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Promotion Board chief urges: ‘Rescind boating fees botch’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board’s president yesterday branded new and increased boater fees as “a botch” that needs to “be rescinded immediately” amid ongoing visitor “uproar”. Emanuel “Manny” Alexiou, also the Abaco Beach Resort’s proprietor, told Tribune Business the fall-out from hiked cruising permits, plus the new fishing permit and anchorage fees, was “horrid, horrid, horrid” for a Family Island tourism and marina industry that “needs more people, not less” to drive occupancy rates
• ‘Never seen such uproar’ over Budget’s changes • 45-year Bimini visitor: ‘Punitive’ fees like ‘gouging’ • Rivals ‘laughing’ at Bahamas ‘highest fees on Earth’ higher than the prevailing 50 percent average. He voiced particular concern that The Bahamas has combined temporary cruising permit fee
increases of between 67 percent and 100 percent with a two-thirds reduction in the time this is valid, cutting it from the present 90 days to the same “pleasure vessel” being allowed to enter this nation twice within 30 days, resulting in a significant value for money loss for tourists. Other tourism officials confirmed to this newspaper that “phones are blowing up” over the outcry from visiting boaters, plus the concerns of Bahamian private sector operators whose businesses are reliant on this market, due to the fee and other reforms accompanying the 2025-2026 Budget. Mr Alexiou added that it was creating “so much bad publicity that
Union leader urges PM: Be ‘man of your word’ on pensions reform By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A TRADE union leader is urging the Prime Minister to “be a man of his word” and ensure proper consultation over public sector pension reforms with all stakeholders before legislation goes to Parliament. Belinda Wilson, the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president, said the recently-published Fiscal Strategy Report had sparked concerns over whether the Government will fully consult over legal changes designed to prevent a $4.1bn ‘hole’
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emerging in the public finances. However, she added that it appears as if the Davis administration has “pulled back” from the timeline laid out in that report. Both the “tabling of the ‘white paper’” on
public sector pension reform, and the “expected tabling” of the Bill itself, did not occur during the recent 2025-2026 Budget debate in the House of Assembly - contrary to what was detailed in the Fiscal Strategy Report.
we don’t need about The Bahamas right now”. One veteran visitor to Bimini, who has been visiting the island for more than 45 years, warned in an e-mail sent to Tribune Business that his regular trips “are over” due to “the recent spike in fees across the board”, which he argued “feels not only excessive, but punitive” and almost akin to being “gouged”. Jorge Recarey, in an open letter to Ministry of Tourism and Customs officials, said: “I’m writing to express my deep concern over the recent changes in boating and fishing regulations in The Bahamas - particularly the dramatic increase in fees that now make it
• Fiscal Strategy Report ‘Bill tabling’ did not happen • BUT chief: PM promised new Bill and consultation • No Gov’t reply to its 11 questions, 22 suggestions Tribune Business spoke to Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, to try and clarify the Government’s plans and timeline for addressing unfunded public sector pension liabilities which were described by Simon
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Gov’t targeting predatory ‘payday lender’ crackdown By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
THE Securities Commission is working with the Government to develop legislation that cracks down on
“payday lenders” offering loans at predatory interest rates, a Cabinet minister disclosed yesterday. “The Government has asked them to look at the area of these non-bank money lenders and come back to us with some suggestions,” disclosed Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, in leading-off the 20252026 Budget debate in the Senate. “Many years ago, those payday lenders in the US, [we] didn’t have them here. Now [they] might go by a different name, but essentially they’re payday lenders, and unfortunately, many Bahamians fell into that net where they’re borrowing at extremely high interest rates with very, very little prospect of ever coming out,” said Mr Halkitis. “We are working with the Securities Commission to be exploring the implementation of a centralised, one-stop shop to streamline approvals and improve co-ordination across our financial services regulatory agencies. “And so the idea is that individuals who want to
MICHAEL HALKITIS come, set up a financial services company in The Bahamas, should have a one-stop shop where they can be introduced to service providers, products, licensing and, as well, the approval process, and to identify opportunities for improvement and streamlining.” Mr Halkitis added that while the initiative is “ambitious”, the goal is for investors to get approvals quickly due to the collaboration between regulators. “It’s a very ambitious programme, but the idea is to have this one-stop shop set up where they
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increasingly difficult and frustrating for visitors to return. “I have been travelling to Bimini since the late 1970s. What began as a family tradition turned into a lifelong connection to the island - one strong enough that I eventually purchased a condo there and became a part of the local community. “Over the decades, I’ve spent countless weekends and holidays supporting the island’s businesses, paying Customs and fishing fees, fuelling up, dining out, and bringing friends and family to experience the beauty of Bimini. But unfortunately, those days are over.” He continued: “The recent spike in fees across the board, from Customs to fishing permits to every day services - feels not only excessive, but punitive. It sends a message that long-time supporters of the island are no longer welcome unless they are willing to be gouged. As a result, I’ve decided to stop travelling to Bimini and have put my condo up for sale. “And I’m not alone. Many of my fellow neighbours and boaters
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Ex-Gaming Board staff’s ‘excessive’ $1.9m damages award overturned By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE near-$1.9m in total damages awarded to five former Gaming Board employees was yesterday overturned by the Court of Appeal which branded their payouts as “excessive sums”. Appeal justice Gregory Smith, in a unanimous verdict, ruled that no damages for wrongful dismissal were due to any of Kayla Ward, Georgette Johnson, Latoya Knowles, Dwaynel Archer and Hope Miller because they had already received their lawful compensation in accordance with the Employment Act’s section 29. And, in also determining that none of the five were due any special damages, the Court of Appeal also rejected “basic awards” for unfair dismissal for four of five. The only such award upheld was $52,873 for Georgette Johnson, while just the issue of “compensatory damages” for unfair
dismissal was sent back to the Supreme Court for fresh determination by another registrar. And the Court of Appeal gave specific instructions as to how the “compensatory damages” should be calculated by the Supreme Court as it largely overturned the June 6, 2024, award by Edmund Turner, the deputy registrar, who found the five were entitled to a combined $1.895m as compensation for the loss and damages they had suffered, with that figure also including interest on the sums awarded. The five were among 24 former Gaming Board employees who then-senior justice Indra Charles ruled were wrongfully and unfairly dismissed between October 2017 and February 2018 following the Minnis administration’s election to office. Mr Turner had awarded Ms Ward some $442,363 in damages plus just over $150,000 in interest for a total payout of $593,784.
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Gov’t eyes completion of tax residency certificate By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Government is targeting completion of the tax residency certificate product that will allow expatriate residents to prove to home jurisdictions they are domiciled in The Bahamas and compliant. Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, told the Senate in leadingoff the 2025-2026 Budget debate that an inter-ministerial committee has been set up to complete the tax residency certificate’s implementation.
“We continue to pursue implementation of our tax residency certificate. We have set up an interministerial committee consisting of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Immigration, Department of Inland Revenue, lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office working together to serve clients and strengthen our jurisdiction, and we are looking to bring this initiative to completion,” said Mr Halkitis. The initiative has been in the works for some time. Elsworth Johnson, minister of financial services
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