The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

VILLAGE Road businesses yesterday said that while their battle for roadworks relief and compensation from the Government has gone “cold” they have not gone away or given up the struggle.

Michael Fields, president and chief executive of Four Walls Squash and Fitness Club, told Tribune Business that the area’s business community had “lost a bit of our energy” to press for tax breaks and other forms of relief as they simply focus on survival.

Confirming that no compensation or other assistance has yet been received from the Government following around 18 months of roadwork-related disruption that ended in early 2023, he said: “To be candid, we’re just losing a bit of our energy just trying to survive.”

Mr Fields, who headed the Village Road Collective, the group formed to represent the area’s private sector on the roadworks controversy, told this newspaper that the Government had requested that it carry out a survey of businesses and members to determine who had been impacted and to try and quantify the losses.

He explained that the Collective had sought to “push it back” to the Government, arguing that the private sector did not have the resources to accomplish what it was requesting. And, besides, agencies such as the Department of Inland Revenue would already possess much of the information required, and be better placed with their powers and resources to obtain whatever else was needed.

“It’s just impossible for us as private business owners to do that survey,” Mr Fields added. “That was a while ago when we left off. Nothing has really materialised, and we haven’t been active following up as we should. We’re trying to survive. Governments go slow.”

Brent Fox, the Montague Motors’ auto dealer, told Tribune Business it appeared the Government’s original openness to providing some sort of relief to roadworks-hit businesses was in reality just “hot air”. Confirming that his and other businesses have received “absolutely nothing”, he added: “Nobody has reached out at all.

“The promises this minister, that minister said... we will have this compensation and promotional thing, nothing happened at all. That’s a joke about the compensation or whatever the Government promised us. That was just hot air.

“What can I say? It’s not nice. Was I expecting something to happen? I really thought that, yeah. I went down there and had a meeting with the minister, who said when it was over they would do this launch, but nothing. It’s just sugar coating.”

Noelle Nicholls, a Four Corners spokesperson, confirmed to Tribune Business: “The conversation [with the Government] has gone somewhat cold over the need to do an assessment, what the Government calls a census, which as a group we believe the Department of Inland Revenue has the authority and resources to be able to request the information from businesses to make that assessment.

“They have some of the information already, and powers to request it and tools to do it very effectively. The Department of Inland Revenue can put a form on its website.”

Ms Nicholls said the roadworks’ fall-out continues to linger for many Village Road companies, adding: “Some of us didn’t survive, some of us did survive.

“We’re still paying Bahamas Power & Light arrears from the year the road was closed. We accumulated a lot of debt from how the roadworks impacted the business. It’s not like we’re not still feeling it. The cash flow crunch that put on the business over 16 months you couldn’t imagine. We are still feeling the impact of that cash crunch and haven’t recovered from that yet.”

Ms Nicholls said of the Government: “They have a lot to deal with, and unless you pound on their door every day it’s who shouts loudest who often gets the attention as opposed to putting systems in place.

“Right now we’re continuing to look for payment plans. We had initially asked for some grants for repairs to resolve property damages. We were looking for concessions on some of the taxes, VAT payment plans and things like that. We’re trying to make our businesses profitable and grow.”

Village Road businesses, having formed a Collective to press the Government for financial relief due to the roadworks’ significant impact on trade, have met with the likes of AlfredSears KC, then minister of works and utilities, and

Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, several times to make their case.

The prospect of tax relief, or some other form of compensation, was mentioned in passing during the 2023-2024 Budget debate but nothing concrete has yet come forth from the Government.

Some 15 companies previously signed their names to a letter authored by the Village Road Collective,

where it was suggested the Government provide “refurbishment grants” for residents and business owners to repair damaged premises, vehicles and other facilities impacted by the project. It also called for Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) bill discounts, and “full sponsorship” of a collaborative marketing campaign to entice consumers back to the Village Road area.

VAT credits, plus Business Licence and real property tax waivers, were also suggested as mechanisms to compensate for the damage inflicted by roadworks that have caused consumers to avoid the area “like the plague” and resulted in up to a 46 percent income losses for businesses.

It is not unheard of, though, for the Government to provide tax breaks and other concessions for businesses impacted by long-running roadworks projects. The last Christie administration did so for the New Providence Road Improvement Project that impacted multiple businesses in numerous areas of the island more than one decade ago.