business@tribunemedia.net
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
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MICHAEL PRATT
Contractors stunned by PM’s ‘three strikes’ COVID enforcement THE Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday said he was “very surprised” by the prime minister’s unveiling of a COVID-19 a “three strikes and you are out” policy for the industry. Michael Pratt told Tribune Business he was also concerned that Dr Hubert Minnis’ decision to single out the construction industry for special enforcement attention could endanger what the BCA and others had “fought so hard for” in ensuring the sector had remained open through much of the pandemic. He added that he had reached out to the government to discover what particular infractions had been committed by the construction industry after the prime minister warned that projects would be shut down if three separate violations are uncovered. Calling on the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) to closely monitor the sector, Dr Minnis said on Monday: “As it relates to construction sites, the police will be monitoring sites to ensure mask wearing protocols are being followed by all construction workers. “Construction operations will now be fined for noncompliance with the orders related to mask wearing and other physical distancing protocols established by the Bahamian Contractors Association as approved by the Ministry of Health. On a second infraction, the fine will be doubled. On the third infraction, the construction project may be closed down.” The prime minister offered no evidence to support the government’s decision to target the construction industry, although he had previously singled out Bahamian construction workers at The Pointe for COVID-19 breaches while comparing them unfavourably to their Chinese counterparts. This prompted Mr Pratt and the BCA to describe the remarks as “surprising”, adding: “The primary focus of our members should be to protect the lives of our workforce. We believe we will see the effect of this virus for months to come. We are currently experiencing not only project delays but also supply chain disruptions and we cannot afford to lose our workers. “This means construction companies need to proactively mitigate the impacts on their business. The COVID-19 protocols for the construction Industry must be strictly adhered to.” Mr Pratt subsequently told Tribune Business he was “very surprised” by the prime minister’s remarks, adding that the sector did not need any further challenges
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Hotel’s revenues cover just ‘25% of light bill’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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PROMINENT hotelier yesterday sounded the alarm for small Out Island resorts as he revealed his property will make a $2m loss this year on revenues barely able to cover “25 percent of the light bill”. Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, told Tribune Business that small Family Island hotel casualties were likely as he warned that the government may have to provide financial assistance to ensure some are able to re-open. Pointing out that boutique, niche properties will be “much more attractive” in a COVID-19 environment, due to the greater ease of social distancing, Mr Alnebeck queried whether The Bahamas’ tourism
he noted that effectively keeping guests within the confines of their resort property will also prevent the greater distribution of wealth that occurs when visitors participate in offproperty experiences. Agreeing that this nation had little choice but to rapidly re-open its largest industry, given its dependence on tourism for jobs, economic growth and foreign exchange earnings, Mr Alnebeck said numerous uncertainties surround the second restart effort - not least of which is whether travellers will feel comfortable coming to The Bahamas amid all the restrictions and surge in COVID-19 cases locally and globally.
the people have lost a good deal of faith in law enforcement to do their job because there are not enough of them. As a result, they’re not reporting crime. It’s not that crime is down; it’s that people have lost faith in the system,” Mr Hutton told this newspaper. “It’s rampant. Theft is rampant here. It’s absolutely an epidemic. You have to literally tie everything down in the night and hope it is there in the morning. My businesses are still getting broken into on a regular basis. “I think what you’re going to find is people are not going to move to somewhere where they don’t feel
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Detailing the impact that COVID-19 lockdowns have had on his property, the Pelican Bay chief told this newspaper: “We average ten rooms every night, and that’s five percent occupancy. At least we are open and there is some light in the building, and we are maintaining it. “Like everyone else we are leaking money. It is very substantial. Our revenues pay 25 percent of the light bill but we’ve been dipping into our reserves for a long time. You want to spend that money on other things. That’s unfortunate, but is the first thing that happens when you go through something like this. You
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Crime ‘epidemic’ hits Abaco reconstruction By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ABACO business and community leaders yesterday said they were “dumbfounded” that The Bahamas’ top police officer would refute a crime “epidemic” that threatens to destroy post-Dorian recovery. Roscoe Thompson, the Marsh Harbour/Spring City Council’s head, and Ken Hutton, the island’s Chamber of Commerce president, both told Tribune Business that the 39 percent year-over-year crime decline cited by Paul Rolle, the police commissioner, merely reflected that many Abaconians had given up reporting such incidents. Describing thefts from homes and businesses as “rampant”, they said 10-12 such crimes had occurred in the Marsh Harbour and central Abaco area alone over the past week. Mr
• ‘Rampant’ theft deterring rebuild • Locals ‘dumbfounded’ by police • Cite numerous stealing episodes
ROSCOE THOMPSON
KEN HUTTON
Thompson, in particular, gave this newspaper a list of homeowners and businesses that had fallen victim to this. The duo, speaking in separate interviews, warned that the lack of security threatened to derail the island’s ongoing efforts to rebuild from the devastation inflicted more than 12 months ago by Hurricane Dorian.
They added that dailyoccurring thefts, and the associated costs they impose, will deter business owners and second homeowners - the “lifeline” of the island’s economy preDorian - from returning to rebuild their homes and enterprises, thereby depriving Abaco of much-needed growth and job creation. “I think it’s pretty clear
Supply shortage squeezes virtual learning expense By YOURI KEMP and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters ELECTRONICS retailers yesterday warned that global demand has sent the price of virtual learning devices “skyrocketing” and created supply shortages as the October 5 school return looms. Vendors spoken to by Tribune Business said the prices of laptop computers, tablets and other virtual learning accessories have “more than doubled” as the entire world moves to online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some suggested there would be insufficient devices to meet local demand. Andrew Wilson, Quality Business Centre’s (QBC) principal, said: “What has happened is that with virtual learning, every child - not just in The Bahamas but those in the US, the region, the world - needs a computer, a laptop. “What was possibly a luxury or item for the more financially-endowed has become a necessity. Teaching has moved into the virtual space, and prices are skyrocketing. They have more than doubled and supply, as we speak, is virtually unavailable. Computers, tablets and accessories related to virtual learning have more than doubled, and they’re not available.” With The Bahamas having to compete with the rest of the world for critical online learning technology, Mr Wilson said the ability of suppliers to meet this demand had been further worsened by the disruption - and resulting backlog - caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated shutdowns. “It’s going to be a while before that returns to a degree of normalcy,” he added, noting that while QBC is awaiting a product order, local suppliers in general will struggle to meet demand ahead of October 5. Mr Wilson said: “It’s not going to happen on schedule with respect to school opening. That’s the reality, that’s the reality.” Craig Pyfrom, DC Technology’s managing director, said hoarding in the US
• Prominent GB resort forecasts $2m loss for 2020 • Top executive’s fears for small Out Island resorts • COVID pushes Bahamas to all-inclusive model industry model was “suitable” for the pandemic’s demands following the recommendation that all hotels and beaches be allowed to open to visitors from October 15. The wider industry, featuring tour, attraction and excursion providers, will open on November 1, but the Pelican Bay chief said this nation lacked the number of all-inclusive type properties viewed as ideal for the mandatory 14-day quarantine period that visitors will have to undergo upon arriving in The Bahamas. Mr Alnebeck said The Bahamas had largely shied away from the tourism business model that COVID-19 is pushing it to adopt, as
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Taxi chief blasts tourism strategy
By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
THE taxi union’s president has blasted the tourism industry re-opening plan for “falling way short” as he revealed that 60 percent of drivers have already lost their plates due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Wesley Ferguson, the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s (BTCU) chief, told Tribune Business that the plan unveiled by Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, and his team had created a model that favoured the large hotels and tour operators while penalising small,
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• Argues it ‘falls way short’ for the small man • Says 60% of drivers have lost their plates independent stakeholders such as taxi drivers. He argued that the mandatory 14-day quarantine imposed on all visitors would turn the resort industry into an all-inclusive sector, with tourists bused to and from these properties and the airport. “In my humble opinion, as the president of the BTCU, according to what Mr D’aguilar said on Monday with regard to the opening of the tourism economy, he fell way, way short of what the people
in the tourism industry expected. He missed the mark, miles away,” Mr Ferguson said. “You would find that people like minister D’Aguilar do not consult with the small person who is in the trenches, who are in the front line of the tourism industry. Personally, if I wanted to open up a wash house and wanted sound advice on how to operate a successful wash house business, the first person I would call is minister D’Aguilar because he is good at that.
But because he operates a well-established, well-run wash-house business doesn’t mean he can run the tourism economy.” Mr Ferguson agreed that The Bahamas has to “go ahead and open the country in a very safe and careful way”, and said he is “not against the opening dates” of October 15 for all hotels followed by November 1 for much of the rest of the sector. He added, however: “COVID-19 is very real and it is going to be with
us for much longer than we think it will, so those who govern must govern from the perspective of reaching the small man instead of the very wealthy. “Mr D’Aguilar came up what he thought was the ‘VIP’(vacation in place) for tourists, and what minister D’Aguilar was doing was governing to suit the very wealthy. What he is doing is he is going to turn all of the hotels into all-inclusive. So the tourists are going to come here, and then busses are going to pick them up and take them to a hotel. “Those people are going to stay in the hotel, and
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THE PRICE OF ONE OF MY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR PROVIDERS HAS INCREASED WITHOUT APPROVAL FROM URCA. HOW IS THIS URCA’s regulations with regards to pricing approval only applies to providers with signiicant market power (SMP) or are regarded as the leader in the market for a speciic service. Changes to cost of services offered by a provider in an area in which they do not have SMP are not subject to URCA’s approval.
