matter of the ultimate responsibility for their safety is under discussion as is the issue of technology to be used in the ensuring the safety of those involved in the administration of justice. These will include but not limited to CCTV cameras and metal detectors.
 
 
 

Swift Justice and Integrated Justice

I believe that most Bahamians agree that the stakeholders in law and order should coordinate and collaborate as much as possible. The ultimate way for swift integration and collaboration is use of technology.

Members may recall that the former administration invested significantly in the Bahamas Integrated Justice Information System (BIJIS).  This software was to be used to facilitate integrated justice.  The goal is to be able to track civil matters from the filing of a writ all the way through to the Privy Council.  And to be able to track criminal matters from arrest to the Privy Council.

IBM will continue to work closely with a newly formed Integrated Justice Working Group towards achieving our goals.
Some of the tangibles that Integrated Justice will achieve at the click of a mouse are:
1. all stakeholders will be able know the state of readiness of matters;
2. double booking of matters by lawyers will be avoided;
3. double booking of police witnesses will be avoided; and,
4. timelines will be more easily met.
 

OAG and Swift Justice

Clearly Mr. Speaker, the Office of the Attorney General is a key stakeholder in Swift Justice, a term used here in its broadest sense. Victims of crime want to know that prosecutors will be prepared and will act swiftly in their matters. Those waiting for opinions from OAG want to swiftly receive them as those opinions impact the lives of people. International agencies want swift responses from OAG. Our actions may impact justice in another country. People who used to own the land now Sir Milo Butler Highway and the Charles Saunders Highway are waiting for OAG to advise the government so that they can get payment for their land. Members of this place, on behalf of their constituents want legislation to be swiftly prepared.

As foreshadowed with the appointment of the Judicial Review Committee, the Government has taken measures aimed at improving the terms and conditions of service of legal officers. It is my goal and that of all the legal officers for the Attorney General’s Office to be as good as or better than most of the large law chambers in the country. We want to become this country’s pre-eminent law chambers, as I sincerely believe we ought. Additionally, the office has set out to reform the minds, the culture and thinking of not only the legal officers to the notion of pre-eminence but also the entire staff. To this end a series of workshops and seminars is in progress. These works shops and seminars are designed  and focused on the business of improving and changing the current culture to one that is all about achieving excellence and reaching a state of  pre-eminence.  I can  also report that we have had three very successful seminars for senior Management, all legal officers and all staff.  The staff, and officers are excited and enthused about where we are headed as a team and as an organization.  This budget Mr. Speaker will help us get there sooner rather than later.
 

Books for Permanent Collection and computers and related equipment

To reach this state of pre-eminence,   lawyers and staff must also have requisite tools. Legal officers must be able to research the latest cases as well as read the latest journals. Therefore we have increased this item by over $130,000 to ensure that we purchase all the necessary and latest books and periodicals. In addition to this, Mr. Speaker, in this era of sophisticated technology, and the use to which it could be put to facilitate and improve the delivery of the administration of justice, we have increased the item for computers and related equipment. Legal officers will have available to them hand held computers and lap tops to assist with their case management and case scheduling. OAG is creating its own internal network to enhance intra office communications and communications with government, data sources and other private and international bodies. We have added some $25,000 to our budget under this head to make this possible.

New Policy on Pupilage

More and more Mr. Speaker, newly called attorneys who join the Office of the Attorney General are civil servants who would have been in the Public Service in on another career path and decided to study law. In recent times the intake of Civil Servants has been growing and in 2005 there were eight (8) legal officers who came from other Government agencies. Additionally, there are other persons who would have graduated from law schools in the United Kingdom and from Our Eugene Dupuch Law School. Further, there are interests being expressed by graduating students of other Regional Law Schools who would like to complete pupilage here in The Bahamas. We see this as an excellent means to get the brightest and best in the Region for the period of their pupilage and to assess the quality and standard of their work without appointing them as Public Servants.

This new policy therefore will allow my office to engage such persons for the duration of their pupilage on salary of $25,000.00 per annum. Upon completion, the office would then make a determination as to whether it wishes to offer them permanent employment as Assistant Counsel or not. For the lawyers who are Civil Servants, the intention is that upon completion of their pupilage, they would return to their respective employment as In-House Counsel.

1. Aggressive Legislative Agenda and Law Reform

During the opening of the new Parliament, it was foreshadowed that the government would move aggressively bring to Parliament a series of new Bills. Since then I am pleased to say that:

 Justice Protection Legislation foreshadowed in the Throne speech was passed into law. The Justice Protection legislation is a tangible expression of the efforts to be proactive in our determination to combat crime in all its forms and guises.
Mr. Speaker, I shall also very shortly lay before the Honourable House, legislation that will –
? bring about reform in a variety of matters relating to the criminal law including: bail, firearms, regarding the commission of sexual offences, the display and creation of child pornography and sentencing for same;
? a Competition Bill
? amend the Inheritance Act, to clarify the position as it relates to dower;
? a review of all of the legislation relating to the criminal justice system;
? a review of the Domestic Violence Legislation;
? a review of our commercial legislation;
? the law to enable the implementation of national health insurance;
? to enable lay Magistrates to adjudicate minor matters;
? establish the office of Ombudsman so that there can be independent investigations into complaints about unfair or improper actions or poor service by government agencies;
? provide for the establishment of a Bahamas Pharmacy Council  to control the practices of pharmacies and to be responsible for registering and licensing persons qualified to practice the business of pharmacy;
? promote legislation replacing the existing laws relating to Nurses and Midwives with an aim to restore the dignity and respect for Nurses and in particular, to promote and upgrade and enhance the role of nurses in institutions and clinics;
? enact legislation to promote internationally accepted best practices and standards to protect the environment
? amend the laws relating to Bankruptcy;
? enable the Crown to have a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal on the issue of bail.
 

Amendment to the Jurors Act.
Mr. Speaker, the Government is also very concerned with the erosion of the Jury system and the considerable loss of time and resources when a juror, for whatever reason, has to be excused, necessitating a new trial.  Government has in keeping with the speech from the throne, amended the Jurors Act to provide for alternate jurors in capital cases. As well as ensuring that valuable court time is not wasted, this amendment increases the chances that victims will not have to relive the crime by enduring the pain of a retrial.

Legal Aid and Access to Justice

Mr. Speaker we firmly believes a society based upon Christian principles demands that justice must be within the reach of every citizen, rich or poor.  The Legal Aid Commission under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Bahamas Christian Council, Rev. Dr. William Thompson, has delivered its interim Report including far reaching and significant recommendations to government. The work of Commissions, such as the Legal Aid Commission further illustrate the vision and determination of our Prime Minister in respect of participatory democracy.  It is a well researched Report and government wishes to thank the members of the Commission, Rev. Dr. William Thompson – Chairman, Pastor Leonard Johnson, Mr. Wayne Munroe, Mrs. Estelle Gray Evans, Mrs. Indira Demeritte Francis, Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Archbishop Patrick Pinder, Bishop Samuel Greene, Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown, Dr. Rex Major, Pastor Simeon Hall, Dr. Peter D. Maynard, Mr. Kenrad Dorsette, Ms. Annette Longley, Ms. Yvette McCartney, Mr. Maurice Glinton, and Mr. A. Dion Hanna.
We look forward to receiving the final report and I thank the Commission for work done thus far and to indicate so far as their interim recommendations are concerned a commitment to keep them involved in steps towards implementation as they have suggested, in a phased and culturally appropriate way, their recommendations.

Registrar General Department

Automation
 

Earlier this year a part of the Registrar General’s Department moved from the Rodney Bain Building to the comfortable and modern Commerce Centre at the Hilton Hotel. I had hoped to have the ENTIRE Department relocated in Beaumont House by now.  The Ministry of Works has recommended that the Department locate at the old City Market Building.  The Minister of Works will more fully address this but indications are that work on this building is due to commence shortly.

I am advised that work has begun on the renovations of the Canada Life Building for the Freeport office and; it is expected to be completed within the next several months.

The RGD has been on the cutting edge of Technology and in the Vanguard of the Government’s E-Initiative. On June 1, 2005 the RGD began the process of a thirty day turn around on all deeds and documents submitted as at that date going forward. This was a tremendous achievement as previous to June 1st Documents were kept at the Registry unrecorded for up to three years. The speedy scanning process suffered a set back when new hardware and software were purchased to properly secure and enable speedy retrieval of documents. I am advised that the backlog is being assiduously addressed and we expect to be back to a 30 day turn around by the end of July 2006.

 In addition to Deeds, the RGD has also launched the remainder of its Civil Registry Information Systems (CRIS). Marriage Officers and Morticians have been trained on the use of the automation systems and can now begin to make applications for marriages and death certificates online.

Perhaps the most exciting of the features implemented was the cooperation of the RGD with the Department of Local Government to connect all the islands to the RGD central system. A system was designed where all Bahamians could gain access to vital services of the RGD through the local Administrators office. Ragged Island was used as the Pilot project and in December a successful hand over of equipment and historical official launch took place. The RGD has purchased equipment for 14 other administrators and is in the process of implementing the systems.

The credit for the success of the automation project must be given to the Team of professionals at the RGD. I also wish to acknowledge the considerable work and time spent by 2 private sector Committees. The first the Ministerial Advisory Committee Chaired by Mrs. Debi Williams Hancock. The second is a BFSB advisory committee on the processes in the Companies Department. These committees are stellar examples of public private sector partnership and I wish publicly to thank all committee members for their continued dedication and support.

Credit Card Payment

The RGD has been chosen as one of the first departments in the Government to test the credit card facilities. Since July 2005 our paying customers have had the opportunity to pay for services via credit card. The system has been very successful and has contributed to an efficient revenue collection system.
 
 

Intellectual Property

The RGD recognizes the importance of the protection of intellectual property rights. This protection is vital to the sustainability of a vibrant economy and international investor confidence in The Bahamas ability to protect valuable Intellectual Property. The World Intellectual Property Organisation is organizing a two day mission to The Bahamas in July .The purpose of this visit is a fact finding mission to review the state of IP in the Bahamas and make recommendations from a technology and policy viewpoint.

WIPO will also assist in the implementation of a computer platform for Intellectual Property. This will greatly enhance the RGD’s capacity to produce documents and certificates more efficiently on a standard platform that is internationally

The Eugene Dupuch Law School

Mr. Speaker, construction of this facility has presented us with quite a challenge over the last several years. For one reason after another we had to delay the construction.   Those kinks have now been resolved; we have acquired the site for the location of the Law School. The new architectural drawings are in the final stages and we hope to go to tender by November of this year.
We have therefore in included in this budget a provision of $1.5M dollars for the start of this project.

Visit of the Privy Council

Plans are now underway for the Her Majesty’s Privy Council, the final court of appeal in The Bahamas, to sit in The Bahamas in December to hear Privy Council matters set before the Privy Council from any jurisdictions for which the Privy Council is the final court of appeal.  I am advised that this will be an historic occasion for the Privy Council and for The Bahamas as the Law Lords of the Privy Council have never sat as a full Privy Council outside of the United Kingdom.

PINEWOOD
“Pinewood 1st – Community, Family, Faith”
Honour to represent over past 4 years.
Focus on Community Building.
  Dealt with FLOODING….most critical issue…most significant asset is home and water coming into homes as it did during hurricane Michelle in 2001 is untenable.
  Promised that if elected would deal with flooding and have implemented the best solution possible…paid $24,000 to have 99 wells blown out..MOW has since been maintaining the wells
  Most rain since then was summer of 2005 when water settled on Sappodilla, Cordia, Pinewood Drive and some others…like it does on West Bay Street and Bay Street and East Bay Street and ny Marathon Mall…then within hours it flows away.
  Recent rain for 4 days in a row caused the water to take longer than usual to flow off but no water flowed into houses like it did in 2001.
  Delivered on paved roads on the Nassau Village side between Sadie Curtis and Cleveland Eneas Schools.  These roads had never been paved…will never forget visiting homes in the area and noting the frustration from dust settling immediately after cleaning house…the need to keep windows closed…now roads are paved…widows open and Saturday morning dusting is a different experience
  A second basketball court on the main park…both courts lit for night play… together with a lit walking track around a fish pond…so good that we do not need to go outside of our community to exercise in the morning and evening
  Friday evening drive in movies on the park
  The hard working, law abiding citizens of Pinewood came together in a wonderful example of public private sector partnership to raise money for Pinewood’s 1st International standard full sized baseball diamond…soon to be lit for night play.
  This baseball diamond is OWNED and OPERATED by the Pinewood 1st Community Association.
  Public private sector partnership has been taken to a new level by the Pinewood 1st Community Association by its preparedness to assist the government by allowing Ministry of Youth and the Baseball to use our Baseball Diamond upon terms and conditions that will be agreed with our Community Association;
  2 tennis courts…to be lit for night play;
  By year end we shall have an international standard soccer pitch under construction…to be lit for night play
  Xmas basketball camp free for all children annually since 2001
  Marching Band at Mt. Tabor
  First annual Teacher Appreciation Awards at Cleveland Eneas
  First Annual Outstanding students awards at Cleveland Eneas
  This summer will have as a part of urban renewal:
o Baseball camp
o Tennis camp
o Marching band
o Computer camp

o In time for school opening MOW has promised:

? Road bumps
? Pedestrian crossings at Cleveland Eneas and Sadie Curtis
So said so done…let’s keep it going…