The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s “notoriously poor PR” has helped create the “fallacy” that Bahamian investors are unable to access the same incentives as their foreign counterparts, a Cabinet minister believes.

Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that the Government had “become so administrative” and bureaucratic, it often forgot other key functions.

These, he said, included giving potential investors “hope”, and letting them know what investment incentives and ‘tax breaks’ could be accessed by their projects.

Mr Rolle also slammed as a ‘myth’ the frequent claims that Bahamian investors were not given equal treatment with their foreign counterparts.

Yet he conceded this had stemmed partly from the Government’s failure to provide examples of Bahamian companies and investors who had successfully accessed these incentives, and to inform the private sector of what was available.

“One of the things we want to do is highlight a lot of the local investments taking place, particularly those using incentives,” Mr Rolle told Tribune Business.

“One of the fallacies that continues to exist is that local investors don’t get the same incentives as the foreign investor.

“The Government has not done a good enough job communicating who has been awarded these incentives.”

Mr Rolle said numerous incentives were available to Bahamian, as well as foreign, investors under laws such as the Hotels Encouragement Act, the Industries Encouragement Act, the Downtown Nassau Revitalisation Act, the Beer and Spirits Manufacturer’s Act and other incentive-related legislation.

“This is one of the reasons why we want to push hard on the restructure of Government,” Mr Rolle told Tribune Business.

“We’re notoriously poor at PR, and making sure there is a team that is specifically dedicated to shepherding business development.

“We’ve become so administrative in nature that we forget the other part of it, which is to give people hope and information on what is available.”

With the $3.5 billion Baha Mar project still at a standstill, Mr Rolle said the Government was focused on getting other projects “out of the pipeline” and into the construction phase.

“We’re looking at many of the projects that we previously approved that are going through the development stage and coming on stream,” he told Tribune Business.

“We’re still working through, getting them out of the pipeline and to come through the planning stage, then getting shovels into the ground.”

Mr Rolle said there were numerous resort and real estate developments that, although overshadowed by Baha Mar and its woes, were set to launch in 2016.

The former Nassau Palm Resort on West Bay Street has enjoyed a soft opening under its new ownership, while the Warwick resort on Paradise Island is “in the final stretch” before a planned Spring 2016 opening.

Both properties will boost New Providence room inventories and hotel industry employment, and Mr Rolle said he had met recently with the investors behind high-end developments planned for two Exuma private cays - Children’s Bay and William’s Cay.

He told Tribune Business that both projects had submitted all the necessary planning and approvals applications, together with Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), and are “looking at having shovels in the ground in the first quarter”.

Mr Rolle said the Government had been working on several recently-approved projects, such as the $94 million South Cat Cay development and Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) private cruise port for Ocean Cay, for a year or more.

“We’re planning an investment mission to Canada, which is one of the biggest FDI source markets for the Bahamas,” the Minister added. “We’re looking at doing that by the end of the first quarter.”

Mr Rolle, though, said no “major” developments had occurred in trying to find a purchaser who will develop New Providence’s last significant resort property, South Ocean.

He indicated that the Baha Mar debacle had interrupted one potential purchaser’s plans, due to the uncertainty over whether some of the $3.5 billion project’s brands - SLS, Rosewood and Grand Hyatt - might become available.

“I know discussions continue,” Mr Rolle said of South Ocean. “One of the issues that the potential developer wanted to see was whether existing or new brands would come on stream at Baha Mar given the restructuring there, so that the parties he was in discussions with did not find themselves in an adverse position.”