The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday said the Government has little choice but to acquire Freeport’s International Bazaar by compulsory acquisition because it would otherwise have to wait 20 years for ownership to be “fully vested” in it.

Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, said outside the House of Assembly that the Davis administration had decided to act - despite having negotiated a $2.8m purchase of the now-derelict property with the majority of its 13 owners - because the company that owns the Bazaar and its real estate had been struck off the Companies Registry.

She pointed out that, under reforms to the Companies Act’s section 273 that were implemented in 2019, any property or other assets belonging to struck-off companies must be “held on trust by the Treasurer” for 20 years to see if they are claimed by their owners/shareholders. Only after this 20-year period expires do such assets vest in the Treasurer on behalf of the Bahamian people so, to avoid falling foul of this legal impediment, the Government has invoked its compulsory acquisition powers.

Mrs Moxey, promising that the 13 Bazaar owners will still get the compensation and purchase price already negotiated, said: “The Government thought it was necessary to do the compulsory acquisition even though we are still paying the tenants because there is a Companies Act [reform] that was implemented in 2019 that the property will not be fully vested in the Treasurer unless we went through this process.

“So, yes, we have been negotiating with the majority having already agreed, and we are going to be paying them the appraised value, which was $2.8m, for the Bazaar. Then there was the issue with the Port (Grand Bahama Port Authority), which had indicated those Bazaar owners had owed some maintenance fees. That has already been negotiated as well.

“We are moving full steam ahead with it. The owners will be paid. So it’s just a process of ensuring that all the ‘i’s’ are dotted and the ‘t’s’ are crossed, and the Government will fully own the Bazaar once it’s done.”

Tribune Business revealed that the property’s owners were blindsided by Tuesday’s publication of a full-page advertisement detailing the Government’s plans to use its powers under the Acquisition of Land Act to compel the Bazaar’s sale because the 11.541-acre site “is needed for a public purpose” - the construction of the much-touted African-Caribbean Marketplace.

In response, Mrs Moxey said she had spoken to the attorney dealing with the Bazaar issue at the Attorney General’s Office, and who had informed her that “the majority of the owners” would have been contacted about the Government’s compulsory acquisition plans but maybe not all.

“It’s not that the Government isn’t paying,” the minister added. “We are still continuing with the agreement that was made. It’s just to clear up that issue with the Companies Act where property has been struck off the register. Because they were struck-off, the Government would have had to wait 20 years since the time [it closed the deal] in order for the property to be fully vested in the Government.”

Describing the Bazaar’s revival, and its transformation into the proposed Afro-Caribbean Marketplace, as “so important”, Mrs Moxey said: “It’s been about 20 years with the Bazaar in this state, and for the Government to take it on and negotiate it, no one has really dealt with this legacy issue. We’ve taken it on, and it’s going to be a game changing issue for Grand Bahama island.

“As you know, we’re developing this Afro-Caribbean Marketplace and logistics centre that’s going to [enhance] the tourist experience on the island. So we’re looking for it to be able to complement Celebration Key and the development that’s happening with MSC [Mediterranean Shipping Company] in the harbour in order to bring those visitors out of the cruise port and into these communities, so we’re looking forward to it and think we’ve made tremendous progress,” Mrs Moxey said.

“It’s taken some time because, again, it’s a legacy issue. We have 13 property owners in the Bazaar, and then we have Harcourt and the Royal Oasis property. That’s a part of this development as well, so it’s taken some time in negotiation and getting to this place. I’m excited to say progress has been made and we’re moving full steam ahead.”

The Davis administration has acted despite “98 percent” of the Bazaar’s owners, who include the likes of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union, John Bull and the Chee-A-Tow family, agreeing to the $2.8m purchase price and the accompanying sale terms and conditions.

And the move coincides with the tabling of a Parliamentary resolution, yet to be debated by either house, to approve the Government guaranteeing a $1.86m loan from the Africa Export-Import Bank to finance the Marketplace’s development. The borrower is named as ACMLC Grand Bahama Ltd, a private company incorporated under the Companies Act, which is 100 percent owned by the Government.

The International Bazaar, which has steadily deteriorated ever since the Royal Oasis resort that supplied a significant proportion of its customer base closed in 2004, suffered further blows as a result of two fires that further devastated what remained of many buildings.

Mrs Moxey said of the Government’s Afro-Caribbean Marketplace plans in 2023: “Not only will the marketplace promote and distribute African and Caribbean products, but it will also offer a taste of Africa and the Caribbean, making it an appealing tourist attraction.

“In the marketplace, we envision seamless connectivity for trade between Africa and the Caribbean through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with the Caribbean as the sixth region, and the added advantage of a 230-square-mile free-trade zone offering tax concessions on Grand Bahama.”

Using Grand Bahama’s proximity to the US, the marketplace would provide strategic opportunities for value-added manufacturing, transshipment, distribution and logistics. “This vision, however, goes beyond mere trade,” Mrs Moxey said.

“It represents the culmination of a world-class experience, showcasing the rich cultures of Africa and the Caribbean. The African-Caribbean Marketplace will become the home of ‘All things African and Caribbean’. It will feature a ‘Bahamas Bazaar’ representing each inhabited island of The Bahamas.

“With its conceptual design, including an amphitheatre, featuring a performance arts theatre, African and Caribbean-flavoured concessions and unique architecture reflecting the authenticity of our cultures, we aim to create a space that resonates with the spirit of Africa and the Caribbean.”

The Government, meanwhile, has also moved to improve accessibility and transportation connectivity to the planned Afro-Caribbean Marketplace site through another compulsory land purchase - this time the 4.435-acre site that presently blocks-off West Sunrise Highway and prevents it from linking West Atlantic Drive and the Mall Drive. It had been closed off by Driftwood Freeportm, not Harcourt Developments, the former operator of the Royal Oasis.