The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government has been urged to improve Freeport’s competitiveness and ‘ease of doing business’ by introducing 21-day turnaround timelines for work permits and all business-related approvals.

Prime Minister Perry Christie said these were among the recommendations submitted by the Government-appointed Hawksbill Creek Agreement Review Committee, which has called on his administration to “create a one-stop-shop” for all business and investment-related approvals in the city.

Mr Christie told the House of Assembly that this would apply to both Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and Government approvals, with matters referred to Nassau taking “no more than 21 days” for a decision to be made.

He added that the Committee had also called for “improved efficiency” when dealing with labour and Immigration matters.

“The ministries responsible for Immigration and labour should establish a system to efficiently deal with work permits on an expedited basis (within 21 days) and, where earlier approvals are needed, within 48 hours, recognising that there may exist a need for specialist skills which are not readily available in the Bahamas,” the Prime Minister said of the Committee’s proposal.

Its recommendations largely follow suggestions contained in an earlier report by the Government’s international consultants, McKinsey, which had urged the administration to improve the ‘ease of doing business’ in Freeport - particularly when it came to timely approvals, and work permits.

Apart from improved skills training and recruitment, Mr Christie said the Committee had also called for “transparency and fiscal stability” on Grand Bahama to be achieved via audits that detailed whether the Government was incurring an annual deficit on the island.

Among the other measures detailed by the Prime Minister is the creation and funding by the GBPA, and its Port Group Ltd affiliate, of “an independent investment promotion agency, with expertise in retaining, expanding and attracting businesses”, to market Freeport and Grand Bahama.

Such an agency has long been sought by the likes of Dupuch & Turnquest attorney and partner, Terence Gape, and the Committee also called on the Government to seek an agreement to modernise Grand Bahama International Airport and lower airlift costs via a possible private-public partnership (PPP).

The Hawksbill Creek Agreement Review Committee also urged the Government to assess whether to impose real property tax on undeveloped land in Freeport, in a bid to stimulate its development, with the monies raised going to meet its costs in the city.

Other recommendations included the Government and GBPA working together “to secure suitable partners and arrangements which would secure the economic viability of Hutchison’s hotels, casino and tourism assets, and curtail unsustainable losses and large Government subsidies”.

The GBPA and Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCo) would ensure all land transactions, historical and going forward, were recorded with the Registrar General’s Department.

Other recommendations include the Freeport Harbour Company waiving its cruise and container port ‘exclusivities’ on Grand Bahama, and providing an appeals process on the GBPA’s licensing decisions. Licensees would also get a seat on the GBPA Board.

Mr Christie branded the reform proposals submitted to him, which also push for greater transparency and accountability, as “visionary” and “far reaching”.

He added that the Committee’s work had required further information, meaning the process was “far more time consuming” that first thought.

As a result, to give the Committee more time, and the Government greater leeway to consider their recommendations and come to a policy decision, Mr Christie said the Government would maintain the status quo by extending the investment incentives that expire today for another three months.

The Prime Minister said the Committee has commissioned an economic impact study, understood to have been conducted by Oxford Economics, the results of which are now awaited.

Bahamian companies, whom he declined to name, have been tasked with determining the Government’s revenues and spending in the Port area over the past several years, and reporting on the amount of undeveloped land held by GBPA licensees.

Confirming that he was chairing a Cabinet sub-committee talking to the GBPA and other Freeport stakeholders, Mr Christie said: “It is not our intention to take any step that may harm the economy of Grand Bahama.

“Every intention is to do the opposite; to improve and promote the economy of Grand Bahama.”

He added: “On the other hand we face the reality, which is a stark reality, that significant development is not taking place in Freeport in the same manner as in other islands in the Bahamas, which have no tax and infrastructure [advantage] over Freeport.”