DNA challenges govt on Freeport

Wed, Mar 18th 2015, 08:49 AM

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) has called on the government to live up to promises it has made to redevelop Grand Bahama.

"Since taking office, the government's seemingly hands-off approach style of the management of Freeport has only contributed to feelings of stagnation, which plague residents and business owners there," DNA Leader Branville McCartney said.

"While on the campaign trail, this government promised the people of Grand Bahama a renewed commitment to ensuring a complete turnaround of that island's struggling economy, going so far as to create an entire government ministry dedicated to the task of partnering with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) to oversee the management and marketing of Freeport as a hub for investment.

"Unfortunately, that ministry has proven to be little more than a rubber stamp. Rather than facilitating greater ease of business, the ministry has, by all reports, added to the bureaucracy and red tape."

He was referring to the Ministry of Grand Bahama, headed by Dr. Michael Darville. Darville has said that he hopes to create 4,000 jobs on Grand Bahama before the end of the Christie administration's five-year term.

The economic situation in Grand Bahama was a key issue during the last general election with both major parties promising to turn the economy around. McCartney said unlike other islands in The Bahamas, Grand Bahama requires focused attention.

The existence of the GBPA, which maintains regulatory control of the city of Freeport, coupled with the government controlled jurisdictions of east and west Grand Bahama makes the management of the second city a uniquely intricate task, McCartney said. He said the government's procrastination does not bode well for the future of Grand Bahama.

"A responsible government must work to do more than rubber stamp the Christie administration's clearly Nassau centric policies without considering the real impact for residents living in Freeport," he said. "The nation's second city deserves a real plan followed by the efficient execution of that plan. The time has come for an administration, which is committed not just to the idea of development on Grand Bahama, but to actually making those developments a reality."

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