FREEPORT RISING
On Friday 18 October 2019, the Port Lucaya Market Place opened again for business. Friday morning some businesses were still closed. Many have decided that they will take the insurance money and run. Throughout Freeport, there is this melancholy pall: are we going or are we staying. The city is replete with stories of those who are cutting and running and those who have decided to stay. One thing for sure, the land prices will plummet and so those who want a good deal and have cash would do well in Freeport. Breakfast in Zorba’s didn’t seem unusual. The waiters and waitresses seemed happy that they were back to work. It contrasts to the visit to Hudson Estates where the place is a garbage dump and people are in despair. The PLP had its own effort to help, led by Assistant Secretary General Chala Cartwright and that daily kitchen has died off now that people seemed to have found their sea legs again. John Bull, Solomon’s have decided to cut and run. The talk is that the Hutchinson Group will not be rebuilding the airport. They want to collect the insurance money for it and then give the airport to the Government for one dollar and tell them rebuild it. By evening that story had changed and they said the airport would have some temporary facility by mid-November. Rex Rolle, the owner of Western Air, is not waiting for that. He is rebuilding and business is going well so far. But one of the owners of a restaurant in Port Lucaya put it this way: if it weren’t for my employees I would pack up and go but they have been faithful me so I will rebuild. The problem she says is no leadership and no help from anyone. The government nor the Port Authority. That’s the impression you get as you taste the salt in the water trying to take a difficult shower early in the morning. We say this though: Freeport is too important to The Bahamas to fail. Too important to let the incompetence and lack of feeling by these silly representatives for Grand Bahama from the FNM to let the city go down. Peter Turnquest is clueless and arrogant. Iram Lewis is puffing like a peacock because he is a minister. Michael Pintard is profiling and speaking to the Opposition PLP because he sees the storm coming, Minnis doesn’t like him and he thinks that when the FNM loses he Michael Pintard will survive. Frederick McAlpine is FNM only in name. He put a hatchet to them last week in the House of Assembly for their incompetence and continues to feed his constituents from international donors. As for Parkeisha Parker MP for West Grand Bahama, she tried to outwit Glenys Hanan Martin about the opening of the West End airport only to be shamed by the truth that she had no clue what she Parkeisha was talking about. But Freeport must rise again and we think that with the right leadership, it will.