What's the new big idea?
The quiet dreamy island of Grand Bahama was very quiet for centuries and its potential was seen by an American investor who first settled in Abaco then came here.
On a vision, a whim, he pictured a second Vegas/Paris/London in the Caribbean just off the coast of Florida. The idea caught on and years later we have Freeport, Grand Bahama. It was "the new world" for those persons looking for the warm weather not far from home but boasting the beautiful trees by the long stretches of beaches.
It was the place to go and many came looking for a new life filled with new beginnings. The first of everything they can say they saw along with the potential being realized by Wallace Groves who dreamed up Freeport.
To Bahamians this was a far fetched idea that would not work in the long run. No other project in the island did last very long so why should this. The 99 year lease was a laugh and that laughter has turned to a frown waiting for the shoe to drop ... 60 years later.
Yes, this year makes 60 years since the signing of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the year that some of the concessions may fall away. I had heard that these tax concessions were put in place in the beginning to allow the island/Freeport to gather momentum and be in a great financial place to offer the government of The Bahamas even more than they were already.
However, with the change in Government, the whispers of foreign investors having to give up half their companies to Bahamians (mistaken for the Bend or Break Speech)... a lot changed and many who had come to stay were either given hours to get out of town or left because they did not want to give up half their businesses.
Many times there was a call for revival and some proclaimed revival was on the way, but investors came and left and the islands economy has been under a microscope since then.
What is the plan for Grand Bahama? Does anyone have one?
When the dreamer had done what he could and died, were there no more dreamers?
A new vision for Grand Bahama is long overdue and should have been thought of by its residents, its politicians, its investors since Majority Rule; again since the hurricanes of 2004/2005.
With a clean slate, what is the plan?
How do we make it better in Grand Bahama meaning even Better in The Bahamas?
Would delaying real property taxes make it better? Would honouring the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and not allowing such taxes as National Insurance and Value Added Taxes which are tantamount to breaking an agreement, make it better?
What do we the residences want to see happen here to make it better for everyone?
Don't say that you are only looking for a job and thats as far as you go! There is more to your island/your country than simply getting a job without using that to make it better for your home and your community.
Any big ideas out there? How can we make them work?
On a vision, a whim, he pictured a second Vegas/Paris/London in the Caribbean just off the coast of Florida. The idea caught on and years later we have Freeport, Grand Bahama. It was "the new world" for those persons looking for the warm weather not far from home but boasting the beautiful trees by the long stretches of beaches.
It was the place to go and many came looking for a new life filled with new beginnings. The first of everything they can say they saw along with the potential being realized by Wallace Groves who dreamed up Freeport.
To Bahamians this was a far fetched idea that would not work in the long run. No other project in the island did last very long so why should this. The 99 year lease was a laugh and that laughter has turned to a frown waiting for the shoe to drop ... 60 years later.
Yes, this year makes 60 years since the signing of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the year that some of the concessions may fall away. I had heard that these tax concessions were put in place in the beginning to allow the island/Freeport to gather momentum and be in a great financial place to offer the government of The Bahamas even more than they were already.
However, with the change in Government, the whispers of foreign investors having to give up half their companies to Bahamians (mistaken for the Bend or Break Speech)... a lot changed and many who had come to stay were either given hours to get out of town or left because they did not want to give up half their businesses.
Many times there was a call for revival and some proclaimed revival was on the way, but investors came and left and the islands economy has been under a microscope since then.
What is the plan for Grand Bahama? Does anyone have one?
When the dreamer had done what he could and died, were there no more dreamers?
A new vision for Grand Bahama is long overdue and should have been thought of by its residents, its politicians, its investors since Majority Rule; again since the hurricanes of 2004/2005.
With a clean slate, what is the plan?
How do we make it better in Grand Bahama meaning even Better in The Bahamas?
Would delaying real property taxes make it better? Would honouring the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and not allowing such taxes as National Insurance and Value Added Taxes which are tantamount to breaking an agreement, make it better?
What do we the residences want to see happen here to make it better for everyone?
Don't say that you are only looking for a job and thats as far as you go! There is more to your island/your country than simply getting a job without using that to make it better for your home and your community.
Any big ideas out there? How can we make them work?
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