Fred Smith
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A well-known QC has called for new ownership and management at the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), arguing that this is a major reason for Freeport’s “listlessness”.
Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, added his voice to those warning that the GBPA’s owners, the Hayward and St George families, cannot treat both it and the city as “a feudal fiefdom or ancestral home”.
Mr Smith’s call for new blood at both the GBPA’s ownership and management levels is likely to strike a chord with many in Freeport’s intelligentsia and private sector, some of whom have privately expressed similar views to Tribune Business in recent years.
What makes his remarks even more significant is that, apart from being the GBPA’s external counsel for several decades, Mr Smith also acted as the attorney for the late Edward St George’s estate and still counts both owner families among his personal friends.
“I invested in Freeport as a licensee decades ago, in the good faith that the Port Authority will employ experienced executives to manage and promote the business of Freeport through the Port Group of Companies,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business.
“Unfortunately, over the past decade, and particularly through the corporate personnel purgings during the five years or internecine family warfare between the Haywards and St Georges, the Port Group is bereft of any experienced executives.
“Whilst I consider Sir Jack Hayward, Henry St George, Sarah St George and Lady Henrietta among my friends, they have absolutely no experience in running a business, let alone the Port Authority, which is a quasi-governmental authority and has been regarded as a ‘state within a state’ in the Bahamas.”
Mr Smith is thus likely to have uttered the unspoken, and what many people are thinking. There is a growing suspicion that change in both management and ownership at the GBPA is necessary to take Freeport to ‘the next level’, a sentiment that was hinted at in the recent ‘Vision’ paper produced by the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.
Both GBPA ownership and management subsequently pushed back against that notion, but Mr Smith is arguing that they – together with the central government in Nassau – have to accept their share of the blame for Freeport’s current condition.
“The Port Authority is not a feudal fiefdom or ancestral home for the St Georges and Haywards,” the Callender’s & Co partner told Tribune Business. “Executive positions in running the Port Authority should not be hereditary because the families have aristocratic-sounding names.
“Such names are always good to entice Americans and Canadians, who are always impressed by someone’s ancestry, but the real business world needs qualified people to do business in Freeport.”
The long-term plans of both GBPA ownership families are uncertain. While it is thought that Sir Jack and members of the Hayward family trust would sell their equity interest if the right price, and purchaser, could be found, the St George family is a more diverse group.
Several members, particularly Sarah and Henry St George, are understood to want to carry on in their late father’s footsteps, and live up to his legacy by continuing in Freeport’s management and administration. But other family members are, like the Haywards, thought to be open to offers if the terms are right.
It is also uncertain whether the Government will use the negotiations over Freeport’s expiring investment incentives as leverage to force the ‘solution’ it wants to see at the GBPA and Freeport.
There have already been suspicions, voiced privately by some GBPA licensees, that the Port is not pushing as hard as it might to ensure Value-Added Tax (VAT) is not levied on business-to-business services transactions in Freeport in the hope the Government will not seek to impose real property taxes in the city.
Either way, Mr Smith told Tribune Business: “I have often criticized central government oversight and control over the Port Authority’s jurisdiction to be the one-stop shop investment authority in Freeport, but I must also criticize the Hayward and St George families, who own the shares, for their abandonment of any organized, long-term administration of the Port Group of Companies.
“It’s fine for them to be the owners of the shares, but it is high time they stopped focusing on husbanding pennies for dividends, and understand they have a momentous role, not only to earn a profit but running a development business and serving the broader interests of a community.”
The alleged failure of the GBPA to live up to its developmental obligations has been a common complaint among GBPA licensees and Freeport residents, especially following the 2006-2010 ownership dispute between the two families, which paralysed decision-making and undermined investor confidence in the city.
“We don’t need pretty faces. We need businessmen of experience and qualifications at the helm of the Port Authority,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business.
“The current state of Freeport’s economy must not only be laid at the feet of central government interference, but also Port Authority listlessness.”
Comments
birdiestrachan 10 years ago
He no longer works for them, now he has a problem with them. Perhaps they should give him a retainer fee. that will shut him up right away.
Andrewharris 10 years ago
This one time his opinion is welcome
TruthHurts 10 years ago
The residents of GB should be all over this article. It's so true.
TruthHurts 10 years ago
Wow.. Birdie you're not looking at the bigger picture. Regardless of his integrity; being fired or not, what he's saying here is living truth for residents of the island.
duppyVAT 10 years ago
GBPA is a finished case ........... 60 years into the GBPA & Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the tank is empty. Jack Hayward, Edward St. George and their Bahamian minions have emptied the chest and now the pirates have fled with all of the booty ............. The only chance is to put the nail in the coffin buy out GBPA & Freeport .......... all 100,000 acres of it to the Chinese ........ they own half of it now. Then ask all Bahamians to vacate Freeport City and lease Freeport to the Chinese for at least $1 Billion a year for ten years, witha aright to renew the lease every ten years.
TruthHurts 10 years ago
Leasing to the Chinese? Dog eat your lunch! lol
duppyVAT 10 years ago
The Chinese are the only global investors willing to put money out right now ........ they want to get as close to the US market as possible .... we can spark a US-EU-China "highest bidder takes all" for the Freeport lease if there are any American or European investors up to the fight.
But right now Freeport is becoming a national liability
Emac 10 years ago
Here's a far fetched idea:The government of the Bahamas should buy GBPA and make Freeport the capital city of the Bahamas. Freeport is organized, it has all of the correct infrastructures and is designed like a modern city. Move all of the main government offices and public buildings there and the economy would automatically be energized. At least Bahamians would be proud to have a clean and systematic capital city. Meanwhile, clean up dirty Nassau and try to instil some pride in the many residents who live like rats in a sewer.
Voltaire 10 years ago
Not a bad idea...
TalRussell 10 years ago
Comrade Emac the perception that pops into minds of people is that Freeport is the capital of Grand Bahama. No, it is not. West End is the capital of Grand Bahama and why should they continue to be ignored under a reconfiguration of the way Freeport is to be operated?
Emac 10 years ago
I understand what you are saying Tal. I was really looking at infrastructure. Nassau with its million potholes and narrow streets was really designed with the horse 'n' carriage in mind.
TalRussell 10 years ago
I want Comrade Freddy get on tract, not with some regressive plan to seek new private owners which will ether be Chinese government financed or they will be well-connected to whichever government happens be in power. Even to have government buy the shares in Port is to deny Bahamalanders their right to move away from corporate or government ownership over Freeport. The Hawksbill Agreement is a disgrace not in need of a simple change of ownership but kiss it good damn riddance. A change private ownership will benefit lawyers fees and inside brokers commissions exceeding $100 million dollars and who in hell needs or wants that special interests enrichment. Cancel that son-of-a-bitch Port deal but not simply pass shares on to anyone, even Bahamalanders. A nation does not sell shares in her nation.
duppyVAT 10 years ago
Thats a good idea........... but what do you mean by "buy back"? That will be an interesting conversation ....... look at Bahamar and the road cost.
Emac 10 years ago
I didn't say 'buy back'. I said buy or acquire. You are right about Bahamar and the road cost issues, but such a move should really be looked at as a long term investment. This government is already wasting millions of dollars with no returns. I believe Freeport has the capacity to facilitate a modern communication system, with the latest technological tools along with the space to attract investors and Bahamian entrepreneurs to invest in that with city with good faith. Nassau already has a bad rep. Freeport also has the space and existing clubs and pubs to attract visitors and Bahamians alike which would eventually bring back that dazzling nightlife that Nassau was once famous for.
TalRussell 10 years ago
http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2014…
The_Oracle 10 years ago
While it is true the Port Authority private owners are comfortable and wealthy with no vision or need to do anything, this was not the intention of the H.C.A. for Wallace Groves or the Government. The Government buying it is not the answer either as they're broke and couldn't run it anyway. One look at Nassau confirms that. What should be done is a buyout by the Licensees, who have watched things go from bad to worse and would probably do a far better job if politics could be kept out of it! Middle management simply holding whatever position the owners want them to is pathetic. Hutchinson could care less aside needing enough manpower to run the Container port. Even then they'd get approval to import foreign workers, who would live in shipping containers outside the gates! Government is using VAT rules to abrogate the H.C.A. and totally ignore prior court rulings which have helped to define it, which will further depress economic prospects and with impending expiry from tax exemptions in 2015 things do not look good. Freeport is the perfect example of squandered potential, through the inactions of a select few, who themselves have done very very well at the expense of everyone else.
Stapedius 10 years ago
I couldn't agree more. In this key phrase "through the inactions of a select few, who themselves have done very very well at the expense of everyone else," highlights the growing economic disparity in this country. Our middle class is all but gone and there are only a select few who have carved out a hog portion of the economic pie. Government kickbacks and sweetheart deals are too common and the parasites contnue to suck.
DEDDIE 10 years ago
Government acquiring Freeport is a terrible idea. All you have to do is look at the small enclaves that not part of Freeport to understand why. Smith Point and Williams Town are surrounded by Freeport and the minute you drive past the bonded signs announcing the end of Freeport's bonded area everything changes. The roads immediately become bad, the side of the roads are overgrown.The contrast between private ownership versus public ownership is telling. Its even worst when you drive into Eight Mile Rock.
Stapedius 10 years ago
The donkey brays again , now finally with some sense. I have no regard for Smith becuase I see him as an opporrunist and media h#@r, but he is right on this GBPA fiasco. Give credit where it is due and he deserves it in this instance.
The_Oracle 10 years ago
Those with the power and wealth do not want change, those who need change, Have not the power nor capital to change anything. Hat tip to Poverty Inc.
The_Oracle 10 years ago
Perfect example is the Port President touting new investment, growth, confidence whether he believes it or not, it is the company line he is instructed to push, andhis salary depends on it. Every business he highlighted moved out of a given property into a new property. No growth there. The Port owners probably do believe everything is fine, marvelous job they're doing etc. Life is good!
duppyVAT 10 years ago
The Port owners are millionnaire foreigners. Their Bahamian minions are also enjoying the spoils, but the wider GB population is not. The Government must ensure that the wider population is enjoying a better standard of living. The question to ask is: what would the GB have looked like without the GBPA? East End? West End? Eight Mile Rock? Freeport is not growing but the rest of GB is not either ............. thats the government's responsibility.
The_Oracle 10 years ago
No Government can ensure a better standard of living for its population: The Governments job is to maintain the structures of society which enable citizens to work, produce and provide for themselves. They will always fail at the first, history shows they have failed at the latter. In the context of the G.B.P.A, the Statutory agreement which was to provide an environment for prosperity for the country and ALL involved has been hijacked by the few, both in and out of Government who have appropriated it as theirs to do with as they wish. And they have done exactly that.
The_Messenger 10 years ago
Any word from the GBPC or Emera and their regulators, The Port Authority on why the power bills are still astronomical in Grand Bahama?
Oil has plummeted 40%.
duppyVAT 10 years ago
Good point .............. just look at the cost/price of fuel, gas, BEC after the world wide drop of price of crude oil......... NO CHANGE!!!!!!!!! Our government is robbing us blind.......... and the special interest groups (GBPA, FOCOL, unions) are holding the PLP government hostage. What are the citizens going to do????????? We need a social revolution NOW!!!!!!!!!
The_Oracle 10 years ago
Isn't the fuel surcharge supposed to go away if the price of oil drops below a certain point? $70bbl? hmmm, betcha BEC and Emera hoping no one remembers that!
Well_mudda_take_sic 10 years ago
I would personally pay for Fred Smith to be returned to his home country (Haiti) if I knew there would be any chance of him staying there. My God, what must we do to free ourselves of this tootie fruity idiot?!!
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