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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 “You cannot escape
the responsibility of tomorrow, by evading it today”. Those words
famously spoken by former US president Abraham Lincoln are indicative of
the way the Christie administration has chosen to manage the
government’s affairs in the nation’s second city. 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.
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.
Unlike elsewhere in the country, the economies of Grand Bahama Island
and the City of Freeport present a specific set of complexities which
require 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.
Good governance in the nation’s second city must focus on a
strengthened partnership between the government and the GBPA in a way
that becomes mutually beneficial for Bahamians residing both inside and
outside the Port area. Take for example the impending expiration of Real
Property Tax Concessions. For more than 2 years, business owners have
called on the government to begin the necessary negotiations to ensure
that the best possible arrangements could be made. In its true late
again fashion however, this administration has only now – LESS THAN FIVE
MONTHS BEFORE THE EXPIRATION DATE - formed a committee to oversee those
negotiations. This leaves little time to fully examine the equally
nuanced implications of disregarding the exemptions or reinstating them.
The government’s procrastination on such key matters 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. 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.
Branville McCartney
DNA Leader
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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