Flipping Grand Bahama

Sixty years after the signing of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the original signatories are dead. The man with the vision for Freeport was the first to go and apparently his vision with him. It was a vision for a thriving community based on the Hawksbill Creek and the formation of a harbour. As was the rush for gold there was a rush to this island during 1950s to 70s of people looking for another home that offered an ability to make a new life for their families. This was short lived and many had to return to homes they were hoping to forget or other places where there communities were more welcoming. During the first ten years of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the Government of The Bahamas kept a keen eye on what the Grand Bahama Port Authority was doing and made several demands in writing to steer the ship not only for a better Freeport, but a better Bahamas. After 1965, there seems to be a lack to Government involvement in the public arena until 1993 when a new amendment ...

 A recent report from the International Momentary Fund telling of the state of The Bahamas noted that the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) is helping the countries financial position. The report said that the economic activity in The Bahamas strengthened somewhat in 2014 while the external current account deficit worsened primarily as a result of Baha Mar construction-related import. It noted that the authorities continue to make substantial progress on fiscal consolation with successful VAT implementation in January 2015 setting the stage for continue improvements in the fiscal position.  Further it said that lower oil prices helped keep inflation anchored in 2014, but said that still notwithstanding the capital flow management (CFM) regime international reserves remain low. The advice given as key policy advice was:  Despite the U.S. recovery and the imminent opening of the Baha Mar resort, the growth outlook remains well below pre-global crisis leve...

It's about over a week since the last post and in that time we have hosted the first Bahamas Womenpreneur Power Conference and Expo at the Pelican Bay Hotel in Freeport. Well the number of participants was not what we wanted but we had a number of vendors and over all I would deem it a success. Collaborating FSI, with Media Unlimited and Flipping Grand Bahama we did a lot of promotions online and some radio advertising, as well as newspaper articles. We learned a lot in putting on the event, and even more from the speakers on staring business, how to deal with the recently implemented Value Added Tax (VAT) and where funding is possible in The Bahamas. Again the aim of this blog is to be a game changer, to change the mindset of the people in the country and particularly on the island of Grand Bahama for us to change it into a successful little island. Of great importance we learned about the concessions implemented for the people living outside Freeport and those concess...

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,...

Just five months away, the taxation part of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement is expected to drop away if the Government of The Bahamas and the principals of the Grand Bahama Port Authority do not come to another agreement. The Prime Minister Mr. Perry Christie said he is setting up a committee to deal with this and expects that the committee this has not be established yet, will come to a conclusion in more than enough time to be signed before August 5, 2015. With talks still waiting with the public, the Grand Bahama Port Authority stated their feelings during the recent Grand Bahama Business Outlook. Sarah St. George, Vice Chairman stated now is the time to unleash the economic potential Freeport and to do so by extending the concessions under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. "Extending the concessions will boost investor confidence within and without Grand Bahama. It will attract new investors and last but not least it will significantly increase Freeport's direct and ind...