The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government has moved to compulsorily purchase Freeport’s International Bazaar property despite the majority of its 13 owners having already agreed to the sales price and terms sought by the Davis administration.

Tribune Business can reveal that the property’s owners were blindsided by yesterday’s publication of a full-page advertisement detailing the Government’s plans to use its powers under the Acquisition of Land Act to compel the Bazaar’s sale because the 11.541-acre site “is needed for a public purpose” - the construction of the much-touted African-Caribbean Marketplace.

The Davis administration has acted despite “98 percent” of the Bazaar’s owners, who include the likes of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union, John Bull and the Chee-A-Tow family, agreeing to what is understood to be a $1.5m purchase price and the accompanying sale terms and conditions. It appears that it could not wait for the few remaining hold-outs to fall into line given the potential hold-up to its Marketplace plans with a general election looming.

And the move coincides with the tabling of a Parliamentary resolution, yet to be debated by either house, to approve the Government guaranteeing a $1.86m loan from the Africa Export-Import Bank to finance the Marketplace’s development. The borrower is named as ACMLC Grand Bahama Ltd, a private company incorporated under the Companies Act, which is 100 percent owned by the Government.

Darrin Woods, president of the hotel union, which owns 22 percent of the Bazaar, told Tribune Business he was unaware of the Government’s move to compulsorily acquire the Bazaar property and arcade until informed about it by this newspaper. He, too, suggested it signalled that the Davis administration has run out of patience with the few outstanding dissenters who have yet to agree to the deal offered.

However, the BCHAWU chief voiced hope that the union and other Bazaar owners will not suffer the fate of other real estate and land owners, whose property has been purchased by the Government using the Acquisition of Land Act, and have been forced to wait years - even decades - to be compensated for the loss of their assets.

The Government had been negotiating the now-derelict Bazaar’s purchase via a Freeport-based attorney, Chris Gouthro, who was acting on its behalf, and Mr Woods said he had learned through him that a small minority of other owners had yet to agree to the proposed deal.

“It was always an intent to sell from us,” he told Tribune Business of the union’s position. “I know from the Freeport attorney working for the Government that they were having challenges. I know he had indicated they were having some challenges coming to terms with some of the owners; the minority owners.

“I know the Government is going to do what they have to do. From our standpoint, we own 22 percent of it. We have always made clear our intent to sell and get out of that. There ain’t much happening down there. It was always difficult, especially after the hurricane [Dorian in 2019]. We pumped money in down there, and eventually made a decision to let it go.

“We couldn’t keep it up. We couldn’t get it rented out, so any monies that we put into it we were not able to recoup. That was a wise decision on behalf of our members, as everything we do has to benefit them; they have to benefit from it at the end of the day.”

Mr Woods said he recalled that the Bazaar’s acquisition and renovation would involve around a $3m investment split evenly between these two activities. “We would have had the entire thing appraised,” he added. “That figure was inclusive of the renovations they wanted to do to the property and the Royal Oasis.

“They [the Government] were pretty much able to tell us instantly what our portion of the purchase price was based on the overall terms. It was $3m in total inclusive of the renovations of the property. The purchase was around $1.5m, and then to do the other works and stuff brought it up to $3m.”

The Government’s decision to use its compulsory purchase powers, rather than agree a deal with all 13 owners, could mean the latter endure a long wait for compensation based on Acquisition of Land Act payment history. “I hope that isn’t the case,” Mr Woods replied when reminded of this by Tribune Business. “If the Government compulsorily acquires it, they give you fair market value.

“My thing to them was: ‘Let’s move forward’. They said there were one or two owners not wanting to sell. The consensus of the majority was that we had already agreed to sell. Because it’s co-joined and co-owned everything has to be done in tandem, and you know what it’s like to have 12-13 people all agree on a decision.”

Mr Woods told this newspaper he was “surprised but not really surprised” by the Government’s compulsory acquisition bid “if the other owners are still blocking it” and there were challenges “getting everyone on the same page”. He added: “I contacted the attorney to find out where they were and he said there was no new movement yet.”

Another source familiar with developments surrounding the Bazaar, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business that the majority of owners had agreed to the Government’s price and terms in October/November 2025 but nothing had happened subsequently until yesterday’s newspaper advertisement. Like Mr Woods, they too were taken aback by its publication.

“This is the first I’m hearing about this,” the source said. “The Government had made an offer to the owners, and I know it was accepted by 98 percent of them. I think there was only one dissenter, a foreign investor. They had said ‘no, nothing doing’, because by the time the demolition fees charged by the Port were accounted for there was not a lot left.

“I think they [the Government] possibly have thought this was a way around it - acquire it compulsorily. Essentially, everyone had agreed on a price and we were waiting on the next phase to move the thing forward. We haven’t seen anything.”

The International Bazaar, which has steadily deteriorated ever since the Royal Oasis resort that supplied a significant proportion of its customer base closed in 2004, suffered further blows as a result of two fires that further devastated what remained of many buildings.

Ginger Moxey, minister of Grand Bahama, did not respond to Tribune Business messages seeking comment, but said of the Government’s Afro-Caribbean Marketplace plans in 2023: “Not only will the marketplace promote and distribute African and Caribbean products, but it will also offer a taste of Africa and the Caribbean, making it an appealing tourist attraction.

“In the marketplace, we envision seamless connectivity for trade between Africa and the Caribbean through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with the Caribbean as the sixth region, and the added advantage of a 230-square-mile free-trade zone offering tax concessions on Grand Bahama.”

Using Grand Bahama’s proximity to the US, the marketplace would provide strategic opportunities for value-added manufacturing, transshipment, distribution and logistics. “This vision, however, goes beyond mere trade,” Mrs Moxey said.

“It represents the culmination of a world-class experience, showcasing the rich cultures of Africa and the Caribbean. The African-Caribbean Marketplace will become the home of ‘All things African and Caribbean’. It will feature a ‘Bahamas Bazaar’ representing each inhabited island of The Bahamas.

“With its conceptual design, including an amphitheatre, featuring a performance arts theatre, African and Caribbean-flavoured concessions and unique architecture reflecting the authenticity of our cultures, we aim to create a space that resonates with the spirit of Africa and the Caribbean.”