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Judge upholds ousting of GB resort’s manager BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE SUPREME Court has rejected a hotel management company’s bid to regain immediate control of a top Grand Bahama resort amid its furious ongoing legal battle with the property’s owner. Justice Constance Delancy, in an October 22, 2026, verdict denying the injunction sought by Island Ventures Resort & Club (IVRC), the entity established by Old Bahama Bay condominium owners to manage the property following the Ginn project’s 2011 failure, recognised “the volatility” of the battle for control and its impact on the “surrounding community”. Old Bahama Bay is a major employer and economic activity centre for Grand Bahama’s West End, but the judge ruled she was “not persuaded” that ousting the corporate owner of the resort’s properties, LRA-OBB Ltd, in favour of IVRC reclaiming management control was the best action to take. Justice Delancy’s verdict thus preserves the status quo established on August 4, 2026, when a security team and other agents acting for LRA-OBB, which stands for Lubert Adler-Old Bahama Bay, finally succeeded in repossessing the resort and seizing control from IVRC after three earlier attempts in the previous
Court notes ‘volatility’ of Old Bahama Bay control battle
FREEPORT “feels like the black sheep of the Bahamian economy”, a prominent businesswoman is asserting, as she urged businesses to seize the opportunity offered by the Government’s reform drive to end this “sense of exclusion”. Glennett Fowler, founder and group president of Freeport-based Heroic Group, which includes Heroic Concrete & Concrete Products, in a letter sent to Tribune Business (see article on Page 2B)
16 months were thwarted. Lubert Adler was Ginn’s financing partner. However, IVRC is likely to draw comfort from several of the conclusions and factual findings made by Justice Delancy in her injunction ruling. These include that it has “a contractual relationship” with “some” Old Bahama Bay condominium owners to manage rental bookings for their units, while it also retains “the right to rent the dock slips” it owns in the resort’s marina. The judge also affirmed the rights of Old Bahama Bay’s 73 condo owners to “continue to access amenities” at Old Bahama Bay “subject to
said the city and its private sector often feel they are on “the outside” looking as jobs and growth “seem to reach every other rock and cay”. Writing after the Davis administration unveiled its reform parameters and public consultation on island-wide changes to Grand Bahama’s governance, she said Freeport’s business community is suffering from “fatigue” and “exhaustion” caused by the daily struggle to keep their businesses afloat amid uncertainty and lack of direction about what the future holds.
CONSULT - See Page B10
Investor: Gov’t took four years; GBPA two weeks BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FREEPORT tourism investor says the Government has done “nothing” to justify or deserve taking over the city’s governance as he described its reform package as akin to “a hostile takeover” of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. David Wallace, principal of the Pirate’s Cove Zipline & Water Park, contrasted how it took four years before its investors received a straight answer from the Government rejecting its
Legal fight, $10m tax dispute outcome, key to West End
OLD BAHAMA BAY RESORT
Eliminate Freeport’s ‘black sheep’ of economy status BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Refuses to grant injunction reinstating IVRC as operator
bid to develop a similar attraction at Arawak Cay in Nassau with the two weeks the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) needed to approve 19 of its 20 requests. And, besides making the case for Freeport’s present more efficient, private sector-driven investment approvals process, he argued that the Government’s track record in managing and administering Nassau, plus Grand Bahama’s East and West End and other islands, leaves much to be desired
TAKEOVER - See Page B11
certain conditions”, which will help to shield them from any negative fallout caused by the ongoing courtroom fight. And she has yet to rule on the substantive cases, featuring multiple claims and counter-claims, advanced by both LRA-OBB and IVRC. The legal battle between LRAOBB and IVRC, which has now lasted for eight years, is part of a wider fight taking place on multiple fronts to determine West End’s future development. Separate and apart from the control issues now before Justice Delancy, the outcome
VERDICT - See Page B9
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Attorney: Freeport now a ‘principality that doesn’t work’ BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A GRAND Bahama attorney is backing the Government’s Freeport reform drive because The Bahamas cannot afford “a principality that doesn’t work”, describing the city as “failing” despite being “the largest foreign development in the country”. Thomas Dean, a Freeport-based lawyer with Dupuch & Turnquest, told Tribune Business the strategy and consultation process unveiled by Prime Minister Philip Davis KC would “not be a topic of discussion for anyone right now” if The Bahamas’ second city, which has the infrastructure to support up to 250,000 persons, was “working” and achieving its full potential. Arguing that “the status quo has not worked for 20 years”, he argued that change is long overdue and that it is “high time to judge” those responsible for Freeport’s development - the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and its owners, the Hayward and St
THOMAS DEAN George families, plus senior management, who are unelected and thus not easily held accountable for any failings. Mr Dean also sought to reassure the GBPA’s 3,500plus existing licensees that any reforms, which could include repealing and replacing certain provisions, to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement will almost certainly not involve stripping them of the existing rights, benefits and concessions they enjoy under Freeport’s founding treaty. Arguing that such a move would be “highly illegal”, and almost certain to face
GROW - See Page B8
PAGE 2, Monday, October 26, 2026
GB cannot stand still: Let’s shape our future By GLENNETT FOWLER THERE is a particular kind of courage required to invest in Freeport. You commit your savings, accept personal risk, employ people, and build a business without knowing when the opportunities you are preparing for will arrive. I am not old enough to speak from lived experience of Grand Bahama’s celebrated glory days. I have grown up hearing what this island once was while navigating the challenges of what it is today. I want my generation, and those coming behind us, to experience prosperity for ourselves. Across our business community, there is fatigue. What sometimes looks like lethargy is often the exhaustion of people who have worked, invested and waited, yet still struggle to see a clear path forward. Keeping the doors open does not always mean a business is doing well.
GLENNETT FOWLER Sometimes it means the owner has made another personal sacrifice. Breaking even can feel out of reach when wages, utilities, insurance, equipment and debt must be paid regardless of what comes through the door. Many continue because employees depend on them, customers trust them and they remain loyal to Grand Bahama. But loyalty alone cannot sustain an economy.
Revive BISX market by creating champion stock BY JEHAN UNWALA THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) is broken. Properly functioning stock markets require buyers and sellers. Without them, stocks simply do not trade. Too many of our BISX stocks go days, weeks or even months without a trade. Thriving stock markets are crucial for funding new industries – there is no advanced economy in the world without one – so fixing BISX is key to raising our national savings rate and reducing our over-reliance on tourism.
Lively stock markets require both small investors, who may buy a few hundred shares for personal savings, and big investors (banks, insurers, mutual funds) who may buy hundreds of thousands of shares. Our small investors buy a stock once, then never buy or sell again, come rain or shine. Our big investors ignore Bahamian stocks altogether, knowing that even if they somehow bought in, low trading means they could never sell. Changing this requires an exciting stock that captures the country’s imagination. A stock that
There are also misconceptions about Freeport across the wider Bahamas. How our circumstances are understood from elsewhere can differ considerably from the experience of those who live, work and operate businesses here. We need to close that gap through honest dialogue and practical evidence. Another prolonged back-and-forth will only consume time that struggling businesses cannot afford. From my experience, the central challenge is economics. I have found the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) efficient in delivering services. Yet efficient services alone cannot generate the customers, spending and commercial activity businesses need to survive. An approval matters, but a business also needs a market. A business represents investment, but it needs productive work. A contract offers opportunity, but the company delivering
THE LETTER TO
EDITOR
marches its way to a big, dream-making price: $100. Small investors, excited by the gains, would pile in. Big investors, attracted by higher trading volumes, would follow. A virtuous cycle of higher trading attracting more investors spurring higher trading would begin. Higher trading would spill over into other stocks, too, until the entire market rises on the swelling tide.
THE TRIBUNE
it must be able to finance the job. Recent investments offer reasons for hope. Yet, from where I stand, their benefits remain concentrated among a relatively small group and are insufficiently felt by the average Bahamian. Announced investment must translate into wider economic activity - purchases from local suppliers, contracts for capable enterprises, sustainable employment and money circulating through our communities. Too many Grand Bahamians still feel on the outside of opportunity, even as progress seems to reach every other rock and cay. Freeport continues to feel like the black sheep of the Bahamian economy. That sense of exclusion must change. The current consultation offers an opportunity to bring these realities into the discussion about our future. The Government will ultimately determine its policy
direction and bring forward any proposed legislation. Our responsibility is to contribute a clear, united and practical account of what this island needs. We should use the consultation period to identify what works, explain what needs attention and propose measures that increase economic participation while protecting confidence. The process should produce a clear path for resolving outstanding issues and minimise further hardship during any transition. Focus rather than fear needs to be the order of the day. Let us stop complaining in silos. Manufacturers, retailers, contractors, service providers, professionals and small business owners should rally together around shared priorities. We may have different views about the framework, but we share an interest in a prosperous, productive island. We must also continue creating opportunities for ourselves. We must improve standards and prepare our people to compete. We cannot place every business decision on hold until every uncertainty disappears. Standing still brings its own consequence. Such as lost customers, departing talent,
a deteriorating landscape and deeper financial strain. Our participation must therefore be twofold: To help shape the future and keep building in the present. Grand Bahamians have demonstrated a willingness to take risks, invest and persevere. We now need conditions that allow that commitment to produce sustainable returns and broader prosperity. Many of us choose not to engage or speak up for fear of being ostracised. However, what will this island look like when our children graduate from high school or return from college? What awaits investors? What awaits employees when businesses fail? The question this process must ultimately answer is whether it will change the economic reality of the people who live and do business here. Will more local enterprises become viable? Will ordinary families feel the activity? Will opportunity become something we participate in rather than watch from the sidelines? Grand Bahama cannot afford to lose more time. Let us engage, unite and keep building an island whose prosperity reaches the people who call it home.
This market-leading stock needs to be backed by a successful business Bahamians know and a top-notch management team. The best candidate? AML Foods, the company behind the Solomon’s, Cost Right, Fresh Market and Domino’s Pizza brands. Every Bahamian knows these brands. And, as a shareholder for nearly two decades, I can attest to their management, skilled Board of Directors and exciting long-term growth. Even so, AML, (currently trading at $11.50 per share, is nowhere close to becoming BISX’s first $100 stock. To get there, the Board must take seven key steps, two of which I will mention now: First, AML Foods should become the first BISX
company where every Board member owns company stock. Owning stock is the best way for board members to fully appreciate the headache low trading causes Bahamian shareholders. Five AML Board members own zero stock. This must change. Second, in another precedent-setting move, AML Foods should pay annual Board fees in company stock, not cash. Public companies in advanced economies routinely pay their boards in stock. AML Foods pays their Board nearly a quarter of a million dollars a year in cash. They cannot skimp on leadership – if they have the best directors, they must keep them. But pay in stock, further incentivising Board
members to mind the stock price. If the AML Board believes in their stock as much as I do, they should happily make these changes. If they balk, shareholders must ask why. Why should Board members be afraid to be minority shareholders just like us? AML Foods has more power to change BISX than any other company. Doing so requires a Board as forward thinking about their stock as they are about sales and profits. In future letters, I will discuss the next five steps AML Foods can take to produce a $100 stock price and a brighter future for shareholders, BISX and The Bahamas.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, October 26, 2026, PAGE 3
‘Barely managing’ jitney drivers demanding action BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net JITNEY drivers are “barely managing” as high diesel prices push daily fuel bills up to $160, adding to the cost of maintaining vehicles while passenger fares remain unchanged. Rudolph Taylor, president of the Bahamas Unified Bus Drivers Union (BUDU), said diesel prices at $7.95 per gallon are adding to the financial pressure on operators, who are still waiting for the Government to deliver on a promised increase in the
adult bus fare from $1.50 to $2. Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Taylor said operators are also contending with higher costs for oil, tires and mechanical repairs, while the fare they charge passengers had remained unchanged. He argued that the industry had been left to absorb rising expenses despite repeated calls for relief from its fixed prices and margins. “I'm barely managing because the price of fuel is very high right now, and so anywhere from $120, $160 a day,” Mr Taylor said, describing his daily fuel expenditure. “The price of fuel, oil, tires, the
cost of maintenance of the mechanic, all the dollars went up, and the bus fare just stays the same.” Mr Taylor said the union was no longer interested in further meetings with the Government over a proposed fare increase, insisting that officials should honour commitments made to operators rather than subject them to another round of discussions. “I'm not interested in going back to the table. Just do what was stated that you were going to do,” he said. “Just enforce what needs to be enforced, and that's it. It doesn't have to be a back and forth. I don't see the need for back and forth.”
GB stopover rise vital as air arrivals up 3% BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE GOVERNMENT’S ‘Green Paper’ on reforming governance in Freeport and Grand Bahama says increasing stopover visitors and their spending is critical to the island’s tourism prospects after air arrivals rose by 3 percent for the first five months of 2026. The document, released as part of the Government’s consultation on its proposed reform package, disclosed that Grand Bahama’s stopover visitors - land-based vacationers who typically spend 28 times’ more than their cruise counterparts and stay in the destination much longer - were last year 83 percent below the annual peak set three decades ago in 1995. Likely boosted by the July 2025 opening of Carnival’s $600m Celebration Key destination, the ‘Green Paper’ said of Grand Bahama’s tourism performance: “Foreign entry counts rose from 570,513 in 2024 to 1,090,677 in 2025, an increase of 91.2 percent. “Stopover visitors fell by 16.9 percent in 2025 - from 121,636 to 101,077. Entry counts are allocated by first port of entry and stopovers by place of stay, so the two measures cannot be added together. “Preliminary Ministry of Tourism figures show that foreign air arrivals to Grand Bahama, which exclude cruise passengers, rose by 3 percent in January to May 2026 - from 31,439 to 32,377. The policy question is how to turn more visits into overnight stays that spend money with
Bahamian businesses across the island.” Comparing present performance to historical trends, the ‘Green Paper’ added: “Stopover visitors, the visitors who stay overnight, peaked at 587,250 in 1995. By 2019 the figure had fallen to 107,732, and in 2025 it was 101,077, about 83 percent below the peak. The [island’s] population fell between 2010 and 2022, and output in 2024 remained below its 2021 level. “Visitor numbers have fallen sharply after major storms and during the pandemic. Stopovers fell by 23 percent in 2005, after Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004; by 36 percent in 2017, after Hurricane Matthew in 2016; by 20 percent in 2019, the year of Hurricane Dorian; and by 80 percent in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. “The Royal Oasis resort closed after Hurricane Frances in 2004, and the Grand Lucayan resort, damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, was bought by the Government in 2018.” The lack of product, shortage of hotel room inventory, and the consequent lack of airlift have all inhibited Grand Bahama’s tourism industry. Grand Bahama’s economic output and contribution to overall Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP), while some $214m higher than the prior year at $1.808bn in 2024, was still almost $150m below the 2021 figure of $1.955bn generated amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The revised island GDP series places Grand Bahama’s output at $1.808bn in 2024, equivalent to 11.4 percent of national GDP in that statistical release.
Nominal output increased by 13.4 percent from 2023 but was 7.5 percent below the 2021 level. The corresponding series records $1.955bn in 2021, $1.585bn in 2022 and $1.594bn in 2023. “The BNSI (Bahamas National Statistical Institute) published this revised series in August 2025. The figures are at current prices, so part of each change reflects prices rather than activity. The policy question is how to widen the island’s economic base, so that growth is sustained and a single event cannot set back the whole island.” The ‘Green Paper’ conceded that the data is for Grand Bahama as a whole, and does not break out Freeport’s contribution, which leaves a lack of empirical evidence supporting the Government’s contention that the city’s investment and governance regime has created an economic “imbalance” with the rest of the island. “The revised 2022 census reports 22,127 dwelling units in Grand Bahama, of which 17,821 were occupied and 4,306 vacant. The vacancy share was approximately 19.5 percent,” the consultation document added. “The census counts as vacant a dwelling that was suitable for occupation but empty on census day; the measure does not cover dereliction or the rental market. “The policy question is how to bring empty homes back into use and where new housing should be built, so that people can live near work and services. Owner occupation accounted for 64.1 percent of the 17,815 occupied private dwellings,
Mr Taylor said operators had been promised a $2 fare in the first quarter of 2023 but did not receive the increase. Instead, he said, they received a 25 cent increase in 2024, leaving the fare at $1.50. He argued that the Government's failure to implement incremental increases towards the promised $2 fare had contributed to the current impasse. “We were promised in 2023. We didn't receive. We got 25 cents a year later, which is in 2024,” he said. Mr Taylor said the union had previously submitted paperwork and held discussions with government officials, but operators were
still waiting for the commitments to be fulfilled. He said the outstanding issues extended beyond fares to improvements that had been discussed with the previous administration, including driver uniforms, an app intended to support the bus system and better facilities for operators and passengers. Among the promised improvements, Mr Taylor said, were better bus stop facilities and restrooms, while he also questioned what became of a previously announced budget allocation for bus stops and shelters. “I don't know where the $250,000 went on what, but they said it was for bus stops and and the list went on,” he said. Mr Taylor said the union had also received little indication that the Government intends to provide targeted fuel relief or a subsidy to help operators manage
higher costs. “What subsidy do you see for the busses? Do you see any subsidies, or you hear anything?” he asked. Mr Taylor said bus operators covered substantial distances daily while providing an essential service to commuters, with some travelling as much as 200 miles per day. “They put down 200 miles a day in a small island that is 21 miles by seven. So think about the fuel,” he said. Mr Taylor also questioned why operators continue to be left waiting for a fare increase while other expenses and costs of living continued to rise. He said the union was not seeking further assurances but wanted the Government to act on what had already been promised. “Let your word be your bond when you say what you said,” he said.
including ownership outright and ownership with a mortgage. “Bringing a home back into use can require decisions from several bodies, on title, planning, utility connections and roads.” As for jobs, the ‘Green Paper’ said: “The published Grand Bahama unemployment rate was 12.8 percent in
January 2025 [in the] first quarter; 9.4 percent in the second quarter and 8.7 percent in both the third and fourth quarter. “The policy questions are how to sustain the fall and whether unemployment differs between parts of the island, which the published survey does not show. The January 2025 first quarter
survey estimated a labour force of 27,310 people, comprising 23,810 employed and 3,500 unemployed. “In that survey women’s unemployment was 14.1 percent compared with 11.6 percent for men. In the third and fourth quarters of 2024 the rate for women had been slightly below that for men.”
PAGE 4, Monday, October 26, 2026
THE TRIBUNE
GB Shipyard apprentices back after intense training TWELVE Bahamians who spent 18 weeks in Liverpool, England, advancing their technical skills as part of Grand Bahama Shipyard’s continued investment in developing its workforce have returned home. The welcome by their families marked the end of an intensive overseas training experience and the beginning of the next stage in the Shipyard apprentices’ four-year journey. The 2026 class features three apprentices in each of four trades: Welding, steel fabrication, mechanical and pipe-fitting. More than half received multiple distinctions across various training modules, while Asia Armbrister was named Apprentice of the Year by The Engineering College in Liverpool. “It was an unreal experience,” said Tyreq McPhee. “I felt like I experienced a lot over there. A different environment, different people, different culture. It was cool.” The Liverpool partnership, established in 2023, builds on Grand Bahama Shipyard’s apprenticeship programme, which began in 2001. The fouryear programme combines
foundational technical education at Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI), advanced training at The Engineering College in Liverpool, and supervised practical experience at Grand Bahama Shipyard. The Shipyard funds the educational and travel elements of the programme, and pays apprentices throughout the four-year training initiative. Participants are expected to complete their training in December 2030, graduating after their final assessment by The Engineering College. Garnet Welsh, one of the apprentices, said: “I applied because it's a great opportunity for young people to explore different trades and, being from the islands, there are not too many skilled tradesmen, so you've got to be one of one.” He described the opportunity to bring his new knowledge back to The Bahamas as rewarding, particularly because it allows him to demonstrate what is possible to younger generations. “I feel good being able to show the young community that it's possible
for everybody. The training at BTVI was good and got us ready for our training in Liverpool, so to anyone that wants to try, just give it a shot,” Mr Walsh said. The Liverpool training is an important stage in a programme designed to develop competence progressively over four years. Kevin Cairns, of The Engineering College, described the 18-week component as intensive, with apprentices moving from a review of foundational skills into qualification training. The preparation provided by BTVI helped the group make that transition, he said, with students arriving equipped with the necessary basics, including safe use of hand tools. Grand Bahama Shipyard said women continue to make their mark within the Shipyard’s skilled trades. Asia Armbrister and Raeque Russell are the first two women from the Shipyard’s apprenticeship programme to participate in the Liverpool training component, building on female participation in the wider programme in previous years. Ms Russell, who is training in steel fabrication,
Parents and family members gathered at Grand Bahama International Airport to welcome home 12 young Bahamians who had spent 18 weeks in Liverpool, England, advancing their technical skills as part of Grand Bahama Shipyard’s apprentice programme.
Twelve young Bahamians who spent 18 weeks in Liverpool, England, as part of Grand Bahama Shipyard’s apprentice programme returned to Freeport. More than half received multiple distinctions across various training modules at The Engineering College in Liverpool. said the experience has strengthened her sense of accomplishment and her determination to encourage other young women to consider careers traditionally dominated by men. “It feels amazing, and it shows that women can work in a man's field, too,” she said. Ms Russell said her sister encouraged her to apply, giving her the confidence to take the first step. Now, she hopes her experience will help others find the courage to do the same. “Being one of two females shows women that they can do it, too. Just have the courage to step up and try it,” Ms Russell said. For Ms Armbrister, being named Apprentice of the Year was a significant milestone. She said she was proud to be among the first two women to take part in the Liverpool training, and hopes her achievement will encourage other young women to pursue their ambitions. “I want to show the young women out there that they can do it. If I can do it, anybody can do it,” she said. Training in mechanical work, Ms Armbrister particularly valued the opportunity to develop her practical understanding
Pictured with her family and The Engineering College team is returning apprentice, Asia Armbrister, who was named Apprentice of the Year. She is now working at the Grand Bahama Shipyard for her practical training, which should put her and her colleagues on track to graduate in December 2030. Photos:Alfred Anderson/Barefoot Marketing of her trade. Her recognition as Apprentice of the Year was an additional source of pride. Following their return, the apprentices began training at Grand Bahama Shipyard on September 28. They will continue to build their skills under the supervision of experienced tradespeople, applying what they have learned while progressing towards greater independence as their training advances. More than 100 current Grand Bahama Shipyard
team members began their careers through the apprenticeship programme, demonstrating its long-standing role in building Bahamian expertise and developing talent from within the company. The apprentices will now continue development through the successful completion of their fourth-year trade testl and their future roles as qualified tradespeople within the Shipyard’s workforce.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, October 26, 2026, PAGE 5
GB governance reforms must show better results BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A WELL-KNOWN Grand Bahama resident is warning that the Government should not commit to a wholesale replacement of Freeport's governance framework until it can show the proposed changes will deliver better economic results. C Allen Johnson, senior spokesman for the Preserving Paradise advocacy group, argued that the Government’s ‘Green Paper’ outlining the Davis administration's proposed Grand Bahama governance reforms does not yet establish a sufficiently robust economic case for
comprehensive institutional replacement. “The Green Paper is stronger as a statement of governance objectives and a structured consultation framework than as a completed economic justification for comprehensive institutional replacement,” said Mr Johnson. He said the document's economic statistics cover Grand Bahama as a whole and do not establish how performance differs between areas inside and outside the Port Area, limiting how confidently the Government can attribute economic imbalances to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. “The most consequential evidence gap is explicit in the Green Paper: Its
economic statistics are island-wide and do not establish how performance differs inside versus outside the Port Area,” he said. Mr Johnson said the Government could legitimately set policy objectives without proving that its preferred approach was the only possible solution. However, he argued that claims a particular reform is economically necessary should be open to scrutiny of the evidence, causal reasoning, likely consequences and available alternatives. “Policy authority gives the Government the power to propose reform. It does not convert a policy proposition into an established economic fact,” he said. The Davis administration has proposed changes to
the governance of Freeport, including amendments to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and a new Grand Bahama Development Act. The Government has said the existing arrangements cannot remain unchanged and has opened the way for consultation on the future framework. Mr Johnson argued that the Government should examine alternatives before committing to a comprehensive replacement, including modernising the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, separating regulatory responsibilities from commercial development, establishing elected municipal government and introducing a hybrid governance model.
Gov’t pledges to protect investors in GB transition BY FAY SIMMONS TRIBUNE Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE DAVIS administration has pledged to protect existing contractual rights and investor interests as it moves to overhaul Freeport's governance framework, promising that changes will be made lawfully and not applied retroactively. Latrae Rahming, director of communications in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Government had given five assurances in Philip Davis KC's address outlining plans to reform Freeport's governance, including that licence holders' lawful rights would be identified, recorded and respected.
“First, change will be lawful. It will come through Parliament and other legal steps that the law requires, and only after consultation,” Mr Rahming said. “Second, nothing will be done retrospectively. BVested rights, contracts, and the protection of investors' investments will be properly addressed. Third, licence holders' lawful rights will be identified, recorded and respected. Licence holders will have a full say in how any change is made.” Mr Rahming said the Government was also promising certainty for investors through clear and published laws, transparent decisions and lawful procedures open to everyone. “As the Prime Minister put it, certainty is the strongest
LATRAE RAHMING incentive any country can offer,” he added. The Government has proposed amendments to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which governs Freeport, and the introduction of a new Grand Bahama Development Act as part of a wider effort to change how the island is governed and developed. The Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) has insisted that its rights and those of its licensees under the agreement must
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be respected, saying any proposal to relinquish or vary those rights must be approached through agreement and demonstrate clear benefits for the local stakeholders whose interests they protect. In its response to Mr Davis's address, the GBPA also said it had not been given advance notice of substantial information
He also identified options such as changing the ownership and governance of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), increasing licensee participation in decision-making and establishing a public development corporation with private sector involvement. “Grand Bahama should avoid committing to a wholesale governance replacement until an independently-tested case demonstrates that the replacement will outperform both the existing framework and less disruptive reforms,” he said. Mr Johnson called for the Government's planned ‘white paper’, expected by July 1, 2027, to include an independently scrutinised comparison of its preferred proposal against negotiated reform of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and a democratically accountable alternative. He said the assessment should make the costs, benefits, legal requirements and transition risks of each option explicit.
Mr Johnson said the decision should ultimately be based on which institutional arrangement could produce the strongest long-term economic and public benefits for Grand Bahama, rather than a contest between the Port Authority and central government. “The governing principle should nevertheless survive: Legal certainty, public legitimacy, economic competitiveness and democratic accountability must be designed together,” he said. Mr Johnson added that the consultation process should also examine how Grand Bahama could generate, retain and distribute more economic value, including through an islandwide development strategy and targeted development areas with concessions where justified. The Government's consultation on the proposed reforms is scheduled to run from November 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027.
contained in the proposals and would need time to review them before providing a fully-informed response. Mr Rahming said the Government was committed to an orderly transition, with services continuing throughout and the necessary responsibilities, staff, funding and systems in place before any functions were moved. “The Port Authority staff, many of them Grand Bahamians, will be needed,” he said. The Government has said consultation on the proposed reforms will run from November 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. A white paper is expected by July 1, 2027, with draft legislation
targeted for completion by December 31, 2027, and passage via Parliament targeted for the 2028 first quarter. Mr Rahming said the Government was open to discussion about the pace and final shape of the reforms, although it had ruled out maintaining the existing governance arrangements unchanged. “Change is settled. How that change will look and the pace of it are open,” he added. He urged GBPA licensees, investors, workers, residents and the Port Authority to participate in the consultation process, saying every timely submission would be considered.
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WORDS
JUDGE PARKER
CARPE DIEM
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In the following passage, the numbers 12345 represent different letters:
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I THE TRIBUNE -W 1 K C
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PAGE 6, Monday, October 26, 2026
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Solution in Monday’s puzzle pull-out
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➔ SUMTHING
MARVIN BLONDIE
Fit the missing numbers into the grid so that all the sums are correct – reading left to right or on single lines top to bottom. There are 11 squares to fill, with one digit in each, and the 11 digits you must use are listed below. But where do they all go? Solution in Monday’s puzzle pull-out
× ÷ ×
We’ve given you one digit to get you started. Here are the missing digits to fit in:
0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 8
+
5
=
= ×
Y HAGAR THE HORRIBLE
TIGER
SAMURAI SUDOKU 7 6 8 1 4 2 9 3 5
4 2 9 6 5 3 1 7 8
1 3 5 7 8 9 4 6 2
8 5 6 3 1 4 7 2 9
3 4 7 9 2 6 5 8 1
9 1 2 5 7 8 3 4 6
8 2 5 4 7 3 1 9 6
7 6 4 1 5 9 3 8 2
1 3 9 2 8 6 4 7 5
3 4 8 9 2 7 6 5 1
2 5 1 8 6 4 9 3 7
9 7 6 3 1 5 2 4 8
2 7 4 8 9 1 6 5 3 7 8 9 4 1 2 7 9 8 5 6 3
5 9 3 2 6 7 8 1 4 5 2 3 6 9 7 5 3 2 8 1 4
6 8 1 4 3 5 2 9 7 4 1 6 5 8 3 6 4 1 7 2 9
1 4 8 3 7 2 9 6 5
7 3 5 9 6 8 1 2 4
9 2 6 1 5 4 3 7 8
3 2 7 5 8 9 4 6 1 8 3 7 2 5 9 8 6 1 7 3 4
9 5 8 1 6 4 3 7 2 6 9 5 8 4 1 3 9 7 2 6 5
4 1 6 3 7 2 5 8 9 2 4 1 7 3 6 4 5 2 8 1 9
WORDSEARCH
5 8 3 4 2 7 1 9 6
2 6 9 8 3 1 7 4 5
1 7 4 9 5 6 8 2 3
8 9 5 6 4 3 2 1 7
6 3 2 7 1 8 9 5 4
7 4 1 2 9 5 6 3 8
3 6 4 5 1 8 9 7 2
9 1 7 2 4 3 5 8 6
5 2 8 9 7 6 3 4 1
6 7 2 1 8 5 4 9 3
1 9 5 7 3 4 6 2 8
4 8 3 6 2 9 1 5 7
SMALL CROSSWORD Across: 1 Farmhouse, 7 Buries, 9 Rewards, 10 Taps, 12 Lee, 13 Retired, 14 Nay, 15 Sofa, 17 Stagger, 19 Saving, 20 Processes. Down: 1 Fortunes, 2 Area, 3 Row, 4 Hurricane, 5 Orders, 6 Sewed, 8 Stewards, 11 Static, 13 Radar, 16 Fete, 18 Gas.
CALVIN & HOBBES
TARGET NEIGHBOUR begun bough bougie bourn bourne brogue bung burgeon burgh burin burn enough euro grub hour houri huge hung hunger inure NEIGHBOUR rehung rogue roue rouge rough roughen rube rueing ruin ruing rune rung unrig urge urine
DENNIS THE MENACE
G Q E O D W F W U N N D H R I A R I A H L O N T E V H A V R S M T H Z M Q T Y E U O O N A K D U E E N N G S I R B L R B E N R V E U B O O L C I N U M L Q O I B H S S U B E E V R W E L K W P Y N Y T N L L J L U R T W I U L E O J U N O T S A S Z Y O F R M I N S S O B S D U Q W C R Q L Y F O U R O A K
THE ALPHABEA
Black squares: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 20, 25, 27, 34, 37, 40. Across: Social, Group, Nim Rickshaw, Trapezium, Mor Offend, Groves, Quaff, Haz Down: Agony, Demigod, B Via, Syrup, Vista, Cynic, Ze Flux, Humble, Beeswax, Ed
CROSS DOUBT Across: ADMIT Down: FUDGE
SUMMIT UP 60 and 100
CRYPTOQUOTE AXYDLBAAXR is L O N G F E L L O W One letter stands for another. In this example, A is used for the three L’s, X for the 2 O’s, etc. Single letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of words are all hints. Each day the code letters are different. Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday
Saturday’s Sudoku Answer
MICRO CROSSWORD
CHALLENGER
Saturday’s Answers
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, October 26, 2026, PAGE 7
BAHAMAS PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROJECT AWARDS REPORT - AUGUST 1-31, 2026
PAGE 8, Monday, October 26, 2026
THE TRIBUNE
City ‘country’s largest foreign development’ and is ‘failing’ GROW - from page B1 legal challenge, he told this newspaper that it would “be absolutely counter to what needs to happen here” given the desire to inspire
greater business and investor confidence in Freeport and the wider island so as to spark increases job-creating projects. “I don’t think that they can do otherwise,” Mr
Dean told Tribune Business of preserving licensees’ existing rights under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. Asked whether the Government will ensure these are maintained,
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he replied: “I have ultimate confidence they will, because it would be highly illegal if they were stripped. “The Government will never take a retroactive view on the legal rights of any business to dilute them, adulterate them or penalise them. That would be absolutely counter to what needs to happen here. I don’t see that being a possibility.” The Davis administration leapt to the defence of its reform package for Freeport, and wider Grand Bahama, on Friday after Herschel Walker, the US ambassador to The Bahamas, accused it of sending the message to investors that “the rules can change after you have already the investment” with its proposal. Responding to the Government’s plans to seize control of Freeport’s governance, management and administration back from the GBPA, even though the Hawksbill Creek Agreement still has 28 years left on the original deal signed in 1955, Mr Walker said he read the announcement with “real concern” and urged that “existing commitments” to licensees and investors be honoured by any reforms. This immediately flushed out Senator Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, who in a video message issued on Friday pledged that the protection of investors and their investments, as well as their “vested rights” and existing contracts and benefits, will be “addressed” in any changes that occur. “The Prime Minister gave assurances in his speech,” he said. “First, change will be be lawful. It will come through Parliament and other legal steps that the law requires, and only after consultation. Second, nothing will be done retrospectively. Vested rights,
contracts, the protection of investors, investments, will be properly addressed. “Third, licence holders’ lawful rights will be identified, recorded and respected. Licence holders will have a full say in how any change was made. Fourth, investors will have certainty the law will be clear and published, with transparent decisions and lawful procedures open to anyone. As the Prime Minister put it, certainty is the strongest incentive any country can offer.” Mr Rahming also promised that the transition to whatever new governance regime for Grand Bahama emerges “will be orderly”. He added: “Services will continue throughout, and the responsibilities, staffing, funding and systems will be in place before any function moves… “Many of the voices in this debate say they want a modern framework that makes it easier to do business in Grand Bahama. So does the Government.” Neither Mr Rahming nor the Government’s ‘Green Paper’ on the proposed Grand Bahama reforms gave an absolute guarantee that all existing GBPA and investor rights, benefits and incentives will survive the transition to a new regime. “Savings and transitional provisions will give residents and businesses an explicit account of the continued validity of existing permissions and the handling of cases already under consideration,” the ‘Gren Paper’ said. “They will address fees already paid or accrued, service obligations crossing the commencement date and the custody and use of records. “The Government will identify the legal interests affected by each reform measure, including property, leases, contractual obligations, licences, concessions, employment responsibilities, security arrangements and pending claims. The review will distinguish interests that can continue under savings provisions, interests requiring variation and issues requiring another form of lawful treatment.” One other Grand Bahama attorney, speaking to Tribune Business on condition of anonymity, also hailed the Prime Minister’s move for change and said most GBPA licensees are likely to be neutral so long as their existing rights, benefits and investment terms are protected and sustain. “I think it’s a good move,” they said. “I called clients in Freeport today, and they said: ‘Once we get the benefits we don’t care who’s in charge’.” The attorney added that existing investment laws, such as the Hotels Encouragement Act, provide benefits comparable to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and current Freeport businesses can be switched to these regimes if needed. “The free trade zone concept has been like a marketing point rather than a substantive point,” they said of Freeport’s business model. “They [the Government] can give it under the Hotels Encouragement Act, the Industries Encouragement Act. You have the same benefits; everything that’s there under the Port Authority, and you’re not restricted to driving your bonded car in Freeport. “The ones who are against this are the ones who are making money. Everyone wants to leave Freeport. The place is dying and something needs to change. If the Port Authority doesn’t do something, the Government needs to step in and try something.” This was echoed by Mr Dean, who told Tribune Business: “I think that it is clear what needs to happen. I would go so far as to say the status quo for the city has not worked for 20 years. We need change. It’s high time to judge persons who work for us, are employed by us. “We need to be able to judge their performance and terminate their performance if they are found wanting. That applies to any government regardless of affiliation. The licensees and people of Grand Bahama need more. We need the
natural laws and supply and demand to function here.” Mr Dean signalled that, rather than successive government administrations in Nassau, the majority of blame for Freeport’s economic and social stagnation since 2004, the year that the city lost critical mass with the Royal Oasis closure that took away 1,200 jobs, lies with the entity charged with its governance and development - the GBPA, and its owners and management. Noting that, unlike a government, Freeport residents and licensees are unable to vote their quasi-governmental authority in or out of office, and hold them to account, the Dupuch & Turnquest attorney asked: “When have you last voted for any of the Board of Directors?” The Government’s broad-brush proposal involves replacing what it views as a Freeport-centric governance model, via the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, with an island-wide framework and regime under the planned Grand Bahama Development Act. Its implementation would be monitored and co-ordinated by a Grand Bahama Development Council. Mr Dean, revealing worries about who will serve on such a body, said: “My one concern.. I have a great concern that we need to ensure the proper personalities, intellect and talent are put in place to get the job done right.” Nevertheless, he told this newspaper: “I think it’s something that has to happen whether we like to admit ourselves or we don’t. The issue is that we cannot have a principality that doesn’t work. If it was working this would not be a discussion for anyone now. The issue in Grand Bahama is those who don’t want it to change are enjoying the benefits of their share of the pie…. “Grand Bahama is the largest single foreign development in this country. It has failed. The question we need to ask is why it has failed and let’s change it. This is not partisan politics that I am playing. I couldn’t care less about political alliances or groups. This is about the licensees and residents and those who want to make the place function. It’s about nothing more than that.” Mr Dean said Freeport’s benefits are not trickling down to regular Bahamians, but added that non-Bahamians are critical to the city and island’s future as it will “not be developed or built to any sustainable mass by Bahamians only. We need to attract the best and brightest from the world to come”. He later sent Tribune Business a video recording in which he cited Freeport’s untapped potential that can benefit the entire Bahamas. The Dupuch & Turnquest attorney described the city as “the only place I see a viable chance to immediately expand the revenue base of the country to ensure there are opportunities for Bahamians, and to stop what I consider to be the rot of a city that has more promise than anyone [anywhere] else or any other island”. “I hate to say it but, suffice to say, it probably can’t get any worse in the city of Freeport today, and that is a sad testament as to where we are,” Mr Dean said. “This is a necessary reform, and I commend the Prime Minister for doing it. This is the first time someone has taken a true attempt for righting a wrong that has been here for a very long time. “I’m hoping the average Bahamian has now realised it’s not the Government of The Bahamas to blame for the demise of Freeport. It’s those in charge. It was those in charge, to which they are obviously in dereliction of their duty…. Let’s be honest. This is a company town, and the company has failed the town. I’m not saying that in any which way to be caustic. I’m saying that is the commercial reality.” Mr Dean also questioned why no major resort or residential development has yet to exploit the 40-50 miles of “clear, free title” land on the beachfront”.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, October 26, 2026, PAGE 9
Manager asserting contract for 58 unit owners’ rental bookings VERDICT - from page B1 of a near-$10m tax dispute will also play a key role in resolving the former Ginn project’s fate. For LRA-OBB and Resorts Holdings, the other owner of the former Ginn project’s real estate, are contesting the Department of Inland Revenue and Bahamas Treasurer’s bid to seize and sell-off one of the development’s 1,400-acre land parcels over near-$10m in allegedly unpaid real property taxes. A Tax Appeal Commission decision on this is expected imminently. A verdict against LRA-OBB and Resorts Holdings would potentially pave the way for the Treasurer to complete the $26m deal it had lined-up to sell the 1,400-acre parcel to Coakley International, which has ambitions for a project billed as creating 2,800 construction jobs and 6,000 permanent posts for Bahamians. Justice Delancy, in her verdict last Thursday, confirmed that IVRC sought a Supreme Court injunction via August 26, 2026, legal filings. It sought an Order requiring LRA-OBB and its agents to undertake “removal of barricades, restoration of keys, access codes, and utilities”, and its reinstatement as manager of Old Bahama Bay condo units following its ousting three weeks’ earlier. It also urged the Supreme Court to prevent “obstruction of roadways, walkways, services and beach access.. to the units and exclusion from common property”, and direct an inspection of flooded units in building 15. Not surprisingly, this was resisted by LRA-OBB. IVRC was joined in its claim by Grande Harbour at Old Bahama Bay Resort, a vehicle that owns three condo units, plus three of the property’s condominium associations, and Old Bahama Bay Resort & Yacht Harbour. The latter is said to own the “trademark and goodwill under which the resort has traded” and its president, John MacDonald, holds the same position with IVRC. Justice Delancy traced the roots of the battle for control to the June 1, 2012, lease agreement between LRA-OBB and IVRC that permitted the latter to manage Old Bahama Bay and its amenities, and keep it open for the benefit of condo unit owners and their guests, following the demise of Ginn and its West End project. Ginn had purchased Old Bahama Bay, and LRAOBB - acting for Lubert Adler - took over the property’s ownership following the developer’s financing default. However, the first Supreme Court battle between LRA-OBB and IVRC erupted in 2018, which resulted in a judicial declaration that the 2012 lease was “null, void and of no further effect”. IVRC was ordered to grant LRA-OBB vacant possession then, with the
Supreme Court telling the latter to “use best reasonable endeavours to enter into a transitional licence or other short term arrangement for management” of Old Bahama Bay. A “penal notice warning” was also issued to IVRC, its president, Mr MacDonald, and the management firm’s Old Bahama Bay general manager, James Culmer, asserting they would be held in “contempt of court” if the notice was breached. The lease termination was also subsequently upheld when the Supreme Court revised its 2018 Order one year later. However, that same year, 2019, LRA-OBB and IVRC reached an agreement that the latter could continue to operate Old Bahama Bay under a so-called ‘Bare Licence’ rather than a lease deal. The Bare Licence arrangement remained in place until February 11, 2025, when LRA-OBB gave IVRC notice to cease operations and leave Old Bahama Bay by end-March last year. “IVRC asserts that it has managed and operated the resort continuously since about 2012, including hotel and marina operations, staffing, maintenance, assessment collection and guest bookings,” Justice Delancy wrote. “In 2019 LRAOBB and IVRC entered into a Bare Licence which superseded the 2012 lease between the parties. “The Bare Licence was renewed on several occasions - May 2019, January 2021 and July 31, 2022. IVRC disputes that its original occupation of the resort was by a ‘Bare Licence’. IVRC also disputes that it owes real property taxes as alleged by LRA-OBB.” LRA-OBB is arguing that the Bare Licence deal gave IVRC no leasehold or any other kind of ownership interest in Old Bahama Bay resort’s real estate. As a result, it was only required to give reasonable notice it was terminating the deal, and it alleged that IVRC’s failure to vacate forced it to repossess the resort. IVRC, though, is alleging that LRA-OBB lacks the necessary approvals to operate a resort as those for Old Bahama Bay were instead issued to itself by the Department of Inland Revenue on August 5, 2026 - just one day after its eviction/ ousting. Detailing the management firm’s claims. Justice Delancy wrote: “After LRAOBB or its agents erected barricades on August 4, 2026, LRA-OBB and/or its agents dispensed fuel stocks purchased by IVRC without authorisation. “LRA-OBB and/or its agents are processing guests’ bookings and not accounting for the revenue, funds have been removed, locks were changed and the resort’s surveillance equipment was dismantled. LRA-OBB’ s actions excluded IVRC’s staff, which has negatively impacted its business and the surrounding community. “LRA-OBB’s barricading the entrance to the resort
also prevented IVRC and its staff from maintaining and preserving the unit owners’ property,” Justice Delancy added further of IVRC’s allegations. “On 28 August, 2026, IVRC was contacted with reference to flooding in Building 15 as LRA-OBB or its agents were unable to shut off the water supply. IVRC was not allowed to assess the damage to the affected Units. LRA-OBB’ s actions have damaged the resort’s goodwill and reputation. “Mr MacDonald also alleges the defendant continuing to conduct business at the resort under Old Bahama Bay Resort & Yacht Harbour, a registered company owned by him, has caused irreparable harm to the company’s reputation and goodwill.” This account, though, was countered by Daniel Baker, an executive with Reunion Cay Island Resort, the managing agent for LRAOBB, who asserted that the Bare Licence - which gave IVRC a “non-exclusive right of occupation” - was not renewed after it expired on September 30, 2022. He alleged that the management firm “did not comply” when asked to leave in early 2025. “LRA-OBB also complained of outstanding sums totalling $2.215m and incidents involving unauthorised entry, damage to, and removal of items from LRA-OBB s property by persons identified as acting for or on behalf of IVRC,” Justice Delancy added. “On November 20, 2025, IVRC purported to entered into a lease over LRA-OBB’ s property within the resort and surrounding areas with Ricardo Pratt. LRA-OBB asserts that the Pratt lease is fraudulent and therefore IVRC cannot claim any rights there under.” Mr Pratt has been branded a “vexatious litigant” by the Supreme Court over multiple failed attempts to claim West End land as his own. LRA-OBB’s own managing agent, OBB Hospitality, took control of operations at Old Bahama Bay after the August 4, 2026, repossession. “IVRC had no exclusive right to operate the resort, or control and access, after the expiry and withdrawal of its licence,” Justice Delancy added of the Old Bahama Bay owner’s position. “The resort was not wholly closed, certain operations were only temporarily restricted, and unit owners continued to have access to the resort including shortterm rental services. Post August 4, 2026, Customs and Immigration continued to operate at the resort. Signage about a temporary and partial closure was displayed for about two weeks at the request of the Labour Department. “The signs were not intended to exclude unit owners or their guests from entering their properties or that all operations had ceased. Mr MacDonald has not been denied access in
his capacity as a unit owner,” the judge said of its case. ‘“LRA-OBB or OBB Hospitality did not disconnect or instruct the disconnection of electricity, water or any other utility services to the resort or condominia properties as alleged, and Grand Bahama Utility Company continued to supply, meter and invoice utilities.” Mark Flowers, the attorney representing IVRC, argued for the injunction on the grounds that the Supreme Court needs to decide “whether IVRC’s occupation and continued performance of the management and operation of the resort with LRA-OBB’s acquiescence subsisted as a periodic tenancy. “Even after the notice in February 2025 purporting to terminate the 2021 Licence, IVRC remained in open, exclusive possession and management of the resort operations for approximately 16 months,” Justice Delancy wrote of his arguments. “Further, that IVRC has nexus to the operations of the resort by virtue of its subscription agreements with unit owners for hotel rental accommodation and the West End Resort Ltd (WERL) lease with respect to the marina.” Mr Flowers also argued that LRA-OBB had taken the law into its own hands and repossessed Old Bahama Bay without a Supreme Court Order. However, Michael Scott KC, representing LRAOBB, countered “that IVRC has no standing as the 2012 lease is null and void and the subsequent Bare Licence has expired… The Bare Licence expressly permitted either party to terminate for any reason upon 30 days’ notice. The notice given to IVRC was in excess of 30 days. “Further, IVRC cannot convert Business Licenses into proprietary or possessory entitlements. There was no automatic right to renew the Bare Licence. IVRC’s permitted occupation of the resort does not automatically create a periodic tenancy,” the judge recorded of Mr Scott’s arguments. Justice Delancy, in her verdict, said she was “reluctant at this stage to conclude” that the common property or rights of individual Old Bahama Bay condo owners “automatically establish a right on the part of IVRC to occupy or exercise operational control over LRA-OBB’s property”. IVRC is asserting it has the contract to manage rental bookings for 58 unit owners. She added that IVRC’s claim that LRA-OBB’s action had “caused irreparable damage to the goodwill of the resort, and has adversely affected the livelihood of staff and the wider community”, while causing it “economic loss” due to loss of rental booking revenues and fuel depletion”, were countered by the latter’s assertion it has not interfered with unit owners’ access and rights.
NOTICE
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that I BREANDEN BORA of Key West Street , New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration /naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 26thday of October, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE is hereby given that I TINES MITIAL of Carmichael Road, New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration /naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 19th day of October, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that I ROSE BRUNE LOUIS XVI of Farrington Road, New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 26th day of October, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE is hereby given that I WROY DON MICHAEL CHARLES of Culmersville , New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 19th day of October, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
“Since the defendant’s agent’s assumption of the management of resort operations, unit owners have continued to access amenities and to book short-term rentals,” Justice Delancy said of LRA-OBB’s position. She added that there was no “cogent evidence” of IVRC’s financial position to support Mr MacDonald’s undertaking that it could pay damages to LRA-OBB if the injunction was to be granted but the management firm lose the case. And Justice Delancy was “not entirely convinced” he had the authority to give an undertaking on behalf of all the claimants. “The court is cognisant of the volatility of the situation, the importance of the matter not only to the parties but to the surrounding community,” the judge ruled. “The court is not persuaded, having considered the evidence from all sides that the balance of convenience lies in favour of granting the claimants the interim injunctive relief sought, and therefore dismisses the application.” James Culmer, Old Bahama Bay’s general manager under IVRC, in a note sent to Tribune Business recently, reiterated the latter’s position that LRAOBB needed an eviction Order or writ of possession from the Supreme Court - which it did not have - to regain control at Old Bahama Bay. LRAOBB’s position is this was not required by virtue of the Bare Licence arrangement. “On August 3, 2026, the resort was almost 100 percent full,” he said. “Therefore, any reasonable person would understand what damages would occur to The Bahamas if the resort was forcefully closed down on the morning of August 4, 2026. “IVRC after LRA-OBB refused to let them in to service the guests, entered the resort….. IVRC was not
ushered in by the police. On this occasion we slipped in and dealt with as many guests as we could, because IVRC wanted to protect The Bahamas’ number one industry. “On Friday, August 7, IVRC was again expecting many check-ins at the marina and the hotel. Laquel Brooks, our front office manager, was allowed temporary access to a hotel room, but this was later overturned. As a result, on Friday night, both Mrs Laquel Brooks and I received calls from many guests concerning guests needing to be checked into their reserved rooms. It was unbelievably taxing and disappointing that IVRC was not allowed to assist.” As for the tax appeal, LRA-OBB and Resorts Holdings, are alleging they have been over-charged real property tax by “more than 75 percent-plus” due to a $21m valuation difference with the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR). Mr Baker, in a December 17, 2025, affidavit lodged with the Tax Appeal Commission, asserted that LRA-OBB and Resorts Holdings, the two entities that hold the 1,931 acres that comprised the former Ginn project, have been over-billed “by more than 57 percent” for 2024’s real property tax assessment based on the DIR’s inflated land valuations. He alleged that appraisals conducted for Reunion Cay by the EY (Ernst & Young) accounting firm, plus Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty, show the true market value of the two companies’ ten collective West End land parcels is a combined $15m. However, Mr Baker asserted that the Department of Inland Revenue is using $36m, a valuation more than double or some 140 percent higher, as the basis for calculating due real property tax which is causing the substantial over-billings.
NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that I JOSEPH PIERRE of P.O. Box -55052 #3 Charles Drive, Faith Gardens, New Providence, Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 19th day of October, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas. JADE TREE CAPITAL LIMITED Reg. No. 208344 B NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION Notice is hereby given, in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act of 2000, that the above-named Company commenced dissolution procedures on the 22nd day of October 2026 and that Sterling (Bahamas) Limited of 202 Marina Lane, Sandyport, West Bay Street, P.O. Box N-9934, Nassau, Bahamas has been appointed voluntary Liquidator of the Company. Notice is also hereby given that any person having a claim against the Company is required, within 14 days of the date of this Notice, to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to Sterling (Bahamas) Limited, the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts or claims are proved.
Dated this 22nd day of October 2026
Sterling (Bahamas) Limited Liquidator
PAGE 10, Monday, October 26, 2026
THE TRIBUNE
Freeport businesses suffering from ‘fatigue’ and ‘exhaustion’ CONSULT - from page B1 Explaining that open doors should not be interpreted as a sign of successful businesses making sustained profits, Ms Fowler praised the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) “efficient” service delivery but argued that Freeport’s business community needs more - a critical mass, or large-enough customer base, to sustain it with too few benefiting from recent major investment projects. The Heroic chief, lamenting that Freeport’s struggles are not well understood by counterparts in the rest of
The Bahamas, called on all Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licensees and the wider island’s businesses to use the sixmonth consultation, set to start on November 1, as an opportunity to advance their common interests and help chart a future direction to benefit all. And, warning that neither Grand Bahama nor its private sector can afford to stand still, Ms Fowler argued that all businesses must build the legacy they will pass to future generations and seek an enabling commerce climate that offers conditions in which they deliver “sustainable
returns” and broader prosperity for all. Suggesting that the consultation offers the chance to bring Freeport’s realities into focus, and set an alternative future vision, the Heroic president wrote: “Too many Grand Bahamians still feel on the outside of opportunity, even as progress seems to reach every other rock and cay. Freeport continues to feel like the black sheep of the Bahamian economy. That sense of exclusion must change. “Across our business community, there is fatigue. What sometimes looks like lethargy is often the exhaustion of people who
have worked, invested and waited, yet still struggle to see a clear path forward. “Keeping the doors open does not always mean a business is doing well. Sometimes it means the owner has made another personal sacrifice. Breaking even can feel out of reach when wages, utilities, insurance, equipment and debt must be paid regardless of what comes through the door,” Ms Fowler added. “Many continue because employees depend on them, customers trust them and they remain loyal to Grand Bahama. But loyalty alone cannot sustain an economy.” She added that Freeport businesses needed “to close that gap” between on-the-ground reality in the city and the “misconceptions” harboured elsewhere in The Bahamas. With Freeport’s population standing at 46,740 residents in 2022, less than one-fifth of the 250,000strong population that its infrastructure was built to sustain, Ms Fowler signalled that it lacks the critical mass necessary to provide a strong, sustainable consumer spending base that will allow businesses to endure. “From my experience, the central challenge is economics. I have found the GBPA efficient in delivering services. Yet efficient services alone cannot generate the customers, spending and commercial activity businesses need to survive,” she wrote. “An approval matters, but a business also needs a market….. Recent investments offer reasons for hope. Yet, from where I stand, their benefits remain concentrated among a relatively small group and are insufficiently felt by the average Bahamian. “Announced investment must translate into wider economic activity: Purchases from local suppliers, contracts for capable enterprises, sustainable employment and money circulating through our communities.” Ms Fowler said the Grand Bahama business community’s participation in the six-month Grand Bahama reform consultation, due
to close at end-April 2027, must both “help shape the future and keep building in the present” She added: “The Government will ultimately determine its policy direction and bring forward any proposed legislation. Our responsibility is to contribute a clear, united and practical account of what this island needs. “We should use the consultation period to identify what works, explain what needs attention and propose measures that increase economic participation while protecting confidence. The process should produce a clear path for resolving outstanding issues and minimise further hardship during any transition. Focus rather than fear needs to be the order of the day. “Let us stop complaining in silos. Manufacturers, retailers, contractors, service providers, professionals, and small business owners should rally together around shared priorities. We may have different views about the framework, but we share an interest in a prosperous, productive island.” The Government, in unveiling a reform package that has three broad strands in seeking to seize back control of Freeport’s governance and regulatory authority from the GBPA, made clear it has decided change is not an option and that is - at present - the only certainty. It has determined that Freeport’s 99-year founding treaty, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which has 28 years left before its 2054 expiry, has “outlived its utility” with different elements now facing reform, repeal or replacement. The Davis administration plans to replace it with an islandwide governance regime via the Grand Bahama Development Act. A new body, the Grand Bahama Development Council, will be created to monitor and co-ordinate the new Act’s implementation, but the Government’s ‘Green Paper’ on the reforms signals that, at present, it falls far short of being a like-for-like GBPA replacement or, indeed, a municipal authority with revenue raising powers. The reforms amount to the Government taking over control of Freeport’s governance, management and administration - which many of the city’s residents have told Tribune Business they do not want,
given what has happened in Nassau, West End and East End - while raising concerns that the Council may merely create more bureaucracy and red tape. Senator Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, responding directly to fears that the proposed reform package will be “catastrophic” for Freeport, GBPA licensees and residents, said on Friday: “The only thing catastrophic for Grand Bahama would be for it to stay the same.” He added that Grand Bahama lost 9 percent of its population, or just over 4,500 residents, between 2010 and 2022, as these numbers fell from 51,368 to 46,740, while some 19.5 percent or 4,306 of its 22,127 dwelling units were found to be vacant in the latter year. “This is what the status quo has delivered,” Mr Rahming said. “For this government, the status quo is off the table. None of this should come as a surprise.” He added that the Government “wants the whole of The Bahamas in this conversation because what happens in our second city affects the whole nation”. Dillon Knowles, the ex-Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, immediately hit back at what he perceived to be Mr Rahming’s and the Government’s response to his concerns, asserting that they had done the same when they “attempted to disparage my credibility when I opined on the catastrophe that would befall Grand Bahama Power, and taxpayers, if the Government acquired it… “History has proven me right. The taxpayers will now hold a $332m debt, and the viability and reliability of the company is at stake,” he added. Mr Knowles then detailed a number of questions for the Davis administration to answer, including identifying what the new proposed governance regime will deliver that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement cannot. He also asked the Government to elaborate on the value of the city, Freeport, that the GBPA and its present and former owners have developed from the pine barren that existed in 1955, and figures on the revenue, expenditure and investment it has made in The Bahamas’ second city so as to put the proposals in their proper context.
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blocs, countries are increasingly torn between them By CHAN HO-HIM and DIDI TANG Associated Press
WITH the two leading AI powers, the United States and China, forming their own AI blocs, other countries are maneuvering to harness the strengths of both groupings and avoid losing out. As the rivalry intensifies, experts say the window for countries to be able to choose freely between the two AI superpowers may be narrowing, forcing them to at one point pick between the U.S.-led Pax Silica and the China-inspired World AI Cooperation Organization. That could put many countries in a dilemma: Do they go with the U.S.’s most advanced chips and AI technologies, or join China’s more affordable, open-source AI systems? Kazakhstan, a Central Asia nation of about 21 million people, is a rare example of a country that has sought to bridge that gap. Just three weeks after its AI minister Zhaslan Madiyev visited Washington in June to join the U.S. group working to strengthen AI supply chains, he headed to Shanghai for a signing ceremony making the Central Asian country a founding member of China’s initiative to shape the global AI agenda. Being in Pax Silica means more technological partnerships, high-tech manufacturing jobs and a place in global AI supply chains. At the same time,
as part of China’s World AI Cooperation Organization alongside 28 other initial founding countries including Pakistan and Russia, Kazakhstan hopes to also have a voice in setting regional and global AI standards. “Everyone is hedging,” said Dana Masalimova, a former Kazakhstan diplomat and independent scholar and center associate at the Kathryn W. and Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. “We don’t want this binary choice,” Masalimova said. Kazakhstan is benefiting from both U.S. and Chinese investments, but is in a “very precarious spot,” she said, It has rich critical mineral resources essential to AI development and has cheap electricity to power data centers, which have become politically fraught in the U.S. Earlier this year, Kazakhstan’s government signed an investment deal worth up to $10 billion involving Nvidia to build a “data center valley” in the country. Meanwhile, more Chinese companies are investing in Kazakhstan. Local officials say Chinese foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion in 2025. Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in July to expand cooperation under China’s global infrastructure building Belt and Road initiative.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, October 26, 2026, PAGE 11
Gov’ has ‘no role model to brag about’ for taking over Freeport TAKEOVER - from page B1 and is not what the city’s residents want to endure. Pointing to the state of loss-making, cash-strapped public utilities such as Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) and the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Mr Wallace told this newspaper that the Government has “no role model it can talk or brag about” with numerous taxpayer-owned buildings also in disrepair or needing urgent upgrades. “I think like many persons who operate businesses in the city of Freeport, who have enjoyed the provisions of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, I don’t know about them, but I was disappointed to hear the announcement that the Government is proposing to now go on in an effort to take…. some would call it a hostile takeover of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,” Mr Wallace said. “I listened to the Prime Minister’s remarks, and he indicated that his position with some of these things is non-negotiable. He’s open to negotiating the way forward, but not open to negotiating the takeover of the Grand Bahama Port
Authority.” The reforms, if they proceed, will see the Government take back Freeport’s governance powers from the GBPA as part of a new island-wide regime. Explaining why he is not in favour, Mr Wallace said: “As a business owner and operator I have experienced the Government in terms of doing business where Arawak Adventures and Tours, as the owner of Pirate’s Cove Zipline & Water Park, made an application to the Government, which at the time was headed by Perry Christie, to put in a zipline in Nassau on Arawak Cay. “For four years we were turned around. We met with every government official from Perry Christie to Khaalis Rolle, the then-minister of state for investments. We met with the minister of tourism, the late Obie Wilchcombe. We met with Sir Baltron Bethel, and no one could have given us an approval for four years. “We waited. I remember speaking to Mr Wilchcombe several times, and he gave a three-word answer: ‘Consider it done David, consider it done’. When the Government changed, and
Dr Hubert Minnis became prime minister, at least this time we got an answer. He said ‘no’. That was the first time we got a response from the Government to do business in Nassau for four years.” Contrasting this with the treatment Pirate’s Cove Zipline & Water Park received when it switched its focus to Grand Bahama, Mr Wallace said: “When we realised we couldn’t do it in Nassau, we made an application to the GBPA and met with them. Within two weeks of that meeting we had approval to do 19 out of the 20 things we applied for, and had a lease on 7.34 acres of land. “Within two weeks of dealing with the GBPA.” Mr Wallace then turned his attention the quality of services and public infrastructure outside Freeport in communities such as Eight Mile Rock, West End, Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard, Smith’s Point, Williams Town, Sweeting’s Cay and McLean’s Town. “The Government has not showcased its ability to take care of garbage collection in Eight Mile Rock or any area the Government is responsible for,” he blasted. “They ain’t taking over our
garbage collection…. I don’t see nothing that the Government has done in those area to say they should be responsible for the city of Freeport.” Urging GBPA licensees, 80 percent of whom need to approve any changes to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement to “think seriously about the way forward as the Government of The Bahamas seeks to do a hostile takeover of the Port Authority”, Mr Wallace added: “I’m not saying some changes should not be made. “But the Government has not shown me the ability to maintain anything it has built - every government complex, every government building, every government corporation. BPL, Water & Sewerage are no role models the Government can talk out about and brag about.: The Pirate’s Cove Zipline & Water Park chief also asserted that the Government’s plans to reform, repeal and replace different parts of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement “are sending the wrong message to investors in this country” over whether their rights, benefits and long-standing
agreements could suddenly be subject to change. Suggesting that the Government may not stop with the GBPA, as “who’s to say they can’t come after Bahamian businesses”, Mr Wallace praised Herschel Walker, the US ambassador to The Bahamas, for “the stance he made in protecting those investors” through Friday’s warning that the proposals signal “the rules can change after you have already made the investment”. The Government, setting out its position in its ‘Green Paper’ on the reform package, said: “The Government proposes three connected reforms. A Grand Bahama Development Council would co-ordinate and monitor delivery of an island-wide development strategy. “A structured review of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA) would lead to a comprehensive successor framework, implemented through the amendments, repeals, replacement provisions and consequential legislation that consultation and legal analysis show to be necessary. “A Grand Bahama Development Act would give that framework legislative form,
including concessions for investment across the island and possible enhanced concessions outside Freeport.” And, setting out its broader policy objectives, the Government added: “The Government’s primary objective is to establish transparent and equal governance and regulation across Grand Bahama and surrounding cays. “The Government considers that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement is an antiquated, colonial, pre-independence mechanism which has outlived its utility and has created an economic imbalance on the island…. “Arrangements established for the development of a defined Port Area must now be considered against the requirements of an independent Bahamas and the interests of the island as a whole. The Government does not regard the continuation of a selectively privileged governance framework for one part of Grand Bahama as an adequate settlement for the future.”
Home sellers are lowering their price and helping buyers to make a deal in a stagnant market By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer NOT long ago, a homeowner in America might reasonably wager they could sell their home fairly quickly, and for more than their asking price. That’s unlikely to be a winning bet now. Across the nation, a stagnant housing market is leaving many sellers in limbo, unable to relocate for a new job, buy their next home to accommodate a growing family, or follow through with other major life decisions that necessitate selling their home. Sellers who have the option to pull their listing off the market are generally doing so. Those who don’t are under increased pressure to lower their asking price and also kick in thousands of dollars toward a buyer’s costs, real estate agents say. The trend marks a stark turn from earlier this decade, when sellers often received well above their asking price as home shoppers empowered by rock-bottom mortgage rates fueled a buying frenzy that sent home prices soaring. Now, the market is stalled by surging mortgage rates, the compounding effect from years of rising home prices and an economic outlook dimmed by high inflation. Those factors are putting homeownership out of reach for many buyers while others delay a purchase and hope for more favorable conditions, perhaps in the spring. Sellers easily outnumber buyers and are stuck between uneasy choices: be more aggressive on price cuts and concessions to woo buyers, or hold out longer, even if it means delaying major life plans. “The dynamic has shifted back toward more of what we call buyers’ markets rather than sellers’ markets,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial. “(That) means you might have to reduce your price, you might give a concession to get your home sold, it might have to stay on market longer.” More than a year after first listing her home, an empty nester can move on With her three kids no longer living at home, Liz Suder decided to sell her four-bedroom, 3.5-bath house in Murphy, Texas, about 20 miles outside of Dallas, and buy a smaller place. “I was waiting to sell the house before I started looking,” said Suder, 56. “I didn’t want to have two mortgages.” Suder wound up putting her life on hold for more than a year. The finance director, who owned the
home for 21 years, initially put the house on the market in April 2025 for $750,000. Six months later, despite lowering the price several times, the home still hadn’t sold and she took it off the market. Suder relisted the home in February for $725,000 ahead of the spring homebuying season. But it wasn’t until recently that a home shopper agreed to buy it for $650,000. Suder sweetened the deal by kicking in $9,000 toward repairs. “I never expected it to take a full year, and for me to have to reduce the price by that much,” she said. Life on hold, but holding the line on a major price cut Rick Ganga needs to find a buyer for his home in the coastal city of Blaine, Washington, before he can begin the next chapter in his life. Ganga is going through a divorce that requires the home to be sold. He’s had multiple showings of the three-bedroom, 2.5bath house since it went on the market on June 1 for $825,000. Lowering the price to just under $800,000 hasn’t helped. “There’s (been) no offers, virtually zero traffic,” said Ganga, 58. Ganga said some sellers in his neighborhood have dropped their asking price by $100,000 or more, but because he’s only owned the home since 2022, he hasn’t built up enough equity to be able to lower the price any further. “That’s not anything I’m going to entertain,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense.” Until the home sells, the operations manager has little choice but to set aside plans to transfer with his company to another state. “I honestly believe that it will probably sit until spring or summer of next year,” he said. Sellers losing leverage as the housing market stalls After briefly dipping below 6% in February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage surged as high as 7.4% this month, its highest level in nearly three years. The upward march in rates has stifled U.S. home sales. With many sellers lowering their asking price, the national median home listing price declined in September from a year earlier for the 11th month in a row, dropping 1.2% to $419,250, according to Realtor.com. All told, about 21% of listings in September had their initial price lowered, a fouryear high. It’s not unusual for home shoppers to ask for — and receive — money from sellers to put toward their
closing costs. Higher mortgage rates are also giving buyers leverage to press sellers for money to buy down their rate for a few years or for the life of the loan, reducing their overall borrowing costs. “It’s sort of like an indicator of where the market is right now, with buyers gaining leverage at the expense of sellers, and sellers doing more now to meet buyers halfway,” said Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com. That’s good news for home shoppers, but may not be enough to overcome the affordability hurdles keeping many prospective homebuyers out of the market. Consider, last month there were about 63% more sellers than homebuyers across the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, according to an analysis by Redfin. And the number of buyers — roughly 929,000 — represented the fewest on record dating back to 2013,
A HOUSE For Sale sign is displayed in front of a home in Evanston, Ill., Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Photo:Nam Y. Huh/AP while the tally of sellers jumped to its highest level since 2020. Sluggish housing market stymies a plan to buy a bigger home That considerable imbalance between buyers and sellers means Ethan Butner
may have longer to wait before he sells his home in Troutdale, Oregon, about 16 miles east of Portland. Butner, a service manager, already has an offer accepted on a new, more spacious home for him and his family near Portland. First he needs to find a buyer for his
three-bathroom, two-bath house so he can put the proceeds toward the new home. So far, it isn’t going well. The house has been on the market more than two months for $480,000. Butner slashed $30,000 off his asking price, but that generated only one offer, which fell through.
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