The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government was yesterday accused of failing to abide by its agreement before the Court of Appeal to release the McKinsey report on Freeport’s future, with the city’s expiring investment incentives again “on the very edge of time”.

Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, told Tribune Business that the Attorney General’s Office had yet to live up to its November 19, 2015, agreement to release a report believed to be a critical influence on the Government’s plans for Freeport.

He added that himself, and fellow Callenders & Co attorney, Carey Leonard, were now “on the eve of trial” over their substantive Judicial Review action, which is arguing that the consultation process on Freeport’s future was “fundamentally flawed and a sham”.

That hearing is due to take place before the Supreme Court on January 19, with the duo and the Government due back before the Court of Appeal the following day to update it on the progress made since their November 19 agreement.

In return for the Attorney General’s Office agreeing to release the McKinsey report, either in full or a redacted version, the Callender’s & Co pair adjourned their appeal against an earlier Supreme Court ruling, which refused to grant an injunction preventing the Government from acting on the recommendations in that document and a subsequent report from its Hawksbill Creek Review Committee.

Confirming that the Government had yet to deliver on its side of the bargain, Mr Smith told Tribune Business: “I lament the fact that although the Attorney General’s Office agreed to provide the McKinsey report to me and Mr Leonard at the Court of Appeal in November, it has yet to be produced - either in its full or redacted form.

“Amazingly, the Government has failed to file an affidavit explaining their failure to produce the report..... Once again, it shows the Government is not responsive, does not respect its word, and continues to govern in secrecy.

“What is the big secret? My tax dollars paid for this report, and why is it not provided to the people of Freeport, who are most affected by it?”

Mr Smith said it was impossible for the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) 3,500 licensees, and Freeport residents, to contribute to the debate over the Government’s plans to increase its tax earnings from Freeport because no one new the current revenue and expenditure figures generated by the city.

He added that the Government had thrown numerous obstacles in the way of efforts by himself and Mr Leonard to bring their two Judicial Review actions over the McKinsey report, and consultation exercise over Freeport’s future.

The Christie administration last year extended Freeport’s expiring investment incentives, including the real property tax, Business Licence, capital gains and income tax exemptions for six months until February 5, 2016.

That ‘sunset deadline’ is now less than a month away, and Mr Smith urged the Government to extend those incentives for another year, both to provide certainty for the business and investment community, and to allow full consultation on their fate to occur.

Pointing out that the city was again “at the very edge of time”, he told Tribune Business: “This is so immature, so irresponsible, so catastrophic for Freeport’s business environment.

“It can only be that this Government is determined to bring Freeport to its economic knees and bring Sir Lynden’s ‘bend or break’ speech to reality.”

“They want litigation, controversy, adversarial legal posturing instead of harmonised growth and co-operation with the business sector.”

Mr Smith pointed out that Hutchison Whampoa, as Freeport’s largest investor with over $1 billion in the ground, had warned the Government that it would undertake no further capital expansion projects unless there was absolute certainty that Freeport’s expiring investment incentives would be extended.

“It boggles the mind what games this Government is playing with people’s lives in Freeport,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business. “As a licensee of Freeport and a 40-year resident, I beg the Prime Minister to be nice to the people of Freeport and disclose the report, and extend the exemptions for at least another year so a proper consultation exercise can be held.”

The Government’s failure to-date to publish the report on Freeport’s future by McKinsey was central to the Callenders’ duo’s Judicial Review.

Messrs Smith and Leonard are alleging that the consultation process, on which the report by Hawksbill Creek Agreement review Committee is based, is “fundamentally flawed and a sham” because key documents - especially the McKinsey report - were not released to those it interviewed.

The McKinsey report is seen as especially important because previous statements by Prime Minister Perry Christie suggest it influenced the Hawksbill Creek Agreement Review Committee’s terms of reference, while also playing a vital role in determining the Government’s thinking on Freeport’s short and long-term future.

Messrs Smith and Leonard are ultimately seeking Supreme Court Orders that prevent any decisions being made on the basis of the committee’s report; that require the McKinsey report to be made publicly available; and require that a new consultation process be undertaken with Freeport stakeholders.