By YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business Reporter
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
THE Deputy Prime Minister yesterday said Nassau Cruise Port wants to be “a larger version of Marina Village” on Paradise Island as he confirmed legislation for downtown’s management has been drafted.
Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, aviation and investments, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting said Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, had been “working on this diligently” to develop a legal framework for downtown Nassau’s management and the hiring of a city manager. “We have a draft of that legislation out for consultation at the moment, and we hope to be able to present that to the public soon,” he added.
“There are also issues of vagrancy we believe we will be able to address, some of this with the help of the police, with the help of social services and under the auspices of the new Mental Health Bill that we passed recently. We’ll be able to take some action.
“It is important that Bay Street, our main downtown city centre, is cleaned up for the benefit of residents so that we can be proud to show that pride, but also for the tourism experience, and we believe we’re making significant inroads in this regard.”
It is envisioned that the legislation’s passage will result in the hiring of a city manager who will work closely with the Downtown Nassau Partnership (DNP) and relevant government agencies to oversee Bay Street’s maintenance. Mr Cooper said “this is not local government” but simply a post where the occupant will have some responsibility for Bay Street’s upkeep.
Turning to the cruise port’s $300m redevelopment, Mr Cooper said: “This is going to have a significant draw in and of itself. This will be also a driver, I hope, for the rest of Bay Street to redevelop. We spent a lot of time already speaking with the stakeholders.
“We have issued demolition orders for nine of the buildings east of East Street. We are talking with the art community to see how we might be able to do some beautification works. We’re spending significant sums for remedial work, like cleaning and beautification, but we need everybody to play their part.”
The demolition of decaying, rundown downtown Nassau buildings that are both a safety hazard and eyesore began in 2022. “We call on the building owners to make efforts to improve the exteriors of the buildings. We call on shop owners to make their front, their storefront edge, more attractive,” Mr Cooper said.
“We call on entrepreneurs to offer authentically Bahamian goods and services. We call on Bahamians everywhere to leverage this large number of tourists who are coming to The Bahamas; get them off the ship, sell them a tour, sell them something unique, and the Tourism Development Corporation is prepared and equipped to assist with this.”
The Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Development Corporation are both progressing the creation of a downtown Nassau “incubation centre” that will foster Bahamian entrepreneurs who sell authentic local products and services. “The other thing we’re doing through the Tourism Development Corporation is creation of an incubation centre, which would be a marketplace for authentically Bahamian goods and services,” Mr Cooper said.
“We expect that this will open generally in line with the opening of the Nassau Cruise Port [on May 27]. Every step we make will be positive for the overall experience. But, again, the Ministry of Tourism can’t do this alone. It takes all of the agencies of government: The police, the port, the Ministry Works, who also happen to oversee the straw market. But they have been working on and on with us.”
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