The Government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) are still negotiating the amount of money the GBPA will be required to pay as a result of an arbitration ruling handed down in March of this year.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration and Progressive Liberal Party Chairman, the Hon. Fred Mitchell was in Grand Bahama this week where he provided an update. He said the Government and the GBPA are not at idem with the meaning of the ruling.
The government’s claim that the GBPA owed $357 million for services rendered under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was rejected by the tribunal. However, the arbitrators confirmed that the Port Authority has an obligation to make payments based on the agreement. The passed due amount is yet to be determined.
Mitchell said, “our view is that the agreement is clear that the Government provides services, there is supposed to a repayment for the services offered, we stand by that.”
The GBPA brought eight claims, seven of which were rejected. The tribunal affirmed that the Government of The Bahamas’ has legislative and regulatory authority over immigration, licensing, customs, environment regulation and developmental approval in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
According to Mitchell the Government is also concerned about the lack of investment and provision of resources by the GBPA. He said, “all we know is, it’s clear to us that the Grand Bahama Port Authority and its affiliates are under resourced. And so that’s one of the reasons why the roads aren’t fixed and why the bridges aren’t complete and why the level of investment is not at the level of input that we expect from an organization that claims it owns the City of Freeport.”
The minister said the government has continued to step in on the island through the Minister for Grand Bahama to support the city, make sure everyone has work and that the economy develops.
