The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey says she too shares the same concerns about the Freeport economy as those Grand Bahamians who marched to the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

She has assured that with the Davis Administration, residents can expect to see many things happen on Grand Bahama island.

On March 4, a group of concerned businesspeople and residents, led by businessperson Darren Cooper and Rev McAlpine, marched to the GBPA Headquarters building in downtown Freeport. They delivered a letter to GBPA president Ian Rolle outlining ten concerns regarding the state of Freeport’s economy and have requested to meet with executives within 30 days to address their concerns.

Prior to her entry into frontline politics, Ms Moxey was the former vice president of the GBPA. She resigned in June 2014.

When asked by a reporter for her response to the march, she said: “I share the same concerns. GB has been going through it for a while and we had been devastated by Hurricane Dorian, and shortly thereafter, the pandemic. So, we never really fully recovered. I think we were perhaps the only island that was lockdown for eight weeks, and so, of course, that had a devastating impact on our economy. I understand and share the concerns of the residents, and we are working very hard to get the economy back up and running, and I am extremely optimistic on what lies ahead.”

Minister Moxey indicated that many projects are in the making for GB. “There are a lot of projects in the works that I will be making certain announcements at the upcoming Grand Bahama Business Outlook on Thursday, and so, yes, the smile is here because we have a lot in store for GB.”

Asked if she agrees with comments made by Prime Minister Davis that GB has not maximized its full potential, she said: “I totally agree with that. We have so much potential, and it has been talked about for years. But I believe that now with this new day administration you will see a lot of things happen.”

However, she stressed that to make things happen requires collaboration and teamwork among all the players and stakeholders.

“With the Ministry for Grand Bahama, I created a new unit called Collab Partnerships for Development, where in spite of what is going on in the outside with the GBPA, with Hawksbill Creek Agreement, power rate regulation, that we can still get things done outside of that.

“And so, we had a lot of interests from the corporate community. They are excited about it. They are partnering with us, and I am excited about what is about to happen for GBI.”

Ms Moxey said that the Port Authority is also part of that initiative. “They are the regulators and so they are also involved, and a lot of it has to do with cleanup of the community, rebuilding from Dorian, (we need) all hands-on deck. There is not much you can do in the City of Freeport if the port is not involved in certain aspects. So, of course, they are involved, but the corporate community in general, NGOs, the community at large, and government agencies - we all have to work together.”

The minister was also asked about the fluctuating cost of airline tickets to Grand Bahama.

She said that the Deputy Prime Minister, who has responsibilities for Tourism, Investment and Aviation, is working closely with the airlines and with the tourism sector to address that issue.

On the GB airport situation, Ms Moxey said: “The DPM will make announcements about that pretty soon as well, and I don’t want to pre-empt any of that, but we are on the right path with respect to the airport and other developments on the island.”