The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

TODAY is the day for the start of the PLP’s election campaign. So says Prime Minister Philip Davis. And though this doesn’t mean we have an election date yet, one of the early signs of the party’s focus has been Grand Bahama.

The PLP seems to be at last trying to do something – or be seen to be doing something – about Grand Bahama’s various ills after years of inaction.

Take the announcement last week that Manchester Airport Group (MAG) now has a contract with the government to manage Grand Bahama International Airport. That sounds like progress. But the truth is that MAG has been waiting for years for the government to make progress on the deal.

Back in January 2024, The Tribune reported one source saying that MAG had “been given the complete runaround by the government.” Nearly two years later, it seems the deal is almost there – just in time for election and for the government to say “hey, look what we’re doing.”

No explanation for why the deal has been parked so long, and why the PM is only now singing the praises of MAG. In fact, when he announced last month that work would at last start on the airport, MAG did not even get a mention, although he now says they were already working on the airport by then.

He hailed MAG for its work operating “some of the largest airports in the United Kingdom” and that airlines are familiar with the firm, which he said is important to the success of the airport.

MAG is a good choice – it just all seems a bit last-minute for a contract signing with a group that has been patiently waiting for a long time.

Meanwhile, over at the Grand Lucayan resort, Mr Davis says that one of the issues has been the need to remediate mould, something that he said “could have compromised the entire transaction.”

A little mould nearly brought the whole Grand Lucayan deal to an end? Really? When the deal involves demolition and redevelopment?

The Grand Lucayan deal was signed in May last year with Concord Wilshere. Since then, there has been little sign of progress. Mr Davis says the government and Concord Wilshere have been looking to secure the right branding partners.

Here’s the thing, though: we were told property was sold. Questions were raised as to whether the money - $120m of it – was in the bank.

It’s still not entirely clear.

Meanwhile, bills have gone unpaid, the water is off and staff salaries have not been paid on time on repeated occasions.

Next up, the PM announced a Grand Bahama Power deal only for the other members of the deal to say “not so fast, nothing is finalised.” Mr Davis says the deal is important because electricity costs are too high on the island and he wants uniform rates across the country.

That’s not a bad goal – but saying it and doing it are two different things.

There are two ways to do that: find a way to cut the costs of generating electricity on the island. No proposal has been revealed for how that would be done – or why GB Power couldn’t do that on its own. Second is to spread the costs so that people in New Providence and the rest of The Bahamas pay more to subsidise the higher costs in Grand Bahama.

Maybe that’s a reasonable thing to do (but the PM has not mentioned that the rest of the country might face higher bills to achieve his goal from the deal.)

Some of these announcements seem to have come out before they are fully ready, especially the GB Power one. The MAG announcement, in contrast, feels like it’s long overdue.

Either way, the flurry of statements has certainly put the focus on Grand Bahama and its issues. And that spotlight, for a government near the end of its term, is not entirely flattering.

Speaking to people from Grand Bahama, there has been a real feeling that not enough is being done. But that’s nothing new. You could say the same over and over for administrations down the years.

Grand Bahama is not what it was, and it is not what it could be. We all know that.

Any government that wants to get re-elected needs to show what it has done for every community, not just Grand Bahama, not just New Providence. You know as well as me that if someone from the party in power comes knocking on your door asking for your vote, the first thing you ought to ask is well, what have you done for me lately?

Think back to last time around – for those who are not first-time voters – and what you were promised by the candidates seeking your votes back then.

Did it happen?

If it didn’t, they’d better say why not, or why should we believe you?

In the PLP Blueprint for Change last time, the party promised that Grand Bahama would “harness the power of the maritime industry, including transshipment and logistics, with spin-off opportunities.”

It promised it would “immediately make upgrades” to the Rand Memorial Hospital.

It promised it would strengthen existing hurricane shelters there.

It promised the re-establishment of the Grand Bahama Hotel and Catering College on Grand Bahama.

It promised to build a new hospital for Grand Bahama.

The party also pledged to make Grand Bahama the “Home of Maritime”, the “Home of Entertainment” and to make it “Innovation City.” Plenty of buzzwords there, but you can measure for yourself how many of these promises were actually kept.

Have you heard anyone calling Grand Bahama the Home of Entertainment lately? What would that even mean?

You can judge for yourselves how many of the party’s promises, both in the previous election campaign and over the years, have come to pass. Is the latest flurry of announcements really the sign that things are finally going to come right?

Or is it too little, too late.

Even with the announcements that have been made, there’s still no confirmation of what is happening with the Grand Lucayan. There has clearly been an overstep in what has been discussed regarding GB Power. And the airport announcement, as welcome as it is, is a long time past the date we were told the airport would be finished.

If the government is depending on the votes of Grand Bahama to win re-election, it’s in a tough spot. What will its next promises be?

And how much faith will voters have that they will deliver?