The Tribune

A LONG-STANDING Freeport licensee says “something has got to give” in the struggle between the Government and Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), and warned: “Change is inevitable.”

Stephen Crane, the luxury goods and jewellery retail entrepreneur long associated with Freeport’s Colombian Emeralds operation, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that such change will “happen now or relatively soon” as the present battle over the city’s governance is simply “not sustainable”.

Confirming that he wants to “see a new administration” take over Freeport’s management, the 50-year GBPA licensee asserted that “the real springboard for future success” lies in realigning the Hawksbill Creek Agreement such that the ease of doing business in the Port area becomes “much more dynamic” and enables it to attract those industries at the forefront of the digital-driven economy.

Mr Crane told this newspaper that Freeport’s US proximity, Internet connectivity and bandwidth, and ‘free trade zone’ status, made it a natural location for companies and sectors stifled by US immigration stipulations and restrictive regulations. He identified medical research, aeronautics and technology-related industries as being among those that the Port area and Grand Bahama can attract, along with firms that can exploit its potential as a logistics and distribution hub.

“Change is inevitable. It’s going to happen now or happen relatively soon,” Mr Crane said of the present stand-off over Freeport’s governance and administration. “The present situation between the Government and the GBPA is not sustainable. One is pulling in one direction and the other is resisting it. Something has got to give.

“I for sure would like to see a new administration here. I believe the Government will not co-operate with the Port to make the adjustments that are necessary to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and improve the protocols and procedures here to make Freeport successful.”

Mr Crane, who previously called for the GBPA’s owners, the St George and Hayward families, to “either sell” the city’s quasi-governmental authority or partner with an entity able to fulfill the GBPA’s responsibilities and attract fresh investment, said that while much attention has been placed on reviving Grand Bahama International Airport and the Grand Lucayan’s sale there are other priorities that merit equal - if not greater - attention.

While resolving the fate of both assets is important, Mr Crane added: “The real springboard for Freeport’s future success is to make it a more dynamic area to do business in here. There are so many things that can be done on a trial basis here with regard to the ease of doing business, and to take advantage of its location.

“It’s really a struggle to get people to invest in Freeport at the moment because the economy is so down, but if there was a change in administration with a realignment of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement to make it much more appropriate for doing business in today’s hi-tech world, and be much more dynamic in response, there’s so many industries that could be attracted here that find it difficult to do business in the US for immigration purposes or restrictive regulations.

“There’s a great need for a location off the US that makes business more tenable for emerging companies.” When asked to identify the industries the Port area should focus on, Mr Crane replied: “The ones that have been spoken about are medical research, aeronautics. It’s difficult in the US to test drones and it has to be done in New Zealand. That does not make much sense.

“Any kind of research, distribution because of the fundamental alignment of the port and airport here. It’s well positioned for that. Cable Bahamas has the fibre optic feed for the entire Bahamas and Caribbean running through West End, so the bandwidth here is extremely good for hi-tech opportunities to establish a distribution hub or satellite hub.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, and several of his Cabinet ministers, used their 2023-2024 Budget presentations to steadily ratchet up the pressure on the GBPA and its two shareholder families with arguments that neither the Hawksbill Creek Agreement nor the Port Authority itself are delivering on their obligations to develop and maintain Freeport and attract new investment to the city.

Tribune Business disclosed yesterday that the Government has been negotiating with the St George family for several months, and possibly as long as a year, over purchasing its GBPA interest but those talks are understood to have gone quiet and cooled in recent weeks.

The Hayward side, though, seem less interested in exiting. Rupert Hayward, Sir Jack’s grandson, indicated recently his family would be prepared to part with a portion of its shareholding to attract new partners and fresh investment, but signalled that they firmly intend to remain involved as shareholders.

This may well have impeded the Government’s plans, as it appears clear the Davis administration has decided that both families must exit for the good of Freeport and the city’s development. However, the Prime Minister has yet to detail a strategy and road map for how he intends to achieve this, or detail what the Government’s ultimate goals are, and any bid to force the Hayward and St Georges out will be fraught with challenges given the negative signals this will send.

Chris Paine, president of the International Bazaar Owners Association, told Tribune Business that the GBPA “needs to reinvent itself” and find a partner with the capital and contacts to attract fresh investment to the city. “Everybody knows what needs to be done,” he said.

“You need a big investor here and, if the Port Authority is going to be at the helm going forward, they need to buck up with someone coming in to make things happen. At the end of the day, the Port needs to reinvent itself really. They need to get a chairman who can drive business here. We need someone with the contacts and wherewithal to make it happen.

“The way we find these people, I don’t know, but I’m sure they’re out there. If you are sitting behind a desk, looking at a map of who are the biggest people in real estate, how do we get them here and show them what we have? It shouldn’t be rocket science,” Mr Paine continued.

“Everybody is upset with 20 years of nothing, and who knows what the next round will be. The Port should have a direct line to the Prime Minister’s Office. They should be in each other’s pockets, trying to create development, but it’s been this ‘them and us’ mentality for decades. Watch this space. There’s certainly been a decline in population here. It’s been noticeable over the last five to ten years as people have gone to work elsewhere.”