Last week, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V. Alfred Gray explained that the boats were still in The Bahamas because of a technicality in the Customs Management Act, which requires that notice be given.
But Customs Comptroller John Rolle confirmed Tuesday that the vessels had not been removed from the country.
According to Mr. Rolle, 15 of the vessels are impounded in North Andros, while the other boat, known as the “Mother Ship” which contains a processing plant, remains in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
“All items coming into this country have to go through the customs clearing process,” Mr. Rolle said. “The boats were initially given duty status which was revoked. As a result they are still considered uncustomed goods and are still in our possession.”
The Customs Comptroller further explained that, “There are some conditions that must be satisfied and there is a further two-month period where these things can be worked out either in the courts of elsewhere. But it can happen before that.”
He said, “There is a procedure to deal with all of this. There is some time put into a law, but once those processes start within the law, it may drag on further as long as the law is being complied with. In between there, there may be other conditions, which may impact that process.”
But he declined to say when the boats would leave definitively.
The government ordered that the boats leave the country after it was determined that they were not 100 percent Bahamian owned.
Since then, Earlin Williams, the principal of the Bahamian Company involved in the project, has told the Bahama Journal that he has obtained full ownership of the fishing vessel, solving the issue of the “Bahamianization” requirement.
But it is a claim Minister Gray continues to dismiss.
“The documents don’t say that to us,” he adamantly pointed out Tuesday. “I don’t know what documents may be circulated, but those which the government has seen don’t speak to anything other than foreign-ownership. And I can assure you that to date the Central Bank has not issued any approval for the purchase of those boats, so this would be very surprising.”
The controversial issue, which peaked in November, led to the resignation of Holy Cross Member of Parliament Sidney Stubbs as executive chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation.
Mr. Gray said in parliament toward the end of November that the boats will be removed “forthwith,” although he did not specify a date.
On Tuesday, he said, “It is suspected that Customs will do what is required of them under the law. It seems to me that if the notice is to be effective, then Customs, under the Customs Management Act, would be within its rights to seize and forfeit the boats. Customs must do what it has to.”
But he also said he was unsure whether the boats were still here because the last time he had checked on the matter was Monday and there had been no new developments to report.
Meanwhile, Mr. Williams has indicated that if the government “does not do the right thing” and reconsider his company’s revised proposal for a large-scale commercial fishing project, he will have no alternative but to take legal action.”
Responding to this threat, Minister Gray said, “Everybody has a right to go to the courts.
“If the matter goes to courts, I’m sure that the government is in a position to deal with it. But I would be concerned that the owners of the vessels – being foreign – would certainly try to get their boats and secure their investments because the government’s policy and decision is very clear that no foreigners would be licensed to fish here. So if they do not remove their boats, I don’t see how they would be able to avoid forfeiture and confiscation.”
By Macushla Pinder, The Bahama Journal
