After months of silence, the government has finally filed evidence in the ongoing judicial review action against the government's consultation process with Freeport stakeholders, revealing that the government committee established to hold "widespread consultation" across Freeport has met with only some 120 stakeholders out of more than 3,500 Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licensees since March as the government mulls economic reforms to Freeport.
In an affidavit filed Thursday evening, Dr. Doswell Coakley, secretary of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement Review Committee (HCARC), defended the government against allegations that the government had conducted a "fundamentally flawed" consultation process, charging that the committee met with roughly 120 stakeholders, including representatives from "civil society, manufacturers, developers, tourism operators, present and former parliamentarians, and other professionals" since its announcement in March.
Coakley disputed allegations that the applicants in the judicial review matter, Fred Smith, Q.C., and Carey Leonard of Callenders & Co., had not been given adequate opportunity to participate in the government's consultation process, noting that the committee launched an advertising campaign to engage in "widespread consultation with all stakeholders," which included an invitation to the Northern Bar, including Leonard and Smith, for a meeting with the HCARC on April 20, 2015.
The McKinsey Report, a government-commissioned assessment of Freeport conducted by consultancy McKinsey & Co., rests at the crux of Smith and Leonard's motion for judicial review. While the pair, and more recently the GBPA, have insisted that the findings of the report are necessary to inform Freeport stakeholders' opinions on the path forward for Freeport's economy, Coakley argued that the applicants were still well able to contribute to the consultation process without access to the McKinsey Report.
Coakley questioned Leonard's position in his May 20, 2015 affidavit that he was "unable to make a meaningful contribution to the committee" without access to the McKinsey report. Given Leonard's experience as former counsel for the GBPA and as former director of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, Coakley argued that Leonard had "particular knowledge and insight of the matter under consideration".
An e-mail dated April 9, 2015 submitted within Coakley's affidavit purports that Chevonia McBride, project officer of the HCARC Secretariat, extended an invitation to Smith and Leonard to meet with the committee ahead of the expiration of tax concessions under the HCA in August 2015. The affidavit additionally detailed the minutes of Leonard's meeting with the HCARC on April 17, 2015.
The HCARC was announced on March 5, 2015 with the mandate of consulting with representatives of the GBPA, private sector and wider Freeport community. According to Coakley's affidavit, the committee further held four town meetings across Grand Bahama, "in which more than 250 persons participated, and the committee received numerous position papers and submissions by individuals". The affidavit also outlines the government's response to several of the allegations and concerns raised in Smith and Leonard's separate affidavits, including a rebuttal of Smith's assertion that value added tax (VAT) amounts to a "discriminatory and illegal" practice.
Coakley stated the government reserved its position with respect to the McKinsey Report and Smith's assertion that the government had collected over "$100,000,000" in taxes from Freeport and Grand Bahama, neither confirming nor denying its accuracy. The government respondents further avoided a response to Smith's assertion that government revenues from Freeport exceeded government reimbursement - which Coakley dismissed as "hearsay." However, Coakley conceded that there is still time and a need for further consultations regarding Freeport, citing Prime Minister Perry Christie's announcement earlier in July that the government had extended several tax concessions under the HCA by six months.
"Although the applicants in their affidavits make various challenges to the consultation process and describe it as being flawed, it is also clear based on certain developments that there is still room for further consultation with respect to the issues the committee had to consider," stated Coakley.
While Supreme Court Justice Petra Hanna-Weekes ruled against Smith and Leonard's application for an injunction on the government's Freeport consultations on Friday, hearings on the wider judicial review matter will resume October 5.
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