The Tribune

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis wants a plan. Not just any old plan, but a “complete visionary plan” for Grand Bahama.

Grand Bahama has been short of many things over the years, but it never seems to be short of plans. Mr Davis’ plan can join that of his predecessor, Dr Hubert Minis, with his suggested Grand Port revolution, the now abandoned Grand Lucayan deal or the economic recovery zones after Hurricane Dorian.

Forgive us for saying so, but it’s not that long since the election – shouldn’t Mr Davis have had his visionary plan in his manifesto?

What Grand Bahama doesn’t need is more of the same old, same old – ideas that are reused or tinkered with and are little different from what has been done before. It needs some out of the box thinking. Less asking how does investment fit in with what we do already, more asking what will it take to bring in the business.

Maybe that’s less of a focus on keeping foreign workers out, in the knowledge that the income will spread to Bahamians who feed those workers and provide the company’s infrastructure. Maybe it’s reaching out to the US to offer the advantage of a deep water port for its military in the region. Maybe it’s figuring out how to offset the incoming global corporation tax and giving businesses a home with better advantages than our rival nations. What can we do to create not a Silicon Valley, but a Silicon Island? Some ideas might work, some might not, but you have to be prepared to reach further rather than just go over the same old ground.

Perhaps Mr Davis can borrow a few ideas for his plan from the article in the Insight section on Monday of last week, written by Fred Smith, QC.

Mr Smith lamented the long stranglehold on Freeport, saying it was “now less than a shadow of what it could have been”.

But he said too that Freeport can still become a new Dubai or Hong Kong.

He said: “All the requisite ingredients are still there – the revolutionary Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the laissez-faire freedom it sired; the unparalleled geographical advantage of being at the nexus of several important trade routes and on the doorstep of the largest economy of the world; an already existing and well-established industrial zone; a low population density and the vacant real estate needed for exponential expansion – all lying dormant, waiting for leaders with the foresight and courage to resurrect this bold, ambitious project.

“There is not need to re-invent the wheel; just cut the red tape and roll out the red carpet.”

Mr Smith recommended the government focus on attracting new investment – and Freeport would be particularly suited to many new industries. It has a lot of the infrastructure in place, and if the government helped to supplement that where necessary, it might be an ideal location in a world that has discovered the possibility of remote working, crypto business and more.

The problem is, Grand Bahama needs more than just planning, it actually needs action. Plans have come and gone over the years and left Grand Bahama undisturbed by their passing.

As John Lennon sang, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

Grand Bahama doesn’t need to spend time twiddling its thumbs while the newest man in charge figures out a plan. It needs investment, it needs to open up to foreign business, it needs action.

If we wait around for another plan, we might just end up with another new leader and another new plan, and nothing changed at all.

Dog attack

The report on the front page of today’s Tribune of a woman attacked by four Pit Bull dogs is shocking.

Alicia Barton was doing nothing more than getting out of a car when she was charged by the dogs, who knocked her down and savaged her.

She has been left afraid to go home, scarred and having had to have medical attention – and it should never have happened.

Yet how often do we see dogs running loose around our streets. How often does someone own a dog in a community but leaves it running wild?

There are people who get a dog for their own safety – afraid of home invasions so they get a yard dog – or take in a local potcake. But the dogs are never trained, never taken on a lead and then is it a surprise when it gets out and starts biting? It’s the owner’s responsibility, not the dog’s fault.

The president of the Bahamas Humane Society has said the owner of the dogs that mauled Ms Barton should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. She’s right. But what about elsewhere? The board mandated for the Animal Control and Protection Act has met only once since the law was passed 11 years ago. So we have the ability to have done something to prevent this beforehand – or to stop the next occasion, but we’re not taking it seriously.

We should get tough, and we should do it now.