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Friday, January 23, 2026
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‘Pockets of The Bahamas set for best year in history’ • Sir Franklyn: South Eleuthera in ‘great shape’, GB to follow SIR Franklyn Wilson yesterday asserted that “pockets • Urges ‘behaviour change’ for of The Bahamas will experience their best year in those not feeling the impact history” in 2026 while conceding that complaints the • Issues personal plea for overseas economic benefits are not being felt by all will always be Bahamians to come home “the reality”. BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Arawak Homes and Sunshine Holdings chairman identified south Eleuthera, home to the Jack’s Bay project that he chairs, as one such area poised for a 2026 surge thanks to its growth and that of other nearby tourism-related developments. Grand Bahama was another location where “very significant things” were poised to happen during early 2026. And, while warning that The Bahamas must not forget those “left behind”, he argued that many in this situation will not escape unless they
alter “personal behaviour patterns” such as “overloading” themselves with consumer debts that they are then unable to repay or excessive gambling expenditures. Sir Franklyn also issued a plea for Bahamians working and living abroad to reverse the “brain drain”, caused by the most skilled and talented citizens leaving for education and lucrative employment abroad, to consider returning home as the economic and other “opportunities here are real”. While many are doing
VAT cut ‘goes against grain’ of food security BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN agricultural entrepreneur last night warned that the Government’s elimination of VAT on unprepared foods will “go against the grain” of improving national food security, import substitution and growing more produce locally unless accompanied by similar tax relief for local farmers. Caron Shephard, president of the Bahamas Agri
Entrepreneurs Co-operative, told Tribune Business that cutting the VAT rate from 5 percent to zero on all unprepared food with effect from April 1, 2026, threatens to place local farmers at a “competitive disadvantage” because the cost of rival imports will have been slashed at every stage of the supply chain once they reach these shores. With Bahamian producers already struggling to match imported foods, she urged Prime Minister Philip Davis
well overseas, he said there is “reason to believe many are not doing better abroad than they could do in The Bahamas”. Voicing optimism about The Bahamas’ overall prospects for 2026, Sir Franklyn told Tribune Business: “Let me put it this way: My view is there’ll be areas of the country that experience their best year in history; areas, pockets. South Eleuthera will be among them. And I’m not talking about no recent times; in history. South Eleuthera
KC in a January 22, 2026, letter to similarly eliminate VAT on all “essential agricultural inputs” - such as seeds, animal feed, egg cartons and related packaging materials, and fertilizers and pesticides - for “registered” Bahamian farmers from the same date. “Farmers nationwide commend your government’s decision to remove VAT from unprepared foods. We understand that this initiative is intended to provide meaningful relief to Bahamians, particularly those earning the minimum wage of $260 per week, and to ease the burden on families striving to maintain a sustainable household budget,” Ms Shephard wrote. “We agree with the objective of making fresh fruits and
Bahamas can’t afford to not be ‘financial crime fighter’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Attorney General yesterday signalled that “the cost of not being a fighter” in complying with global anti-financial crime standards outweighs “the burden” imposed on small jurisdictions such as The Bahamas in meeting these benchmarks. Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, addressing
the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ seventh annual anti-money laundering research conference, said the cost of falling foul of global standard-setters was brought home to this nation during the two years that it languished on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) so-called ‘grey list’. This, he added, sparked a foreign direct investment (FDI) slowdown
REGULATE - See Page B7
GBPA chief: ‘Companies don’t invest where they’ve lost faith’ BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) president yesterday hailed AML Foods’ $10.3m investment in a new distribution centre as a sign of investor confidence in Freeport, asserting: “Companies do not invest millions of dollars in places they have lost faith in.” Ian Rolle, speaking at the ground-breaking for the Queen’s Highway facility that will create 20 jobs, said: “This is not merely a milestone for AML Foods; it is a declaration of confidence in Freeport and in the resilient people of Grand Bahama. “And, on behalf of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, I offer sincere
GAVIN WATCHORN congratulations to AML Foods, its Board, its leadership and its team. We thank you for choosing - once again - to believe in this island. “Now friends, let me say this plainly: Companies do not invest millions of dollars in places they have lost faith in. They do not return
OPENING - See Page B7
PRINCESS MARGARET HOSPITAL
SIR FRANKLYN WILSON will experience the best time in its history.” Besides his own Jack’s Bay project, which was recently said to have generated almost $59m in real estate sales in the near twoyear period since April 2023, he also pointed to Disney’s Lighthouse Point cruise port destination as well as the nearby Ritz-Carlton Reserve
GROWTH - See Page B4
Public hospitals in overtime control as budget ‘exhausted’ • Paid from January onwards only if MD approves • Ex-minister warns of service, care quality impact • Nurses chief: ‘Puts healthcare in peculiar position’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
vegetables more accessible, especially for families who must often choose between fresh produce and frozen or canned alternatives…. However, while the focus has rightly been placed on consumer relief, we respectfully submit that farmers - the backbone of domestic food production - have been inadvertently overlooked. “Farmers are on the front lines, working tirelessly to bring high-quality food to market. Encouragingly, consumers continue to show enthusiasm for purchasing directly from farms, farmers’ markets and Family Island producers. We therefore humbly recommend that your government revisits the
THE Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) has imposed strict payment controls “to preserve funding for urgent priorities” after “exhausting” its overtime budget within just three months of the current 2025-2026 fiscal year. The operator of the Princess Margaret (PMH) and Rand Memorial hospitals, as well as the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, warned in a January 13, 2026, internal memorandum that with effect from this month all overtime payments for doctors, nurses, medical and other staff will not be processed unless first approved by the office of PHA managing director, Dr Aubynette Rolle. The instruction has sparked concern among PMH staff, with Muriel Lightbourn, the Bahamas Nurses Union’s president, telling Tribune Business that it was placing healthcare “in a peculiar position” by seemingly implying that her members and other medical professionals may not be paid due compensation for overtime worked.
PRODUCE - See Page B4
PAY - See Page B5