FELIX SANDS WRITES ON GRAND BAHAMA
Grand Bahama: A Diamond in the Rough
Grand Bahama can be described as a diamond in the rough, unpolished. The island sits 61 nautical miles east of West Palm Beach Florida; in the centre of the island sits the City of Freeport, the second city which is controlled and managed by the Grand Bahama Port Authority. This rough diamond has never been cut or polished bringing out its full beauty and full potential.
The last population census indicated that Grand Bahama has lost five thousand residents. Since then, the numbers have continued to decrease; some young professionals have relocated to Canada, the United States, while others have sought job opportunities in Nassau, Bimini, Eleuthera and Exuma. This is today’s reality.
The demolition of vacant buildings, the closure of factories due to high energy cost, and the collapse of a Pharmaceutical company speaks to the further decline of the city.
The Grand Bahama Port Authority, the franchise developer of the city holds the 99-year lease for the City of Freeport under the 4th August, 1955 Hawksbill Creek Agreement with 30 more years left; when the lease comes to an end, the city reverts to the Bahamas Government.
The Port Authority, the principal shareholders, in recent years, have skilfully divested themselves of its key wholly owned subsidiary companies; when they were grouped together as a single unit, the city had a competitive edge to compete as an investment hub that made the city work. This enabled them to attract foreign direct investment. These parts included the power company, garbage company, the road building company, the harbour company and the Grand Bahama Airport which was damaged during the passage of Hurricane Dorian.
The selling off of these key assets might be interpreted as a material change to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement without the consent or involvement of the licensees and land owners. The agreement states that any changes must have the approval of 4/5 of the licensees. This might be argued to be a violation of the agreement.
Today, the Grand Bahama Port Authority can be likened to a house stripped of all its essential fixtures and fittings; a shell of what was first envisage, the only assets left are the Utility Company, and the Development Company( land holding) and the ability to License. In other words, they have taken an old car and sold off the individual parts for maximum value for the owners.
The infrastructure of Freeport has suffered due to natural disaster and the derelict neglect of the Lucayan waterways; while other areas like the widely used roads have come to the end of its useful life. The city is in need of urgent attention; it remains to be seen if the GBPA has the financial ability to provide the capital to set the city straight and continue as a viable going concern.
The selling of the Grand Bahama International Airport from an optic point view is a key component of the development of Freeport, and pocketing the insurance payout speaks volumes to the direction of where the owners are headed .
The government of the Bahamas must not allow a slow moving liquidation by the GBPA to take place. The government must use all the tools at its disposal including reimbursements to cause the Port Authority post haste to live up to its fiduciary responsibility under the terms of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement for the City of Freeport. Borrowing a Bible verse, 2 Kings 7:4. (“if we stay here and do nothing the (city )will surely die …
Prime Minister Davis, your Administration is standing On Solid Ground, do not blink with these recalcitrant shareholders.
The alternative is the tax payers of the Bahamas will be left with an empty greasy bag paying the price to rebuild Freeport.
“To be forearmed is to be prepared”. The long lens of history is watching
Felix A Sands
P O Box F42042 Freeport