COVID testing ‘not adding up’
The Government and official Opposition were last night locked in a fresh battle over assertions that Bahamian taxpayers are subsidising US tourists’ return home because the $40 health travel visa cannot cover free COVID testing.
Medical labs say COVID test model ‘unsustainable’
Medical laboratories have warned the Government they cannot continue providing COVID-19 tests unless it alters the “unsustainable” model by which they are paid via the Bahamas health travel visa.
Bahamas’ $3bn in Russian assets ‘under 1%’ of sector
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday said the nearly-$3bn in Russian-connected assets held by the Bahamas’ international financial services industry represents “less than 1 percent” of the sector’s total business.
Web 3.0
ActivTrades
“$500?” chuckled former Microsoft boss, Steve Ballmer, after Apple chief Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone in 2007. “This is the most expensive phone in the world. And it doesn’t appeal to business users at all because it doesn’t have a keyboard.”
Water Corp ultimatum over Bran $40k claim
A Supreme Court judge has given the Water & Sewerage Corporation two weeks to either file a defence or pay Branville McCartney’s law firm $40,000 in a dispute related to a defamation action launched by ex-chairman Adrian Gibson.
A perilous state of affairs
In a second article, Hubert Edwards writes that The Bahamas must enact 'the greatest set of reforms the country has ever seen' to set it on the right economic and fiscal track . . .
Regulators unveil pricing structure for renewables
Regulators have confirmed a new net billing-based compensation mechanism for renewable energy providers providing power to Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) grid with rates based on the latter’s “non-hedged avoided fuel cost”.
Chamber chief urges GB project ‘timelines’
The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president has called on the Government to provide “more timelines” for when residents can expect to see progress on major investments cited by several Cabinet ministers.
Dealers urge consultation on limiting gasoline rises
Petroleum dealers are calling for greater consultation with the Government over proposals to cap the amount of VAT it earns per gallon sold and mitigate the impact of rising energy prices for consumers.
DPM unveils 1,500 job GB construction boom
Freeport is poised for a two-year construction boom that will create 1,500 total jobs at peak build-out if major investment projects come to fruition, the deputy prime minister revealed yesterday.
Ex-DPM: Lucayan deal not Hutchison ‘bail out’
The Government had no choice but to acquire the Grand Lucayan resort because its threatened closure “had the potential to sink Grand Bahama”, the former deputy prime minister argued yesterday.
Ex-Chamber chief pegs GB jobless rate at 35%
A former Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president yesterday estimated that the island’s post-COVID jobless rate is “hovering” around 35 percent given the absence of official data.
Port touts ‘20% rise in licensee numbers’
A Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) executive yesterday sought to refute assertions that “hundreds of businesses are closing every year in Freeport” by pointing to a near-20 percent increase in licensees since Hurricane Dorian.
Minister to give derelict building fight extra ‘teeth’
A Cabinet minister yesterday pledged to “give teeth” to efforts to tackle Freeport’s derelict building woes, with Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) executives complaining: “Our hands are tied.”
IAN FERGUSON: Proper budgeting key to business growth
The month of March usually signals the start of budget hearings and defences throughout the government sector. Proper justification for monies required, and how they will be spent, is crucial if a business is going to succeed and grow.
