The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH the government’s $357m demand against the Grand Bahama Port Authority was rejected by an arbitration tribunal, Prime Minister Philip Davis doubled down on claims of victory in the House of Assembly yesterday, saying the ruling proved the Port Authority must pay the government through 2054.

Speaking a day after the award was released, Mr Davis insisted the decision was a “game-changer” that established the Port Authority’s liability to the Bahamian taxpayer and confirmed the government’s authority in Freeport.

“The Port Authority has significant liabilities that are now enforceable because we took action,” he said in the House of Assembly.

The tribunal did not grant the $357m the government sought for administrative costs between 2018 and 2022. Instead, it ruled that the clause the government relied on to calculate that sum had been replaced by a later payment arrangement negotiated in the 1990s when concessions under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement were extended.

Under that arrangement, the Port Authority makes annual payments to the government, with the amount to be set through a review process.

Mr Davis acknowledged that the tribunal rejected the $357m claim under the earlier clause, but argued that the ruling nonetheless established that the Port Authority must make payments to the government under the later framework.

He argued the ruling confirmed the payment framework remains enforceable and that the government will now move to determine how much the Port Authority must pay.

“The initial ruling was a victory for us, because it established liability for them,” he said. “They have to pay up.”

The prime minister said the next phase of arbitration would determine the amount.

The tribunal did not order the Port Authority to pay any specific sum. It confirmed that the payment mechanism under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement remains in force, but left the amount to be determined through the review process.

Opposition Leader Michael Pintard dismissed the prime minister’s claims of victory and said the ruling does little to address the challenges facing Grand Bahama.

“The issues in Grand Bahama remain the same before and after the address,” Mr Pintard said told reporters.

He argued the government’s dispute with the Grand Bahama Port Authority has distracted from more urgent issues on the island. “We have always said that the government's fight with the Port Authority has been a side show that's not constructive in the way it was approached. And as far as we know, the claim the government submitted has been dismissed.”

Asked if he believed the prime minister was misleading the public about the ruling, Mr Pintard said: “Yes, the Prime Minister continues to mislead the public and will go to any lengths to do so.”

Mr Davis also emphasised that the tribunal rejected most of the Port Authority’s counterclaims, which had sought up to $1bn in damages and declarations that the Port Authority alone controlled key aspects of governance in the Freeport Port Area.

The tribunal rejected claims that the Port Authority had exclusive authority over matters such as business licensing, immigration, customs, utilities and land purchases.

The tribunal did uphold one limited counterclaim, finding that successive governments failed to act quickly enough on proposed environmental bye-laws for the Port Area.

Mr Davis criticised statements from the Port Authority describing the ruling as a victory and also attacked opposition figures who have argued the government lost the case.

“The GBPA says it won. I put the question to this House, on what?” he said.

He accused critics of siding with the Port Authority rather than the Bahamian public.

“When,” he said, “the GBPA tells the nation it won, and the Leader of the Opposition echoes the Port Department instead of standing with his own government, the Bahamian people are entitled to ask a simple question, whose side are you on?”