Accusing the daughter and ex-wife of his late colleague, Edward St. George, of seeking to damage the reputation of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, the Port’s major shareholder Sir Jack Hayward lashed out on Sunday, threatening legal action in the matter.
“In my opinion it is quite intolerable that Mary and Caroline St. George or any other persons should seek to damage the reputation of The Grand Bahama Port Authority by making irresponsible remarks about its operations,” Sir Jack said in a press release.
He said he had read with “increasing horror” the articles that have appeared in the press on behalf of Mary and Caroline St. George about the Port Authority Group of Companies.
Mary St. George was Mr. St. Georgeﾒs second wife and claims that their more than two decades old divorce agreement entitled her to half of his assets upon his death. Mr. St. George passed away almost two years ago.
Caroline St. George, a daughter from Mr. St. Georgeﾒs first marriage, claims that many of her assets are co-mingled with her fatherﾒs, and that he used a portion of her inheritance and that of her sister from their maternal grandfather to buy his interests in the Port.
According to her attorney, Damian Gomez, she is determined to protect her interests and wants to make certain that her assets remain secure.
“As I understand it, there are claims against the estate of [Edward], which may or may not have any validity,” said Sir Jack, the English-born investor, who arrived in Grand Bahama in 1956, when he became a vice president of the Port.
“The Hayward family owns 50 percent of the shares of the Port Group and has no knowledge or involvement in the above claims.”
Claiming that Port Chairman Hannes Babak is positioned to unfairly benefit from the Portﾒs profits, Caroline also wants to fire Mr. Babak, whose controversial appointment came on the heels of the resignation of Julian Francis in June.
Last week, Mr. Gomez told the Journal, “We shall in due course be suing [Mr. Babak] to recover any money which he has received.”
But Sir Jack defended Mr. Babak saying, “I was instrumental in bringing in Mr. Babak as chairman of the Port Group and fully endorse everything that he has done since he was installed chairman.”
He added, “If these unfounded and unwarranted attacks continue, I shall have to consider seeking substantial compensation for any damage caused. I am also concerned about the insecurity engendered to our licensees, the staff of the Port Authority and the people of Freeport generally by these injudicious remarks.”
Mr. Gomez said last week that unlike Sir Jack and Mr. St. Georgeﾒs widow, Lady Henrietta, Caroline would not be an “absentee landlord.”
On Sunday, he declined further comment, saying, “We are at a very delicate stage of negotiations and Iﾒm going to refrain from commenting.”
But Mr. Gomez vowed, “Iﾒll defend Carolineﾒs interests to the hilt.”
Last week, he said, “The Port is under threat from people who ought to know better.”
The whole situation has licensees even more jittery, according to Dr. Doswell Coakley, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, who released a statement on the matter on Wednesday saying, “an air of uncertainty permeates Freeport and Grand Bahama.”
“The open legal threat by one of the suitors to all businesspersons who might have entered into agreements with the Grand Bahama Port Authority since the late Edward St. Georgeﾒs death is equally troubling,” Dr. Coakely said.
“The promise of retaliation through the courts certainly does not help the cause of Freeportﾒs economic development, nor does it act as an incentive for prospective investors. It is in fact a ﾑred flagﾒ and a negative signal to all current and hopeful licenses to curl in their investment plans until such time as the ownership battle is settled. We all know this can take years to resolve and prove painful for all sides, including the licensees.”
Despite calls from some concerned parties for the government to get involved, officials have decided to keep out of the debacle involving the Port Authority.
But Dr. Coakley renewed that call when he issued his release last week.
Dr. Coakley noted that the government was previously encouraged to take “a forensic look” at the workings of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, and circumstances of the day show that the suggestion has merit.
He said that under the current circumstances, the big question is whether the Grand Bahama Port Authority can fulfill its mandate as provided for under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.
“It would seem that every time Freeport tries to get up something happens to lull it back to sleep,” Dr. Coakley stated.
“While every other part of The Bahamas seems to be well on the development path, Freeport is languishing in apathy and regression. It is a must that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement be visited, and the government must get involved in what is going on in Freeport before it is too late.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
