By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition share very different views on the future of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and how its engagement with the community on Grand Bahama should continue.

Prime Minister Philip Davis said in his budget communication yesterday the governance model of the GBPA “must change". The government has “serious concerns regarding the compliance of the GBPA and its related companies with the terms and conditions of the Hawksbill Creek Act (HCA), and its subsequent amendments".

Without going into details on what breaches of the HCA have been made, he added that “decisive action,” will be taken and further announcements on this will be forthcoming.

Michael Pintard, Leader of the Opposition, in the Opposition’s response to the budget communication, said the Prime Minister’s comments on the future of the GBPA and that whatever decisions are being made in that regard should not be a “private matter".

Mr Pintard added: “The persons who reside there ought to have a principal place at the table in weighing in on this because certainly, we understand the HCA a lot better than a number of the bureaucrats in New Providence.

Further warning that Grand Bahamians should be careful of any possible “land grab,” by the Davis administration, “We want to guard against the lack of understanding by this administration on how fragile the economy of Grand Bahama is.”

Investors are watchful over comments made by the government on the GBPA because it may come across as the government seeking to “nationalise” the GBPA. “So the government has to be very careful in terms of how they talk about Grand Bahama and so what we want to say, really to persons who are in Grand Bahama, we intend to fight for the residents to be at the table so that this government does not unilaterally-even with the owners- make some decision about the future of the Port Authority. We ought to have a say in where it goes,” Mr Pintard said.