The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis challenged those attending the Sustainable Grand Bahama Conference to face head on the question of how best to embrace ideas of sustainability in the context of national development.

The three-day conference is being hosted by University of the Bahamas North at Pelican Bay.

“This is a delicate balancing act akin to walking a suspended tightrope,” Mr Davis said as he opened the conference. “The needs and demands of the three broad components of economic, environmental, and social sustainability must all be satisfied.”

During his keynote address yesterday, Mr Davis also mentioned how past industrial pollution is still negatively affecting communities in Grand Bahama.

“As you hold discussions and deliberations and debate between yourselves, I urge you to be mindful of some of the painful lessons and memories of the past,” he said.

“Though the short-term economic benefit was significant, some of the negative impacts of the large-scale industrial operations of BORCO and Syntex are still being experienced in communities like Hunters and Lewis Yard. And unfortunately, some of the social, cultural, and environmental drawback still persists today.”

He also stressed that climate change is a threat that must be addressed sooner than later.

“In recent months, our administration has actively raised a number of issues surrounding climate change, both locally and internationally. In my address to the General Assembly of the UN last September, I challenged any leader who believes we still have plenty of time to address climate change to visit Grand Bahama and Abaco.

“What these islands endured in 2019 and the after effects which remain today, offer lessons to the whole world. And you are living with a reality which is fast becoming the global future.”

Mr Davis believes that UB’s conference is where some of the greatest ideas can emerge.

He stated that Grand Bahamians need an economy with sufficient long-term potential for growth sustained for future generations – one that is diversified and able to create opportunities for people across all sections.

Mr Davis said he is also confident that the range of policy intervention proposed in his party’s Blueprint for Change will make a positive difference in the lives of people on the island.

“We are serious about finding and defining solutions,” he said. “We have to be unflinching and looking back and answering the hard questions. Questions like, are the economic frameworks on the island still fit for focus? And within those frameworks, what is to be the role of the Grand Bahama Port Authority? Is there a role for GBPA?”

He also spoke about Grand Bahama’s susceptibility to annual hurricanes.

He said that levels of resilience must be inherent in a development plan for the island to ensure that not only the natural and man-made structures can withstand them, but also the safety and security of people.

Mr Davis said that there are also questions of how best to support the people of Grand Bahama to move forward from the trauma of the recent past to live healthier, wealthier, and better lives.

He hopes that the discussions taking place at the conference will embrace those fundamental questions.

UB President Dr Rodney Smith commended Dr Ian Strachan, UB North President and UB executive vice president, for having created the conference that has exceeded all expectations.

He said the conference has attracted scholars and experts from across the country and around the world to explore sustainable solutions to the country’s national development challenges, particularly in the context of Grand Bahama.

Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey also spoke at the conference yesterday.