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PM ‘won’t get off that easy’ on Bahamas Moorings deal t .JOOJT UP ALFFQ EJHHJOH BOE VSHFT 1. AUP CSBDF t $BMMT PO TVDDFTTPS UP QSPUFDU JOUFHSJUZ PG 01. t "OE DPOUSPWFSTZ AMPU EFFQFS UIBO NBOZ CFMJFWF
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN ex-prime minister yesterday warned Philip Davis KC that “he won’t get off that easy” over the Bahamas Moorings deal as he pledged to “keep digging” into the now-terminated lease agreement. Dr Hubert Minnis vowed to maintain the pressure on his successor, who he said needs to “brace himself” for a barrage of further questions over the 21-year deal that would have effectively privatised all viable anchorage and mooring sites in the Exumas by granting a monopoly to a private company whose principals
have strong connections to Davis administration insiders. Mr Davis last week sought to shut down further public debate and discussion on Bahamas Moorings by suggesting the lease termination has ended the controversy. Dr Minnis, though, promised not to let the matter die and voiced surprise that the Prime Minister has seemingly not taken action over the potential conflict of interest that saw his deputy communications director witness the lease’s signing for Bahamas Moorings. Sandra Kemp’s husband, Philip A. Kemp II, was one of the principals in Bahamas Moorings, and Dr Minnis argued that given
the Office of the Prime Minister’s importance as a standalone institution it cannot afford to be dragged into any situation where “perceived” wrongdoing is alleged. The former prime minister also asserted that Mr Davis, in seeking to end and kill-off any further commentary on Bahamas Moorings, had “just opened the doorway” to further scrutiny by himself, the Opposition and Bahamian public with the saga “a lot deeper than many believe”. Dr Minnis spoke out after Mr Davis last week suggested he and his administration will
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Chinese ship fee threatens Tropical Shipping survival By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MICHAEL PINTARD
SIMON WILSON
Parliament’s watchdog set to grill Ministry of Finance chief By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net PARLIAMENT’S spending watchdog plans to grill the Ministry of Finance’s top official next Tuesday over “a range of hot button issues” uncovered by recently-completed investigations from the Auditor General. Michael Pintard, the Free National Movement (FNM) leader, yesterday told Tribune Business that the Opposition-controlled Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will interview Simon Wilson, the financial secretary, on the findings of the 2021 audit of the Government’s financial accounts plus the reports on the 2023 CARIFTA track and field championships and the Bahamas Jubilee Games. Asserting that the Auditor General had identified
“clear breaches” of the Public Finance Management Act, the main law that governs how the Government operates and manages its financial affairs, he added that the Committee was especially interested to discover why lessons were seemingly not being learned given that these violations keep occurring. And, promising that Parliament’s spending watchdog is “pushing through” and “making progress”, Mr Pintard told this newspaper that it is on pace to lay the first of its reports - an inquiry into the Consumer Protection Commission’s chosen rented office space - in the House of Assembly next month. He added that the reports on CARIFTA and the Bahamas Jubilee
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THE survival of a major ocean freight carrier serving The Bahamas would be in jeopardy if the US proceeds with a Chinese-made ship fee that “would almost double” 40-foot container cargo rates. Tropical Shipping, which together with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has the dominant share of New Providence’s ocean freight market, revealed that the US Trade Representative’s proposal to impose an up to $1m fee per American port call by Chinese-made vessels would have a “catastrophic” impact on The Bahamas’ import dependent economy by raising its 40-foot container rates to a projected $2,352.
t 64 QSPQPTBM AXPVME BMNPTU EPVCMF DPOUBJOFS SBUFT t ,FZ DBSSJFS GPS #BIBNBT JO ADBUBTUSPQIJD XBSOJOH t $BSJCCFBO XPVME CFDPNF A$IJOB T OFX 3FE 3JWFS The cargo operator, in a March 24, 2025, letter said the proposal if implemented as is would “unquestionably threaten the ability of Tropical to continue operations” and drive importers of goods in The Bahamas and throughout the region to source goods from outside the region. And, besides undermining the multi-billion dollar annual trade the US enjoys with the Caribbean, it would also give foreign ships a competitive advantage.
Tropical Shipping added that companies such as MSC and even those in China, which operate much larger vessels, would gain a price advantage by being able to spread the Chinese-made ship fee over a greater volume of cargo and containers. This, it warned, would undercut a key policy objective of Donald Trump by turning The Bahamas and Caribbean into “China’s new Red River” where it - not the US - dominates trade.
DR HUBERT MINNIS
PHILIP DAVIS KC Pointing out that US exports to The Bahamas and the Caribbean combined hit almost $101bn in 2024, and that the region is the US’ “fourth largest export market” which generates a goods trade surplus, Tropical Shipping spelled out in detail the consequences for this nation’s economy, companies and consumers if the proposed fee takes effect in its current form. A second day of hearings on the plan will be held today “The average size vessel serving the Caribbean carries 1,100 nominal TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The average size of Tropical’s fleet is smaller than that, with only six vessels as large as 1,100 TEUs, three vessels topping out at 300 TEUs, and one vessel that has only a 145 TEU nominal capacity,” Tropical Shipping told the US Trade Representative’s Office. “In comparison, the average steamship line’s vessels calling on major US ports and operating in global trade routes are approximately 16,000 nominal TEUs. Tropical vessels
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Delta contractor’s staff lose in dismissal claim By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THREE former employees of a contractor that provided security services for Delta Airlines in Exuma lost their wrongful dismissal claim because they “voted with their feet” and joined a rival without being terminated. Rionda Godet, the Industrial Tribunal’s vice-president, in a justreleased December 13, 2024, verdict rejected the compensation claims initiated against More Security (Bahamas) by Tatiana Requilda-Tinker, Devante Donovan McPhee and Deon Gibson on the basis that the trio “withdrew
their services” without the employer first dismissing them. She found that the three all took jobs with Strachan’s Aviation, after its principal informed them it had won - and was taking over - the Delta Airlines security contract in Exuma from More Security (Bahamas). This was despite the latter’s principal, a Mr Holmes, telling all his staff to “stand down” and not switch to employment with Strachan’s Aviation. And Ms Godet said it was “curious” that Mr McPhee, in his evidence, asserted that More Security (Bahamas) had “obtained a contract with Strachan’s Aviation” and was now acting as the latter’s sub-contractor for
the provision of security services to Delta Airlines when it had previously performed the same duties by itself. With More Security (Bahamas) taking no part in the Industrial Tribunal proceedings, Ms Tinker alleged she was made redundant by the firm on July 31, 2019, although this was never officially confirmed to her by Mr Holmes or anyone else in authority. Asserting that she was given no other work to do, “she said that she had heard from other people working around the airport that Delta Airlines had not renewed their contract” with More Security (Bahamas).
“She said that sometime in June 2019, Jermaine Bannister, the overseer of another security provider, Strachan’s Aviation, had informed her and her colleagues that his company has secured the Delta contract and had made an offer of employment to all of them to continue their same job under him and Strachan’s Aviation when the Delta Airlines contract with More Security expired,” Ms Godet noted. Ms Tinker alleged that she and fellow staff all tried to contact Mr Holmes to obtain clarity on their jobs and futures, but he “was always avoiding their calls and their only source of information as to what was
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Tax authority ‘determined’ on Business Licence delay By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Department of Inland Revenue was yesterday said to be “determined” to overcome the Business Licence application backlog and ensure all renewals and new requests are promptly processed. Beaumont Todd, the tax authority’s communications and training manager,
said there are more than 60,000 businesses currently operating in The Bahamas and a number of new applications submitted daily, all of which have to be processed by a small team. “I would say, to a certain degree, probably yes, if you take consideration, there’s about 60,000-plus businesses throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and that is growing every day,” he said.
“So we are in the process of trying, to the best of our ability, to cut that down, but we are a small department. We’re still determined to make sure that these persons not just get their Business Licence renewed, but new businesses come in.” Mr Todd said that, in addition to making system upgrades, the Department of Inland Revenue is also holding virtual and inperson training sessions to walk entrepreneurs that
are experiencing difficulties through the Business Licence application and renewal process. “In addition to working on the system, to upgrade the system, the other aspect of what we’re also doing is these different sessions and stuff that we have going on to make sure that we are there to walk persons through the process, because we know
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