Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell yesterday warned the licensees in Freeport, Grand Bahama not to be used for the personal gain of others who may not have the best interest of the city at heart.

The Freeport Licensee Association is holding an education seminar next Monday on the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

In an interview with ZNS, Mitchell, who has been engaged in a war of words with the Grand Bahama Port Authority in recent months, said, "I think what licensees and other people of goodwill in Freeport ought to be concerned about is not being dragged into an internecine warfare within the Grand Bahama Port Authority itself.

"The corporate entity, GBPA, is working quite well. There is no issue with the government. But the suspicion is there are some elements that are trying to organize because they want the thing to go in a particular direction.

"They are trying to organize licensees to put up a fight in the public, as if this is the government opposed to the licensees.

"I think that should be avoided at all costs. What should be avoided is the impression given that these people who are supposedly running an education campaign are being used by certain elements for wrong purposes.

"So, I just want people to be very careful about that [and] not get dragged into something they should not get dragged into, so that there is not an unfortunate circumstance on their own reputations."

The war of words between the GBPA and the Davis administration started in May.

When he gave his budget communication in Parliament, Prime Minister Philip Davis accused the Port of failing the people of Freeport.

"Our position is clear: the Port Authority under its present structure is not realizing Freeport's enormous potential; the status quo is not working, and the people of Grand Bahama deserve better," Davis said.

The GBPA fired back, which prompted statements from Mitchell, the chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, and other members of the Davis administration.

Mitchell said yesterday that Freeport "is a Bahamian city" and the government is committed to working with residents to make Grand Bahama successful.

"No one should be allowed to be used as an instrument for the personal gain of individuals who do not have or may not have the best interest of the country or city at heart," he said.

He added, "Whatever happens, The Bahamas government will not violate the provisions of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement."

The Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which was signed in 1955 between the government and Wallace Groves, who formed the GBPA, gave GBPA authority to establish a city and free-trade zone over 50,000 acres that would spur economic development on Grand Bahama.

Under the agreement, the Port Authority, which is jointly owned by the St. George and Hayward families, is obligated to provide infrastructure in Freeport. It is responsible for constructing and administering the Port area and to license businesses in exchange for various tax exemptions.

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