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Thursday, July 2, 2026
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Second IHOP outlet creates 66 new jobs via $3 million investment !"#$%&'#()*+$%'' +,-./01#!/2-0122#%3-45, nhartnell@ tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN restaurant franchise yesterday disclosed its has created 66 new jobs, taking its workforce to 300 staff, through the $2.5m to $3m investment in its just-opened
second IHOP outlet on Carmichael Road. Jeffrey Beckles, Bahamas Caribbean Dining’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that the area’s fast population growth and high “traffic density” made the location an obvious choice
SEE SPEND, Page 6
Up to 20% bank fee rises show ‘only half the story’ !"#$%&'#()*+$%'' +,-./01#!/2-0122#%3-45, nhartnell@ tribunemedia.net A SENIOR Bahamian banker yesterday asserted the Central Bank’s semi-annual survey of commercial bank fees is “telling only half the story” after the latest report revealed some customer categories suffered 20 percent-plus increases during the 2025 second half. Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune
Business that the survey which compares the fees levied on customers by this nation’s commercial banks “needs to look at the other side of the coin” and examine the ever-increasing costs that impose pressure on the industry to raise these charges. Asserting that equal focus on bank expenses is required to keep the survey “meaningful”, he argued that its present format threatens to “create a
SEE CHARGES, Page 4
Hotel union ‘gung ho’ to exit Freeport’s Bazaar !"#$%&'#()*+$%'' +,-./01#!/2-0122#%3-45, nhartnell@ tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) president yesterday affirmed it is “gung ho” to exit its ownership interest in Freeport’s International Bazaar and “close the chapter” on 20-plus years of financial losses. Darrin Woods, speaking after Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, said earlier this week that the Government expects
to complete the dilapidated property’s acquisition within the next days, signalled to Tribune Business that the union cannot wait to receive its share of the purchase price to cover at least some of the losses incurred over the past two decades. He disclosed that he reached out to Christopher Gouthro, the Freeport-based attorney handling the International Bazaar deal for the Government, by e-mail in the wake
SEE UNION, Page 10
* Provider says ‘crack down’ on rogue operators ‘long overdue’ A BAHAMIAN secu- * Lack of mandatory standards, rity provider is backing the Government’s bid to “take training ‘widespread problem’ the bull by the horns” and crack down on rogue pro- * Warns Bahamas ‘lagging’ Caribbean viders with this nation “lagging behind” Caribcompetitors on training bean rivals on industry !"#$%&'#()*+$%'' +,-./01#!/2-0122#%3-45, nhartnell@ tribunemedia.net
regulation, standards and service quality. Gamal Newry, president of Preventative Measures, told Tribune Business he “totally agrees” with the Ministry of National Security’s enforcement and compliance drive following last week’s warning that unlicensed private security providers and unauthorised guards, together with non-payment of due fees, will no longer be tolerated. He argued that, because the training of officers and guards is not presently mandated by Bahamian law, there are “widespread problems” within the Bahamian private security industry when it comes to service standards and the ability of providers to deliver what they promise to customers - crime prevention and asset protection that safeguards
data, properties, staff and customer. Praising Myles LaRoda, the newly-appointed national security minister, for “picking up the baton” from his predecessor, Wayne Munroe KC, Mr Newry told this newspaper that upgrading and modernising the Private Security Act 1970 - legislation that is 56 years-old and dates back before Bahamian independence is “the only way” to place the sector on a similar self-regulatory footing to the likes of attorneys and accountants. Warning that Bahamian security providers presently face exposure to significant “civil and criminal liability”, stemming from the actions or inactions of poorly-trained security guards in a sector
that lacks “minimum standards”, training and proper oversight, the Preventative Measures chief added that Caribbean competitors have bypassed this nation on regulation. He cited the examples of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, both of which have private security regulatory authorities, and possess “far more teeth” than The Bahamas when it comes to industry oversight, setting service standards and licensing/ training of officers. Revealing that he was also a presenter at last Friday’s Freeport event, where Mr LaRoda affirmed the Government’s push to upgrade the private security sector, Mr Newry told Tribune Business: “I definitely agree with that. I definitely agree we need
to crack down on unlicensed and unregistered providers, and this will definitely be a good step in improving standards and service deliverables for the security guard product. “We want to regulate the industry and make sure the providers are meeting some standards. That is the only way it’s going to be able to happen. It’s definitely needed. It’s definitely more than needed. I am surprised we’ve been able to go so far into 2026, and allow it to go on for as long as it has” without vastly upgraded and enhanced regulation. Mr Newry said that, while he is unable to provide “exact numbers” for the total number of persons
SEE PROTECT, Page 7