On the heels of a town meeting where panelists called on the Grand Bahama Port Authority to be more accountable, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said on Thursday certain views expressed could have more “damaging” consequences than the three major hurricanes that ravaged Grand Bahama in 2004 and 2005.
Minister Wilchcombe, however, was quick to say that democracy was alive and well as evidenced by the number of divergent views from panelists, who also called on the islandﾒs residents to take control of their future.
But the minister cautioned about getting “bogged down in the past.”
“Is that the message you send to a community of investors that you want the government to dictate the course of their leadership? Do I tell Sol Kerzner tomorrow who should be his general manager? Should I tell others who ought to be leading their organizations or should I prepare Bahamians to be ready when the opportunity presents itself, and to then be able to present an authoritative argument that Bahamians are prepared?” Minister Wilchcombe asked.
“I think what we all must do is to look at where Grand Bahama needs to go and how weﾒre going to get there. I think the licensees of the Port Authority, they do have leverage; they are a part of that company so they can collectively meet with and determine the course of action.
“But I believe itﾒs important in everything we do we are not playing with the minds and emotions of people. Oftentimes we wish to mislead simply in search of reaction.”
However, a point stressed repeatedly by panelists was that Grand Bahamians should take control of their destiny, and not depend on the Port Authority to do so.
One of the panelists, Senator Philip Galanis, again questioned whether it was inappropriate for Chairman of the Port Hannes Babak to head the company given that he has business interests in Grand Bahama.
Mr. Galanis called it a “conflict of interest”.
Another panelist, noted attorney, Fred Smith, asked a list of questions about the Portﾒs recent administrative changes, which saw the departure of several prominent Bahamians, and Mr. Babak, a foreigner, being appointed.
But Mr. Smith stressed that Mr. Babak was not the issue. He, in fact said, “The debate should be about principles and not personalities.”
Minister Wilchcombe said on Thursday that the past should remain in the past.
“My view is [that] Iﾒm concerned about the future,” he said.
“Iﾒm concerned about where weﾒre going to go in the future. Iﾒve heard the complaint about the owners of businesses also being executives in the Port Authority as if thatﾒs a present argument, and if it is then the entire history of owners and Port officials need to be reviewed because itﾒs been that way for a long time,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
Another panelist, president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Doswell Coakley, called for the government to champion the rights of the people and hold the Port accountable.
Dr. Coakley even suggested that there be a Commission of Inquiry into what he termed has “happened” to those licencees of the Port.
Minister Wilchcombe said he too had raised some concerns about the Port, but he said he has to work with the Port to ensure that the company plays a greater role in Grand Bahama.
“What exists today, the dialogue with the Port Authority, the level of trust that wasnﾒt there before, the maturity, allows us to sit in a room and discuss with them all the matters that are being raised,” the minister said.
“But equally important is how we respond to it because you canﾒt sit and talk and you tell the entire world what you talked about.”
By: Courtnee Romer, The Bahama Journal
