MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016
business@tribunemedia.net
Gov’t ‘got nothing’ for foregone $2bn taxes By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
MP: Freeport MoU ‘make no sense’
THE Government’s deal with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) “makes no sense” because it has gained just “nebulous promises” in return for foregoing potentially $2 billion in taxes. Greg Moss, the Marco City MP, told Tribune Business that the two sides’ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had effectively maintained Freeport’s inadequate, existing ‘status quo’ for another 20 years. The United Democratic Party (UDP) leader questioned the effectiveness of the Government’s negotiating team, saying it had gained nothing “near the value” of what it was conceding in annual revenues. He added that the Government already possessed See PG B4
Moss ‘beyond disappointed’ with PLP Deal leaves city ‘as is’ for 20 more years
THE Government has again been urged to prioritise legislation for the $1 billion-plus private pension industry, with financial managers warning the lack of oversight is “a disaster in the making”. Larry Gibson, vice-president of Colonial Pension See PG B2
KENWOOD KERR
CABLE Bahamas has urged regulators to protect consumers and a “competitive level playing field” by preventing BTC from choosing the payment regime for calls terminating on its network. The BISX-listed communications provider, which will own a 48.25 per cent interest and have management rights for the Bahamas’ second mobile provider, warned that regulatory intervention was necessary to prevent the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) from leveraging its market dominance. Cable Bahamas’s concerns on behalf of NewCo, the yet-to-be-named second mobile operator, were laid out in response to the Utili-
THE Abaco Club’s principal has accused some Little Harbour residents of seeking to “incite confrontation” against him over its controversial 44-slip marina planned for that community. David Southworth cited this as the principal reason why he broke off all contacts with the Little Harbour Property Owners As-
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
GREGORY MOSS
Legislation needed for accountability ‘Fit and proper test’ urged for all providers Bahamas again lagging Caribbean, the world
LARRY GIBSON
Cable seeks protection on mobile pay regime By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
sociation (ALHPO) just six weeks after meeting them to initiate a public consultation process over the facility. His decision to sever all ties drew a predictably negative response from Little Harbour residents, who are accusing the Abaco Club of seeking “to monopolise 4050 per cent of the navigable water” in their harbour with the proposed marina. The rapid deterioration in relations between the Abaco Club and that com-
munity is laid bare in e-mail and letter exchanges filed with the Supreme Court to support a legal challenge to the 44-slip dock and associated facilities. Attorneys for Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA) are due to appear before the Supreme Court in Freeport tomorrow, seeking its permission (or leave) to initiate Judicial Review proceedings on the grounds that both developer and the Government have failed to See PG B6
Abaco Club chief then halted consultation Fears 40-50% of Little Harbour water ‘monopolised’ EIA ‘lack of transparency’ at root of concerns
Education woes leave ‘blind leading blind’
Unregulated pensions a ‘disaster in the making’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Developer claims residents were ‘inciting confrontation’
Fears allowing BTC choice ‘anticompetitive’ Calls for regulator intervention if no agreement Seeks NewCo interconnection within 30 days ties Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) consultation on proposed changes to BTC’s access and interconnection (RAIO) regime. It called on URCA to mandate that BTC provide interconnection between its network, and that of See PG B5
THE Bahamian education system’s woes have created sub-standard management throughout the Government and private sector, resulting in “the blind leading the blind”. Robert Myers, a former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) chairman, told Tribune Business that many businesses and public sector agencies were forced to persist with below par management “as it’s all we’ve got”. He linked this both to the education system’s relatively poor output, and issues with
‘Sub-par’ management in business, Gov’t Aids corruption, inefficiency in public sector
$4.00 $4.06
Many workers lack ‘cognitive ability’ to thrive corruption, waste and inefficiency in many government departments that have been highlighted in recent Auditor-General reports. While acknowledging that
ROBERT MYERS
$4.07
the $20 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) project to enhance Bahamian workforce skills and job matching “may be See PG B5
$4.04