NASSAU, Bahamas — Civil Servants and other employees of government agencies and corporations have the option of receiving a salary advance to facilitate them becoming owners of shares in the Arawak Cay Port Development Company (APD), Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham said during a press conference.
“Today the government is creating an investment opportunity for employees of the government by salary advance to facilitate public servants to become owners of shares in the Port Company,” the Prime Minister said at his Cable Beach Office January 8.
“Government employees will be able to purchase shares in APD by way of salary advance payable to the Treasury by salary deduction over a period of up to 12 months.”
Prime Minister Ingraham said the minimum number of shares to be purchased is 50 and each share costs $10. Additional shares must be purchased in multiples of 25 and the maximum number of shares, which may be purchased using the government salary advance facility, will be 500 at a little over $5,000.
Public officers and other government employees will be required to make application for the salary advance to the Financial Secretary, Ministry of Finance at P.O. Box N 3017, by hand at the Cecil Wallace Whitfield Centre on West Bay St. or electronically via FinancialSecretary@Bahamas.gov.bs.
The Prime Minister said, “Applications for advances will be considered by the Financial Secretary taking into account the post and salary scale of applicants as well as the ability of an individual’s take-home pay to accommodate the salary deductions required for repayment of the salary advance over the stipulated time.
“The IPO gives a deadline for application for the purchase of shares as 31st January, 2012; hence government employees hoping to finance their purchase of shares via salary advance and repayment ought to make application to the Financial Secretary in the shortest possible time.”
The construction of a new port at Arawak Cay is progressing rapidly, Prime Minister Ingraham said. “The Port which up to this time handled as much as 30 per cent of cargo shipments to Nassau, is being expanded to facilitate the transfer of the remainder of the cargo port from downtown Nassau to Arawak Cay.”
He explained that the ownership of cargo ports in New Providence has been controlled for many years by a small number of families including the Kellys, Symonettes, the Farringtons and the Bethels. “Now we seek to make it profitable for a wider cross section of our population.
“To this end my Government entered into a public/private joint venture APD, to provide for the construction, management and operation of the new port at Arawak Cay.”
The Prime Minister noted that the APD at present comprises those families traditionally engaged in the shipping and cargo port business as well as with a number of other Bahamian families and companies who, in more recent times, have been engaged in shipping — families including the Moskos, Tennyson Wells, the Lightbournes, the Taylors, and the Curlings. As well the joint venture includes the members of the Mailboat Association; some 14 in all.
“Under the terms of the Joint Venture, the Government contributed the land and we (the Government) and the private sector are providing the financing required for the construction,” Prime Minister Ingraham said.
“The private sector companies will now own 40 per cent of the new Arawak Cay Port and the government owns 40 per cent. Twenty per cent of the shares in the Port company are now being made available to the Bahamian public.
“The shares, though now worth considerably more than the founding shareholders paid for them, will be offered at the same price the government and the private shareholders paid plus expenses for the share offering.
The Prime Minister stressed, “If you ever heard about a good deal, this is a good one indeed! By this sale of shares in the Port considerable wealth is being created for Bahamians who were heretofore excluded from participating and benefitting from profitable and lucrative port operations in New Providence.”
By Llonella Gilbert
Bahamas Information Services
