business@tribunemedia.net
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
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Argues DEPP wrong to ‘dismiss’ need for envrionment study Petition opposing Gillam Bay gets 943 signatures in hours Residents fear Nassau ‘dictating’ and ‘ramming down throats’
GILLAM BAY DEVELOPMENT SITE
BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER Bahamas National Trust (BNT) chief yesterday argued regulators were wrong to “dismiss” the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study on a Green Turtle Cay project that has sparked an online protest petition attracting over 900 signatures within hours of launch. Eric Carey, who now heads his own environmental consultancy, told Tribune Business that the circumstances surrounding the proposed Gillam Bay site selected by the developer, Reginald Curry, should have prompted the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) to mandate that an EIA evaluation
Fitch: Gov’t to miss surplus through $64m deficit in 26-27 A MAJOR credit rating agency yesterday voiced renewed doubt that the Government will hit its forecast Budget surplus for 2026-2027 by instead projecting it will incur a “small deficit” of $64m an outcome that would be $287.1m off the Davis administration’s forecast. Fitch Ratings, in a statement on the Government’s just-released annual borrowing plan for the 12 months to end-July 2027, warned that The Bahamas’ gross borrowing needs over this period “may ultimately be marginally higher” than the predicted $1.024bn based on its own forecast of a deficit rather
Rating agency’s $287m negative swing from Gov’t forecasts But admits Bahamas ‘outperformed’ over fiscal consolidation And praises ‘strong governance’ as ‘underpinning’ progress than the Davis administration’s projected $223.1m surplus. While Fitch effectively hedged its bets by conceding that The Bahamas has “outperformed” international expectations over its fiscal consolidation progress, and forecasting that a first Budget surplus will instead be achieved in the 2027-2028 fiscal year, its forecast for the current period - if it comes
Taxi drivers threatening ‘tourism industry chaos’ BY ANNELIA NIXON TRIBUNE Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net TAXI drivers yesterday threatened to “cause whatever chaos in the tourism industry” is necessary, and withdraw their services, in a bid to resolve their long-standing dispute with livery rivals as prepare to meet with the minister of tourism today. Tyrone Butler, the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union
(BTCU) president, said the trade body is prepared to escalate its dispute with livery operators, threatening to trigger wider industrial action if the Government fails to resolve what it alleges is illegal competition at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and major hotels. He said the union has now placed its campaign under the leadership of the Trade Union Congress
Contractors: Better regulations needed over safety crackdown BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net CONSTRUCTION firms yesterday warning that health and safety enforcement must be matched by clearer regulations, consultation and
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Ex-BNT chief: Green Turtle EIA refusal ‘kind of strange’
GILLAM BAY
BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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education to avoid unnecessary delays and higher costs while backing the Government’s push to improve workplaces following a string of fatal job site accidents. Their comments come as the Department of Labour moves to strengthen enforcement of the Health
true - would leave a major $287.1m hole in the Government’s finances. For the Davis administration’s predicted $223.1m surplus, equal to 1.2 percent of Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP) or economic output, is forecasting that the Government’s tax and total revenue income will exceed its spending during the 2026-2027 fiscal year. But, if Fitch’s projection
be conducted and made public. The environmental advocate, who confirmed that he was waiting on a copy of the development plans after being “asked” by Green Turtle Cay residents to review them, said the location’s status as “newly-accreted land” from the accumulation of coastal sand, plus its reputation as a haven for birds and other wildlife and use for recreation by locals, were all factors that weighed in favour of an EIA being submitted. Mr Carey told this newspaper it was “kind of strange” and “somewhat deficient” that DEPP had decided otherwise, with the environmental regulator’s officials telling Green Turtle Cay residents at last week’s Town Hall meeting that the agency determined the project did not meet the legal
turns out to be accurate, this will represent a negative swing equal to 1.6 percent of GDP, as a $64m deficit would represent by how much expenditure will exceed the Government’s income. Should the rating agency prove correct, the Government will not have a surplus to increase its cash balances by the forecast $223.1m and provide a further “buffer” to debt repayments. It would likely force the Davis administration to borrow beyond the $1.024bn targeted to finance debt rollovers and refinancing in the 20262027 fiscal year. “The new annual borrowing plan, covering the fiscal year ending June 2027, is based on the current Budget,” Fitch said. “Borrowing needs may ultimately be marginally higher than outlined in the plan, as Fitch forecasts The Bahamas will run a
FINANCES - See Page B4
(TUC) after concluding that repeated meetings with government officials have produced no meaningful results. “We presented our case to the Congress, and we said that our goal and our mission is not to keep meeting with the Government and having fruitless meetings,” Mr Butler said. “Following our last demonstration… we feel that it’s time now for us to take our message to the next level.” He added that the union will now await direction from TUC president, Obie Ferguson KC, who has assumed the lead
role in co-ordinating any campaign. The latest developments come less than two weeks after taxi drivers temporarily blocked access to LPIA’s international departures terminal in protest over what they say is the Government’s failure to prevent livery drivers from soliciting passengers who have not pre-booked transportation. Following that protest, Leon Lundy, the newly-appointed transport minister, pledged reforms, including the creation of a transportation desk inside the
and Safety at Work Act, including plans to increase the number of occupational safety and health inspectors to 30 by the end of the year, having recently shut down “unsafe work practices” at four New Providence construction sites. Don Williams, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) chairman, said the Health and Safety at Work Act requires a comprehensive review involving all stakeholders.
“We know that health and safety needs to go through a little bit of an overhaul,” Mr Williams said. “We need to get all stakeholders back to the table so that we could refine the Act.” Noting that billions of dollars’ worth of construction projects are underway across The Bahamas, he said the Chamber has been working alongside the Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) to ensure safety reforms
TRANSPORT - See Page B5
PROTECT - See Page B5
threshold for triggering an EIA because it involves construction on pilings as opposed to excavation, mining and marine works. While conceding that the law gives DEPP discretion to decide whether an EIA is required for any development, the ex-BNT executive director said: “The determination made by DEPP that no EIA is required for this project at Gillam Bay, I find it kind of strange for virgin land, an area discovered to be used by lots of shore birds and wildlife over the years…. “I find the determination by DEPP that an EIA is not required, I find that somewhat deficient. The impact on the environment should require a formal EIA and things that determine whether the impact is acceptable. I don’t think DEPP should sit in Nassau, send someone up for a
KEITH DAVIES
ERIC CAREY
MATT AUBRY quick view and say they don’t need an EIA. “I think this, because of the circumstances, should dictate an EIA is required - newly-accreted land, an
REPORT - See Page B4
CHRISTINA ROLLE
Mandatory pensions revival: ‘We don’t focus as a society’ BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) chief executive last night voiced optimism that a renewed push for mandatory private pensions will finally end a 20-year wait for progress on an issue “we don’t focus on as a society”. Keith Davies acknowledged to Tribune Business that the Securities Commission’s proposal that all private employers be required by law to establish pension, or retirement
savings plans, for their employees could aid further growth and liquidity on BISX and the wider Bahamian capital markets by creating a larger pool of savings capital seeking an investment home. He spoke after the Securities Commission, in its just-released 2025 annual report, said it plans to revive calls for private pensions to be made compulsory for all working Bahamians as part of a broader research report on further developing the Bahamian capital markets.
RETIREMENT - See Page B5