The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE GRAND Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) co-chair has repeated warnings to “not throw the baby out with the bath water” over proposed governance reforms given that Freeport’s founding treaty has served as the model for multiple rivals.

Sarah St George, speaking at Friday’s ‘Icons of the City’ ceremony, gave an insight into the position of her family, which owns 50 percent of Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority, by asserting that the concept of Bahamian and government sovereignty can work alongside the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

Speaking ahead of yesterday’s launch of public consultation on reforms that could, if ultimately enacted, marginalise and isolate the GBPA and its owners by enabling the Government to seize and regain control of the city’s governance and management, she said Bahamian sovereignty and the Hawksbill Creek Agreement do not “have to be either or” and this nation can have both.

And, in what appeared to be a plea for a more harmonious and collaborative relationship between the Government and the GBPA, including the latter’s management and owners, the Hayward and St George families, Ms St George argued the city needs “inventive interaction, not active intervention” and that opting for the latter could undermine signs of Freeport’s economic revival stirring.

Urging Freeport and Grand Bahama residents to use the Government’s public consultation as an opportunity to make their voices heard, Ms St George acknowledged that she was “biased” but argued that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, with its free trade zone model and business-friendly incentives, still had value for The Bahamas given that it has been copied by so many competitors.

“The Hawksbill Creek Agreement established the framework for Freeport, and it has in fact since been replicated in many other places, like Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Dubai,” she said. “A city with this much history, this much potential, and this many people who care deeply about it, deserves thoughtful conversations about its future.”

The Davis administration, though, is arguing that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement has “outlived its utility”, and that parts of it need to be replaced, reformed and repealed in equal measure, although it is leaving the specifics and details up to the public consultation outcome.

Instead, it is proposing a wider governance regime that covers the whole of the island via a Grand Bahama Development Act, arguing that the favouritism shown to Freeport by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement has created an economic “imbalance” that has left East End and West End, and other areas outside the city, lagging far behind.

A Grand Bahama Development Council would “co-ordinate and monitor” these reforms, but the proposal as is suggests it would be far short of what the GBPA is today or any kind of municipal authority with revenue-raising powers. It is unclear whether it would be able to get Nassau-based ministries, agencies and departments moving on Freeport-specific issues.

Many Freeport residents are opposed to the Government taking back the city’s management from the GBPA given its track record in administering and maintaining Nassau and other areas in Grand Bahama.

Ms St George appeared to play on those concerns in her address, saying: “Town planning and service co-ordination are things most of us take for granted until, of course, something stops working. This is all foreshadowed in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

“These are not always glamorous responsibilities. They rarely make headlines when everything is going well. But a true measure is also how well a city serves the people who live within it.

“Do we feel safer? Are our utilities reliable? Does our road flood? iIs our garbage collected twice a week? Do we have unlicensed/illegal operations in our neighbourhood? Are there traffic jams? Do we genuinely like living in Freeport?”

Others, such as Thomas Dean, the Dupuch & Turnquest attorney, are backing the case for change, arguing that Freeport is a “company town” or “principality”, representing the largest foreign investment in The Bahamas, that is simply “failing” and not working given the city’s economic, social and population decline over the past two years.

But, seeking to make the case for retaining the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Ms St George described it as “a magic seed” that delivered The Bahamas a second city from what, when it was signed in 1955, was a wilderness and sparsely-populated pine barren forest.

“The Hawksbill Creek Agreement, signed in 1955, established the framework for an extraordinary experiment in economic development,” the GBPA co-chair said. “It was founded upon a belief that, with the right conditions, investment, enterprise and long-term planning, something remarkable could be created….

“Freeport was built through partnership - between the Government of The Bahamas, the Port Authority, international investors, Bahamian entrepreneurs and generations of adventurous new Grand Bahamians. Together, they nurtured a seedling into a fruit of labour. And make no mistake, a labour of love.”

Calling for a similar partnership to be established today, Ms St George also appeared to push back against the Government’s argument that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement is an outdated colonial anachronism and the suggestion that it represents a privately-controlled domain carved out and separate from the rest of The Bahamas.

“Freeport is, and always has been, part of The Bahamas, and since Independence, part of the sovereign Commonwealth of The Bahamas. That Bahamian sovereignty is enshrined and deeply respected. And, of course, alone of all the islands, we have a Ministry of Grand Bahama,” she said.

“We can all work together; the menu doesn’t have to be either-or, surf or turf. Why not both, as envisaged in the Agreement? Knowing the decisions we make today will determine the opportunities of tomorrow.  It's important to protect what’s precious, so let’s not throw the 2026 baby out with the bath water.”

And, suggesting that the Government’s reform drive might disrupt investments and Freeport’s rebound, Ms St George said: “We’ve come from nothing to something – not quite everything yet, because no institutions are perfect.

“But Freeport and Grand Bahama are about to see more visitors, and activity, than ever before. You can feel it; let it flourish. As I’ve said before, we need inventive interaction not active intervention.”