By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama needs greater autonomy and leadership that can capitalise on the tax base, attract more investors and help current investors expand according to a prominent local businessman who told Tribune Business: “Grand Bahama is just sinking”.
Jeff Butler, owner of Butler’s Food World, said that the Grand Bahama Port Authority appeared incapable of attracting investors into the City of Freeport. Mr Butler asserted that this, in addition to high electricity costs and central government’s failure to understand the dynamics of Freeport and the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA), were hurting Grand Bahama’s growth and development.
“The Port Authority is incapable of bringing in any investors. The power company pays the Port Authority a tremendous amount of money every month and it seems as though any time they want a price increase they can get it. The government, both administrations, just said well you have the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,” said Mr Butler. “Grand Bahama is just sinking and people are just lying and talking foolishness and nothing is changing.
“The government doesn’t seem to understand Freeport, they just don’t get it. The Ministry for Grand Bahama has no authority. Grand Bahama needs some form of autonomy and leadership on the island that can use the tax base, bring in investors and expand on the investors we have there now. Pharmachem just spent millions to do a new project, you have BOCRO, Polymers and the GB shipyard, thank God for them. That is all Grand Bahama has got.”
Prime Minister Perry Christie said last month that the government is extending the HCA’s expiring tax incentives for a further six months, as there was still “a great deal for the government to digest”. Mr Christie said there was a need for more time for further consultation and negotiations with stakeholders on Grand Bahama.
The government had commissioned international consulting firm, McKinsey & Co, to conduct a study on the expiring incentives, and then appointed a six-member committee to produce a report on both those tax breaks and Freeport’s long-term future.
Comments
Islandgirl 8 years, 8 months ago
Freeport suffers also from a lack of vision. When the persons in charge are now simply inheritors of wealth, looking for healthy dividends to support a luxury lifestyle with nary a care for the citizenry, of course a situation like this will happen. The rigamarole one has to go through to get a business license, the high costs of those licenses, the service charges based on cost of living that they themselves have caused to be astronomical, the inactivity of the GBPA executives who are looking out only for themselves, the government representatives who look for a cut of every single potential investment into that place, and the slaying of a "Free Port" by the production of numerous, onerous and cumulative taxes are ALL responsible for the slow death of that formerly well developed city. As with all aspects in this country, when greed, corruption, short sightedness and these all for me baby characters are removed, then it can move forward. The only things the persons who inherited the city have in mind is how much can I rape from the poor people to add to my overinflated bank account? Then they turn around and re-possess what little these people have for failure to pay service charges that are way overpriced and many times not even performed. The cost of landing there is ridiculous and central government does not even see fit to regulate a thing. They just care about taxes collected to add to the kitty for their greedy, grubby fingers to attach to and make off with. The GBPA is of the past. I can pick paint for walls too. I can choose paintings. I can make pretty little speeches. This is all those people do. It needs to go, and the business licensees need to step forth and guide the growth and development of the city. They care, because it is their livelihood and that of future citizens that matter. When you haven't worked for anything, and it all just drops into your lap like these people with this inherited wealth, there will never be an interest in or a clue to be found to make anything better. They have to go.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID