Flipping Grand Bahama

On this the last Tuesday in this year, we present to you that last of Sir Jack Haywards speech as presented on December 18th, 2013 during the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. According to him, the vision of Freeport is still hopeful. We believe that as well and we look forward to the ordinary people of Grand Bahama to come together with their own ideas to make 2014 a year of great change and more hope in this island.

One of the co-Chairmen of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, Sir Jack Hayward spoke at the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce luncheon held on December 18th, 2013,  leaving quite a stunned group of businessmen. Of interest to this blog was the first part of his speech during which he spoke of Freeport in the early days, which I recorded and have included here. Next week Tuesday, I will give his thoughts on what Freeport is and could be with the question and answer section added. Do give your comments, share and follow this page. We welcome all.   (Please forgive the unsteady camera work from using my mobile phone to record.)

Recently on LinkedIn I came across this article and thought of my blog. Maybe its just an ideal but this is what I wish for Freeport ... to be able to come alive without Government or the Grand Bahama Port Authority, but just people/residents who are there with ideas and take on the united project of “Rediscovering Freeport”. The article said: "On January 8, 1966, the  New Yorker profiled Buckminster Fuller  for the first time. During a trip to a Maine island with the journalist Calvin Tomkins, Fuller said something tremendously prescient: - Fuller proposed a worldwide technological revolution...[that] would take place quite independently of politics or ideology; it would be carried out by what he calls "comprehensive designers" who would coordinate resources and technology on a world scale for the benefit of all mankind, and would constantly anticipate future needs while they found ever-better ways of providing more and more from less and less.” Just as technology

So we have looked at the “Bend or Break” speech, checked out it results, (a quasi order for Bahamians to become unequal business partners) and the fall out from all of it. We have also looked at the actual Hawksbill Creek Agreement. I can say for the most part the Port Authority has lived up to its part on the bargain for most of the agreement. For some they may not have done so as a body, but they were intricate in “causing” such things to be done. We have the deep water harbour and commerce that arrived including the industrial businesses in the “Port” area. However, there were three portions of the agreement that are being debated even now and are up for review. The bottomline on the part of promises from the part of the Port Authority were met as promised. The promises by the Government by and large were met, but there were concessions that ran out in 1992, and were prolonged to 1993 when some amendments were made to the agreement. This time, the Port Author

Before hitting the great days of the 70s and 80s I found these photos of Freeport on Oldbahamas.com and thought to share them. Remember that unlike Nassau, New Providence, Freeport, Grand Bahama did not have the history. What history we have now is the growing up of Freeport and the entire island due to the formation of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,  the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Development Company. A boom of energy and a vision that was all set, but later side tracked by the thought of sharing the profits was what we were left with and little though of how to recover and move on with proper legislation to assist all. Next week we look at the promises fulfilled by the G.B. Port Authority. Thanks again to Oldbahama.com. If you want copies of these photos just contact them for reprints.

There is been much said about the formation of Freeport and the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, but today I want to look specifically at the Agreement itself. This Agreement signed August 5th 1955, was designed to make a “free port” that would encourage foreign investors to come to Grand Bahama Island through a variety of tax exemptions. It was signed between the Government of The Bahamas and the Grand Bahama Port Authority, which was a private company founded by Virginian financier Wallace Groves. The Agreement granted the Port, as it is called, the first 50,000 of crown land with exclusive rights to develop. In return, the Port Authority was required to dredge a deepwater harbour, construct an airport, hospitals and schools and provide other services and amenities. Later the Port acquired additional land from the crown and from private sources, giving it a total of 150,000 acres or 233 square miles for development. Through the years that have been a lot of dispute over how the i

Apologies to my readers for not bringing you the promised speech but I have not found the speech just yet in my collection of speeches but as soon as I do you will have it. In the mean time, there is something of great interest that came up and that was the information on why investors did leave. Following the "Bend or Break" speech, a new unwritten law was to come that would try to equalize the playing field for Bahamians of all colour, but at a great expense to investors. It was said that business would be approved if they had Bahamian partners who were 50/50 without the Bahamian putting anything into the business but being able to have 50% of the profits. This was the beginning of what was called "Bahamianization" and continued to say that all positions held by foreigners were to be held by foreigners for a limited about of time, while they trained a Bahamian to take over. While this theory was said to have been great for Bahamians, for persons bringing

After reading the "Bend or Break" Speech I have had two responses that made me really wonder. The first said that Mr. Pindling was wrong to give such a speech.  "But that is not what destroyed Freeport. The Hawksbill Creek Agreement is the finest development agreement every written, in my view. However, after Wallace Groves, a lack of imagination and skills, together with a relatively low bar of the concept of "success" the owners of the Port concession set about milking the local population.  "If the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was being run right, Freeporters would pay nothing for Business License Fees; the profits from utilities would have been used to promote Freeport. Look at what Andrew Young Jr. did for Atlanta, that what Freeport lost with the aid of both political parties!" Very interesting concept, especially considering that to this day the Grand Bahama Port Authority says the stagnation of Freeport came because of the speech. Anothe

After the "Bend or Break" Speech Following the famous or infamous "Bend or Break" speech by the then Premier and later first Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Sir Lynden O Pindling, there was a lot of movement in Grand Bahama and Freeport in particular. It is said that the Sir Lynden knocked down the gates the bounded Freeport from the East and the West allowing "dark" Bahamians to travel in and out of Freeport not only during the day time, but also during the evening. A number foreign investors then decided to leave the island and the country. Some without closing businesses or selling. What was left was the hope of a flourishing Freeport continuing at a sluggard pace. This pace through the years seemed to have dropped off but the "hope" of the Magic City, still persisted. In the 1980's there are a number of persons who are still very, very hopeful and even came up with papers on how we can better this island and the economy here.

I have been checking on this last post to see what response I got because it was such an important speech. It was "the" speech that is said to have decided the fate of the island and the country. What I have discovered is the root of the evil that plagues our land ... politics! After re-posting and re-posting this blog I found that the only remarks made came from persons who were of the Progressive Liberal Party and that anyone of any other persuasion I suppose did not want to read, agree, make comments because they would fear how they would be perceived. I have spoken to persons who said that they felt Sir Lynden Pindling was only looking out for the people of The Bahamas at the time this statement was made. It was further said that he began with good intentions and this was most appreciated as they then went into the "bad" of his later years. I say the "evil" that plagues our land because the negativity of the people to me is THE mean cause of Fr

Flipping Grand Bahama: "Bend or Break speech" : "Bend or Break speech" On July 26, 1969, Sir Lynden O. Pinding, then Premier of The Bahamas, delivered this speech duri...

"Bend or Break speech" On July 26, 1969, Sir Lynden O. Pinding, then Premier of The Bahamas, delivered this speech during an inspection tour at the official opening ceremony for the new Bahamas Oil Refinery Company (BORCO). This speech in history has been called the "Bend or Break Speech" and has long be said by officials in Grand Bahama to be the reason the lights went out at the "Magical Fair" that was the spark called Freeport. Here is the entire speech: “I am certainly delighted to be here this morning because what I see beginning on this site is not only the erection of an oil refinery but also the real true birth of a petro-chemical industry in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Islands. I am delighted to be here because, if the industry develops as the proprietors hope it will be and I hope it will, not only will The Bahamas be able to meet from within its shores its own presently small needs of kerosene, gasoline, diesel and oth

The Magic City This was the name of Freeport, the economic capital of Grand Bahama (the capital is really West End.) This is a photo (complements of OldBahamas.com) showing the historical moments when 250 acres of pine barren was leased for 99 to begin a planned city headed by Wallace Groves and Sir Charles Hayward. From here on for about 20 years there was an unprecedented growth - a huge boom on this island. One of the missions was the construction of a deep water harbour which since then has expanded on several occasions. Of couse that also meant that they had to build homes and hotels in this area. The water supply to this island was/is more than capable of supplying over 50000 people and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (the company named to carry out this agreement) tried all they could to bring in just that amount. This agreement was signed in 1955 with amendments made throughout the years. The magic was seen and felt in the construction of many hotels and most f

So... this is my island. An island in the sun. A place where I (think) belong. After spending eleven years away from it it has always been my dream to make it better ... in aspects. I was thinking while taking my morning walk about what have I done in the past three years to try to do any of that and even to ask.... if I want to make it better, what do I think is first of all wrong with it? To answer that, first I need to place everything. Grand Bahama Island is the northern most island in The Bahamas archipelago and features something none of the other islands have, and that is a company regulated section of the island which is known as Freeport/Lucaya. As with the other islands there are many settlements, but Freeport/Lucaya sits as the mean hub of the island and was created by an agreement, called the Hawksbill Creek Agreement back in 1955. This agreement has a life span of 99 years and will be done away with in 2050. On this particular topic we will go into details in u