business@tribunemedia.net
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
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K PETER TURNQUEST
Turnquest laments closure of Deep Water Cay By YOURI KEMP THE closure of the country’s oldest bonefishing lodge will have “significant” economic impact on communities in East Grand Bahama, according to the minister of finance. K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister and also member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama, lamented the lodge’s closure due to Hurricane Dorian damage yesterday, saying it will affect the area’s economic recovery. On Sunday, Deep Water Cay, whose owners have invested some $44m in upgrades over the past decade, said in a statement that operations would end immediately. The reknowned bonefishing lodge said that Hurricane Dorian clean-up would cost $1m alone and that it had no alternative but to cease operations. Asked about the closure, Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business: “The loss of Deep Water Cay resort in East Grand Bahama is significant for the communities of Sweeting’s Cay and McLean’s Town, where almost 60 persons were previously employed. The economic effect of these lost jobs will factor in the pace of the economic recovery of the area and the pace of reconstruction.” Deep Water Cay also said its workers were made redundant last week and that it would take at least six months to get the property properly cleaned up. “The government for its part will ensure that the social safety net takes into consideration the expanded needs of these persons as well as provide the incentives to encourage alternative employment or income generating activities,” Mr Turnquest added. Tribune Business reported on Monday that since Dorian struck, Deep Water Cay has been providing emergency aid and supplies, raising charitable funds, assessing the damage
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Francis: Govt must follow through on S&P optimism By YOURI KEMP
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FORMER Central Bank governor has welcomed the “optimistic” outlook from Standard & Poor’s prediction for the country’s post-Dorian rebound, but added the timing and quality of the government’s response will determine long-term impact. Julian Francis told Tribune Business while S&P’s post-storm analysis is a “fair assessment”, the government has to follow through on the good news by executing a proper plan for economic recovery, particularly on Abaco. “I think this is a fair assessment by S&P,” he told Tribune Business. “It is very difficult to determine a lot of things at this early stage. There is a lot of factfinding going on: the extent of the cost of the infrastructure that the government will have to put in place in Abaco in the short-term particularly. “As soon as the clean-up is substantially done, the government has to make clear what the plan is and if there would be any change the layout of the island of Abaco.” He added: “Planning has
JULIAN FRANCIS to take place. Then there is going to begin the putting in place the infrastructure. It’s too early to know what that is going to cost. But the general tenor of the S&P position is fair.” S&P, in a preliminary assessment, asserted that this nation is “wellpositioned to handle the fall-out” from the category five storm. The preliminary assessment, which suggested no further downgrade to The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating is imminent, added that the hurricane’s long-term impact “could be limited” despite it devastating islands that account for between 15-20 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP). In response to that, Mr Francis said: “What I believe they are basing their position on largely is the fact that the government had been making significant improvement in the fiscal management of the country up to the last point in August. It is quite optimistic in that and the results of the government show this. “We were already fairly optimistic for 2019. We were looking at GDP growth of two percent at least from other agencies, with S&P looking for at least 1.8 percent GDP growth for 2019. “I think S&P is giving the government the benefit of the doubt here and have seen that the government has established that they are willing to make the hard decisions in order to do what it takes. So one can assume that they can focus on getting the job done post-Dorian.” However he said the execution of this “depends on the timing and the quality of the response by the government.” He added: “Particularly, how quickly the government can moblilise resources and how right they are in their mobilisation and response – they are the two main
underpinning points. “But it is too early to speak with any main certainty with anything right now. We can only be optimistic. But just for the sake of clarity we are talking mainly about the island of Abaco. East Grand Bahama is not as important to the overall economic engine of The Bahamas as is Abaco; and I’m talking mainly about East Grand Bahama alone and not Freeport. Even though in Freeport works need to be done clearly. I have not visited Freeport post Dorian, but from the reports I have gotten, it is probably not as severe or urgent as the problem we have in Abaco. “The Abaco economy is not to be understated. It is a very important tourism economy and provides for a lot of other domestic industry. Abaco always holds its own. We would certainly lose some of that steam from Abaco, and with regard to whether or not the overall GDP growth rate would be mildly positive or mildly negative, depends on how good Abaco was and is moving forward.” Mr Francis said while Dorian “would have wiped
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Ex-DNA Leader: Look at the silver lining By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net FORMER Democratic National Alliance leader Branville McCartney believes the Bahamas has a tremendous opportunity to build better than ever in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, which decimated parts of Abaco and Grand Bahama last month. Mr McCartney’s comment to Tribune Business yesterday followed Standard & Poor’s latest assessment of the country post-Dorian. The rating agency said early signs suggest the country is well positioned to handle the fallout from the storm. The hurricane’s long-term effect on credit quality could be limited, the agency said, particularly if the government responds in a timely manner to various challenges. Reacting yesterday, Mr McCartney said: “I think with regard to S&P’s
BRANVILLE MCCARTNEY positive report that it is good that we are in a good position to handle the fallout from Hurricane Dorian. I think we ought to use this as something where we are able to rebuild and to restructure our country better, particularly in those two islands. “This ought to be used for us to look at the economic model of those two islands, and rebuild them to accommodate for the future. Although it’s going to be difficult in the meantime, we have to look at the silver lining for us to rebuild into a first world status. The
government should recognise we can’t do this on our own. We need to look internationally in order to get the best advice and look towards the future to carve those islands out in a way that would ensure that they would be economically beneficial and viable on the whole. The government has a tremendous task at hand with regard to having the insight and vision and pure will to make the changes needed. But I have no doubt that we can rebound and rebuild stronger.” Among the reasons S&P believes the long-term
Baha Mar donates $500,000 towards temporary housing after Dorian PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis accepted a $500,000 donation from the Baha Mar resort yesterday to assist with temporary housing for residents affected by Hurricane Dorian. Baha Mar President Graeme Davis said the funds represent the first installment of a $2m commitment made by the Cable Beach resort to help Abaco and Grand Bahama rebuild from the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian. The resort has also launched a “Pack With Love” campaign that encourages Baha Mar visitors to bring love and an item or two that can be shared directly with residents affected by Hurricane Dorian. Guests are also given the opportunity to deliver their donations personally to shelters in New Providence that are housing
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PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, centre, accepts a donation from Baha Mar executives. From left: Sandy Sands, senior vice president, Baha Mar; Graeme Davis, president, Baha Mar; Prime Minister Minnis; Iram Lewis, minister of state, Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction; and Cpt Stephen Russell, director, NEMA. Photo: Yontalay Bowe Grand Bahama and Abaco evacuees. Mr Davis also noted that the resort is working hard to create awareness that Nassau and Paradise Island and the vast majority of other islands are open for business and
ready to accept visitors. Dr Minnis thanked Baha Mar for its continued support and efforts to assist in the aftermath of the monster storm. “Thank you for this generous donation and for living up
to your commitment to help the people of The Bahamas,” said Dr Minnis. “Because of your contribution and commitment to this effort we will be able to provide relief and help to those affected by Hurricane Dorian.”
effects of Dorian on the country’s credit quality could be limited is that Abaco and Grand Bahama attract only 20 percent of tourists. “Other destinations within the country, including Nassau, the capital and economic centre, were unaffected,” the agency said. “Furthermore, before the hurricane, the country had been on track to achieve good GDP growth in 2019, slightly exceeding our forecast. The government also recently reported a relatively strong fiscal performance in 2019 (year ended June 30). Based on the information currently available, the timing and location of the hurricane’s impact, and the country’s relatively strong economic and fiscal performance year to date, it is possible that Dorian may not lead to a meaningful deterioration in
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$4.54 Abaco’s Sandpiper Inn to reopen in another week By YOURI KEMP THE Sandpiper Inn in Schooner Bay, South Abaco will hopefully reopen in a week or two but needs the island’s power and water supply to stabilise, the hotel’s owner said. Dr Larry Carroll, the inn’s managing director and owner, said luckily the property suffered “no damage” from monster storm Dorian but faces issues getting necessary supplies to reopen his business. “We were pretty much unscathed due to us being in the southern part of the island in Schooner Bay,” he told Tribune Business. “We will reopen as soon as power is fully restored and water is made totally reliable. Our supply lines are cut however, and there is difficulty in getting food and other items in to run a hotel. But within a week or two we plan to reopen.” He added: “The good thing is that the mailboats are starting to return to Marsh Harbour, even though there is nothing in Marsh Harbour for them to come to. The roads are being slowly cleared for us to meet the mailboat when it arrives. We need fresh meat and fresh eggs and other stuff. Where Bahamas Food Services would have a truck available for us on the island, what we now have to do is go to the mailboat in Marsh Harbour for ourselves. “Abaco Gas has reopened but not back to normal and we need the propane to be used to heat water and power our generators as well as to cook with.” He said Bahamas Power and Light recently restored power to his area last week, “but in some instances there was over voltage and it was causing damage to equipment. We are anxiously waiting for the power to stabilise.” Still, his main issue is reestablishing the inn’s supply chain. “Once Maxwell’s is open, it could help us out in the short-term because we understand that the Maxwell’s building is the only building that survived the storm. But boats are coming into Marsh Harbour now, so we are hopeful. “Water supply is an issue, we just want them to get the pumping station up and running properly and for
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