Flipping Grand Bahama

Following my last post there were a number a number of responses and even some more information from the past that came up. Today I leave this space to on person with views of Grand Bahama and what happened: Greg Farrington: Almost over night Freeport was created from pine baron forest and mangrove swamp. It was created because Wallace Groves had vision and drive. The plan for Freeport was simple - anyone could invest here without interference from government and taxes. Freeport was booming. Hotels, restaurants, businesses and industry were all doing well. Labor was a mix of foreign and local and everyone was making money. The Pindling government obviously saw Freeport in a different light.  Prime  Minister Pindling’s “Bend or Break” speech did just that, it “broke” the very core of success that Freeport had accomplished. Instead of working with a successful plan and working more Bahamians into it he destroyed it for everyone with harsh anti foreign all for Bahamians ...

Hope! Many things are said about hope: Hope reigns eternal. Hope is the last to die. At the end of last week's post it appeared that there would be no hope but there is always .... hope. In the midst of the water and food shortage following the hurricanes in 2004 and the damages from the hurricane in 2005, there was hope. Then the economic destruction of 2008/2009 was no surprise but just another blow to this small island. By 2010, that glimmer of hope still held and even in 2014 the people are still hoping. Some question in the midst of rising fuel costs, and persons being left in the dark because of lack of jobs and high power bills, what is there to be hopeful about? Hmmm..... We have arrived at that junction where just the thought of being alive is something to be grateful for... and yet.... Where to from here! Where to from here? Its time to wake up the sleeping giants in the island. The retired from ages past were put back to work but the young people co...

Grand Bahamas has seen a series of ups and downs and I think one of the hardest was during this era. As we came into the 90s there was great political upheaval all around the islands, but particularly here. The champion of Grand Bahama and leader of the then official opposition - the Free National Movement, died just before we came into this era. But it is reported that on his death bed he asked a former member of the ruling Progressive Liberal Party, who had been kicked out, to take on the leadership role of the Free National Movement. This was the only position that the ousted man could pridefully take considering the fact that in previous times he stated that he could never join this party. So with elections fresh in the air in beginning of the 1990s, this buck gave it all he had and together in 1992 they won the election from the 25 rule of the Progressive Liberal Party. It would have been the second time I was eligible to vote and yet, I was still unregistered and cared ...