The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS I was stating in a previous piece, it is my viewpoint that the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) opened the door to the sweeping reforms outlined by Davis when it allowed the Free National Movement (FNM) government under then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to purchase the Grand Bahama International Airport in April 2021 for $1 and the struggling Grand Lucayan Resort from Hutchinson Whampoa in August 2018 for $65 million. This viewpoint has been reinforced by a February 18, 2026 Tribune article that states that the Davis administration had planned “to use its powers under the Acquisition of Land Act” to force the sale of the iconic International Bazaar for a purchase price of $1.5 million.

And no one can forget the landmark rulings by an arbitration tribunal in early 2026 that, while it rejected the government’s claims of being owed the hefty sum of $357 million by the GBPA, dismissed seven of the eight counterclaims by the GBPA, inclusive of it having the sole right to administer licensing, customs, immigration, land sales and being the sole regulator for utilities in Freeport. The arbitration tribunal effectively diminished the GBPA in the eyes of the Davis administration, which I believe, led to it becoming emboldened to go for the proverbial kill.

The three foregoing acquisitions, in addition to the tribunal rulings, have opened the door for the central government to elbow the GBPA out of the way in Freeport. I am of the belief that had the GBPA taken the bull by the horn with respect to the purchasing of the Grand Lucayan Resort and the GB International Airport; we wouldn’t be having this discussion about its future.

The GBPA, at least up until the death of Mr Edward St George in December 2004, was a very effective quasi-government that built a modern city replete with a nice network of roads and an infrastructure that is the envy of The Bahamas. St George was a talented negotiator who had international clout, as evidenced by the many investments he wooed to Freeport. Since his death, Freeport has deteriorated significantly, to the point it is no longer dubbed the Magic City.

Notwithstanding its decline, the City of Freeport is far more advanced than Marsh Harbor in Abaco, Alice Town in Bimini, Georgetown in Exuma; Spanish Wells, Harbor Island and Nicholls Town in North Andros. Yet many of these Family Island capitals are flourishing from the tourism boom in a post COVID-19 environment while the City of Freeport remains in steep decline economically, despite the many predictions of an economic boom on the horizon. Carnival Key hasn’t moved the economic needle in a tourism sector lagging far behind Nassau, Paradise Island, Bimini, Abaco and Exuma. Grand Bahamians are wary of Freeport becoming overcrowded like Nassau; that is not zoned properly like Freeport. In Freeport, you cannot build a cemetery next door to a housing subdivision, like in New Providence where huge shopping centers, bar rooms, roadside mechanic garages are sitting next to housing subdivisions. The layout of Nassau is jumbled, scattershot and confusing. But this is really no fault of the Bahamian government in post Majority Rule Nassau.

Nassau is an ancient city that is 356 years old --- older than Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Freeport, on the other hand, is only 71 years-old. Those who are against the reforms proposed by Davis point to the lack of development in East and West Grand Bahama. This is a valid criticism, although one can argue that West End was once the capital of Grand Bahama that fell victim to the rapid emergence of Freeport. But even these critics cannot deny that the central government has wooed big time investors to the capital. Some parts of Nassau reminds this writer of Fort Lauderdale, especially the area near the Margaritaville Resort.

This writer does not want to see the GBPA come to an end. I am hoping that those who are pro-GBPA will not suffer any political retaliation by PLP fanatics who are demanding reparations from the St George and Hayward families. The GBPA and the PLP government should both sit at the table and discuss the reforms in an amicable manner. Change is most definitely needed. Freeport cannot continue lagging behind the rest of The Bahamas. Far too many Grand Bahamians have fallen into poverty. Far too many businesses have gone belly up.

There is a world in which the GBPA and the government can coexist, even under a new dispensation.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport,

Grand Bahama

October 28, 2026.