BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A CONCERNED resident says Grand Bahama is in need of visionary leaders who can turn the island around and bring Freeport back to its glory days. Mr Elkanah Pinder, a well-known resident of Pinder’s Point, said Grand Bahama is facing a crisis.

In a two-page letter entitled ‘A Leadership Crisis,’ he notes that “Grand Bahama needs a vision, a leadership void to be filled, a touristic vacuum to be satisfied, venues to be occupied, and vacancies to be controlled by qualified and passionate (Bahamian) professionals.”

He said Freeport has been on a path of decline for years and that it is time for industrious leaders, with the ability to inspire others, to step up with bold initiatives to move Freeport in a positive direction.

“Grand Bahamians and those who have made this beautiful island their home must now emerge in this hour of crisis with vision and leadership,” Mr Pinder said.

He believes that thought should be given to opening the airports in West and East Grand Bahama. He claims that landing fees at the airport in Freeport are too high.

Mr Pinder says the airport at the old Missile Base could be renovated and re-opened. He believes that the runway there is also capable of handling aircrafts that currently land at Grand Bahama International Airport, in Freeport.

Another area of concern, he said, was the closure of the old Princess Hotel Property, formerly the Royal Oasis Resort.

When the hotel closed in 2004, he said it not only created massive unemployment in the hotel sector, but also affected nearby entities and merchants at the International Bazaar, and local business vendors that did business with the hotel.

“It was a devastating blow to Freeport and we have lost hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the economy because of it. He said the Department of Statistics indicated that in excess of 20,000 persons have relocated to Family Islands and elsewhere in search of employment due to the hotel’s closure.

Mr Pinder says that storeowners at the Bazaar have suffered greatly, and other entities in the area, including The Pub on the Mall, and the old Winston Churchill Square Pub.

Instead of looking for investors to rebuild and re-open the hotel, which was badly damaged by the hurricanes, Mr Pinder suggests that it be torn down and turned into some sort of facility for international sporting events such as a Bahamas Tennis Open or a Baseball Farm League type facility, or soccer facility to attract international events.

Mr Pinder said tennis tournaments such as the US Open and French Open attract international tennis players who have very large fan followings.

He believes that such a facility would allow for re-opening of the Xanadu Beach Resort and other closed resorts on the island. It would also help to revitalise the South Mall Drive area.

Pinder said: “Our vision for GB is lost. I honestly believe they (the leaders) are not looking at what is best for GB.”

“This hour calls for leadership. Leadership is not bullying and it is not being bullied by unruly fellows. It is a not the gift of gab without substance ... Leadership is about casting vision, it is about mobilising people, it is about inspiring others to dream big dreams and it is about thinking generationally, and not just about re-election.”