By FAY SIMMONS
TRIBUNE Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Philip Davis last night pledged that Freeport’s existing governance system will end, vowing to amend the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and introduce a new legal framework for the city despite leaving the precise changes open to consultation.
In a national address in Freeport last night, Mr Davis said whether Grand Bahama's governance arrangements will change is “settled”, insisting that the Government is no longer prepared to negotiate with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) over whether the island deserves a different future.
“The present way of governing Freeport will come to an end. This is my starting point. It is non-negotiable. Whether we change is settled. How we change is yours to shape,” he said.
Mr Davis argued that the existing arrangement, established in 1955, had left a private company exercising powers that elsewhere in The Bahamas belong to government and, by extension, the Bahamian people, creating what he described as an imbalance between commercial interests and public accountability.
“For 71 years, a private company has held powers that, in the rest of The Bahamas, belong to the Government. Who may do business, who may be built, who may build, how land is planned, what residents pay in fees and charges,” he said.
“When private commercial interests sit alongside public powers, the same institution can face competing duties and functions. The public needs a framework that separates those duties and functions, while making public decisions answerable to the public, and that is democratic accountability.”
Mr Davis said the Government will review the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the wider legal arrangements that underpin Freeport's governance, including licensing, planning, building control, environmental protection, utilities, Customs and Immigration arrangements, roads, drainage and other public services.
The proposed reforms include a government-led Grand Bahama Development Council, a comprehensive review of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement under the direction of Attorney General Wayne Munroe KC, and a modern legislative framework for the entire island, including a proposed Grand Bahama Development Act.
Mr Davis said the new legislation is not intended simply to replace the existing agreement, but to establish a wider framework for economic development and public accountability across Grand Bahama, including East and West Grand Bahama and the surrounding cays.
“We will amend the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and create the balance Grand Bahama deserves,” he said. “Our proposed direction is a comprehensive successor framework.”
Mr Davis described the current arrangement as a legacy of colonial rule, arguing that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was signed before Bahamians had achieved majority rule or independence.
“It is colonial in origin. It is colonial in character. It is unacceptable, and it has outlived its time. An arrangement born in a colony must be brought into line with the needs and demands of a free nation. I will not apologise for saying so,” he said.
Mr Davis added: “What does independence mean if it stops at the boundaries of thePort area? Whose island is this? It belongs to the people who live on it, and to the nation of which they are a part.”
He maintained, however, that the Government intends to pursue reform through lawful means and will address existing commercial interests and investments as part of the process.
“We will correct the imbalance lawfully through Parliament and the other legal steps that are required. Reform must properly address vested interests, contracts and protect investments. Nothing will be done retrospectively,” Mr Davis said. “Businesses will earn. Government will govern. Each will do its own job. Each will be stronger for it.”
Mr Davis said the GBPA, its shareholders and staff will be included in discussions over the transition, adding that the Authority could retain a profitable future as a landowner, developer, investor and partner.
“The Port Authority can have a strong and profitable future here as a landowner, a developer, an investor and a partner,” he said.
The proposed Grand Bahama Development Council would bring together government, local government, GBPA licensees, labour, businesses, communities and young people to co-ordinate strategic development initiatives, monitor implementation and identify institutional obstacles.
The Government also intends to consider island-wide tax breaks and concessions, including the possibility of enhanced incentives outside the Port area, to encourage investment and spread economic benefits across Grand Bahama. The rates, duration and conditions of any such concessions will be determined following consultation and fiscal analysis.
Mr Davis said the Government had studied the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, subsequent legal instruments, the arbitration tribunal's award and Grand Bahama's economic record in preparing its proposed framework.
He cited the island's population decline as evidence of the challenges facing Grand Bahama, noting that the 2022 census recorded 46,740 residents, down from 51,368 in 2010, a fall of around 9 per cent. The census also found that nearly one in five homes was empty, he said.
“Hurricanes explained part of that story. The world economy explains part of it. A structure that no longer fits the island explains the rest,” Mr Davis said.
The Government intends to open formal public consultation on November 1, with the process scheduled to run through April 30, 2027. Town Hall meetings, sector discussions and written submissions are expected to form part of the exercise.
After consultation closes, the Government intends to submit the findings and recommendations to Cabinet, with a white paper targeted for July 1, 2027, draft legislation by December 31, 2027, and passage into law the first quarter of 2028.
Mr Davis said the Government will listen to evidence challenging its proposals, but insisted that the overall objective of reform would not change.
“The green paper is our first word. Grand Bahamians will help shape the last one: One island, one economy, one framework,” he said. “The waiting is over. The work is ours.”