Officially opening Bahamas Business Outlook Grand Bahama on Thursday at the Grand Lucayan was Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie. Among those attending was the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
Moving forward, the Government of The Bahamas will join the private sector in making things happen in a meaningful way in Grand Bahama, said the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance during the opening of Bahamas Business Outlook Grand Bahama.
Bahamas Business Outlook, Grand Bahama, was held on Thursday, March 17 and was held under the theme, "A Bold Agenda: the Next 25 Years."
The Prime Minister said, "Ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, the Government has been engaged now for the past year in an exercise which is expected to put in place the further mechanisms needed to revitalize the economy of Grand Bahama."
“The Hawksbill Creek Review Committee is completing its work, which was to provide recommendations to the Cabinet on strategies to improve overall destination planning and promotion to attract new industry, and identify strategies for entrepreneurship and increased employment. The Committee’s recommendations are far-reaching and involve a restructuring of the Grand Bahama Port Authority in such a way that would achieve best practice governance, accelerate business establishment and enable the development of public and private partnerships.
“The Cabinet Negotiating Committee has held private meetings with shareholders in the Grand Bahama Port Authority to determine their responsiveness to the Review Committee’s recommendations and those talks are progressing.
“The Cabinet Negotiating Committee has also been in discussion and negotiation with other major stakeholders on recommendations arising from the Hawksbill Creek Review Committee’s extensive Report and Recommendations.
“Following on such discussions, Cheung Kong Property Holdings Limited, a part of the Hutchison Group of Companies, recently placed for sale their Lucayan Resort complex with a bidding deadline of June 10, 2016. The process is being handled by the internationally well-known HVS Capital Corporation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are told there has been a positive and immediate response to those properties being placed. We see this as a positive step forward as we expect major well-known hotel/casino investors and operators to be attracted and bring about a renaissance in Grand Bahama Tourism."
Expressing gratitude to Hutchison and CK Property Holdings Ltd. for the major investments they have made over the years in their properties, the Container Port and their other interests in Grand Bahama, the nation's leader said that despite their major investments in their resort complex, and heavy operating losses, they partnered with the Government in keeping the hotels open and protecting the jobs of thousands of Grand Bahamians over the years.
"Mediterranean Shipping Company has committed with Hutchison to a $250 million expansion at the Container Port. We are extremely encouraged by MSC’s interest in Grand Bahama and its capabilities, which extend across multiple sectors that align with Grand Bahama’s broader economic model.
"I recently led a delegation of Cabinet Ministers and met with MSC top officials in Geneva and discussed a number of new and potentially long-term investment opportunities in trans-shipment, maritime, cruise tourism, hospitality training and logistics, in addition to the establishment of the Maritime Academy in Grand Bahama, and the employment this year of 150 Bahamian crew on MSC’s cruise and cargo ships. We are in discussions with MSC on providing maritime careers and employment for a greater number of Bahamians on their expanding fleet.
"And just let me say that those culminated just yesterday in Nassau with the delegation from MSC where we were settling the terms of reference for construction that is about to start in Ocean Cay where they are creating a port destination that will employ to begin with, over 100 Bahamians. But also we asked them to fast forward the establishment of their Maritime Academy.
“Maritime Academies only exist in seven countries in the world, and one will be in Grand Bahama. We have asked the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, to move with MSC in having this happen.
“The employment level at PharmaChem will soon triple within the next two years, when they announce its plans for a multi-million-dollar expansion and development of a new plant.
“With the expansion of several businesses here,” he said, "it is now about shaking the tree and making it happen. This is why we have to do it and the government asking Parliament for the three month extension, we know that this matter must be completed by us by the end of April or sooner, and most certainly therefore with respect to all of the developments that have been forecast, we expect to be in a position as we approach the month of April where final decisions are being made, and the final decision of the government of The Bahamas will be made with respect to all of the matters before it, and with respect to how we see in the ensuing period, Grand Bahama functioning in the context of The Bahamas.
"And let me say, and I see one of the shareholders here, that I have indicated to Mrs. St. George, that the Government of The Bahamas is not in the business of acquiring people's shares or coercing the private sector, at least not with me. And so, for the position that we are taking, we want to have a collaborative approach to producing a new dispensation in Grand Bahama where we, the government, will be involved and the government's resources, the government's interests and the government's good will, the government's everything will be joining with the private sector here to make it happen in a meaningful way.
"You cannot come to a place like this and see the sophistication, and hear a Prime Minister say you have a basis of having a population of half a million people, and be dynamic in your impact on our country and not recognize we have work to do."
Pointing out other projects ahead for the island, Mr. Christie said negotiations are near conclusion between the government and Freeport Harbour Company and Carnival Cruise Lines which will pave the way the creation of Carnival Cruise Line’s cruise port in Eastern Grand Bahama. The project will also stimulate construction, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for Grand Bahamians, he said.
The government signed a partnership agreement with the Grand Bahama Shipyard last week, he said, to provide an avenue for training and long-term employment of Grand Bahamians in a variety of trades at the shipyard for reversal of the ratio of foreign personnel in favour of Bahamians.
The recruitment and training of 200 semi-skilled tradesmen in rigging, scaffolding, painting and blasting to reduce expatriate labour and 40 apprentices per annum, beginning September, in concert with BTVI, will significantly reduce the number of expatriate workers presently employed, reduce overall operational costs and set the foundation for continued growth and stability of the company and opportunities for Grand Bahamians. The shipyard is evaluating the feasibility of an additional $100million in capital spending on possible acquisition of a fourth dock next year, and has already committed to an additional $10 million in capital spending this year.
"Ladies and gentlemen, dovetailing with our efforts in Grand Bahama which are further accelerated in light of the expiring concessions of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement at the end of April, we have been diligently advancing national development planning efforts to provide insight into the anatomy of the overall economy with the aim of strengthening the quality and durability of our social fabric, closing the skills gap, replacing outmoded policy frameworks, and designing new methodologies for governance that will improve our overall competitiveness and enable us to survive the stress-tests of any future global economic fallout.
"It is, again, a deliberate and multi-faceted approach to achieving sustained and balanced growth aimed at a methodic strengthening of The Bahamian economy. We are on course to achieve our goals have committed rationally to this exercise which is still in its diagnostic phase. Successive phases will address the malaise and deficiencies in our critical sectors and determination and resourcing of national priorities."
In closing, Prime Minister Christie said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been branded as being too optimistic about the future of The Bahamas; too optimistic about the level of foreign direct investment flowing through our economy; too optimistic about the ability of our people, especially our young people to rise above and surmount the challenges, which, as you should be aware, every country in the Western Hemisphere is encountering in similar fashion, and – yes – too optimistic about Grand Bahama.
“With respect to Grand Bahama, there is no question that this has been a difficult road, primarily because the Government has had insufficient involvement in the process of shaping Grand Bahama’s future and that is about to significantly change. The Hawksbill Creek Review Committee has done a yeoman’s job in crystallizing the issues and recommending sound and practical strategies to achieving our goals and I take this opportunity to give them an unreserved and resounding, “Thank You.”
"My optimism, ladies and gentlemen, is indeed grounded in pragmatism and rooted in the experience of navigating the rough seas of both past and present, and in the certainty of a brighter future. Some who are without faith and hope in our future will indeed succumb to their fears but that is not what leaders do.
"Grand Bahama is undoubtedly a unique place within the archipelago, but as new industries take root, and cross fertilization occurs from the seeds being planted today by my Government, there is no need for speculation about Grand Bahama’s future."
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