business@tribunemedia.net
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2022
$6.63
$6.29
$6.31
$6.30
Fidelity’s $500k behind but ‘still on $25m track’ despite falling • BISX-listed bank ‘has some work to do’ in second half • Merchant services ‘catch up’ to aid full-year profit goal • Credit bureau’s launch catches out some borrowers
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FIDELITY Bank (Bahamas) is “still on track” to deliver $25m in full-year profits despite falling $500,000 behind pace at the 2022 half-way mark, its top executive said yesterday, as he looks to merchant services to close the gap. Gowon Bowe, the BISX-listed institution’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that “internally we recognise there is some
work to do” after net income for the six months to end-June was essentially flat with last year at $10.367m compared to $10.332m. Besides the traditional increase in loan activity during the year’s second half, driven by Back to School and Christmas holiday spending, he disclosed that the focus on providing merchants with electronic payment, card and commerce solutions was a key area “where we see catch up in terms of where we are”.
Mr Bowe told this newspaper that Fidelity’s investment was already “starting to bear fruit”, with the number of entrepreneurs, vendors and merchants onboarded “exceeding expectations”. Declining to give an actual number, he asserted that this success was evident through the near-$1.2m year-over-year increase in commission and fee income for the 2022 first half,
Bahamas island saved from ‘a complete loss’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN private island, which is among the most valuable assets owned by an accused $40m securities fraudster, was yesterday rescued from becoming “destroyed and a complete loss” via a US court-approved deal. Judge Chad Kennedy, sitting in the eastern Pennsylvania district court, oversaw an agreement between Joseph Cammarata and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) that will allow the former to unfreeze some $38,000 in a last-ditch bid to insure Sandy Cay just days before the Atlantic
• Insurance ‘unfreeze’ deal for alleged fraudster • Alleges Abaco property ‘looted and in disrepair’ • Fears Dorian-type hit; SEC sceptical of figures hurricane season hits its traditional peak. Mr Cammarata, who with his co-accused is facing both civil and criminal charges that he stole monies intended to compensate victims of earlier securities frauds, is alleging that the SEC in obtaining a freeze over all his bank accounts and other assets has “neglected the
preservation” of their value. He claimed, in an August 16, 2022, letter to Judge Kennedy that some $14m worth of assets had been placed in great peril through becoming “abandoned, [falling] into disrepair, being broken into, looted and presently uninsured”. The most important and treasured
JOSEPH CAMMARATA asset in this collection, Mr Cammarata added, was Sandy Cay, his private island near Man-O-War Cay in the Abacos, which was totally exposed to another major hurricane
SEE PAGE B2
Construction chiefs differ on labour gap By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net PAST and present Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) presidents yesterday differed over whether construction is suffering an increase in skilled labour shortages post-COVID as one branded such arguments “a cop out”. Stephen Wrinkle told Tribune Business there has been an “extremely noticeable” shortage of skilled tradespersons in recent months due to many persons exiting the industry or retiring during the pandemic and its aftermath. Asserting that this
STEPHEN WRINKLE
LEONARD SANDS
has created “a substantial gap”, he added that the sector was facing the same difficulties as agriculture where no one is “picking up the tools and working” after “the older ones die out”. However, Leonard Sands, the current BCA president, said he “refutes
and denies” the existence of labour and skills gaps in the absence of solid empirical evidence. While major construction projects, such as the new US embassy, may require certifications that Bahamian workers simply cannot access or obtain, he warned against making blanket statements
about shortages given that “thousands” of construction workers remain unemployed. Turning to the Dorianravaged islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, which are still in rebuilding mode three days’ later, Mr Sands said these locations were experiencing a housing - as opposed to labour - shortage. While there was “an abundance” of work, contractors and developers were struggling to attract skilled tradespersons due to the lack of available rental accommodation at competitive prices. As a result, he warned that The Bahamas was in
SEE PAGE B4
Tourism ‘treading warily’ over Junkanoo Beach By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Ministry of Tourism yesterday rejected assertions that it was neglecting the concerns of Junkanoo Beach vendors, but said it was “treading carefully” due to uncertainty over who represents and speaks for them. The ministry spoke out after Wendi Constantine, president of the Bahamas
Docks & Allied Venues Association (BDAVA), who said she represents Junkanoo Beach as well as Potter’s Cay vendors, told Tribune Business that for “weeks the association has been trying to get a meeting” with officials who have responsibility for Junkanoo Beach. She added that the group’s effort to arrange a meeting with Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister who is also responsible for tourism, investments and aviation,
had also proven fruitless. But Senator Randy Rolle, global relations consultant with the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, told Tribune Business this was not accurate and the Ministry of Tourism has a “chain of emails” to prove it has been in contact with the Ministry of Tourism. He added the difficulty in negotiating with the Association stems from the ministry’s concern that it does not represent all the vendors on Junkanoo
SENATOR RANDY ROLLE Beach, and there is another group that it was advised it should deal directly with. Senator Rolle said he is “aware of the issues at Junkanoo Beach”, but until the vendors’ true representation is fully sorted
SEE PAGE B5
GOWON BOWE
SEE PAGE B5
‘Head and shoulders’ above private aviation competitors By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas was yesterday praised for standing “head and shoulders above any country in its vision and strategy” for private aviation with the market having “settled down” following earlier fears over changed border entry protocols. Rick Gardner, director of CST Flight Services, which provides flight coordination and trip support services to the private aviation industry throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, told Tribune Business that with the Click2Clear concerns resolved back in May this nation’s private pilot and passenger visitor numbers were “definitely up over last year, and last year was up over 2019”. A member of The Bahamas Civil Aviation Council as well as a Bahamas Flying Ambassador, who attended the recent four-day private aviation meeting in Grand Bahama, he also disclosed that he was surprised to see multiple private planes at the island’s fixed base operator (FBO) despite the airport’s post-Dorian condition being less than acceptable. “The Bahamas is head and shoulders above any country in terms of vision and strategy,” Mr Gardner told this newspaper of the country’s private aviation
standing. “It’s a very attractive, very lucrative market. I haven’t seen the official numbers as they’d come from Customs but I’d say it’s definitely up, this year over last year, and last year was up over 2019. “I can tell you that I have seen a lot of activity. There are a lot of customers moving around. Unfortunately you did have some customers move to other destinations around the time of Click2Clear. It caused a lot of noise and disruption but it has settled down. I’m just aware we have had a number of flights, quite a few, make it to The Bahamas. “I was asked by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make a presentation to their safety team. They had a webinar two weekends ago on flying to The Bahamas. It’s definitely on the radar for many pilots if I have to do a webinar for them.” Bahamas Customs aborted efforts to implement a new border control process for private aviation via its Click2Clear system back in May after major concerns were voiced by the industry that it would be ensnared in bureaucracy and red tape through declarations and forms that were taking two to three hours to complete online. However, the effort has not been abandoned, and
SEE PAGE B4