By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A hotel operator has backed the Government’s Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) stance as evidence of its “commitment to Freeport”, and asked: “When was the last time the Port Authority did a major investment?”

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, conceded to Tribune Business that his view will not be popular among all GBPA licensees and Freeport residents but argued that the Davis administration’s position was “only positive in my mind” as any indicator of its desire for Freeport to succeed.

Noting the many criticisms of the Government’s attacks on the GBPA and its shareholders, the Hayward and St George families, he said he found these “fantastic” as it showed just how short many memories were. Recalling how “not even the garbage was picked” up in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian’s devastation of Grand Bahama International Airport, he contrasted this with the incremental improvements that have taken the place since the Government took over.

And, pointing out that the GBPA’s Port Group Ltd affiliate, together with its Hutchison Whampoa partner, retained the airport insurance monies when they sold the still-destroyed facility to the Minnis administration for a nominal $1, Mr Alnebeck told this newspaper this action did not demonstrate “leading by example” when Freeport’s two largest investors effectively walked away from their obligations to the city.

“It’s just positive in my mind in the sense that it shows a commitment from the Government,” he said of the Prime Minister’s public scolding of the GBPA and his demand for fundamental reforms and change. “I think it is fantastic to see some of the comments, the airport being one of them, that the Government are too slow getting going at the airport and that this is not good for future investment, and that the Prime Minister’s statements are not very good.

“Then you go back and look at the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, and the two entities that own this town, the Port Authority and Hutchison. They’ve not spent a penny on the airport and both are selling it for $1 and keeping the insurance money. If that doesn’t make a potential investor nervous, what will?

“Two entities which are responsible, and are the largest investors and de facto owners of the town? Imagine if Pelican Bay, which had severe damage in Hurricane Dorian, had taken the insurance money and run and then tried to convince its two food and beverage outlets, which are outsourced, that they need to invest in their business? I haven’t exactly led by example, have I?”

Mr Alnebeck said “the greatest signal is the signal the Government is sending about the airport. If they can get the Grand Lucayan sold and off the books, even better, but the more the Government shows they’re committed to Freeport the better it is”.

The Government announced in March that it was outsourcing Grand Bahama International Airport’s redevelopment to a consortium featuring an all-Bahamian investor group, including CFAL principal, Anthony Ferguson, and Bahamas Hot Mix’s chairman, Anthony Myers. Bahamas Hot Mix’s UK arm was to be the lead contractor, with Manchester Airport Group tapped as the operating partner.

Little visible progress, though, has been seen at the airport amid suggestions that the Government is still arranging financing for the project with UK Export Finance, the British government’s overseas trade and investment funding arm, via a structure that keeps the facility from adding to The Bahamas’ national debt.

Mr Alnebeck, while acknowledging it is “small stuff”, added of the airport: “Every time you go there something is a little bit better than the last time you were there, and nothing happened after Dorian. Not even the garbage was picked up.

“When was the last time the Port Authority or Port Group Ltd did a major investment in Freeport or was the cause of a major investment in Freeport? When the main owners of something stopping investing themselves, or reinvesting themselves, even reinsurance proceeds, that’s not a very good signal that is sent.”

The Pelican Bay chief likened this to an apartment who, with their tenant set to refurbish and upgrade their living space, decides not to fix the roof and instead purchases a condo in Miami. As a result, the tenant, in common with non-GBPA and Hutchison businesses and potential investors in Freeport, will also be reluctant to invest.

“I know that belief is not shared by everyone, but that’s my belief,” Mr Alnebeck said, conceding his position may not be universally popular. Many GBPA licensees and Freeport residents, while agreeing that fundamental reform - including a change of ownership at the GBPA - needs to take place do not want the Government to take over its quasi-governmental and regulatory powers and potentially bring the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and its benefits to a premature end.

“What I agree on is that whatever happens needs to happen quickly and swiftly so it doesn’t get dragged on,” he added. “This cannot be a thing that keeps on going and going and going. It needs to get sorted out between the Government and Port Authority sooner rather than later. It needs to be done swiftly.”

However, the Government and GBPA’s owners have been warned that the latter’s 3,000 licensees must “have a say” over any changes to its ownership and Freeport’s founding treaty.

Kirk Antoni, the Cafferata & Company attorney and partner, told Tribune Business on Sunday that the approval of 80 percent of licensees is required to both amend the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which has full legal and statutory effect, and/or devolve the GBPA’s quasi-governmental and regulatory powers to a condo-type association.

His remarks came as the GBPA’s licensees seek to mobilise, and ensure they are not neglected in the battle for Freeport’s future, while also intervening in the Government’s increasingly acrimonious dispute with the city’s quasi-governmental authority and its owners.

Mr Antoni, a prominent member of the 25-30 strong licensee body that previously issued a public letter to both Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and the GBPA’s owners over the impasse, told this newspaper the latter had agreed to meet with the group on September 6 while no response has yet been received from the Government.

And, in an effort to “swiftly” expand the group’s base, the Cafferata & Co partner said it is inviting all 3,000 licensees to another meeting later in September to advise them of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s benefits to their businesses and the rights it confers upon them.

A 60-year Freeport resident, Mr Antoni said his sole goal is “to bring Freeport out of the ashes”. He echoed calls for a change in the GBPA’s ownership and leadership, but not through a government takeover or via the approach the Davis administration is pursuing, instead urging that both families’ interests be acquired by private investors with the necessary capital, “vision and business sense” to move the city forward and fulfill its potential.