Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), the Hon. Fred Mitchell responded to comments made by Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) Executive, Rupert Hayward during his presentation at the Grand Bahama Business Outlook event recently.

Hayward shared that public messaging must improve in order to dispel any conflict between the GBPA and the government is hinder growth on Grand Bahama. He said that both the government and the GBPA share accountability for the state of the island.

Mitchell said, “this fella is just making up things to give excuses for why his company and the shareholders in that company cannot perform their obligations under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and that’s the only thing. Do you have the money? Do you have the ideas to move the Port Authority to do what it is supposed to do under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement? If you don’t have it then you need to have someone else come and do it. That’s all the government’s position is, that’s the PLP’s position.”

The PLP Chairman went further highlighting the neglect of the island’s infrastructure such as the Taino Beach Bridge. He said, “you’ve allowed it to fall into disrepair. It’s been closed for months now or half used saying that it has a limited tonnage that can go over it which people are widely ignoring. You can’t finish that and you’re talking about the government being responsible for what is happening in the city?”

Mitchell attributed the current investment projects on the Grand Bahama such as Celebration Key to the work of the government. “You gotta say Ginger Moxey, the Minister for Investments, Chester Cooper, the Prime Minister have all been working assiduously to make sure that Grand Bahama get lifted off the ground that’s why you see the activity there, that’s why Carnival is there, that’s why the Shipyard is there nothing to do with them, the Port Authority.”