The Tribune

• Port approval in two weeks; nothing from Gov't in 4 years

• 'That's business'," he says of GB go-ahead for 105 jobs

• Argues Freeport 'role model' to emulate in Family Islands

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian investor has highlighted the contrasting treatment his project received in Nassau and Freeport to explain why he "does not care to see the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) fall into the Government's hands".

David Wallace, president of Arawak Adventures and Commercial Tours, the Pirate's Cove operator, told Tribune Business that, after spending four to five years unsuccessfully seeking government approvals to develop its zip-line attraction in Nassau, it almost immediately received its lease and licence to do "19 of the 20 things we wanted" as soon as it provided proof of financing to the GBPA..

One of the 25-30 GBPA licensees to sign last week's letter to the Prime Minister and GBPA urging an immediate end to their public row, he pointed out that the Pirate's Cove attraction now generates a combined 105 direct and indirect jobs for Freeport, and said of its decision to operate there: "That's business."

Mr Wallace told this newspaper: "I am the president of Arawak Adventures and Commercial Tours Company. We operate the Pirate's Cove and the water park, and the zip line. We've been in operation now from 2016. Prior to us applying to the Grand Bahama Port Authority for permission to put a zip line in Freeport, we had applied to the Christie administration in 2012.

"We wanted to put a zip line up in Nassau first. After four years or being turned around by the Government, after meeting with Mr Christie himself; meeting with Sir Baltron Bethel; meeting with Khaalis Rolle [former investments minister]; meeting with the then-minister of tourism, Obie Wilchcombe.... Meeting after meeting got us nowhere in four years.

"We had applied to put it on the Western Esplanade, Arawak Cay. Lo and behold, we never got anything in writing from the then-government. So in 2017, when the government changed, we reapplied to the Minnis administration. At least he [Dr Minnis] responded in writing, and told us no, he couldn't give us that piece of land," Mr Wallace recalled.

"We had applied to the Government to put a zip line in Nassau, and we had raised $1.3m for that project and had the money in the bank. When the Port Authority realised we had the money, in two weeks we had a lease for 7.43 acres of land and we had a licence to do 19 of the 20 things we applied for.

"That's business. It had nothing to do with politics. It had nothing to do with how we voted. It had to do with a business proposal. We have now built a zip line in Freeport and, at present, we employ 70 persons directly and another 35 persons indirectly. On a good cruise ship day, with the Carnival Dream in port, we have as many as 800 persons in the park. The only thing I wish to see is more cruise ships calling on Freeport."

The GBPA licensee group, of which Mr Wallace is a member, in last week's letter warned both Philip Davis KC and Freeport's quasi-governmental authority that the city's ease of doing business is “moving at a snail’s pace” and urgent reform is needed from both to help remove “chokeholds” that have resulted in approvals vital for conducting business taking three to four months - as opposed to three to four weeks - to be issued.

Mr Wallace told Tribune Business that his experience, and that of his fellow Pirate's Cove investors, had convinced him that the Government should not seek to take over Freeport's management and operations. Instead, he argued that the city's founding treaty, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, if used properly and to its full potential should serve as "a role model" for development of other Family Islands via true collaboration between the Government and private investors.

The Government, though, appears to be determined to achieve an ownership change at the GBPA with its two shareholding families, the St Georges and Haywards, ultimately exiting. Tribune Business understands that the Government and St George family have been negotiating for some months, possibly up to a year, over this although the talks are said to have cooled and gone quiet recently.

Calling for the Government to "sit down the with the Port Authority and licensees to discuss the way forward for Grand Bahama, Mr Wallace said: "As it relates to the Port Authority and the Government, I do not care to see the Port Authority fall into the hands of government.

"Has the Port Authority been perfect? No, they have not. Have they done well in their early years? They have. Have they had some challenges over the last eight years? They surely did, with Matthew in 2016, Dorian in 2019 and COVID in 2020. The Port, just like us, had its share of challenges."

The GBPA has come under heavy government fire for allegedly failing to live up to its Hawksbill Creek Agreement obligations to maintain Freeport's infrastructure. Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs, took particular issue with what he described as the relatively miniscule $500,000-$600,000 sum that Freeport's quasi-governmental authority is pledging to invest in road maintenance in the Port area.

The former West End MP, though, while acknowledging that the GBPA has such responsibilities when it comes to Freeport's roads, argued that the Government is hardly in a position to talk given the condition of Grand Bahama's roads outside the Port area which are in its obligation to maintain. This, he added, was despite the Government collecting all vehicle licensing and associated revenues in Freeport.

"In Eight Mile Rock, the main roads, Bayshore Road and the Queen's Highway, the Government cannot maintain them," he argued. "You have all kinds of pot holes in those roads. The Port maintains hundreds of miles of roads in Freeport and we drive very peacefully in a well laid-out and planned city that was developed around a deep water harbour.

"I heard the Government said the Port has failed Freeport, but the Government has failed Eight Mile Rock, West End, Hunter's and Lewis Yard. Where are the Government's investments outside of Freeport, in East End? They have failed other islands. The only island that has blossomed under the Government is New Providence and the capital city of Nassau."

Arguing that Grand Bahama and Abaco have "probably had more hurricanes than you can ever imagine", Mr Wallace added: "We continue to fight and come back. The Government's hands are full running Nassau and the Family Islands, and while I believe they might envy the city of Freeport and would love to put their hands on the city of Freeport, I don't think the business community wishes for that.

"The Hawksbill Creek Agreement is an Act of Parliament, statute law. Wallace Groves was ahead of his time when he developed Freeport under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. If the Government was smart, shouldn't they get more Wallace Groves to develop the Family Islands, plan them out and lay them out properly, with proper infrastructure and zoning."

Pointing out that Freeport has designated areas to accommodate manufacturing, industry, and the hotel sector, Mr Wallace said: "Freeport is a role model the Government could emulate and find investors to do something similar in other Family Islands. Let Freeport be the role model for other islands in The Bahamas."