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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

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Christmas ‘make or break’ for local retail

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMAS Federation of Retailers co-chair yesterday warned the upcoming Christmas season will be “make or break” for many merchants still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating economic fall-out.

Tara Morley told Tribune Business that encouraging Bahamians to “shop local” rather than abroad, and support stillstruggling businesses and the jobs they provide, is “going to be vital for some

• Shop local ‘vital for some time to come’ due to COVID • Federation co-chair: Merchants ‘resourceful’ on sourcing • Others ‘trying to hold line on price’ as shipping cost triples time to come as COVID is not going anywhere”.

Speaking amid growing global fears of increased prices and Christmas inventory shortages, amid global supply chain

backlogs sparked by the pandemic, she said that while The Bahamas is not immune from such trends many local retailers had already placed their festive season orders in a bid

to beat shipping delays that have impacted the sector over the past year.

And Ms Morley told residents not to “under-estimate the resourcefulness” of local merchants when it came to the timely sourcing of quality products, asserting that the industry will do everything it can to ensure Bahamians “have as many options as possible for the Christmas season”.

Still, with Bahamian merchants having to compete with larger developed country rivals for shipping containers and product, she acknowledged of the global

SEE PAGE 6

FRED SMITH QC

Davis Gov’t told: ‘Take leap over Freeport’s Holy Grail’ • QC tells PM: ‘Don’t just talk, talk like Minnis’ • Argues that he has ‘banquet of opportunities’

Ships’ waste processor in $15m Freeport facility

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AN outspoken QC yesterday urged the newly-elected Davis administration to “take the leap” its predecessor did not and “open the floodgates” to realising Freeport’s “holy grail” as The Bahamas’ economic saviour.

Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, and long-time advocate for Freeport and the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, told Tribune Business that unlocking the second city’s free trade zone and muchtalked about potential was a critical component in dragging The Bahamas out of its post-COVID economic and fiscal crisis.

Urging Prime Minister Philip Davis not to “just talk, talk about resurrecting

A FREEPORT-based processor of ships’ liquid waste is planning to invest $15m in constructing a plant capable of treating 150,000 metric tonnes per year, it has been revealed.

Clean Marine Group, which was selected by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as one of the five Caribbean winners of its Blue Tech Challenge, says its longawaited project will create 19 full and part-time posts

as well as around 20 jobs in the construction phase.

The details were disclosed in a series of environmental impact and management documents prepared for Clean Marine Group ahead of a virtual public consultation on October 14, as mandated by the Environmental Planning and Protection Act. The developer said the facility, which is to be constructed on a four-plus acre site on the western side of Freeport Harbour, will be “the first of its kind in The Bahamas” and enable this nation to comply with

its international obligations to operate a port reception asset capable of dealing with ships’ oils and other forms of waste.

“The Clean Marine Group reception and treatment facility will be an estimated $15m capital investment in Freeport in support of the maritime industry, local companies and the community,” the documents said.

“The plant will be operated by trained Bahamians and specialist contractors as required. The plant is expected to employ five or six operators, laboratory staff, environmental and

health and safety supervisors, truck drivers, tanker crew, administration and management staff totaling up to 19 full-time and parttime employees (excluding temporary construction workers) and will create indirect jobs both during and post the construction phase.”

Turning to the project’s purpose, Clean Marine Group’s consultants said: “The Clean Marine Group facility will be a support service for handling and treating oily water and used oil. Clean

SEE PAGE 4

Companies urged: ‘Follow law’ on COVID-19 testing

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Chamber of Commerce’s labour specialist yesterday urged all Bahamian employers to “follow the law” and not force unvaccinated workers to pay for their weekly COVID tests until the matter was resolved.

Peter Goudie told Tribune Business that companies should wait for the outcome of a Supreme Court case that will set legal precedent on the issue as well as for the Government to state its own position on the issue.

Speaking as Keith Bell, minister of labour and

PETER GOUDIE Immigration, said Atlantis had agreed to hold-off temporarily on requiring its unvaccinated staff to pay $16.50 per week for a

SEE PAGE 4

RBC: $20 ATM halt part of digital drive

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters A SENIOR Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) executive yesterday confirmed it has stopped issuing $20 notes through its automated teller machines (ATMs) as part of efforts to drive Bahamians towards digital banking.

LaSonya Missick, RBC (Bahamas) managing director and head of personal banking, told Tribune Business that the Canadianowned bank sees the move as part of a “cash reduction” strategy amid the belief that clients are increasingly turning to electronic and

digital channels to conduct regular financial services transactions.

“RBC’s decision to discontinue the issuance of $20 bills from our ATMs is a part of our digital transformation strategy,” Ms Missick confirmed. “Cash reduction is a key component in shaping how we operate in an increasingly digitised and rapidly-changing world.

“Before making this business decision, we examined the usage of our ATMs and discovered a very low percentage of clients withdrawing $20 bills.

Clients can access any

SEE PAGE 10

Freeport like the Minnis administration”, but to actually take action, he argued that the new administration had been “served a banquet of economic opportunities on a silver platter” that it can easily exploit to revive the city and wider Grand Bahama economy.

Should it get it right, Mr Smith even went to the lengths of suggesting Freeport “can become PLP country and not FNM country” - a reference to the fact that the Opposition party still retained a majority three of Grand Bahama’s five House of Assembly seats at the recent general election notwithstanding the devastation inflicted on many voters by COVID and Hurricane Dorian.

Mr Smith spoke out as Chester Cooper, deputy

SEE PAGE 5

PAGE 2, Friday, October 1, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

DPM BELIEVES LUCAYAN COSTS ‘CLOSE’ TO $200M

THE deputy prime minister yesterday said he believed the Government’s Grand Lucayan purchase had cost Bahamian taxpayers “close” to $200m although he provided no firm figures.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, spoke following a meeting with the Lucayan Renewal Holdings Board that gave himself and other Cabinet ministers an update on the status of negotiations to sell the resort.

Declining to go into specifics, other than to say more details will be forthcoming once the Grand Lucayan situation has been discussed by the Cabinet, Mr Cooper said talks with the Board had done nothing to alter his pre-election view that the deal with the Royal Caribbean/ITM joint venture was a bad one.

Describing Grand Bahama International Airport’s status as “heartbreaking”, Mr Cooper said: “After many months, not a lot has changed, so again it’s a constant reminder of the state of play here in Grand Bahama.

“As it relates to this property [Grand Lucayan], we won’t go into extensive details as to the briefings.

Suffice to say we are keen to see movement with respect to the negotiations one way or the other. We have looked at the details extensively. I can tell you that it’s costing the Bahamian people, and I can tell you some time during the last several years we would’ve made public certain comments as it relates to the deal itself.”

Mr Cooper was accompanied in his meeting with the Lucayan Renewal Holdings Board by the attorney general, Ryan Pinder, and Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama.

“Effectively we recognise the need for significant improvement in room capacity here in Grand Bahama. We acknowledge the need for the improvement of the overall tourism product.

We’ll be visiting the Ministry of Tourism shortly thereafter and we will be taking a look at the airport,” Mr Cooper added.

“We are very minded to say that this property [Grand Lucayan] is very critical not just for the development of tourism, but also in support of other industries here in Grand Bahama that we hope we

CHESTER Cooper (centre), deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, visited Grand Bahama yesterday in his first official visit. Shown from left are: Reginald Saunders, p[ermanent secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation; Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama; Mr Cooper; John Pinder, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation; and Stephen Johnson, Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation. will be able to nurture moving forward.”

The Government acquired the Grand Lucayan in September 2018 from Hutchison Whampoa’s real estate arm, Cheung Kong Property Holdings, for $65m in a bid to prevent its closure by the latter.

The plan was to ‘flip’ the

resort as rapidly as possible to another private sector investor so as to minimise the exposure and losses to the Bahamian taxpayer.

The Royal Caribbean/ ITM joint venture was selected as the front-runner, and the sales agreement with the Government was signed in early March

2020 just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The Minnis administration frequently blamed COVID’s timing, and its devastating impact on the cruise industry, for delaying the deal’s closing and leading to its terms being renegotiated.

The deal, though, has yet to close, with the last administration blaming Royal Caribbean/ITM’s inability to close their separate deal for Freeport harbour with the Hutchison Whampoa-controlled Freeport Harbour Company for further holding up the Grand Lucayan’s sale. In the meantime, the resort has required monthly subsidies in excess of $1m to keep the doors open, while also making substantial redundancy payments.

Thus far, the cost to Bahamian taxpayers is certainly in excess of $100m.

Mr Cooper and Mr Pinder were also accompanied

by John Pinder, parliamentary decretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation; Reginald Saunders, permanent secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation; Joy Jibrilu, director-general, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation; and Algernon Cargill, director of aviation.

The group toured the Grand Lucayan’s Lighthouse Point property, had a tour of the Ministry of Tourism’s office and then a tour of the Grand Bahama International Airport.

Digital firm takes on Bahama Eats’ payroll ISLAND Pay has teamed with Bahama Eats for a partnership that will see the on-demand delivery service use the former to perform its national payroll function.

The digital payments provider, in a statement, said the move is an expansion of the duo’s July 2021 tie-up where Bahama Eats began using its newly-launched reloadable MasterCard.

Gershwin Greene, founder and managing director of Bahama Eats,

said the adoption of the card programme enables Bahama Eats to fulfill orders from all merchants that accept MasterCard.

“Since distributing 65 re-loadable MasterCards to our drivers, we have seen a 45 percent increase in sales,” he said. “We are excited to build upon our success with Island Pay by launching this solution in the Family Islands and the wider Caribbean region.

“Today, we are proud to announce that Island

Pay will be handling our national payroll. In an era where cost savings, efficiency and conservation of time are more critical, it was the obvious choice for us to go with.

“Further, using our employees’ digital wallets to pay their salaries into provides us with the ability to give them immediate access to their monies, and it relieves us from having staff take time from their duties to go to the bank.

Ultimately, it’s more time

for us to focus on our customers’ needs, so we win all around.”

Mr Greene added that since Island Pay wallets have Sand Dollar accounts embedded in them, Bahama Eats employees will be able to conduct transactions with local merchants. The company is also getting ready to expand into the Caribbean.

Shannon Hanna, Island Pay’s deputy general manager, said the increasing digital transformation is encouraging Bahamians to increasingly embrace digital wallets as a part of their daily lives.

“Our solutions are secure, convenient and save our consumers lots of money in traditional bank fees,” she said. “Doing payroll with Sand Dollar is a

GERSHWIN GREENE win for merchants and consumers, and we are certain that the Central Bank team would be thrilled with this kind of initiative which will encourage more companies to adapt.

“Paying digital saves business owners time,

money and eliminates the need to cut cheques and handle tons of cash for the unbanked employee. Our merchants get a detailed report for each payroll cycle which makes accounts reconciliation more efficient.”

Island Pay said employees can manage their expenses using their cell phone, while having the ability to transfer funds person-to-person, top-up mobile phones and transfer funds to their bank accounts.

As all Island Pay wallets come with a Sand Dollar wallet, enabling persons to conduct transactions in both the Central Bankbacked digital currency and traditional fiat money.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 1, 2021, PAGE 3

Goldwynn targets $160m sales amid ‘non-stop’ buyer inquiries

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Wynn Group yesterday said the “phones are ringing non-stop” with buyer inquiries on its Goodman’s Bay project as it targets $160m in total sales at full build-out Randy Hart, the Wynn Group’s vice-president, told Tribune Business: “The tours are non-stop and the sales are coming in at a velocity that is unprecedented in my experience.

“The phones are ringing non-stop. Some of this, I guess, is the real estate market in general, but I also

believe some of it is Goldwynn centric, in the sense that the building is now reaching a stage of development that people can now really appreciate the splendor of the design.

“We’re now putting all of the flesh on the bones, including the pools, and so when we do tours it’s a lot easier for people to visualise the end product.” Goldwynn has recently “soared” past $100m in sales, and approaching $110m, having registered $80m in April 2021.

Mr Hart added: “Our full build-out will be maybe $160m [in sales]. So we’re at 70 percent and we’re pretty much now sold out

with anything on the beach, and anything with a view to the sea on the side of the building and in the front of the building. Both the condo hotel and residential units are selling pretty much equally, so all of our sales are evenly weighted throughout the building.”

With sales growing at 6.25 percent monthly, completion of Goodman’s Bay-based project is still set for summer 2022 with the COVID-19 restrictions doing little to hamper progress.

“We are going to be offering some added incentives and marketing focus for some of the remaining inventory with the golf

Barbers hail return of their ‘15% day’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net BARBERS and beauticians yesterday hailed the easing of COVID-19 restrictions that will enable them to open on Sundays as that day traditionally accounted for 15 percent of their weekly revenues.

Anton Minnis, vicepresident of the Bahamian Cosmetologists and Barbers Association (BCBA), told Tribune Business: “During this time we are normally on hiatus, so we really needed this Sunday reopening.

When you look at it we have

a lot of people that worship on Saturdays, so Sunday was their only day of the weekend. So thank God for that.

“Sunday business is anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent of revenue generation for the week, but some of us try to spread out the system to accommodate the protocols to ensure that you don’t have customers crowding in the stores at different times. So barbers and beauty salons needed this extra time on Sunday so they can not have the days in the week so tight.”

At the start of the pandemic, the Association partnered with the Ministry of Health to offer

COVID-19 certified training to its members and others in the industry. Without this, they would have not been allowed to reopen their locations following the initial COVID-19 lockdown.

Mr Minnis added: “I don’t think it was necessary to take the Sunday business from us. If the people followed the protocols then it would have been OK, but I don’t think it was necessary to block us on Sundays.

When you look at it, the average food store is usually crowded on a Sunday morning. How do you police that?

“But then you stop a barber shop or beauty salon

course view, which also has a very desirable view of the Baha Mar golf course and of New Providence, so that will be our emphasis,” added Mr Hart.

The main reason for the delay in the official opening is due to the “global bottlenecks” in shipping and the delivery of furniture items. Not only are furniture, fixtures and electronics (FFE) difficult to source due to supply chain bottlenecks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, but shipping routes are also “challenging”.

Mr Hart said: “We expect the building to be substantially completed in May or June, but we’ll

probably have another couple of months where we’re trying to complete the installation of the FFE. So that’s where we are in terms of our timelines.

“We do have some concerns that we raised with respect to some of the neighbouring properties, and specifically the La Playa property, which we were hoping the Government would either sell or repair because it’s an eyesore on the beach.

“We know that Mr Wynn has looked to purchase it but that did not come to fruition, so we’re hoping to get some movement there one way or the other with the new government to see

what their plans are with respect to the La Playa property.”

The project is progressing “on budget” and has hired veteran hotelier, Stuart Bowe, as the hotel’s general manager. “We’re looking at having 100 hires over the course of the next year.

We’re putting together our human resource requirements for the hotels, so we will be having job fairs and things of that nature and accepting resumes for various positions,” said Mr Hart.

“These positions will be in the hospitality, maintenance, food and beverage and across the board of the hotel.”

from operating on a Sunday because you feel they’re going to have too many people in them, when food stores can spread COVID19 more? It just didn’t make sense to me.”

Many industry professionals and observers felt the restrictions were implemented with no attention to scientific or economic realities, which was partly why the newly-elected Davis administration decided to lift some of these measures.

Mr Minnis added: “Over the past two years I have seen a few barber shops close up and moved to mobile service. I also know of a few colleagues who went back to home-based locations. How this works for them, we’re not sure, because with the regular opening hours working from home doesn’t always pan out that way.

“Because when you’re home people just show up and how do you tell

someone ‘no’ when they show up to your house?

They will just go to the next store up the street who will still serve them, so you don’t want to lose your client base due to the fact that you’re just trying to close

up and spend time with your family.”

Mr Minnis said he was unsure how mobile providers were faring because the “commute is a significant cost that needs to be factored in”.

PM TALKS POLICY WITH CROWDFUND PLATFORM EXECUTIVES from ArawakX, the Bahamian crowdfunding platform, met the Prime Minister during a courtesy call at his office on Wednesday.

The Government, in a statement, said ArawakX’s executive team of D’Arcy Rahming Sr, chief executive; D’Arcy Rahming Jr, chief technology officer; Robertson Dieudonne, chief of Caribbean development; and Fernerin Hanna, director of special projects, delivered a presentation outlining policy changes that can stimulate the Bahamian economy.

Mr Rahming Sr said the ideas presented were such that “Bahamians could come back home to work, reversing the brain drain because we can offer comparable jobs”.

Mr Davis, in return, said the Government will be pressing hard to ensure domestic economic linkages

ARAWAKX’s executive team of D’Arcy Rahming Sr (second from left), chief executive; D’Arcy Rahming Jr (centre), chief technology officer; Robertson Dieudonne (far right), chief of Caribbean development; and Fernerin Hanna (far left), director of special projects, delivered a presentation outlining policy changes that can stimulate the Bahamian economy.

Photo:BIS and that companies have access to capital. He said: “We believe the more people we empower, the more the economy will grow.”

Also present were Senator Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs; Myles Laroda, minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister;

Leon Lundy, parliamentary secretary for the Office of the Prime Minister; and other senior officials from the Office of the Prime Minister.

PAGE 4, Friday, October 1, 2021

COMPANIES URGED: ‘FOLLOW LAW’ ON COVID-19 TESTING FROM PAGE ONE COVID rapid antigen test with effect from today, Mr Goudie said: “The Chamber’s position is that we follow the law.

“If the law says we cannot charge them, then you cannot charge them. I know some of them have been charging their employees, but there is going to be a court case over it. We’re just waiting on the court case.”

Mr Goudie could provide no details on the legal action, including the parties that were involved, although he reaffirmed he had been told one was in process. “I do know there’s a court case dealing with this particular issue. That’s my understanding,” he added. “We would hope it gets to court quickly, so there won’t be any issues, but you and I know how slowly the system works.

“I don’t think employers should be charging it.

There’s a section in the Health and Safety at Work Act that says you cannot be charging. If there’s something in there that says you cannot charge, you should not be charging.”

Those opposed to employers mandating that unvaccinated employees pay for their weekly COVID tests have grounded their opposition in the Health and Safety at

Work Act, which forbids employers from imposing any financial “levy” on staff to ensure they comply with this law’s stipulations. The Act’s section nine effectively bars companies from requiring non-vaccinated staff to pay for COVID19 tests out of their own salaries.

The section states that “no employer shall levy or permit to be levied on any employee of his any charge in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act”. While employers can still require non-vaccinated worker to take regular tests, the law seemingly requires the company - and not the employee - to cover the costs associated with this.

However, employers are arguing that they have little choice but to take this approach given their legal obligation under the same Act to ensure their workplaces are healthy and safe for employees, customers and guests alike. This is especially so given The Bahamas’ relatively low vaccination rates, with companies believing workers are more likely to become inoculated if they have to pay for their weekly tests.

Mr Bell yesterday said he and the Department of Labour are now awaiting legal advice from the Attorney General’s Office on the matter, but Darrin Woods,

we maintain that the employees should not be made to pay the cost of the test. I’m calling it another tax by the employer on to the employee.”

Mr Woods said the uncertainty was adding to hotel workers’ mental strain amid COVID-19, while Atlantis’ timing was occurring right in the middle of tourism’s traditional slow season when staff were working reduced days and taking home less income. He added that some Atlantis staff were yesterday experiencing difficulties using the website that facilitated the testing.

The controversy flared anew after Audrey Oswell, Atlantis’ president and

managing director, told staff in a September 29 letter that all unvaccinated workers will be “financially responsible” for paying for their weekly $16.50 rapid antigen test with effect from today - a start that has now been placed on hold.

Asserting that the Paradise Island mega resort was following other Bahamian companies “in putting the community’s health and the economy first”, Ms Oswell said Atlantis will cease encouraging COVID-19 testing as an alternative to vaccination.

Pointing out that “a COVID-free Bahamas” is the only way for the economy and tourism industry “to thrive again”,

she wrote: “Some of you have decided not to get vaccinated and instead participate in weekly testing to ensure you are healthy on the job. As we have shared since July, Atlantis will not pay the cost of testing indefinitely. We also will not continue to encourage testing as an alternative to vaccination.

“Effective October 1, 2021, Atlantis joins many other Bahamian companies in requiring team members who are not vaccinated to be financially responsible for their weekly rapid antigen test. We have secured a highly discounted rate of $16.50 a week for unvaccinated team members to receive this test.”

Describing “a shared responsibility” for keeping staff members, Atlantis and the wider Bahamas free from COVID-19, Ms Oswell concluded: “This issue is more significant than any one individual or Atlantis – it impacts our family, friends, neighbours and the industry.

“Atlantis is proud to join with a growing number of Bahamas-based and international companies in taking the same approach in putting the community’s health and the economy first.”

FROM PAGE ONE

“Currently, the collection, storage and disposal of used oil are a challenge in the Bahamas and Grand Bahama. The Clean Marine Group facility can aid in addressing this issue but much effort in the way of public education and oversight by local environmental regulators, including the drafting of environmental by-laws, will be required within the GBPA (Grand Bahama Port Authority) jurisdiction.

“The maximum treatment capacity of the plant will be 20,000 litres per hour (5,283 gallons per hour) and the facility will be capable of operating 24 hours per day, seven days per week, equating to a maximum 150,000 metric tonnes (39.626m gallons) of waste processing capacity per annum,” the consultants added.

“There will be two treatment trains with equal capacity. Most elements of the processing plant will be constructed off-site by the selected vendor and shipped to the site in modules that will be located and fixed in place. The tank storage facility, civil works and interconnecting pipework will be constructed locally under the guidance of Clean Marine Group using local contractors where possible.”

Clean Marine Group, according to Tribune Business’ files, had hoped to release all details of its project in early 2019.

However, its just-released environmental documents said: “The facility is being engineered, procured, constructed and operated under the terms of a current Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Clean Marine Group and the Cleansing Service Group (CSG) of the UK. “Clean Marine Group was established in 2012 to assist the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in complying with its international obligations to operate a port reception facility under the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) MARPOL Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978, relating thereto and as further amended by the Protocol of 1997 (MARPOL).

“This will be Clean Marine Group’s first such facility, but one of many built and operated globally. The principal aim of the facility will be to collect and process liquid waste, typically generated by the normal operation of ships.

The wastes will be comprised initially of mainly waste oils and oily water mixtures, off-specification fuels, bilge water and, in the case of oil tankers, crude oil tank washings.

“The facility will later look to expand taking other types of liquid waste under the terms of the International Maritime Organisation’s MARPOL Convention, and from the islands (Bahamas) generally, as and when circumstances will allow.”

The IDB, in an earlier project report, said Clean Marine Group’s technology will break down oil and water emulsions, plus process contaminated water from ocean liners and cruise ships. “With a capacity to process in excess of 50m gallons of waste from cruise ships and other commercial vessels every year, the facility will now be expanded to receive up to 200m gallons per annum,” the IDB said.

Clean Marine Group was selected for IDB financing as one of five winners of the its Blue-Tech Challenge, which was launched in September 2018 and closed on November 30 that year. It aimed to identify businesses that apply new technologies or solutions to facilitate the long-term sustainability of the ocean economy across the Caribbean.

“Despite The Bahamas and most neighbouring countries of the wider-Caribbean gaining access to MARPOL, the extremely high cost and complexity of building and operating a port reception facility to process liquid marine waste streams means that there are no adequate facilities throughout the wider- Caribbean, and so ships find it difficult to comply with the MARPOL regulations,” the IDB paper said.

“While there are no concrete data on the volumes of marine wastes discharged into the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, one global study indicates that during the last decade illegal dumping and routine operations of vessels account for between 666,000 and 2.5m tons of hydrocarbons per year being improperly discharged from vessels into the ocean.

“The risk of discharge into the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea of pollutants, such as oil, noxious substances, sewage and garbage resulting from the normal operations of ships, poses a serious risk to the marine ecosystem and human health.

Therefore, this has a significant impact on local populations that often rely on marine resources for their livelihoods.”

The IDB added that due to “limited knowledge” among Caribbean governments over enforcing MARPOL, “the risk of discharge into the region’s seas of oil, noxious liquid substances, sewage and garbage resulting from the normal operation of ships poses a serious risk to the ocean eco-system and human health”.

DARRIN WOODS the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) president, told this newspaper he wanted the issue resolved “sooner rather than later” for his members’ benefit.

“Holding off is fine,” he added of Atlantis’ response, “but I want resolution of it. I want to know whether what they’re doing or other employers are doing is breaking the law. The minister said he was getting advice from the Attorney General’s Office and then act accordingly, but this is the second time we’ve reached the same point.

“First it was September, now it’s October. We want resolution either way. We just need to know because

SHIPS’ WASTE PROCESSOR IN $15M FREEPORT FACILITY

THE TRIBUNE

Marine Group will provide aid to other local companies in the safe and responsible handling and treatment of liquid waste streams.

KEITH BELL

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 1, 2021, PAGE 5

DAVIS GOV’T TOLD: ‘TAKE LEAP OVER FREEPORT’S HOLY GRAIL’ FROM PAGE ONE prime minister and minister with responsibility for tourism, investments and aviation, was accompanied

by Ryan Pinder, attorney general, and Ginger Moxey, minister of Grand Bahama, for a meeting with the Grand Lucayan’s Board of Directors.

Well-placed sources yesterday described the encounter as a fact-finding mission on behalf of the Cabinet ministers, who sought information from the Lucayan Renewal Holdings’ Board on the property’s operating condition and the status of efforts to sell it to the Royal Caribbean/ITM joint venture.

This newspaper understands the Cabinet delegation sought information on issues such as the continued cost of keeping the Grand Lucayan open and subsidising it, versus what the impact would be if the Lighthouse Point was closed again.

Although Michael Scott QC, the Board’s chairman, was off-island and not present, Tribune Business understands that many directors believe the Grand Lucayan should be split away from the Royal Caribbean/ITM deal and sold separately.

They believe that the joint venture should proceed with negotiating Freeport Harbour’s redevelopment with the Freeport Harbour Company and Hutchison Whampoa, including the creation of new berths and an adventure-based water theme park, but that the Grand Lucayan should be

broken out and sold to a different purchaser.

This is because Royal Caribbean/ITM have so watered down the terms and conditions of the Grand Lucayan deal, both the timelines and extent of the redevelopment they have committed to, that the Board believes there are insufficient benefits for Bahamians both in terms of jobs created and economic activity (see article on Page 2B).

Meanwhile, Mr Smith said he was “encouraged” by the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) “new day” election campaign slogan and was “looking forward to its dawn on the Freeport horizon”.

“Notwithstanding Dorian and notwithstanding COVID-19, in my view Freeport remains the holy grail for the recovery and renewal of the Bahamian economy,” he told Tribune Business. “We are like a dry forest that only needs to be lit, and the fire allowed to spread like wildfire to see a booming Freeport economy.”

The reasons for Freeport’s decline over the past 17 years, and failure to fulfill its free trade zone promise, are many. They include previous in-fighting at the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and continuing questions over its leadership, together with tense relations with central government in Nassau and what Mr Smith and others have perceived as unjustified meddling with the Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s workings.

“Again, I say less central government control and interference,” Mr Smith argued, “while also holding the GBPA and DevCo (Hutchison) group of companies accountable for their development, regulatory and investment responsibilities.

“Taking into account, and consulting with, the vast knowledge and experience of residents, and the capacity of the licensees of Freeport, is the key to the resurrection of the Bahamian economy. If only the Davis administration will take the leap that the Minnis administration did not, and open the floodgates to Freeport’s recovery.”

Reviving Freeport’s economy by attracting new industries and investments remains a route that post-COVID recovery will have to travel, especially given the island’s pre-existing infrastructure base and ability to accommodate thousands more people than currently live there. The Hawksbill Creek Agreement also has another 33 years to run.

“Freeport and Grand Bahama are able to take thousands, and thousands and thousands of residents from overcrowded Nassau,” Mr Smith said. “The infrastructure is available and ready to go to accommodate 250,000-300,000. We’re limping at about 60,00070,000 maximum.

“We have the capacity and infrastructure for the economies of scale to be catapulted on, and it is so sad to see it not happening.

Freeport has the ability to

flourish and be the ‘Magic City’ as always envisioned by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

“Despite all the promises from previous administrations nothing has really changed to spark Freeport’s wildfire. Hopefully, the Davis administration will be more modern, energised and visionary in its approach to Freeport,” the outspoken QC continued.

“This administration has been served a banquet of economic opportunities on a silver platter, which it simply has to take advantage of. Overnight, if it makes things happen in Freeport, it can be PLP country and not FNM country. I urge the Davis administration to embrace the citizens of Freeport and take advantage of these opportunities for the benefit of Bahamians.

“Freeport is a critical component in the future of The Bahamas, and the nation’s economic rebirth. I hope that the Davis administration is not just talk, talk about resurrecting Freeport like the Minnis administration was. Let’s get something done, Prime Minister Davis, not just talk about it.”

The Minnis administration seemed to understand the importance of reviving Freeport, but never managed to execute upon any plans or implement them. To achieve the city’s revival, Mr Smith identified multiple issues that must be addressed, as well as bringing projects such as Carnival’s cruise port and others in his “banquet” to fruition.

These included building hurricane/climate change resiliency; improved relations between the Government, GBPA, Hutchison and local government; the involvement of all GBPA licensees, residents and homeowners in determining the way forward; and the resolution of multiple regulatory issues such as “who, in fact, is in charge and to what extent in Freeport”.

The latter issue, Mr Smith added, included the challenges by GB Power and Cable Bahamas to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) authority to regulate their Freeportbased operations. Other priority areas include

addressing Freeport’s “collapsing infrastructure”; better protections for workers through enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work Act; dealing with the “red tape Freeport is mired in and which is challenging its economic survival”.

Mr Smith said this related to the “tensions” all investors in Freeport encounter when dealing with GBPA and the Government, and was something that needs “urgent attention”. Besides the Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016, he added that other laws such as the Environmental Planning and Protection Act also need to be reconciled with Freeport and its bye-laws.

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PAGE 6, Friday, October 1, 2021

CHRISTMAS ‘MAKE OR BREAK’ FOR LOCAL RETAIL

FROM PAGE ONE

supply chain squeeze: “It’s definitely something that every single retailer across the globe is concerned with and, obviously, The Bahamas is no exception to that.

“I think everybody has gone ahead and placed their orders for the holiday season as they see fit, but we won’t know what product we’re getting and the share we’re getting before it gets here. Throughout this year we’ve all been seeing massive shipping delays, so if they something is guaranteed to be shipped by October 1, we’re seeing things pushed back by a month/month-and-a-half.”

Voicing hope that Bahamian retailers “have taken every precaution” to avoid shipping delays, Ms Morley added that COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions in markets where products are sourced from were

further impacting the sector’s ability to source goods in a timely manner.

“We’ve all been dealing with this for a year now, so we’re happy to stay open and roll with the punches as much as we can.

There’s only so much we can control,” she told this newspaper. “There’s still surcharges with regard to shipping costs. Containers have gone up significantly even if you are shipping less than a container load.”

Suppliers and shippers, Ms Morley added, were sometimes adding 5 percent or 10 percent surcharges to merchants’ shipping bills.

Predicting that this will continue until “the global supply chain calms down”, she said the extent of the surcharge varied between product categories, with local retailers importing goods ranging from clothing and footwear to furniture and home decor.

“Nobody is spared,” the Federation co-chair said.

“Every time you go to ship something in, you get a different quote. If there are goods where you are able to secure them at a lower price point, what we’ve done with some of our stores is that we’ll buy them in bulk to secure a lower price point before they apply the shipping charges.

“We’ve been going through this for a year. It’s not new to anyone at this point. People have found ways of getting creative, shifting to goods they’ve never dealt in before and finding new suppliers to manage it as best they can.

“I wouldn’t under-estimate the resourcefulness of Bahamian retailers in trying to do what they can in ensuring Bahamians have as many options as possible for the Christmas to the extent possible.”

Still, with Christmas sales accounting for as much as 40-50 percent of many merchants’ top-lines and profits, and many back-toschool specialists having suffered “a weaker season” than anticipated due to COVID infections keeping students out of classrooms, Ms Morley said this festive

season is “really make or break for a lot of retailers” struggling to bounce back from the pandemic.

To ensure they “make” it rather than “break”, she added: “It’s going to be critical for everyone to shop locally... People are still managing coming out of this COVID-19 crisis. It was incredible to see so many people shopping at home last Christmas season. The economy is still in crisis, so the extent to which we can support our local economy and jobs here, the better.

“During the festive season is when retailers hire additional staff, and the more people shop at home means more jobs on the ground as opposed to jobs in Florida. Why export jobs to Florida when we can keep them at home?

“Where it was a weaker back-to-school season for most, given that a lot of students have not yet returned to the campus, this Christmas season is going to be that much more critical for them. Anything that everyone can do to support local and shop local, and not just retail but all local businesses, COVID isn’t going away any time soon.

I think the whole shop local

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movement is going to be vital for some time.”

Andrew Wilson, the Quality Business Centre (QBC) and Fashion on Broadway principal, told Tribune Business he was “trying to hold the line” on passing price increases on to Bahamian consumers this holiday season as a result of the near-tripling in container shipping costs.

Shipping costs having escalated due to a global container shortage, while COVID-induced supply chain disruption has left many factories and producers unable to meet strong demand given that they have first been forced to fulfill order backlogs.

“There are some shortages of specific inventory, but I think we should be OK for the holiday season,” Mr Wilson told Tribune Business. “We don’t have everything that we would like, but I feel comfortable we’ll be well-stocked for the holidays. A lot of the shortages really have to do with shipping delays, and prices continue to escalate.

“It’s a question of if the consumers are going to be willing to pay an increased price, or if they are able to pay an increased price, in this environment. The impact varies from category to category. A lot of the price increase is shipping-related.

THE TRIBUNE

“The last price I received for containers coming out of China was in the area of $20,000, as opposed to $6,500-$7,000 pre-pandemic. And it’s taking much longer to get loaded. Previously we could count on five to six weeks for a container to arrive from China; now it’s more like eight to ten weeks,” Mr Wilson continued.

“We’re just trying to hold the line on price increases.

We’ve been holding the line, and absorbing as much of the shipping cost increases as we can, and taking a smaller margin. At the end of the day, consumers are so weak for the most part that I’m hoping in the New Year after everyone is vaccinated we’ll begin to see a return to some degree of normalcy.

“I’m hoping by the first quarter of 2022 we’ll see some roll back. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll have to reassess where we’re at.”

Mr Wilson said TV screens were one area where pricing continues to climb, with increases of about 5 percent to 10 percent.

“It’s not easy being in any business at the moment, but it’s a little better than not being in business. I’d rather be in business than not. I’m counting my blessings,” he added.

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Friday, October 1, 2021, PAGE 7

PAGE 10, Friday, October 1, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

RBC: $20 ATM HALT PART OF DIGITAL DRIVE FROM PAGE ONE denomination from inside the branch despite only issuing $50 and $100 bills at the ATM. “Additionally, we encourage clients to use their debits cards for smaller purchases at point of sales (POS) devices. We recognise more clients are seeing the advantages to completing their day-today banking transactions digitally, as we continue to see this digital adoption grow, especially during the pandemic.”

Some observers, though, will argue that RBC is also benefiting financially from

digital banking drive as it will earn increased fee income from increased usage of debit and credit cards by its clients.

And the move, which was initiated over a month ago, is also drawing displeasure from RBC clients as social media reaction starts to catch up and gather pace. One commentator said: “RBC sucks”, while another added: “I guess they want all of their customers to use debit cards instead.”

RBC ATMs have posted on them “$50 or $100 notes only”, as the bank dropped the change on clients suddenly and

without any forewarning of its intentions. The notices have been in place for at least a full month now, but the social media outcry only peaked this week.

Another Facebook user said: “That’s horrible, RBC needs to get it together.”

However, other commercial banks have also moved to increase their income.

Commonwealth Bank told customers from late August that it is charging a fee for each ATM withdrawal on New Providence of $5.60, with $5 going to the bank and $0.60 in VAT to the Government. The fee for Family Islanders is higher.

S&P 500 FELL 4.8% IN SEPTEMBER, WORST MONTH SINCE MARCH 2020

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AND ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers STOCKS on Wall Street fell broadly Thursday, closing out September with their worst monthly loss since the beginning of the pandemic.

The S&P 500 ended the month 4.8% lower, its first monthly drop since January and the biggest since March 2020, when the viral outbreak rattled markets as it wreaked havoc with the global economy.

After climbing steadily for much of the year, the stock market became unsettled in recent weeks with the spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19, a sudden spike in long-term bond yields and word that the Federal Reserve may start to unwind its support for the economy.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% Thursday, after selling accelerated in the final hour of trading. The benchmark index is still up 14.7% for the year.

“It’s not really surprising that we’re seeing a weaker September because historically its the worst month on average,” said Jay Pestrichelli, CEO, of investment firm ZEGA Financial.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of information to glean for October from it.”

The S&P 500 fell 51.92 points to 4,307.54, and is now 5.1% below its all-time high set on Sept. 2. The September swoon cut into the index’s gains for the third quarter, leaving it only 0.2% higher.