The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNMENT officials will meet with Bank of The Bahamas executives this week amid growing outrage over drastic reductions in banking hours on Andros.

Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis and Mangrove Cay, Central and South Andros MP Leon Lundy will represent the government at the talks.

Mr Lundy has criticised the government-owned bank’s decision to slash operations at its Kemp’s Bay branch to just one day per week while maintaining four-day operations at its Mangrove Cay location. He argued the move defies logic, given Kemp’s Bay serves about 3,000 residents compared to Mangrove Cay’s estimated 1,500.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Lundy said the decision blindsided government officials, who had been collaborating with the bank to expand financial services across the islands.

He voiced frustration that the decision appeared to be made from New Providence, disconnected from realities on the ground.

“These two communities share a lot. They were sharing the banking services — two days in South and two days in Mangrove Cay,” Mr Lundy said.

“So for you to kind of switch it up and put one day in South that has a larger population than four days in Mangrove Cay, it shows that you’re really not on the ground getting the proper information.”

He also criticised the reliance on a malfunctioning ATM.

“Then when you highlight that an ATM is down there, but the ATM doesn’t do deposits. Then that highlights another issue — that you really aren’t familiar with being in the area,” he said.

He raised concerns that the significant reduction in banking services in South Andros could open the door to criminal activity. He pointed out that with around 3,000 residents and numerous businesses in the area, the absence of accessible banking could lead people to resort to unsafe practices like keeping cash at home. Lundy stressed the need for consistent services to prevent potential security risks and preserve the community’s current status as a largely crime-free area.

“We’re basically a crime-free area, and we don’t want bad intentions to creep in because you understand that everybody has to go back to putting money under their mattresses — and that’s what you don’t want,” he said.

Meanwhile, Central Bank Governor John Rolle said the institution remains focused on ensuring that all Bahamians have access to financial services, with an emphasis on expanding digital banking options across the country. He acknowledged that many residents are dissatisfied with declining service levels but explained that the high cost of providing banking services to a geographically scattered population presents ongoing challenges.

He added that discussions with financial institutions now centre on improving service delivery and encouraging customers to embrace digital alternatives, while ensuring no one is excluded from access to these channels.

Neil Strachan, Bank of The Bahamas’ managing director, shared a staff memo in a message to Tribune Business where the bank insisted it “remains committed” to serving clients on both the Family Islands and New Providence.

However, the bank admitted that “service and delivery channels may be impacted due to operational matters”, with South Andros cited specifically. It said it was continuing to explore ways to balance customer needs with efficiency and sustainability.