The Tribune

• QC tells PM: ‘Don’t just talk, talk like Minnis’

• Argues that he has ‘banquet of opportunities’

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An outspoken QC yesterday urged the newly-elected Davis administration to “take the leap” its predecessor did not and “open the floodgates” to realising Freeport’s “holy grail” as The Bahamas’ economic saviour.

Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, and long-time advocate for Freeport and the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, told Tribune Business that unlocking the second city’s free trade zone and much-talked about potential was a critical component in dragging The Bahamas out of its post-COVID economic and fiscal crisis.

Urging Prime Minister Philip Davis not to “just talk, talk about resurrecting Freeport like the Minnis administration”, but to actually take action, he argued that the new administration had been “served a banquet of economic opportunities on a silver platter” that it can easily exploit to revive the city and wider Grand Bahama economy.

Should it get it right, Mr Smith even went to the lengths of suggesting Freeport “can become PLP country and not FNM country” - a reference to the fact that the Opposition party still retained a majority three of Grand Bahama’s five House of Assembly seats at the recent general election notwithstanding the devastation inflicted on many voters by COVID and Hurricane Dorian.

Mr Smith spoke out as Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister with responsibility for tourism, investments and aviation, was accompanied by Ryan Pinder, attorney general, and Ginger Moxey, minister of Grand Bahama, for a meeting with the Grand Lucayan’s Board of Directors.

Well-placed sources yesterday described the encounter as a fact-finding mission on behalf of the Cabinet ministers, who sought information from the Lucayan Renewal Holdings’ Board on the property’s operating condition and the status of efforts to sell it to the Royal Caribbean/ITM joint venture.

This newspaper understands the Cabinet delegation sought information on issues such as the continued cost of keeping the Grand Lucayan open and subsidising it, versus what the impact would be if the Lighthouse Point was closed again.

Although Michael Scott QC, the Board’s chairman, was off-island and not present, Tribune Business understands that many directors believe the Grand Lucayan should be split away from the Royal Caribbean/ITM deal and sold separately.

They believe that the joint venture should proceed with negotiating Freeport Harbour’s redevelopment with the Freeport Harbour Company and Hutchison Whampoa, including the creation of new berths and an adventure-based water theme park, but that the Grand Lucayan should be broken out and sold to a different purchaser.

This is because Royal Caribbean/ITM have so watered down the terms and conditions of the Grand Lucayan deal, both the timelines and extent of the redevelopment they have committed to, that the Board believes there are insufficient benefits for Bahamians both in terms of jobs created and economic activity (see article on Page 2B).

Meanwhile, Mr Smith said he was “encouraged” by the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) “new day” election campaign slogan and was “looking forward to its dawn on the Freeport horizon”.

“Notwithstanding Dorian and notwithstanding COVID-19, in my view Freeport remains the holy grail for the recovery and renewal of the Bahamian economy,” he told Tribune Business. “We are like a dry forest that only needs to be lit, and the fire allowed to spread like wildfire to see a booming Freeport economy.”

The reasons for Freeport’s decline over the past 17 years, and failure to fulfill its free trade zone promise, are many. They include previous in-fighting at the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and continuing questions over its leadership, together with tense relations with central government in Nassau and what Mr Smith and others have perceived as unjustified meddling with the Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s workings.

“Again, I say less central government control and interference,” Mr Smith argued, “while also holding the GBPA and DevCo (Hutchison) group of companies accountable for their development, regulatory and investment responsibilities.

“Taking into account, and consulting with, the vast knowledge and experience of residents, and the capacity of the licensees of Freeport, is the key to the resurrection of the Bahamian economy. If only the Davis administration will take the leap that the Minnis administration did not, and open the floodgates to Freeport’s recovery.”

Reviving Freeport’s economy by attracting new industries and investments remains a route that post-COVID recovery will have to travel, especially given the island’s pre-existing infrastructure base and ability to accommodate thousands more people than currently live there. The Hawksbill Creek Agreement also has another 33 years to run.

“Freeport and Grand Bahama are able to take thousands, and thousands and thousands of residents from overcrowded Nassau,” Mr Smith said. “The infrastructure is available and ready to go to accommodate 250,000-300,000. We’re limping at about 60,000-70,000 maximum.

“We have the capacity and infrastructure for the economies of scale to be catapulted on, and it is so sad to see it not happening. Freeport has the ability to flourish and be the ‘Magic City’ as always envisioned by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

“Despite all the promises from previous administrations nothing has really changed to spark Freeport’s wildfire. Hopefully, the Davis administration will be more modern, energised and visionary in its approach to Freeport,” the outspoken QC continued.

“This administration has been served a banquet of economic opportunities on a silver platter, which it simply has to take advantage of. Overnight, if it makes things happen in Freeport, it can be PLP country and not FNM country. I urge the Davis administration to embrace the citizens of Freeport and take advantage of these opportunities for the benefit of Bahamians.

“Freeport is a critical component in the future of The Bahamas, and the nation’s economic rebirth. I hope that the Davis administration is not just talk, talk about resurrecting Freeport like the Minnis administration was. Let’s get something done, Prime Minister Davis, not just talk about it.”

The Minnis administration seemed to understand the importance of reviving Freeport, but never managed to execute upon any plans or implement them. To achieve the city’s revival, Mr Smith identified multiple issues that must be addressed, as well as bringing projects such as Carnival’s cruise port and others in his “banquet” to fruition.

These included building hurricane/climate change resiliency; improved relations between the Government, GBPA, Hutchison and local government; the involvement of all GBPA licensees, residents and homeowners in determining the way forward; and the resolution of multiple regulatory issues such as “who, in fact, is in charge and to what extent in Freeport”.

The latter issue, Mr Smith added, included the challenges by GB Power and Cable Bahamas to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) authority to regulate their Freeport-based operations. Other priority areas include addressing Freeport’s “collapsing infrastructure”; better protections for workers through enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work Act; dealing with the “red tape Freeport is mired in and which is challenging its economic survival”.

Mr Smith said this related to the “tensions” all investors in Freeport encounter when dealing with GBPA and the Government, and was something that needs “urgent attention”. Besides the Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016, he added that other laws such as the Environmental Planning and Protection Act also need to be reconciled with Freeport and its bye-laws.