According to Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman and Senator Michael Pintard, the government must table the study done by consultants ahead of the expiration of tax concessions in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA), and simply brace itself for the contentious arguments that will follow, the resolution of which will ultimately be in the best interests of Freeport and Grand Bahama. Pintard spoke with Guardian Business yesterday about a range of issues facing the business community in Grand Bahama, among them the looming expiration of those tax concessions and the process undertaken by the Christie administration to deal with the aftermath thereof.
Among the issues, Pintard also addressed the Grand Bahama Port Authority. "The view of Grand Bahamians is that the Grand Bahama Port Authority as presently configured has outlived its usefulness and therefore we must look at making some adjustments, and those adjustments might very well mean some of the regulatory functions of the port would go to central government, or at a minimum, municipal government. "But at the same time, I don't believe people in Freeport relish the idea that central government - which has been quite inefficient in the rest of The Bahamas and haphazard in terms of governance - would be welcome to take over all aspects of governance in the city of Freeport," Pintard said. In fact, Pintard charged that there is "misdevelopment" in the Family Islands in terms of infrastructure, zoning and building control and subdivision levels. "How do you explain that?
That lack of discipline by governments causes many persons to pause when they think about the possibility of central government inserting itself in a very influential way in the upkeep or management of Freeport or the rest of Grand Bahama. "We have just not done a very good job," the senator said, calling it "unfortunate" that government has taken so long to have a "real" discussion in Grand Bahama, with the expiration of the HCA looming. "I think just as the PLP got into power, it should have had this discussion about what should be the new Grand Bahama, the new Freeport," Pintard said, saying this would have given the country years of careful study and discussion about the way forward.
The government appointed a committee - the Hawksbill Creek Agreement Review Committee (HCARC) - to coordinate a consultative process around the expiration of the HCA concessions. That committee hired a consultant, McKinsey, which produced a report into the economic prospects for Grand Bahama Island. That study has not been released, and in fact, is the subject of court action. The Supreme Court will hear an application from Fred Smith, QC and Carey Leonard next month on an application for judicial review. Smith has attacked the legitimacy of the HCARC in the first place, and demanded the publication of the McKinsey report, citing insufficient consultation.
In the meantime, the government has granted a six-month extension in regard to the tax breaks under consideration, which expired on August 4. Pintard accused the administration of squandering time. "Now what we have had is a rush job - literally - with only a few months before the deadline, so that the government has had to ask for an extension through the Parliament of The Bahamas. "Furthermore the government has not released the full study that has been conducted so that all and sundry would be able to see what the analysis is and they can more intelligently comment about what would be the appropriate course of action going forward. "So now that the government has unfortunately squandered time, at a minimum it should lay on the table - in a very transparent way - the study that's before and let's discuss the pros and cons of that study, that all stakeholders can give some input into what is the way forward for Freeport and Grand Bahama," Pintard said.
He predicted a certain amount of contentiousness surrounding that discussion. "The port authority owners are going to act - as they should - in their interests and in the interests of the shareholders. The licensees are going to make recommendations that accrue benefits to their businesses because obviously they want to succeed in order to sustain themselves and their families. The government is going to want to position itself so that it can be seen by voters as acting in residents' best interest. So obviously, arguments are going to emerge.
The international companies - as well as big companies owned by Bahamians - sometimes feel as if they have often had to pay the lion's share of costs to offset the non-payment by some smaller businesses so they're going to have a view in terms of how things should proceed, and so on. So there are many sides that will come to the table with their particular interests in mind. "But it is about us sitting down and discussing what is in my interest, what is in our interest collectively, as well," Pintard said.
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