By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

IF re-elected, Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday vowed that his administration will legislate its current model of public-private-partnerships to ensure “maximum protection” for investors seeking to aid the government in future projects.

Mr Christie made the announcement during a tour of the new Fox Hill community centre, scheduled to open on April 1.

The 27-year-old project, started in 1992 by former area MP George Mackey, is nearing completion as a result of a private-public-partnership initiated by the Christie administration and Bahamas Striping Ltd.

Mr Christie underscored the invaluable benefit of the PPP model to a country like the Bahamas given the extreme necessity of having to duplicate infrastructure across many different islands.

The Centreville MP added that his government has considered it “more convenient” to involve the private sector companies in the development, construction and completion of public projects, pointing out that the move has bolstered in his administration’s push for financial prudence.

“It is a win-win situation,” Mr Christie said.

“We have embarked on it aggressively. I think in a next term, a government of The Bahamas would have to legislate to ensure the maximum protection for the investors in the public-private-partnership.”

He said: “We expect, most certainly it is our hope that we will be that government and where we are able to take it to that step where we institutionalise a public-private-partnership and place it where the private sector partner is able to get the required guarantees without having to have heads of agreements governing the relationship.”

“Building schools, building roads, building hospitals or mini-hospital, building clinics. All have to be duplicated,” he said.

“It becomes very exacting when you are dealing with aviation and shipping now because there are special rules when you are dealing with international bodies governing them where there must be special security provisions, meaning new technologies, new provisions, a lot of money.

“So, what the government has found, and we began with Bimini, that if we are able to attract the private sector to agree to do certain things that would ordinarily be done by the government, then that would enable us to finance out of cashflow as a opposed to having to borrow additional funding.”

Project

As a result of this partnership, Bahamas Striping has sub-contracted 33 companies that have employed an estimated 161 persons on the project.

The facility, once completed, will feature an outdoor pool, a multi-purpose auditorium, a kitchen area, offices, bathrooms and study areas.

However, the cost of the project is now an estimated $2 million, $250,000 of which was supplied through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Last August, Fred Mitchell, the MP for Fox Hill, indicated the cost would be $750,000.

Of Bahamas Striping, Mr Christie said he welcomes the company’s inclusion because it proves that not just small to medium business in the Bahamas can flourish.

“They have now decided that in addition to being able to provide great services for the country, that they would actually get involved in public partnership basis.

“And so, we welcome that because to me, they have become exemplars now, demonstration that not just the big name companies can do this, but they themselves, and this is a highly visible project for them.

“I am so happy that they have been able to do this because when we come here to open this up, the credit for moving to a completion could be given to them and the fact that they have been able to do that,” he stated.

Works Minister Philip “Brave” Davis also revealed that Bahamas Striping is in active discussions with the Christie administration over several proposed road work projects for Family Island communities.

Mr Davis said of the government’s relationship with private entities such as Bahamas Striping: “It frees up the government to be able to finance other services and products that are necessary in our society today. Everyone knows that it is not as robust as it ought to be because the structures of our tax regime.”

“We are an island nation, we have to duplicate so many infrastructure and assets to provide the government services that are necessary for our citizens.

“And so this is a prime example of the governments coming together with the private sector and making things happen that benefits the community,” he added.