The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business

Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE OPPOSITION’S leader says Grand Bahama’s economy is “stagnant” due to the lack of co-operation between the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and the central government in Nassau.

Michael Pintard, speaking on a talk show, said Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority and central government are “not working in tandem” to enable Grand Bahama to thrive. He added: “If you’re saying that, economically, Grand Bahama is stagnant, I would say, yes, I agree.

“If you say that the GBPA and the central government not working in tandem with each other, and there is very little respect for local government, because you have central, municipal - which is the Port Authority - and local government, I would agree, we are in crisis. If you say that there hasn’t been sufficient attention by policymakers because, at the end of the day, they are Nassau-centric in their focus, then I would agree”

Mr Pintard also agreed that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, needs a “fresh look” but said The Bahamas needs to continue with the concept of Freeport being a free trade zone because such areas have reaped economic benefits for other countries. “But since the death of Edward St George and the team he worked with, we have seen a fall-off in terms of visionary leadership backed by resources,” he added.

“I don’t doubt for a moment that there’s talent in the GBPA; both the owners, the shareholders as well as the persons who work for the GBPA. I believe that they are talented. What we are not getting, however, is a couple of things.

“One, we are not getting the resources to underpin the ideas they may have, and there seem to be an exclusive reliance on others to come in with the resources. The land is being used as the leverage in terms of their investment in that partnership; it has to be more than that,” Mr Pintard continued.

“The owners of the GBPA today, or if they are future owners, meaning they sell, have to also come to the table with resources that are being pumped into the transformation of the creation of a new city of Freeport.

“The second thing is this relationship with central government, in my estimation, is a weak relationship. It was weak under the Free National Movement, the last dispensation where I served in the Cabinet. We take responsibility for that, and it’s certainly weak under this administration.”

Mr Pintard said he was not keen on central government retaking control of Freeport, and believes in the municipal government system that the city has. “I know that there’s some discussion, and some persons might deny that there is a discussion about the Government looking at the purchase of the GBPA, whether as a temporary step to a new buyer being pursued or seeking to encourage existing shareholders to basically sell to another party,” he added.

“Just let me just put it out there. I’ve certainly been in conversations with groups that have interests who are also talking to the Government, so they can deny that this is a live conversation. I’m saying that it is. I do not believe that we should in Grand Bahama support, particularly this administration, being the purchaser of the GBPA, 75,000 acres with all of the powers that are invested in this present construct of the GBPA, DevCo, the development company that has the all of the land in inventory.”