Great recommendations for Freeport from Kevin Seymour, President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce

Following the recent Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce Installation I had to ask for the new presidents (Kevin Seymour's) speech just to share here. It is a speech of hope and a longing for change. Out of respect for the entire body of work, I hereby present the speech in its entirety.

“THE PATIENT”

ANALOGY

I begin my presentation by asking you to indulge me for a few minutes while I share with you a highly improbable, fictional scenario involving a hospital patient:

A patient arrives at the emergency room of the hospital seeking urgent medical attention for his condition. As usual, the hospital’s emergency room is crowded and therefore after registering, the patient has no choice, but to take a seat in the waiting area just outside the emergency room.

The attending physician and his team are given the patient’s file for review. They note that not long ago, the patient use to be a model of health, strong, muscular and attractive. However, due to certain destructive man-made as well natural events inflicted on the patient over the years, the patient developed acute anaemia. As a result, the patient lost weight, causing his muscles to droop around his still visible, but diminished athletic frame and his face to become lean and haggard. I should hasten to add that the prognosis of the other family members and friends who happened to be in the waiting area, and who were familiar with the patient’s condition, was that with proper care and treatment, and having regards to the patient’s intestinal fortitude, good gene pool, and other god given attributes, the patient, had an excellent chance at recovery, but only if urgent medical care and treatment was administered. 

After reviewing the patient’s file, the team of physicians peered through a small window in the entrance doors to the operating area, to observe the patient, who by now was slumped over in his chair and breathing heavily. While behind the closed door, the Chief of Staff, explained to the rest of his team, that on the 1^st of January, 2015, 375 Cubic Centimetres of blood (I believe that is equivalent to approximately 7.5% of an adult’s total blood supply) was extracted from the anaemic patient, for the hospital’s blood bank, which at the time was experiencing severe shortages.

The Chief of Staff continued by stating, notwithstanding the patient’s acute anaemia and other health issues, the hospital may be entitled to extract an additional 150 CCs of the patient’s blood (equivalent to 3% of an adult’s total blood supply) from the patient in the next few months, perhaps as early as August, since certain of the provisions of the patient’s insurance policy were due to expire. The Chief of Staff advised the team, that following his initial diagnosis of the patient and out of an abundance of caution, the hospital engaged a specialist firm to evaluate whether or not another 150 CCs of blood could be drained from the patient, without compromising his health or causing him any further discomfort. He reassured the rest of his team that the specialist report should be available shortly, at least within the next few weeks and then they could make an informed decision, based on hard scientific and empirical data as to how to proceed. By this time, the team of physicians observed that the patient was now lying on the waiting room floor, suffering excruciating pain, while running a dangerously high temperature of around 107.25 degrees (at least 10% over the normal rate of unemployment, i meant to say, the normal body temperature). The patient appeared ready to go into a convulsive state.  

APPLICATION

In this water shed year of 2015, Grand Bahama requires urgent care and attention, without which it can easily slip into a state of  economic convulsions, some might even go as far as suggesting a “double dip recession”. 

The attending physicians or in this case, the Central Government caregiver,  needs to begin listening to the patient’s family members and friends, in this case, the Grand Bahama business community, members of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, and the island’s residents. We the family members and friends admittedly are not all high powered trained professionals or even economist of the ilk of say, a McKinsey Group, but nonetheless, we believe that we are able to render a valid and credible prognosis, borne out of our local collective knowledge and experience, and also prescribe a care and treatment plan that will assist in getting the patient back on his feet. So then, what common sense prescription do we recommend to the caregivers consulting behind the door; in order to restore the patient to good economic health, within the shortest period of time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1)   We recommend that the tax exemptions provided under the “health insurance policy” know as the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the Freeport Grand Bahama Act, 1993 respectively relating to Business License Fees and Property Taxes be “continued” or extended through to the year 2054. Moreover, we recommend that a decision be made regarding this matter post-haste, in order to dispel any concomitant uncertainty. We fully recognize and appreciate that some form of  “insurance premium” will need to be paid to the Central Government, preferably in installments, by the Grand Bahama Port Authority, DEVCO and in all likelihood the licensees over a specified period;

2)   We recommend that the Central Government re-visit its decision to treat services rendered by one GBPA Licensees to another as “VATable”. We suggest that these services be afforded the same treatment as “Schedule 2 Goods” under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement;

3)   Once Foreign Direct Investment Applicants are properly vetted by the GBPA and its agents and the applications are passed on to the Foreign Investment Board, the National Economic Council and the Central Bank for further review, we recommend that these Central Government agencies coordinate their respective review activities with a view to reducing review and turn-around times to no more than fifteen (15) business days;

4)  We recommend that the Grand Bahama Port Authority, its Joint Venture Partners and affiliates, consider leveraging their investments in the airport, harbour and container port, to facilitate a fully functional “free trade zone” comparable to the likes of Jebel Ali in Dubai, Shannon in Ireland and Colon in Panama;

5)   Our recommendation for a Free Trade Zone will not only have the benefits of immediately generating more revenues for the Government and more job opportunities for the unemployed, but it will also give the island’s population an immediate and much needed boost, due to the significant pool of human capital, generally required by foreign companies doing business in a Free Trade Zone;

6)   The creation of a Free Trade Zone will also require The Government to revisit its policy on immigration, which heretofore has been described by many as being xenophobic; and

7)   We recommend that Customs cease and desist from arbitrarily assessing fees on GBPA licensees, which in all likelihood contravenes the terms of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

CONCLUSION

Our theme adopted for this fiscal year is “Continuation, Collaboration and Competition.” We can become more competitive as an island economy by continuing the tax incentives granted under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and by facilitating stronger collaboration between key stakeholders such as the Grand Bahama Port Authority, the Central Government and the Licensees. Let us the key stakeholders work together hand in hand, to revive the patient we know and love as Grand Bahama Island. His ultimate success translates into success for the entire country. Viva Grand Bahama!

Thank You!