Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis traveled to Grand Bahama on Monday where he addressed a meeting of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.
During his remarks Davis spoke to the ongoing dispute between the government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority. He said, “maybe the problem is not that successive governments have not asked too much from the Port Authority but rather that governments have asked for too little.”
According to the Prime Minister the Port Authority was aware of the government’s intent to collect monies for services rendered since 2022. “As I alluded to earlier, when the government pays the salaries of the many people delivering public services in Freeport, the Port is responsible for reimbursing the government for any amount spent beyond the custom taxes paid in the Port,” he said.
Davis went further saying, “look at the beaches and the seawalls around the Grand Lucayan water base. Look at the unusable public ramps fishermen need to lower their boats into the water. Look at the erosion to the public beaches. Look at the area some call the ghetto just yards away for the Pink Building. Look at the bridge leading to East Grand Bahama it’s still not fully repaired. Downtown Freeport was dead for twenty years.”
Prime Minister Davis also mentioned home repair assistance offered by the government was blocked by the Port Authority because workers could not carry out the work if they were behind in license fees or service charges.
Davis said, “there is just too much evidence that they care more about their infighting and shareholder lawsuits than our people. This is what happens when cities are treated like family heirlooms past down without a thought as to whether those inheriting are willing to serve the interests of our communities over their profits.”
Also highlighted in the address was the numerous properties sold by the Port Authority like the airport, harbour and utility company. “I don’t know what they did they with all the money they made from selling off all those companies. I know what they didn’t do. They didn’t invest in the climate resilient infrastructure that Grand Bahama need in the new climate era of intensified hurricanes,” Davis said.
The government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority are currently locked in a dispute about reimbursement for service rendered by the government in the city of Freeport per a clause in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement . It was revealed in April that the government had sent a demand letter to the Port Authority requesting payment of approximately $357 million.
