The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The prime minister has “no viable ideas” for improving the lives of ordinary Bahamians, a prominent businessman has blasted, arguing that the Over-the-Hill revival has made little impact to-date.

Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes and Sunshine Holdings chairman, told Tribune Business that while Dr Hubert Minnis “means well” he lacks “well thought-out” policies that “can make a difference” to the Bahamian people’s well-being.

He cited the prime minister’s signature Over-the-Hill revitalisation project as a prime example, arguing that there were no visible signs of “execution” or that it was having the effects much-touted by the prime minister while in opposition.

“I don’t question the prime minister’s heart; I think he wants to help,” Sir Franklyn told this newspaper. “But the truth of the matter is that he has no ideas that are viable. Look at the Over-the-Hill initiative. So what happened?

“There was a lot of noise. Drive through Over-the-Hill and show any evidence that the commitment to change Over-the-Hill exists. Where? What do you see? What’s changed? He meant well, he means well, but he’s got no ideas that have been thought through that are pivotal and can make a difference.”

Sir Franklyn pointed to criticism of the Free National Movement’s (FNM) 2017 general election campaign manifesto by former senior figures the manifesto, suggesting it was not “a viable platform”, to support his case although Tribune Business was unable to find any record of the persons he referred to making such comments.

Nevertheless, he continued: “That’s another way of saying he came to power with no viable ideas, and now we’re seeing it. When we’re talking about the Over-the-Hill initiative, where is the execution? Where is it?”

In response to previous criticisms of the project, Dr Minnis has urged patience on the basis that 50 years of neglect cannot be reversed overnight in just over one year. He told the media last year: “It’s amazing that the inner city was neglected for 50 years and you want resolution in one. It can’t happen overnight.”

That came after The Tribune reported that nearly four months after the Over-the-Hill’s Economic Empowerment Zone went live, just 17 applications for the tax concessions on offer had been submitted. Of these, 14 were approved, but more entrepreneurs and small businesses have subsequently been able to access financing through the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC).

The Over-the-Hill revival will take time, and the jury likely remains out on the Prime Minister’s initiative, and the Prime Minister will likely point to ongoing energy sector reforms and the Government’s low-cost housing plans as examples of initiatives designed to benefit ordinary Bahamians.

Sir Franklyn, though, noted that Dr Minnis had made addressing income inequality a priority for his administration just one day after the Sunshine Holdings chief said the issue appeared to be “off the radar” for the Government.

The businessman said it was “a wonderful thing to hear the Prime Minster say” that he is focusing on closing “the gap of inequality to allow more of the poor and the indigent to share in the wealth”.

“I will now watch carefully the upcoming Budget cycle to see what policy measures will be put in place to reflect that commitment and, a year-and-a-half from now, will be able to measure what progress was made,” Sir Franklyn said.

He also hit out at the Government’s handling of the post-Dorian recovery, arguing that the Minnis administration was providing “spin” as to what is happening in Grand Bahama and Abaco. Sir Franklyn said this was causing persons on the ground in both islands to “question where these guys are living”.

“Part of the problem is trying to dissect the truth,” he told Tribune Business. “They’re giving us spin on what is going on in Grand Bahama and Abaco, and everyone I talk to is raising questions as to where these guys are living.

“As it relates to Grand Bahama and Abaco in 2020, so very much depends on what happens with the recovery effort. If there’s reasonable efficiency with the hurricane effort on Abaco, reasonable efficiency, Abaco is poised to come back stronger and faster that a lot of people think.

“That is because of the tremendous engine represented by Baker’s Bay. Baker’s Bay is a very powerful engine. There’s a reasonable prospect, in my view, if the public sector does its role with a reasonable degree of efficiency, Abaco may come back a lot faster than people think because of what it has going for it on that project at Baker’s Bay.”

Sir Franklyn, though, was less optimistic on Grand Bahama’s economic prospects in 2020. He said “so much hinges” on the Government sealing the Grand Lucayan’s sale to the ITM Group/Royal Caribbean joint venture as part of their $275m water-based adventure park destination, plus the redevelopment of Grand Bahama International Airport.

“There’s this deep cloud over what happens with the airport,” he told Tribune Business. “Grand Bahama, in my humble opinion, is just an unknown thing. There are just too many unknowns to speak meaningfully as part of the equation.”