The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government will be “more rigorous” in holding investors behind the $9bn worth of investment projects approved since the Davis administration took office “accountable”, it was revealed yesterday.

Phylicia Woods-Hanna, the Government’s investments chief, told the media briefing by the Prime Minister’s Office that her agency has assigned “project managers” to approved developments to ensure they live up to commitments made to The Bahamas including the combined creation of more than 15,000 jobs.

Touting the level of investments processed and approved in the three years since the Davis administration was elected in September 2021, the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) director said that - apart from major development projects - the agency has also dealt with $4.08bn worth of permit applications for real estate purchases by foreigners in that same time.

Combined, this would take the total value of investment applications processed and approved by the BIA on the Government’s behalf to more than $13bn. However, Mrs Woods-Hanna did not breakdown the $9bn figure into individual projects, and it is not given that all these investments will materialise into actual job-generating resorts and other developments that benefit Bahamians.

Still, Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, was yesterday in equally bullish mood about the Government’s performance in attracting domestic and foreign investment.

“We will execute Heads of Agreements this month for more than $1bn of new investments in major touristic developments,” he told an investment promotion forum in Washington D. C. “We are open for business and, in the last three years, we have attracted more than $10bn in new foreign direct investments.”

That figure was slightly higher than the one given by Mrs Hanna-Woods, who broke investments down into major projects and foreign purchases of Bahamian real estate. “So, to-date, I’m pleased to report that the BIA, since September 2021, has processed $3.13bn worth of certificates of registration and $4.08bn worth of value for permits approved in our country.”

Explaining that these figures relate only to real estate acquisitions by foreign buyers, the BIA head said overseas purchasers are required by law to both register the purchase and obtain an International Persons Landholding Act permit before their deal is approved.

As for major resort and other developments, Mrs Woods-Hanna said: “I’m pleased to report that over the course of the three years, for the family of islands, the BIA has processed $9bn worth of investments, capital investments, in our country. And, for those $9bn worth of projects, we have projected 15,000 - in excess of 15,000 - jobs will be created for Bahamians.”

She added that the jobs figure included permanent posts “that allow for the growth and development of Bahamians”, while also pointing to the “entrepreneurial opportunities” that will be created, Mrs Woods-Hanna, though, pledged that the BIA will be “more rigorous” in assessing the prospects each project application has for succeeding while also holding developers to account for their commitments.

Emphasising that the agency is not solely focused on the number of jobs each project promises to create as a measure of success, she added: “The focus of the BIA has been on accountability, profitable returns, efficiency and the ease of doing business.

“When we speak about accountability, we are trying to make our investment partners, both foreign and domestic, accountable to all parts of our mutual agreements. If, for example, there is an agreement for the transfer of knowledge, we are obliged to ensure this happens.....”

Promising that the BIA will seek to ensure all investment is “in the best interests of the people”, Mrs Woods-Hanna said: “We will also be focusing on the monitoring and evaluation of the $9bn worth of investment. 

“What does that mean? We are assigning project managers to continue to track projects, assist developers with continuing to navigate the Government system and, where there are opportunities for Bahamians, marrying those opportunities for domestic investment with foreign investment.

“We are working very diligently to identify the market needs for developers and matching that with the supply and the local capacity that currently exists.”

And, explaining what she meant by “profitable returns”, Mrs Woods-Hanna said: “We at the BIA have determined this is not just the amount of jobs we have created over the course of the last three years but also the opportunities we have provided to Bahamians and the ability to participate in foreign direct investment in our country at the domestic level.

“So our view is that the BIA, as we process applications, we must do so in a more rigorous manner, meaning the prospective [of success] of each project and making sure what we assign and agree to comes to fruition in the best interests of the Bahamian people.”

There has long been a segment of public opinion which feels foreign investors have not always lived up to their commitments to the Bahamian people, as set out in their Heads of Agreements, and that the Government has failed to hold them accountable for this through several administrations.

Mrs Woods-Hanna said the Government has a “labour and Immigration protocol” that seeks to maximise available job opportunities for Bahamians. “The BIA works with developers to understand in their minds what are the market needs and what they think are jobs that don’t have local capacity, and working with the Department of Labour to fine tune that make sure Bahamians have job opportunities,” she explained.

“That’s permanent jobs for Bahamians.” Mrs Woods-Hanna said the Government is hoping to attract more investments in the manufacturing/industrial; aviation; and maritime industries. “Our promotional strategy is to look to those areas where there is potential by island, and fine tune and be aggressive in our promotional strategy to seek those investments from various jurisdictions around the world.” she added.

The BIA head said promotion of the ‘orange’ or cultural economy, especially on Grand Bahama, “is never an option; it’s a must”. She added that the agency is “looking at the culture of each island” to determine the best investment fit, with manufacturing better suited to Grand Bahama and agriculture to Andros.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Department of Aviation to get an understanding of the timeline as it relates to Grand Bahama International Airport because that helps us with our promotional strategy and reporting mechanism, and our monitoring and evaluation phase for these projects,” Mrs Woods-Hanna said.