FREEPORT – Minister of State for Finance and the Public Service, the Hon. Zhivargo S. Laing announced Thursday a decision by the Government of The Bahamas to establish and fund a Grand Bahama Business Development Board, in conjunction with two local partners.
A Grand Bahamian, and Member of Parliament for the Marco City Constituency, Minister Laing’s comments came as he addressed a large group of business persons and community leaders attending the opening of the Grand Bahama Business Outlook at the Our Lucaya Resort.
He told the gathering that Grand Bahama can be an attractive prospect for big business, but that the problem in part is that the island is not receiving the kind and level of sustained investment promotions it needs. Mr. Laing said he believes that efforts to make outreaches to the investment community abroad and in The Bahamas, Grand Bahama could attract new businesses.
“Given this, I wish to announce today the Government’s decision to facilitate the establishment of a Grand Bahama Business Development Board, which would be a partnership between the Government, Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce,” he stated.
According to the State Minister for Finance, the function of the Board will be (i) Promoting investment in Grand Bahama; (ii) Examining business procedures in Grand Bahama and making recommendations for improvement; and (iii) Developing strategies for the broad growth and development of Grand Bahama. “The Government is prepared to fund this Board to the tune of $500,000 in the first instance, with matching funds from both the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce,” he added.
Mr. Laing further revealed that $250,000 will immediately be available for investment promotions through the budget of the Office of the Prime Minister and the balance funded in the 2011/2012 Budget exercise in July.
In his remarks, the Minister noted that the presence of such major company like Buckeye, Sat Oil, Emera and Ross University supports that Grand Bahama can be attractive to big businesses. Acknowledging that there is a need for steady and sustained action to achieve goals, Mr. Laing said it will take time but if the results are believed, then the necessary work will be done to get them.
He also warned that if the results are sought through solo action, there will be failure. He said it will only happen through togetherness. Likewise he noted that this does not mean the need for everybody on board because everybody will never be on board.
“It does mean, however, that we need the right and enough persons on board to get the work done and that they must be willing to work together to do so.
“Politics, religion, class, status, etc. all set aside for the common mission of bringing the magic back to our city and ‘grand’ back to our island,” he said.
Mr. Laing also called on the gathering to abandon the negativity that saps the energy and muddies the will. He said to state emphatically and with faith the intention and desire to move forward.
“When we do so with conviction, we will find the means to fulfil these desires,” Mr. Laing stated.
The gathering was told there is every reason to believe that Grand Bahama has a bright future. Minister Laing said it has the capacity for significant growth and that no feud between the owners of the Grand Bahama Port Authority or anything else stands in the way of that other than focused, deliberate and sustained right effort on the part of those who should take up the charge.
Grand Bahama, he said, also needs and can have a larger more prosperous population driven by a sensible permanent residency policy geared towards attracting high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, namely from Europe and Latin America. Continuing in his suggestions, the Minister said the island can be an offshore finance centre satellite for one of the emerging super-economies like China.
Further ideas put forth included: An offshore medical and educational district within the Americas; second home market and recreational spot for the wealthy of Latin America, namely Brazil and Mexico; host to an LNG Plant, providing new energy options for The Bahamas; a hub for regional power supply between Grand Bahama and Abaco, increasing scale and lower energy cost for both islands. Minister Laing also believes the island could have a meaningful yacht and aircraft registry; a high-end retail centre for offshore shopping; and can be a major entertainment centre in all the Americas.
Focusing on how will Grand Bahama’s economy fare over the next 12 months, he said that from their vantage point, the economy will get better marginally but only in spots. Some areas he feels might actually experience further challenges.
However, he was confident that companies such as the Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO) and Stat Oil will continue to add additional jobs, sub-contract business, rental revenue and some broad spending to Grand Bahama’s economy. He said this is especially so given Buckeye’s commitment to continuing the upgrade of the plant following its $1.8 billion acquisition from First Reserve and Vopak late last year, and Stat Oil’s continuing commitment of its project in east Grand Bahama.
Minister Laing also stated that he was “regrettably” unaware of any hotel or resort developments in the offing in the next twelve months for Grand Bahama, and that he do expect however, that hundreds of Grand Bahamian construction workers will find employment on the Baha Mar project, given the Ministry of Labour’s focused effort to give them opportunities on the project.
By SIMON LEWIS
Bahamas Information Services
